Gig Review: The Coronas Make It The Long Way To Australia

The Coronas returned to Australia playing a raucous performance at Fortitude Valley’s The Woolly Mammoth on the second night of their The Long Way tour. The Dublin rock band, led by Danny O’Reilly, played a sell-out string of dates Down Under just last year. Since then, they have released their fourth album, announced by singles such as ‘All the Others’, ‘Just Like That’ and ‘How this Goes’ while the title track has just been released as the current single.

The Dublin four-piece have been lauded in their home country since the release of their debut album, ‘Heroes or Ghosts’ back in 2007. Subsequent albums ‘Tony was an Ex-Con’ in 2009 and 2011’s ‘Closer to You’ confirmed them as one of Ireland’s most exciting bands. Now, with ‘The Long Way’ as their major label breakthrough, the Dubliners are looking for similar recognition all over the world.

In support for the night, Queensland’s own Emma Bell got the show underway. The Warwick performer entertained with original songs such as ‘Supergirl’ as well as covers of artists like The White Stripes.

Byron Bay-based Irish singer-songwriter Mick McHugh took to the stage just ahead of the main event. Mick, also from Dublin, entertained with songs that usually had positive messages although he did talk about his depression, something that is dealt with in his music. Themes of his songs include those who do the same thing over and over and expect their lives to change and how one should not be procrastinating and just go for what they want in life, as the songwriter said, “don’t wait until you’re perfect, just do it”.

Finally, the headliner kicked the show off with a roaring performance of ‘How This Goes’, the third single from their latest album. The band’s appeal is easy to hear with catchy choruses such as the one on this track. Among the other things in their favour is their endearing nature and lack of any airs and graces. They come across very well in interviews and have the time to chat to their fans both before and after the show. Although many in the crowd on Saturday night were also from the Emerald Isle, you could see a lot had brought their Aussie mates who had converted to the Northern Hemisphere rockers by the end of the show if not earlier. For the girls, being tall, dark and handsome and having the accent can’t hurt.

The band changes gear admirably, moving from up-tempo tracks to something haunting but just as catchy as ‘At the Same Time’. Danny did reveal how the band realised they possibly had too many “depressing” songs and how they came up with ‘What a Love’ to counter it. It was a track that lifted the show with a large proportion of the crowd joining in with the chorus.

The effectiveness of the frontman is so critical to any band’s success and Danny was obeyed every time he asked the crowd to get involved. But this is no surprise as showmanship is in his blood.

Lead singer Danny comes from a famous musical family as Mary Black, well-known Irish ballad singer, is his mother. His aunt, Frances Black, is also a notable singer, while Danny’s younger sister has released her own album under the moniker, Roisin O.

Having a mother that spent many moments of his childhood on the road, Danny was always conscious of the lifestyle’s drawbacks. Speaking of his bandmates, he told the crowd: “Every once in a while, you get enough of each other and after sound check, I just wanted to go off by myself, have a wander around the valley.

“I found this little Thai restaurant and I was sitting there having dinner by myself and this group of people saw me sitting by myself and sent me over a beer.

“It was just a lovely gesture, they had no idea who I was, they just thought I was lonely: ‘Who’s that hairy bloke in the corner there with no mates?’ And they came to the show tonight and I’m going to dedicate this next song to them. I’m not sure why I dedicate the most depressing song in the whole set to them,” he said introducing ‘My Fault’.

Bringing their regular set to a close with ‘Closer to You’, Danny told it as it was when he said: “We’re going to do that thing where we walk offstage and hopefully you applaud and we come back.”

Taking to the stage at half past ten, the band played for a full ninety minutes. While their regular set was heavily made up of material from their latest album, they would return to the stage to play some of their early work.

‘Addicted to Progress’ and ‘San Diego Song’, which both featured in their encore, contrasted well with the new material and shows their stark progression. While their early work may well have been about drinking all night and sleeping all day, ‘The Long Way’ is a more mature and even heartbroken record. This would come as no surprise to any fans who follow Danny’s personal life as his long term relationship with Irish television presenter Laura Whitmore came to an end during the album’s writing period.

All knowing the words, the crowd joined Danny in singing the chorus of ‘Heroes or Ghosts’, the title track of the band’s first album, for one of the evening’s poignant highlights.

The show’s climax saw the crowd receiving Danny. Mic in hand for ‘Mark My Words’, the band’s leader distributed high fives before the crowd held him on their shoulders just as they did in Sydney the previous night. This will show you everything you need to know about how The Coronas are with their fans and vice versa.

If becoming as well known here as they are in Ireland is their mission, there’s no reason why they can’t do it. The Coronas could be destined for bigger venues next time they come to Australia.

By David Hennessy