NOISE NIGHTS 001: WE COULDN’T HAVE ASKED FOR MORE
Last time we were at a gig in Union Bar, we said it felt like the crowd was in a bit of a trance, and our first Noise Night was no exception to that.
From early on, there was a real buzz in the room, with people showing up early, locking into every set and giving each band the kind of energy they deserved.
With Schtick opening, Dog Swim in the middle, and Sell Everything closing out the night, it ended up being a lineup we couldn’t have felt better about for our first one!
SCHTICK
We were really excited to have Schtick open the night for us, as they already feel like one of the most exciting and promising young bands coming out of Belfast at the moment.
The group - made up of Altan (lead vocals), Darragh (bass and keys), Diarmuid (guitar), Odhrán (guitar), and Finlay (drums) - had already played a couple of gigs that week, so it was great to see that their energy levels hadn’t dropped at all.
It’s always encouraging to see a crowd arrive early and fully take in an opening set, and that was definitely the case at our first Noise Night. The room filled up quickly, with plenty of people clearly eager to catch Schtick, which says a lot about the excitement surrounding the band right now.
Unsurprisingly, their set was fantastic. Altan delivers a strong vocal performance with a distinctive tone that immediately draws the crowd in, backed by four individually impressive and talented musicians.
Each member of the band is equally compelling to watch and listen to, which is a huge part of what makes them so strong as a unit. There’s a natural chemistry between them on stage that clearly comes from their friendship, and that’s especially nice to witness in a live setting.
A lot of people in the crowd were even singing along to their unreleased tracks, which really highlighted the growing local interest in the band. Thankfully, there’s not too much longer to wait for an official release, as they confirmed that their song Useless will be out in mid April - something we’re really looking forward to.
We even caught part of their set from the crowd alongside our headliners, Sell Everything, who were clearly impressed and threw themselves into cheering along with everyone else.
Later in the night, we found out that Schtick had previously said to each other that they’d love to support Sell Everything this year, which was a really rewarding thing to hear by the end of the evening.
We’ll definitely be spotlighting the band’s debut single when it’s released, and hopefully we’ll get to catch more of their live shows soon. We’d love to include them in future Noise Nights, and would especially love to see them get opportunities for more shows across the island.
DOG SWIM
Next to take the stage was Dog Swim - a band who are quite obviously one of our favourites in the scene at the minute and for good reason. We’ve been lucky enough to spend a fair bit of time in their company by now, and they always bring the best energy into every room they walk into.
That carries through to their live shows too, as they’re especially good at pulling the crowd’s focus right in. Freya’s lead vocal has such a strong rock presence to it and is genuinely mesmerising to listen to. Some of our friends in the crowd even commented that she has the aura of Hayley Williams from Paramore, which is no small comparison.
Mel on drums and Alex on bass are equally talented and just as exciting to watch, and we always love seeing how immersed they get in the performance. One of the things that stands out most to us about Dog Swim is their chemistry, both on and off stage. Each member has a natural stage presence that makes them really compelling to watch, and together they feel especially strong.
While Ollie West was missed on guitar, the session guitarist who stepped in for the night was fantastic. The lineup change didn’t affect the band at all, and they still moved through the set with ease.
Set-wise, it felt like Just Slow Down and Beautiful Fool were crowd favourites yet again. Both songs already seem to have a real hold on people live, and it was nice to see just how many familiar faces in the room were already fully with them.
It’s clear the Dublin band have a lot of momentum behind them at the moment, and there are plenty of people waiting on official releases. Having been lucky enough to catch these songs live a few times already and to film them as part of our On Record performance series - we were definitely singing along to every word. So were a few other people in the crowd who had clearly been following the band for a while too.
It’s been really lovely to watch the four-piece gain more recognition across the island, and we’ve no doubt that will only keep growing as the year goes on.
We’re excited to catch them playing alongside Reflect at HMV Belfast this Saturday, and for everything that comes next for the band.
SELL EVERYTHING
When we mentioned earlier that the crowd felt a little bit in a trance at times, Sell Everything’s headline set really drove that home. Their hour-long performance honestly feels like a bit of a blur now, mostly because every single person in the room seemed to be having so much fun.
While catching up with Jack (guitar and keys), we said that Sell Everything feel like the perfect band for anyone to see live because, regardless of your usual taste in music, they’re just such an interesting band to watch. Their headline set really proved exactly that.
The group have such a natural stage presence, and there’s such an easy groove to their music that nothing ever feels forced. When we spoke to Tom (lead vocals) for our Artist of the Month feature, he described their music as fun without trying too hard - they don’t force people to get up and dance, they just let the reaction happen naturally. That felt especially true in Belfast.
The crowd were locked in from the first song, and the energy only kept building from there. During one track in particular, the crowd actually shouted back the words before Tom had even made it to the mic.
It was obvious the band were feeding off that energy too, with each song seeming to grow more intense in the best possible way. Their groovy, jazz-infused sound had the whole room moving right up until the very last second.
And when we say the set became more intense as it went on, we really mean it. The five-piece ended things with Jack throwing his guitar and Fionn somehow ending up on the floor - we’re still not entirely sure how that happened.
Even long after they’d left the stage, the crowd were still chanting for one more tune, which says everything about how much people had enjoyed the set.
We were honestly honoured to have the lads headline our first ever Noise Night, and we couldn’t be more excited to watch what comes next for them. They’ve recently announced that they’ll be playing The Great Escape in Brighton alongside some amazing acts, and we’re really hoping there are more Ireland shows on the way - mainly so we can be there.
All in all, our first Noise Night was everything we hoped it would be and more.
A massive thank you to Sell Everything, Dog Swim and Schtick for bringing such incredible energy to the night, and to everyone who came down early, stayed late and made the room feel exactly how we’d always imagined it.
It felt like a real reflection of the scene we love being part of, and we’re already excited to do it all again.