Since I wrote about one survivor of the hair and apparel disaster that was the Kelly Family, I thought it only fair to devote some space to one who is still performing. Angelo Kelly is the youngest of the bunch and is in the middle of a fairly punishing tour schedule of small venues across Europe. Last Saturday (28 March) I went with a fellow conspirator to his first solo concert in Dublin. (Cue foreshadowing music.)

The Draíocht Studio, a tiny venue of 92 seats, was the location. It was our first visit to the Blanchardstown arts centre, although it’s been open for nearly eight years. Clean, pleasant and well-run, we were impressed by what we saw. We had time for a quick cuppa in the cafe before the show, and my Earl Grey was very nice, though the ginger biscuits, while also tasty, were overpriced. The venue was swarming with German, Polish and Spanish fans, who were loud and a tiny bit scary in their enthusiasm. I believe there were some Irish people there, though we didn’t get to meet them that evening.

The concert started promptly at 8.15. This was the format: Kelly, performing without his backing musicians, would sing a couple of songs and then talk about his experiences on the road as a child with his nomadic singing family. His stories were well told and often hilarious. He revealed that the family were constantly “on the run” from the authorities in the U.S., Spain and other countries because of Dan Kelly’s determination to homeschool his children. Particularly funny was his somewhat bewildered desciption of his siblings lined up on stage in order of height, with his father walking up and down in a flowing robe, or as Angelo Kelly described it, pyjamas. Another anecdote was of the teenaged Angelo and Paddy headbanging to heavy metal music in the breaks between their gentle folk music shows. The impression given was that of someone remarkably grounded for such an odd upbringing who is slowly realising that the whole Kelly Family project was, actually, quite weird.

As for his music, well, there’s no doubt that Kelly is a talented musician. He plays a few instruments well (he even treated us to a drum solo, playfully showing off with the drumsticks) and his voice is good. His covers of various songs, from Country Roads to Pearl Jam’s Daughter were competent, but not particularly memorable. He writes his own music, though this tour is apparently less about his own songs than the ones he has picked up along the road. He made the concession of singing Waves Come and Go and Smile for the Picture from his latest album, Lost Sons. Though both had nice melodies, and have decent ideas behind them (the latter song deals with the havoc wreaked by paparazzi), they were far too unsubtle.

Co-conspirator and I ordered his second-last album, Rejoice and be Glad, a while back and I was very impressed by the power of the songs about his family, notably Returned and Since You’re There. Neither were played at the concert, but another song about family relationships, You Have a Place was, and that was enjoyable. All My Trials, Lord, which Kelly dedicated to his now-deceased father, rounded up the evening in impressive style, though he remarked that he had not performed that song live before.

In summary, then, Angelo Kelly is a promising performer and an excellent showman. I think his voice is well-suited to powerful songs and simple, stark ballads. His tendency to record an album nearly every year is an obstacle to artistic success, as many poor songs are recorded and obscure the genuine worth of others. His hard work is nevertheless impressive. His fans are scary enthusiastic. “I wish I didn’t recognise you”, he said to someone for whom this was obviously not the first concert on this tour, nor perhaps the tenth.

So, I’m adding Angelo Kelly to my list of Kelly Family Survivors (Not Drowned in a Deadly Ocean of Bathos and Sinister German Sentimentality). You have to love those crazy guys. Or at least pity the fact that, now living ordinary lives and with their own families, they are unable to sell that enormous German castle.

Biographical details sourced via Wikipedia, http://www.angelokelly.com and various fan websites.

Anderster” von Wizo ist meine CD des Jahres, weil die wohl beliebteste “echte” Punkrockband der Republik sich nach fast zehnjähriger Abstinenz noch einmal zur Longplayer-Produktion ins Studio gewagt und ihre in dieser Zeit angesammelten Ideen auf einen Silberling gepresst hat. Die CD enthält 14 Stücke, die sowohl textlich als auch musikalisch auseinanderdriften, wie die Band selbst es tut: Wizo lösen sich auf und “anderster” ist ihr Abschiedsgeschenk. Schwarzer Humor, Politik und Mädchen sind einige inhaltliche Aspekte; musikalisch kommt sowohl der pogofreudige Punkrocker als auch der melancholische Emofan auf seine Kosten. Besonderes Extra: Gastauftritte von Dirk Blümlein (Fools Garden), Helmut Zerlett (Helmut Zerlett Band, bis 2005 Studiokapelle Harald Schmidts) und dem einstigen Teenieschwarm Angelo Kelly. Wer die Ärzte mag, wird Wizo lieben!

Philip Aubreville

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