Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters Need your Help!

The local band have been invited to play at the Indie Week Music Showcase Festival in Toronto, Canada. The band are putting on a night in Dolans this Saturday to fundraise for the trip. Admission is only €5 and its well worth the price. This show also coincides with the release of their new single 'Strip The City', which which is now available for free download from http://foxjawbountyhunters.bandcamp.com/
 

Sessions from the Hub #3 - Hermitage Green

The superb Sessions from the hub has another band in studio, This time from the excellent local act Hermitage Green. For more info on the Session from the hub, click here

Music Snippets #33 - Constant Supply

Hail From :

Letterkenny, County Donegal
Band Members :
James Gillen
Conal Sweeney
About:

The Duo have just released a single intitled "Daft Quotes" and is the sampler to their debut album due out early next  year. There last release was in 2010 called the ‘Alleviate EP’ , it saw them teaming up with Tommy McLaughlin (Villagers/Cathy Davey), who recorded it in his lovely Attica studio in Termon, Donegal. The pair are about to embark on a tour and one of their stops is Foleys bar in Limerick. Catch the lads on the 6th of October. In the mean time sample some of their stuff in the link below and check out the lovely video to "lingering" below.

Check them out here : http://www.breakingtunes.com/constantsupply

For more Music Snippets click HERE

IMRO Showcase Tour in Limerick This Friday

The 20th installment of the IMRO showcase tour calls into Dolans this Friday. The showcase tour is all about getting the best new acts on a live stage around the country. IMRO got a number of band submissions to be part of this years tour and have whittled in down to 11 dates and Limerick hosts one of these. It will be a great night of music and the line up has 4 local acts. Well worth €5!
The line up for the limerick gig is as follows:

Dead Red Light
Read about them HERE

Jefl & Hyde
Check out HERE

Moscow Metro
Gig Review HERE & HERE

Tenaka
Read about HERE & HERE

The Hip-Neck Blues Collective
Check out HERE

Jape , Live at Dolans, Limerick 24/09/2011 Review

Jape was the last on the bill for a four night in a row gig extravaganza put on by Dolans. This one was billed for Dolans rather than their other gig home "The Big Top". The Jape gig was moved from the warehouse to upstairs late in the day due to a Nirvana's Nervermind 20th anniversary gig put on by various local bands. The Nevermind album would be played in its entirety to a larger audience tonight. Jape later quipped that its the first time he has been moved to a smaller venue thanks to a covers band.

A small crowd had gathered upstairs to witness Richie Egan, The amount of gigs over the last few days obviously impacting on numbers but the Dubliner didn't seem to mind. The opening act was that of "Goodtime", Which later turned out to be two quarters of Japes backing band. They started out the evening with some funky tunes and led nicely onto the main act.

The intimate venue and small crowd would not be your typical Jape venue/show as the music is suited to hundreds of people dancing like crazies. Instead here we were sitting at tables with candlelight, prime for an acoustic singer songwriter night however this didn't phase the main man and he got straight down to business. He started off with a few new numbers which will feature in the highly anticipated follow up to "Ritual". The new album "Ocean of Frequency" is due out this Friday and I for one am looking forward to getting my hands on it. Speaking to Richie afterwards he says the new record is more mellow than ritual but is very happy with the outcome and is looking forward to its release. He is in a giddy mood tonight and its really fun to watch him improvise on songs he has been playing live a long time. At one point there is a problem with one of the bands mics and he makes up a crazy tune on the spot and has the audience singing back the lyrics. It was a great night and as always a Jape gig lives up to its name.

Go get the new album this Friday and keep an eye on his movements HERE

The Stunning, Live at the Big Top, Limerick 23/09/2011 Review

The Stunning was the last gig for the Big Top in limerick after 2 nights of great music under the canopy.

It was my first time to see the stunning live as I had only witnessed "The Walls" (lead signer and guitarists new band after the stunning spilt in '94) on one occasion before. The band had some major songs and two No.1 albums under their belt before I was even gig going age so I never had a huge affinity with the band unlike the throngs of people all in that age bracket taking up spots at the front of the stage tonight.

The support acts came in the guise of Hermitage Green and Eoin Coughlan. Hermitage Green arrived on stage to a poor attendance but it was a bit too early with people trying to get home from work and get ready on a Friday. If you are from Limerick you would have heard of Hermitage Green by now as they are a very hard working band playing pub gigs most nights of the week around the city. The band is made up of Munster rugby legend Barry Murphy, Brother Dan, Darragh Graham, Darragh Griffin & when not playing for Munster/Ireland or not injured Felix Jones. I have caught them live on a few occasions and they are a great live act. Mixing covers and originals into their set, These guys are extremely talented. They played a few originals tonight and they hope to bring out some stuff over the coming months. They will be one to watch out for I'm sure! Keep an eye on them HERE

Eoin Coughlan then arrived on stage as the crowd were just getting that bit bigger, The singer songwriter played a small set warming up the crowd before the main act.

The Stunning headed out on stage and rattled through a large set of nineteen songs. They played some walls numbers and covers including Johnny Cash's Jackson into the mix of Stunning classics. I had press passes for the night and got to watch the gig from high up on the balcony. Its a great spot for people watching and its was funny to see all the parent types reliving their youth, dancing like loons. I must say one of the highlights was watching the dancing antics of one of the workers from the Adare Farm Shop sons. The young lad was really giving it his all!! Also kudos to the girl sporting a woolen Bert hat from Bert and Ernie. 

The Stunning remarked on one of the tracks being originally recorded in Limerick thanks to Xeric Records, They were glad to be back in Limerick and paid homage to the great new venue.

They put on a great show and ended a great week of gigs with the classic Brewing up a Storm. Cheers to Dolans for a great week and I look forward to more gigs down in the Big Top.

Setlist:

Got to Get Away
Girl with the Curl
The Hurt Inside
Everything That Rises
Frank
Half Past Two
December Sky
Town For Sale
Rusty Old River
She's on my Mind
Tightrope
This Happy Girl
Summer in the City
Mr.Ginger
Heads
Romeo's on Fire
Encore:
Carrying the Fire
Jackson
Brewing up a Storm

Arthur's Day, The Big Top Limerick 22/09/2011 Review

To Arthur!

I arrived at about ten past six late for the 17.59 celebrations. The Guinness was full and truly flowing at this stage, I was wondering how the crowd got here this early.

The feeling were half way through their set and played a nice few tunes, running through their radio over played numbers. They played Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al" with the guitar player playing the tin whistle solo expertly using a whistle that was bought around the corner minutes before they got on stage. A good set in fairness to them.

Sharon Shannon was the next act up on stage and played a set full of Sharon Shannon songs i.e. Wedding hooley tunes to a great reception to the young first time Guinness trying crowd. A mundy lookalike arrived on stage to play "Galway Girl" to a rapturous reception.

The Big top once again was excellently laid out thanks to Dolans , The food stalls were superb, Tried out the country kitchen for a steak sandwich and was blown away by how good it was! Will be down to the the market on Saturdays just for that. The only complaint would be the amount of toilets in the place, The queue was crazy big every time and with hundreds of people chugging Guinness, it was bound to be busy.

Next up were another radio overplayed act Royseven. I must say I like their single We Should Be Lovers even though its constantly on at the moment. The dublin act have been on the scene now for a long time almost 13 years, The new album You Say, We Say is getting great air play at the moment and tonight they played one hell of a show. I wasn't expecting much from the band but we got a great performance as they stole the show! Would really check them out live in the future.

Next up was local band Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters, The lads gained a place on the stage due to a battle of the bands competition , However they shouldn't even need to do something like that and should have been included anyways. They played a small set of tunes from their excellent debut album Devil in Music, Well worth checking out these lads.

The main act of the night Calvin Harris arrived on stage to a huge reception, Rumours were that he had just come from a short DJ set in Mickey Martins. Decks were rolled on stage and it looked like we were on for another DJ set. I saw Calvin "Perform" at Oxegen a couple of years ago and when I say perform I mean sing and have a backing band and not load on records and wave his hands around. Unfortunately that's what he was here to do, launching on his hit records one after another and interjecting now and again using a mic. A power cut happened during his playlist and he headed off stage for awhile returning to spin two more of his own tracks. The crowd loved it but I was disappointed not see him live up to the performance of Oxegen a few years previous, but I guess thats what he does nowadays.

I didn't stay there for the next act instead heading straight for O'Connells Bar(old Quarter) to catch the end of Paddy Casey's Set. Paddy was playing a small marquee at the end of the outside area to a jam packed pub. Managed to catch most of his great set, playing most of his hits.
Ended a great night of music and enjoyed an excuse to get out of a Thursday night. Cheers Arthur!

Videos to follow

Villagers Live at The Big Top,Limerick 21/09/2011 Review

The newly refurbished Milk Market is a great asset to the city, Its worth checking out at the weekends when its full of stalls with various sellers with such things for sale as jewellery, books & food.

Tonight was a different experience as the tented market was transformed to "The Big Top" - A music venue.  Its as if a tent stage from electric picnic was dropped randomly into Limerick City.

I Headed in early to see the place in gig mode. There was food stalls dotted around the outskirts of the tent including a pig on a spit, gourmet burger stalls, a coffee stand and a bar.

A sizeable stage took up all one side of the tent and the place was set for another excellent venue within the city. There has been a few gigs already here during the year but none took my fancy until the indielimerick favourite Villagers were announced.

I last saw Conor J O'Brien and his merry men play the best venue in Limerick for a gig, a small church (St.Johns Church) back in December. Check out some videos from the night Here. 

Before that gig he hadn't played Limerick since March 2009 supporting Bellx1 at a sold out show in Dolans (Review Here). They played that night to a crowd who had never heard of them and a crowd that had to be told to shut up talking over their small 7 song set. I thankfully picked up a copy of their limited edition 500 hand numbered "Hollow Kind EP". It truly is one of the best EP's I have ever heard, some of the songs on it were re-recorded for the debut album "Meaning of the Ritual" however I must say I preferred the raw EP versions. The album on a whole is truly an awesome body of work full of stories that will get your imagination racing. The vocals of Conor are haunting throughout and backed by a cast of amazing musicians who have been through the Irish gigging mill many times with many outfits, this record is something special. The albums has contributions from Cathy Davey , which was how I first met Conor at her gigs, as he played backing guitar for her. Conor is such a down to earth guy and extremely modest. Great to see a success story from this guy, His previous band "The Immediate" were making major splashes in the music scene in Ireland after their one and only album "In tower and clouds", I had never heard of the band until the Villagers and sought out the album, after quite some time trying to get hold of a copy I eventually did. Another amazing gem of on a Irish record, I still blast it on from time to time and love the song "There is ghost" , The band seemed to dissolve out of nowhere and Conor started about writing stories and tales as poetry that would eventually form his debut album. I can remember being a fan of his YouTube channel and being blown away by the various homemade songs being put up now and again, The music media finally caught onto this and Conor was signed to the major record label "Jaquauaug". This saw the start of the spiral that would engulf The Villagers over the last year or so. Now after just small beginnings saw Conor go through endless festival performances, Jools Holland Appearances, Mercury Prize Nominations, a No 1 Album and sold out gigs worldwide. Tonight saw the Villagers back to Limerick for their last night touring their debut album.

The first support act of the night was local band Windings, I have witnessed windings a good number of times now and its great to see a Limerick band getting exposure at gigs like this. The lads have some great releases on the Out on a Limb Record label. Its worth heading on over and checking them out here.

Next up were Hello Moon, I wrote a piece about them over here last week. The Dublin four piece were now playing to a sizeable crowd in the tent. The lead singer was stationed behind a drum kit and lashed out into a lovely long set of 12 tracks. Most of the set comprising from their debut album Only Count the Sunny Hours. The singers voice was extremely like Morrissey and they had that smiths sound throughout. The album is well worth checking out, keep an eye on them here.

Set List:

Birthday

The Calculus Affair

What's Ths Use Of Falling In Love?

Here I Am

Barefoot

He Was A Boy

Cheerio

Flag On The Moon

Vanity

Measure Of Me

Three More Inches

Sievehead

 

The main act clambered on stage to a now packed tent. They went straight into the massive sixteen track set. Spirits were high from a band that look like they are done with the road for awhile and are now going to take a rest and concentrate on a follow up album. We heard some new material and the crowd loved the favourites. That day sounded excellent and the band I'm sure could actually play the full set blindfolded. He said it was great to be back in Limerick and that its a fitting end to the last tour date in Ireland for a good while. It was interesting to see the band play an almost adapted set to a festival vibe, very different to the hush tones from December in the church. The crowd loved it all and hopefully we will see them back here very soon. At the end Conor ripped all the strings from his guitar in an action that symbolised the end of touring for a bit and a relief too. They bowed to a huge applause. Next time we will see them he will have new strings and hopefully a brand new album. A super venue and well done to all in Dolans for a great night!

Set List:

Dead
Ritual
Memoir
Pact
Pieces
The Sun is Hanging
Home
27 Stangers
Newfound Land
Set the Tigers Free
Down,Under the Sea
That Day
The Bell
ENCORE:
Becoming a Jackal
Grateful Song
Ship of Promises

Lisa Hannigans New Album Now Streaming

The album isnt released until the 20th of September.
http://www.lisahannigan.ie
Track listing
1. Home
2. A Sail
3. Knots
4. What'll I Do
5. O Sleep
6. Paper House
7. Little Bird
8. Passenger
9. Safe Travels, (Don't Die)
10. Nowhere to Go

Hello Moon Landing in Limerick Next Week

The 2010 formed dublin four piece will be in Limerick next Wednesday to support Villagers at the big top.
This fun rock/pop group have just released their debut album Only Count the Sunny Hours. It sure is a sunny record and will leave you with a smile on you face, kinda sounds like Belle & Sebastian after a dose of happy pills. Hey you gotta love the artwork above, and I like the Neil Young Style writing too. Now if you thought the villagers gig couldn't get any better, it has!
Buy the album HERE
Check them out here: http://breakingtunes.com/hellomoon

EPhemeral - Free Homegrown EP from Tenaka

Ronan Carroll aka Tenaka has just made his EP EPhemeral available for a free download. The limerick producer has be quiet of late as he has been busy mixing and producing his debut album which is due out sometime at the end of the year. This 7 track EP is a nice taster until then, Tenaka is one local act doing something completely different at the moment, This alternative electro sound is something you don't hear too often. The EP hosts a load of collaborations and well worth a download. Looking forward to seeing Tenaka live at the IMRO showcase tour in Dolans later in the month on the 30th of September.
Download Here  
Tracklist:
1. Three
2. Home (featuring Daithi and Elaine Mai)
3. Open Out (featuring Holy Roman Army)
4. Universe i (featuring Sorcha Brennan)
5. Throw Sevens
6. The Alaskan
7. Daithi – The Dog (Tenaka remix)
 
More on Tenaka http://indielimerick.blogspot.com/2009/01/unsigned-music-snippets-7-tenaka.html

Sessions from the Hub

Sessions from the Hub is a segment from a new website called the Thomond Student Times. The Thomond student times is like an online newspaper that acts as a media outlet for colleges in Limerick. It Launched in UL this year and they are hoping to eventually expand to serve the entire student population of Limerick City.

Check out the website HERE which is packed full of News, Entertainment news, Sporting articles and weekly podcasts with a college flavour.

The Sessions from the Hub is part of their Media section and involves bands doing a slot for their YouTube Channel live from the learning hub in limerick..
Local act Vertigo Smyth was first to showcase on the new venture, Check it out below.
The second to feature was that of local band Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters ,Check them out performing 2 tracks from the excellent debut album Devil in Music below.
Looking forward to seeing more bands on the Sessions from the Hub.
Good Luck with it!

MaryI Fresher Fest, Dolans 08/09/11 Review

A great night of bands was organised by the students union of MaryI to welcome the newcomers to the college. A whole weeks events finished with a 6 band bill plus DJ in Dolans warehouse.
All were welcome so I decided to head down due to the quality of bands on show and they did not disappoint.
Here is a small run down of the bands I did get to see:

Moscow Metro

First up were local outfit Moscow Metro. The guys have only being doing the rounds gig wise for a few months, The momentum of the band has been immense. After releasing an online track "Spirit of the City" the band seem to be on a roll. With slots coming up for them at the IMRO showcase tour in Dolans on the 30th of September and The Hard Working Class Heroes tour in Dublin on the 6th of October. Tonight they played a set of 7 tracks including two covers. The band played a cover of local band Tuesday Blue's 1988 song "Tunnel Vision. Its fantastic to see a young band play such a limerick classic and they put their own great spin on it. Hopefully this stays in their set. They  also played Bon Ivers Skinny love and the rest were made up of unreleased material that hopefully will find their way on an album soon. You will be hearing alot more from this guys! Check them out HERE

Set:

 headlights

 cosmos
 tunnel vision
 skinny love
 westerberg
 where it all ends
 spirit of the city

Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters

After winning the Guinness Play on the Day competition in dolans the night previous Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters played a nice set of 8 tracks. Having released their debut album "Devil in Music" during the year the local lads have been non stop gigging. Their live performances are where the music lives best and they are a well polished machine. Hatch Sixteen is a brilliant tune and one that will have classic status from this Limerick band. Keep an eye on them HERE

Fight The Grey

Strip The City
Throwing Shapes
Thread The Needle
That Old Chestnut
Milkanoid
Hatch Sixteen
Little Black Marble

Miracle Bell

Third band was Miracle Bell, The 3 boys from Nass rocked the warehouse with the crowd really getting into it. The MaryI first years really knew their Miracle Bell stuff and were in fine voice. The drummer put in a great performance throughout the 11 track electropoptastic set. Seek them out HERE

Future Kings

You & I

Fit for Love

Welcome

Rough Diamond

Computer Man

Kiss

You're Not Enough

Light Shape Sound

Love Sounds

Inhale Exhale

The Kanyu Tree

Last band I got to witness was that of The Kanyu Tree. Its my second time to see this band, last time was in 2008 at the Cois Fharraige festival in Kilkee. They have come along way from that gig, Back then had some great pop fun tracks and its nice to hear they are still at the same stuff. They are now getting some great radio play and are about to release their debut album People Street. The crowd really enjoyed the set and you will be hearing alot more from them in the future. Check them out HERE

A great night was had by all, cheers to MaryI for a great night!

Mary I Fresher Fest Tonight in Dolans

I know its late news but it should be a good night!
6 bands – 2 DJ’s – 2 stages – 1 ticket.
Tickets are just €7 - can get them on the door.
Doors@ 9.30 sharp Great bands on the night:
Leading Armies
Dead Red Light
DJ - Swing Music
Moscow Metro
Fox Jaw Bounty Hunter
Miracle Bell
Kanyu Tree

Dead Red Light Releases Debut EP

This Limerick outfit have just released a new EP by the name of "Kids Don't Like Indie", Only €3.99 gets you 4 high great tracks from the up and coming band. The energy filled title track is below and is a sample of the greatness from the EP and whats to follow from this bunch. The sound its very like "Walter Mitty & The Realists" at times, Look forward to hearing alot more from Dead Red Light.
For more info on the band check out the snippet on them HERE.
You can catch the lads live on the 24th of September in Dolans warehouse finishing off their EP tour. The on the 30th of September they will be in Dolans once again to take part in the IMRO Showcase tour.
Go buy the EP below
http://deadredlight.bandcamp.com/album/kids-dont-like-indie-ep

PPI nomination for Green and Live Radio Show

The excellent local radio show Green & Live hosted by Alan Jacques has been shortlisted for the prestigious Phonographic Performance Ireland (PPI) Awards on October 7.
Alan's show goes out on Limerick Live 95fm on Friday nights 10pm to Midnight. The show is a great mix of indie rock music and great for local bands. Live in studio slots for bands are a regular treat for the listener.
The snow was shortlisted in the ‘New Irish Music/ Musical Talent Programme’ category - for the third time in four years - for a special on Limerick music titled 'Limrock: A Celebration' broadcast back in May. Best of Luck!

Albums Worth Listening to in September 2011

L-R
Jape - Ocean of Frequency
Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
Kasabian – Velociraptor!
Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit
Wilco- The Whole Love
Rival Sons - Pressure & Time


As Always Suggestions Very Welcome!