Photos By Aaron Corr

BRMC

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have always had a big Irish following but have only got around to touring Ireland this year. It’s been a long time coming and well worth the wait as the sold out nights and lively crowds have proved. The Galway date was the smallest venue on the tour and as people remarked, will be one of the smallest gigs you're ever likely to see the band play (unless you're lucky enough to have Peter Hayes play acoustically for you outside a gig afterwards like a few YouTubers have shown).

From the start, the normally cold venue was smoking hot due to the heat of a sold out crowd and today being one of the hottest days of the year. Yet drummer Nick Jago still managed to drum half of the gig in his hooded leather jacket as Rob and Peter dripped sweat. That’s dedication to cool.

All albums were covered in equal measure with two new songs and b-sides thrown in for good mix. One new song played during the acoustic interlude by Peter called A Fine Way to Lose was such an instant classic that I actually thought it was a cover of some older Hank Williams track. Robert took over for the final acoustic song and played fan favourite Mercy from the Howl Sessions - again another lament to a lost love.

Shuffle Your Feet followed with all three members back on stage. The acoustic blues and vocal harmony driven tune whipped the crowd back into a frenzy even though there wasn't a distortion pedal in sight. During Punk Song (Whatever Happened to My Rock ‘N Roll?) Robert with his bass and mic sang into a sea of sweating faces. The song is the perfect anthem in protest of the declining quality of rock music and all that comes with it. BRMC have certainly been at the forefront of bringing back some rock credibility to the world - that is they don’t sell out their songs for car adverts or get involved in Kate Moss tabloid fodder.

The encore delivered a triple whammy of Spread Your Love, Steal A Ride, and the amazing All You Do Is Talk. The band exited the stage after an hour and fifty minutes of rock and blues/folk yet the crowd still wanted it to continue. It all had to end sometime. Unfortunately, I have an hour drive home ahead of me.

Videos

Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll

Notable Links

Official Site
Myspace Page