Cork Music Collective Presents...Green Monitor

Upstairs at The Roundy Cork Music Collective presents Green Monitor Thursday, 12th July, 9:30pm If Hogwarts had a music department, Green Monitor would be the result. Need I say any more? OK then ……… they are a tightly-meshed trio who are, to my eyes, one of the more pragmatic bands I have seen of late. Apparently unaware of the presence of an audience, they move through their set almost as if they are in their rehearsal room, unrushed, unfussed. Their first track had a definite hint of Air about it but don’t let this fool you. Their style is varied and their sound is tight, highly rehearsed and very professional, while at the same time managing to give the impression that they are experimenting on the hoof. The influences evident are diverse, both in style and geography, and samples include random sounds, vocals and instrumental riffs (and even, it is rumoured, an Elmo toy). It says a lot that, while they successfully headlined on Saturday night at the Electric Picnic last year, they were mesmeric in the relatively cloistered confines of Upstairs at the Roundy. Bringing in the vocalist, Annette Buckley, later in the evening, the sound changed to a more conventionally structured format and took more of a back seat, allowing Ms Buckley’s rich, strong vocals to be the focal point. Especially good was the second number, which was entirely ad-lib. If I have one criticism, it is that occasionally a track would not so much end as stop, leaving the audience wondering what was happening. However, this is a minor quibble. While their influences are, to say the least, eclectic (trance, dance, funk, reggae, far east), the end result is a sound which is at one and the same time both universal and unique. These are three musicians playing at the top of their game. Long may they continue. Green Monitor Aron Bennett – Guitars/Flute/Keyboards Loz Fitzgibbon – Bass/Harmonium/Vintage FX/Keyboards Clive Gash – Drums/World Percussion http://www.corkmusiccollective.com