It’s a real pleasure to drive out of Dublin city on a cold Monday night and end up in the warm glow of some excellent live music, courtesy of the superb Remedy Club and the friendly folks of Ballymore Eustace. The long running Monday night gigs were under some doubt when regular promoter Roy Thompson decided that it was time to step aside and pass the baton on to some other brave soul in the hopes that the spirit would endure and that the community would be given the opportunity to continue in their support of live music.
Happily, Aidan Ingoldsby stepped into the breach and has declared himself fit and able to continue the great tradition that Roy established over 8 years of promotion at the intimate venue. Not one to rest on his laurels, Roy is also a talented guitarist and songwriter, both of which he displayed in opening the new series of Ballymore Acoustic Gigs (BAG) shows tonight. Due to my late departure and an encounter with a deer on the road, I only got to see the latter part of Roy’s set but he plays with an impressive finger picking style and sings his own compositions with an easy confidence, including a heartfelt tribute to Larry Roddy, his predecessor, who started the gigs in the village almost 30 years previously. The song, In Your Name (Larry's Song), is naturally a local favourite and Roy delivers it with appropriate reverence and plenty of class in passing proceedings onto Aidan…
And so, to the main event and the return of The Remedy Club who have recently been out and about gigging again after a Summer break. The partnership (and marriage) of Aileen Mythen and KJ McEvoy is one made in heaven and their wonderful chemistry not only extends to their live performance and harmony vocals but also to their superbly crafted songs.
They visited Nashville earlier in the year to record tracks for their 2nd album, which will hopefully be with us into the early months of next year. Aileen thanks all the supporters who helped pre-fund the project which enabled them to travel and hire the musicians and producer that they wanted. The legendary Ray Kennedy is that producer and the excitement around the new material is given some release tonight with the airing of some new songs. The main set is focused on their debut release from 2017, Lovers, Legends & Lost Causes. They perform a number of their much admired tracks like When Tom Waits Up, Big Ol’ Fancy, Come On, I Miss You, Bottom Of The Hill, Listening To Hank Williams and Last Song.
Aileen sings so sweetly and her beautiful delivery is augmented by her ability to vamp it up when the song dynamic requires it. Her range and timbre are impressive and her easy performance style helps to raise the audience involvement throughout. KJ is a very exciting and accomplished guitarist and his solos are always dynamic and technically dextrous. His runs on guitar are greeted with warm applause from the audience and when the duo deliver some terrific cover songs like It Hurts Me Too (Elmore James), I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams), As The Crow Flies (Tony Joe White), Can’t Let Go (Randy Weeks), the interesting interpretations of the originals are made their own in their performance.
New songs too, with Fire And Gasoline, Taste Of Gold, True Hand; True Heart and Sweet Symphony all sounding like winners on first hearing. The Remedy Club really ooze quality in all aspects and should be listened to at any venue you can catch them in. Finishing with the tender ballad This Is Love and dedicating it to their dear friend, the wonderful Gavin Ralston who recently died after a long illness, is both a touching tribute and a chance for the audience to join in song for what Aileen describes as a special gift that we all have to share – live music performed and enjoyed by everyone present for what is always an uplifting experience.
Review and photograph by Paul McGee