Top Ten Albums of 2012 from Indielimerick

Another year draws to a close and its time for the top ten of 2012 . As I always say these are records that I have personally enjoyed over the last year so more than likely I have left out some mainstream classics.
Would love to hear some of the readers choices too , so please comment below.
Had a great 2012 and Ive been to some cracking gigs , 20 gigs so far and counting. The best of the year has to go to Ryan Adams live at the Olympia, the man never disappoints. (Review).
If you would like to see all the monthly album picks over the last year and also all the top tens from the last six years check out it out here.

The list of albums below are in no particular order as always, Hope you have a great christmas and a wonderful new year, Thanks for reading!

The Lost Brothers - The Passing of the Night

The Chevin - Borderland


Eamonn Hehir - The Flag Listeners

The Cranberries - Roses


Protobaby - The Spark

Funeral Suits - Lilly of the Valley

Angus Stone - Broken Brights

Julia Stone - By The Horns

Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

 
Mark Geary - Songs about love, songs about leaving

Moscow Metro Live at Dolans , Limerick 08/12/12 Review

Last Saturday saw local band Moscow Metro headline a gig upstairs in Dolans , The band laid on a full bill including a whopping four bands supporting on the night, ensuring a lot of music for your five euro entry fee.

First act up on the night were the only local support in the form of 'Randolf and The Crokers' , as I have said before cant really go into much about the band as I am in it lending some harmonica. We played a nice twenty five minute set to a very appreciative crowd warming up the night. We are currently recording an record and hope to have something out early next year in the form of a single first. Keep an eye on us here.

Next up were five piece Tipperary band 'Raffiki' , The band produce a great big sound with the lead vocalist ever changing throughout the set. They played a great set and yet again the crowd were very much enjoying it. The band are just about to release a new single in the form of 'Little Charm' in the coming days so keep on eye on them here

Next up on the massive bill were Dublin outfit 'Sounds of System Breakdown' , This three piece indie electro outfit played a nice set . There sound could be very much compared to that of Hot Chip not in a bad way. They are currently in the process of getting there debut album out into the world after a sneak peak thanks to an ep release back in March. Check them out here

Last support act of the night was another Tipperary band this time in the form of 'Silent Noise Parade' . Once again we were provided with more indie electro , The band released a full debut album during the year entitled 'Electric Lives and the Nightmare' however have very little live experience. Tonight saw this line up playing live together for the first time and its hard to believe it. They sounded great and it seemed like they have been gigging for ages , the crowd loved it and warmed things nicely for the main band. Check the lads out here.

Last up were what the big crowd were here for 'Moscow Metro' , The lads have had a massive year with gigs at Electric Picnic, Liss Ard, and Body and Soul Festivals, as well as nationwide tours with the Delorentos, The Funeral Suits and Dry The River, and special guest appearances with The Futureheads, Jape, and The Minutes. You don't get better really and they were back to headline a gig in there own city tonight.
The upstairs was now heaving with people gathered into watch the lads, The band played a great energetic set throwing in some newbies into set which included a nice cover of 'Echo and The Bunnymen'.
The band have been very busy of late trying to self fund their debut ep through fundit.ie which has just finsihed and they have had a great response managing to reach their target figure and more. The EP is expected to be released next February so we can hope for a good few more live dates after that.
Cheers for a great night!

Albums Worth Listening to in December 2012

L-R
A notoriously bad month of album releases but please give a listen to the four above. Of coarse the obligatory Christmas album from the great Sufjan Stevens to follow on his Christmas tradition of releases. Hopefully have the best of 2012 post up some time next week. Cheers

Buddy Guy - Live at Legends

Sufjan Stevens - Silver And Gold Songs For Christmas

Benjamin Francis Leftwich – In The Open EP

Martha Wainwright - Come Home to Mama

 

As Always Suggestions Very Welcome!

 

Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters Fund It Campaign

Excellent local band Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters are now on the hunt for funding for their second album , The Fundit campaign is now in its last two weeks and the band need a bit more to see it through. As I have said before the fundit route is a great route to take for a band as it is a win win. You get the album and they get the funds to do it! The band have a whole heap of great rewards for your buck so check it out here. If their debut album is anything to go by then the second will be a cracker. Go Fund!

The band will play an acoustic show this Friday in the Blind Pig to generate more funds , This show is well worth checking out!

Mark Geary live at Dolans , Limerick 30/11/2012 Review

Anytime Mark Geary is billed to play its worth dropping everything to get to it as he never disappoints . Friday last in dolans was another such occasion as he played the intimate upstairs venue.

 

The support act on the night were the local outfit 'Randolf and the Crokers' , A bit of a personal interest in the band as I play harmonica on some of the tracks. The band is also made up of Shane Storan and Clare O'Brien, The lads featured on last years Limerick compilation album 'The New Reindeer Age' with a track called 'Carry On'. The band played a nice warm up set of nine tracks including a cover of 'The Rolling Stones' track 'Love in Vain'. As a member of the band its hard to give a full opinion but it seemed like the crowd really enjoyed the set and you could hear a pin drop during songs which is always a good sign especially for just a support act. Randolf and the Crokers are set to play again this Saturday this time supporting the local band 'Moscow Metro'. Be sure to call down!

 

Mark arrived out on stage accompanied by a backing singer to his right and a pianist to his left. He played a sublime set taking in tracks from all his album releases including his 2012 release 'songs about love, songs about leaving'. He is a joy to watch on stage as he is so comfortable playing live , I last had the pleasure of catching live back in 2008 in the same venue (Review Here) just after he had released the album 'Opium'. As his discography grows his live performances seem to get better. The banter like back in 2008 is still great and he always has a great fun with his audience. Its great to see an artist just enjoying what he is doing. The classic tracks gained some great audience singalongs and he even roped me into adding Harmonica to his track 'South' , This was not pre-rehearsed but it somehow worked thank god :)

 

Clare from Randolf and the Crokers joined him on stage for the last number of the night 'It Beats Me' , Mark requested all the lights in the room be switched off which turned the room into pitch darkness leaving just the flickering candle lights that adorned the tables . He walked out into the middle of the room and was joined by the rest of the crokers (Shane and Myself) to sing the finishing lines over and over as we walked down into the hallway away from the crowd finishing the song out in the hallway to great applause.
That ended a gig that will be hard to forget , Cheers to Mark for an awesome night of music and looking forward already to his return! Go get his new album!

Bruce Springsteen's Irish Tour Archive

Bruce pictured above at Slane Castle in 1985 his first outing on Irish soil. I decided to compile his Irish tour history with the brilliant announcement of Bruce coming to my home town, Limerick next year. There maybe a few dates wrong but from what I can dig up it seems he had played Ireland twenty two times in the past. Most of these gigs have been played in the capital as he only ventured outside of Dublin three times. Once to play his first ever date in Slane Castle and twice in Belfast in 1996 and 2006.

The Boss has just announced three further Irish dates for 2012:

29-Jul-2016 Croke Park, Dublin
27-Jul-2016 Croke Park, Dublin
28-Jul-2013 Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
27-Jul-2013 Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
16-Jul-2013 Thomond Park Limerick Ireland(Review Here)
18-Jul-2013 Páirc Uí Chaoimh Cork Ireland
20-Jul-2013 Belfast, Northern Ireland
17-Jul-2012 RDS Dublin (Ireland)
18-Jul-2012 RDS Dublin (Ireland)
11-Jul-2009 RDS Dublin (Ireland)
12-Jul-2009 RDS Dublin (Ireland)
22-May-2008 RDS Dublin (Ireland)
23-May-2008 RDS Dublin (Ireland)
25-May-2008 RDS Dublin (Ireland)
05-May-2006 The Point Dublin (Ireland)
17-Nov-2006 The Point Dublin (Ireland)
18-Nov-2006 The Point Dublin (Ireland)
19-Nov-2006 The Point Dublin (Ireland)
21-Nov-2006 The Odyssey Belfast (Ireland)
24-May-2005 The Point Dublin (Ireland)
31-May-2003 RDS Dublin (Ireland) The Rising Tour
25-May-1999 RDS Dublin (Ireland) Reunion Tour
17-Mar-1996 The Mean Fiddler Dublin (Ireland)
19-Mar-1996 Kings Hall Belfast (Ireland)
20-Mar-1996 The Point Dublin (Ireland)
19-May-1993 The Stadium Dublin (Ireland)
20-May-1993 RDS Dublin (Ireland)
07-Jul-1988 RDS Dublin (Ireland) Tunnel of Love Tour
01-Jun-1985 Slane Castle Meath (Ireland) Born in the USA Tour

Check out some other bands Irish Tour Histories Here

Limerick on Record is Released

A limited edition charity box set of limerick acts was released yesterday in Thomond Park . The box set was compiled by Paddy Brennan a founding member of the limerick rock'n'roll club and an expert in the showbands music era.
The three CD boxset houses sixty two tracks of all limerick bands and artists down through the years. The album features singers such as Richard Harris , Terry Wogan and Denis Allen . The box set also has some great limerick bands from down through the years including Tuesday Blue , Grannys Intentions , Toucandance , The Hitchers and the Groove . Some of the new up and coming bands are also including in the likes of Hermitage Green , Parliament Square and Windings. Great to see Woodstar appear on the album also and the track chosen 'The King' is one of the best.

The album proceeds all go to Milford Hospice and can be purchased in the following places :
Savins
O'Mahony's Bookshop
Euro Empire
Milford Hospice
University Concert Hall
O'Donnell's Boutique
The Hunt Museum

Bruce Springsteen is coming to town!

Delighted that the rumours are true! The boss will play Thomond Park on the 16th of July 2013. Tickets will go on sale on the 6th of December via ticketmaster. Great to see the venue getting such a great act on its books and I have never seen bruce play and he is on the list!

Parliament Square Reveil New Video

Excellent local band 'Parliament Square' released their new single and revealed their new video to 'Forest Fire' last night in Cobblestone Joes.
Parliament Square are a Limerick four piece fronted by Brendan Markham of past legendary local band 'The Driven'.
The band are going well and the new video looks and sounds great, looking forward to more from the band. Keep an eye on them here.

Eamonn Hehir live at Dolans , Limerick 17/11/2012 Review

A wonderful night of music, nostalgia and a night to be proud of took place in Dolans as local singer songwriter Eamonn Hehir released his new album 'The Flag Listeners' . The warehouse was packed full of a who's who's in the limerick music scene to celebrate the launch of Eamonn's second album, almost twelve years in the making since his first offering 'Blood Mill Road' back in 2000.

 

Speaking of a who's who's in the Limerick Music scene just take a look at the band for the night : Dave Keary on electric guitar , The human anchor Eoghan O'Neill on Bass , James Hanley on Keyboard , Danny Byrt on Drums and 'the Flag Listener Sisters' Jenny McMahon & Siobhan O'Brien on backing vocal duties.

Eamonn had gathered a band together for the night as most of the instruments on the album are played by Eamonn , so the lack of several hands meant needing some band members. Having assembled only for the launch night and with so little practice you would imagine a night of faults and hiccups would ensue but the band sounded like they have been playing together forever which is such a testament to their individual talents.

 

A strong twenty track set list which included all of the tracks from the new album and featured a cover of Des O'Dwyer's "Running Scared". Des was a constant member of Eamonn's groups down through the years and sadly passed away in 2010, Des features heavily throughout the new album. Running Scared featured in Des's posthumous released album 'Home James' and the band gave a fitting tribute to him on the night. The night included the album track 'Before the song was over' a beautiful haunting lament in tribute to Des.

The set also included some classic tracks from his debut album 'Blood Mill Road'. The limited album was on sale on the night and after giving it some listening over the last few days its clear its a cracking album and another gem to be added to the annuals of limerick music.

 

The band brought the album to life on the night and there is nothing like listening to live music , a highlight for me was the track 'Gates of Limbo' as Keary lashed his way throughout the guitar parts and the band were in full swing! For the encore Eamonn arrived out sans guitar to sing 'Little Man' accompanied by James Hanley , who proceeded to show off his sublime talent on piano.

Eamonn played his full back catalogue , a catalogue anyone would give their right arm for. The album gives insights to Eamonn's views on life and how he can turn a simple scenario into a masterpiece. The topics of life , love and death are all covered in his amazing style . Go out and get a copy while you can! Its hard to put into words how good a night it was and the videos below don't even do it justice. The only issue on the night was that it had to end , Cheers for an unreal night of music!

 

Set List:

Downtown

That Cold Year

Running Scared

The Angel's Share

California

Lincoln

Almost Drowning

The Master of Ceremonies

Gigs & Funerals

Dry Land

Restless Kind

White Lines

Before the Song was over

The Man on the Clapham Omnibus

Girl From the Waterfall

Things will happen

The Gates of Limbo

Encore:

Little Man

Steve Brodie Took a Chance

Joe Cocker Isn't Wanted
 

Relive most of the magic thanks to BocktheRobbers Video playlist of the night below

Bell x1 live at Dolans Limerick 15/11/2012 Review

Last night saw Bell x1 roll into town to play the opening night of a two night sold out affair in Dolan's warehouse. The warehouse was kitted out with rows and rows of seating, a first for me. The walls had posters stating that patrons turn off mobile phones and that the bar would be closed during the performance. All things lead to a night of acoustic bliss from the band.

The three members Paul Noonan , David Geraghty and Dominic Philips treated the seated crowd to a stunning performance of a full range of tracks spanning all seven of their albums.

The trio are currently on an acoustic tour much like the tour that came to St.Johns Church back in 2010 (mini review here)

The lads spoke of their fondness for Limerick and that nearly 12 years ago when the band were just starting to gig Dolans played host to one of their first. No opening act facilitated a full night of acoustic Bell x1 which was spilt into two parts with an interlude in the middle. As Paul mention far from Interludes they were rared, the banter was great throughout the night. With many of the tracks being given back stories before they began , Several covers were thrown into their existing tracks and the band were full of little surprises even throwing 'Ms Jackson' by Outkast into the mix. The night was filled with many instruments including Banjos, ukuleles and a magnificent sounding upright piano.

They played a number of new tracks so hopefully we will see a new record soon enough from the band, the new numbers sounded great so we can expect great things down the line. The final song a cover of Roy Orbinson (Bono/Edge penned) 'She's a Mystery to Me' was superb as the band stood around one mic, check out the videos below for a little snippet of a great night, Cheers!

SetList: (Order might not be right)

Part1:

Bad Skin

Velcro

Heart

Next to You

Rocky

Motorcades

Slow Set

Built

Flame

Part2:

Eve

Offshore

ABC

Nightwatchmen

Safer than love

starlings

Defector

Sunflower

Encore:

Heart

She's a Mystery to Me (Roy Orbison Cover)
 

Eamonn Hehir Releases his New Album this Saturday

No stranger to gigging dolans local singer-songwriter Eamonn Hehir is set to release his second solo album 'The Flag Listeners' this Saturday the 17th in the warehouse.

The much anticipated album has been in the making for twelve years since his first album offering 'Blood Mill Road' back in 2000 however Eamonn has been in the local music scene for a lot longer than that. The eighties saw Eamonn fronting many bands including legendary local outfit 'Toucandance' and is still a regular on the live music scene around town.

Eamonn appeared on last years limerick compilation album 'The New Reindeer Age' with a track entitled 'Is this My Caring Face' which whetted the appetite for the full release of 'The Flag Listeners'. The album all recorded in his home studio is sure to be his best work to date, Many of the tracks are already live favourites and it will be great to hear them all on one album.

The gig will have a backing band many a musician would dream to have with the likes of  Dave Keary (ex-Tuesday Blue and currently playing with Van Morrison) on electric guitar; Eoghan O’Neill (ex-moving Hearts) on bass; James Hanley on keyboards; Danny Byrt on drums; Jenny McMahon (DeLorean suite) and singer/songwriter, Siobhán O’Brien, on backing vocals.
Its sure to be one of the best gigs of the year!

Check out more info here : http://eamonnhehir.com/

Albums Worth Listening to in November 2012

L-R
Eamonn Hehir - The Flag Listeners
The Local singer-songwriter releases his much anticipated second solo album on the 17th of this month, 1 gig and 1 album not to miss!!!
O Emperor - Electric Tongues​/​Erman Gou
Cry Monster Cry - The Fallen EP - Buy the EP here
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Psychedelic Pill
The Rolling Stones - GRRR!
The Who - Live At Hull

As always suggestions very welcome!

O Emperor in town this Friday

An IndieLimerick favourite O Emperor will play Dolans this Friday the 9th as part of their eight night Irish tour.
The band have just released a double a side single in the form of 'Electoc Tongues/Erman Gou' in the follow up to their 2010 debut album 'Hither Thither'. The lads have been very busy recording in 2012 and the results are somewhat in a new direction comparing the material to the 2010 work.
Looking forward to hearing all the new stuff this Friday. Check out one of the new tracks below. Tickets available here.

Hermitage Green - EP Launch live at Dolans 18/10/12 Review

 

Tonight saw the long awaited EP launch from local band Hermitage Green. The lads have been playing together for just over two years mainly as a covers band. As they have progressed, original material started seeping into their live sets. The band had regular weekly slots in several bars in town and their following was gaining more attention than the band at first. You were guaranteed a full house of women if the band were playing in a pub , the draw being a fit looking bunch of musicians with Munster rugby connections. This clearly is the holy grail for any single women in town. The rugby connection lies with ex Munster player Barry Murphy. He will always be in the sporting history books as the only player to score a try against the All Blacks on their 2008 tour. (Check it out). The next rugby connection was that of Bódhran player Felix Jones, Felix is now gone from the band due to rugby commitments in the form of Munster and Irish selections. So you can clearly see why the big following, I had my doubts before I saw them live due to the fact that the people telling me about them weren't your typical music fan. However the first time I finally got to see them live I was very surprised these guys can play! they had a great set list full of covers in their own styling and one or two originals thrown into the mix.

They started to release original material in the form of live videos , their first appearance on record was on the 2011 Limerick compilation album 'The New Reindeer Age' with the acoustic track 'Live On'. The band started the recording process for their self produced four track EP 'The Gathering' enlisting the help of local recorders Owen Lewis and Dave Keary and Richard Dowling of Wav Mastering adding the final touches.

The bands launch night was originally billed for the small venue upstairs in dolans but with the fast selling tickets meant a move to the downstairs warehouse venue. I arrived early to find the place thronged of people, any established band would give a lot for such a big crowd especially when its only launching your first release. The band arrived out to great applause and launched straight into a strong fourteen song set. The set included crowd pleasing covers such as Dick Burnett's 'Man of Constant Sorrow' and Florence & The Machine's 'Cosmic Love'.

Having such a hectic gigging schedule over the last few years has stood to them as they are very comfortable on stage and with their sound. It was great to see the band on a night where the emphasis was more on their original material and we were treated to several unheard tracks including a song dedicated to Paul Darbyshire a friend of the band who sadly passed away. Paul was the head of strength and conditioning at Munster Rugby and clearly left a big impact on the lads, Video below.

Their sound is hard not to enjoy as they have a great catchy folky upbeat country inspired vibe not unlike a band such as Mumford and Sons. The set included a wide variety of instruments including a Didgeridoo, banjos and harmonicas .One of the highlights of the night was when we were treated to a Bódhran extravaganza when Dermot Sheedy climbed the speakers onto the mini roof of the lower bar, a first for me to see at dolans to give the crowd a drumming solo.

 

The night went off great and the crowd clearly enjoyed themselves which included several big names in the current Munster squad. They were all sensibly not drinking ahead of their big Heineken cup clash this Sunday thankfully. The EP is one to check out which can be purchased through itunes here. Its clearly going to be a very busy schedule for the band from here on out and very well deserved. Well done to the lads on such a great EP and Launch night, Cheers!

Set List:

Melodies

Red Flags

Live On

Constant Sorrow

Florida

Banish

Cosmic Love

Song for Paul

Let the Ink Flow

Bodhran Solo

Gibson

Golden Rule

Encore:

Not the Man

Aisling

Moscow Metro - Debut E.P Fundraiser

 

Excellent local band Moscow Metro are close to finishing their debut EP due out in early 2013, the four piece are currently urging fans to help them out with the cost of bringing this out. The band have been very busy in the last year with a heavy gigging schedule with the cherry on the top being an appearance at this years Electric Picnic. They have chosen fundit.ie to help with the recording of the record.

I personally think these fundit campaigns are great as everyone wins, They get an EP out and we get to help and get a copy of it. Looking forward to hearing the finished copy and if their single 'Spirit of City' is anything to go by this EP will be well worth getting. Go Fund it HERE

 

Pieta House & Familes Fundraising Gig Next Week

Friday the 12th of October will see Dolans play host to a fundraising event for Pieta House & Familes. Some great local bands are due to play on the night including the likes of dREA , Skazz, Dark Road and the excellent Parliament Square.
The night kicks off at 9pm and tickets are only €10. Well worth checking out and for a brilliant cause.

Albums Worth Listening to in October 2012

L-R
-The Chevin -Borderland
-Hermitage Green - The Gathering EP (Long awaited release from this local band, Download from itunes here . The launch of the single is on the 18th of October in Dolans )
-Windings - I Am Not The Crow (Another great local release this month, Check out the lead single here)
-Paul Banks - Banks
-Muse – The 2nd Law
-The Unusual History of Ether - Part One (Great band and super EP, The lads play dolans on the 2nd of November)

Suggestion very welcome as always!

Arthur's Day 2012 Dolans Limerick 27/09/12 Review

The brilliant marketing scheme that is Arthur's day was back in town, This year wasn't as big as last years bash which included the Big Top in town being invaded by several big acts thanks to Guinness. The big story this year was what big secret act was playing in town, Thought it was great that everyone had it sussed that Mumford & Sons were playing Smyths in town. Even later on in the night in Dolans I overheard a few students saying they couldn't wait to see Mumford getting up on stage. The rumours were completely made up :)  however Texas did actually play smyths as the big surprise act.
I didn't really understand why people were questioning which surprise act were playing where as Dolans already had a great line up planned and confirmed.

First up were Dublin outfit 'Cry Monster Cry'. The band played a great short set, unfortunately to a very unresponsive student crowd who were wondering what time Example was coming out on stage (Another untrue rumour :). Picked up there excellent EP 'The Fallen' on the night and look forward to hearing a lot more from them and hopefully another gig in Limerick at some stage. Check them out here



Next up were local band Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters , The lads have been very busy of late getting their second offering ready for the world. Everything is now recorded and hopefully we will see a great follow up to the brilliant first album 'Devil in Music' sometime next year. The band played a nice set including some of the new material.
Set :
Hatch Sixteen
Little Black Marble
Caked in Sin
That Old Chestnut
Throwing Shapes
Falling Debris
Fight The Grey
Hijack

#

Last up for the official Arthur's Day line up was Jape, It was my fifth time to see him play tonight the best gig I saw him play was Arthur's Day in Dolans back in 2009 (Review) to a packed crowd. Unfortunately the crowd tonight wasn't as big but he put on another great performance. Its sad to say it but it seems the young students today are more interested in mainstream X Factor stuff and 'The Big acts' whereas a couple of years ago any act playing live would have drawn a big crowd, maybe I'm wrong. Anyways another great gig from Jape as always.




After Jape the crowd were ushered out of the warehouse to a packed bar inside, Dolans didn't really plan this the best as they had organised a separate event called 'DIE' . A regular Thursday night event which includes Dubstep in the warehouse, Indie upstairs and Electro in the smoking area. All these events were ticketed so people who had bothered to come for Arthur's day were now being asked to leave the venue and queue out in the rain to come right back into where they came from, It was all a bit silly and they should have just let the people who were in for the Arthur's day stay there.

After waiting ages to get back in I eventually got to the 'indie' night upstairs. The wait meant I missed the first act up which was local band 'Milk Baby'. Sorry lads
Next up were local band 'Animal Beats' , The upstairs was now nice and packed full of students and newbie Guinness drinkers which was a fun mix. The band played a great set with the crowd really enjoying it. As you can see below.

Last up at around midnight was another local favourite 'Protobaby'. They played into the wee small hours and had the crowd in palm of their hands ending a great night of music. A seriously brilliant performance as always, The video below proving that.  Cheers for a great night!

Music Snippets #34 - The Unusual History of Ether

Hail From :

Copenhagen and Dublin

Band Members :
Lead Singer/Keyboard : Rebecca Collins
Guitar : Mikkel Ploug
Bass : Jeppe Skovbakke
Drums : Jeppe Gram

About:
First off what a brilliant name for a band! This band is a Copenhagen-based collaboration between Irish singer-songwriter Rebecca Collins and Danish guitarist Mikkel Ploug. They met when playing the Dublin Fringe festival a few years back and since then have been making music.
The band released their first EP at the start of the year aptly entitled 'Part One' and hope to bring out a full album release sometime next year. Their EP can be downloaded from here.
If you havenet heard of them check out their lovely sound below. The band play Dolans on Friday the 2nd of Novemeber, Well worth checking out!

Check them out here : http://theunusualhistoryofether.tumblr.com/

For more Music Snippets click HERE

Arthur's Day 2012 in Limerick

 

Here's just a quick run down of whats happening around Limerick for Arthur's Day 2012. Last year saw the big top take centre stage hosting Royseven, Calvin Harris , The feeling and many more (Review Here). These bands also went onto play smaller venues around including Calvin Harris doing a DJ slot in Micky Martins. Don't think the events this year will be as big but Guinness has promised some surprise big acts around town. Names mentioned include Example, Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding, Mika, Professor Green, Fatboy Slim, Texas or Amy MacDonald but no venues named yet.

More than 20 Limerick pubs are in the running to host one of the headline acts, with the pub or venue that receives the most votes to get the act. 
Keep an eye here for updates as soon as we hear them

 

If your pub is not listed just give us a shout and we will mention it.

 

Dolans:

Confirmed : Jape , Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters , Cry Monster Cry, The O'Malleys , Protobaby , Animal Beats , Milk Baby

1 Secret Headline Act 

 

Bourkes:

Confirmed : Le Galaxie, Windings

 

The Curragower

Confirmed : dREA , Red Cloud Blue Grass Manifesto

 

Mickey Martins

Confirmed : The Herbaliser , DJ Leon

  

The Blind Pig:

Confirmed : Mael Morda

, Celtachor

 

Nancy Blakes

Confirmed : Sound, The Funk Junkies, DJ Lenny

 

Cobblestone Joes :

Confirmed : The Doors tribute-The Roadhouse Doors , Adam Haugh

 

Aubars/Paddy Frawleys:

Confirmed : Acoustra , Yvonne McCarthy, Birdthistle , DJ Dashka

 



The Guggenheim Grotto live at Dolans 14/09/12 Review

The upstairs in Dolans was jam packed tonight to welcome back the Guggenheim Grotto after a three year absence of gigging in Limerick, The duo have been residing stateside since we last saw them and have been making huge in-roads over there.  
Kevin May from Ballinrobe and Mick Lynch from Westport started the night off the exact same way they finished the night three years ago in the same venue with a beautiful acoustic rendition of 'The Universe is Laughing' accompanied by the ukulele and standing in amongst the crowd in the middle of the room. (Review from 2009)

The Guggenheim Grotto are a big indielimerick favourite and are rarely off the ipod, Their three albums to date are fantastic and each one worth checking out. Their fourth album is on the way in the coming months. This album was a pledge effort and was very unique in that they recorded twenty tracks and then asked the pledgers to chose twelve to make the final record. The fruits of their labour will be out sometime next year and pledgers (including me) will get the album hopefully in the next month or so. You can still pledge to get the album just not all twenty tracks here.

The set tonight included some brand new tracks from the forthcoming album, its always a joy to hear songs emerging for the first time and the grotto always give you the story behind each new song. By the sounds of the newbies tonight the fourth album will be filled of classic grotto material as they gel perfectly with the rest of their catalogue. Your always guaranteed to hear some great stories from the road between songs and they didn't disappoint, one such story was the band getting a private gig in America which turned out in the end to be a swingers party!
The set also included a slowed down version of Thin Lizzy's The boys are back in town and also another uke track from the new album which again was performed acoustically out in the middle of the room and showed off some great whistle harmonies. I took quite a few videos so check them out below including two new tracks from the new album 'Electric Life' all about a local sidewalk preacher and the charming 'Afloat'
It is always a pleasure to catch these guys live, hopefully we wont have to wait another three years to see them again, looking forward to the new album. Cheers for a great night!

The Lost Brothers live at Bourkes Bar, Limerick 06/09/2012 Review

First up tonight in Bourkes was Siobhán O'Brien accompanied by Eamonn Hehir, Siobhán played a nice short set of tracks from her latest excellent self titled album. You can check out more from Siobhan over here.

Eamonn is set to release an album in the next coming months after a 12 year hiatus on the release front since 'Blood Mill Road'. The new record is one to watch out for. Great to catch these two live , they play Bourkes regularly so keep an eye out for them of a Wednesday night.
 

Next on stage were the main act 'The Lost Brothers'. Super to have them back in Limerick after their brilliant show in Bourkes back in January (Review Here) .

I hadn't heard of the duo until that night but after getting their albums on the night they became a great favourite on the ipod. The Lost Brothers made up of Oisin Leech from Navan and Mark McCausland from Omagh have been on the move for quite some time hoping from England to America several times. Within these times they managed to produce two fantastic album in the form of 'Trails of the Lonely'(2008) and last years album 'So Long John Fante'.
2012 see another album in the making with 'The Passing of the Night' getting aired in three weeks time. I have had the pleasure of getting an advanced copy of the album for the last few weeks and my ears have had the most pleasure from this. The new record takes off from where the last one ended which is great as you never wanted the 2011 release to finish. The duo have an amazing ability to tell stories and bring some great old time Americana music into these tales. I'm sure this record will be a huge success, looking at the personnel involved is also staggering which includes Brendan Benson producing it and it features some great musicians including an indielimerick favourite in the form of Ryan Adams and the Cardinals drummer Brad Pemberton. This album is one is not to be ignored! (Order Here)
 

Tonight the lads played a lovely mix of the three albums with some covers thrown into the mix, they were joined on stage for some numbers by David Murphy to play electric slide guitar and what a superb addition he was. Amazing harmonies and amazing music what more could you ask for on a Thursday night in Limerick with no cover charge. Cheers to Bourkes and to The Lost Brothers!

The Lost Brothers are back in Limerick on the 3rd November to play in Dolans as part of the FMC tour, More details here.

Setlist :
Bird In A Cage
Who could love you more
Send Me Off to Sleep
Now That the Night Has Come
Ribbons and Bows
Oh Brother
Hey Miss Fannie
Pale Moon
In the City
Angry at the Sun
Can I Stay
Goodbye Kid
Lonesome Town (RickyNelson Cover)
The Bop
Under the turquoise sky
 

Albums Worth Listening to in September 2012

L-R
Fionn Regan - Bunkhouse Vol.I: Anchor Black Tattoo
Bob Dylan - Tempest
The Lost Brothers - The Passing of the Night (The lads play bourkes on the 6th of September)
Frightened Rabbit - State Hospital EP
The Killers - Battle Born
Mumford & Sons - Babel

Suggestion very welcome as always!

Bellx1 Announce Local Show for November

Fresh from Electric Picnic the Bellx1 lads have announced a full acoustic tour which includes a date in Dolans.
Friday the 16th of November will see them bring the acoustic tour back to Limerick after seeing it in full swing back in 2010 in St.Johns Church (Review).
The band played the local venue the Big Top back in December last year (Review) with the full band, The acoustic efforts of the band are well worth checking, expect a big turn out and a great night of music.

Band Site

The Guggenheim Grotto are back in town this September

An Indielimerick favourite is back in Limerick after a absense of three years , Kevin May from Ballinrobe, and Mick Lynch from Westport will play the upstairs venue in Dolans on Friday the 14th of September.
The band are situated now in the US and have been creating quite a stir and building a massive fan base over there.
Ive had the pleasure of seeing the band live on three occasions, last time back in May 2009 (review here). The band are always on the ipod and are a constant addition to any playlist of mine.

Their three albums are a joy to listen to and well worth checking out, they are currently on the cusp of a new release.
This fourth album was a pledge effort and was very unique in that they recorded twenty tracks and then asked the pledgers to chose twelve to make the final record. Unfortunately I personally didnt get to pledge and chose tracks ( No credit card at the time), hopefully ill get a chance to listen to all twenty at some point. Hopefully this untitled album will be ready come gig time in dolans.
Looking forward to it!

Check them out Here
Buy Tickets Here

Kasabian & Noel Gallagher live at Marlay Park 23/08/12

 

An amazing line up for a night in Marlay park was my first impressions when seeing the ads for the gig a couple of months ago, Considering no Oxegen and not the best Picnic headliners in my own opinion this Marlay Park gig was the best gig of the summer with all the festival vibe and you don't even have to stay in a tent! Tickets were immediately bought and a cheap hotel booked.

It wasn't a bad afternoon in the capital just the odd misting showers and the ground/grass was holding its own, all in all a grand evening for an outdoor gig. The security in Marlay Park was very tight. We had double searches entering the gig area including metal detectors and all our pockets had to be emptied into clear plastic bags. It was all very airport/prison security stuff of coarse all measures hyped up due to the mess that happened at a gig earlier in the year in the phoenix park. Not great fun going through these checks and a kind of a dampener when heading into a gig but in hindsight it makes complete sense. It was very reassuring to see so many security staff and Gardaí around the grounds. It should really be like this all the time.

I missed Maverick Sabre due to pre-gig pints but doubt I missed too much. The Cribs were in mid set walking in, This is one band I never really got into and I don't think after several listens I ever will. Not that I don't think they aren't good musicians as they are clearly good and what they do, and it is also clear watching the pit dwellers jumping around singing back to the band that they have a good following. I can't seem to warm to the music , it all seems a bit too out there and shouty but who knows one day they might surprise me.
 

More pints and burgers and it was time for Noel Gallagher to grace the festival stage, Last time I saw Noel live was back in 2009 headlining the mighty Slane. Little did I know that the band would be no more only a couple of month later. That was one hell of a gig and strangely enough the first time I had witnessed Kasabian live. Tonight saw the roles reversed as Noel became the support artist.

Noel launched straight into an Oasis number '(It’s Good) To Be Free' however two minutes into the song the sound went, the band looking to the side of the stage with puzzlement. Off they went and fifteen minutes later after several 'sorry bla bla announcements' Noel came back on to great applause and cracked into another Oasis number 'Mucky Fingers' yet again the song was interrupted by a power failure of some sort. It was getting all a bit ridiculous at this stage and it was clear the band were close to breaking point. Another fifteen minutes passed and in fairness to Noel they came back out and soldiered on and played a blinder of a set with no annoying interruptions. As Noel said after the first uninterrupted song 'sorry about that fucking nonsense' and later quip 'They had to put 50p in the Metre'
 

The set included a nice mix of classic Oasis and stuff from the High Flying Birds debut album. Its was great to hear '

Half the World Away' a real favourite of mine. The Oasis numbers didn't even need Noel signing at times as the crowd were nearly drowning him out, It's always a pleasure to see such a genius at work. The final track 'Don’t Look Back in Anger' was the biggest sing along with the crowd and it was clear the band were enjoying it just as much. The power problem might have been too much for him though as he ended the night by saying it would be his last Dublin gig for a long time which was met with boos and he said 'Hey, It's a big world'. This might also be due to the fact he has played a string of Irish gigs over the last year. Either way the gig was great, looking forward to hearing more from the birds.

Setlist:
(It’s Good) To Be Free
Mucky Fingers
Everybody’s on the Run
Dream On
If I Had a Gun…
Supersonic
(I Wanna Live in a Dream in My) Record Machine
AKA… What a Life!
Talk Tonight
AKA… Broken Arrow
Half the World Away
(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach
Whatever
Don’t Look Back in Anger

A Guy on youtube has nearly the whole set recorded (Here ) 

Kasabian arrived on stage just as the dusk had set in, the stage lighting now in its element as the tribal velociraptor symbol was adorning the back drop. The band bounded on stage and cracked straight into their new single 'Days Are Forgotten'. The gig was one mass sing along, everyone just jumped around and had a ball. The band were flawless and at times seemed so good it sounded recorded.

Now having four albums in their discography they are clearly and awesome live band. Having hit after hit in their arsenal it was hard to keep your breath from belting out the fan favourites.

For me the album that sealed this was 2009s 'West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum' , its one hell of an album and boosts a serious amount of non fillers, this is then backed up with another stomper in the form of 2011s 'Velociraptor!'.

The set was amazingly good and the crowd were top notch , The seamlessly integrated covers adding to the greatness in the form of 'Praise You' by Fatboy Slim and Serge's cover of 'Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime' by The Korgis. Lead singer Tom Meighan spoke to the crowd of his Irish green blood and his proud Irish heritage and throughout the night gave us a serious passionate performance. Tom also treated us at the end of the night to an A-Capella version of the Beatles' 'She Loves You'

The video below showing a snippet of the final song 'Fire' tells all really. You know you were at the great gig when leaving the grounds your hoarse and your legs are crazy tired.

Cheers for a great night and I think I was right when seeing the billing , Gig of the year!

Setlist:
Days Are Forgotten
Shoot the Runner
Velociraptor!
Underdog
Where Did All the Love Go?
Swarfiga
Let’s Roll Just Like We Used To (E.T Theme trumpet intro)
I.D.
Take Aim (Clockwork Orange Theme Intro)
Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime (The Korgis cover)
Club Foot
Re‐Wired
Empire
Praise You (Fatboy Slim cover)
L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)
Encore:
Switchblade Smiles
Vlad the Impaler
Fire