Venue: Dolans Pub/Limerick /Ireland
Concert date: 29.09.2011
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: €14.00
There probably aren’t many RockLine readers who haven’t had the name of Northern Irish quartet The Answer drummed into their ears at some point. Their success story opened its first chapter in 2006 with the debut “Rise”, an instant bullseye. We hard rock fans had been waiting years, if not decades, for a rock refresh with a whiff of the smoky seventies, when rock giants like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, … ruled the scene. Many, precisely because of the obvious sonic parallels, wrote off The Answer as an uninventive band and spoiled island boys whose godfathers had paid for their five minutes of fame. However you look at the band’s boom in 2006, the next chapter in 2009 took them all the way to top-shelf poetry. The fantastic “Everyday Demons”, backed up by the support slot on the entire “Black Ice” world tour of old tomcats AC/DC. After all the battles won over the past five years, it was time for Cormac, Paul, Micky and James to show everything they’d learned in the rock n’ roll business. They kicked off this round of live shows on (almost) home turf. What exactly counts as home and what as foreign in Ireland/Northern Ireland, everyone sees a bit differently, so let’s leave that to the social analysts. Far from the spectacular AC/DC machinery, they hit the road around the Irish island with a few suitcases and the new album “Revival” in their pocket. The first stop of “The Revival Tour” took place on 30.09.2011 at Dolans Pub (Limerick), in a cozy club, or rather bar, atmosphere, with no shortage of beer and scantily clad Irish girls. All the conditions for an “unspoiled” rock party were met.
The opening slot went to local wet-behind-the-ears hopefuls Dirty Diamonds, who have only just found their feet on the stage boards. They introduced themselves to the crowd on hand with original songs. The guys draw their sound from the predecessors who found success in the eighties. It’s great to see young people who, even 30 years after the hard rock boom, still believe in it so sincerely. Still, the little quintet will have to take some big strides in the future to reach the form of their idols.
All seven Irish shows of The Answer are supported by Swanee River (who more than hold their own in the drinking department, too). They’d definitely win over fans of Southern American rock. Even though the metalized version of the genre, it didn’t sound the least bit mangled in Swanee River’s hands. Their debut “Smoking Jacket”, released this spring, is a full-blooded recording of raw Southern rock, where the sound of Gibson guitars reigns. The steadiness of the live vocal performance by the first songbird Steven Horner has to be singled out here. The right throat in the right place. Despite the band’s lesser-known reputation, their music pushed its way in right away through every possible sensory entrance for taking in rock. The ambience of the “hall” at “Dolands Warehouse” helped shape a great overall sound for the band, which established a sparkling, direct connection with the crowd. I hope this isn’t the first and last meeting with Swanee River. This crew definitely has potential, so let’s see where the future takes them.
Three days before the official release of their third studio album Revival, “The Answer” opened their headline tour in Limerick. Like true patriots, they plowed the home yard first. For a band like The Answer, with no room for fooling around, where only the music speaks on stage, it’s typical that they step into the arena without pompous announcements or canned intro tapes. That night we all left the nostalgia at home. “Revival” material took up half the setlist. I have to admit I didn’t expect so much new stuff. Looking back over this year’s occasional local appearances, I found that the guys have been pushing the “Revival” collection hard for the past half year. Clearly Cormac and company firmly believe in the quality of the newcomers. With not a shred of guilt and full of confidence, they hammered out the newer creations in the opening stretch. If on the second album The Answer defined catchiness and melody, on the third they’ve honed dynamics and impulsiveness too. The master craftsmen managed to tame the initially too-loud potentiometers with Piece by Piece. Even though I didn’t know the “Revival” material before the show, it was soon clear we’re talking about a step forward. The vocal delivery sounds a bit lower and rougher. The teenage voice of earlier years is history. This is probably where the choice of older songs comes from. They picked quite inconspicuous but excellent tracks, with a lower, rougher vocal as the common denominator. They skipped the catchy hits of the second album, like Pride, On and On and Tonight, because of the new concept. Even though I wasn’t the only one who had pinned the most hope on exactly those, there’s no reason to sulk or hold a grudge against the band. The Answer sound so assured and self-confident these days that they convince even the biggest skeptics. The AC/DC tour gave them a once-in-a-lifetime experience, from which they carried over a wider range of stage expression. For the green kids they were back then, it was no walk in the park to entertain 50,000 (and more) AC/DC-hungry heads. It seems they grew up express-style through that experience, both musically and personally. Gone is the insecurity of young, inexperienced rockers coming through the front door into the world of big stars. That’s the impression I was left with after the Sweden Rock Festival in 2007. At the same time, they’re shedding the sonic resemblance to the big names of the seventies. They’re looking for their own path, and I’m convinced they’ve largely defined it already. The rhythm machine subordinates everything to the guitar dynamics. Because of that, Mickey and James don’t come across as second-rate members for a moment. They hold down the backing vocal lines, of which there are, by the sound of it, even more on the new album than before. Meanwhile, six-string warrior Paul coaxes clean, inventive, powerful yet still classic guitar riffs out of his Gibson. The dynamics of riffs and melodic passages don’t let up for a second. The leap in ideas and execution of the new era of The Answer is most obvious right here. Eye-catching changes are also visible in Cormac, who as the frontman is the most exposed figure. The visual image no longer plays an important role for him. As he says himself, he doesn’t need fame, money or the attention of girls. He’s happiest when he can play what he loves most.
In the second half of the show, up to the end of the regular set, came Never Too Late, Evilman, Too Far Gone, Why’d You Change Your Mind and Under The Sky, songs the crowd had been eagerly waiting for. The audience closed ranks. Some drunk Irishmen went wild, which motivated Cormac too, who gave himself over to wild dancing down on the floor. The encore was opened by Memphis Water. It’s a long, slow bluesy excursion that doesn’t have much of the typical The Answer about it. For the finale the guys saved up One More Revival, which they played live for the very first time.
I’m convinced that the audiences at the next dates of The Revival tour will get even more authentic hard rock pleasures. Not knowing the new studio material definitely affected how well I took in the show. Still, The Answer deserve every bit of praise. I wouldn’t be surprised if “Revival” soon becomes universally recognized as the best The Answer album released by the band to date. I think we’ve finally got a quality and credible new generation in the era of rock n’ roll, which has always been somehow reserved for its pioneers. Watch out, rock “grandpas”! The Answer are taking over your baton when your minutes on Earth run out.
photos: Alen Horvat
Setlist
1. Caught On The Riverbed 2. Sometimes Your Love 3. Piece By Piece 4. Vida (I want you) 5. Tornado 6. Never Too Late 7. Evilman 9. Guitar solo 9. Too Far Gone 10. Comfort Zone 11. Use Me 12. Trouble 13. Preachin’ 14. Why’d You Change Your Mind 15. Under The Sky 16. Waste Your Tears —encore— 17. Memphis Water 18. One More Revival
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