Ladydoll
EP launch – ‘Wax Lyrical’
Crúiscín Lán, Douglas Street
9pm, Tuesday 26th February 2008
Support: Sea Area Forecast
Holy mother of mercy – if you want to know how to grab an audience, grab a stage, watch and learn, children, watch and learn. Ladydoll have it down. Bass and drum hunched over the drum kit and singer with his own drum at the front of the stage beating the living daylights out of them (rhythmically, naturally, but still…) – it made us stand up and take notice, believe you me.
Opening with ‘Good Times’ and moving through a set including new and old material, the development of the group from white noise to intelligent, constructed rock was apparent.
The current line-up (Ms King is Bass no.2) has been together just over a year and originated in CSN – long live the School of Rock. Their name, the roll-it-around-your-tongue-simply-because-it-feels-nice ‘Ladydoll’ came about because Mr Sedas liked the way the letters looked next to eachother. Seriously.
Talking of Mr Sedas, he is an interesting front man, speaking like Marlon Brando, singing like Placebo and wearing a tailcoat on-stage. He is the start-point of the band and is the lyrical brain. He also appeared to be having least fun on stage. Not being able to see the drummer as he was lurking in shadow throughout, I can’t comment on him but Ms King & Mr Shaw seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. The whole mood, however, lightened visibly during the encore with the pressure of impressing the audience having passed and now it was play-time.
There were some real gems poking through the clutter last night – ‘Charm Alarm’, ‘Punchbag’, ‘Roulette’, Genetics’ and the encore ‘ Give it up’ were all crafted, individual, memorable – some of it headbanging (‘Charm Alarm’), some of it in a more hurdy-gurdy vein (‘Genetics’).
It is very bass-driven music, and not just the bass guitar but the whole range is leaning towards the blood, vibrating through your bones. Despite the heavy influence of early-90s American alternative, their sound, with Mr Sedas’ vocals cutting through like an angle-grinder, is shaping up to be their own.
If I have any complaint about this gig (and that’s a big ‘if’), it’s that the support act was not booted off the stage much earlier. Not having the main band on stage until quarter to eleven (on a schoolnight too – no late bar) is too long of a opening set. And, boys, a word to the wise – there is an unwritten rule that the second time you introduce yourself to the audience means you are wrapping up the set – it does not mean that you go on for another 3 or 4 numbers. That could be called false advertising.
One last point, and back to Ladydoll, the vocal harmonies were good, blended, pinpoint – just not very audible. Pity. Other than that, and I hate to be clichèd about it but, they’re one to watch and if you can catch them live, just go – even if it’s just to see the bit with the drums…. What an opening!
Finn(barr) Sedas – Vocals, guitar, keyboard, drum
