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28 October 2014
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Licence to Thrill?
Gigs: October 11 - The Thrills at Shepherds Bush Empire
The Thrills
The Thrills onstage at the Bush (picture: Jude Stone)
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The Thrills' time has come. Acclaimed on record, can the Dublin five-piece cut it onstage? Contributor Jude Stone reports...
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The Thrills

More on The Thrills at The Raft
(The BBC cannot be held responsible for the content of external websites.)

 
Click here to see The Thrills' setlist

There's been no escaping the recent buzz surrounding The Thrills.

With a Q Award for Best New Act, a Mercury nomination and a debut album that's been championed by everyone from Bono to Oasis, it's little surprise that tickets for this gig at the Shepherds Bush Empire were like gold dust.

Hear and read more on The Thrills here>>

But did the new boys of rock live up to the hype?

Opening the show with Michael Jackson's Thriller was nothing short of genius. The atmospheric opening chords of the 80s anthem - which incidentally inspired the band's name - ensured the auditorium was crackling with anticipation.

momentum

PadraicThe as yet unreleased Tell Me Something I Don't Know blew the roof off the venue and was the perfect opener, setting the momentum which carried on throughout.

As well-received as this song was, there was no mistaking the pleasure of the crowd when it was followed with The Thrills' summertime hit Big Sur.


More album tracks followed to the obvious delight of the sell-out crowd, most evident perhaps in the sing-back section of Old Friends, New Lovers.

irish charm

Frontman Connor Deasy introduced the band's new material with an unnecessary soupcon of modesty - and a bucket load of Irish charm:

"….now for the most dreaded words in the history of live music: this is a new song we wrote just a few days ago…"

Deasy needn't have worried. The pounding beat and catchy lyrics of If I Wasn't So Pretty had the crowd jumping about as if it was an old single they knew and loved.

Speaking of old singles and guaranteed crowd-pleasers, none come bigger for The Thrills than Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far), and the frenzied excitement in the Empire certainly stepped up a few notches as Deasy's dulcet tones rang out the band's biggest hit to date.

beg, borrow or steal

BenFinishing with an encore of Plans, the secret track from the album So Much for the City and new single Don't Steal Our Sun, they seemed as reluctant to leave as the crowd were to see them go, particularly after Daniel and Padraic's stage diving to the obvious disdain of security.

If you missed the gigs this time then shame on you. The Thrills rocked.

And if you ever get the chance to see the band live, then beg, borrow or steal as required to get your hands on a ticket - The Thrills very definitely live up to their name!

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