Guggenheim Grotto Live at Dolans, Limerick 14/05/2009 REVIEW

Tonight was a night for a mug a tea and the Eurovision for most folks but I found myself in the ever freezing upstairs in Dolans to witness The Guggenheim Grotto for the Third time. A man by the name of Tadhg Cooke took to the stage to warm the crowd on this Thursday Night, His Voice and Guitar playing is simply beautiful, you could easily sit back and listen to this guy all night. A hint of Ray Lamontagne and Paul Simon I felt crept into his voice, the lyrics and chord progression were really pleasing to listen to. I picked up two of his CD’s on the way home one his debut album which was released in March 2005 called Wax & Seal and another gem of a record called Live At Saint Kevin’s from 2006, which is a recording of a secret living room gig, in Dublin. This Album features David Geraghty from BellX1 fame and the sound is amazing, Tadhg is set to release a new album very soon and I can’t wait to hear it. Judging by the new material that was played last night the new record will be something special, Keep track of his progress here http://www.myspace.com/tadhgcooke Now it was the Grottos turn to take to the stage, This band has gone through some serious changes since the last time I saw them in Dolans back in 2006. I first heard about the band when I witnessed Kevin May play a solo support slot for Mundy back in 2005 in Glor, Ennis. This was just before their debut album was set to be released “Waltzing Alone”. Since then I have been an avid fan and that debut is rarely off the iPod. The next time I saw the lads was upstairs in Dolans in 2006 with a full band arrangement comprising of a double bass various percussion instruments and a drum kit. This is when the band comprised of Kevin May, Mick Lynch and Shane Power, Sadly the 3 have become 2 and tonight sees Kevin and Mick take to the stage to play a stripped down acoustic session. It was lovely to hear tracks from their debut album in their raw format and one thing that makes this band is the guys harmonies and tonight you can really appreciate this in it’s a acoustic format. The lads played a lovely set picking songs from both their debut and their new album “Happy The Man” and some other little gems from various EP’s they have had out. The lads are just back from a 3 & a Half month tour of the states and they talked about their experiences between songs. Mick did all the driving and reckons he did 18,000 miles while Kev the non driver said he did 10 miles of the trip on cruise control. Mick said he was told he had driven the same length as the equator, he is a bit short as the equator when googled is 24,898 miles but a great lot of driving none the less. The lads spoke of going to the sundance film festival and the biggest star they meet there was a guy who had his throat slit in CSI, Micks mom was very proud of her son for meeting such a star :) The casual atmosphere was great and it was lovely to hear of their stories of the road and about their song. One such song they did explain was that of “Oh Nikita” from their newest album, Kevin explained it was co written by him , Mick and Leonard Cohen but lenny doesn’t know that yet. The chorus “ Oh Marketa, come get me im almost 30” was written by Leonard on the wall of a bathroom according to the boys and the lads stole the lyrics just changing it enough so lenny wont come hunting them down. Another song by the name of “Spiegal” came about due to Kevin not having anything to rhyme with weasel so google helped him come up with the line "Und so glatt wie ein spiegel" which according to Kevin means as smooth as a mirror and fits perfect in the song It was a fantastic night of music and the lads never disappoint in their gigs, they finished the night off by standing in the middle of the room armed with only a ukulele singing “What is this Feeling” (Video is below), Cheers for a great night of music and hope to catch ye again very soon. It was much better than watching the Eurovision anyways :) Set List: Wonderful Wizard Philosopia Everyman Portmarnock Beach Boy Blue I Think I love You (Video Below) Heaven Has Heart Oh Nikita Waking Up In America Fee Da Da Dee Cold Truth The Universe Is Laughing (Video Below) Spiegal Just Not Just Told You So Encore : Her Beautiful Ideas What is this Feeling (Video Below)

Guggenheim Grotto - I Think I Love You, Live At Dolans 14/05/2009 Guggenheim Grotto - The Universe Is Laughing Live at Dolans, Limerick 14/05/2009 Guggenheim Grotto - What is this Feeling, Live At Dolans, Limerick 14/05/2009