“It is a dark and stormy night – an appropriate beginning for an evening of storytelling; the reason this small but dedicated coterie has cause to gather upstairs in Auntie Annie’s.

We are a wet and somewhat miserable bunch, but sharply dressed local troubadour John D’Arcy appears onstage to alleviate our woe. The Great Bunch of Lads line up have the night off, so D’Arcy comes into his own with the more fragile offerings in this solo acoustic set, ‘Eyes On Her’ and ‘More Like Me’. These tender ballads showcase a natural affinity for capturing matters of the heart with clarity, wit and conviction; it’s what the Buddy Holly Doppelgänger does best and we’d like some more of it, please.”

Claire Leonard

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Review of John D’Arcy & The Great Bunch of Lads, Auntie Annies, Belfast (3rd August 2010)

“Having seen John D’Arcy too many times to recount over the years, this reviewer was pleasantly surprised by the man’s new persona with “the Great Bunch Of Lads”. Old songs are reinvigorated and the new songs sound ready to bring John & Co. to the “next level”. Beefed up with excellent punchy baselines, muted power chords and straight up beats, John D’Arcy has moved from twee teenage songwriter to the Weezer/Blink 182 radio friendly guitar driven indie-pop that so many try and fail.

The old favourites are there, but the most exciting prospect is the quality and catchiness of the new songs in the set, making me yearn to know the words so I can sing along.”

Amy McGarrigle

Click here for the review of the whole gig, which included Wonder Villians, Varionis and Southern.

“A dapper John D’Arcy opens, leaving his Great Bunch of Lads sidekicks to watch from the audience as he takes to the stage for a solo acoustic set of stick-in-your-head, well crafted tunes. With soft little love notes - More Like Me - and sweet songs such as Scotty and Pop Tart that are both lyrically sharp and wonderfully observant, it’s clear that it’s D’Arcy’s personality and wit are equally responsible for his talent and his music. A lightly vaudevillian touch and a keen engagement with the audience brings it all together without the support of his band.”

Aoife McKeown

Click here to read the review of the whole gig