The streets are already frosting over when the upstairs venue opens for The Midnight Hour. The line-up is promising. We’ve seen Omagh’s Mosmo Strange before in Belfast's Warzone Centre. They’ve already released two EPs this year. A split record with Part Time Pilots and the astonishingly good Mosmotapes. Kiss My Acid played Blackpool’s famous punk festival, Rebellion, this year and there's a promise of a new record in the new year.

Mosmo Strange are up first. Their sound is a mix of the power pop of Weezer and the stoner rock of Kyuss and Queens Of The Stone Age. The two blend seamlessly and the musical output is reflected in the band’s look. Bassist Eamonn Doherty and guitarist Nolan Donnelly sport long hair and beards. Doherty is particularly hirsute, reminiscent of a young Roy Wood, while frontman Gavin Scott and drummer Conor Bradley represent the indie kids.

The titanic rumble of their instrumental opener fires a warning shot before ‘Rollercoaster’ gets the assembled ramble going. Donnelly takes the lead vocals for a new song that builds up to some seriously tight riffage in the b-section, followed by their reworking of ‘You’re The One That I Want’ from Grease. Scott makes the song his own in a way that the X-Factor panel will never understand.

‘George Snorewell’, the opening track from last year’s Art EP rocks even harder live. The beer garden empties as incredulous folk wander in to see what the racket is. They finish with the infectious ‘Vince The Pince’ which threatens to separate heads from shoulders as Mosmo Strange depart triumphant from their debut gig this side of the border.

Kiss My Acid take the stage next. Bassist Rick Wright has purple hair, a plaid shirt and goatee, proper ‘90s. Frontwoman Foxboro Freda’s dreadlocks match Wright’s purple, while drummer Tom Ryan rocks a stormtrooper t-shirt. The punk trio warm up and antagonise a couple of drunk dancers that have wandered in. They play at breakneck speed. The catchy ‘Revolution’ is followed by “a fast one”, ‘Wild Ones’. Ryan plays double time on the bass drum. It’s good to hear punk music in Whelan's.

Freda delivers the lyrics to crash and burn aggressively and theatrically. Wright bangs his head while Ryan stoically drums. The myriad tempo changes mid-song are surely enough to keep him occupied. Their energetic performance suffers from having to follow Mosmo Strange. Their hardcore thrash obliterates the Northern Irelanders groove in a squall of feedback.

An audience member is charged with forming a moshpit and he duly obliges during ‘Individuality’. Soon bodies are flying around Whelan’s dancefloor. Kiss My Acid have taken the revered venue down to their level and it is beautiful. The extended breakdown of last song, ‘One Too Many’, allows Freda to bond with the audience. She chats and dances while Wright and Ryan keep the rhythm going. The eventual climax is the perfect end to the night. Kiss My Acid may not have the tunes of Mosmo Strange but their stagecraft is top notch, and their punk attitude of community and confrontation makes them highly unpredictable. It’s a very welcome characteristic in an increasingly safe music world.

Photo: Julia Stryj

There is a good crowd in for the early start to the gig from folk/rock singer-songwriter, Esme Patterson. Patterson has a fresh, high-pitched voice and some simple but emotional messages in her songs. She is tight with her band and clearly enjoying playing a big venue like the Usher Hall. Unfortunately, the sound mix seems set to the rockier end of the spectrum and her vocals are often lost in the guitars. The highlights of her set tonight are ‘The Waves’ and ‘No River’. During these songs, her voice floats on top of the rhythms. It was then that the ambiguity of her vocal fragility and the band’s growling rock guitar power works best. The crowd give her a strong vote of thanks and prepare for the second act.

The programme is set to crank the audience up for the main act and so the energy level rises when Felix Hagan And The Family take the stage. This is glam rock fun. Felix Hagan and the Family look a little like they have stepped out of a performance of the Rocky Horror Show. They bounce around with the same joyous energy too. The tunes are catchy and the band are out to have a good time with their theatrical rock. A few bars in to the first tune and the audience catch the mood and are dancing along. Felix has a strong stage presence engaging with the audience and keeping the energy high. His performance and the infectious guitar driven rock put smiles on the faces in the hall. This is a band that deserves to be cried back for an encore except that the main act still holds on to the crowd’s expectations.

The main act of the evening is Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls who get a loud welcome from the audience. Frank tells them that this is his 1,990th gig and his hard work has clearly paid off in the loyalty of his fans.  Frank opens with ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’ and as the band join him on stage, the audience are already joining in the choruses. The second song ‘The Next Storm’ was the highlight of the set and won over this skeptic to Turner’s brand of singalong rock. Here the lyrics about overcoming adversity and moving on to face the world are perfectly matched by a fine melody and an uplifting beat. 

Frank has an easy stage presence and he chats away to the audience as if he were bantering with his mates in the pub. The most quotable of his comments was his random realisation that it may be no coincidence that the year of Taylor Swift’s birth (1989) was one without the release of a new Iron Maiden album. This stage familiarity can make the show a little Butlins-esque as Frank splits the audience into two gangs (left side v right side) and promises a prize of a signed drum-skin to encourage audience effort in participation. However, these antics clearly work as the crowd are devoted to him. His strong stage presence and clear lyrical style provide the justification for comparisons with Bruce Springsteen.

Frank plays most of the set with an acoustic guitar but does shift to ‘his new friend’ an electric one for a few numbers. He introduces this instrument with a short blast of ‘Ace of Spades’ laughing as he forgets some of the words. His playing though is good throughout and he receives able support from his band, the Sleeping Souls.

Turner is sometimes described as having a punk background although tonight even his old tunes like ‘Try This At Home’ are more bar-room rock. The only carp about this gig is the lack of a change of pace. There is not sufficient variation from the anthemic, singalong numbers. The song where this is most evident comes around the middle of gig. Frank is joined by Esme Patterson for the sad ‘Silent Key’. This song has an excellent contrasts between a rocking first half and then a keening break before a rousing finale. Sadly, in this performance, the tone did not vary enough during the break and its effect was lost.

However, this does not spoil a good night out. Frank takes a few songs alone on stage and his version of ‘Glorious You’ and an old song from his days with Million Dead which show him back on full form.

The band rejoin him and the finale is cheered to the rafters. A communal effort as he intends. 

It's a Monday night and The Academy is as packed as it would usually be on a Saturday for California’s Pierce The Veil. The few seats in the venue are occupied by chaperoning parents accompanying groups of underage kids, and surrounded by mounds of coats and bags. It's heartening to see so many alternative kids in town. There are few enough opportunities for them to let their immaculately coiffured hair down.

Screams and squeals greet letlive as they tune up. It’s the fourth visit to Dublin for the Los Angeles based post-hardcore group. Tupac Shakur’s ‘Can't C Me’ plays them on and they waste no time before breaking into ‘Renegade ’86’. Front man Jason Butler gets down into the crowd to collect some tinsel and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. He tosses the mic from mouth to hand, screaming with all his might. The crowd are quickly won over and the first pit of the night opens up during the second song, ‘That Fear Fever’.

The Angelinos namecheck Nirvana and Rage Against The Machine before ‘A Weak Ago’ and the audience respond by relentlessly jumping in time with this cracker of a tune that nods to both their forebears. Butler reckons it feels like a house party. ‘Foreign Cab Rides’ is a mellower, more emotional tune and we take a breather before Butler climbs right into the crowd during ‘The Dope Beat’; the mic lead stretched taut over everyone’s heads as he mounts the sound desk, without missing a note.

He takes a minute to curse Donald Trump and strap on a guitar before launching into ‘Reluctantly Dead’. It's always good to see a band make an effort, and the sweat pumping from him is a testament to the work he puts in. By the end of the set the screaming adulation of the audience is nearly a match for the sound of the band. They've made quite the impression.

A mass singalong breaks out as All Time Low’s ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In’ plays between acts. When PTV arrive, they are greeted like a boyband. Vic Muentes is inaudible during ‘Dive In’ against the fans singing along. The confetti cannons go off at the first chorus. ‘Floral & Fading’ kicks off without a pause and the energy in the room ramps up. The confetti cannons get another workout. Muentes needn’t bother singing as the crowd are now louder than the whole band. He plucks the tinsel from an outstretched hand and wears it round his neck. Every movement is greeted by a scream from the adoring fans.

‘The Divine Zero’ doesn’t inspire the singalong that some of the other songs have but it's a cracking tune nonetheless and the action in front of the stage reflects it. Muentes pulls a young woman out of the audience to theatrically serenade her with the opening verse of ‘Bulletproof Love’. It’s a corny stunt but in the context it works and the bubbling pit salutes the band.

It’s the first of a two night sold-out run and you would well believe that they could sell out a third. It’s only the second time Pierce The Veil have been to Ireland but the reception they are getting suggests they’ll be back. The band briefly depart the stage while a warped version of ‘Pure Imagination’ plays. Streamers greet their return with the excellent ‘Hell Above’. PTV take emo and post hardcore and make something uplifting and viscerally stirring. Jason Butler from letlive returns and joins Muentes for ‘Tangled In The Great Escape’, a song he sings on 2012’s Collide With The Sky album. Muentes’ vocal disappears again during ‘Hold On Til May’.

I wasn’t overly familiar with emo/post-hardcore before tonight. There’s no live scene for it here and the over-production on the records makes a lot of the bands sound homogenous, but seeing Pierce The Veil live is a different thing altogether. These guys really rock. When they leave the stage, the demand for an encore shakes the balcony. You can forgive them this indulgence when they get a reaction like that. ‘Circles’ and ‘King For A Day’ round out a kickass set from a band that deserve more credibility than they are afforded.

Apologies in advance as this year's experience of BYAF was truncated due to football rescheduling, meaning none of Friday night's acts were seen - sorry about that.

When it comes to writing about the rest of the event, the tenth of its ilk, one's kind of scuppered to begin with as, having read MTAT leading light Derrick Johnston's history of & thoughts on the festival in the accompanying pamphlet (along with contributions from associated folk from across the Ecossemo & punk scene) it's hard to better what those so intimately & emotionally involved with it over the years have to say. As you've not got access to their heartfelt words though I'll do my best.

This year’s weekender saw the downstairs shows in The Firefly including full bands in the proceedings, rather than just solo acts so the air there was rent by some of the heaviest acts of Saturday’s bill – Carson Wells, The Burnt Tapes, Mug and Aberdoom’s mighty BOAK. Earplugs a must for every set but all to the good as you can’t play that sort of stuff quietly. At other times during the day Canada’s Chris Snelgrove was a good draw down here, as were Glasgow’s Brian Curran whilst Joyce Delaney were as enjoyable as when last seen at Pop South! In January.

Upstairs in Buskers, whilst the insanity of Get It Together’s performance was missed (but easily imagined from the debris), Sink Alaska pulled it out of the bag despite the need for a short notice drummer, Bratakus were an enjoyably cheerful new discovery (along with sporting the finest headgear of the weekend) and Elk Gang, PMX, Bed Of Wasps, Lachance, The Kimberley Steaks and The Cut Ups all turned in absorbing sets. Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man were probably one of the most engaging acts of the event (& certainly the most rubberfaced) with one of the widest ranges in subject matter – Dadaism to Corbyn via Space & good old booze, whilst Billy Liar was an undisputed highlight, especially for the all-star line-up of Paper Rifles, Chrissy Barnacle & Freddy Fudd Pucker which joined him for his final track.  

Closing things out on Saturday came the reunion of ska punkers Joey Terrifying and the ever entertaining old guard of Oi Polloi.

Sunday, as was the case last year, for some reason saw a smaller crowd throughout the bulk of the day but the bands were undaunted. Emo’s usually a description that sets me heading for the door but the Dundeemo of The Barents Sea (reformed just for today & sporting two stand-ins) proved to be one of today’s highlights, the others being Chrissy Barnacle’s full set in The Firefly and yet more emo-tinged stuff from Terrafraid. Bulking things out for me before the last two late nights and another day on my feet took their toll were Salem Street & their Clash/’50s influenced punk, intense sets from Clearer The Sky and XharoldshitmanX, The Sparrowhawk Orkestrel & the brazen cheek of Torturo Nervosa (making it a family show with the drummer’s 15 year old daughter joining on guitar for a number).

Another cracking weekend of punk and more from the MTAT team, amply upholding all they hold dear and benefiting Tayside Mountain Rescue, Insight Counselling and The Royal Life Saving Society in the process.