The Jimmy Cake

I had to go to the Jimmy Cake. They're on the front of the festival map along with The Concretes and Jape, so I suppose that makes them Friday's headliners. Whatever their HWCH status was, they're one of the bands that have been around Dublin for long enough that everyone paying any sort of attention knows they're worth an ear if you have one to spare. So I presented myself at The Jimmy Cake. I was just hoping they stayed on the right side of post rock (I have a bit of an allergy to epic rock) and they were satisfactory enough in this respect. The sheer volume of their set is as noticeable as the rich layering, with drums, two guitars, a bass, a keyboard, a saxophone, a trumpet, a clarinet and an accordion all floating in and out hypnotically. The beauty is in the repetition, I think, and despite the fact that they were all off having babies for a few months (paraphrased from the HWCH guide), they seemed very assured, very at home and almost dominant. Their music is lived in. Their swells are orchestral, and orchestral is the word I would use to describe their set in general. Musicians, not rock stars thankfully. No danger of breaking out in post-rock hives.

+