Mull It Over 044: Open All Night

A hot summer night in Belfast taking in Late Night Art and catching the after-party with Sophie French at the Ulster Sports Club.

The clue is in the name. As one of the few unofficial after parties for Belfast’s Late Night Art had, at 11pm, still failed to materialise - I had to remind myself that despite my natural, early thirties instinct to believe I was standing in the Ulster Sports Club at some ungodly hour in the middle of the night it was, in fact, only 11pm.

I’m here to see Sophie French, one of Belfast’s brightest young, underground pop stars (yes you can use underground and pop in the same sentence), who tonight has brought all the shine and airlessness of a sunny Saturday morning at the park to a dingy city-centre club at, you guessed it - 11pm. I make a sly comment as we chat a bit about when she might be taking the stage. Ah, but good things come to those who wait.

I’ve arrived at the Ulster Sports Club beaming with inspiration and pride this evening as I had decided to take a stroll through the city’s famed Late Night Art exhibition on my way to the gig; for over ten years this exhibition has run all across the city as a celebration of Belfast’s vibrant, visual arts scene. From venues as varied as The Black Box to the Jobs and Benefits Office on Corporation Street and the old Tesco on Royal Avenue, there is plenty of weird and wonderful art to take in as you make your way through the city like some sort of half-drunk, confused John Ruskin, sipping the free wine and meeting the types of people you wish were always out and about on a weeknight, in the middle of town.

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As tonight’s show is billed by NuMaze productions as Late Night Art’s “unofficial after party” I was naturally intrigued to find out where the “official” party was taking place and then instantly less intrigued and perhaps more bemused when I realised it was in fact, happening upstairs. Not that there is any shortage of fun taking place after Late Night Art in the city - often the groups descend on haunts like the John Hewitt or The Sunflower Pub to, I assume, master the art of pretending to know the meaning behind what you were just staring at for five minutes on the wall of a disused bank vault.

I’ve gone for something far more immediate tonight. Sophie French eventually floats on to the stage some time after 11pm and I am now suitably chatty and well-conditioned to boogie. A well-crowded room must be nice to see as she takes the stage - tonight is the first full-band performance for these brilliant, original songs. And the joy from the stage permeates. How could it not? With songs titles like ‘Friday Feels’, ‘To The Moon’ and latest release ‘Good Life!’, the latter wrapping up in just over two minutes all of the strongest elements in Sophie’s bag of tricks - strong, soulful vocals, a relatable and fun lyric and the ever present hooky chorus that rings on in your head long after the show is over. And it is not long before it is. There remains a cute innocence to a young band or artist performing an unusually short set, as that is all their modest collection of songs can command - and something that reminded me of why I still love coming out to see the latest original music on the scene. Two hours full of covers is great, but 40-odd minutes of well crafted originals in a small, intimate setting, well, that’s the good life.

“Riviera” was my first introduction to Sophie French about one year ago after catching her set at the brilliant Sound of the Shore Festival in Ballyronan, Magherafelt. A girl wearing silver, knee-high boots on the beach was actually my first introduction, which, in any setting would catch the eye, much less at the beach. And here is where I finally get to mention Justin Bobby from The Hills on this newsletter.

“Homeboy wore combat boots to the beach” - Lauren Conrad, 2006

But back on track. “Riviera” was my first sonic introduction and was played pretty much incessantly in our house last summer, fuelling some if not all of our kitchen discos. To hear it tonight is a treat and is treated suitably by Sophie and her band as the centre-piece of the set. Its just the type of song that make my ears perk up when I hear it - this person clearly has the chops (she is a vocal coach by day) and talent to do what she wants in the music space, but the pull of a catchy chorus is strong and Sophie is confident and modest enough to harness its simple power as is evident tonight as the middle floor of the Ulster Sports Club sing along, holding up high their latest homegrown pop star. From the beach to the bar, in a time when music from here (rightly so) can be quite statement-led, provocative and political - sometimes it’s lovely just to catch the pop show.

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