Picture This played their first of two appearances in the Heineken Big Top on July 21st as part of this year’s Galway International Arts Festival. TikTok sensation Aimee Carty known for her viral song ‘Two Days into College’ was the opener for both nights. The tent was rapidly filling as I entered the grounds, noticing a broad range of ages across the patrons in attendance.
Aimee Carty played an acoustic set of mostly original music, a Zach Bryan cover and a rendition of her viral track to close out the set. At this stage of the performance, I was at the back of the tent, and observed many young people who were either transfixed in a conversation with a friend or on their phone, turn and move excitedly towards the stage, phone in hand, desperate to get a video of the performance, presumably for their own social media. I enjoyed Carty’s set, although I encountered the same problem I had the night before at Kingfishr’s gig, where a large percentage of the audience were engaged in loud conversation during the opening set. Although, this was even more impactful, due to the stripped down nature of the performance and would certainly have taken someone out of the moment with the levels of noise emulating from the floor. I did feel sorry for Aimee at certain points because of this. I did enjoy her performance overall, although I wasn’t sure if the acoustic set paired with the antics of the headline show coming afterwards.
The stage was then set for the arrival of Picture This; the tent had filled to capacity, the lights were dropped down and a tarp onstage was pulled back to reveal the elaborate set, sculpted I think to emulate a house or old pub. A wave of giddiness took over the audience, and it was at this point I thought we’re in for one hell of a show here. I was spot on.
The band entered through a crafted house door stage left and embraced before turning to retrieve four pint glasses laid out on the set. They then turned cheered the audience, took a chug of their beverages and resumed their respective stations. Something that hit me during this set, was that the staging of this show was curated expertly to draw the eye to different elements. Frontman Ryan Hennessy was flanked on either side by lead Owen Cardiff and bass guitarist Cliff Deane who both shifted from the flat to the raised areas at a rapid pace, while drummer Jimmy Rainsford overlooked the other members on a raised platform to the back of the stage. It would be safe to say there wasn’t an inch of the stage that Hennessy didn’t cover. At one point he was leaning over Dean mid song, fully enveloped in the moment, planted a kiss on the bassist and for a reason I didn’t catch caused him to stumble and fall forward but he was on his feet within seconds, not missing a beat. The laugh between the two, indicated these antics were probably the norm for them.
Overall, the energy of this show was unmatched and the charisma of these boys was incredible. They were rocking out, Hennessy jumped and glided his way across the stage interacting with the fans at the barrier, encouraging them to belt out the lyrics. This was definitely one of those concerts where if you didn’t come in as a fan, you left as one. I would have considered myself a casual fan of theirs, but after seeing this show, I would definitely attend another one of their gigs as a patron. In conclusion, this was a completely faultless show, that appealed to both the megafan and the casual listener in my opinion and would recommend checking out their upcoming shows if you are looking for a fun night out of high energy, good vibes and a bit of nostalgia.
Aimee Carty photos:
Picture This photos:
Photos & Words – Lisa Hamilton @lisahamiltonphotography