Bell X1 rock the stage at Live at the Marquee 

THE weather may have turned from weeks of sunshine to an ominous, cloudy heat, but that didn’t stop another crowd of thousands from getting into the Marquee on Saturday night to catch Irish indie veterans Bell X1 performing a career-spanning set, as the summer gigging season continued on Cork’s Monahan Road.

Joining them in support were Dublin alternative pop outfit Soda Blonde, a four-piece that emerged from the ashes of the former Little Green Cars in 2019, who have spent the intervening time gigging, recording and putting in the effort on a sophisticated, ambitious and mainstream-friendly sound that transposes perfectly to larger stages like the Marquee.

Despite the stagecraft constraints of being surrounded by the headliners’ equipment and stage set-up, as well as their own, they impress, led by the easy charisma of frontwoman Faye O’Rourke — the unusual sight of a gaggle of people at the front for a Marquee support turns into a swell of people on the ground by the time they swagger off stage at the end of single Small Talk.

Currently touring new album Merciful Hour, Bell X1 are also celebrating a number of anniversaries — their 25th as a band, if we include predecessors Juniper, involving one Damien Rice in his pre singer-songwriter days, and the 20th anniversary of breakout album Music In Mouth — and fittingly, the band prepare a best-of set that takes on their extended discography.

Taking to the stage to a roar from the Cork crowd, they got into plumbing the depths of their songbook throughout — big-hitters like Alphabet Soup, with its insistent banjo-plucked riffing, duly got airings, while the new record was represented throughout, including opening with single Haint Blue.

The band, led by frontman and recently qualified music therapist Paul Noonan, were in fine form, backed by new visuals by Cork designer Craig Carry, that took in iconography, artwork and lyrics from across their career, indulging in audience participation, instigating sing-alongs and taking in the moment, as crowd-pleasers like Spacewalk, Flame, and The Upswing sent ‘em home happy.