Gilla Band – The Workmans Club, Dublin, Sunday 26th October – Live Review
by Killian Laher

A rare chance to see Gilla Band in a very small venue for the second of two sold-out shows.  Support came from Aoife Nessa Frances, who was joined by Gareth Quinn Redmond on violin.  She played a number of tracks from her last album, Protector, accompanied by programmed beats.  The languid likes of Only Child and Soft Lines allowed Redmond to stretch out the songs with some crazed, distorted violin playing while Aoife Nessa Frances held it together on electric guitar.  A couple of new songs had a yearning, narcotic feel to them.

A complete change of tack for the headliner, Gilla Band, as Dara Kiely and co launched into songs from across their back catalogue, turning the venue into one big moshpit right from the opening rendition of Lawman.  An unhinged and seriously noisy set peaked early on with a pounding version of Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage which had a delirious audience pogoing and slamming into each other.   Plenty of old favourites were unleashed, The Cha Cha Cha, Pears for Lunch and Fucking Butter went down particularly well.  Their set culminated with the band barrelling through Backwash and a euphoric Eight Fivers.

It’s hard to compare Gilla Band with anyone else; they aren’t doing anything any other band is doing with their unique fusion of bawled vocals, hard riffs, singalong melodies and coruscating blasts of noise.  It will be fascinating to see what they do next.