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Sounds for Sore Ears
by Damien Foley, SIN Music
Last Wednesday saw a number of local bands descend onto DeBurgos[in Galway] for the second Sounds for Sore Ears show. After the amazing success of the first gig in in January where the turnout was almost double that expected, organiser Simon Keegan decided to hold the event again and give music fans a chance to see some of the best bands based around Galway.
The show had a dual purpose. The first was to raise runds for Amnesty International's Million Faces Campaign, which is seeking to photograph one million people in order to highlight the need for greater control of the arms trade. Secondly, the aim of the show was to showcase local musical talent. The emphasis was on original music and leaned strongly toward melodic singer/songwriter material.
Fred and Ginger set off the festivities and Mike Dempsey, Belling Classic Twin 90 and Seamus London followed. After Lundon it was the turn of Kerbside. Kerbside are Seán and Kim Lightholder, a soft-spoken married couple from San Francisco, based in Athlone. Their set was well received by the audience and became my personal favourite of the night. Their music is quite experimental, rarely sticking to one style or definable influence. "We get that a lot," replied Kim when asked about undistinguishable style of music.
"The songs I write are based on our own experiences rather than someone else's music," Seán said.
The headliner of the event was The Bedlams, soon to be renamed The Rubens. But the night was not about headliners. It was about bringing together some of the best and most original acts in the region to perform in a setting perfectly suited to accoustic sets. The crowd were highly appreciative and responded well to each of the acts. It was quite refreshing to see local bands performing original material. And given the strength of the material played, one could not help but get the feeling that we will soon be hearing a lot more of some of the acts performing. You owe it to yourself to check out each of these bands.