Review why play one instrument when 12 will do

Ciara Lawn

Having binged on sugary sweet tunes all night, last week’s Café Sessions crowd still had the appetite to demand an encore from Galway band, My Fellow Sponges as the gig went into extra time.
An unusually late start failed to break the momentum of the fortnightly gig at Chapter 1, as five-piece My Fellow Sponges showcased their richly melodic catalogue, which draws influence from many chirpily positive genres. My Fellow Sponges clearly absorbed their music tuition as they are hugely accomplished players, several are multi-instrumentalists.
Even amongst this talented crew, singer/keyboardist/bodhran-beater/ukelele-plucker/harmonium tickler, Anna Mullarkey stood out for her variable playing style that was at times melancholy and lamenting, often jazzy, and at other times erratic with pounding rhythms reminiscent of the Doors’ Ray Manzarek.

Mastery
Donal McConnon shared vocal duties and while he has a fine voice, it was generally used for the more throw-away, whimsical numbers; and this reviewer found his persistent facial contortions, rather excessive. However Donal matched Anna with his mastery of almost all musical trades - changing effortlessly between banjo, guitar, harmonium, and clarinet. It was on clarinet where he truly brought a new dimension to the songs.
Backing singer Hazel Collins’ vocals provided most of the gorgeous harmonies, beautifully conjuring up a range of atmospheres, often ambient, dream like or haunting; but at one stage they were evocative of a chain-gang.
Meanwhile David Shaughnessy on percussion and Sam Wright on bass weren’t without flashes of invention as they provided the understated, rhythmic backdrop for the band’s show-stoppers to embellish.
Amongst the night’s many highlights were the punchy little banjo ditty ‘Chill the Beans’, the spellbinding ‘This Dream Song’, the funky-Asian influenced ‘Other Than Myself’ and a couple of Latino-flavoured numbers, the names of which sadly escaped us.

http://youtu.be/4IiL9Aav6qY

Sunny
This reviewer, who typically likes her music much darker, found My Fellow Sponges’ unrelentingly upbeat vibes slightly cloying. However the vast majority of the packed room were enraptured by their sunny tunes; hence their calls for an encore, which was duly provided, as your reviewer reached for the factor 50.
The night had been opened by trad duo Gráinne Brady (Mullahoran) and Tina Jordan Rees (England) on violin and keyboard respectively. The duo played several serene instrumentals, all their own compositions.