Pentagram | Live, Whelans Dublin

On an April night in Whelans last year, Witchcraft played to a rapt audience of mostly young, brightly dressed, ever so hippy-ish student types. Included in the set that evening, in addition to a host of their own, Pentagram-influenced songs, was a cover of ‘When The Screams Come.’

For this member of the audience, while greatly enjoying Witchcraft, the moment was tinged with a little regret that this was the closest I would get to see the doom legends from Virginia. Another, more cynical thought followed close behind: How many of these people singing “Now Satan makes your rules” in full voice would be there if it was the originators up on that stage and not some hip young band of the moment?

That a Pentagram date in Ireland should be announced a little more than twelve months later came as quite a surprise. That, with two weeks to go, the band’s appearance should be the cause of turmoil and very much in doubt less so.

Even after all the drama of the week leading up to Pentagram’s debut show in Ireland appeared to have been resolved, thanks to some miracle working by Sentinel’s Brian Taube and DME’s Fergal Holmes, there was a little nagging doubt still; the fear that come the night the gig might just end in anti-climax, whether through a lacklustre performance or a poor attendance, or worse still because with three days to kill in Dublin, Pentagram’s eccentric frontman might go off the rails.

As it happened, though, all the suspense and the hype was crowned with the most fitting end possible … a truly memorable ninety odd minute run through of some of the highlights of the band’s nearly forty year history, featuring oldies such as ‘Forever My Queen’ and ‘Earth Flight’ right through to a couple of new songs from the as yet un-recorded 7th album, ‘Last Rites.’

It might not always have been tight, and the sound was considerably less than perfect, but then Pentagram is not the clean and polished kind of band. The performance was loud and dirty and messy, and it didn’t suffer a jot for it. It was honest, from the heart and often more than a little emotional; Bobby Liebling and his three companions often appearing to be as disbelieving of what they were experiencing as those who were witnessing it from in front of the stage.

The last decade or so has not been particularly good for Pentagram, with cancelled tours, festival no-shows, line-up changes, the deaths of former members, drug problems, and in Dublin it looked like the band was playing all of the frustration and misfortune that has befallen them out of their system.

The only one still surviving from the days of the band’s formation in 1971, the quiet, diminutive Bobby Liebling cut an incongruous figure shuffling around at the Old Season and Gospel Of The Horns gigs on the nights before, one very difficult to reconcile with the crotch-grabbing, extroverted frontman who held the audience in the packed venue in the palm of his hands.

Dressed from head to foot in purple, it was hard to take your eyes of the man for even a second; veering constantly somewhere between crazy, dirty old man and evil wizard. Whether by accident or design, Liebling is a frontman like no other, and for all the turbulences in his life, his voice still possesses the same character and power after all these years, as underlined by incredible renditions of ‘All Your Sins’ and ‘Petrified.’

Unfortunately, after what seemed like much too short a journey – which also included ‘Walk In The Blue Light,’ ‘Be Forewarned,’ ‘Review Your Choices’ and ‘20 Buck Spin’ – it was over again. An encore of ‘Sign Of The Wolf’ and ‘When The Screams Come’ marked the end of a special night, the like of which one suspects is unlikely to come again. And the Witchcraft crowd? It seemed like most of them stayed home.

The first of the two support slots on the night was ably filled by the seemingly ubiquitous Council Of Tanith, who become better with each gig. With the debut demo available since Dublin Doom Day, the audience was more familiar with some of the material and this was evident in the reaction. Gradually, one feels, the Council boys need to progress beyond the ‘we’re playing in front of a room full of our mates’ vibe that still pervades, though, and really work on their stage presence.

Tipperary’s Brigantia offer little more in terms of a spectacle, but generally ploughed through their set with a little more focus, barely pausing for breath or chat between songs. Melding Kyuss and ‘Crush The Insects’-era Reverend Bizarre the three piece already has a small hit in the shape of ‘Time Machine Of Doom’ and may well be one to watch in the future.

DBM ::: 06/10/09 - Photos by Emmett Connell