Words: Ruby Corrigan
On the 27th April, Red Eye Pariah took the stage of the iconic Ulster Sports Club for the opening night of their ‘Doin The Rounds’ tour, and it was absolutely explosive!
Opening for Red Eye Pariah was the band Smallmint, another fantastic talent from Belfast who have a lot to offer the British and Irish music industry. Frontman Andrew Cameron-Braithwaite honestly blew me away, as his upbeat energy just radiated through the audience, hyping us all up for an electric night of music. Smallmint has an extremely unique sound that toes the line between modern indie-rock and vintage americana, a genre crossover that is really interesting to hear live. One track that really got the crowd going was ‘Synonym’, a song from the band’s debut album, and it really is a banger. Smallmint’s mix of reflective lyricism, rasping vocals and upbeat, garage style instruments clearly went down a treat, as I don’t think I saw a single audience member who wasn’t dancing around in one way or another.
It wasn’t long after Smallmint departed the stage that Red Eye Pariah filled the venue with their infectious aura. What I love about the Ulster Sports Club is how intimate gigs can be, and this one really was, as straight away did the band beckon the audience to come closer and really feel the music with them. They opened strongly with ‘These Daze Have Just Begun’ leading into ‘Kamikaze Kid’, two high energy hits that got the crowd dancing all together – immediately it was clear that this was going to be a really beautiful night full of friendship, laughter and good music. This idea was solidified when I saw the band mates interact with one another. Even though they were playing in such an iconic venue, there was no feeling of nervousness from any member, as they spent the majority of the gig joking around with each other, as well as engaging with the crowd, coming down onto the floor space and showing off their musical talents. What makes Red Eye Pariah such an exciting band to see live is that each member shows off their personality incredibly. While Frontman Deano Kelly was hilarious all night long, bassist Alex Close and lead guitarist Sammy Stevenson were also very vocal, making fun quips throughout the night that really made it feel like we weren’t just audience members, but a load of mates bonding over great music.
This couldn’t be a gig review without talking about the band’s music, and honestly, they were on top form all night long! Red Eye Pariah seem to have an incredible power to have loads of fun on stage without ruining the integrity of their musical performance – something that many bigger artists struggle to balance. A highlight of the night for me was when they played ‘The Rounds’, an upbeat punkish tune that really showcased all of their musical talents fantastically. The combination of Kelly’s unique, folk-like vocals, Stevenson’s mega guitar skills along with the efforts of bassist Alex Close and drummer Joe Dawson to create an iconic, almost ska inspired rhythm, made the live listening experience of the track absolutely phenomenal. For me it felt like I wasn’t just listening to the song, but feeling it, and it was clear that this was the general consensus, as everyone around me seemed absolutely mesmerised throughout the entire track.
Red Eye Pariah are set to travel round the rest of the UK through the entirety of May. Without a shadow of a doubt, this tour has the potential to be absolutely transformative for them as, while they’re big now especially in the NI scene, they are going to get SO much bigger. So take my advice, catch one of their gigs early before they start selling out, see the link below for tickets!
https://subscribepage.io/gEIa0N
photo credits: Chea McArdle (@chea_mcardle)
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