The Fallen Drakes at The Academy 2 – Review and Photos

The Fallen Drakes with support from The Jigsaw Jam and Lisa played a sold out show at Academy 2 on Friday 15th November.

Irish alternative rock band from Dublin, The Fallen Drakes, having formed in 2010, have come a long way in relation to success having supported The Commitments and just over a year ago. The band consists of twin brothers Nabz (drums) and Hyder (Bass), Brian (Vocals & Guitar) and Michal (Lead Guitar). With two EPs already under their belt, they seem to be producing well written songs which their fans seem to enjoy according to the gig in the Academy.  The audience was full of young screaming girls with having made banners prior to the concert. It was a fairly mixed crowd in terms of age with both young and old enjoying their delightful performance and singing along to every song played.

The audience seemed in awe of lead singer Brian screaming out his name and shouting “I Love You” throughout the night, while some maybe felt incredibly lucky having been able to pinch a ticket to the sold out show.

Although The Fallen Drakes are not on the same level as The Script, they strike a chord in sounding very similar to them and this could be a factor as to why they’ve been getting so much attention, but in saying that they do hone their skills and in terms of vocals, Brian is spot on as are the rest of the group in coming together with wonderful melodies and tones.

Some of the highlights on the night were “Masquerade”, “Anymore Cinema” and “Girl From New York”.

“Masquerade” is one of the standout songs in terms of the crowd’s interaction. With beautiful rhythmic guitar plucking and a deep bass, it’s in every way a real poppy song which makes me question what genre they really should go under, with some tracks more poppy than other while a few have that real indie feel. Maybe that’s a question the band themselves are not quite sure on.

All in all, these four guys seem to be doing all the right things, especially if they are playing sold out shows. I’m curious as to see what comes next, a third EP, an album? Only time will tell.

Support came from The Jigsaw Jam, a traditional folk group with a unique blend of vocals, with an expansive range of instruments, from your typical guitar and piano, to the fiddle and ukulele. They performed covers of “Sweet Dreams” and “Little Lion Man” which were played to perfection. “Rosalee” is a lovely song and playing an intimate gig like this it just fitted in perfectly. Shane and Brenda had a lovely combination of vocals for this song and it was most definitely enjoyed by all.

Lisa McLaughlin also supported but I was only able to catch the last minute or so of her set. From what I heard, vocally Lisa is out of this world.

Review and photos by Ian Blount