Walter Mitty and The Realists @ The Boatclub's End

On a disheartening day for both the Limerick rock scene and the underground music scene in Ireland in general, at least from a local perspective, I was in attendance at Limerick Boatclub for what was the final gig before closure of this fabulous venue.

The bill on the closing night was headlined by Donegal's Berkeley, with support from Limerick's The Fewer The Better, plus guests Walter Mitty and The Realists. A writeup on the excellent and much touted grunge-indie-rock of Berkeley some other time. A writeup on The Fewer The Better soon too, but here I must give due credit to Walter Mitty and The Realists.



What you get with Walter Mitty and The Realists is grunge/metal-influenced underground alt-punk with an uncontained psychotic engery, a band loaded with natural adrenalin. What strikes me most about this band is the vocal delivery. You'll hear influences of Kurt Cobain, Frank Black and Anthony Kiedis here, but none stick - here is a uniquely frentic, psychotic vocal style all in itself. Envelop this in grunge-metal riffs, add occasional semi-acoustic sounds and the use of a double bass, and mix in rather jivey hooks burried into the metal-grunge and you start to get the fuller picture. This is a band with a lot of creative abilty that deserve all the exposure they can get. On the night they punked out to a full house. Live, they seemed even more psychoctic and heavier than their demo recordings suggest. This is a little known band, unsigned, with nothing released, but one to watch.

They've four demos which can be download from their myspace profile. Check this band out. For a band just emerging, these guys are really good. I probably use the word 'infectious' too often, but these guys have an adrenalin which really is, with choice demos to download - 'Pocket Size Edition Boy' and 'Down Dawn Dogs'.

Limerick Boatclub has been a unique rock venue, crucial in providing an outlet for the often lesser appreciated bands on the Irish music scene, not to mention drawing acts from much farther afield, and a venue which will be sorely missed. I cannot overstate that. This venue was special. One hopes the management team behind it find a new home soon and continue their much appreciated work.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/waltermittyandtherealists