Finger Diaries Entry - Radio City
The following article was featured in the February edition of Sound System eMagazine on www.kilkennymusic.com.
Blast off!
The Blast Space festival took place last weekend, January 27th, in Radio City, Dublin. With over 10 bands on the bill and featuring no less than three Kilkenny bands, KilkennyMusic.com’s resident photographer, Ross Costigan headed to the big smoke.
Most music fans in Kilkenny will have heard of Itchy Trigger Finger, the progressive metal outfit exploded onto the Kilkenny music scene in 2003 winning the Battle of the Bands. Today, they’re headlining on the Cavern stage for the Blast Space festival. There’s two stages and the venue is packed full. Strangely enough most of the crowd seem to have the same haircut, boys and girls alike, a sort of wind-swept combover look. Much as I’d like to say “that’s not important, it’s the music that counts”, sadly for today it doesn’t seem that way. The music doesn’t count for much, the bands on the bill are a strange mix of pop-punks from Holland and the UK to mediocre Dublin metal bands, most of whom can’t play very well but when they all pose on stage with those haircuts it gives the effect that a gale force wind is blowing across the stage. That is of course until just after 4 o’clock in the dimly lit cavern room.
A voice comes through the P.A system, its Bruce Willis in ‘Die Hard’, the scene where he’s on the walky talkie, talking to Al, “…this is Sergeant Al Powell of the Los Angeles Police Department. If the person who radioed for help on this channel can hear me, acknowledge this transmission…can you identify yourself…”, ITF stand poised on stage, they’ve caught the crowds attention, John McClane screams through the speakers “…just listen fast because this is a party line and the neighbours have itchy trigger fingers!” And with that Itchy Trigger Finger explode into their brand new song, currently titled ‘The Narcissist’. It’s a 12 minute song that hammers the name Itchy Trigger Finger into the minds of the crowd, when most of todays bands will be forgotten by tomorrow.
Frontman Jimmy Trigger grabs the microphone and smiles, “hey….tell your friends there’s a REAL metal band playing in here.” He’s not kidding. ITF have changed alot in the last four years, no longer the poppy metallers they started as. The change in lineup, early last year, which saw Alan Dawson take over as sticksman and Robbie Dunne on guitar has brought them down a different path. ITF have found their sound and its nothing short of an onslaught on the ears.
Robbie Dunne makes it look easy, as he shreds his guitar effortlessy. Guitarists from the other bands are gathering, watching in awe, suddenly realising there’s more to guitar than just three cords. At the back is Daw who seems to have no difficulty in providing backing vocals, whilst at the same time keeping the beat through some of the bands odd time signatures. Pam is still there on the bass, her long dreads hang over her face as she seems lost in the music. Jimmy confidently leaps and bounds around the stage, a photographers dream for classic poses and shots of somebody who’s confident enough to rock out when most bands just look at the necks of their guitars nowadays.
ITF have been off the road since the start of the summer, hitting the studio to record their long awaited E.P ‘The Wrong Side of Misery’, but as the recording enters the final stage it seems clear today, that they are more than ready to hit the circuit again and this time if your not on the ITF train, it’ll just go through you.
The crowd is building, ITF rip through “God Said”, “What have we done now?” and “The Wrong side of misery”. People are going apeshit, anybody who doesn’t know the lyrics is just rocking out. They finish off with ‘Perfect Reality”. The crowd starts to jump with the opening riff, they throw themselves around the room, enjoying every second. The chorus,”I’ll break you down” is chanted through the crowd. The bridge kicks in and people are flying through the pit, staff rush to re-inforce the speakers as the crowd goes insane, all the while, the event organisers stand looking at each other, wondering why Itchy Trigger Finger weren’t headlining on the main stage. A mistake they won’t make again.
As I leave Radio City, I notice ITF t-shirts are suddenly being worn in the crowd. When ITF launch their E.P, they’ll be touring around the country with it, and with the talent and energy they displayed today they’ll soon have an army of fans behind them.
