Review:
'HOPE, DAVID & THE HENCHMEN / WEDEL, HANK'
'Cork, The Corner House, 2nd April 2011'
- Genre: 'Alt/Country'
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Our Rating:
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“We were going to call it ‘Chinese Democracy’, but that title had already been used,” quips multi-instrumentalist Eoin Jordan mid-way through DAVID HOPE & THE HENCHMEN’S enthusiastically-received set.
He’s referring to the prolonged (but hardly Guns'n'Roses standard) 12-month period it took for the Clare/ Cork boys’ debut EP ‘Hell or High Water’ to arrive in public, but now it’s finally in our midst, this great little venue off Cork’s McCurtain Street with its’ long-established Folk/Trad reputation is as good a place as any to wet the baby’s head. Framed photos of fiery Irish musical trailblazers like Luke Kelly and Rory Gallagher adorn the walls, while a wonderful old glass chandelier hangs above the band as they perform. It’s the ideal intimate atmosphere in which to sample The Henchmens’ potent brew of Folk, Pop and Roots.
The journey to the Corner House has not been without bumps in the road. There have been a couple of line-up changes in recent months and the simple fact that ex-members were based in places as far flung as Galway and Kilkenny often threatened basic rehearsals. New bassist Mick Creedon (who appears on the EP) has been working his way in to the live band, though drummer Jason O’Driscoll is being given a baptism of fire, having started learning the set literally a matter of hours before the gig.
It’s to their credit that you’d barely notice the join. In fact both men make impressive rhythmic contributions as the set unfolds. Then again, many rhythm sections would queue up to join a band hoarding material of this quality. Simply put, singer/ songwriter David Hope is sitting on some of the best Roots-inflected songs I’ve heard in recent years and with his dextrous musical lieutenants Eoin Jordan (bouzouki, guitar, mandolin, vocals) and David Murphy (pedal steel, mandolin, guitar, harmonica) he has just the men he needs to help bring them to fruition.
The set itself is stuffed with classics-in-waiting. Powerful outlaw ballad ‘Living by the Gun’ sets the tone, while ‘Daybreak Someplace’ and ‘Cut Me Down’ from the new EP are plaintive confessionals of the highest order. The more overtly Roots-tinged material (the spirited railroad rhythms of ‘See the Ghost’ and the wonderful, finger-fraying bluegrass picking of Eoin Jordan’s ‘Broomfield Bound’) are rapturously received. Like any great Roots band worth their salt, the Henchmen also have a brilliant railroad song. ‘On That Train’ rides its’ creaky blues-y tracks all the way down to the Mississippi delta with David Murphy supplying some suitably ghostly harmonica to help bring it on home.
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It’s a measure of their confidence that two of the new EP’s highlights – the political chicanery commentary ‘Cloak & Daggers’ and the heartfelt ‘Hell or High Water’ itself – are kept in reserve for the final stretch. Before they leave us, respected singer/ songwriter HANK WEDEL (Princes Street/ Open Kitchen) hops up to duet with Hope on the show’s only covers – affecting, back to back versions of two of Bob Dylan’s finest, ‘I Shall Be Released’ and ‘You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere’ – and a deserved encore of ‘These Days’ supplies a suitably charged and urgent finale.
Home-grown Roots-Rock has been sounding increasingly life-affirming in recent years and W&H has been thrilled to cover a few who could credibly give the Nashville overlords a run for their money. Of these, David Hope & the Henchmen remain one of the very best this writer has heard. If they can hang on to a stable line-up and get the breaks, the sky really is the limit for this band.
David Hope & The Henchmen on MySpace
David Hope & The Henchmen Facebook page
Hank Wedel and Open Kitchen on MySpace
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author: Tim Peacock/ Photos: Kate Fox
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David Hope
Hank Wedel joins the Henchmen
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