tUnE-yArDs at Whelans

It is a rare occasion that I get to a gig. But on Friday night the forces clearly aligned because while sat in Wagamama's in Dublin my brother in law Barry mentioned he had a spare ticket to a gig. I'd never heard of Merrill Garbus's music project 'tUnE-yArDs' before but Barry assured me that she was well worth seeing. The date for the gig had been set before her latest album had taken off (at least in terms of indie album sales) so the gig was a sell out. He couldn't describe the music by using bands we'd both heard but a quick listen to a tUnE-yArDs Youtube video on his phone convinced me that the gig was better than sitting at home and watching a film. Probably.

Merrill Garbus (Photo by Vince Kmeron)
What followed was possibly the best 90 minutes of live music I've seen. Despite loving every moment of the set I'm still struggling to describe the music. Having spent the £8 on her latest album 'Whokill' once I got home, I can't disagree with it's genre being labelled as alternative, or even iTunes suggestion that based on this purchase I might like Joanna Newsom. Garbus has been likened to Bjork and some tracks remind me of Feist. Hell, you could even liken her to Reggie Watts for her use of live drum loops on stage. While her use of the Ukulele may have been considered more unusual before Jools Holland met the Ukulele orchestra of Great Britain, there is no doubt that she posesses an incredible voice. But difficulties trying to describe her style can't take away from the fact that 5 minutes in I turned to Barry and asked him why we weren't doing this every Friday night.

Whelens on Wexford street is a small venue so I probably shouldn't have been surprised when I discovered I was stood next to Merrill at the bar as she ordered a post-gig pint. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that my new found fandom took over and I asked her to sign one of the posters for the gig that we had liberated about 5 minutes earlier, she was even kind enough to do the same for Barry, and almost lost her pint in the process. Barry held her pint as she signed the poster, and almost left with both pint and poster.

Barry holds Merril Garbus' pint while she signs an autograph

and almost leaves with it.
Merril Garbus's music was a most unexpected discovery that leaves me wondering what other gems I've been missing, and how I can find other talented non-mainstream musicians. The hangover was worth it!