Jape at the Academy, Dublin on 19th Feb 2015 – Review by Killian Laher

Dublin turned out in force to the Academy to witness the return of Richie Egan, otherwise known as Jape to these shores. Indeed there was quite a large crowd in attendance for the support act Talos. Playing a brand of wispy electronica, the four-piece swayed shyly back and forth on a pleasant set of guitar and keyboard songs, topped off by some idiosyncratic wailing from the singer, which I suspect would be quite polarising for most.

Egan and co played the returning hero to perfection to an ecstatic crowd. Gradually over the years, he has sidelined guitars in favour of electronics and here he took this to an extreme, playing bass midstage flanked by a drummer either side of him, with occasional keyboards and samples. Not a guitar in sight. The atmosphere was more akin to that of a rave than a concert as the band powered through songs like Ocean of Frequency and The Heart’s Desire. The luminous headband wearing crowd were euphoric, dancing to I Go and Seance of Light while the band utilised all the slow building techniques from rave culture. Although the band played almost all songs to a similar pacing and beat, the effect was infectious. A set climaxing Floating was barely recognisable from the original tune with a completely different tempo and complete absence of guitar.

Egan was clearly excited to be back in Dublin, encoring with I Was A Man before finishing with the slowest song of the night, This Chemical Sea. The set was not without its high points but it’s hard not to to think he has brought his music as far as he can in this direction. Will be tricky for him to decide where to go from here: more of the same, which would certainly please the crowd but possibly compromise his ‘art’? Or a complete change in direction which might please his inner artist but alienate the audience looking for a good time? Let the debate start here.

Set List –
Breath Of Life
Ocean Of Frequency
The Hearts Desire
Metamorphosis
Absolutely Animals
I Go
Seance of Light
Ribbon Ribbon Ribbon
Without Life In The Way
The Oldest Mind
Graveyard
Floating

Encore:
I Was a Man
This Chemical Sea