Now in its' 13th year, the Kilkenny Rhythm & Roots is fast becoming the very best festival bash this side of the Irish Sea. OK, it helps that it's set in one of Ireland's loveliest cities, but with a friendly, inclusive feel and a generous line-up of gigs stretching across the May bank holiday weekend, it really is one of those 'something for everyone' affairs, not to mention a positive joy for the ears.
This year, W&H are here primarily for Nashville's legendary Jason & The Scorchers, but with the staggering diversity of free gigs also on offer at venues in and around Kilkenny, it would be indecent not to dive into the sheer wealth of talent showcasing their wares before the sun goes down.
W&H must confess that Northern Irish singer-songwriter BEN REEL'S impressive 'Time to Get Real' LP had slipped under our radar until recently, but his band's 4pm Sunday slot at Biddy Early's presents us with an opportunity to atone and from the moment they slide into an assured version of their anti-Rock'n'Roll cliche song 'Old & Wise' ("don't wanna overdose like a Rock'n'Roll star/ or choke on my vomit after whiskey in the jar") it's plain that some humble pie should be on our menu.
It's not that Reel and his chums look like they'd especially stand out in a crowd. Ben himself looks like your typical plaid-shirted troubadour, while his band also play it low-key in rumpled jackets and sweaters. Yet appearances can be deceptive, for they play with a steely determination and get right into the corners of their beautifully-observed and experience-fuelled songs.
The set is drawn primarily from 'Time to Get Real', with further highlights being supplied by the yearning diaspora anthem 'Rainy Night In Ireland' and the driving, Dire Straits-style defiance of 'Feel Alive'. The band lock in to their sturdy grooves with a supernatural ease and while it's very much a team effort, it's difficult not to single out guitarist Mick McCarney.His apparently nonchalant air fails to disguise a real, old school lead guitar hero capable of either taste and economy or flash and expression depending on the sonic circumstances. He really comes into his own on both an impressive, angular re-shaping of The Beatles' 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and their Amboy Dukes-style blow-out version of Them's 'Baby Please Don't Go' which veers seamlessly into John Lee Hooker's 'Boom Boom' and back again with power to spare. It's consummate stuff and a welcome custard pie for a reviewer who'd not previously listened hard enough to 'Time to Get Real'. Shame on me.
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There's further home-grown Irish talent on offer later in the evening over at Anna Conda's where Cork/Clare/ Galway alliance DAVID HOPE & THE HENCHMEN are holding court. This wild and woolly quartet have built up a mean reputation for their whisky-sozzled brand of God-fearing Roots in recent times, but while our scheduled engagement with The Scorchers ensures we only catch 25 minutes, it's clear that rep is well deserved.
What we do get to hear consists of dark, plaintive Roots flecked with Folk and heartfelt Country. It's laced by David Murphy's sighing pedal steel, propelled by Donal Heavey's stand-up bass and front man Hope's fatalistic song-writing bent which is inspired by incidents like robin red breasts getting snagged on barbed wire in the Bog of Allen ("Chasing Time") and more familiar diablo-bound Delta Blues storyboards distilled and spewed out like funky fire-water during songs such as 'On That Train'. It's all pulled together beautifully for a memorably languid version of Bob Dylan's 'I Shall Be Released' which is still ringing in our ears as the hour for our showdown with Jason & The Scorchers draws near and forces our early departure. Needless to say, photographer Kate and myself intend to be down the front at De Barra's the next time these honchos head down West Cork way.
Although only a sample of the great free gig trail strewn around Kilkenny during the Rhythm & Roots, both Ben Reel Band and David Hope & The Henchmen are representative of the high standard on display during this fine, Americana-soaked weekend. It's an essential calendar entry for the discerning and it richly deserves our respect and support.
Ben Reel on Myspace
David Hope & The Henchmen on Myspace
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