Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

The second day of the Music Of Northern Irish Origin festival was just as insane as the first. A free whiskey tasting, an (admittedly excellent) spoken word artist and the revelation of the mysterious act known as Five Ants made this reviewer feel like he was in a Lewis Carroll book instead of the King's Head. Regardless, here are the highlights.

The debut performance of Rams' Pocket Radio, Peter McCauley's side project from MojoFURY, was an impressive showing. With a sound reminiscent of Elliott Smith's 'Figure 8', Peter's shrill vocals and ear for a good tune are demonstrated on 'Dieter Rams Has Got The Pocket Radio'. It's dramatic, poppy and very memorable. They're still rough around the edges but certainly one to watch.

Robyn G Shields reminded us that it was a Sunday with his songs of fire, brimstone and hell. A cheery set for sure. Robyn's sound is gritty yet fragile at the same time, armed with those gravely vocals and an electric guitar. 'An Offering As Such' was the highlight of his performance due to the fact it was a bit of a cheerier number. This reviewer would really like to hear Robyn in a full band setting but this stripped down gig wasn't half bad.

The stage resembled a tube train at rush hour during The Lowly Knights' performance but even in cramped conditions the band can shine. 'Caught In The Cortex' has become a staple of sets while 'Baby Don't Leave Me' caused an adorable stage invasion by two young kids who want to become Knights. ΜύAww. It's a typically strong performance from the band and their harmony-laden folk pop sound never fails to put smiles on faces.

Cashier No.9 were joined by Paul Hamilton on drums for a raucous performance: the man himself ended up looking like Animal from the Muppet Show during 'When Jackie Shone'. It was a really tight performance from the band with their electro country rock sound and it's clear that Cashier No.9 are growing in confidence. It would be nice to see the band play some newer material in their sets as, while we love songs like 'The Lighthouse Will Lead You Out', we're in danger of growing over familiar with the tracks.

Probably the worst kept secret of the festival was the identity of Five Ants, revealed to be none other than Foy Vance (read it aloud and you'll cotton on, feel free to groan). The first 'moment' of the second day was due to the stunning 'Be The Song' that we heard at the Ulster Hall gig, using loop pedals to record his own harmonies, percussion and backing parts. The falsetto vocals sent a shiver down my spine; it is simply a gorgeous song and for once shuts the crowd up. However, Foy's use of pedals is one of my main sticking points: on one or two tracks it took ages to build everything up and once it did get going some of the crowd had lost interest. There's a bit of banter between an exceedingly drunken woman that's wandered in from the country festival across the road and Foy, which takes away a little from the atmosphere. For the most part however, he has the crowd captivated.

Iain Archer is a man who doesn't draw attention to himself, doesn't shout and doesn't get up to outrageous shenanigans on stage. His headline set at MONIO was quiet, intense and beautiful. The first two tracks were nice but there was a lot of chatter in the audience and the necessary atmosphere simply wasn't there. This reviewer feared his set was going to fall apart but clearly I have little faith in Iain: he calmly unplugged his guitar and jumped off the stage, deciding to perform inches away from the crowd. The audience drew themselves closer to Iain and he certainly got their attention. Tracks like 'The Acrobat' demonstrate Mr. Archer's renowned songwriting skills: simple yet surprisingly eloquent lyrics with a sound that's very similar to Neil Halstead. From then on, it was just a blur as time and time again Iain created this lush sound on stage that entranced the audience. Musicians came and left the stage with more collaborations occurring than you can shake a stick at.

The track of the night had to be 'Hey Mia, Don't Be Lonely': the candles on the tables were glowing, the couples were cuddling and Iain's tender vocals soared through the air. It was an enchanting end to an interesting couple of days, with MONIO showing us that the flame of Northern Irish music is still burning bright.

Patrick Kane