To Hire A Nurse

There comes a time when a girl gets a little (or a lot) sick of all the same old-same-old-music-by-numbers bands. You know the ones I mean – they all have the exact same bland Americanised sound, with zero personality and made for TV hair. Enter To Hire A Nurse, with a bit of welcome colouring outside the lines.

The first time I saw To Hire A Nurse was also the first gig they ever played, at Jawfest in late 2009. I wasn’t the only one who was blown away by them then – everyone there couldn’t stop talking about how phenomenally talented they were. They’re hard to label, which is of course a large part of their charm, but if I had to compare them to someone it would be Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Their music is darkly beautiful and the lyrics sometimes frightening. Made for a cynical girl like me.

I didn’t get a chance to see them again until this past Saturday, when they played at The Bohemian with Polar Dust and The Stray Natives. All I can say is that they stole the show. They have an amazing capacity to hold the audience captive, even though their music is generally slow-paced. I was even more impressed by them than I was when I saw them 18 months ago, which is saying something, and wasn’t at all surprised when the crowd begged for more at the end of their set. In fact, I think everyone there would have been quite happy for them to play all night. Definitely a band to look out for.

To Hire A Nurse is :
Connor O’Brien – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
James Finnemore – Bass
Donovan Campbell – Guitar
Warrick Poultney – Drums
Waldo Alexander – Violin
Ronwin Leibbrandt – Piano