Slow Thrills

Double whammy (well, sort of!)
Friday night's events kept me busy as I ended up at two gigs, which is probably not that big a deal for you young folk, but it's along time since I've been able to do that in Belfast! Enough about me and more about the music.
First up was the early Common Grounds show by three-fifths of Julip which was low-key, intimate and really lovely. The bigger band utilises the rhythm section from Tracer AMC but tonight's trio is Barry Peak on acoustic guitar and vocals, Johnny Ashe from Tracer on guitar and Niall Harden on various guitars. If you haven't encountered them yet their sound is centred around the post-Backwater/ Torgas Valley Reds songs of Barry which have a more countrified, downbeat feel to them. This new line-up colours these in with plenty of guitar trickery. It has a slight country folk feel, and a healthy touch of shoegaze style bliss-out, and it is all good! Some great new songs here too (check the myspace) with only the overlooked 'Appalachia' surviving from the past.
A few streets away in Lavery's Bunker things get a lot louder for Giveamanakick and
Desert Hearts. It's been such a long time since I last saw Desert Hearts that I've missed a change of drummer, an additional guitarist and by all accounts a mightily impressive beard. The latter two have gone for tonight so it's really a fairly familiar sight - the return of the power trio if you like! There's quite a lot of old material, a lot of the set is great and just crackling with energy as always. If you insist on putting regional labels on music, then this lot have been responsible for the best ever two-album run in local music history ('Let's Get Worse' and 'Hotsy Totsy Nagasaki'). If you can suggest a better one then please comment!! It's perhaps a bit depressing to see them play second on the bill in a half empty Bunker, but I really enjoyed seeing them again.
I am completely in the dark about GIveamanakick apart from the fact that they hail from Limerick and they are a duo. They are a guitar and drums two-piece and I initially thought they were going to be like Lightning Bolt as they started the first few songs with the mic-in -a-mask set up favoured by the Bolt. Giveamanakick are a lot more conventional though - short and punky and owing a lot to American hardcore of the early 90s. Some of their tunes reminded me of early Lemonheads or All but because i wasn't familiar with the material it washed over me a bit. The audience participation song was fun.
After such excitement i went home early because I'm getting on you know!