Been a while eh?
A return to gigging. For us and for Jape, who’s been holed up in Malmo making tunes for children’s TV shows for a few years now. (Some of which are bangers! Tour ’em someday, Richie).
Last time I caught Jape, at the first All Together Now (three years ago?!), we got a largely experimental set of mostly instrumental songs, some of which evolved into the body of 2019 release Senintel. That figured – in an interview beforehand he’d told me: “The human voice is so expressive, but once you say something, you’re tied to the meaning of what you say. As I get older, standing behind something that I say has become harder.”
Safe to say that things have changed a little over the past couple of years. Many voices have found new inspiration as the world halted. Richie Egan is one of Ireland’s best songwriters and to hear new works in tonight’s set come as a real treat.
It’s a stripped-back Jape in the marquee on the Claddagh tonight – Richie’s flanked only by Redneck Manifesto comrade Matthew Bolger. It’s stripped-back in front of them too – in what hopefully will be a strange but short-lived artefact of these times, we’re arranged in our pods on picnic tables safely spaced metres apart. The pair aren’t phased by the oddness though. “We know some of you haven’t seen each other for 18 months,” Richie says – “It’s alright if you chat away while we play!”
Opening with “Scorpio” from the 2011 Mercury-prize winning Ocean of Frequency is a lovely bit of fan service, but afterwards Richie signals what they’re here for – he has new stuff and it needs to be roadtested.
First up is the relatable but slightly too on-the-nose “Delete The Timeline”, and “Lashing Through The Minutes” touches on the ever-increasing speed of life. We get tight, well-crafted arrangements that suit the pair onstage, but it intrigues to think what more justice a full band or studio can do for these songs. “Heal These Wounds” in particular features lovely arpeggi that could be let off tonight’s taut leash.
We get some fresh arrangements of old gems too – particularly interesting was a more guitar-driven and airier “Metamorphosis”, and the playful melodies of “Graveyard” shine in this setting.
“We didn’t think we’d ever get to play Galway again,” Richie declares at one stage, and that acknowledgement of the surreality of the situation does hang over the occasion. It feels so close to normal, but we’re not there yet.
It’s appropriate then that this set full of temporary arrangements by a temporary lineup in a temporary venue full of temporary distance closes with a song that pays tribute to the ideals of conjuring magic out of embracing the ephemerality of nights like these – “Floating”.
We may not have been able to dance all night, but at least the music wasn’t shit.
Anocht 