“I wanna
run from the apathy from the questioning tounges and eyes
that just
won't come off”.
The likable Irish quartet Bell X1
fronted by Paul Noonan with their own brand of laid back,
low key, bitter sweet
rock have been impressing many recently, none more so than
tonight’s main act who allowed them to use their grand
piano. Slow mind massaging piano fuelled tunes like ‘Eve,
The Apple Of My Eye’ and the tender and poignant ‘I’ll
See Your Heart & I’ll Raise You Mine’ got
hearts thumping faster than Mike Tyson in a road rage incident. ‘Snakes & Snakes’ was
the tune in which Bell X1 demonstrated that they have an
extra dimension and was heavier and rawer than the album
version, being a hybrid of The Charlatans and Guided By Voices.
The grand piano was adorned with
candles and inline with the church like ambience it created;
Matt & Ben Hales
that are the mainstay of Aqualung both shuffled onto stage
with the presence and dignity of a vicar. When the band kicked
off with a couple of bouncier new tracks that at most gigs
would have seen more bouncing than at the world sumo wrestling
championships, but not tonight the audience remained still
and captivated. They were probably concentrating all their
efforts on fighting back the tears, as Matt’s heavenly
voice and soothing piano melody combined for one of the most
tear-jerking songs ever made; ‘Falling Out Of Love’ from
the self titled album. This emotive offering resonated around
the venue and brought about worried looks on the faces of
event organisers for holding the gig on the 3rd floor of
a building, good job the window were locked!. There was no
respite, as it was followed by an equally sorrowful offering
from the new album; ’Still Life’ entitled ‘Just
Another Hole’ about the fallibility of the heart and
could easily be the new anthem for the broken hearted.
The ever popular ‘Strange & Beautiful’ towards
the middle restored some happiness to the venue. Matt was
in a jovial mood all night bantering with the band and as
he introduced his brother to the crowd late on he indulged
his brother is a neat, impromptu and sparkling piano and
guitar jam similar to the noise Morcambe and Wise used to
make. An encore inclusive of the old favourite ‘If
I fall’ made for a spine tingling end to a refreshing
evening.
www.aqualung.net
David Adair
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