Here's a review of The Ambassador gig from today's Indo - You'll also find some photos over on BeBo or also on www.myspace.com/theblizzards -
Soaring and inspired moments from an eclectic outfit By Ed Power Monday December 10 2007
A band like The Blizzards doesn't come along every day. These five former school friends grew up in Mullingar but you'd never guess they hailed from Ireland's country rock heartland (until now, the town's contribution to popular music could be encapsulated in two words: Joe Dolan).
Musically, they veer gleefully, sometimes manically, between genres, freighting their cartoon punk with teasing references to 70s' power pop, gay disco and ska.
Moreover, frontman Niall Breslin really did throw it all away for a life of rock 'n' roll: an accomplished athlete, he called time on a burgeoning professional rugby career with Leinster to devote himself to the band.
At their best, The Blizzards make a virtue of youthful exuberance: the airplay hit 'Miss Fantasia Preaches', for instance, is surely the sweetest ode to a sex shop ever penned. As the top 10 single 'Trouble', demonstrates, however, the band lose the greater part of their vitality when retreating to punk boilerplate -- featuring a clunky chorus repeated ad infinitum, the song is stodgy and threadbare.
Happily, two new tunes debuted before a sell-out crowed hint at a deepening maturity: 'Trust Me, I'm A Doctor' is emo burnished with irony; 'Postcards From Heaven' suggests the Eagles jamming with Cheap Trick.
The qualities that ultimately raise The Blizzards above the chasing pack of hopefuls are their intelligence and eclecticism. To beef up the evening's set, they deliver a grunge-tinged cover of Heaven 17's 'Temptation'. This could have been a car-crash -- dance-floor classics rarely escape unscathed from the clutches of indie rockers. Instead, it is magnificent. To follow-up, they offer a fantastic thrash metal version of Justin Timberlake's 'SexyBack'. The Blizzards have what it takes to prosper in 2008.
