My Baby + Shobsy
Komedia, Brighton
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

IT’S always special when a support act blows you away. Shobsy (Shane O’Brien), making waves in his native Ireland but less known over here, looks like a cross between Elvis Presley and George Michael — dressed in a black suit with tinted shades and slicked-back hair.

Not knowing what to expect, he launches into an astonishing display of vocal range on Hold Me Up where he seems to summon those falsetto highs from the depths of his soul. Joined by guitarist and synth player Joe Regan, their sound is a retro-infused diva-tastic melting pot of ’80s synth-pop, R&B and more besides.

Shobsy’s star quality soon becomes apparent when he delivers a stunning version of Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy, the final track from his newly released EP Own The Night, which he dedicates to the LGBTQ+ community.

Mercifully, he manages to finish it before the entire venue is evacuated by a false fire alarm.

Fortunately, it only causes a brief interlude. On returning, Shobsy is back on stage and crooning out the chorus of the funk-heavy Entertainment — “cos you like entertainment, I like entertaining…yooouuu.”

The whole performance has an almost Lynchian surrealism to it, no doubt helped by the fact that Brighton’s Komedia looks a little bit like The Roadhouse/Bang Bang Bar in Twin Peaks.

Shobsy closes his set by stepping into the centre of the audience with an acoustic guitar to perform a daring, un-miked version of the un-released Animated, a heart-rending love song powerfully delivered. Showstopping.

And all this before My Baby — famed for their high-octane live performances — have even started.

The Dutch-NZ trio of singer and bassist Cato van Dyck, her drummer brother Joost van Dyck, and guitarist Daniel “Dafreez” Johnston create a wall of sound with their acid-blues-country-funk as they launch into Shameless and the plucky-riffed Sunroof Diesel Blues.

At times, Joost, whose drumkit is miked up, joins Cato on vocals and invariably belts it out into the mic or duets on tracks like the soulful Less Is More  from their new album Echo.

Dafreez’s Hendrix-esque virtuoso licks frequently take centre stage, with an encore that sees him perform in the audience for the gospel-blues tinged Uprising.

Gig of the year? Quite possibly.

Shobsy performs at The Grand Social in Dublin on November 22 / My Baby continue their European tour until December 20