'Little Victories' for The Strypes in Luxembourg

By Sam Steen

If you missed this one, stop reading for a second, step away from your screen, and kick yourself. Done? Good, you deserved it. The Strypes’ concert at den Atelier was one of the best the venue has seen this year, (and they’ve seen quite a few good ones lately).

Starting off with the “support” band. The Mighty Stef are a band from Dublin who have been around for years, currently touring their fourth album, they are no strangers to the stage and that experience was clear Thursday night.

Support slots are never easy, playing to people who might not know you and who didn’t really come to see you but the Irish four piece quickly drew people into the room and up close to the stage.

The band say that the new album, Year Of The Horse, is a redefining album for them and they played songs exclusively from it last night. Recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Alain Johannes (Queens Of The Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys, Chris Cornell, Them Crooked Vultures), they sound like a mix of The Doors, The Bad Seeds and The Hold Steady, but more fun.

Great stories in their lyrics and great hooks left the crowd wanting more and there was a lot of interest in their CD’s and Vinyl at the merchandise stand afterwards. (I got one, it’s great)

As The Strypes prepared to take to the stage to the strains of the Dubliners’ Dirty Old Town, the room filled up with a crowd whose demographic ranged from about 11 to 65, showing the appeal of this young bands brand of short, blues influenced rock tunes.

They marched on to the stage smartly dressed in suit trousers and jackets, except guitarist Josh McClory in Jeans and the bands own long sleeved t-shirt and immediately launched into What A Shame, the third single from their 2013 debut album Snapshot. From there they raced through a number of songs from their latest release, Little Victories including Best Man and Cruel Brunette.

One thing that was really evident was how together they were, they are an incredibly tight band. Playing together since they were young teenagers and with years of experience playing in pubs around their native Cavan behind them, (despite all still being under twenty), they all had their moments to shine.

No-one hogged the limelight, drummer Evan Walsh hammered his kit with abandon, keeping a perfect tempo for his band mates. Pete O’Hanlon on bass, who threw himself about the stage was always able to get back to the mic without missing a note and enjoyed a few synchronised dance moments with singer Ross Farrelly whose vocals were pitch perfect throughout.

Farrelly took moments during songs like A Good Night’s Sleep And A Cab Fare Home, to whip out his harmonica, driving the energy to new heights while also bringing out all the classic frontman tricks like swinging his mic about Roger Daltry style during Josh McClory’s guitar solos.

Josh was clearly having a great time on stage too, coming to the front of the stage to show his skills and even playing the solo for Hometown Girls with the guitar slung behind his back.

There was barely time for the crowd to catch a breather as The Strypes ran through most of the songs on their two albums and some selected from their past EP’s.

The thing about their songs and their style is that there are no fillers. Each track packs a punch and the crowd last night danced and sung along from the start. As the set neared its end they pulled out some of the big singles, Blue Collar Jane, Scumbag City Blues and conducted the audience in a sing along to Still Gonna Drive You Home.

Leaving the stage with I Need To Be Your Only, there were instant calls for an encore. Expecting to hear their huge hit, You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover, there was a roar as they returned to the stage but sadly they revealed that Evan had hurt his hand earlier in the set and though he had fought through to the end wouldn’t be up to playing the full encore.

They jammed for a little before saying their goodbyes and though some fans would be a little disappointed not to hear that particular song, everyone would agree that the band had given their all throughout an electrifying set.

Fans of the band knew it would be good, curious punters who just came to have a look left stunned at their skill and professionalism. If they are this good now, where will they be in the future?

This was the bands' first time in Luxembourg and after a short stint in Europe they’ll be off to tour Japan. We can only hope that they’ll be back soon and once word get’s out about how good this show was, you’ll struggle to get in the door when they do. Two great bands, one great night.

Find out more about The Strypes at www.thestrypes.com - Little Victories is out now.

Find out more about The Mighty Stef at www.themightystef.net - Year Of The Horse is out now.

Sam's Scene!

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Sam Steen on ARA City Radio

You can catch Sam in his "Freshly Squeezed Breakfast Show" on ARA City Radio every weekday morning from 6-9:30am. For more info visit the website: www.aracityradio.com_________________________________________________________

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