Friday night's pick n' mix selection for Hard Working Class Heroes was a tough one to narrow down to suit our human time realm but these are the difficulties that we must face as music fans.

With a last minute cancellation from Belfast band LaFaro, the pre-planned half set from Irish/Aussie, Berlin-based band, Kool Thing, in the Workman's evolved into a full set and, my, was it a a treat. The regimental stage presence of the raven-haired, founding members Jon Dark and Julie Chance is mesmerizing. With the latest addition of drummer, Valentin Plessy, this goth-electro trio deliver a very solid and fluid set. 'Plan.Life.Go' was the final track of their slot and sealed them as something very special. They are definitely worth keeping an eye on for future Dublin appearances and for tips on military dance moves.

The venue of the night, and undoubtedly the weekend, has to be Meeting House Square which has proved itself to be an absolute asset to the city. Its every weather umbrellas not only shield us from all the elements but it is also a hideaway from the manic cultural quarter that is Temple Bar, which Apple's maps recently mistook for Dublin Zoo. All event planners, take note - this is a great space. Take complete and utter advantage.

The triple whammy of big acts, Ghost Estates, Croupier and Le Galaxie, meant that the Square filled up quite quickly and as the only outdoor venue, the more bodies the better as there is now a very definite winter chill in the air.

The highly anticipated Ghost Estates set unfortunately fell victim to some sound difficulties which meant that their performance had an unintentional disconnected feel. For a band that play such buzzy, feet-stomping pop/rock, this was a bit of a disappointment. However, this glitch is in no way a detraction from what these guys have previously demonstrated that they are capable of doing. Onwards and upwards, as they say and their next show will positively blind us with its pzazz and huzzah.

The same sound difficulties affected Croupier but, luckily, after a few minutes of tinkering about, everything was set straight and the sound from this band that throw shapes faster than a kaleidoscope was on top form. With just one look, it is obvious that Croupier are a band that love what they do and when they perform, the crowd grows to love what they do even more. Just like some kind of nice, aural, no skin-on-skin contact transmitted disease.

The dizzying climax came from no other than Le Galaxie who are cunningly developing the title of 'highlight of every festival going'. They carried the torch well for this running title and their consistent bombardment of energy and extravaganza begs the question - how the jaysus do they do it? 'Solarbabies' and 'Powers of Miami' unearthed dance moves that Temple Bar probably hasn't seen since it was established by the vikings (this is 100% historically accurate). The combined adrenaline from the band, the crowd and even security at the gates of Meeting House Square could have stopped wars, cured cancer and invented earphone wires that don't get tangled but, alas, like most great things, the set had to come to an end before these things could be tended to.

Even just one night at Hard Working Class Heroes is enough to reassure any doubting Thomases that Dublin is in its prime right now. This was something that Arthur's Day tried to establish last week but ,HWCH, with its never-ending spiral of great Irish bands to choose from and a mini walking tour of Dublin, nailed it on the head.

Review by Louise Bruton