This year The Thrills came back with their second album "Let's Bottle Bohemia", the more grown up sound shows the progression they have made as a band after playing hundreds of live gigs. The album itself is great and very under rated I feel. Anyway, The Thrills continued what is becoming a tradition for them, playing a gig in Belfast near Christmas time. In 2002 they played a small bar in Belfast called Auntie Annies when they were just five unknown lads from Dublin with a passion for American, Beach Boys style music. 2003 saw them rise to fame with their critically acclaimed album "So Much For The City" so they returned Belfast as part of their tour but this time they played The Ulster Hall and again in 2004 after the release of the "Let's Bottle Bohemia".
I had seen them before in 2003 and thought they were fantastic so I managed to tickets for this gig. The doors opened at 7pm, and I was anxious to get quite close to the front as I love to be near the action, so we got there on time. There was quite a big queue but it was moving quickly. Everyone was buzzing and there was a kind of nervous excitement that I love at concerts. The Ulster Hall is relatively small as far as venues go. However there are two bars which stock most beers and spirits, but I would advise you to never buy Stella Artois in the plastic bottles at concerts as it tastes foul, something to do with the plastic bottles I think! The facilities at the Ulster Hall are very good, the toilets were clean all night long. This concert was standing but there is a balcony with seats for those who prefer to sit.
Lets get down to what really matters..the music. The support act where a local band from Belfast called Driving By Night, they came on stage all dressed in black suits which made for quite a good stage presence. They have a proper rock edge about their music and it seemed to go down quite well with the concert goers. However they lacked that something extra that separates great bands from good bands. They are still searching for their own unique sound. But I really enjoyed them and feel they could be stars of the future. Their lead singer has a strong voice and quite a commanding presence on stage. In one song he shouted "Come on!" with real power in his voice that made everyone take notice and realise these guys are actually quite good. The band are still in their infancy and are playing bars around Belfast but they are getting on the radar and I think an album will be out soon, this band is one to watch out for.
Next to take stage where a band from Ireland called Hal. They where dressed in a similar style to the way The Thrills would.. very retro with kinda shaggy, long hair. They have quite a strong following in Belfast. They are similar in style musically to The Thrills but a little less poppy and they have a more softer edge to the music. They have an old quality to their music that is somehow totally refreshing! HAL is made up of three members Paul, Dave and Stephen. They played a rousing set that took the whole crowd on a bouncy, happy journey.
The band looked really happy and at home on stage, the very smiley drummer made us all laugh! Highlights of their was their latest single "What A Lovely Dance" which was fantastic live, the vocals almost perfect. Other stand out songs where "Take Me by the Hand" and "Worry About the Wind". These guys really are destined for big things, their music is ideal for chilling out on a warm summer's day. They are already making a name for themselves as they have already made a video for "What A Lovely Dance" which I have seen on The Amp (music channel) and been featured in Q Magazine as an essential band to check out. If they get the attention they deserve they could well be on the way to being the next Thrills. Their latest single "What A Lovely Dance" is out now on Rough Trade Records.
While waiting for The Thrills to take the stage everyone talked about the magaical night last December (2003) when they played at The Ulster Hall, people wondered how could they possibly better that gig?? The answer we would soon find out. It took quite a while for all the equipment to be set up, the drums, the piano, the guitars. This time the whole set up and stage looked a lot more professional, they certainly have gone up in the world! All of a sudden The Thrills ran on stage and took up their position. No messing about and they dived straight into a fabulous rendition of "Tell Me Something I Don't Know". The guitars and pounding drums got everyone going and conor's vocals where perfect. The band played a few more tracks off the album which all sounded great live and Conor said how great it was to be back."Whatever Happened To Corey Haim" sounded great live, they done it at a fast pace and it sounded great. Conor gave everything for this one but I was quite sad that they didn't have the strings that where on the single. But hey, it still sounded fantastic. When Conor sang " Oh,Hey girl I said oh!" I could see every girl in the crowd looking lovingly at him! This song got a really good crowd response and most people knew all the words. "Saturday Night" off the second album also was fantastic when played live, the continous huge drums in this song made the place shake! I was so happy when they performed "Found my Rosebud" which is my favourite song off the second album. The little guitar flourish at the beginning then the pounding drums had everyone stamping their feet and clapping the their hands, this coupled with the brillant piano bits Kevin and Conor's gruff yet sublime voice made this easily one of the best songs of the night. This song took everyone on a real journey of The Thrills since the release of "So Much For The City".
If you didn't buy the second album then there was no need to worry as the played loads of songs off the first. "Big Sur" and "One Horse Town" got an immense response and this time absolutely everyone was singing, clapping, stamping and generally having a great time. "Say It Isn't So" and "Your Love Is Like Las Vegas" were also played live to an amazingly high standard.
The band looked as if they were having the time of their lives and Conor gushed about how Irish and Scottish crowds are the best in the world, much to everyones delight he said "and you guys are just amazing!"
The backdrop to the stage was four revolving columns that looked like one complete background throughout the concert, different colours where projected onto these columns. This looked really good, simple yet effective.
If you think The Thrills are just about happy, poppy, floaty music then you are wrong. They right some beautiful ballads. "Not For All The Love In The World" is no different. When the guitars started for this song, the four columns revolved and the backdrop was red with thousands of fairy lights, it looked beautiful (if you have seen the video for this song it's just like that). It looked beautiful and completmented the song perfectly. The piano and Conor's sublte vocals where nothing short of perfect. They performed "Deckchairs and Cigarettes" and "Old Friends, New Lovers" to this pretty backdrop. All too soon they had got through most of the set and departed from the stage but everyone knew there would be an encore.When they finally reappeared, they played a rousing version of "The Irish Keep Gate Crashing" and then "Don't Steal Our Sun". However the very last song was the real gem of the night. "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" got an absolutely huge response, they expanded on the original and it seemed to last longer, extra bits of music slotted in. Then Conor started grabbing people up on stage with him, giving them a tambourine to play and to generally dance about. By this stage the place was going wild. The more the bouncers looked on disapprovingly the more the band invited people up onto stage. Padraic gave his guitar to a girl to play, Ben sat a girl down at the drums and tried to get her to play. Meanwhile the keyboards kept playing on and on adding to the excitement. At one stage Daniel done what he done last time and jumped off the stage and done a huge stage dive, off he surfed further and further into the crowd. It was fantastic, eventually when he got back on stage, they all said a huge thank you to the crowd. They threw in their set lists and drumsticks which people went mad for. All too soon it was over and people where left standing for a minute contemplating "Was this the best gig they had ever been to?"
My answer is yes, the atmosphere was electric and the band where so involved with the crowd, inviting them up on stage and Conor constantly talked between songs. The band played only what can be described as an absolute blinder of a gig. Compared to 2003 they have matured so much. Conor's voice has gone from strength to strength, he can hold long high notes and this is where you see that playing over 200 gigs in a year has helped them so much. Padraic and Daniel on guitars looked more relaxed this time round, Kevin on the piano has improved lots not only because of the amount of gigs they have played but because on the second album the songs are more musically demanding and Ben on the drums played so well my ears where ringing for days after!
I can't recommend them highly enough, they are amazing live and especially when they are on home soil. If you get a chance to see them grab it because these guys are only going to get bigger and bigger. Their new single will be out in March, the high paced "The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing". They will also be doing a tour of the UK around that time as well, after that they will be supporting REM on a European Tour. They will also be starring in The OC soon, keep an eye out for that!
TOUR DATES:
LEEDS---University Union---12th March
EDINBURGH---Queen's Hall---13th March
CARDIFF---University---15th March
LIVERPOOL---Mountford Hall---16th March
LONDON---Hammersmith Palais---17th March
links: www.thethrills.com
www.halmusic.com
www.drivingbynight.com
thanks for reading! h.xo
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