Oppenheimer,
Trip Fontaine, The Jane Bradfords, Our Krypton Son.
By: Ros Blair
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And so the revellers descend on Sandinos in Derry for Friday
night’s live music extravaganza, courtesy of Stephen
McCauley and the Electric Mainline team. What a party…
This one is legendary.
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 It
all begins inauspiciously enough. First to take to the stage
is Our Krypton Son, aka, Christopher McConaghy, who proceeds
to deliver a mesmerising set, rich in all the subtlety and
beauty that only a genuine gift for song writing can provide.
Both ‘Catalonian Love Song’ and ‘Sunlight
In the Ashes’ take a rather unsuspecting audience
by surprise, the former with its exquisitely constructed
piano motif, both meditative and wistful, and the latter
with its trumpet arrangement and vocal; the svelte tones
of Mr McConaghy’s voice soaring across the room, winning
over new fans by the second. Check out Our Krypton Son now,
you won’t be disappointed.
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 Next,
The Jane Bradfords, and a little bit of sloganeering: ‘What
Would Britney Do?’ inquires Deci’s T-shirt.
Although not many could have predicted Britney’s recent
head-shaving antics, one thing she is sure never to do is
be in a band this good. Britney can’t claim a number
1 in the QBS alternative charts in the Qatar, y’know.
The Jane Bradfords’ music has all the sincerity of
New Order or The Cure, whilst still exploiting a genuinely
infectious sense of unadulterated, indie-disco-going, Chuck-Taylor-wearing,
snogging-in-the-corner, fun. These guys are performers,
their onstage chemistry having reached that perfect balance
of trust and spontaneity. They pull out all the stops for
the anthemic ‘Fight Them All’ and it’s
not long before they have the girls in the audience up and
dancing. Naturally.
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 Trip
Fontaine seriously rock. They are taking up a mantle of
the Irish blues-rooted rock n’ roll of Them and are
thus following in the footsteps of an illustrious lineage
that thrives well on our little Isle. Besides Kevin Nash’s
impressive voice, Trip Fontaine’s secret weapon is
undoubtedly Rory McCarron’s (ex schtum) drumming.
‘Air Raid’ thunders forth like a rocket, leaving
the floor of Sandinos littered with freshly dropped jaws.
With their finely tuned melodic sensibilities and the sheer
physical force of their playing, these guys prove their
status as sonic heavyweights – catch them live as
soon as you can, you’re in for a treat.
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 Oppenheimer
are surely the highlight of tonight’s show. Having
cultivated an international reputation as Ireland’s
most exciting and innovative pop band in years, this triumphant
performance sees Rocky and Shaun doing what they do best,
in front of an enthusiastic and frankly turbo-charged audience.
The great Stephen McCauley is brought up onstage for a fabulous
rendition of ‘Saturday Looks Bad To Me’, and
when the band return for an encore of ‘Breakfast in
NYC’, carnage ensues, pogoing leading to a hundred
strong throng of sweaty, jubilant fans singing along to
every word. Wish you were there? Don’t worry, we
filmed the whole bloomin’ thing, and we’ll
soon be bringing it to you, right here, on Electric Mainline.
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Cream rises to the top – what a night.
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Watch
Oppenheimer do their thang...»
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