Last Thursday saw the opening night of what will become the monthly 2U I Bestow Sessions started by Ashbourne based music blogger Peter Nagle. To launch the sessions in style Peter invited Kells band Ham Sandwich to make an appearance in the headline slot. There was a great atmosphere on the night as Blind Pilots from Dundalk took the stage to warm up the crowd. With only half the band available on the night, their performance was relatively low key.
Next to the stage was Bostan based Kiernan McMullan. Kiernan spent most of his childhood and teens living in Ireland but has recently signed a record deal that has brought him back to the US for the next while, so count yourself lucky if you managed to catch him last week. He played an intriguing guitar piece mid set which impressed immediately and followed with a great performance of “That Afternoon”, before he had to hit the road for a drive to Limerick for a gig the following night. Not an easy act to follow, Navan local Ruairi Coogan took to the stage with charming witt and managed to keep the crowd throughout his impressive performance.
Last up Ham Sandwich’s eclectic mix of oh-so-tight snake skin trousers on Podge, crazy dancing (mainly by Podge), playing the guitar on the street outside due to a new wireless connector (again Podge), and the fiddle player, who made the performance for me. They are a great live performance, banter, cheesy grins and one-liners between songs included.
There was a great atmosphere throughout the night with people there purely to enjoy the music. Make sure to make a trip to the next sessions in July. Thanks for a great night Peter and thanks to Andrew of Boyles for having such a great little spot!
Check out the slide show on Flickr here.
