A night purely dedicated, both in content and profit, to the ‘Yes Equality’ campaign standing for a Yes Vote in the forthcoming Same-Sex Marriage referendum in Ireland.
A night of music and comedy in Dublin’s Vicar St, featuring acts such as Panti Bliss, Vann Music, Hudson Taylor and Rubberbandits, the message of the importance of a Yes Vote on May 22nd was spread and supported by a packed out venue.
We were delighted to head down and recap on the highlights.
Hosted by Al Porter, Ireland’s relative newcomer to the comedy spotlight, his lack of filter between mind and mouth is just plain fantastic! A better host for night they couldn’t have found.
Panti Bliss made an appearance to the Vicar St stage to “get the serious stuff out of the way” and spread the message of equality, before treating us to a story that’s moral and punchline was essentially Madonna’s default setting of “Jokey C***”.
Smashing out the first musical performance of the night was Donegal’s Rainy Boy Sleep. Performing three atmospheric tracks, Stevie and co got the crowd into the swing of things.
Also showcasing the raw talent of the country was Vann Music and Ham Sandwich, both pulling off utterly fantastic performances. Vann Music sparked up a guitar-driven, electric sound across the venue while Ham Sandwich’s performance ethic was spot on. Bringing the DIT Dance Soc on stage for a set finale cover of ‘I Feel Love’ had everyone on their feet.
Final music act of the night was Dublin duo Hudson Taylor. Stepping straight up with ‘Weapons’, the guys had the crowd in full concentration before they pulled off an extra special case of their trademark mic-less performance. Explaining their original track ‘Don’t Tell Me’ off their debut album as a song inspired by their older sister and a Panti Bliss speech, Harry spoke out about how it “brought me and Alfie to tears”. Stepping out over the crowd, the duo performed a totally stripped back rendition of the song, receiving a standing ovation.
Credit to DIT for putting on such a spectacular night of music, comedy and general support of such an important topic in the country’s future.
“It’s a very simple question, do you or do you not believe that all citizens of this country deserve equality?”
– Panti Bliss