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Ever since they tore down Barry's amusements, Bangor has been missing an iconic hangout, but The Black Boat seems to have filled the gap left by the famous funfair.
It's been adopted by local musos, and the result is some pretty fine band nights, such as tonights gig featuring Neon Dawn, When Pilots Eject and Dolbro Dan. It'll be a hometown gig for When Pilots Eject, who blend low-key electronica with avant-rock instrumentation of the kind which would once have been branded 'chill out' or come-down music. In reality, it's much more than that, although unashamedly down-tempo the band offer up beautiful soundscapes, as in I Am Knopfler, and stirring beats beats, in tracks such as TTYIF and 1-12. Four-piece Neon Dawn, who launched their eponymous album earlier this year, are also purveyors of indie-rock. And don't miss acoustic folk-minded Dolbro Dan, aka the supremely-talented twenty-something Daniel Mulligan, whose musical maturity belies his tender years. His musings on modern, music buying, smoking and his hillbilly accent When Bob Was Still A Boy, should be a highlight of the night.
Female fronted rock didn't begin and end with Joan Jett, as the women at F*Rock aim to prove. They're back again in the middle bar of The Pavillion, Belfast, tomorrow night, showcasing the music of two great acts. The first is Punk Skin, otherwise known as Grace Leacock, the drummer and vocalist in Londonderry-based alternative rock trio, Angelfall. Also playing live will be Strabane-based indie band Camp Fire Disco, famous on You Tube for their brilliantly-pitched orchestral reworking of Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round (surely a musical treatment that was long overdue?).
Fans of metal merchants Acidtone can catch them on Wednesday, when they play in Lavery's Attic bar along with Arcane, Fixation, Lotion and a couple of other bands still to be confirmed.
