Music Snippets #30 - Robyn G Shiels

Hail From :

Belfast / Kilrea

About:

Robyn is a dark melodic folk maker who weaves a great story, His music will drift you off into his brooding soul which is full of unusual twists and turns. The music is magically crafted and everything you would expect from a nice soft singer songwriter.

The EP above "The Great Depression" is out on Sunday and is a wonderful 5 track CD. The video below is a lovely sample from it, check out more here :http://robyngshiels.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-depression

Hopefully we might see the Ulsterman do a live dates down in limerick at some stage.

Check him out here :

http://www.myspace.com/rgshiels

Brad Pitt Light Orchestra's New Miracle

The excellent limerick band Brad Pitt Light Orchestra have unveiled a new video for the track "New Miracle". The track is the offical song for Daffodil Day!(This Friday). It can be downloaded here :http://bplo.bandcamp.com/ . Just €2 and all proceeds go to the Irish Cancer Society

Baker Place is no more

Sadly the wonderful music venue has shut its doors for one last time, They had one last burn out gig at the weekend. A great limerick venue that housed some amazing gigs down through the years. It was home to alot of Limerick bands and Fans, Wonder where the next good haunt will spring up?

Mumford & Sons, Dolans Limerick 16/03/2011 Review

My first listen to Mumford & Sons was thanks to hearing little lion man online somewhere and instantly liked it, picked up a copy of Sigh no More at that time, gave it a few listens enjoyed it but never really returned to it that often and then they exploded on the scene. It was hard to listen to radio and not hear mumford everywhere you went, Kinda put me off the band due to the constant bombardment of the songs and left me putting the album on the shelf to gather dust. Everyone young and old loved them and everyone seemed to be their biggest fan, it was quite surreal which I'm sure it was for the band too. The band toured non stop since the release and big outdoor festivals was the order of the day, This new Scottish/Irish tour is typical of a band who are sick of playing to thousands and want to reconnect with the fans, As they said themselves : “We’re focusing on making another album this year so we’ve decided to do a tour where we can get up close with people and road test some new song ideas. We wrote the first album by trying to play new songs live as much as we could – it’s a really helpful way to get to know a song, and to see if it has the legs that it needs to go on an album. It’s hard to tell sometimes when you’re in a small rehearsal room in Wandsworth. “We also love touring Scotland and Ireland, going back to our Celtic routes, and wanted to take the chance to play some beautiful smaller towns that often get ignored on the more traditional touring routes. We figured that playing smaller shows would take us back to the beginning of our touring lives again.” I guess after playing at the Brits and the Grammys, Limerick was the obvious next stop. Dolans was perfect as it holds the bones of 300 and perfect for an intimate gig. The ticket scramble was truly a nightmare for all. A presale on the mumford & sons site really affected the ticketmaster sale date, with I think had less than ten tickets being sold on the day. There were alot of angry fans after this presale and I can see why, Minutes after the ticketmaster farce sale they started to appear on ebay and the like for triple the cost. I thankfully secured tickets 2 days before the gig but if I told you where I would have to kill you. I was very giddy for the two days as you would imagine, Its not often you get the likes of a major band that would sell out the 02 in dublin playing the warehouse. It was certainly to be one of the local gigs of the year, One thing I was really looking forward to was the crazy crowd. Being off work the next day, thanks to St.Patricks day gave it that added bonus too. Albatros warmed the crowd up nicely but then there was a massive gap before the Mumford & Sons showed up. The crowd went suitably bonkers when they finally arrived on stage. They played a mish mash of new and old songs which they constantly apologised to the crowd for having to put up with the new stuff. The new songs sound great very toned down compared to "Sigh no More" I thought but looking forward to hearing the finished album. The acoustic version of "Timshel" was excellent as you can hear on the video below, Of coarse the highlights were Little Lion Man and The Cave ,when the crowd were in fine voice. The best part of the evening was when two of the lads from the band came out for the encore and said they were going to play a local song and sang "Fuck Your Honda Civic" and the crowd yelling back "Ive a horse outside!!!!", The rubberbandits I'm sure would be proud of that. They put on a great show and it was amazing to have them playing in Limerick, I doubt they will be back to such a small venue in the future but you never know they might. They hung around after the gig in the bar which was nice and it was cool to meet them, Cheers for a great gig! Setlist: Below Awake Nothing Roll Away WBP Hopeless Timshel I Will Wait Lover After The Storm Love Was Kind Little Lion Man Dust Bowl Encore: Whispers Cave

Villagers Daytrotter Bootleg

The great people at daytrotter have released a Villagers in house session of 4 songs, Go download it here http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/villagers-concert/20040448-37382429.html

Walter Mitty & The Realists, Dolans Limerick 12/03/2011 Review

An amazing night of local talent started off with Brendan Markham warming up the packed warehouse. I really enjoyed his brand of musical story-telling, one highlight was a song about a cannibal and his appetite, which certainly held my attention – just what you’d expect from a good story-teller. At times, he reminded me of Mike Ryan from Tuesday Blue, but his style was most definitely his own. You may remember Brendan from the excellent Limerick band, The Driven. His set was a great way to set the tone for the evening. Unfortunately didn’t manage to get a copy of his new album, which is entitled ‘False Witness’. I’m really looking forward to checking the full album out and seeing him live again, Check him out here :http://www.myspace.com/brendanmarkham Next up we had the brilliant Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters. The lead singer seems to have stolen the voice of The Stroke’s front-man, Julian Casablancas! It’s uncanny how similar they sound, but it did in no way detract from a blistering performance. The set was excellently executed and flowed seamlessly from one great track to another. The band is flying high at the moment, with the single, “Thread the Needle” currently getting great praise and with an album on the way in May, these guys are going places. Looking forward to the album and more great gigs from the guys.http://www.myspace.com/foxjawbountyhunters Rounding off the evening were the much-awaited, Walter Mitty & the Realists. It’s my fourth time seeing them live and as always they didn’t disappoint. The energy and fun they bring packs a punch each time, and the tunes are severely catchy. They played a brilliant set, the highlight of which was undoubtedly, “Red is the Number”, which harkened the return of special guests Brendan Markham, Shane Serrano (FJBH) and the girls from “We Should be Dead”. The news that the band are moving location to England is such a shame. Looking forward to a hometown reunion gig from them in the future. One hell of a great night was had by all I’m sure -cheers for such an excellent night!

Walter Mitty & The Realist Setlist:

Sucker Punch

Buy for 4 Bones

Red is the Number

The Raptor

Receiver

Your Call

Licxx

C.A.B.

Insane Disco

Lie In The Summer

Oh The Shame

Green Light Go

Fred Unveil New Tune & Album Details!

Check out below the great new single from indielimerick favourite Fred. The new Single 'If Not Now When' is out today, New Album 'Leaving My Empire' is out in Ireland April 15th. Fred were due to play last month in Limerick but was put off because of the delay in mixing the album. They are now down to play the brilliant Belltable in May, One gig not to be missed!!http://www.myspace.com/fredtheband

Reviews of Past Limerick Gigs :

Fred Live At Dolans, 08/04/2009

Fred Live at The Belltable Unfringed Festival - 31/01/2009

Walter Mitty & The Realists This Saturday

In what seems to be their last gig for quite some time, Walter Mitty & the Realists will take over Dolans this Saturday night. Brendan Markham & Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters will join them on the billing for what's sure to be a great night of local music. I have witnessed the lads three times and each time they have provided an excellent night, This is one gig not to be missed!!!

Music Snippets #29 - Stephen Young and the Union

Hail From :

Dublin

Band Members : John Sweeney : Electric guitar and harmonica Steve Rogers & Johnny Byrne : Drums Andy Moran & Ciaran Lane : Bass Stephen Young :Acoustic guitar, mandolin,harmonica & vocals

Tommy Murtagh :Cello

About: Stephen Young the leader of the troop has been in a few bands in his time and is no stranger to the gigging scene. His new venture along with the union is a fantastic blend of folk blues and excellent stories. I happened to get their new single "Coke & Rum" from itunes last week and loved what I heard. The sound reminds me of Ryan Adams in the whiskeytown era and left me wanting more. The union are about to release their debut album "Wilderness Machine" on the 25th of March.

I got a sneak listen to it and was really impressed. Its a fantastic album loosely based on a character and the tales he comes across during break ups and the death of a close friend. Gavin Glass has had a hand in producing it and as we know by now his midas touch works very well, The sound is excellent and hopefully we will get to see them live in the limerick area soon. They have a string of dates already lined up across the country and you can buy the new single right now. Go check these guys out and if you don't you will start hearing about them again anyways. http://www.myspace.com/stephenyoungmusic399

Planet Parade Live at Dolans, Limerick 04/03/2011 REVIEW

Really enjoying the Zulu EP brought out by these guys and well worth a download from itunes! "Soon They'll Come" is fantastic, The Kildare 3 piece played dolans to a very small crowd upstairs, I love the energy they convey and the sound is unique and fun. If you had to reference someone to compare the band to, I would say Vampire Weekend fronted by Paul Simon. Indie pop beats flow through their fun set of 10 tracks, really looking forward to a full album from these guys. Well worth checking the band out live for a great night! Check the band out Here :http://breakingtunes.com/planetparade Set List : You Yeah You Play Fair Electrical Shoot Sunshine Remind Me Zulu Sweet Spot Soon They'll Come Blue Turns Grey

David Hope and The Henchmen Unveil New Single

Great new single called "Hell or High Water" from the great David Hope and his henchmen, Havent heard from these guys before? Go check them out here:http://www.davidhope.ie

Really enjoying this new single and its a sign of great things to come from a forthcoming album, hopefully out by the end of the year! Hell or High Water by David Hope+The Henchmen

Planet Parade in Dolans Tonight!!!

Well worth checking these guys out tonight in Dolans, Their EP Zulu Sound was one of my picks for last month, Love the tune below! All for just 7 bucks.

The Winner of the 2010 Choice Music Prize Is.....

They provided us with a magnificent album in 2010 and also one of the best gigs of they year, Check out my review here. Cheers to the lads, Well deserved!!!

Albums Worth Listening to in March 2011

L-R Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys! The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines Brendan Murphy - Walk With Me (LINK) TKO - The Keystone EP (LINK) Radiohead - The Kings of Limbs Noah & The Whale - Last Night on Earth Lost Brothers - Trails of the Lonely, Parts I & III (LINK) The Strokes – Angles Suggestions as always welcome!!!!