GiggingNI.com
Kagura
With Deadlights; Kitty and the Canopeners;
On display tonight in the attic of Auntie Annies were three bands I've never seen perform live before, actually only one I've heard before which were the openers - Kitty and the Can Openers. You'd be forgiven if you laughed at the name as, not only does it make us wonder how it came about, they are probably the only band in the world that have 'Can Openers' included in their name. But that's what they are all about - making you laugh, making you smile, making you feel good inside and making you want to tap your feet to their feel-good music. Kitty and the Can Openers were fantastic, with their frontwoman Ciara O'Neill often leaving the audience in awe of her voice especially during "She Reads Magazines", and it's obvious that they are not like any other bands in the country. The folk/traditional feel of their music makes you want to sing along, clap your hands and tap your feet and, after they are done with the set, leaves you feeling great inside.
Somewhat similar to a volcano erupting, Deadlights burst onto the stage and straight into their set. The four-piece from Lisburn, who have just released their four-track 'Smoke Damage' EP, made their intentions clear from the start. Pure hard rock, with slices of indie melodies, straight after a mellow but very good set by Kitty and the Can Openers, woke the crowd back up and kicked the night off. 'Peace of Mind' and 'When a Spark Fades' were the ones that stood out for me. Vocally, I thought it was spot on, with both Mark Bodles and Mark Heffer taking turns vocally throughout their set, and their performance was great. Deadlights are not your average rock band - they're gripping, in-your-face and ready to put on a show to wow everyone in the room. They certainly impressed me so don't forget to check them out here!
Despite having two fantastic acts on stage previous, the night was not yet over. The band that most came to see, the Belfast indie-rockers, Kagura were the final band of the night. With a eventful past couple of years behind them, which features them on Channel Four on a number of occasions as well as being joint winner's of the Jack Daniel's JD Set Unsigned Competition 2009, I feel ashamed to say that I've never heard of them before this. But when they kicked off things at Auntie Annies, everyone knew they were a big deal. Vocalists Fiona O'Kane, who was also playing the electric acoustic guitar, and Dave Jackson, an extrovert, confident guy with a fantastic voice, compliment each other so well vocally and the music flows gracefully with the lyrics. As well as playing older favourites such as 'Kills the Enemy' and 'The Wedding Song', which was successfully played when the crowd demanded an encore with the classic 'ONE MORE TUNEE!', Kagura played a lot of their newer material which involved a lot of brilliant stops and starts and melodies that even one of their influences Biffy Clyro would be proud of. Clapping and cheering after every song, it was evident that Kagura had pleased the crowd enough to warrant an encore and if you haven't yet got a copy of their latest 'The Last Awake' EP, you better go and get it now!
