Live Review: General Fiasco @ The Deaf Institute

Date: Saturday October 29th

Words: Michelle Lloyd

On arriving at The Deaf Institute, I was met with a long line of giddy teenage girls eagerly awaiting admittance. A wave of nostalgia came over me, but was quickly replaced with notions of ‘am I going to be the oldest here?’ 

Admittedly, I’m a sucker for boys with guitars and even more so when they hail from The Emerald Isle. Having seen General Fiasco a few years ago down the road at Sound Control I knew full well they ticked all the boxes. 

Unbeknownst to me, tonight would be a strictly Northern Irish affair with support coming from Wonder Villains and Yes Cadets. 

Yes Cadets impressed, a slick performance with electro-tinged sounds akin to Foals. Wonder Villains appealed more to the younger members of the audience with their colourful take on pop music.

As far as I was concerned General Fiasco had somewhat fallen off the radar since the release of their debut album ‘Buildings’ last year. Little did I know they had sold out many of the tour dates and had such a rapturous fan base. As soon as they took to the stage with opening track ‘We Are The Foolish’ it was quite evident why. A feisty, impassioned quartet that ooze angst and charisma in equal measure.

They vehemently played their way through a vigorous set including ‘Dancing With Girls’, ‘I’m Not Made Of Eyes’ and ‘Please Take Your Time’ all taken from their debut album, all infused with catchy hooks and generous lashings of drums. Each track was met with great excitement and animation from the crowd, so much so that I definitely felt the floor moving from all the bouncing. Lead singer Owen Strathern with his boyish good-looks and quaint accent provided a set highlight with his solo acoustic version of ‘Sinking Ships’, giving way to a well earned breather for the other three members.

With a new album due out on the 12th of November we were treated to some new tracks including the title track ‘Waves’ , ‘I Wanna Hear’, and ‘The Age You Start Losing Your Friends’ . All equally anthemic but slightly more mature; both lyrically and in their deliverance. They finished with the fervent ‘Rebel Get By’ which provoked the greatest sing-along of the night. With the sweat still dripping Owen then launched himself into the crowd, much to the delight of his adoring fans, to sign pictures and pose for photographs - a very popular move judging by the surge of bodies that descended on him.

We’re told that the band once played The Deaf Institute with only 19 people in the audience. How things have changed. Refreshingly, they don’t appear to take any of it for granted; dedicating a song to the ‘super-fans’ who have attended 30 gigs and humbly thanking everyone for coming and supporting them. 

They might not have received the same critical acclaim and industry backing of their peers, but it doesn’t seem to have deterred them or their loyal fans.

Find General Fiasco news, upcoming events and information

See upcoming events at The Deaf Institute

Read more gig reviews