BC Camplight – The Workmans Club – Live Review – 03/03/19 – by Killian Laher

There’s no shortage of appetite for live shows in Dublin these days, and the sold out signs went up weeks ago for the last night of the BC Camplight tour in the Workmans Club.  Paddy Hanna played support, sounding a lot like Ryan Adams as he played songs like Ida and Underprotected with poise and confidence.  He lost the run of himself towards the end of the set, indulging in some sub-Mike Scott warbling on Bad Boys.

But it was clear the sold-out signs were due to the presence of BC Camplight, who came on stage with full band in tow and proceeded to blast their way through most of last year’s Deportation Blues album.  On the last night of the tour it was clear the band were in party mode, belting through his bamboozling, hard to pigeon-hole music.  Songs like Deportation Blues and I’m In A Weird Place Now got a rousing reception, punctuated by stabs of bass and keyboards.  Although the band were here to enjoy themselves, BC Camplight’s deportation from England a few years ago weighed heavy on his mind, cracking a few jokes about Theresa May and his own weight.

BC Camplight’s music is a baffling blend of hardcore, 80’s cheese and strummy folk but somehow, it works.  The band took a break for a solo version of When I Think Of My Dog, before return with the smooth sax-fuelled soul of Midnight Ease.  They finished with stomping versions of Fire In England and I’m Desperate, delighting the audience.