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| $hame Academy
Runnin Riot Dynasty Empire Belfast Thursday March 2nd 2006 Its a freezing cold night here in the metropolis. Belfast has endured the second ice age over the last week as the temperature plummeted and the snow fell, will anyone turn up for the show? I wondered, yeah! there was a good turn out. Tonight is the long awaited live return of $hame Academy officially launching their debut platter 'Punk Rock For Dummies' a good 11 months since their last gig on 5/4/05 in Antrim. Sorry there's no pics but my camera fucked up at the last minute so setlists are all I can offer. Tonight also sees the return to live performance for the first time in over 20 years of ex-Outcast Martin Cowan and his new project/duo Dynasty which also features his daughter Kara. I'll refrain from actually calling them a band for now as tonight its the two of them backed by $A for a four song set and I don't know what their plans are for the future? The name is bad and not in a good way, all it makes me think about is wooden acting and shoulder pads not punk rock debauchery from the self styled hard man of 70's NI punk rock. They were like fish out of water, theres no way they should have been on a punk rock bill regardless of Martin Cowans credentials, and he was playing an accoustic guitar which is never a good move at a punk gig. When I first heard the duo were playing a few weeks back I was expecting to see and hear a sort of Avril Lavigne type and her middle aged punk rock daddy, this was not the case. The girls image was 80's ra ra skirt and the original songs such as 'Obsession' and 'I'll Never Cry Over You' (jeez!!!) were tired rehashed versions of other songs I heard years ago by the likes of Rod Stewart. The whole performance smacked of nepotism, if brother Greg wasn't in the headline band I'm sure they wouldn't be here onstage. Youngsy looked embarrassed to be there and his heart definitely wasn't in it. When was the last time you heard an Ashley Simpson cover at a punk rock show? Yeah thats right your eyes are not decieving you Dynasty played a straight pop cover. The girl did her best and was cheered on by obviously invited family, friends and grandparents. I don't want to rain on anyones parade so good luck to her with her showbiz career. She was a good enough singer but they were hopelessly out of place and it wasn't the best showcase for their style of music. Relief came with Runnin Riot the most popular of the younger generation punk bands in NI at present who were a good noisey alternative to Dynasty. They brought their own mohawked supporters who were pretty restrained throughout their set probably due to the evil eye attention the Empires over zealous bouncers were giving them all night. The security just looked like they were itching to start handing out slaps from begining to end. And Runnin Riot have some stunning female fans! Sadly after a short while one song just blurred into the next, and they all started to sound like the same tune over and over again to me and my buddy Facer. 'Alcoholic Heroes' dedicated to George Best was one memorable title. Oi! Oi! Oi! is not my thing and never was, but the teeny punks clearly love them so who am I to argue, its just a matter of taste. $hame Academy put in a solid performance as usual, the classic NI punk tunes always hit the spot. The Stooges cover of 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' and Rudi's 'Big Time' were the highlights for me. No new tunes in the set tonight, but we all know they have a wealth of classic material to draw on for future gigs. The Voodoo Lounge in Dublin may be the next date in the $A gig schedule, so check them out if it happens. Joe Donnelly Belfast 3/3/06 |
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