Cois Fharraige 2009 Festival Review

One month ago we were informed Cois Fharraige 2009 was going to go ahead. This silenced a lot of rumours of cancellations and so on about the seaside Festival. In the end the local businesses rallied around and made up the money to fund the festival. With only a month to sort out bands and ticket sales, it must have been no easy task. Well done to all involved from the pubs, restaurants and shops to the Festival People to the cleaners and so on everything ran very smoothly and was a top class weekend. One big thing that stood out was the weather; it was the best weekend for sunshine for the whole year. With the R word looming in everyone’s mind , Electric Picnic just over and a last minute festival announcement and also the Coldplay concert in the Phoenix park in Dublin on the Monday, its incredible how the crowd made it all. Now saying that the crowd was a lot smaller this year, with ample space in the tents every night especially on the Sunday. There were a lot of people down there purely for the sunshine and pints and never saw the inside of the tent. I missed a good few bands due to the draw of the beach, sun and scoops. What other festival could you be swimming and come out of the water to find Jerry Fish and The Mudbug club playing an Impromptu set right on the sand! Unfortunately I didn’t get to see him later that night but seeing playing on the beach was good enough for me. Ill break down day by day as best I can, Be sure and comment on your highlights and experience if you want. Last years review is here : Cois Fharraige 2008 DAY 1 I got down to Kilkee on the Friday around 4 and went straight to the pub , with a few festival warm up scoops , it was tent bound around 6 to hear that Joe Echo had not started due to the small crowd size, an hour later he came on to a small crowd of about 27 people. He really impressed me and the crowd, his voice is amazing and he a serious one to watch. There is a video below on the video slideshow, be sure to check him out. Then on stage came Laura Izibor , The crowd was a lot bigger by then and she was very very good, I wouldn’t be the biggest fan of hers but she truly gave the crowd their moneys worth, singing all her radio hits. She has amazing stage presence and is well able to conduct a crowd. “Shine” was brilliant and the crowd truly enjoyed it. Video below also. Then on came the inevitable, The Blizzards, There hasn’t been a festival or gig lately that they haven’t been involved in. People should really be sick of them by now , what with constant support slots and radio play, but there not sick of them and you can see why. There songs are the lovable tune that will stick in your head for the weekend and its hard not to dance to the feckers. “Trouble” was the highlight and they really performed well and the crowd loved them. They played a song dedicated to 9-11 due to it being the anniversary and also a cover of “Black & Gold”, a tribute to The Specials. Its clear the specials have had a major influence on the lads and the Ska really comes out in their music. They really lifted the crowd and started the night going nicely.

Then on stage came the festival weekend highlight in the form of “Doves”. I really cant say much more about their new album “Kingdom of Rust” , It’s a serious record and will finishing highly in peoples top albums list of 2009. Go out and get it! I was really looking forward to these guys has I hadn’t seen them before and they were on my list of bands to see before I die. They hit straight into my favourite song of their new album “Jetstream”. The lead singer doesn’t really portray a lot of emotion up on stage put the music throughout the set was flawless. 3 songs in they played the crowd favourite “Pounding” and the tent went suitable nuts! They boast a great back catalogue and what we got that night was a serious greatest hits set. It truly was a magic gig played by them. The final song "The Fear" ended in the band all taking to a percussion instrument and leaving the crowd in a daze of brilliants. If I had gone home after Doves I would have been quite content with the festival. Doves SetList 11th: Jetstream Snowden Winter Hill Pounding Almost Forgot 10:03 Words Greatest Denier Kingdom of Rust Black & White Town The Outsiders Caught By The River Encore : Cedar Room Here It Comes Last Broadcast The Fear DAY 2 Saturday saw the sun split the rocks once more and I was able to enjoy the weather on the beach all day accompanied by beers , a windbreaker and foldy up chairs. The seaside town was like festival heaven that day, Had a great swim in the bay and as mentioned above caught Mr.Jerry Fish playing an impromptu set on the beach.

As I said due to the savage weather and drinking I missed some bands namely Jerry Fish ,The Hold Steady and Noah & the Whale but there was far more craic down the town. It was one of the lads birthdays so we bought an ass load of Party favours from the 2euro shop, in the form of Party Poppers and Glow Sticks. Also bought from there was a Chinese lantern, these things are cool and a must buy if your having a party of some kind. We lit the lantern and it inflated and flew off into the night sky, much to the amusement of passers by.

With all the birthday malarkey done we headed up to the big blue tent for another night a plastic pints and music. We arrived just in time to catch the dreadlocked Newton Faulkner. He is incredibly talented with the guitar and wowed the audience with songs from his debut album "Handbuilt by Humans" and songs from his current album "Rebuilt by Humans". He used a plectra of instruments ranging from a feet playing keyboard and a Tape recorder. His version of Massive Attacks "Teardrop" is my favourite and he played it superbly on the night. An all round great performance. Video Below.

Then came the loopers “The Sawdoctors”. These guys have been around now for 27 years!!! There are a firm Irish favourite and play a brand of music that would get a goat dancing. They blasted straight into "N17" and the crowd went nuts. Having a nice few pints in me I also joined in on the jigs. It was a seriously good set from the Tuam lads and they look suitable happy to be headlining this festival. Their set list is a serious bag of fun and energy from both crowd and band and everyone left there in a great mood. We all ended in the Kilkee bay hotel to witness a cover band play a crazy rendition of the final countdown with the crowd going bonkers, a great end to a great night. The Sawdoctors Setlist 12th: N17 Tommy K She Loves Green + Red Red Cortina Chips Darkness Someone Loves You I Used Ta Lover Be Yourself Clare Island On My Way About You Now Why Do I Always Bless Me Father Thats What She J.C.C.B Hay Wrap DAY 3 Most of the crowd with work looming in the morning headed for home but I on the other hand had Monday off and made the most of the brilliant sunshine. That night saw us again missing some bands namely “Hallo…I Love You" and "Jazzlite" but just making it up to the tent in time to see The Lighting seeds start their acoustic set. Ian Broudie suffered a few guitar sound mishaps but nothing major, just a false start here and there and a few broken strings but an the whole he played a blinding set of hits to a half empty tent of hardcore festival goers. Next up were the Stereo MC’s which saw a DJ, two scantly clad dancers and a screen broadcasting psychedelic choon clips and a mental lead singer take to the stage. These guys would not be a big favourite of mine but it was hard not to get dancing to this music, It sure looks like the years have taken its tole on the lead roarer, but the music was excellent and the crowd favourites were enjoyed by the small crowd and they really rocked the tent that night.

Last but not least saw The Zutons back to Kilkee, This time playing the festival back to back. Last year saw their stage presence a lot different(Review here : The Zutons 2008), this year not opting for a background image and less backing members but none the less the music remained the same and what a performance they gave! You can’t get more up beat jumping around music than these guys and with a half empty tent you could happily jump around! I witnessed a guy in full scuba outfit, even with flippers and he couldn’t not dance to these infectious beats. The band seemed to be really relaxed and just comfortable to be doing what they do. The set they played included all the classic zuton tunes you needed and ended yet another extremely successful Cois Fharraige festival. Congrats to all involved and please to god that it will all happen again next year. The Zutons Setlist 13th : Always Hello Conscience Harder Pressure Point Bum Bag Confusion Valerie Don't Ever Think Just You Wait Zuton Fever Why Wont You Gimmie Your Love You Will You Won't

Cois Fharraige 2009 Video Playlist

Cois Fharraige 2009 Picture Slideshow