It’s the weekend before payday, and the storms and floods have engulfed the country into a miserable grey moan. It would be very easy to hide under a duvet for the night, but no! We intend getting our groove on, and where better than a night of Amy Winehouse in Tripod.
New on the scene, Mainly Winehouse are a 7-piece Dublin outfit that propose to play mainly Amy Winehouse (see what they did there…) but also Motown classics and modern funk. That’s motivation enough for us, we finish off the last glass and we’re off.
After everybody trundles their way in the rain to Tripod on this miserable Saturday night for their late club night, Download, we had the pleasure of waiting almost 2 hours before we were let inside the main auditorium! There is a collective feeling of “This better be worth it…” amongst the crowd but everyone stays upbeat.
Finally, at almost 1am, we are let in. Alabama 3 had been in the venue earlier, so changeover was longer than intended we were assured. It’s not long before the band take the stage, minus their “Amy”, and the speculation begins as to whether this might be too authentic a tribute act, and she won’t turn up at all! The 6 guys look sharp however, dressed in suits and ties, everything in it’s right place so far.
After even more minutes waiting while a sound problem is fixed, eventually the gig gets underway.The set opens with an instrumental version of Coldplay’s “God put a smile on your face”. The horn section is in full flight and the band are off to a solid start; still no sign of our Amy though…and the anticipation builds amongst the swaying hips around me.
Then the “plink-plink” piano intro of Back to Black welcomes Tamara to the stage, donned in a hugging blue retro dress, the Amy look is undeniable. Her voice is both sleek and cutting, the very essence of what a lead singer should have. And, while not a carbon-copy of Amy Winehouse’s style, Tamara sounds right at home in the classic Motown-esque female lead role. The full sound of the band is complete, and the venue starts hotting up.
They continue with a couple of songs from the Back to Black album, and some Motown classics which sound fantastic. “Money” gets the Winehouse treatment, and Gabrielle Cilmi’s “Sweet about me” has virtually every girl in the room swinging on the dance floor.
By 1.30, there is a respectable crowd in the room, but it is undeniable that a lot of people didn’t want to brave the elements tonight to come in. We had a stroll around the other rooms in the club (there’s 5 others!). Each had it’s own mini club happening, but overall it seems quiet everywhere. Good techno, and some house we heard, but we’re back for some more Amy quite quickly.
The last half hour of the Mainly Winehouse set has the crowd in dancing form. Martha and the Vandellas’ “Heatwave” gets an airing, much to the delight of my girlfriends. And the big Winehouse songs like “Rehab”, “You know I’m no good” and “Tears dry on their own” sound absolutely sublime tonight.
The band leave the stage to cheering calls of the ever tedious “One…More…Choon…”, but tonight it seems justified. They’re back out and blast through “Valerie” and the night feels complete. After all, we had guessed it was coming!
Overall, considering the horrible weather and frustrating queuing, the night ends on a real high. It is the Amy Winehouse experience people want, and judging by the real Amy’s relative disappearance lately, it may be some time before we get to see her. This will do nicely in the meantime, thank you very much.
Review by Kim Petrescu
