There is something quite ritualistic about descending the tight flight of stairs into Bello Bar. Tucked beneath the Lower Deck pub right on the banks of the Grand Canal, the basement venue is legendary for a reason, it is a compressed tinderbox of sound where there is absolutely nowhere for a band to hide.
On Saturday night, it provided the perfect, sweat-slicked canvas for the triumphant return of Squarehead.
Fifteen years on from their seminal debut ‘Yeah Nothing’, the Dublin garage-rock stalwarts were in Portobello to properly bring their latest record, ‘Ossory Road’, to the live stage. For a band that defined the late-2000s indie-DIY Dublin scene, Saturday night proved that time has done nothing to dull their sharp, infectious edge.
Opening the night was Oisín Furlong’s solo moniker, Anamoe Drive. Stripped of the massive, wall-of-sound distortion he usually commands as the frontman of THUMPER, Furlong’s opening set was a mixture of beautifully frayed vocals and intricate indie-folk arrangements acted as a brilliant, slow-burning primer, warming up the subterranean crowd as the basement steadily packed out to capacity.
When Roy Duffy and the boys took the stage, any lingering nostalgia evaporated into raw, propulsive energy. The band launched into a setlist that brilliantly bridged the gaps across their fifteen-year history, moving seamlessly from the sun-drenched, surf-pop hooks of their early catalog to the more mature, textured layers of ‘Ossory Road’.
Ossory Road is a record forged in a whirlwind of pandemic writing and the chaotic countdown to parenthood and that urgent, fleeting energy translated magnificently live. Along with their many well known tracks like ‘2025’ and ‘Fake Blood’, particular standout for me was new track ‘Spirit at Hand’ which instantly grabbed my attention with its raw energy and I can imagine it will be one of my favourite tracks from the new album.
The other songs from the new record landed with an explosive punch, anchored by a rhythm section that sounded tighter than ever. But it was the interplay between Duffy’s trademark melodic guitar lines and his self-deprecating, warm onstage banter that truly held the room captive.
Bello Bar’s pristine acoustics captured every ounce of the band’s grit without sacrificing their signature pop sensibilities. By the time the final feedback ring echoed off the basement walls, the room felt less like a standard Saturday night gig and more like a rowdy, long-overdue family reunion. Squarehead didn’t just play a gig on Saturday, they reminded Dublin exactly why they remain one of the city’s most fiercely cherished musical treasures.
Squarehead photos:
Photos & Words – David McEneaney @experimentzero
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