Hail The Ghost’s debut gig at Whelan’s – Review & Photos

The 2nd of April 2015 will be remembered as the date when Hail The Ghost had their live debut with a fantastic gig at Whelan’s.

Hail The Ghost are a three-piece band consisting of Kieran O’Reilly (vocals), Eamon Young (guitar), Ian Corr (piano), joined on stage for their debut gig by Gavin Mulhall (drums), Martin Quinn (bass) and Paul Higgins (guitar). The band spent a whole year writing songs before playing their first show, which resulted in a ten track studio album released in March. Titled Forsaken, the album was described by our Ciara Sheahan as “an impossibly beautiful album”. You can (and should) read the full review.

How many bands can say they’ve played their debut gig in front of such a big crowd? Hail The Ghost can! It’s been a while since Whelan’s main venue felt so crowded, with people at the balcony squeezing in to get a glimpse of the stage. Perhaps people go out more on a Holy Thursday than on a regular Thursday and that helped. One thing is certain though, Forsaken is a brilliant album and once you hear it, you want to see Hail The Ghost live.

Regardless of the reason, there was a huge crowd who came to see Hail The Ghost for the first time. Visibly overwhelmed by the turnout, the band took to the stage in a massive wave of applause and cheering, and opened the set with ‘Nostalgia’, followed by ‘Ink And Blood’. The third tune, titled ‘Even Judas’, could not have been played on a better day, coincidence or not, and was very well received. A few people even sang along, which is amazing for a debut gig.

After a couple more songs off their album, the band introduced an interesting cover of The Pretenders’ ‘Back in the Chain Gang’, followed by ‘Headstoned’, their first single released in December. As our Shannon Welby said in the review of the single, the tune kicked off with devastatingly beautiful piano complemented by Kieran’s distinct baritone vocals.

The encore brought another cover, this time ‘Lovesong’ by The Cure, and two more songs from the album. ‘White Heart’ was inspired by a sad story involving Kieran’s friend and the special bond between him and his mother who was diagnosed with “something bad”. The song had Kieran stepping off the stage into the crowd next to his friend for a spectacular and touching moment.

‘Lazise’, another beautiful song about love, ended a show that will not be forgotten soon. Hail The Ghost are here to stay!

Photos by Tudor Marian