Blaming the weather is always a classic excuse, but of late it seems the elements really have conspired against W&H where IAN WHITTY & THE EXCHANGE are concerned. Excited about the possibility of seeing Cork's best young singer-songwriter at De Barra's in Clonakilty over the Christmas break, W&H were then thwarted by a combination of seasonal flu and a lethal frost on the roads. Tonight, we sit into the car and the heavens immediately open. With a seventy mile drive ahead, it's not looking good.
Thinking of an occasion where we overcame torrential rain and the surreal experience of racing a hearse on the bypass on the way to a Malcolm Middleton gig, photographer Kate and I take heart and drive on. It's still pissing down in the city, but the fine old ex-ballroom-turned-venue now known as The Pavilion is warm and dry, not to mention fast becoming the best medium-sized venue in Cork. It's the ideal place to catch Ian Whitty & The Exchange making the transition to larger stages.
Whitty's debut album 'The Lucky Caller No.9' was one of this writer's favourite albums of 2008 and remains a regular visitor to the W&H stereo. His new single 'While The Drunken Jailor Sleeps' is being launched tonight and by the time The Exchange take the stage, the stagefront crowd has swelled quite nicely, despite the inclement conditions outside.
The weather's not lost on Ian himself. Prior to a poised version of 'Will o' the Wisp', he cogently comments that the winter's been "a hard fucker"Âbefore he thanks us for coming. At this stage, we're only four songs in, but already it's becoming clear that braving the elements has been the sensible decision tonight, especially as we've already been treated to a visceral opening attack including the E-bow assisted rush of 'Bought & Sold' and the sardonically pretty 'Fallen Stars (In Late Night Bars)'.
Musically, this incarnation of The Exchange is simply getting better and tighter each time out. The Rahilly brothers, Flor (guitar/vocals) and Paddy (bass) are consummate sonic performers, drummer Anthony Noonan is ceaselessly inventive and it's a real thrill to see a string section operating so skilfully within a broadly Rock-related context. Any bunch of interchangeable guitar-slingers can, of course, wheel out a string section, but cellist Aisling Fitzpatrick and fiddler Luke Cosgrave bring real gravitas and drama to the arrangements and add a notable dimension of their own to Ian Whitty's vividly-observed songs.
In an age where we can barely move for supposedly 'sensitive' (but often easily forgettable) singer-songwriters, we should thank our lucky stars we can still discover a writer with the skill and class displayed by Ian Whitty. After only a couple of spins of 'The Lucky Caller No.9', this writer was hooked by his skilful, Costello-ish ability to bring a poetic, yet all-too real slant on both affairs of the heart and the minutiae of the human condition. Tonight, we end up being treated to nearly all the album, with fiery versions of new single 'While The Drunken Jailor Sleeps' and 'Walking to Meet You' rubbing shoulders with the gloriously wistful 'The Family Is Still Young' where Ian examines a nomadic upbringing ("a calculator could not count the steps this family has climbed"). Elsewhere, the dramatic hedonism of 'Houndstooth Shirt' paints a tremendous portrait of weekend social rituals in a place where "the city licks the vodka from its' Friday lips."
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The set also makes room for a hefty chunk of impressive new material. Songs like 'The Bottom Line' and the chiming guitars of 'Rodeo' supply a slightly edgier feel, while the marvellous 'Prettiest Dress' rocks with real attitude. Ian jokingly dismisses it as a "karaoke number", but its' great "Oh oh oh" sing-along bits and amusingly affecting tale of love in a big field with the help of a pile of pills and acid is already sounding like a killer hit single to these ears.
Ian straps on his new pearly silver electric guitar for a couple of brand new tracks. The alluring 'Cashcrop' takes its' lyrical cue from an expedition to buy a suit but becomes a wider comment on loneliness in general, while 'Tattoo Rings' (I think this is still a working title) receives its' live debut and - even despite its' unfamiliarity - soon pricks this writer's ears up. That second album sounds like it's going to be anything but 'difficult' at this rate.
A well-deserved encore features a lovely 'Wait till the Morning' and - as a late St. Patrick's Day celebration - a great, communal version of Brendan Behan's 'Auld Triangle' sung with conviction. It proves to be a great way to conclude what has been not only a great gig, but also Ian Whitty & The Exchange's most fully-realised live outing yet. An impressive result indeed for a night when it looked as though only the rain would hold sway.
Ian Whitty official site
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