Caught Live: Fionn Regan

There are a few things you never expect to happen to you in your life. Winning the lottery, that’s a pretty common one. Being struck by lightning, yep, that’d be pretty high up on the list too. One that may not be so popular but just as unexpected on such a list would be waking up the morning after a Fionn Regan gig with a serious bout of tinnitus. Yet that’s the exact sensation the morning after the night before and it’s one which is surprises, rather than provides the satisfaction usually associated with this mild pleasure-pain.

Turning things up to 11, yes 11, Fionn and his band kick the evening into action with forthcoming album Shadow Of An Empire opener ‘Coat Hook’. A western influenced track, it brings about a new sound from the Bray boy as well as huge smile to this writer’s face. Gone are the solo acoustic heartbreakers. In their place are a pretty rocking little outfit belting out head-nodding song after foot-tapping song. The Paul Dano lookalike drummer battles away behind his kit to keep things nice and loud as he tries his hardest to join the Movember movement, and the rest of the band equally keep the momentum going.

Though in the midst of all this energy, a few members of the audience are visibly frustrated. With the start of the evening so heavily leant towards the new album, old school fans are baying for at least one of his solo treats. But seeing as Regan has been playing songs from Mercury Prize nominated debut The End Of History for the past 4 years, you can’t blame him for wanting to indulge in some newly trodden territory. And they indulge rather well.

While ‘Genocide Matinee’ and the exceptionally catchy ‘Protection Racket’ push the scales even further in the balance of the forthcoming album, Regan doesn’t leave the crowd waiting too long for something they know and love. A mid-set solo spot for ‘The Underwood Typewriter’ is perfectly placed to give us all a moment to take a breath and provide the frustrated-few with that bone they were waiting for. Played to a room so quiet the sound of a drop out of anyone’s pint would have brought about a collective ‘sshhh’, this is what the packed crowd had really paid to see.

The evening is brought to a rather touching close with another old favourite ‘Be Good Or Be Gone’. The girls in the front row all crook their heads to one side and furrow their brows as the sound of their collective hearts bursting with joy sounds out around the room. It’s only a matter of time before such a reaction will be given to the wealth of new material that was on display this evening, it’s just a shame that at times the crowd seemed disinterested. Though once they get theat new album in their hands early next year, Fionn Regan and his rocking new band will be as loved and adored as Fionn Regan the solo artist.