White Rock Theatre, Hastings, 13 February 2016

We are used to the idea of tribute bands these days but you really need to ignore that when you are in the company of The Dublin Legends – for this is the real thing. The connections between Sean Cannon, Paul Watchorn, Gerry O’Connor and Eamonn (who was unfortunately ill on this occasion though his place more than adequately taken by Shea Cavanagh) are so closely interwoven that there is a continuous outpouring of the joy of traditional  Irish music making – from a raucous rendition of Wild Rover to the intimate sentimentality of Galway Shawl.

And what is more, you certainly get value for money with almost two hours of continuous music making. A couple of traditional dance numbers opened the first half before we were launched into Hot Asphalt. This unleashed a thread of familiar numbers which gave a ready excuse for us to join in the choruses – I’ll tell me ma, Mountain Dew & Black Velvet Band – led by Paul Watchorn on banjo.

But this was not just a trip down memory lane. The dances which followed, including the Races of Mullingar, showed off the virtuosity of the players as well as their popular instincts. This was equally true of the Dawning of the Day and later Galway Shawl with Sean Cannon at his lyrical best deep in the Irish countryside.

After a fine banjo solo from Gerry O’Connor – who seems equally at home on banjo and fiddle – we sang our way to the interval with 7 Nights Drunk & When the boys come rolling home.

The second half followed the same pattern, opening with All for me grog (a gentle allusion to the amount of time spent in the bar – though as there was no draft Guinness I was surprised there was not minor riot) and Working on the railway. A Belfast hornpipe and Flowers of Redhill led into Galway Races and Dominic Behan’s Liverpool Lou.

The evening included two more recent songs by Pete St John – The Fields Of Athenry and Ferry Man – but concluded with a run-down of the ones most of the audience seemed to be waiting for – Rocky Road to Dublin, Wild Rover,  & Whisky in the Jar.

As an encore – before joining the audience in the foyer – we all joined in a repeat of the Wild Rover and, possibly to calm us down a little, a gentler rendition of Molly Malone, which those of us of a certain age have sung since our Primary School days.

The theatre was very comfortably full and the audience enthusiastic. Maybe they should come again – we’ll be ready!