The Record Room put on another banger of a show on Friday, March 31.
The popular Bray-based band, Scustin, headlined the night with multiple support acts, all drawing in a crowd of faithful followers singing throughout their sets.
First up was the band Eskimo, with Luke Kelly as lead vocalist. Their set comprised of mostly upbeat rock, which had people up and dancing. An audible “awww” echoed around the room when they finished up.
The next act was local musician Hugo Lynn, who is normally part of a band, however, he was flying solo on the night. His set comprised of just him, a guitar, and pre-mixed tracks. The crowd’s favourite songs seemed to be his last two – his newest single, ‘Sleep Talk’, a dream-like lullaby, and ‘Skin and Tin’ which gave swing vibes.
Third act of the night, ‘Shroomie’, seemed to have gathered a large crowd of friends for the gig. The musician took to the stage dressed in distressed jeans, clasping a chaotically-personalised guitar and donning a full-face of paint.
He first used a concertina to rile up the crowd, before picking up his guitar. He mentioned how his first song was inspired by “a man in Top Pizza who was freaking me out” which was very relatable to the young crowd and the nightlife in Limerick these days. His set was extremely well managed – at one point, one of his guitar strings even broke, but he kept going like an absolute legend.
Then came the main act of the night – Scustin! Scustin’s music can be described as “post-funk” with humorous storytelling through song, with jazzy undertones. The quartet are known for always putting on a very energetic and interactive performance.
The crowd was cheering so loudly at the beginning, lead singer, Larry, had to ask drummer Wally to redo the intro, all the while Larry hyped up the crowd yelling: “Are we gonna knock their socks off?!”
Larry described their vibe as “pub talking” with a community focus and for everyone to look after each other, as he lead into scatting for the first number.
Later in the set, Limerick’s own Wally performed an insane drum solo, which left the crowd chanting his name. Throughout the set, multiple people were brought on stage to sing along, the funniest being when Larry pulled out a Matt Damon mask.
Attendees spent the night laughing, dancing and singing along, alternating between chanting “one more tune” and “Wally! Wally! Wally!”.
The night ended with everyone in a dance circle with Larry even coming into the audience, and turning the crowd into a mosh pit.
Scustin ended on another drum solo, then thanked everyone for attending before exiting the stage.
Everyone was on a high as the night ended, filing out of the Commercial and presumably heading to Chicken Hut or Pharmacia.
Rohan Coleman