Words and photography by Conor O’Neill
Forgive me Father for I have grinned, with a glutton’s stomach for the panto/Christmas eye for way too long I’ve left this one to be nothing than a memoir. What a pleasure to cover their first in close to 20-years’ of wanting of a BYO complete with – at first, mistrustful – bouncers; behind their HGV industrial shoulders – a fine piece of musical mayhem crossing the genres; interaction with possibly murderous strangers and a fab mix of hip hop, chick rock and the power that is The Tragedy of Dr Hannigan.
Different fashions, different decades of birth. Apart from looking forward to some of the North’s finest music, the other similarity is the clatter of wine/gin/whiskey or whatever bottles of banter are synonymous with a great wee night.
First of is Amy Montgomery: leaving us an hour behind the 9pm KO, I feel a certain kind of get-out-of-clause over this retrospect.
I’d read the blurb watched her on Youtube and was expecting a sole female singer singing beautifully to laments of love and loss. I was wrong. With a gorgeous, yellowing Telecaster, Montgomery rocked from alpha and omega, from front to back. Her FB page says she’s a guitarist. Failed to note she’s pretty savvy on the keys too.
Next up Waking Android
Met dsgrace, one half of Android before he and Kronas were about to kick-off, the embassy of such a collaboration soon takes gold. Without reviewing their tale tune-by-tune here’s a track-list, kindly written by dsgace.
Dsgrace wrote out a rough idea of their setlist as we chatted before the gig. CultureCrush NI didn’t have the time to nosy down as each track was being introduced. Best let it be said the two chimed off each other and unlike most rappers from this side of the pond avoided slipping into American accents. if I must find one annoyance is that Kronus seemed to hog the mic. Maybe that’s their pitter patter but he did overindulge at times.
Last and certainly not least the thundering hammer that is The Tragedy of Dr Hannigan. Front man Tony Wright is probably the right man in the right place for five, sometimes, six musos behind him. Again, no set list was provided: again it wouldn’t even have been looked at. From Amy through the Androids to a wonderful tragedy, three bands, all dancing – with the Drs it was ordered at gun-point, and a fab return to the moon and back
Dimebag DJs played till the wee hours but my coach was awaiting and I didn’t want to be covered in pumpkin walking the final mile.
CultureCrush NI 