Top Ten Albums of 2009 from Indielimerick

2009 has been a great year for music both in albums and on stage. 21 gigs I've been to this year , all have been outstanding quality, I have ticked several bands I must see before I die off my list and will revisit that list once more in the new year. The Best gig I was at this years has to be a tie between Editors in Dolans and Oasis in Slane, Notable mentions to Morrissey in Galway and Franz in Dolans. Here is a list of albums I have had rarely off the ipod throughout the year, They are in no particular order as always, Hope you all have a great Christmas and a great 2010, Thanks for reading throughout the year! Top Ten Albums 2009

Editors - In This Light On This Evening

Fred - Go God Go

Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

U2 - No Line on the Horizon

Bellx1 - Blue Lights on the Runway

Doves - Kingdom of Rust Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

Franz Ferdinand - Tonight

Morrissey - Years of Refusal

Ultan Conlon - Bless Your Heart

2008 Indielimerick Top Ten Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement Mark Geary - Opium Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid Glasvegas - Glasvegas Coldplay - Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology One Day International - Blackbird Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha Lisa Hannigan - Sea Sew

2007 Indielimerick Top Ten

Radiohead – In Rainbows Ryan Adams –Easy Tiger Arctic Monkeys – Favorite Worst Nightmare

Interpol – Our Love to Admire Bright Eyes - Cassadaga Kings of Leon - Because of the times Arcade Fire – Neon Bible Wilco - Blue Sky Blue The White Stripes - Icky Thump Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

R.I.P. Chris Feinstein

Bassist in my favorite band the Ryan Adams fronted Cardinals. He will be sadly missed, such a great talent and a really nice guy, I took this photo at the gig in the Ambassador in Dublin (08-11-2008)

Headgear 'The Emergency Position'

Fantastic video and song from Limericks own Headgear http://www.myspace.com/headgearmusic

Modest Mouse Live at The Radisson, Galway, 05/12/2009 REVIEW

A cold wet miserable Saturday in Galway was the setting for the gig tonight. Modest Mouse were about to play their first of two gigs at the Radisson Blu Hotel. After being rescheduled first from Dolans Limerick to the Roisin Dubh in Galway the hotel was the final venue picked. Got there early and the hotel ballroom was a really nice setting for a gig, well on second thoughts maybe a wedding? The balcony offered an alternative to people you didn't want to brave the packed crowd huddling around the big stage set up in the back. The room stated it could hold in and around 700, im sure there was more packed in tonight.

The first band up were Scottish outfit “Frightened Rabbit”, I have been a really big fan of their second album released in 2008 “The Midnight Organ Fight”, it was great to see these guys live and what a great performance they put on. I didn’t catch the set list and if anyone did I would be grateful if you could post it up here. The first thing about their show that catches your eye , is their drummer Grant Hutchison. The guy is beyond energetic in his movements, he gives an incredible live performance. He seems to drum what three drummers would struggle with, quite amazing to watch. The band are a seriously good live band and the songs transport brilliantly on a live stage. The crowd are very well warmed up for the main act, Frightened Rabbit are currently working on a 2010 release called “The Winter of Mixed Drinks”, Hopefully they will be back on Irish soil again, for now check them out here : http://www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit

Next up the much anticipated Modest Mouse. The stage was set up for what looked like several bands, two drum kits, and a mountain of guitars, amps and percussion items. The roadie seemed to go on stage a hundred times sorting everything out, a full hour and a half went by and the crowd drew weary of waiting. Then they finally came on to much applause; it was all business by the looks of these guys and this is the way it remained all night. Very little crowd interaction apart from a few mumbles that i couldn't work out, it was just purely all about the music. 6 guys adored the large stage that suddenly became very crowded and blasted straight into “Gravity Rides Everything” from their 2000 release “The Moon & Antarctica”, The gigs set list was the talking point after the gig, Ill be honest my favorite album of these guys is their 2007 release “We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank”. This is rarely off the ipod and unfortunately they chose to play just two from that album, you will never guess my highlights of the night?

This set list is a Hardcore MM fans dream as they basically got a track in from all their releases down through the years even including a rarely played live song from their 1997 EP “The Fruit That Ate Itself” , 4 of the 17 songs came from old EP’s that most people im sure don’t even know of, I can only assume from the few people knowing the actual words, most of the people there that night weren’t in this Hardcore MM fan bracket as they were there to hear their big fan favourite of “Float On”, they were sorely let down as this never got played and again ill be honest I really wanted to hear it too, It is my favourite song of theirs and after every song in my head I kept playing the intro but it never got played, Initially after the gig I was very disappointed with the lack of songs from “we were dead…” and the lack of “float on” but you have to step back and realise that aside from this the songs the did play were fantastic and their sound throughout the night was amazing, they are an Incredible live act and put on an amazing live show, even though they took forever to get on stage and took forever to get back on stage for the encore, they didn’t play the song most people that paid to get in wanted and I got just two songs from my favourite album of theirs, It wont deter me from seeing them again though as the show they did put on was great and I will end up seeing Float On live one day, I am sure! Cheers for a great night!

Set List :

Gravity Rides Everything

The View

Dashboard

Dramamine

The Way Down

Autumn Beds

Bury Me With It

Cockroach

Broke

Parting of the Sensory

Whale Song

Here It Comes

Satellite Skin

Satin In A Coffin

Encore :

3rd Planet

Tiny City Made of Ashes

Wild Packs of Family Dogs

Albums Worth Listening to in December 09

More to Follow, Suggestions Very Welcome!!!

A Host of Events This Weekend in Limerick

More info at www.eightball.ie

Music Snippets # 23 - Spiral Beach

Hail From : Toronto & Ontario in Canada

Band Members :

Daniel Woodhead

Airick Woodhead

Dorian Wolf

Maddy Wilde

About :

These guys are in town this Thursday supporting the greatness that is FRED! The Canadian 4 piece will take to the stage in Dolans to showcase their brand of Kooky electric pop fun! looks like it will be a fantastic night of music and well worth the small price tag of only 13 bucks!! There are several gig reviews of Freds on the left sidebar, every gig of theirs is just brilliant and by the looks of these guys supporting it will be extra special!

GO CHECK THEM OUT HERE:

http://www.myspace.com/spiralbeach

Seneca set for Home Town Gig

THE JD SET IS CALLING ALL UNSIGNED BANDS IN LIMERICK

From The Blurb :

Ireland’s longest running competition for unsigned bands, Jack Daniel’s’ The JD Set, is inviting all unsigned bands in Limerick over 18 years of age to register on the official website, www.thejdset.ie for the chance to be one of 20 bands who will be shortlisted in January 2010 to play in The JD Set heats in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford will run from February to April 2010.

Each location will host one heat featuring four live bands. One of these acts will be selected by a panel of three judges to go through to The JD Set final in The Village, Dublin next April where they will compete with four other bands for the overall prize.

As winners of The JD Set 2010, the winning band will receive advice from The JD Set Icon 2009-10, Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, Studio Time in Grouse Lodge Studios, inclusion of tracks on an official The JD Set 2010 CD on the cover of Hot Press and PR support. Previous winners of The JD Set include The Coronas, who won the competition in 2005, and The Chakras who were joint winners in 2006. Last year’s competition was won by Camogie Lovers (now known as We Cut Corners).

As The JD Set icon, Tim Burgess will return to Dublin in April to judge the final of The JD Set in The Village. Tim visited Dublin and Cork in October to meet with unsigned bands to talk about The JD Set and offer them advice based on his many successful years in the music industry.

Now entering its ninth year, The JD Set is Ireland’s longest running unsigned band competition. For more information on The JD Set seewww.thejdset.ie.

Albums Worth Listening to in November 09

Updated!! Thanks to Ronan for the suggestion of Justin Towned Earle and what a great suggestion it is! David Rawlings first solo offerring is well worth checking out, some amazing gems in there. Also listening to The Big Pink's album a Brief history of love.

Something for the Weekend

Music Snippets # 22 - Ultan Conlon

Hail From : Galway

About :

I have in my hand the debut album from Ultan Conlon, This 10 track gem is just amazing, From start to finish this album transports you into Ultan's world. Beautiful stand out tracks such as "Bless your heart" and "The Will" just make this record so special. An Irish album that deserves to be put up in the top spot of Irish albums in 2009. The artwork seen above reminds me of Bob Dylan's 1963 album "The Freewheelin" just without the women on his arm. Maybe I have it wrong but the lack of this women in the cover transpires in the album as we hear songs such as "The Boy Without" with lines such as "It's been a long time since my heart beat for a girl,a real girl, with explosion and spark, it's been a lonely year for this boy without a city, the boy without a kiss". Ultan sparks every emotion on this album and its one record i know ill be going back to every now and then.

I had the pleasure of seeing Ultan live recently in Galway (Review Here : http://indielimerick.blogspot.com/2009/10/ollie-cole-live-upstairs-at-roisin-dubh.html ) and the tracks he played that night are all hidden in this record, Live I found them even better as he poured his soul out on stage and that raw amazing voice is just that bit better when your in the same room. I also got a copy of a 5 track live album which almost captures this beautiful rawness. I cant wait to see the next chapter in Conlons music book and I am really looking forward to seeing the guy live again. Keep on eye on this one!

GO CHECK THEM OUT HERE:

http://www.myspace.com/ultanconlon

Music Snippets # 21 - The Ralphs

Hail From : Galway Band Members : Jamie Ralph - Guitar/Vocals. Conor Ralph - Lead Guitar Brian Ruane - Bass Leigh Ralph - Drums, Percussion.

About : Just recently got a hold of these guys debut single (Pic Above), The four guys hailing from Tuam formed in late 2008. Several gigs later and extensive radio play sees the guys firmly on the Irish band scene. The band comprises of brothers a cousin and a best mate. This closeness can be heard on their double single, listening to other tunes on their myspace page such as "The Bus Stop" gives hints of a young sawdoctors band and something I cant quite put my finger on. Its great to hear young bands like this hard at work and ill look forward to hearing better things from the lads as the experience grows. By just listening to their tracks you can almost sense the madness that will ensue in future gigs. Best of luck to them!

GO CHECK THEM OUT HERE:

http://www.myspace.com/theralphsmusic

Gig News - Paul McCartney to play the 02 for Christmas

The rumours were true, Paul is set to play the 02 on the 20th of December as part of his 8 special arena shows across Europe. Its his first Irish gig in 6 years so well worth checking the guy out while you can. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday the 28th, The tickets are pricey but worth it by the sounds of the show the guy puts on. (€86.25 standing and €91.25, €126.25, €156.25 seated).

Ticket Link :http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Paul-McCartney-tickets/artist/735610?tm_link=tm_homeA_f5

Free music - Paul McCartney - He's Back On Tour

Free Fionn Regan Track

The Irish times are currently offering people a free mp3 of Fionn Regan's single Protection Racket here : http://www.irishtimes.com/theticket/fionn-regan/

For only two more days its up for grabs, The single comes from his upcoming album "The Shadow of an Empire". This album is due out sometime next year, Fionn is currently on tour so keep track of him over here :www.myspace.com/fionnregan

To read an indielimerick review of his last limerick gig click here : http://indielimerick.blogspot.com/2008/11/fionn-regan-upstairs-dolans-23112008.html

Pink to Play in Thomond Park next Summer

Pink is to be the Third act to adorn the hallowed turf on the 20th of June 2010. Again not a big fan of the girl but she sure does put on a great live show. Saw her at Oxegen in 2005 while waiting for another band to come on and she is great live. Its great for the city and hopefully one more act for the summer will be announced soon.

Ticket Details :

Tickets for the concert will go on sale from Ticketmaster outlets and Empire Music on O’Connell Street next Friday, October 23, at 9am.

General admission tickets will be priced at €58.30, while seated tickets will be available for €63.20.

PETER DOHERTY'S IRISH TOUR POSTPONED

From the blurb : Peter Doherty’s scheduled Heineken Green Spheres gig in Galway this week has been postponed. A statement was issued today from the artist’s agent: “Last night Peter Doherty was admitted to Swindon Hospital with exhaustion and breathing difficulties. He is currently under observation by doctors.” The Galway show and his other Irish dates (Belfast, Tuesday 13th and Dublin, Wednesday 14th) are currently being rescheduled with dates to be announced. Heineken Green Spheres tickets will still be valid for the rescheduled date. Heineken Music’s thoughts are with Peter and his family at this time.

Editors Live at Dolans 09-10-2009 REVIEW

Friday would see yet another high profile band descend on the warehouse in limerick. Dolans have been showcasing serious talent to the limerick people over the year so far but none would match the intensity of this gig tonight. I arrived early and by chance met the Editors front man Tom Smith happily watching re-runs of “The Wire” on his laptop. He seems like a really nice guy and I welcomed him to limerick and wished him the best of luck tonight with the gig. Not that he needed it. I had a sneak peak into the warehouse, The editors sound desk and lightning controls were down on the main floor, A massive set up that couldn't even fit up the stairs where most bands have the rig set up. Dolans Bar area however was heaving with people early on and as the doors opened the support act got straight down to business.

The band were “Wintersleep”, This Canadian outfit have been around now for 8 years, in those years they have produced 3 albums and have had a serious gig playing career which includes the likes of supporting Paul McCartney, They also were awarded the Juno Award for New Group of the Year in 2008. It’s clear on stage tonight the wealth of experience these guys have as their sound is extremely polished and they are incredibly at ease of being on stage. They play a short but brilliant energetic set of 7 songs. The lead singer Paul Murphy’s voice is akin to Interpol like sounds and the drummer looks like a crazed man when in full flight. The band are clearly brilliant live, giving ever ounce of felling and energy. I got a chance to pick up their 2008 album “Welcome to the night Sky”, Ill look forward to hearing more from this band. Wintersleep Setlist: Drunk Archaeologist Experience Weighty Ghost Murderer Oblivion Black Camera Editors arrived out on stage to a heaving dolans crowd, there were people everywhere for this eagerly anticipated show. I have had tickets in my procession since the start of June and it sold out within minutes. Having worn out playing the bands debut album “The Back Room” several times it was incredibly exciting to be witnessing these songs live in your home town alongside 400 odd people. Limerick is clearly on the gig map for bands nowadays and long may it stay that way, it was nice to purchase a tour t-shirt to see Limerick in amongst the vast amount of cites these guys will play over the next few months. The crowd throughout the gig didn’t stop dancing and the hands never stopped clapping. The gig was biting at the heels of all the gigs I have witnessed this year to be the top dog. The energy from both the crowd and band were so intense. The lead singer seems almost possessed by his own creations and completely embodies every note and beat being played. The band is visibly happy interacting with the exited crowd as Tom repeatedly says it’s good to be back in Ireland. The guys just released there third album of there 7 year stint as the Editors last week. This album is completely different to the previous two albums as they opt for a more electronic feel to their indie joy division sound. At first I wasn’t sure this was working but hearing it come alive on stage, it all makes sense. Listening to the album now gives a completely different perspective on the sound and these guys have got it all right. “In This Light and on this evening” will finish high on peoples top albums of the year list, Live is still what this band does best and the music just transports you into this brilliant place. The night was just amazing and it’s hard to describe all this energy in text, the videos below give a little insight into this magnificent night of music. It will be hard to top a gig like it. Congrats to Dolans for reeling in these guys and thanks to both bands for an awesome night! Editors Setlist: In This Light and On This Evening Bullets (Video Below) An End Has A Start You Don't Know Love All Sparks Like Treasure Bones (Video Below) The Racing Rats Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool The Big Exit Lights You Are Fading Camera Smokers (Video Below) Bricks And Mortar Encore: Walk The Fleet Road Munich (Video Below) Papillon (Video Below) Fingers In The Factories Editors Video Playlist of 5 Videos

Fred's Rolling into town once more!

The band take on Dolans once more on the 19th of November. Support comes from Spiral Beach . If you havent witnessed a night of Fred live your missing out. Guaranteed a great night of fun!

Check out some past review's here :

Fred Live at Dolans 08/04/09

Fred Live at the Belltable unfringed fest. 31/01/09

Belltable in Session this Thursday

The next installment of the highly popular Belltable Acoustic Sessions is to take place tomorrow evening in the Red Cross Hall. This sessions sees Newcastle West born Emmet Scanlan take to the stage with his Galway based outfit "Emmet Scanlan & What The Good Thought". They release they debut album "Hands" back in March and have been gigging extensively since including a spot at electric picnic. Joining the guys on the bill Thursday are Kev Fox, Si and Beautiful Rooms. These sessions are great evening of music and you cant complain with the ten euro fee. For more info on the sessions and bands check out these links :

Belltable Sessions MySpace

Belltable.ie

Emmet Scanlan MySpace

Coors Light Peak - Galway Review (03/10/2009)

After a fantastic Coors Light Peak Event in Limerick (Review Here: Limerick Event ) The Coors team were now settled in the city of the tribes. Once again they had found an ideal area of the docklands this time on Nimmo’s Pier. I unfortunately missed out on “The Flaws” due to a certain Magners League match that I no longer want to talk about. The area was set up slightly different to limerick as this time they had a second stage set up and they had lovely Flame lit torches adoring the entrance and the stage looked much bigger.

When I arrived (Late) the second smaller stage nearer the bar was in full swing and it was non-other than local Galway band disconnect 4. These guys are incredible hard working band and seem to be at every live event that happens in Galway. The actual were at the gig I was at the night previous because they had given a loan of their equipment to Oliver Cole for his gig. Tonight saw them using this equipment to blast out songs to a really packed docklands. The songs they were playing mainly came from their latest EP “Modern Love”. Its hard not to make similarities to other bands throughout their set, such as the Cure, Bravery,The Killers but I guess this is were they drew their sound and look from. The band are a great superb live act and look forward to hearing their live again and hearing their upcoming album.

Next up was the one-man-band Jeremy Hickey under the pseudonym of R.S.A.G(Rarely Seen Above Ground). Having seen the guy play the last Peak even it kinda is hard to write a review without saying all the same things. Tonight saw him play a very similar set and the sound was again fantastic. The crowd was much bigger for galway and they truly enjoyed his performance. The visuals once again were top notch, If you want to find out more info check out my review of his set at the limerick even here : http://indielimerick.blogspot.com/2009/09/coors-light-peak-limerick-review.html

As Jape set up for the last of the nights acts , drummers played upon the metal containers surrounded the docklands area. I thought this was a great touch by the Coors Light people, You can see as the events go on , they are improving it ever so lightly. Jape got straight down to business and had the crowd in a frenzy before you knew it. Admittedly the limerick gig the week previous (Review Here : http://indielimerick.blogspot.com/2009/09/dolans-warehouse-guinness-250.html) was much better, but I think that’s because some of the energy was lost in the night air and the vastness of the area in galway count not contain the Jape madness. Having said that the set was still amazing and Jape live is just a sight to behold. He told us he is to be Married this Friday and we would like to send out our best wishes to him and his bride to be for the special day, I wonder what band they have booked for the day :) The crowd were in great spirits despite the cold, there was many a crowd surf and people on shoulders. Like limerick for Jape’s song “StreetWise” he accompanied by a fan for the chorus, this time it was a guy by the name of “Milo”. He really had some great moves and was very entertaining to watch his excitement singing with Richie. The video’s below are all a bit shite due to the closeness of the speakers but worth the watch anyway. The set ended with the backing track of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” with the word love being replaced and sung as Fuck by both Richie and the crowd. This saw another end to a fantastic Coors light peak event. If you can get yourself to one log onto to their website and apply for tickets. The event is free and I guarantee a fantastic night of music. Next event is on in Waterford on the 27th of October. No bands are listed yet but keep checking here : http://www.coorslightpeak.ie. Thanks for a great night Coors! Jape Video Playlist

Oliver Cole Live Upstairs at the Roisin Dubh, Galway (02/10/09) REVIEW

I real wet Friday night in galway saw my first visit to the upstairs area in the Roisin Dubh for a gig. I was in town to see the Coors Light peak event the next night but saw that ex Turn member “Oliver Cole” was to play upstairs. Ten euro entrance fee brilliantly included a copy of his three track EP “What Will You Do?”. The EP had been launched in the capital the night previous. The crowd and room were small as the first figure arrived on stage. This figure was to be “Ultan Conlan”. This guy actually blew me away with his voice and amazing lyrics. How I haven’t heard this guy before is beyond me. The voice just hits you like several punches to the heart. The silky smooth voice and Leonardcohenesque lyrics made an amazing combination. The guy has bags of talent and can’t wait to get hold of his debut album “Bless Your Heart” which comes out later this month. There is a fantastic single on his myspace called "Really Gone" which includes the late great John Martyn in the mix. I cant speak highly enough about this guys raw emotional performance on front of 18 people before he jetted off to work. He will be one to watch like a hawk, let’s hope we see him come to limerick soon. I expect huge things for this man and if not something is wrong in the industry. Next up was Oliver Cole. You may remember the guy from the really successful Irish band “Turn”, that band came in went in the years 1998 to 2006. Tonight saw Cole being backed by a bassist and drummer, the only thing remaining from the Turn days is his red electric guitar. The songs nowadays are aged and mellowed but like a nice wine. Most songs were converted from piano songs to this layout and it work perfect. The sound was great and you can see the years of gigging as put ollie in a position of complete ease playing live. The band were in a reflective mood and shared fantastic on the road stories. Ollie’s guitar was cursed tonight as it saw two broken strings, but this gave the band more time for telling yarns. The “what goes on tour stays on tour” motto doesn’t seem to apply to these guys as we were treated to stories of threesomes where Ollie’s bassist told us of a night where he brought back a girl to his apartment were Ollie was uninvitingly staying too. Ollie decided to walk into their room and see if he could get in on the action. To secure the deal he said “I promise I won’t touch your mickey”. The tales were hilarious and great to hear and the night turned into a lovely storytelling night between songs. He told us the tale of the red guitar, which involved a member of the crowd at a gig steal the guitar. Not until several years later did they get an e-mail from a guy who was at a house party and over heard the host boosting about stealing Turn’s Guitar. They eventually tracked the guy down and got the guitar back. They spoke of a night bumping into the bass player from the stone roses where he tipped them off about a great bar to frequent. When arriving to this bar they could only get served Cocaine and Moonshine while Ollie played Pool with a big black guy with a gun. They got out of their sharpish. The music was fantastic throughout as they whittled through their paired down set and pints of Galway Hooker to a room of about 18 people. We heard such songs as "Too Many People" which i had heard before as it was featured on the Charity album "The Cake Sale", This project involved many Irish artists writing songs and other people singing them, Glen Hansard sang his song on the album. He also played a an old reworked Turn song and many other that will feature on his upcoming album. Ollie’s album is out very soon and I for one will be checking it out.

SetList :

Oh My Girl

Too Many People

What Will You Do?

Close Your Eyes

We Albatri

Little Bad Dream

Drug Song

Need you Stray

Moths Wing

Holding Your Heart

Life's Great Advice

Albums Worth Listening to in October 09

This will be added too id say as the month goes on. A great month for releases. I will hopefully get around to an album review of Sanzkrit's Debut "After the wedding", for now check them out here :http://sanzkrit.com/

Mouse Mouse not playing Limerick !!!

I wrote here at the start of the month that modest mouse were to play in limerick in dolans, This is now cancelled and they are now playing in Galway's Roisin Dubh on the 5th of December, Tickets already nearly sold out. This is a kick in the teeth for the warehouse venue however ill still be going no matter where its on.

From Dolans :

Hi Music Lovers It is with heavy heart that I write this mail to you as contrary to online rumours Modest Mousewill not be playing Dolans this December. There was a whisper of it happening some weeks ago but in the end the band have decided to play just Dublin this time around. We will endeavour to catch them on their next European tour. In the meantime try to console yourselves with all the other wonderful gigs we have over the next few months. As always, if anything else wonderful happens with Dolans, you will be the first to know! TD

The Gig is to take place on the 5th of December in the Radisson Hotel in Galway.Tickets available from the roisindubh site(www.roisindubh.net/) . The Hotel has a live lounge heres the spec :

The Live Lounge newly designed, purpose-built 6000 square foot venue has a 700 person capacity for concerts and is also ideal for comedians, dancers, actors, exhibitions and conferences. The Live Lounge has a large ground floor area and a wrap around balcony/ mezzanine, and excellent catering facilities, making it also ideal as an exhibition or conference centre, and has ample car parking facilities and located opposite main bus and rail station all right in the heart of Galway city.

This will be Galway’s First destination Venue which is equipped with high-tech, state of the art technology. With digitally processed, fingertip control sound, the top of the range sound system will ensures the Live Lounge is the ultimate live gig venue, with maximum sound quality and guaranteed listening pleasure!

The lighting and rigging systems are equally – the focus will be to promote the Radisson Blu Hotel, Galway as the West of Irelands premiere Entertainment/Exhibition Destination. Designed to provide the facilities for variety of acts, this venue aims to attract high quality, top class acts in many disciplines from Ireland, the UK and abroad. The Live Lounge is the place to play in Galway!

This Saturday in Dolans - A Worthy Cause & A Great Night of Music

Last Days of the Death Country have been organizing an event for their friend Gerard McDonnell, Gerard was the first Irishman to climb the summit of K2, In the decent he died in an avalanche while, fellow climbers believe, attempting to free a trapped member of the expedition. The band are putting on a night of music to raise money for a memorial fund for Gerard. This is taking place next Saturday the 3rd in Dolans warehouse. Ill let the band give you the details : Hey all, I'd like to invite you all to an event that i have been planning for 2 months. I want to raise money for the Gerard McDonnell Memorial Fund, Ger was a close friend of mine and this is a very fitting tribute to my friend who loved music. Showcasing some of the best upcoming irish acts. Vertigo Smyth, Windings, Supermodel Twins, Last Days Of Death Country, Walter Mitty And The Realists and a great club with Dan Sykes So Saturday October 3rd in Dolans Warehouse @ 9.30 Sharp the Gig will start and all this great night of music is only 10euro Please come along and lets make as much money as we can for this very worthy cause and lets have a great night doing it if you can please send this on to people and invite as many as you can http://www.explorersweb.com/news.php?id=17919 http://www.mountainfund.org/online/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=90&Itemid=127 Thank you and i look forward to seeing you there Patrick O'Brien (Last Days of Death Country)

Arthur's Day - Dolans Warehouse Guinness 250 Celebrations Review

While all eyes were on St.Jame’s Gate in Dublin for the celebrations of Arthurs Day, Dolans were putting on their party to honour the great man’s 250 year lease. The pub was nicely packed when I arrived and tucked into my first Guinness around 7. The warehouse was to host 3 bands while upstairs was hosting the 18th instalment of the Green & Live Sessions. In an ideal world I would have witnesses both but I opted for the warehouse well for at least most of the night.

The first band to adored the stage was “Alphastates”. Surprisingly as everyone had expected the lesser known band 21 outs to play first. I later heard that Alphastates had arrived very late for the event and had to go on first has they had nothing set up in terms of speakers and so on. The band tonight were reduced to two, due to one member breaking his leg during the week and an other being sick. We witnessed the pair having a rushed sound check while they were only hooked up to the two main speakers. The sound throughout remained poor and it was unfortunate as im sure with the full band they are a great live act. The two soldiered on and gave a short but great 6 song set. The lead singer Catherine Dowling had given birth 11 weeks pervious and looked great I must say! Ill look forward to catching the full effect of Alphastates hopefully in the future. Alphastates Set List: Taste The Record Machine Addicted Astronauts Champagne Glass Angel Kiss

Next up were “21 Outs” . This young band are amazing live, they are so energetic on stage and give it their all. The crowd in the warehouse was getting bigger and louder, probably due to the nice amount of free Guinness being handed out. The Galway band relished the crowd’s energy and played a blinding set. I was very impressed by these guys and cant wait to get my hand on some of their material. They clearly gig an awful lot and are so comfortable with being on stage, 21 Outs are one band to watch out for! 21 Outs Set List : Wastin Time Doormat Wait For Nothing Anonymous Slander One of Those Bunny Boiler Blues Just before Jape took to the stage I ran upstairs hoping to catch a glimpse of the 18th Green & live Sessions. When I arrived Walter Mitty & the Realists were in full swing and just hitting into my favourite song on their album “Red is the Number”. The video below just shows how brilliant they were, unfortunately I had to leave after that but was quite satisfied to have seen them at all. Walter Mitty & the Realist Set List: Restless Endless Sucker Punch My Inner Childs a Drum Kit Lie in The Summer Buy for 4 Bones Oh The Shame Red is the Number The Raptor Instantly Nothing Green Light Go

Last up was “Jape”. There was such little advertising for this gig and I couldn't believe jape were playing at this when I heard. I am going to see Jape next Saturday again as part of the Coors Light Peak events in Galway and I thought the gig in Dolans would spoil the surprise of seeing him live. It did nothing of the sort if anything it fuelled the excitement. Jape aka Richie Egan is just incredible live, He gives a performance nothing short of brilliance. I have his 2009 Choice Music Prize Album Ritual for quite some time now and listened to it here and there, Buts its live on stage where his music lives. Listening to the album now has a whole different meaning/dimension and it just all comes together and works. I can completely see why this guys award winning and probably one of the best Live Irish acts today. If you haven’t witnessed Jape live make it your mission this year. The crowd were just short of bonkers throughout the set with many a crowd surfer and even people on shoulder moments. The warehouse was transformed into some sort of crazy Guinness festival and it was amazing to watch from the balcony. A man named Brian from Clonlara, Co.Clare was horsed on stage by Jape to partake in “Street Wise” (Video Below). Apparently he had sang with him for the same song at electric picnic. Nearing the end of the set he was joined once more, this time by two crazy girls who just wanted to dance. The night was amazing; at the end it included Richie diving into the crowd twice for a nice surf around the warehouse courtesy of the limerick crowd(Pic Above). What a night! To Arthur!! Here is a video playlist of Jape from the night

To Martha!

Celebrate Arthur G's 250 Lease tomorrow night, limerick bars will be having Guinness promos all over the city but the night in dolans looks the most promising.

From the blurb :

Dolans Celebrates Arthurs Day with style! Dolans on Dock Road Thursday September 24th from 5:30pm Come join us and play Guitar Hero on the Big Screen in the Upstairs venue from 5:30pm and be in with a chance of winning 1 of 3 Limited Edition Guinness 250 MP3 Docking Stations! Then take a break at 17:59 downstairs in the pub to toast the great Arthur Guinness on the 250th Anniversary of his signing of the 9,000 year lease on St. James’ Gate Brewery in Dublin with a lovely pint of the black stuff! The Guitar Hero fun continues until 8pm where the action moves to the Warehouse for a night of great music with Choice Music Prize 2009 Winner Jape, well known Dublin based Alphastates and Galway band 21 Outs to be followed by the best DJ talents from LSAD. The best thing about the whole night is you can see all these bands for a celebratory €2.50! Following the Guitar Hero fun Upstairs Green n Live take over with another rocking night of free music featuring Limerick heroes Walter Mitty & The Realists, Van Cleef & Animal Beats!