The Saw Doctors at Electric Picnic 2023: ‘What a wonderful sight and sound’

The Saw Doctors

Electric Arena

★★★☆☆

The crowd are chanting N17 even before The Saw Doctors come on to the stage of a hot, packed Electric Arena at Electric Picnic on Sunday evening. The band kick off with Green and Red of Mayo, Davy Carton’s impressive voice filling the tent. “What a wonderful sight and sound,” he tells the audience as they sing along. Leo Moran, The Saw Doctors’ lead guitarist, agrees: “There’s no shortage of energy,” he tells the crowd after Red Cortina.

Some of the biggest reactions come during Joyce Country Céilí Band and I Useta Lover, songs by now ingrained in almost every Irish person’s subconscious. When The Saw Doctors play To Win Just Once, the crowd are singing the lyrics so hard and loud that the band could take a breather if they wanted to.

That’s What She Said Last Night, which makes clear Bruce Springsteen’s influence on the band, takes the set into its home stretch – which, naturally, also includes N17.

Their pulling power is remarkable after so long on the road, especially as their most recent album is The Further Adventures of… The Saw Doctors, from right back in 2010. At Stradbally the band have put on one of the weekend’s most joy-filled performances. Not a bad evening’s work for a few guys from Tuam.