‘Welcome to the Hit Factory’

An eclectic and eccentric performance with everything from ‘Killer Whales’ to ‘Cherry Trees’ packaged and delivered  in true corkonian style on the altar of the Sol y Sombra Tapas Bar.

The mood is immediately set by Brian Flanagan with an interfusion of both laid back and thought-provoking tunes. He does well to warm up the intimate crowd and when it is time for Spillane to take to the stage both the atmosphere and crowd are noticeably effervescent.

The venue, a whimsical cross between a beautifully restored Irish church and Spanish Tapas Bar, provides the perfect setting for the nights entertainment. With its intimate size and closeness of the stage it hard not to be absorbed by the live performance.

The set list for the night spans his entire back catalogue with musical delights and crowd favourites such as ‘The Dance of The Cherry Tree’, ‘Dunnes Stores Girl’, ‘Passage West’ and countless other songs that Spillane ‘made up in his own imagination’.

His well worked routine has the crowd in stitches and personally I cannot recall a gig where I laughed as much. But songs like ‘There Was A Man’ and ‘Gortatogort’ quickly remind us that there is a serious musician behind all the jokes and laughter.

Overall the gig is a great success. A spell bounding feat of awe-inspiring lyrical ability paired with a well worked mastery of the guitar allowed the solitary figure in the red shirt to fill the stage and light up the room as well as the faces of those who occupied it.

A great showcase for all that is right with Irish Music.