"This is our first gig for two months," murmurs REST's bearded guitarist Gram. "We might not be so good."
He's being typically modest, of course, not least because the wholly instrumental Cork quartet have just finished riding the ebbs and swells of debut album highlight "Is Our Blood Not Enough?." As set openers go, it's quite a thrill, ranging from a slow and moody E-bow fest through to full-on fist of fury Fugazi and is performed with the vein-bulging intensity of the truly committed. If this is the sound of an under-rehearsed Rest, I'd hate to get caught in the crossfire when they consider themselves to be at their fighting best.
Whatever, this opening salvo well and truly lights the blue touch paper for a magnificent pre-Xmas beano brought to us by arguably Ireland's finest pair of entirely instrumental post-rock bands operating right now. W&H were already slavering over Rest's debut album "Burning In Water, Drowning In Flame" on its' release six months back and clearly regular shows since have tightened and toughened their angular craft alarmingly. Tonight they are a powerhouse and then some.
What's more is they make it look so Goddamn easy. Bassist Mark, especially, simply sways quietly while he casually knocks out thunderous, depth charge rhythms and guitarist Steve hugs the wall, quietly ushering sheets of melodic six-string scree out into the open. Gram, meanwhile, throws himself into the sonic tornado and drummer Johnny is totally captivating. Tonight he's a blur of controlled power, flailing limbs and sticks and the lightning conductor that gets right behind tracks like "Contraceptives. " Indeed, even when they launch into one of their more considered tunes like "Our Friends Know Nothing About Density", with its' subtle loops and colourings, the fervour and conviction is palpable. More of this and 2005 will surely be the year Rest are established on a far larger scale.
Reputation, meanwhile, favourably precedes Dublin's THE REDNECK MANIFESTO. Having catapulted two notable albums (2001's debut "Thirty-Six Strings" and the immortally-titled "Cut Your Heart Off From Your Head") into the marketplace, they take the stage to an impressively rammed Cyprus Avenue and proceed to space-rock us into submission.
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Unlike Rest, W&H are largely unfamiliar with the majority of The Rednecks' material, though it doesn't prove a major hurdle to enjoying a set that veers from the intricate to the energetic to the downright psychotic throughout a generous hour or so onstage. The last time we saw lovable loon bassist Richie Egan he was nailing down basslines for singer/ songwriter David Kitt, but he's entirely in his element tonight and very much the focal point, leaping about like a Mexican jumping bean in a grey hoodie, pulling ridiculous faces and clearly loving every nanosecond.
Richie's crucial to the plot, but the melodic twists are dictated by the band's twin guitar attack. The lead guitarist looks like a hairy cross between The Soundtrack of Our Lives' Ebbot Lundberg and Canned Heat's Bob Hite and the other quieter guitarist again hugs the wall and chops and changes his vintage Telecasters. They make a heavenly racket, though, keeping the melodies supple and fluid. There's an occasional tendency to Can-esque noodling (not for nothing does their keyboard player sport a "Future Days" T-shirt), but Richie and their efficient drummer mostly keep them in check and the one Shellac-style thrasher they indulge in proves they can do hard and heavy when they so choose as well.
With a new album in the wings and the experience of a much-vaunted South By South-West Festival behind them, The Redneck Manifesto look like being read and assimilated by a new breed of converts before long. If you catch this in time, they're back doing a Cork double-header with Rest again on December 15th, this time at the smaller An Brog venue. If that one hits these heights, then it'll truly be the sound of all your Christmases coming at once. Time to celebrate, methinks.
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