Review & Photography by Stefan Tivodar for MPM
I got to Whelan’s early to claim a good spot that would allow me to capture some imagery as well, and the mood in the queue said a lot. Almost everyone mentioned the headliner’s name as their ticket was scanned, as if still not quite believing that this long-overdue show was really happening. If my reckoning is right, Pelican last played Dublin in this very room, a little over 18 years ago – that means anyone potentially conceived in the afterglow of that night is now old enough to raise a pint, while in the crowd for their return. What a realization to have, what a night we were blessed with indeed.
The room was almost full from the first note of No Spill Blood, and the Irish openers made the most of it. Their 2023 album “Eye of the night” was played almost in its entirety and there were no complaints at all – if anything, I found myself wishing it would be part one of a two headliner-set.
We did not get nearly enough time with No Spill Blood, but I’m sure I’ll seek out opportunities to change this soon. Their set was loud (perhaps too loud at times, but this can also be blamed on my spot in the room) and tasteful in its distorted madness.
Songs like the openers “Cradle scythe” and “Anvil crawler” & the closer “No retreat” (from their 2012 debut “Street meat”) struck a chord. Ruadhan O’Meara’s awesome synth work mixed atmosphere with a surprising brand of heavyness, and Matt Hedigan’s bass did the literal heavy lifting for some excellent riffs that, as mentioned earlier, I’m eager to sink my teeth in again.
The hero of the night for me, however, was drummer Ror Conaty, who earned every extra point available with an explosive performance showing impressive range.
Labelling music is potentially useful when you’re deciding which direction to explore – both as a band and add a listener – but they can also become a weight stopping you from tasting incredible flavours and enrich your sonic world if you’re not careful enough. I’m happy to report that Pelican continues to care very little about industry labels and their show proved this in spades, to my utter and unbridled joy.
Blending post-metal, stoner and plenty of other atmospheric and heavy flavours into a taste profile that is distinct and unmistakably theirs, Pelican are almost beyond reproach live – I’m happy to have had a chance to finally see them live.
The sound quality was good – though I’d have loved more definition and separation in the guitars of Trevor de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec. Just as on the records, the drumming and the bass performances of brothers Herweg was clean, straight and solid, building the excellent backbone for the fuzzed-out, masterful guitar flight of Pelican.
Much of the Dublin setlist came from a recent stretch of new material (2025’s return-to-form album “Flickering resonance” and this year’s Ep “Ascending”) that proves the band still has a soundscape to paint and a story to tell, even after all these years. We got to hear that EP title track, we got the opener “Gulch” and the closer “Wandering mind” from the latest album (and so are with two other tracks in the setlist, “Cascading Crescent” and “`Pining for ever”). It’e very encouraging to see a band more than two decades in leaning on fresh material rather than coasting on its back catalogue – to be honest, maybe this is a lesson everyone in live music should learn.
Near the end of the night, Trevor de Brauw confessed that nobody in Pelican plays music for a living, which is one way of explaining why new music was so difficult to conjure and why they do not tour as often – and perhaps why it took 18 years for the band to return to Dublin.
That confession hit me hard and reminded me that nights like this only exist because of people willing to make them happen. No gig is a given, no performance should be taken for granted. Both bands on the night made a case for doing music on your own terms – here’s lesson number two, and I only came in for the music!
There’s little else to add here. No Spill Blood left a full room asking they play longer, while Pelican delivered a tight, no-nonsense set that made the long wait worthwhile. If either band plays your town, don’t hesitate: go early, find your spot and embrace the loud adventure until the last note fades. You’ll thank me later.
