BellX1 celebrate 20 years of making music at Cork's Live at the Marquee
It had been a year since BellX1 graced the Rebel County with their energetic on-stage presence.
Fresh from a successful 2017 tour, a five-night sell-out in Dublin’s Vicar Street and an album release, this year proved no different as the three-piece band showcased their alternative mix of indie, punk rock and acoustic sound, pleasing the Live At The Marquee crowd with hits both old and new.
Fans came and reminisced in chart-toppers from as far back as 20 years as the band celebrated two decades of making music together.
“We’re f*****g old, man,” lead singer Paul Noonan said greeting the diverse-in-age crowd before opening the set with Alphabet Soup.
The set continued with the popular song Velcro, from the band’s fifth studio album Bloodless Coup.
The band displayed the evolution of their sound over the last 20 years with their distinctly varied range of music, from indie to rock.
A full house, or tent for that matter, for the @BellX1 boys @LATMofficial last night #BellX1 #LiveAtTheMarquee #Cork #Marquee pic.twitter.com/fxuqtckqyR
— Breda Graham (@BredaGraham) June 16, 2018
“We're back onto full rock and roll,” Noonan announced before they changed up the set to cater for the headbangers amongst us.
The Kildare natives’ headliner status and regular radio appearances were evident through the crowd’s emotional resonance with the lyrics, appealing to young and old alike.
Careful What You Wish For from the album Chop Chop was one of those sentimental ones that did just that with David Geraghty on the keys taking centre stage.
Some of the more well-known hits, The Great Defector, Flame and The Ribs of A Broken Umbrella, went down a treat, as well as new material from the latest album Arms.
.@BellX1 performing The End Is Nigh to a packed @LATMofficial last night #LiveAtTheMarquee #Cork @aikenpromotions pic.twitter.com/vsNEUIMWel
— Breda Graham (@BredaGraham) June 16, 2018
Rocky Took A Lover proved a crowd favourite as all ages joined band members Paul Noonan, David Geraghty and Dominic Phillips in an effort to raise the roof of the tented venue in a soundwave that could be heard across the River Lee as far as Lower Glanmire.
The feel-good atmosphere wasn’t all down to their playing alone, as the boys remained their witty selves celebrating their 20-year-anniversary poking fun both on stage and off.
On the way to the Marquee in Cork... Here, a joke from the van: what did the Dub order in the Egyptian restaurant? Mo Salah!! pic.twitter.com/7XH8DePKNS
— Bell X1 (@BellX1) June 15, 2018
Here’s to the next 20 years of Ireland’s most-loved trio.
