The Thrills
The Annex, Madison, WI 4/13/2004

At last years Irish Fest John O'Regan told me about an up and coming band out of Dublin called The Thrills. I asked many other people from Ireland about them but young and old had not heard of them yet. Yet they were schedule to open for the Rolling Stones, so they must be doing something right. So after the fest I ordered their CD via the internet. I was fairly disappointed and everyone else who listened to it felt the same. The music had no energy and was just too slow. The premise for this Dublin band is that they had spent time in California and their songs like "Big Sur" reflect this imagery. Besides this they took on some of the sounds of the Beach Boys. So I was anxious to see their live show.

They played at The Annex which probably holds 400 tops. Clearly this was no sellout but after the two opening acts there was still a couple hundred there. The music is better than the CD but not by much. They do have good stage presence and the lead singer is good. Still it took the crowd a while to get into their music. Twice the singer asked the crowd to liven up as it's Saturday night, but the band doesn't deliver high energy music to dance or clap to. The crowd swayed and some actually waltzed but that's it. Don't get me wrong, they are a good band. It's nice to hear something different and they are all of that. Harmonies are sweet and reminiscent of The Beach Boys and America. But the slow songs are too slow. I enjoyed the show but wonder how many in the crowd would pay to see them again. I guess if I had to label it I'd call it Original-Retro-Surf-Pop music.

Next door at the Regent Street Retreat Pat McCurdy was entertaining the crowd. From Milwaukee he now plays in Madison, Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul on a regular basis. He does some Irish stuff but it's his original songs and sing-a-longs that the college kids love. A little on the adult side of the spectrum, he's built up quite a following.

Barry Stapleton, Director - Ward Irish Music Archives