The Rolling Stones live at Croke Park, Dublin 17/05/2018 Review

As soon as the Rolling Stones were announced for an Irish date on their European tour I jumped at the chance to get tickets for a band that had been at the top of my band bucket list for so long. Out of the seven times they had appeared in Ireland I was only alive for three of them.(Stones Irish Tour History) I was so glad to be finally seeing the band that I never got tired of listening to, never stayed off a playlist of mine and band I had grown up with. 

We headed up to Dublin early Thursday and got the Luas straight into the city centre from the Red Cow roundabout. As we got closer to Croke Park we sampled a few pre-gig pints in the sunshine. The busy pubs that lined the stadium were packed with middle aged rockers adored with the infamous Rolling Stones lick t-shirts each more worn the next. After a few lovely warm ups we headed inside, we made our way right smack bang in the middle of the pitch. With the support act missed due to pre-gig pints we were all set for the main act to arrive out. 

The intro to Sympathy for the Devil starts up and the crowd begin the ooh oohs as the four massive video screens that line the stage kick into life. Out runs Mick Jagger in an incredible glitter jacket that wouldn't be amiss on a circus ringmaster. His instant injection of energy was infectious and that energy didn't dwindle for the whole night. Soon after that Keith and Ronnie appeared at either side and a huge applause for Charlie on drums as the large video screens catch him. It certainly was a goosebumps moment to witness this seminal track being blasted out by the band live.

Its astonishing to think these guy are still going so strong after all these years. It's an absolute privilege to be seeing them perform. Most acts that are still going at this age are notable different and don't hold up to anything near their records but by god do the Rolling Stones still put on a show! I don't think I've ever danced as much watching a gig before. The Jagger moves were very much on show. My legs are in bits today, I would love to know what magic potions Mick takes as he is more than double my age.

The set below just shows what an amazing mix we got to hear. They delved right into the back catalog playing all the crowd favorites that no one leaving could have been disappointed with. Watching the band interact with each other was just brilliant, A band paying this long and still having a ball. We were entertained by trumpet players, piano players and amazing backing vocalists throughout. The final encore of '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' was incredible as the final notes rang out fireworks were let off into the Dublin sky.
Croke Park was turned into one massive party and I am so grateful I was there. One massive name ticked off the band bucket list and finally as a Limerick man being able to leave Croke Park with a smile on my face was superb.


Cheers for an amazing night! 

Set List:

Sympathy for the Devil

Tumbling Dice

Paint It Black

Just Your Fool (Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra cover)

Ride 'Em on Down (Jimmy Reed cover)

Neighbours

Wild Horses

You Can't Always Get What You Want

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)

Honky Tonk Women

Before They Make Me Run(Keith Richards on lead vocals)

The Worst(Keith Richards on lead vocals)

Miss You

Midnight Rambler

Start Me Up

Jumpin' Jack Flash

Brown Sugar

Encore:

Gimme Shelter

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

The Lost Brothers Live at Dolans, Limerick 23/02/2018

After a long week of work what better way to unwind but to head to Dolans and witness of one the best acts in the country right now. Pint in hand, we head up the stairs to my favorite room in the city.

We arrived just at the closing few tracks of the opening act 'Steve Wickham'. What a brilliant stage presence this guy has, He has a very disincentive look and a guy that has clearly been around music for many years. Its wasn't the last we saw of Steve that night as he joined the Losties for most of their set showing off his multitude of talent on various instruments including guitar, violin and concertina. I was delighted to pick up his latest offering on CD called 'Beekeeper' released in 2017. It was only when I went home I realised much to my ignorance that Steve is a long standing member of The Waterboys and played on countless albums with a plethora of stars such Elvis Costello and playing the violin on U2's classic 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'. So that was a great start to the evening and a mighty fine opener.

Next up were the main act The Lost Brothers. The lads started the evening off with just the two of them on stage armed with guitars and their amazing harmonies. They kicked off with 'Echoes in the Wind' the opener from their latest album 'Halfway towards a healing'. I bought the album on release and have been listening to it non stop since January. It's a sublime album and one that will make it to my top ten at the end of year no doubt. 

Later in the set the lads were joined by two members of Waterford's brilliant band 'O Emperor'.  Phil and Al added piano and electric guitar to the proceedings. Steve Wickham also headed on stage to finish off the collective. The band weaved in and out of all five of their records providing an amazing night of music to a sold out upstairs venue. Expect to hear a lot more from the lads as they embark on a tour of the UK and America in the next few weeks. 


Be sure and go out a buy there latest album. Cheers for a great night, Until next time.

Eddie Vedder live at the Marquee , Cork 11/06/2017 Review

Eddie Vedder strolled out on to the stage tonight twenty one years since Pearl Jam last played Cork. He mentioned the last place he played in cork was an old horse barn (Millstreet Arena 1996) equipped with hay bales and always associated the crowd in Cork with the smell of Horseshit . He was delighted that we smelt great tonight and that he would never leave it that long again. 

He went on to play a mammoth thirty song set with Pearl Jam classics sprinkled with covers ranging from a tribute to Rodger Walters 'Comfortable numb' played on piano , U2 , REM , A rousing version of Bruce Spingsteen's 'Open all Night'. Also hilariously playing a full on rock version of The Clash's 'Should I Stay or Should I go' on Ukulele. Eddie was joined on stage a few times by a lovely string ensemble made up of three violists and a cellist. They really did add a lovely feel to the acoustic tracks.

Eddie mentioned that tonight we was missing his daughters thirtieth birthday, A birthday cake was brought out and he got us to sing her happy birthday. Amazingly he then got the cake and threw it straight into the crowd!!!! 

I felt like a bit of a fraud being surrounded by Pearl Jam fans singing every line of every song throughout the night and I must confess I wasn't a major fan of the band back in the day. I think it was before my time and it just passed me by. My major grá for Vedder's music was sparked from the sound track to the film 'Into the Wild' . At that time I did actually start to go back though the Pearl Jam catalogue with a new appreciation. With their last album 'Lighting Bolt' even finding its way onto my top ten albums of 2013. 

Another reason for heading along to the Marquee tonight was to see the support Glen Hansard. A man who gets a lot of flack from music aficionados around but I have to say I have always loved The Frames and they gave me some of the best gigs over the years. I can't even remember the last time I witnessed Glen live and he didn't disappoint tonight. He opened the night with a song written by the late Cork man Fergus O'Farrell of the band 'Interference'. The lyrics of 'American Townland' being very apt for the current times: 

"Won't you settle down, stop fighting for your gods... Oh, settle down, stop fighting for your gods. They can't hear you now, not with the noise of your guns." 

Glen went on to play a lovely acoustic set of seven tracks including a cover of Woodie Guitries classic 'Vigilante Man' he also dedicated the track 'McCormack's Wall' to the late poet Danny Sheehy who tragically died during the week in a boating accident in Spain. 

Later on that night Glen joined Eddie on stage to close out the night, they started with an amazing version of  Glen's Oscar winning song 'Falling Slowly' with the cork crowd in spectacular voice. The two lads seems like real good ole pals just enjoying the night and as if we were interrupting a jam session of theirs at the back of  a pub. 'The Auld Triangle' got the crowd going with Eddie and Glen making up verses at the end trying to out do each other. It was great to see a stage hand bring out two pints of Murphys mid song. They then left the stage only to return to play a rousing rendition of Neil Young's 'Rocking in a free world' accompanied by the full string ensemble, Eddie was also sporting a people republic of Cork T-shirt :) Last song of the night was an unbelievable version of 'Hard Sun' with the crowd blasting out the chorus over and over and the lads yet again trying to out do each other on guitars. The gig couldn't but put a smile on your face and it was a serious uplifting experience. If you haven't caught Eddie live put it on the list. Cheers for an amazing night!

Set list:
1.Better Man (Pearl Jam song) 
2.Throw Your Arms Around Me (Hunters & Collectors cover) 
3.Sometimes (Pearl Jam song) 
4.Don't Be Shy (Cat Stevens cover) 
5.I Am Mine (Pearl Jam song) 
6.Off He Goes (Pearl Jam song) 
7.Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town (Pearl Jam song) 
8.Bad (U2 cover) (partial) 
9.Wishlist (Pearl Jam song) 
10.Can't Keep (Pearl Jam song) 
11.Soon Forget (Pearl Jam song) 
12.Sleeping by Myself (with Red Limo String Quartet) 
13.It Happened Today (R.E.M. cover) (with Red Limo String Quartet) 
14.Far Behind 
15.Driftin'(Pearl Jam song) 
16.Guaranteed 
17.Rise 
18.Unthought Known(Pearl Jam song) 
19.Open All Night(Bruce Springsteen cover) 
20.Porch(Pearl Jam song) 
21.Comfortably Numb(Pink Floyd cover) 
22.Should I Stay or Should I Go (The Clash cover) 
23.Last Kiss (Wayne Cochran cover) 
24.Come Back(Pearl Jam song) (with Red Limo String Quartet) 
25.Black(Pearl Jam song) (with Red Limo String Quartet) 
26.Falling Slowly(The Swell Season cover) (with Glen Hansard) (also with Red Limo String Quartet) 27.Society(Jerry Hannan cover) (with Glen Hansard) 
28.The Auld Triangle(with Glen Hansard) (Dicky Shannon) 
29.Rockin' in the Free World (Neil Young cover) (with Glen Hansard) 
30.Hard Sun (Indio cover) (with Glen Hansard) (also with Red Limo String Quartet)

Primal Scream live at The Big Top, Limerick 29/11/2016 Review

It was an absolute treat to have a band like Primal Scream play in Limerick last night. A full blast of nineties nostalgia filled the tented milk market as the band lashed through a set peppered with hits.

The band started with the opener of 'Movin' on Up' from their 1991 classic album Screamadelica. Twenty five years on from that seminal record the group has a back catalog of eleven albums that felt like they all saw an airing tonight. Their newest effort 'Chasmosis' brought out last march has been on the indielimerick playlist all year and harps right back to the good ole days of the bands sound. Their sound being a mix of psychedelic indie rock with dance music provides for the perfect festival act. The big top in limerick lent itself well to this vibe. The down fall being that it was a Tuesday night and it was minus two degrees but to fair it didn't dampen the spirit's of the limerick crowd.

It was my first time to see the band live and they didn't disappoint, Cheers for a great night. Now I'm off for a pint of calpol if I can find one.

Albums Worth Listening to in January 2016

Bonnie Prince Billy - Pond Scum
Villagers - Where Have You Been All My Life?
Fat White Family - Song for our Mothers
David Bowie - Blackstar
Bloc Party - Hymns
Jesu And Sun Kil Moon - Jesu - Sun Kil Moon 

Top Ten Albums of 2015

 

 

Gaz Coombes - Matador

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Chasing Yesterday

Editors - In Dream

Ryan Adams - 1989

Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear

Villagers - Darling Arithmetic

Circa Waves - Young Chasers

Blur - The Magic Whip

Jape - This Chemical Sea

Foals - What Went Down

Albums Worth Checking out in August 2015

Gavin Glass - Sunday Songs
Marty O'Reilly & the Old Soul Orchestra - Pray for Rain
Wilco - Star Wars
Iron & Wine & Ben Birdwell - Sing into my mouth
Danny & the Champions of the World - What Kind of Love
The Macabees - Marks to Prove it

The Libertines live at the Point, Dublin 09/07/2015 Review

Last night I got my chance to tick another band off my list of bands to see before I die. My first taste of the Libertines was hearing their 2004 self titled album shortly after it was released. Since then the band has been a mainstay on the pod, record player and any playlist I’d make. That same year the lads went their separate ways and after a long eleven years they find themselves in Ireland headlining their third ever Irish date. During those years I kept an eye on all the side projects from both Pete and Carl and along with the rest of the world, looked on as Pete self-destructed, hoping that he would get himself together and that the band would finally play live again.

 I got to see Carl live when 'Dirty Pretty Things' played limerick in 2008 (Review). I managed to meet him later on in the night in Costellos (a local nightclub) and bought him a double whiskey :)

 I’m delighted to see that Pete has turned himself around somewhat and that the lads are currently bringing out new tracks. The latest offering of last weeks single 'Gunga Din' gives us great hope for the third album 'Anthems For Doomed Youth' which is out on September 4th.

I arrived at the Point early and managed to get a good spot middle center amongst the rowdy crowd, populated with young Pete-a-likes and older Mods wearing smirks of amusement at the high-jinx of the plethora of wasted teens. Unsurprisingly the boisterous crowd was bubbling with excitement and despite a love of throwing their plastic pints full of very over-priced beer into the air throughout the night, the atmosphere managed to build to the cusp of anarchy without ever spilling over into full blown carnage. The support act 'The Courteeners' warmed up the place nicely. I wouldn't know much of their stuff but the crowd seemed pleased with their well-played, if somewhat forgettable set. It nearly felt like a hometown gig for them with the amount of Manchester heads knocking around at the front of the gig.

The lowering of a banner brandishing the now iconic font of ‘The Libertines’ on stage signalled the lads arrival on stage with the Dubliners 'Molly Malone' providing entrance music to a frenzied reception from the crowd. Without any hesitation, the band blasted through an excellently picked set sprinkled with three new tracks from the forthcoming album which all sounded brilliant live. The old tracks still stood up and sounded fresh. I wasn't expected much judging from past live shows in which I have witnessed sloppy vocals and poor playing, but the band were surprisingly tight with Pete and Carl chemistry at the fore. It was really nice to be proven wrong and the crowd squealed to see the pair sharing a mic throughout the set and clearly having such great craic on stage.

The gig had it all. From marriage proposal fails to the random appearance of a bleary-eyed Shane McGowan on stage (apparently falling asleep at the side of the stage during the gig, or so Pete said). He joined them a second time at the end for a bow to the crowd. The band finished the night in true rock and roll style throwing around their guitars and launching mic stands and mics into the crowd.

I had fully intended to drive back to Limerick after the gig but this was too good of a gig not to enjoy with a few pints so three songs in and following some frantic phone calls, a hotel was booked :) It truly was an amazing gig and it was brilliant to hear those tracks live and it was mad to see all the kids at the gig having that same love of those songs.

 The length of their time away would have been detrimental to most bands but the Libertines are if anything bigger than ever playing secret shows in Glastonbury and headlining festivals for the summer. The new album sounds promising so hopefully we will see more live dates cropping up around. It is one show not to miss out on before another possible break up happens :)

Check out my video below for a sample of the brilliance.

Set List:
The Delaney
Campaign Of Hate
Vertigo
Time For Heroes
Begging
The Ha Ha Wall
What Katie Did Music
When The Lights Go Out
The Boy Looked At Johnny
Boys In The Band
Gunga Din
Barbarians
 Can't Stand Me Now
Death On The Stairs
Tell The King
The Good Old Days
You’re My Waterloo
What Became Of The Likely Lads
Don’t Look Back Into The Sun
Up The Bracket
What A Waster
I Get Along

 

Albums Worth Checking out in May 2015

Randolf & the Crokers - Conversation Amongst the Ruins
SOAK - Before We Forgot to Dream
The Vaccines - English Graffiti
The Milk Carton Kids - Monterey
Changing Trains - Theory of Everything
The Sandy Rats - EP

Albums Worth Checking out in April 2015

Ryan Adams - Live at Carnegie Hall
Villagers - Darling Arithmetic
The Tallest Man on Earth - Dark Bird is Home
Jesse Malin - New York Before the War
Circa Waves - Young Chasers
Blur - The Magic Whip

Albums Worth Checking out in Mar 2015

Butch Walker - Afraid of Ghosts
Gaz Coombes – Matador
The Decembrists – What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World

Noel Gallagher - Chasing Yesterday

Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear

Natalie Prass - Natalie Prass