Lets make Friends with a new Irish band on the rise.

Friends of Emmet have been around the block for a while...in some guise or another. Some industry folk may have an age limit to new bands on the 'Indie' scene that they choose to support or not support. FOE are not Indie though. They are not new, they are veterans with a rare musicality and calibre that few up and coming bands possess. Their vast array of songs speak or in this case sing for itself. Look at Ray Lamontagne, Seasick Steve etc. Their music knew no limitations to age. I reckon FOE will surprise a few and gravitate in the right direction and carve a nice niche for themselves here and abroad. The audience on the night really enjoyed it as did I.

I arrived in late to a rather crammed Sugar Club last Thursday night, missing the support bands who apparently everyone was raving about. I waved at a good looking red head who is now managing the said band and found a place by the wall, because there were no free seats! Well done to the band on that one, not so good for my feet. First Irish Gig and a packed venue.

They arrived on stage albeit very nervous to start with; but armed with an impressive set list which showcased their stunning album 'State Of Mind' which the band revealed the artwork for this month via their FACEBOOK page. It is due out in Sept of this year. From the set list the stand out tracks were 13th Floor, Coming Apart an the Springsteen like Headlines (my personal fav). 

Mark Leddy, the lead vocalist, is superb. He could be Bonos double mind you. Switching from Guitar to Piano and dropping from falsetto to full on rock n' roll vocals effortlessly on the night enabled the listeners and spectators to get a real grasp of how good a front man he was. It was interesting to find out that Mark established a 60's retro James Bond styled and inspired nightclub with his friend Glenn Quinn (an Irish actor who played Mark Healy in the American sitcom 'Roseanne' and the half demon Doyle in 'Angel' a spin off of the hit series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer') named 'Goldfingers. It quickly became the Epicenter of an amazing music and artistic scene in Hollywood. With regulars like...Marylyn Manson, The Cult, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Heather Graham, Elijah Wood, Lisa Marie Presley, John Goodman etc... they all spent time there, playing live, as Djs or just hanging out. Mark went on to set up other successful bars in Los Angeles and New York but never lost his love for music and songwriting. Thankfully as Friends of Emmet are here to stay. And what a fine return to their homeland last Thursday night. I, and I am sure I am not the only one, am well impressed and they have won over a new fan right here.

Lead Single, ‘Coming Apart’, was recently featured in UK Hit TV dramas Eastenders and HollyOaks. Another track from the album; ‘Hero’, is featured in the independent movie ‘The Saving’ and all 12 tracks from the album are now licensed to MTV.

Downfall on the night: Nothing; a great performance that left the crowd wanting more, all was top notch except for slightly bogie sound here and there. 

Check out their recent performance on Canada AM here: