Tradfest: A Lazarus Soul – St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin
by Killian Laher

Live Review – 24-01-26

A special night in St Patrick’s Cathedral for a rare gig from A Lazarus Soul, drummer Julie Bienvenu having flown from France the night before, apparently.  Although it was far from a ‘sky blue Saturday’, there was a sold-out crowd for the large venue, which has both great height and length for the band’s sound to fill.  Guitarist Joe Chester and singer Brian Brannigan opened up with New Jewels and Black & Amber, before being joined by Bienvenu and bass player Anton Hegarty for a set that covered a considerable amount of their back catalogue, reaching right back to Only Say the Word from their very first release back in 2001!

A fiery version of We Start Fires was an early highlight, Brannigan belting out the lyrics with real…. fire, roaring “this country’s cursed!” and throwing in a few lines from Lee Scratch Perry’s War In The Babylon.  After dedicating Glass Swans to the late Mark E. Smith, they were joined by Mary Barnecutt on cello and Colm Mac Con Iomaire on violin for Lemon 7s, The Dealers and a powerful version of Factory Fada; this last one saw Mac Con Iomaire channel his inner VU-era John Cale with some frenzied violin playing in a hugely dramatic midsection.  One of the band’s secret weapons is Chester’s extraordinary range of guitar playing, between gorgeous, echoey guitar lines and raging power.

After a rousing Decade for Believing, they powered through The Flower I Flung Into Her Grave before Barnecutt returned to finish the set with Funeral Sessions.  An encore of Long Balconies and Diver Walsh again combined Joe Chester’s soaring guitar with Brian Brannigan’s impassioned delivery, while the rhythm section held it all together.  The gig felt like a triumph, the band visibly excited to be playing the venue.  They create some gorgeous music, and in Branniga,n they have a songwriter for the ages.