Hal

Thrilled on St Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, is believed to have died on 17th March 460 A.D. Despite not being one of the inordinate amount of people to claim Irish ancestry at some point in their family history, 17th March for me is always a day of celebration, and 2005’s St. Patrick’s Day was no exception.

There is some confusion as to where St Patrick passed away. One account says that he died at Glastonbury, England - the Chapel of St. Patrick is part of Glastonbury Abbey. As Glastonbury plays host to one of the biggest musical festivals in the country, you could say that St. Patrick and music can be loosely linked, and, as I supped my first pint of Guinness, I excitedly anticipated experiencing another link between St. Patrick and music.

I’d been to the Hammersmith Palais twice before, on the opening night of School Disco, and also to see Jordan Luck (lead singer of The Exponents, a popular Kiwi band) strut his way through some of his classic tunes. I love the intimacy of the venue, and the choice of levels from which you can see the stage. Not high on my list of loves was the “Bombay Pilsner” they were serving at the bar. Now I’ll try any drink once but one sip of this brew and your face screws up, suggesting that you’re actually chewing a wasp as opposed to enjoying a beer.

However, as the 747’s strummed their way through their set, my facial expression returned to a more relaxed state, even developing into a smile, complemented by a bit of foot tapping. These guys were good, and their music was thoroughly enjoyable, reminding me a little of Franz Ferdinand. Keep an eye out for more from the 747’s.

Next up were Hal. Looking and sounding very similar to The Thrills, this Dublin four piece initially seemed like an excellent warm up for the main event, but by the end of their performance I realised that I’d like to see more of them. With their debut album due for release, Hal have been enthusiastically playing as many gigs as possible. Fresh from touring with Doves, the Palais was their last appearance on the same bill as The Thrills before embarking on a 4 date tour of their own in London, Cork, Dublin and Belfast, following this with 2 dates in New York, returning to the UK to support Brendan Benson on his 10 gig tour, and finally headlining more of their own UK dates in May. So plenty of opportunity to catch Dave Allen and the boys in action, and they’re definitely worth a look. Visit www.halmusic.com for more information.

Anyway, I’d seen The Thrills once before, on a secondary stage at the Reading Festival two years ago, when their debut long player, “So Much for the City” was barely 2 months old. They were an up and coming Irish quintet who married a confident live performance with a refreshing, feel good sound which made a little more than a passing nod at 70’s west coast America. Since then their popularity has soared, and was reiterated with their second offering, “Let’s Bottle Bohemia”, an album which, whilst retaining the fresh qualities that had propelled them along thus far, has also gone a long way to defining who The Thrills actually are – a thoughtful, maturing, inventive group of lads who know how to perform live.

This occasion was no exception and the place was heaving. Each track, including the relaxed, chilled out “Deckchairs and Cigarettes”, “Whatever Happened to Corey Haim?” with it’s take on iconic America, the simple but thoughtful “Saturday Night”, and my personal favourite, “One Horse Town”, were delivered in immaculate fashion, with the diminutive Kevin Horan’s faultless piano and Connor Deasy’s lilting vocals being the highlights. “Santa Cruz”, the opening track on “So Much for the City”, was left for the inevitable encore, and it raised the roof with it’s near anthemic quality. On this performance I would happily part with my hard earned cash to see these guys again and again. We were definitely thrilled by The Thrills on St Patrick’s Day.

Reviewed by Dan