Steven O'Rourke posted on April 28, 2008 05:24
Electric Eel Shock (live in Fibber Magees, Dublin)
Review Snapshot: Electric Eel Shock provided one of those nights where you arrive with very little expectation and leave with sweat on your brow and a smile on your face.
The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10
Full Review:
It's not very often I have to be convinced to go to a gig but tonight was one such occasion. Having spent the day toiling in the never-ending mountain of work that is my garden, the last thing I wanted to do was spend an evening in the company of, well, anyone. However, as is her way, my wife convinced me otherwise and Electric Eel Shock went on to provide one of the most high-energy shows I've seen in quite a while, proving once again that my prettier half is always right.
Opening the night was Acoustic Eel Shock, essentially Electric Eel Shock's drummer Tomoharu 'Gian' Ito on an acoustic guitar. It only lasted a handful of songs and he sang in Japanese but it sounded good and Ito's guitar playing skills were impressive.
Next on the bill were Nations of Fire, a band whose moniker could well be their undoing as I heard the phrase 'Nations of Sh*te' on more than one occasion during their set. That might be too harsh a review but they weren't exactly an easy band to like unless you're fifteen and think that nobody understands you. Perhaps Nations of Fire would work as an instrumental band as they seem to have some decent material but it was as poor a vocal performance as I've heard in a long time.
The penultimate act of the evening was Nova Static. It seemed a strange choice of gig for the band though, as their brand of melodic rock (think Weezer or Muse) was at odds with what preceded and, indeed, what was to follow. This was my second time seeing the band in a little over a week and while I was impressed the first time, they were even better this time around. They are, dare I say it, a very radio-friendly band, with 'Tape it off the Radio' and 'Meet me in the Underground' especially impressing. Having secured two high-profile support slots in a fortnight - two weeks ago they were the opening act for the Portlaoise leg of the 2fm 2moro 2our - it would be interesting to see Nova Static play a longer 'headline' set.
And so we come to Electric Eel Shock. Sometimes you can't explain why you like a performance. If I were to review this logically the music wasn't particularly inspiring and the lyrics were, ahem, interesting (with songs called 'Bastard' and 'I Love Fish but Fish Hate Me' what did I expect?). But this gig was about the energy of the performance and the ability of the band to whip the crowd (consisting of an odd mix of young Japanese women and balding-but-still-having-long-hair middle aged men) into a frenzy, and all this despite playing a Black Sabbath cover! As lead singer Aki Morimoto told us many times, Electric Eel Shock 'love heavy metal!'. Before this gig I didn't particularly care for it, afterwards, well, I was more impressed than I ever thought I could be.
Steven O'Rourke
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