We recently spent a couple of nights in Dublin without hearing the beat of a single Bodhrán or even a hint of live music coming from any bar. So last Friday night we were spoiled, with no fewer than two concurrent Bodhráns (and a guest washboard player), mandolin, guitar, accordion and bass thrown into the bargain, and we only had to walk for ten minutes to hear it.

T’was an evening in the company of Feckless who played at The Contented Pig. Its a fairly small pub that’s far enough away from any dwellings that there’s no problem with gigs that push on to the midnight hour, as this one did. We arrived at about 9pm and band were already playing. They took only two short breaks throughout the whole night, which helped the atmosphere to build. In fact they took a break minutes after we arrived so Tony (with the drum and the voice) who we know from elsewhere immediately came over for a quick chat as he relieved his vocal chords with a glass of something. Then is was back to the entertaining, and what started out as a band and an audience ended up merging in to one jigging, clapping, stomping, singing throng of revelers, it was fascinating to behold how a roomful of strangers suddenly became acquainted.

Musically the night ranged from nautically influenced traditional numbers such as Portsmouth and The Trumpet Hornpipe (the Captain Pugwash theme), through traditional celtic songs that we’d not heard before, right up to more “modern” tracks like The Irish Rover and Korobeiniki (the um… Tetris theme… you have to be there, but it really works). Feckless next gig is on Fri 22nd Jun 2007, at The Tap in North End. Not to be missed. In the mean time there’s a rudimentary jukebox in their website: fecklessmusic.com.