Delorentos at Whelan’s – Review & Photos

Delorentos had a full and exciting Saturday this weekend, playing The Unitarian Church and Whelan’s in the same day.

Whelan’s was full of Christmas jumpers, happy people and laughter on Saturday, December 21st. A good few of the fans were discussing the acoustic set played by Delorentos in the nearby Unitarian Church a few hours before. It was a very relaxed atmosphere.

After a fantastic year that started with a Meteor Choice Music Prize for Album of the Year, Delorentos finished 2013 with three special intimate gigs last Saturday, December 21st. The first one took place in The Unitarian Church where the four lads played an acoustic set. The evening found them in a packed main venue in Whelan’s. The night ended with a party Upstairs at Whelan’s.

Following a very well received support set from Dublin band (and former DublinConcerts.ie Irish Band Of The Weeek) Gypsies on The Autobahn, Delorentos stepped onto the stage, to the delight of the people who were beginning to fill the second level of the main venue as well.

The lads seemed as relaxed as their fans. You could see they were feeling happy and proud to be at the end of the best years of their career so far.

Delightful as always, their tunes brought the energy levels up from the first chords. People were singing along to almost every song. Most of the tunes played were from their brilliant album “Little Sparks”, with “Petardu” and “Little Sparks” marking the highlights of the set. The band decided to present a few new songs as well and, I have to tell you, they sounded excellent. A bit different in style from what you can hear on “Little Sparks”, but in a very good way. Harmonies, guitar riffs and that distinct Delorentos sound  are the ingredients for their new tunes. Looking forward to their next release.

The main set ended with Ro wearing reindeer horns and an overall feeling of Christmas fun.  Perhaps it was the Christmas jumpers, perhaps knowing that it’s one of the last gigs of the year in Whelan’s, but it felt like a party, not just a concert.

With such devoted and excited fans it was obvious the band would be back on stage in no time for the encore. An explosive three-song finale left people humming Delorentos tunes for the rest of the night.

With such a successful 2013, next year can only be exciting, so bring on 2014.

Photos by Tudor Marian