In Photos: Whipping Boy + Cold Comfort @ The Academy, Dublin (17.09.11)

Playing their first hometown show in six years, a reenergised (and slightly reconfigured) Whipping Boy took to the stage of Dublin's Academy late on Saturday night to perform their breakout 1995 LP Heartworm in its entirety. A devout following greeted the band like heroes, and the heady mix of nostalgia and spectacle made this a night of stage dives, mass singalongs and fists in the air.

As you can see from Colm Kelly's photos below, exuberant frontman Fearghal McKee still has stage presence and showmanship to spare, and his arrival onstage riding an old push bike was soon trumped by some bizarre choices of headgear (mirrored crash helmet, anyone?!?). Perhaps most importantly, the band all seemed to be having a ball, and there was a star turn from the uber-talented Vyvienne Long on cello. Support on the night came from local blues rock outfit Cold Comfort. Click on any of the thumbnails below to view a slideshow of Colm's shots.