Thursday, April 10, 2008

Sheelanagig @ The Yardbird, Tuesday 8th April 2008


Two gigs in one night? Oh the stamina of the man. After the heart melting beauty of DeVotchKa (see below dear reader), which finished early (10pm...no support band) there I was stumbling back to get the bus when I saw a band setting up on stage through the windows of The Yardbird. A quick read of the calendar on the windows revealed that tonight's gig was 'free'. That's my favourite word. I'll say it again. F-R-E-E. Oh what a word. Anyway, in I went, got a table right at the front and settled back with a cheeky vodka...sorry...wodka...and coke.

The band were Sheelanagig. The name rang a bell from Glastonbury's past, but I'd never seen them before. They are, in a word (a word I use all too lightly sometimes...but not in this case), awesome. Especially if you love The Destroyers and their ilk. In fact they were a perfect follow up to DeVotchKa. Blending jazz, folk, Arabic music, celtic stuff, ska...a mind numbing range of influences in fact, they are a seriously talented bunch of musicians (many of whom seem to play in about 1000 other bands) who kept me pretty much spellbound and grinning like a loon for an hour and a half. I ended up spending a huge sum of money on everything they'd ever recorded (well, £25 anyway) and it was worth every penny. If only life were like Sheelanagig we'd all be a lot happier (drunk maybe, and a bit sweaty, but happier).

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