Live music: Scullion

Triskel Christchurch, Cork

I was a child of Scullion in the late 1970s. Maybe, just maybe, that’s what took the edge off this gig for me. I went to the first of The Live Album Sessions, run in conjunction with Cork Folk Festival, looking for the special energy they had back in the ’70s and came away, well, flat.

I should have seen it coming. It was all very civilised, too civilised — an audience drinking glasses of red wine as Sonny Condell, Philip King and Robbie Overson took to the stage — and their seats. Whatever about guitarists Condell and Overson, live-wire King shouldn’t do seats. He is their energy and at times in this live recording he looked like a man in a strait-jacket. There is absolutely no doubting the group’s individual talents, and at times we were witness to those, especially in Overson’s brilliant solo instrumental of ‘Mo Ghile Mear’, Condell on ‘Long Wave’ and King on ‘Factory Girl’.

But probably their finest stroke was the inclusion of Lisa O’Neill as special guest. This girl is unusual, unique, and true to her Ballyhaise, Cavan roots. She doesn’t do the D4 dialect.

Her independently released debut album, Has an Album, probably gives an insight into this quirky and quaint singer/songwriter. She releases a much anticipated second album on Oct 19 and will follow this up by touring with Glen Hansard.

Lisa performed some songs from her new album Same Cloth Or Not, the highlight being ‘Elvis I Give You Irish Stew’.

But there were many others which energised the evening, ‘Don’t See My Baby’, ‘Coward’s Corner’, ‘Short Song’, ‘No Train To Cavan’ and the poignant and beautiful ‘Neilie’s Song’ about her late uncle, who died in his early 50s.

Hers was the spark that finally ignited this concert and when Scullion re-emerged, the strait-jacket was loosened and saved by ‘Forever Frozen’, ‘Dream Sailor’, ‘Party At The Beach’ and the wonderful concluding ‘Kings’ with its message of hope to the world. “The fear dissolves away, the weight of the shadow lightens, we look with light to the future... if we could get the weather we could live like some kings ’til spring comes.”