Thursday 3rd February - Ernest with Park and Ride, Dirty Dreamers and Steve Reed at Thee Box, Asylum By Michelle Dee (2/3)

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Photograph Gallery   Park & Ride Gallery ,    Dirty Dreamers Gallery ,    Steve Reed Gallery,    Ernest Gallery 1,    Ernest Gallery 2.

Right now the A/R men are looking for that new sound, something innovative that breaks through the genres and sends them spinning. Do Park and Ride do that? Well they have a special quality, which means throughout their career they will have many friends and a close- knit fan-base. It grieves me to say, I don't think the suits are willing to take the chance on the madcap five-piece. I hope for their sakes I'm wrong and I beseech them to carry on writing and playing top songs; that the people get, even if the bigwigs don't.

Next tonight were the Dirty Dreamers due to play Dublin Castle Camden on the 24th February. I am immediately drawn to Baz on lead guitar. Flashes of brilliance; trills and flourishes that, given half a chance, could develop in to full on guitar solos. He looks good, has the moves and that magnetic quality which means you keep watching, waiting for him to create the next piece of magic.

In Ash the four-piece have a front man with a measured nonchalance, not dismissive, but in the process of creating that essential rock n roll swagger. Hanging over the mic stand he growls out vocals; short sharp phrases that lift and fade with ease, punctuated with fast guitar licks.

Highlights in the set were Overload and the Led Zep/Deep Purple intro to Inside My Head. A song that starts off in classic rock style and ends with every damn thing in the drum kit being thoroughly smashed by Chris the Dreamer's very capable drummer. I think the Dreamers have a battle on their hands being that there are so many others who are trying to play grungey rock. They do have an immediately recognisable sound, which could propel them up the wider music-scene pecking order.

Okay, they put Steve Reed next and it was plain bad planning, no slur to Steve but the crowd in The Asylum, of about two hundred or so, were ripe for plucking after the Dreamers, then they sort of went off. Which, incidentally, makes Steve's job three times as difficult. It's hard enough getting a Thursday night student crowd to listen in the first place; if you're a solo acoustician as Steve is, then it's nigh impossible. Enough said.

He is developing into an accomplished vocalist and he appears to be flexing his song-writing arm. The song Idle Promise really stood out as did Rising both with a flowing fingerpicking style. The way he uses his voice to express emotion, longing really captured my imagination. There seems to be a deeply rooted melancholy behind even the more upbeat numbers. He doesn't smile a lot therefore it is hard for an audience to engage with him. They need to know where he is coming from before they will chance a reaction.

Also, the fact that he stays rooted to his stool takes away the chance, to create an eye catching stage presence. I have said all along that he could do with some accompaniment; the poor guy looks so lonely up there. I can imagine a harmonising string section backing him, a viola or violin perhaps.

As if to confirm my belief he introduced the song Reach by saying he usually has drums and accompaniment from Dirty Dreamers, I was intrigued. Sadly, for reasons unknown, he played the song without them. A chance was missed to see and hear him in a different light. He goes about his singing with a very workman like attitude, which is to be commended, but an audience need something more to latch on to. With my new Sweet Inspirations badge fixed firmly to my hat (thanks Claire), Ernest took the headlining slot at the end of the night.

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Check the thisisUll.com Gallery Photographs courtsey and Copyright © Michelle Dee 2005

Photograph Gallery   Park & Ride Gallery ,    Dirty Dreamers Gallery ,    Steve Reed Gallery,    Ernest Gallery 1,    Ernest Gallery 2.

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