Thanks Brother – Whelan’s

On Saturday 16th of November, both of us here from Our Muchness Guide attended Thanks Brother’s headline gig in Whelan’s in Dublin. As Emma has done a number of reviews in the past, I (Niamh) am in the hot seat for this post! What can you expect? A shout out to a few unforgettable fellow fans, a support set from the incredible Luz Corrigan and the main event itself: Thanks Brother. Full disclosure is needed here. All thoughts on the gig are my own and I am aiming to stay 100% blunt honest. So, grab a cup of tea and let’s dive into it! 

Not familiar with Thanks Brother? Have no fear, we can sum the duo up in a few sentences. Róisín O and John Broe are the duo behind this band. Do their names sound familiar? They probably do. Both Róisín and John have their own musical successes both individually and with previous projects. Or you may be familiar with some of their co-writing magic. For me personally I always point out that they helped to write my favourite The Coronas song “Get Loose”. Thanks Brother formed during a writing session in 2017 for Róisín’s new album and, from the meshing together of both their sounds, Thanks Brother was formed. If you ever get the chance to ask them about how they got the band name, do! It involves a Game of Thrones actor and a important comment made at the time. 

On to the night itself. For once in our lives, we arrived at Whelan’s after doors had opened. We arrived into the main room with a number of people already ahead of us. All chatting away and the room itself felt welcoming. Thanks Brother were to play a sold out show in the main room at Whelan’s. Note to future gig goers for these guys: the duo themselves are in charge of the merch so make sure you leave enough time for the act to drop down the cash box to the merch table before you head over. Shout out to Róisín’s cousin who was ever the gentleman dealing with me as I didn’t have any change. I did manage to get over to get my physical copy of the EP later in the night though.

First up was Luz Corrigan. Anyone who doesn’t know the name, do a search on Spotify and Instagram once you finish this blog post. Luz is a singer/songwriter from Offaly. At only eighteen years of age, this artist’s light is only beginning to shine brighter and brighter. Listeners of Today FM or gig goers who attended Kodaline in St. Anne’s Park earlier this year will know her as the winner of the support slot competition where she played to 15,000 people days before sitting her Leaving Certificate. Her most recent cover has also gotten a lot of attention online and that can be found on her Instagram. Honestly, I can’t say it enough, make sure you check her Spotify after reading this post.

One thing that happened before her set, that both Emma and myself were impressed with, was that John Broe came out and introduced her to the audience. The most important thing he said was that everyone should not talk during her set and just listen. Artist have to start somewhere and by the time Luz had finished her first song she had the entire room captivated! The song highlight for me was “Last Goodbye,” the raw emotion that Luz portrays while singing this song left a trail of goosebumps up and down my arms. This rarely happens for me. To put it into context, in the past year I have seen over 40 acts at least and I have only gotten goosebumps once. Congratulations for achieving this Luz. 

Her set contained a mixture of originals and covers. The crowd thoroughly enjoyed her cover of one of Dermot Kennedy’s songs. It should also be noted that Luz performed the set entirely by herself, no one else on stage with her. She went from playing the keyboard to guitar effortlessly. We here at Our Muchness Guide love artists who can play a number of instruments! Luz did a great job at getting the crowd warmed up before Thanks Brother and from hearing a number of people around us commenting about how they needed to look up her stuff later. One can only hope that Luz’s own crowd will continue to grow. Luz is supporting Wild Youth in London on December 5th and keep an eye on her social media for more gig news.

One thing must be mentioned that happened in the audience in the hope that gig goers may think about not doing it in the future was that, in the middle of Luz’s set, a number of attendees standing behind myself and Emma decided to talk loudly. I don’t mind people whispering during a set but to talk loudly over the artist, to the point I couldn’t hear Luz singing my favourite original song by her, is really not fair on the artist. I know you didn’t buy a ticket to hear the support act but, in future, please respect the artist and your fellow gig goers. Someone in the room may love the support act just as much as the main act or they may be excited to listen to an artist that they think they would listen to in the future. 

Next up, was the act everyone was there to see: Thanks Brother. The song they chose to start their set was ‘Better This Way’ and all I can say is start as you mean to go on. This song shows off both Róisín and John’s vocal ranges. It is enriched with strong emotions and the added drums captivated the audience from the get go. This song is all about the lyrics so make sure you listen. It set a very serious tone at the beginning of the set but showing both their story telling in their lyrics and incredible performing ability early in the set was a good move in my opinion from the duo.

Once ‘Better This Way’ finishes and the crowd explode in clapping and cheering you can feel the atmosphere change into one of excitement and ready for the dance party that is soon to rock Whelan’s. For Róisín and John, by the looks on their faces, happiness and determination seem to be taking over. One song down, fourteen to go. It is fair to include here, that with one EP out and even taking into consideration a few new unreleased songs, how can an up and coming act have such a long set list? Easily seems to be the answer. I am not going to go into great detail on every single song on the set list but a number of moments throughout the gig must be mentioned. 

“We Are Different” was the first single released by Thanks Brother and clearly is a fan favourite. You could have heard a pin drop in the audience as all eyes were on the stage for this song. The message behind his one is clear and I can only guess from my own feelings on the song; it holds a special place in all of the crowds hearts just from its message.

New songs need to be addressed. I would have loved to have had them on the EP so I could listen to them again and again. Alas, us here at Our Muchness Guide will have to fill the void with more Thanks Brother gigs until they come out. The one to watch out for contains LA… I have said too much already!

In total Niamh fashion, a shout out needs to be given to my all time favourite Thanks Brother Song “We Caught It”. This is the one I apologise to everyone around me for but you can’t help but dance and belt out this one. I can confirm though I wasn’t the only one fully enjoying this one as everyone along the front row was bopping along and I presume a lot of people behind me too. I try not to look behind me at gigs so you’d have to get confirmation of this one from the act themselves but I do know people upstairs either side of me were dancing along too. It’s one of the only times it is sociable acceptable to hold hands with a stranger standing right next to you during a gig – during “holding hands under tables”…

The covers Thanks Brother decided to do were well chosen in my opinion. I am not going to spoil which ones they covered just in case you are seeing them during the last leg of their tour. I will say that everyone in the room say along be it for the entire song or just the chorus and everyone was dancing. Well done on picking THAT bop Róisín and John! They were supported on stage by their touring band of course and a mention has to be given to Róisín telling the audience to go buy the EP and merch off her cousin! Along with telling us all he was single. Here’s hoping she managed to get him a date or that the poor chap didn’t die of embarrassment. Can say he was a gentleman giving us a loan of a marker if, Róisín does try to get him a date at the next gig! The only complaint as with all Thanks Brother gigs, it was over far too quickly! The time really does seem to fly by at one of their gigs. A big kudos must also be given to whoever decided on the lighting for this gig. It was aesthetically pleasing and looked fantastic!

To wrap things up, a massive shout out needs to be given to the leading duo themselves Róisín O and John Broe. Despite the crowds getting bigger, they always make time to come mingle with everyone after the gig. I’m not one for photos with artist but I do enjoy getting an EP or Album signed every now and again. The cherry on top for this gig was being able to say in person how incredibly proud I am of these guys while they signed my copy of their EP. An act truly to watch out for in 2020 but, if you have a free evening on one of the following dates, why wait till the New Year? 

November 29th: *supporting Hamsandwich, The Spirit Store, Dundalk.

December 5th: Headline Show, The Róisín Dubh, Galway

December 13th: * supporting The Coronas, Olympia Theatre, Dublin. **Sold Out**

December 29th: *supporting The Coronas, INEC Killarney. 

Their E.P entitled EP 1 can be found on all usual streaming platforms while their new music video for their new single “Call It Love,” which was released today, can be found below. Until next time, this has been an incredibly proud Niamh.