The first band on stage was “Everest”, an indie/folk type band from California, they were very impressive and really helped the atmosphere of the gig. They came on stage with the sun shining and their set consisted of real laid back tunes that was just a good time. Sitting out in the sun just chilling with a great band how much better can it get.? The answer when you know Neil Young is on later on in the evening.

The Frames came on next and I wasn’t horribly impressed with them. The acoustic stuff at the start was boring with the singer guy looking like he was constipated when he tried to hit the higher notes/shout at the courses. All in all thought the singer was very good he bantered with the crowd and tried to get a sing along going. The sing along is actually my last criticism of The Frames he chose probably the most depressing song for a sing along. The song was called “Happiness” but was slow and really depressing to listen to. Even the bit he tried to get the crowd to sing along with was slow and depressing. Aside from the obvious mention of the word happiness it was hard to associate the song with anything other than just plain depressing.

Neil’s stage props and set up were strange to say the least. They included a pulsating red phone, Indian chief carving, a fan and light up numbers and letters. The artist’s easel that was beside the Indian carving was strange but turned out to be a pretty cool idea. Anyway the set list was as follows,

MALAHIDE SETLIST:

Love And Only Love
I’ve Been Waiting For You
Mr. Soul
Spirit Road
Powderfinger
Out of the Blue
Too Far Gone
Oh, Lonesome Me
Mother Earth
The Needle And The Damage Done
Unknown Legend
Old Man
Get Back To The Country
Words
No Hidden Path
—
A Day In The Life (Beatles cover)

Love and only Love lasted nearly fifteen minutes and was a great was to kick off the gig. The sheer wall of sound that came from the stage at the start was unbelieavable. The artists easel to the right of the stage had a canvas on it with a big N. Throughout the gig the setlist was displayed there, these canvas’s were painted by a guy standing at the back of the stage. The gig was fantastic and I’m not going to bore you with a bit about each song but I do have a few criticisms about the gig.

I wasn’t expecting Neil to be a showman ala Bruce Springsteen or Mick Jagger. But at times he seemes totally oblivious to the crowd, with his back turned to the crowd either with the bass player or the drummer. A lot of the songs degraded to self indulgent jamming. Which I have no problem with but when a five minute song gets stretched to the best part of forty minutes and he’s still singing/playing, that sort of thing shouldn’t happen on stage with a crowd that’s getting bored. I was disappointed with the encore as well, I thought he’s come out and play “Rockin in the Free World”, “Crime in the City” or “Cortez the Killer” but no he played a Beatles song.

Still though it was a great gig and I’m glad I went to see him, but I don’t think I’d go again.

The Needle and the Damage Done from the Gig (Sorry about the shakey camera hand)

Pics from the Concert

Anyway Pat and his current band Hi-Voltage were playing in the Bowery on the above date. He was releasing his new album called “In My Own Time”. I’ll start with the gig. Pat is I suppose what you would call “old school”. While the sound from the microphones was a bit off. What comes through is his passion and love for music. Even on that small stage with between 100-200 people in attendance. He played like he was headlining Slane or some other massive rock festival in front of fifty thousand plus fans. It is easy to see why Pat is mentioned in the same breath as other more widely known great Irish guitarists. When he’s on stage he just gets lost in what he’s playing. What it comes across as is that there is him and his guitar, and he’s making the guitar talk.

The band are great as well, but its hard to shine when such a huge shadow is cast. The drummer played a short solo at the end very reminiscent of the one in Sha-La-La on Thin Lizzy’s “Live and Dangerous” album. It was played flawlessly with slight embellishments that showed he was comfortably able to play at that level. Preceding that that Pat played a medley of comprised of his older material and it was unreal. Hearing soaring lead guitar against a trad backing track is an experience not to be missed if you have the chance and interest.Now on to the album.

The album is great, maybe even brilliant. Listening to it reminded me of the first time I heard the blues powered rock of Led Zeppelin. From “Got that Right” to “Just for Shannon” the album is the blues. There are two tracks that deserve special mention. “Juggernaut” is a wall of sound that echo’s live and still retains its power on the CD. Its great to hear the fiddle in the middle as well showcasing his past with when he played in Celtus. Secondly “Return of the G Man” a song written in tribute to Rory Gallagher is a slower, more melodious affair that shows Pat’s talent for lyrics. One line sticks in my mind

“And He Tattooed the blues down in to your soul and left you burning with a passion that never let you go”

The song also contains one of the best acoustic solos that I’ve ever heard and really shows how great acoustic solos can be when done right. The album is blues rock no ifs or buts, it’s the best album I’ve heard since I heard the Answer back in April/May.

Speaking of the Answer they also deserve a mention in the blues rock category. Their debut album “Rise” absolutely blew me away. It’s amazing how four lads from Northern Ireland can sound so much like the juggernaut that was Led Zeppelin on their debut album. I would like to say they are going to reach the heights Led Zeppelin reached but given current trends in the music industry, its unlikely that any band will reach the super-superstar status that bands like Led Zeppelin, The Police and The Rolling Stones reached. Hopefully they will be successful though because if the first album is anything to go by they have the talent to have a long and distinguished career, whether in the mainstream or not.