We'll meet again Between The Bars

It feels like only days ago I found myself sitting in St Patrick's Gateway awaiting the debut of Between The Bars but a whole month has passed. Time as always seems to crawl by so slowly and then pass all at once. The very first Between The Bars gig featured Corner Boy and Ronan O Snodaigh and it created a great buzz in the South East. For the second event Elm, The Casanova Wave and In the Willows were all set to perform. It seems the people of Waterford knew they were in for a rare treat because crowds poured in as soon as the doors of St Patrick's opened.

As always we began our night with a meal in Momo. They were offering a pre-concert deal of a two course meal with a wine or beer for €21.50 and I was glad we had booked our table because it appeared as though plenty were taking full advantage of this great offer with every seat filled as we sat down to eat. I really did mean to get something completely different but I had been dreaming about their falafels since my last meal there, I had never known they could taste so light and fluffy so I felt obliged to have them followed by the fish tempura which stands on record as the only fish dish I actually look forward to eating (rather than chewing painfully while muttering think of the protein). We had brought  friends along on the night and everyone left empty plates and feeling happily full. Its great to have a found a restaurant that has yet to disappoint me.

In the weeks leading up to this evening, a lot has been going on behind the scenes. Labryinth's Stephen Butler, the man behind it all, has been running around fine tuning all of the details so that for those venturing out on this blustery November night, a scene is set. As always Magdalena Karol blew us away with her set design. The Crow backdrop remains but has been built upon since the previous show and light and shadows play together to transport the audience to somewhere else, creating an otherwordly experience. 

The first band to take the stage were a Dublin based act called Elm. Self described as Alternative Baroque Pop, they are on the cusp of something great and they were the perfect act to begin Between the Bars. They filled the stage with a fantastic energy and there was a soulful quality to the lead singers voice that had one audience member commenting that it reminded them of Damien Rice. I was not the only one blown away by their performance, they set the scene perfectly for the night ahead.

They were followed by The Casanova Wave who actually just the one guy called Brian McCartan who just so happens to be extremely talented at playing many instruments. While his music is technically described as electronic, I really enjoyed it but perhaps that's because there was a lot more depth to his music. There was something quite emotive in his blend of music, and I found myself getting the urge to jot down some thoughts while also immersing myself in his performance. Between the atmospheric set and his music I got a bit lost but in a really good way and I found myself hoping he would continue playing even as the final bars of his last piece were still echoing in my ears.

The final act of the night was In The Willows who are an alternative folk band from Waterford but also one of my favourite bands to see live. I would say they were the act I was looking forward to most but I will readily admit that was because I have seen them several times before and have never been less than blown away by their performance. They had just finished recording music for their new E.P. but it wont be released until March. As always they played a storm, mixing new songs and old. I have always felt Tara and Dave's voices blend beautifully together and their performance of their song 'Time of Year' actually sent shivers down my spine. As much as it irks me having to wait to hear their new material again, I thoroughly enjoyed watching them perform it on the night and I felt they were the perfect close to the evening.

As the crowds trickled out in to the street I stayed behind and watched the stage being dismantled and St Patrick's go from being this magical place to a church again.