Words by DJ Monk. Photos by The Dark Queen.
One thing you can always guarantee when it comes to a Quireboys show, be it in a massive arena, at a festival or, as on this occasion, in an intimate club setting and stripped right back to their bare essence, is that it is always going to be an entertaining, and sometimes spellbinding, occasion. Spike is undoubtedly one of the most charismatic frontmen in the business, especially now that he has dropped the drunken buffoon act/persona, while Guy, Keith and Paul are one of the tightest musical units in the rock ‘n’ roll business. And so it proved to be again this evening, as your UR team made our first foray of the year into the wild hills of County Antrim…
With a number of “Diamond virgins” on the beer bus up from the big smoke, another is tasked with opening proceedings. Since forsaking the wedding band circuit a number of years ago, Davy Kerrigan has been slowly establishing a reputation for himself as one of the most accomplished, and in demand blues musicians in this corner of the Überverse. Tonight, he is stripped down from his usual Davy K Project to just himself and an acoustic guitar (oh, and a looper as he points out to the early comers – “in case you wonder where the imaginary guitar is coming from”).
His all-too-brief set concentrates on material from his band’s current album, helping us to weather the ‘Storm’ before taking us down the ‘Whiskey Road’ to ‘Pray’. Despite its stripped back format, it’s a powerful performance, the songs drawn from both the darkest and lightest recesses of his heart and soul. It’s a highly impressive performance, deservedly earning him many new fans.
- The Davy K Project play the Lough & Quay in Newry on Saturday 15 November and Dicey Rileys in Strabane on Saturday 22 February. They also play the Diamond Rock Club on Saturday 16 May.
These Quireboys unplugged shows have become something of an annual tradition at the Diamond, and the venue is packed by the time Spike and co finally wander laconically onto the stage: yes, despite there being no real need for an onstage turnaround, the four guys keep us waiting just long enough to raise the anticipation level to maximum. Right from the off, it is clear that Spike is in good form – he loves these intimate Diamond shows, always feeling that he is very much among friends rather than just fans – joking with Guy and Paul about how they spent the New Year period: “I had the hiccups and went home in the buff,” responds Guerin, to the first of many rounds of laughter that would permeate the evening, the frontman’s deprecating humour sprinkling every between song interjection.
Despite this being an unplugged show, and the band playing without a drummer, this is still very much a rock ‘n’ roll night, with all of the hits included in the setlist, from ‘There She Goes Again’ through ‘Hey You’ to ‘Mona Lisa Smile’ to the ever rambunctious closer ‘7 O’Clock’: it may be gone midnight, but the party is very much in full effect as the band return for their traditional dual song encore, in the haunting ‘I Don’t Love You Any More’ and the groovilicious ‘Sex Party’ (the latter albeit minus the annual invitation to adjourn back to Keith Weir’s hotel room!).
I’ve lost count of the number of times I have seen The Quireboys over the years: it must be into the twenties by now, but one thing has been consistent throughout – and that is that they are one of the best rock ‘n’ roll bands around, always putting on an entertaining and dynamic show, be it, as I said at the beginning of this piece, stripped back in an intimate club setting, such as anything, or in front of thousands one a festival stage in the arse end of nowhere. If anything, these intimate, acoustic shows can be much more electric, especially in the atmosphere they generate, than their fully plugged in ones, the intimacy of their setting lending and adding to the sense of one-to-one interaction between the band and their fans. The result on this occasion was another great night in “cough city” in the company of great friends, both off and on stage, and soundtracked by some of the best rock ‘n’ roll tunes you’ll ever have the pleasure to hear… a great start to another gigtastic year.
- PHOTO CREDIT: All photos © The Dark Queen/Über Rock. You can view our full gallery of photographs HERE.
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