It’s been a while since the last time I went to a gig so I wasn’t very keen on traveling to Dublin but at the same time I didn’t want to miss Days ‘N’ Daze again. Some background information: This gig was scheduled for 8 September last year but it was postponed. We were supposed to go with my fiancé and I was really looking forward to the original date and was very disappointed when it got pushed to this year. Fast forward to Wednesday, I saw a notification on my phone about the organiser posting in the event. I have to admit, the new date totally slipped my mind so I opened the post obliviously. That’s when I saw the gig is on 6 May, Friday the same week.
I’m still very angry at myself for forgetting because this meant we wouldn’t be able to get anyone to mind Sidney and leaving her alone for 7-8 hours was just out of the question. Not because she couldn’t behave but because we wouldn’t be able to do anything but worry. With that in mind either one or both of us had to stay home. Since my fiancé knew how much this gig means to me, they said they’d stay so I can attend. I’m disappointed it came down to this as I wanted us to see a band so influential to me together. Having said that and the fact I haven’t really been anywhere crowded I left home in a pretty shitty mood.
My train got in pretty early so I decided to walk to the venue, also took my time so I wouldn’t have to wait until the doors open. I got there a bit before seven so I loitered a few minutes then I decided to make my way upstairs. To my surprise, I was stopped at the door by the bouncer who said I can’t enter cause I’m wearing tracksuit bottoms. I was about to tell him to fuck off when he probably realised there’s a gig that night (the place is primarily a pub, they have a venue upstairs which is only open when there’s a concert or an event) so he let me in. Don’t want to waste too much time on this issue but it’s SO FUCKING STUPID. If I wanna have a few drinks and spend money in an establishment, who cares what I’m wearing? Stupid.
To keep a long story not that long, I’m just gonna start writing about the bands. First was Death By Washboard and the word “band” is a bit misleading as it’s one person with a guitar but if you think it’s worse in any way, think again: the performance was great. The music was raw folkish punk, the vocals were angry, the lyrics great and sometimes funny, all in all it was just perfect. I really recommend checking it out, gonna put some links in the bottom - as well as for all the bands.
After shorter intermission than I thought - I went to get some fresh air, by the time I got back they were already on their second song - came The Scuntz from Belfast. My issue with punk bands a lot of the time is they only play the same song with different lyrics basically, but not these lads. Their songs were all sorts of different genres from fast and aggressive to tunes with folk melodies, some even had banjo which is already a good way to grab my attention - even though very little of it was audible unfortunately - and in general it was some great craic.
Jobseekers was a band I’ve heard a lot before but somehow I never saw them live. They played pretty heavy punk/crossover music and they seemed to be well-known to the audience. I think they’ve been around for the longest among the previously mentioned three, they’re also local to Dublin so it’s not a real surprise. I’m not sure about the sound engineer but I don’t think it sounded like it was intended to sound, which kinda sucks, because I feel like it would’ve even been harder and better but what can you do.
At this point I wasn’t sure if I’ll be able to get the earlier train or not, but the long intermission before Days ‘N’ Dayz decided the question. Since the members were almost all struggling with something - broken finger, broken toe, sickness - it took a bit longer to get everything and everyone on the stage. The concert was really good. I wish they played Flurry Rush as it’s my favourite song from the new album but I can’t complain, as they did Save a Life with Joey from All Torn Up and Day Gaunts which made up for it. In summary, I’m very happy I got to see them, especially considering I missed them a few times by mere days.
Funny thing about the gig is, when I saw the merch guy I was thinking “He sure looks like Joey Steel from All Torn Up”, whom I went to see in 2017 when they played with Leftover Crack in Dublin. Sure enough when it was time to play Save a Life, Whitney called Joey up the stage which confirmed my hunch. I actually went to chat with him and he was super cool, told him I went to the gig back then and I decided to get their 7" instead of LoC merch. He was really nice about it and gave me a CD of theirs titled Drone Life and a sticker. He was also reaching for his bag but I told him that’s more than enough already, I would’ve felt fucking horrible taking free shit off the guy who’s not even touring. I did get a photo with him just so I can flex on Insta or idk what the young people do these days. So that’s the story of how I got a photo with a guy who wasn’t even playing at the gig.
As promised, the links to the bands:
Death By Washboard
The Scuntz
Jobseekers
Days ‘N’ Daze
All Torn Up