Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The O's live at Dolans , Limerick 24/02/2012 Review


Managed to catch this duo last Friday night in Dolans, The pair hailing from Dallas Texas put on a great show on front a small crowd upstairs.
Picked up their second album release "Between The Two" on the night and its a great listen, The lads sound harp back to the days of the Everly Brothers , a Texas version of the lost brothers if you will.
The two produced some great clap along folk tunes with a foot pedal each controlling cymbals and a bass drum and they were also armed with a great talent on the harmonica.
They were very witty with the banter between songs and could easily put on a stand up routine if the music fell through but I doubt it will. They spoke of their love of playing Dolans and their new found love for Jameson whiskey. A great band to stumble across, Keep on eye on them here.

Sorry for the poor quality video , only had my phone with me

Friday, February 24, 2012

Squarehead live at Bourkes, Limerick 23/02/2012 Review

I found myself in Bourkes for another installment of the Thursday Night music showcases, It has been a real success of late with a great number of up and coming bands coming to play the venue. As a punter the free in status makes it all that sweeter.

First up on the two band bill was Grand Pocket Orchestra, The Dublin five piece took over the stage looking like extras from the latest house party scene in Skins. Their style is far from orthodox, The set is made up of short bursts of loud pop with everyone in the band playing random instruments. Its seems as though they have crammed every hook and riff they could muster and just play it as fast as they can and as loud as they can, Its crazy frantic stuff with some good and bad results. They have just released Ronald & Sylma their follow up to their debut album The Ice Cream , Its a 15 track explosion of sound and energy. If that's your thing you should go check them out here.
Set List
Andy
Camping
Pinkywolf
Sulphurous Stain
If your Tired
Downers
Coffee Cup
Ohh La Tee
Five FInger
Sandra
In The Belly Of Some Kind Of Animal
Wednesday
Association


Last up were Squarehead, I have sampled these guys a few times before on the various popical island compilation albums but never witnessed them live. The Dublin three piece played a nice set with many of the songs being from their latest 2011 release Yeah Nothing, They seemed like a more settled version of the opening band banging out short 3 minute numbers of pop rock, again I found some of their stuff hit and miss but when it did work it sounded great. You can see they have had influences from the nineties american alt rock scene with comparisons to Nirvana style licks and riffs and at times touches of Suede. The Buddy Holly spectacle wearing front man seemed the most calm and shy of the lot while the bassist had some serious moves and looked like he might have been taking yoga classes to perfect his stances, all the while the band are being driven by a crazed drummer hidden in the back churning out the Hipster fodder. There are a few stand out tracks from Yeah Nothing including the excellent track Midnight Enchilada and it sure is well worth checking them out live. Keep an eye on them here 

Cheers to Bourkes from another great night! Next Thursday sees great local act Windings headline the venue.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Cranberries Set for Big Hometown Gig


The Cranberries have rumoured a Limerick gig this summer in Thomond Park. The band are just about to release their sixth studio album 'Roses' this Friday. Indielimerick has had the pleasure of listening to the album for the last two weeks now and is blown away by the record.


Personally the band never really would have been a favourite of mine but dont get me wrong the music is excellent and I have been known to sing along to the classics, The early 90s was their height in terms of singles and albums and it all just seemed to pass me by somehow. I think I was too immersed in The Doors and Nirvana at that time thanks to sibling influences and being of the non gig going age didn't help either. I missed out on a local band making it big I guess, Listening back now to albums such as Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? and No Need to Argue you can clearly see why they hit the big time. Its amazing the fan base they have acquired across the world, Any posts I put on indielimerick about the cranberries always seem to be the most read and read from the most diverse locations. I remember holidaying in Italy once and correcting someone that I'm Irish not English and immediately they harped on about their obsession with the band and I haven't even told them I'm from their hometown yet.


Dolores O'Riordan's solo projects pretty much passed me by also but Noel Hogan's solo stuff with Mono Band was a favourite. Roses is the first cranberries album I am able to appreciate now after finding my music legs if you will. The 12 track album is really something special and there are some stand out tracks along the way. Listening to the album I kept thinking of seeing them live and how great this album is going to sound on stage.
If rumours are correct the band will head to the home of rugby mid July sometime along with other huge band on the bill. It wont be the first time the band plays the hallowed turf as they performed for the opening of the special Olympics there back in June 2010 (Picture above). Looking forward to getting more details on the event, until then get yourself a copy of the cracking new album Roses this Friday from the local band.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Sessions from the Hub #6 - Randolf


The excellent sessions from the hub is back with its first installment of 2012. The artists this time around is Randolf. Shane Storan aka Randolf plays two tracks in the hub from his upcoming EP release due out in the coming months. The Randolf project is a culmination of stories being brought to life thanks to several contributors and several musicians who will feature on the finished record. The EP release will be the first step for the project and hopefully we will see a full release in the future. The Limerick born artist is looking forward to a full year of releases and gigs, It will be his first release since his debut album "Post No Bills" and can't wait to let these latest batch of songs loose.

There is a personal interested as far a indielimerick is concerned as this EP will be brought out on the Indielimerick Records label following on from the successful release of the charity compiliation album 'The New Reindeer Age' , The label is hoping to see several releases in the coming year. The aim is to release local artists to the masses using local resources, If you would like to contribute or even bring out something on the label feel free to contact us here at indielimerick@gmail.com.

Keep on eye on the Randolf project here. Looking forward to more sessions from the hub, Keep up the great work! Thanks to the Thomond Student Times.
Sessions from the Hub #5
Sessions from the Hub #4
Sessions from the Hub #3
Sessions from the Hub #2&1

Friday, February 3, 2012

Funeral Suits Reveal New Single

The Limerick/Dublin outfit have just revealed this minute their new single 'All Those Friendly People' which will be released march 19th, I have been following the suits now since catching them live supporting Franz Ferdinand in Dolans back in 2009(Review here). They have been making huge waves ever since and have been doing a lot of gigging around Europe, The new single is a cracker and hopefully we will see a full release from the band before the year is out and also a home town gig. Keep an eye on them here

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Lsad Rag Week 2012 Line Up


The Limerick School of Art & Designs Rag Week kicks off from the 13th of February with a stellar line up of bands.
Highlights include the absolute brilliant Hot Sprockets being joined by local band Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters on the 14th in what seems to be taking place in an on campus marquee, The next night sees the return of the brilliant Jape to Limerick playing in the new gig house The Blind Pig on Foxes bow. Will have to sneak myself into these events and pass myself off as a student again.
Keep an eye on the students union facebook page for more detail here.

Indielimerick footage from The Sprockets from their last Limerick outing

Albums Worth Listening to in February 2012

L-R
Delorentos - Little Sparks
Lana Del Rey - Born to Die
Nada Surf - The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy
The Twilight Sad - No One Can Ever Know
The Maccabees - Given To The Wild
John Spillane - A Rock to Cling To
As Always Suggestions Very Welcome!