The Underground of Happiness

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 ...

chapter 29 the bonk seems to be a band in coughlans for the quiet lights festival and i had to go to this one cos they were supposed to play in july but it got cancelled last minute probably covid you know yourself gutted like they didn’t bring the bass drum but it turned out they had all the other drums – stuck at the back was hard to see it was stuffed naturally and there was a drum machine for sure which is a departure from the last time i saw them and these were filthy beats now as if it was techno slowed down right down while the jazz stew cooked up around them – dirty beats alright yes they were five with phil of course and the brother on drums then dan walsh not surprisingly involved on sax and clarinet and piccolo flute i think it might have been sure he even pulled out a harmonica at one point and the two other lads on guitar and trumpet ripping it up i don’t know their names but fuckit they’re good african jazz influences and of course american jazz somebody t...