THERE have been a lot of changes down the old Alley of late first, the Kilkenny cats shed their glam rock leanings, which saw singer Can ice earn comparisons with a certain Mr. Z. Stardust then they lost their flamboyant drummer, Emmaline Fallon Duffy. Nowadays, Engine Alley come on like a well oiled machine, a four cylinder combustion unit devoid of the chrome and day glo trimmings. They're still ticking over, but they're no longer showroom material. At the Mean Fiddler last night, the Alley emerged all in black, and singer Canice sported a tache reminiscent of Brian Ferry circa Let's Stick Together. The stripped down line up featured Canice's brother, Brian, Bass lit Eamonn Byrne, and new addition, ex Hothouse Flowers drummer Jerry The band with an unobtrusive Valentine's Day ditty before cutting into the edgy riff of Shot In The Light, the title track from their current, in dependently released album.
Immediately it was apparent that Engine Alley's centre of gravity had shifted gone was the zany ensemble of old, which displayed youthful panache and naive inventiveness. Instead, we had a tight, determined four piece who seemed anxious to show that they could still rock and roll with out the need of glitter and glitz, and also without any extra members. The absence of Ken Rice (The Orchestra) was soon apparent, as Brian Kenealy bravely attempted to fill in the violin parts with his own proficient guitar playing.
Canice, once the eccentric, extroverted front man, gripped his guitar and remained resolutely uninteresting for the whole set, pushing his exuberant personality to the back and putting on a somewhat bloodied but unbowed front.
Mrs. Winder and Infamy were sad reminders of when Canice and Co were the Mad Hatters of Irish rock and every gig was a tea party in Wonderland. Now, they sound more like a lonely walk down a dark alley, and somehow they don't seem as bright and sunny as you remembered them. The most recent single, I Can't Help You, was like a fatalistic' footnote to a band which is finding it very hard to grow up and still sound exciting and new. Time to get the Mr. Sheen out and put back the shined.
