A week before Christmas I went to see a free (well, almost free, I’ll explain later) gig by a local Cork act called Well Red at the Tikki Lounge. Now just to put this in it’s proper perspective, me deciding to go see an acoustic gig by a group like Well Red would be similar to Betty the Sheep waking up one morning and deciding that what she really needed was a good night out dancing her butt off to drum and bass... let’s just say, the chances of that happening are slim to say the least... I suppose I was in a somewhat funny mood that day.

Like a lot of plans, this one didn’t quite go to schedule and the gig was half over by the time I arrived and the band were actually on a break. Nevertheless, I made myself comfortable and awaited their return. Well Red is a three person act consisting of the inimitable AJ and Tom on guitar and the lovely Lyn on violin. According to the bios on their website (a link to which is displayed at the end of this post), AJ has been playing guitar for the last 348 years and has a passion for bacon and cabbage whereas Tom spends most of his time listening to the Beatles and laughing at AJ’s jokes and finally Lyn, who must undoubtedly be one of the cutest violin players in the country (it’s comments like this that usually get me into trouble :-), apparently has a habit of joining bands at Karate classes when she’s not busy eating waffles and listening to Jamiraquoi.

Anyway, the band eventually finished their break and returned to the playing area at the back of the Tikki Lounge. As I had never seen them play before, I didn’t quite know what to expect. Also, given that I’m not really that much of an acoustic music fan, I was a little unsure as to whether I would enjoy their music. However, the five or six songs that they played were very good and well performed. That said, the undoubted highlight of the night for me was “Woman on a Bus”, which is an incredibly good song that was brilliantly sung on the night. This song is actually available as a free download on their website, so if I were you, I’d check it out. I’m a little surprised it’s available for free as I would seriously consider buying it if it were released as a single.

The Tikki Lounge was an excellent and intimate venue for a small acoustic group like Well Red and there was a very nice atmosphere on the night, although given the banter being exchanged between AJ and the audience, I’m pretty sure he knew most of them but it’s always nice when your friends come out to give you a little support and it did provide some light comic relief between each song. Oh yeah, while the gig was free, a tip bowl was passed around into which you could throw a few Euros just to show your appreciation, something I was more than happy to do. All in all, a nice gig from a good act, who are worth checking out if you get the chance.

Well Red "Woman on a Bus"

Labels: Acoustic, Bands

# Forged from the fiery depths by Pure Cork Boy.