The Emerald Armada, Sons of Caliber, Hope and Fair Fellow - The Black Box, Belfast
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The Emerald Armada, Sons of Caliber, Hope and Fair Fellow
The Black Box, Belfast
Thursday 14th June, 2012
With a double whammy of potential crowd reducers in play, with both torrential rain and a Republic of Ireland match on, you would be forgiven for thinking that there will be a reduced crowd for this evening鈥檚 festivities. However, the enthusiasm for is so great that is completely packed for the duration of the evening鈥檚 festivities.
Formed from the ashes of Maguire & I, the first band to take to the stage is husband and wife combo Hope & Fair Fellow. Playing keyboards and guitar, the duo put in a set of rather nice, earthy folk, with some brilliant harmonies throughout.
The charming 鈥楪rab Your Coat鈥 is perhaps the highlight of the set. Their performance is somewhat marred by the crowd, whose idle chatter throughout has the tendency to drown the vocals out.听
Up next are the five piece听, with Andrew Farmer and company playing a storming set of pastoral folk.
They don鈥檛 suffer from the problems of the previous band, with the crowd appreciative of them throughout. The highlight of the set is the closing song 鈥榊ellow Rose鈥, which utilizes the group鈥檚 sumptuous four part harmonies effortlessly.
There is a great rush from the crowd to the front of the stage as The Emerald Armada get ready to play. For a band playing in a genre that is hardly rock & roll (their rhythm guitarist is wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan 鈥淚 Love Tea鈥), the rapturous, raucous response from the crowd throughout would seem to suggest otherwise.
The upbeat energy of songs such as 鈥業 Don鈥檛 Mind鈥 and 鈥楽trangers鈥 is thrilling, with the crowd singing along to every word, and in some cases even pre-empting singer Neil Allen. The more laidback songs go down well with the crowd as well. The mellow 鈥楥ountry鈥 is a delightful track, and one that exposes one of the band鈥檚 great strengths 鈥 their lead guitarist Tony McHugh. McHugh is easily one of most emotive guitar players currently playing in Belfast, and the elation from the crowd at his soaring solo during the song is well deserved, even if he does remain humble about his talent.
The band conclude off the gig with the final track from their new E.P, 鈥楨veryone鈥, with the crowd lifting singer Neil Allen off the stage, and carrying him above their heads as if he were king and they his loyal subjects. After such a roaringly successful set, it is easy to see exactly why. As The Emerald Armada leave the stage to a thunderous response, it is clear that this evening surely marks the beginning of an epic rise for the band. Having sold out The Black Box twice in a row now, it can only be a matter of time before they are selling out Belfast鈥檚 biggest venues.
Christopher McBride
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