2022 - the year of the dan: chapter 30
Chapter 30
Part 2 of my Quiet Lights appointments. Back to Coughlans for Aoife Nessa Frances. She played here in February 2020 with a band headed by Cian Nugent. Tonight Aoife is very much in charge on guitar – mostly fingerpicked – and keys.
The band is drums, second keys with a side of clarinet and a giant pedal harp centre stage. And it is actually the woman on harp who steals the show. Méabh McKenna is the name I learn later. Sitting underneath this towering slab of wood and steel, she lets loose waves of string glissandi, pulling at the instrument, imploring it nearly, and living every second of the music through her face, frowning, grimacing, raising her leg for extra traction. The effort. And the joy. She is a sight to behold.
The songs sound wonderful. Crescendos of mellotron clarinet and big body Epiphone. The sublime Emptiness follows. The yearning Way to say goodbye with that perfect hazy vocal on top. The outstanding stalking groove of Only child. A kind of baroque swinging folk music shot through with psychedelic surges. Memorable.
Also this woman brings a fucking harp on tour. She clearly doesn’t give a fuck and at the same time really does give a fuck.
Elaine Howley on support also very much gives a fuck to great effect. Her excellent debut solo album The distance between heart and mouth gets a tremendous airing. Warm soulful treatment of samples. Inspired backbeats. The almost dub of See saw seen. The intoxicating slow groove of To the test. And that voice. Singing to herself while singing to us.
I loved the bands. I loved the sounds. I loved the fact that they were on the same bill. I loved every fuckin thing about it.
Part 2 of my Quiet Lights appointments. Back to Coughlans for Aoife Nessa Frances. She played here in February 2020 with a band headed by Cian Nugent. Tonight Aoife is very much in charge on guitar – mostly fingerpicked – and keys.
The band is drums, second keys with a side of clarinet and a giant pedal harp centre stage. And it is actually the woman on harp who steals the show. Méabh McKenna is the name I learn later. Sitting underneath this towering slab of wood and steel, she lets loose waves of string glissandi, pulling at the instrument, imploring it nearly, and living every second of the music through her face, frowning, grimacing, raising her leg for extra traction. The effort. And the joy. She is a sight to behold.
The songs sound wonderful. Crescendos of mellotron clarinet and big body Epiphone. The sublime Emptiness follows. The yearning Way to say goodbye with that perfect hazy vocal on top. The outstanding stalking groove of Only child. A kind of baroque swinging folk music shot through with psychedelic surges. Memorable.
Also this woman brings a fucking harp on tour. She clearly doesn’t give a fuck and at the same time really does give a fuck.
Elaine Howley on support also very much gives a fuck to great effect. Her excellent debut solo album The distance between heart and mouth gets a tremendous airing. Warm soulful treatment of samples. Inspired backbeats. The almost dub of See saw seen. The intoxicating slow groove of To the test. And that voice. Singing to herself while singing to us.
I loved the bands. I loved the sounds. I loved the fact that they were on the same bill. I loved every fuckin thing about it.
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