Top Ten Albums of 2013 from Indielimerick

Well that's another year over, Apologies for the small number of posts throughout the year as I have been very busy and 2014 promises to be even busier. I did manage however to review 21 gigs throughout the year. (Reviews all down the right has side of the blog), Gig of the year has to go to Bruce Springsteen in Thomond Park. That gig was amazing as the city was on a high that the Limerick hurlers won the Munster final that week and having someone as big as the Boss play in Limerick was magical.
Another piece of the blog I did manage to keep up to date was the monthly album picks which all can be seen here and now its time to pick my favourite ten of the year. I have been drawing up these list for seven years now and 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. In no particular order here they be, Happy Christmas!

Arctic Monkeys - AM

National - Trouble Will Find Me

Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Okkervil River - Silver Gymnasium

Frightened Rabbit - Pedestrian Verse

Phosphorescent - Muchacho

Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt

O Emperor - Vitreous

Villagers - Awayland

John Blek and the Rats - Leave Your Love at the Door

Little Green Cars live at Bourkes, Limerick 12/12/2013

Great night of music ensued in Bourkes bar last night as Little Green Cars were playing their first night of a two night sold out stint in the city. Tomorrow night sees Dolans warehouse as the host with support from the brilliant up and coming local band 'Bleeding Heart Pigeons' .

Tonight the support act were a trio from Dublin called 'Other Creatures' , This fresh faced band played a great short opening set. The lead singer played an impressive sounding vintage gretsch guitar which influenced their indie rock sound, I got a funeral suits vibe off their stuff. Definitely a band to keep an eye on.

The bar was very crammed as the main band assembled on the small stage, its great to see an Irish band like this sell out venues around Ireland and have such a great following. The band have had an amazing year with a number one album for their debut Absolute Zero . Touring with Jake Bugg, A Jimmy Fallon appearance , playing SXSW , Coachella, Lollapalooza and the list goes on.... You cant have it any better really.
They arrived out and just accompanied by one guitar and sang sans mics to the now hushed crowd for the opening number. Their harmonies were incredible all night and female singer Faye O'Rourke has an amazing range. After that hairs on the back of the neck opener the band plugged in and got down to business playing crowd favourites while we were entertained between songs about writing processes and band stories. This included the story behind their single 'The John Wayne' as lead singer Stevie Appleby regaled how we had an instant love for an American girl his brother had introduced to him back in the day and how we wrote the track that night on a small drum kit he had assembled at home called 'The Quiet Kit' and that's where the name came from as it was nearly called 'The Quiet Man'.
A thoroughly enjoyable set throughout which ended with the band walking out into the middle of the floor and singing like as they had done at the start of the set.
A great night of music ! Cheers to Seoda shows for a super night!

Bombay Bicycle Club live at Dolans 20/11/2013 Review

Indie favourites Bombay Bicycle Club took to the warehouse last month to a full house, The band have a huge following and a great back catalogue to back this up. The sell out of tickets a testament to this.

Supporting the band on the night was Northern Irish singer-songwriter Soak , She silenced the crowd with her lovely tales, just accompanied by a guitar. The derry born artist will be back in Limerick on New Years Eve playing the NYE Bash in Howleys Quay.

Next up were the headliners all the way from London, It was a great scalp for Dolans to get the band as they are often found in huge sell out venues throughout Europe and are a big festival favourite.
Its always great when an band like this decides to play a local venue and you delve into their many albums in the lead up to the gig.
The band have sound tracked many a night out in Costellos and my favourite of theirs has to be the 2010 release 'Flaws'. The band changed their tact a little recording it acoustically and going for the folk feel instead of their usual indie eletro-pop stuff. The album went on to be nominated for the Ivor Novello Award in 2011.

I was amazed at the amount of equipment adorning the large stage in the warehouse. The drummer going for two kits (One Electric) , two keyboards and a horde of guitars and backing singers. They put on a huge performance and played lots from the upcoming album 'So Long, See You Tomorrow' which is due out in February of next year. Many of these songs got their first airing on the night and the crowd were very appreciative of this fact. The set included the new single 'Carry Me' and crowd favourite 'Always Like This' which you can see below in the second video and you will realise why I gave it the crowd favourite stamp.
Hopefully they will be back in this neck of the woods very soon,

Thanks for playing Limerick!

Set List:
Shuffle
Overdone(Live Debut)
It's Alright Now
Your Eyes
How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep
Come To(Live Debut)
Feel
Lights Out, Words Gone
Whenever(Live Debut)
Evening/Morning
Always Like This
Carry Me
Encore:
Ivy and Gold
What If

 

Out on a Limb Records 10th Anniversary live at Bourkes & Dolans 10/08/2013 Review

This one is going back a bit but better late then never, the local record label put on and amazing day of music back in August.

Its incredible the work this label has done for Limerick and for the music scene in Ireland in generally and they continue to produce fantastic music to this day. Ten years is a long time for an independent label to be churning out records and especially successful ones including the choice prize nominated release from Windings.

To celebrate they decided to throw on a few gigs around the town which started off in Bourkes and ended in Dolans warehouse. All the bands that played on the day have released material through the label and the family vibe between them all was very much visible. Giveamankick even returned for one night to join in on the celebration. There was great talent on show and the merchandise table had some superb records for sale. I managed to take a good few videos of the bands on the day, so below is a compilation of them. Thanks to Out on a Limb for adding so much to the local scene and here's to another ten years! Cheers!

Go buy music from them here

Protobaby live at Dolans 01/11/2013 Review

Another local release in Dolans this time by Protobaby and yet again a full line up of support bands from limerick too. The honours this time going to My Empire (Video from the night here) and the superb Senakah (Video from the night here).
These two acts kicked off a great night which saw the warehouse flooded with people, some had decided to arrive in costume for Halloween which added to the fun.

The band newly fronted by Aoife McLoughlin were tonight releasing their debut single 'Keep Running' under the new line up. As mentioned before in the review of Protobabys last gig in dolans (Review here) with former frontman Colm McGuinness , the band have kept going after Colms departure due to work and time constraints. The decision of bringing in a female vocalist I am sure shocked a few as the sound of the band was very much led by his baritone voice.  However it was great to see the band not stopping altogether and tonight was the first local unveiling of the new sound.

They put on a superb performance even though it was a short set and I suppose this has to do with only being together for so long. The set included pre Aoife tracks in the guises of State of Affairs & Fluorescent taken from the bands debut album 'The Spark'. The new tracks and new sound is certainly very different from the previous bands work but it certainly works. The highlight of the night being the single 'Keep Running'. Aoifes voice and energy remind me a lot of Karen Os and was pleasantly surprised to hear them do a cover of Yeah Yeah Yeahs Gold Lion and plus its my favourite of theirs.
I am really looking forward to hearing them progress and bring out a full album as soon as possible, Cheers for a great night!

Set List:
Tripswitch
Goodbye
Flyin' High
Fluorescent
Gold Lion (Yeah Yeah Yeahs Cover)
State of Affairs
Stages
We
Keep Running

Animal Beats live at Dolans 15/11/2013 Review

The local band took to the warehouse to launch their 5 track EP Carnival back in November.
A full list of supporting bands played on the night which included three local bands Going 90, Sum Young Wans and the excellent Dead Red Light.
There was a nice crowd in attendance and was great to see another limerick record being released, The beats have been very busy of late gigging around the country since their stint in New York over the summer.
The lads put on a superb performance as always which included great performances from a string section on certain numbers. The video below sums up the performance with added smoke machine :)
Cheers for an excellent night of music and another gem for the limerick record collection.

Go buy the EP here!

Set list:
Cheap Carnival
Hollow Mountain
If he goes down
Worst of Words
Curtains
Watching You
Family Tree
Is it a Coincidence
If my Body
Eager
Water to Sand
Encore:
Wondering

Albums Worth Listening to in Dec 13

L-R

Neil Young - Live at the Cellar Door

James Vincent McMorrow - Post Tropical (Not out really until Jan 14 but I have it :)

Jason Isbell - Southeastern

Primal Scream - More Light

Iron & Wine - Ghost On Ghost

Savages - silence yourself

Always suggestions very welcome, Best of 2013 coming soon....

Albums Worth Listening to in Nov 13

L-R

Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Midlake - Antiphon

Hermitage Green - Live at Whelan's

Volcano Choir - Repave

Jake Bugg - Shangri La

Animal Beats - Cheap Carnival (Buy Here)

 

As Always Suggestions very welcome!

Protobaby live at Dolans 06/07/13 Review

I've been meaning to get around to writing this review for awhile, four months later here it is.

The gig saw the band headlining the venue they first started out in back in 2009 (Review) , five years on and the band have played countless gigs including festivals slots with singles and EP releases under their belt.
In March last year the band released their much anticipated album 'The Spark' (Review) , a superb  record that is a regular on my iPod.
Tonight saw local bands My Empire and Randolf and the Crokers warm up the packed warehouse. On the bill included Nexo Shape a band all the way from Holland which the lads have played some dates with over in their neck of the woods.
Protobaby had just signed to Fifa Records a few weeks before the gig and had reaped the rewards for their excellent debut.
During the superb set lead singer Colm McGuinness dropped the bomb shell that it would be his last hometown gig with the band and that he would be finishing up after their Cork gig the following night. Work and family commitments have left the band with big act to fill considering the massive presence of the front man. The huge baritone voice and eccentric on stage antics will be sorely missed and of coarse the writing capabilities of the man. The band certainly went out with a bang and put on a superb performance , sad to say the videos below are the last performance of the band with Colm. I'm sure we will see side projects from him down the line , cheers for a great night.

However this did mark a new chapter for Protobaby as they have taken a new direction with new female vocalist and front women Aoife Mcloughlin. Aoife joined shortly afterwards and the new look Protobaby have been making in roads with appearances at 'Independence' and gigging around the country. The band will go back to the Warehouse this Saturday and bring their new sound and new single 'Keep Running' to the local crowd. With a great line up of support bands its sure to be a night not to be missed!!

Albums Worth Listening to in October 2013

L-R

Ultan Conlan - Songs of Love so Cruel (Go Buy here)

The Wood Brothers - The Muse

Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt

Moon Taxi - Mountains Beaches Cities

Paul McCartney - New
Leading Armies - Lets Get Serious LP (Limerick band release much antipated LP, The launch in Dolans on the 11th of October will be some show!)


As Always Suggestions Very Welcome

Albums Worth Listening to in September 2013

L-R

Hidden Highways - Old Hearts Reborn

Unusual History of Ether - A Distant Age

Babyshambles - Sequel to the Prequel

Arctic Monkey - AM

Caitlin Rose - The Stand-ins

The Strypes - Snapshot

As Always Suggestions Very Welcome!

Albums Worth Listening to in August 2013

L-R

Travis - Where You Stand

Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts , Right Words , Right Action

Phosphorescent – Muchacho

Okkervil River - The Silver Gymnasium

Kurt Vile - Walkin On a Pretty Daze ( Thanks to a twitter follower @NiallAylmer)

The Polyphonic Spree - Yes It's True

As Always Suggestions Very Welcome!

Albums Worth Listening to in July 2013

L-R

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

The Boxer Rebellion – Promises

Pigeon Detectives - We Met at Sea

Grant Hart - The Argument

Richard Kapp - Talking to the People (Stream/buy here)

Halves - Boa Howl

 

As Always Suggestion very welcome

The National live at the Marquee , Cork 28/06/2013 Review

I wouldn't put me down as a diehard National fan but their 2010 album 'High Violet' really hit a chord with me and would get a lot of rotation on the pod. Was delighted to hear them playing the Marquee as I hadn't got a chance to visit it yet and Cork is a great city to go out in. The band had just released their sixth studio album 'Trouble Will Find Me' a month before the gig and I had liked what I heard so far. The band were playing a massive amount of dates this summer and any festival worth there salt had them on the billing.

I arrived late as the warm up band from Brighton 'Tall Ships' were just ending, The big top looked great as you walked along the canal. As you entered the tent an inside waiting area was a wash with bars , merchandise stands and food outlets including a travel eddie rockets!
It was a festival atmosphere around as the crowd shuffled their way into the circus arena awaiting the headline act. For a sell out gig it wasn't as packed as I had imagined , I made my way to as close as I could and got a nice spot. The heat in the tent was something else as I took as much layers off as I could without getting arrested.

As we waited a black drop of live footage of the band backstage getting ready to walk on was being shown and they arrived out to a great reception. The backdrop was used throughout the night intertwined with live grainy footage of the band/crowd and previous stock film of trees and landscapes which really worked with the sounds.
I have to admit the sound for the first couple of songs struggled and the band didn't seem to be feeling it maybe their monitors were a mess too. After awhile the sound was stronger and the band were at full tilt and they were living up to the reputation of one of the best live acts on the scene at the moment.
Lead singer Matt Berninger would prowl the stage throughout the night like a man processed boxing his own fists , he seemed very subdued at the start of the gig but half way through he would be on his knees screaming chorus lines , no wonder he was subdued at the start he is clearly bolloxed from giving it socks for the last few night on tour. He certainly didn't disappoint in the second half of the show as it did seem like we got to sides to the band. The new material sounded great and the mix between old and new worked perfect and really got the die hards singing.
The best part of the night was the when they arrived back out for the encore and played another five tracks. Third song in 'Mr November' saw Matt jump into the crowd and walk around on hands and barriers and whatever would hold his weight. The band were in full swing when playing second last song of the night 'Terrible Love'. The last track was amazing as all the members assembled on the front of the stage acoustic and unplugged and no mics playing 'Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks' . The crowd were exceptional and so polite you could hear a pin drop which is quite hard giving the size of the audience. The sing song was super and it ended a brilliant night, Cheers!

Set List:
I Should Live In Salt 
Don't Swallow the Cap 
Bloodbuzz Ohio 
Secret Meeting 
Sea of Love 
Slipped 
Afraid of Everyone 
Conversation 16 
Squalor Victoria 
I Need My Girl 
This is the Last Time 
All the Wine 
Abel 
Slow Show 
Pink Rabbits 
England 
Graceless 
About Today 
Fake Empire 
Encore:
Heavenfaced 
Humiliation 
Mr. November 
Terrible Love 
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks

 

Bruce Springsteen live at Thomond Park 16/07/2013 Review

I must admit I wasn't a huge fan of Bruce only in the last few years as I rediscovered some of his classic albums. I guess growing up having 'Born in the USA' on the radio every ten minutes put me off him and didn't listen to anything after that, I'm glad I got over that.

I have been told by everyone that his live show is one of the best in the world , I have been meaning to catch him for awhile now but ticket prices and the trip up to Dublin just didn't work out. Had him on my list of bands to see before I die for a long time (List here).
I was blown away to hear he was playing Limerick and jumped at the opportunity the day the tickets came out. My expectations were high and what I got was far beyond what people had said. What we were treated to last night was special and to have it in your own hometown adds to the occasion. According to early revellers Bruce arrived out at 5.00 for 20 minutes to play three acoustic tracks. Two from his album 'Greetings' , The Flood and on piano 'For You' and then checked out the many request cards being held up in the crowd and picked out 'Hearts of Stone'. So in total he played for four hours and ten minutes last night.

Some serious stamina for a man of sixty three , he raises the bar on live performers and gives everything he has while he is on stage. His shirt went from dry to pools of sweat by the end of the night as he danced around the stage loving every minute. His interaction with crowd is exemplary as he shook hands and high fived as many as he could. The die hards who had been queuing for two nights for a good spot (1 guy apparently out there since last Thursday) had signs holding up requests and Bruce was loving it. Picking out a handful that took his fancy and showing them to the band 'Were doing this ok , I think its in B or maybe A' . He was handed a pint of beer at one stage from the crowd which he downed in one and another member of the crowd handed a huge Irish passport which opened up to reveal all Bruce's details and passport picture, a brilliant gift! One sign being held by a kid named Ross requested he sang with him and that it was his birthday and sure enough he got his wish. Check it out here.

He managed to get in some local references congratulating the Limerick hurlers on winning the Munster Final at the weekend. (Which the city is still on a high over, We were only waiting 17 years).
He also dedicated 'My Hometown' to local horse jockey JT McNamara who was badly injured in a race recently in Cheltenham. Another dedication went to Trayvon Martin, the florida teen shot dead last year with the track 'American Skin'.

The atmosphere was electric throughout the ground and it was just one big party, The weather played a big part as we are having one of the best summers in history. Bruce mentioned its nice to have a similar evenings heat like New Jersey. The mammoth set included the full album of 'Born to Run' and some fan favourites. I don't think anyone left disappointed with the song choices. The set was book ended with 'This little light of Mine' which by the end of the night had the crowd screaming it back to him.  What a night!!! Cheers Bruce , Please come back!


Set List:
This Little Light of Mine 
American Land 
Badlands 
Death to My Hometown 
Hungry Heart 
Spirit in the Night 
Ain't Too Proud to Beg  (The Temptations cover)
American Skin (41 Shots) 
The Promised Land 
Wrecking Ball 
We Take Care of Our Own 
Jack of All Trades 
The River 

Thunder Road 
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out 
Night 
Backstreets 
Born to Run 
She's the One 
Meeting Across the River 
Jungleland 

Waitin' on a Sunny Day 
The Rising 
Land of Hope and Dreams
Encore:
My Hometown 
Born in the U.S.A. 
Glory Days 
Bobby Jean 
Drive All Night 
Dancing in the Dark 
Shout  (The Isley Brothers cover)
This Little Light of Mine

  

John Blek & The Rats live at the Greyhound Bar, Kilkee 05/07/13 Review

 

 

Wonderful night of music took place in the excellent outdoor wooden marquee venue, Its great to see the Greyhound Bar supporting original bands and they have been booking some great names over the past year and a full schedule of live bands for the summer months. Tonight saw the emerging talent of cork band 'John Blek and the Rats' take to the seaside stage.

 

I had a personally hand in tonight's proceedings as limerick band 'Randolf & The Crokers' warmed up the nicely packed room. If you read the blog you will know by now I play harmonica with the lads. Our set went down great with the locals and the superb weather all day had plenty of sun chasers down for the weekend too. We were delighted with the response from the crowd after the gig and the owners seems to like our stuff asking us back for a headline slot on the 26th of July.

 

Next up were the main act for the night , the six piece huddled onto the small stage and play a blistering set showcasing tracks from their brand new debut album 'Leave Your Love at the Door' . The album has been on constantly at home and is a real Irish gem of a record. Fans of Ryan Adams & The Cardinals will find great solace in the alt country warmth of the album. Lead singer John O'Conner's voice is very similar to that of Conor Oberst of 'Bright Eyes' and works really well with harmonies coming from Anna Mitchell. The constant twang of the slide guitar is a joy throughout the album thanks to the brilliant David Murphy. The crowd loved the gig and they had them up dancing and singing along. For an idea of their sound check out some of my videos below.The band are currently playing a string of dates around the country, be sure to check them out if you can and go buy their amazing album. Check them out here

 

O Emperor live at Bourkes, Limerick 20/06/2013

Waterford's very own O Emperor were back in Limerick to release their brand new album 'Vitreous' last Thursday in the intimate surrounds of Bourkes bar on Catherine street. The highly successful venue have been putting on a great number of acts recently under the new moniker of Seoda Shows, go check out upcoming gigs here.

First up on the bill tonight was that of Cat Dowling , The ex-Aphastates band member played a lovely set of tracks armed just with an acoustic guitar and her incredible voice akin to 'Karen O' or a grittier 'Regina Spektor'. She is able to obtain some great sounds from her vocal chords as she seems to be transported right into the lyrics of the tracks on stage. The haunting gravely vocals go excellently well with the guitar plucking as she warmed up the night nicely. Cat currently has an album on sale entitled 'The Believer' which boosts a full band, She explains to the crowd that she feels a bit lost without them tonight but she is quite able without them. Go check out more from Cat here

Next up were the five piece headliners who smashed straight into their sixteen track set. The venue was wall to wall people at this stage and was a bit too packed for comfort , the warm weather during the day not helping but it didn't really matter as any where you stood in the bar you were less than 8 feet from the stage.

The set consisted of five from their debut album 'Hither Thither' and the full listing from the brand new album out that day 'Vitreous'. I was must say I was wary of the new stuff hearing bits and pieces on the lead up to the release but listening to it live and on the album it all seems to work perfect. I was a big fan of the debut so it was hard to hear such a change in sound for the band. The lads have become far more experimental with the new record and the sound has matured greatly.

The new album comes in at just under the thirty minute mark and before you know it your half way through the whole album again, not necessary a bad thing as the songs get better as you grow into them. The album boosts a massive wall of sound with epic vocal layering as always, think the crescendos of Sgt. Peppers and the Beach boys inspired surf rock yet they still keep their own identity with beautifully crafted tracks such as the piano driven 'Grandmother Mountain' to the in your face edgy rock number 'Contact'. Also loving the Baba O'Rileyesque piano flow on the album track 'Whitener(Part 1)' .The album is a joy to listen to and I am sure will be on many a top ten list at the end of the year.
The band have come along way since I first saw them live in Dolans back in January 2010. (Review here). The lads are currently on a full Irish tour and then off on a  heavy summer of giging in Europe. The lead singer and the drummer have brought their dads on tour to do the driving and merchandise selling at the gigs. They seem to be doing a good job anyways and I managed to pick up a lovely vinyl copy of the new album on the night. They put on a great show , cheers to Bourkes and O Emperor!
Go find out more and buy their album here .

Set List:
Don Quixote
Grandmother Mountain
Holy Fool
Whitener
Sedalia
Taloned Air
Erman Gou
Minuet
Don't Mind Me
Land of the Living
Brainchild
Po
Contact
This is It
Soft In The Head
Electric Tongues

The Who live at the Point ,Dublin 08/06/2013 Review + Bootleg

The last time I witnessed the Who was back in 2006 at the Oxegen festival, That gig blew me away so I headed to Dublin to get another blasting by the legendary troupe. Tonight's gig would be their eight time to play Ireland and their first night of the Quadrophenia euro tour.

Support tonight came in the form of L.A. rockers 'Vintage Trouble' , This band were incredible! The front man Ty Taylor's energy was something to behold and the full band were decked out in three piece suits oozing 50s soul music. The look was not where the comparisons stopped as the sound was James Brown/Otis Redding/Chuck Berry reincarnated and it was just a joy to watch. The band clearly were loving every second of it and really got into the swing of things. Their infectious sound and energy had the early O2 arrivals on their feet and clapping. These guys were a great opener and well worth checking out, go pay them a visit here.



The Who assembled on stage and went straight into playing the full 1973 Quadrophenia rock opera from start to finish. The album is pretty much a autobiography of the members of the band and the theme of the conflict between the Mods and Rockers at the time. Tonight saw the point filled with many fans reliving their Mod days in the full gear.
The stage was adorned with impressive screens as you will see from the videos , These screens were filled with classic shots/videos of the band and also practically gave a full history lesson of images throughout the world down through the years. It was a fascinating watch!

Being the first night on the tour you could see the band were still shaky playing the album tracks as they must not have had much time to rehearse and it would have been awhile since a lot of these had an airing on stage. The interaction between Daltrey and Townshend was great fun to watch as they seem to be really enjoying it and making fun at each other particularly Pete taking the piss out of Rodger. I have watched many a live gig from the Who on DVD and I must say Rodgers voice was the best I have heard, I presume being the first night of the tour helped but he nailed every note and really was sublime throughout.

They had some great images of the band down through the years on the big screen and the late Keith Moon and John Entwistle played big parts on the nights proceedings, The track Bell Boy was started by Moon via video footage and he played and sang throughout as Rodger looked at the screen with huge emotion. The same was done for the Ox as he played a classic bass solo seamlessly with the band thanks to brilliant video footage again quite an emotional moment as Rodger saluted the big screens.

 

Considering the age of these guys sixty eight and sixty nine they put on a serious show, Daltrey looked like a young man and I was genuinely impressed by his physique. Not many sixty nine year olds would be able to pull of the shirt half open look. He was giving it socks on stage classic swirling of the microphone into the air at a crazy speed and catching it like a young fella. Townsend was at the same classic moves jumping around the place and windmilling the guitar like he was back when they first started out. The rock and roll lifestyle clearly suits this pairing.

After playing the full length album it was time to dust off the classics with 'Who are Who' stating the proceedings. This prompted the crowd to rise to their feet and stay standing until the end. I must say I really enjoyed this part and the seats I got we the icing on the cake being only five rows from the front , dead centre. The band finished with the brilliant 'Wont Get Fooled again' and then Rodger and Pete came back out to play 'Tea And Theatre' from 2006′s Endless Wire with Pete on the acoustic guitar and Rodger with a mug of tea. This ended a superb night of music! What's great is that someone recorded the whole gig and the bootleg is free to download from here. Enjoying listening back to it all day, Cheers for a great night!

Setlist:
01 I Am the Sea
02 The Real Me
03 Quadrophenia
04 Cut My Hair
05 The Punk and The Godfather
06 I’m One
07 The Dirty Jobs
08 Helpless Dancer
09 Is It In My Head?
10 I’ve Had Enough
11 5.15
12 Sea and Sand
13 Drowned
14 Bell Boy
15 Dr Jimmy
16 The Rock
17 Love Reign O’er Me
18 Band intros
19 Who Are You
20 Behind Blue Eyes
21 Pinball Wizard
22 Baba O’Riley
23 Won’t Get Fooled Again
24 Tea and Theatre

Animal Beats live at Dolans 31/05/2013 Review

At the end of last month saw local outfit Animal Beats put on a great show of music upstairs in Dolans.
Support on the night came from local bands 'Randolf and the Crokers' and 'Purple Earth Theory' who warmed up the crowd nicely. By the time Animal beats were to take to the stage the small intimate venue was wall to wall people. This was the last night in limerick before the band headed off to New York for the summer taking in gigs and releasing their brand new EP 'Carnival'. They played a great set full of their local crowd favourites and some brand new tracks that will be released on the new EP . The EP will get its first outing over in America and will be released here when they head home after the summer, So expect another string of dates from the lads. Check out one of the newer tracks below taken from the night in Dolans.
The new tracks sounded super with additions of strings and added piano , the bands sound is maturing excellently. They played a cracking night of music with the crowd demanding encores which were not rehearsed, The band replayed some of the set with the crowd more than happy to hear them again.
Hope the American trip goes well for them and looking forward to hearing the stories and checking out the new EP when they return, check them out here.

Milk Baby live at Cobblestone Joes 22/05/2013 Review

 

Only a month late on this review but here goes, Local band Milk Baby played a super midweek session in Cobblestone Joes. The Wednesday original night has really taken off and has been showcasing some great talent over the last year.
Tonight's turn was four piece student band Milk Baby, the lads have a great following in town and have recently released a self titled EP which can be downloaded for free over on their soundcloud page here . The bands sound is a great mix up of reggae , rock and rap. An usual mix but it works well.

Randolf and the Crokers supported the lads on the night, It was the first gig with a drummer and the set is sounding great, Next gig for the lads is a headline slot in Cobblestone Joes on the 27th of June, Well worth checking out. Support on the night comes from local singer songwriter Jen Ronan.

Milk Baby are well worth checking out , go download their EP and like them on facebook here,
Cheers for a great night!

Albums Worth Listening to in June 2013

 

L-R

Editors – The Weight of Your Love

Beady Eye - Be

Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires Of The City

The O’s – Thunderdog

Miles Kane - Don't Forget Who You Are

Laura Marling – Once I Was An Eagle

 

As Always suggestions very welcome!

Siobhan O'Brien Album Launch live at Dolans Review 17/05/2013

 

One of the pillars of the limerick music scene released her album in Dolans warehouse last month to a full house. Local singer songwriter Siobhan O'Brien is constantly gigging , your sure to find her playing in town most weeks with a cover band or on her own. She found the time between gigging to release her self-titled third full album. The album has been doing the rounds for awhile without any main launch so finally she found some time to show it off to people.
It was nice to see a full night of just her original material and on the night she was joined by a full plethora of backing artists including Eamonn Hehir , Danny Byrt , James Hanley , Moriarty, Ralf Leidheim , Aoife McLoughlin and Jen Ronan. A serious night of great music ensued , I have had the album myself awhile and it was great to hear some of the studio tracks really come alive on stage. Check out the brilliant 'Guilty of Despair' below.The album is well worth buying here , truly another limerick gem! Siobhan is off to the states for the summer touring and will be playing loads of local dates too, keep an eye on her here.
Cheers for a great night!

Music Hub Studios Official Launch this Saturday

Music Hub Studios which is situated at the Learning Hub Limerick at Kileely house is having an official launch party this Saturday the 25th of May.
The day will consist of a whole heap of great bands playing 2 stages , There will be fire breathers, Magicians and stilt walkers on show too. It will be a great family day out and well worth popping along.
Check out more info on the studio here

Dolans Warehouse 15th Anniversary Party 05/05/2013 Review

Dolans Warehouse was the place to be last Sunday as they celebrated fifteen amazing years of the warehouse music venue. fifty two of the hundred plus review on this blog have been from the very venue so it has given me some great nights there. Time and time again the venue offers up some amazing new talent and also some huge names to the city in recent times bands such as Kasabian , Franz Ferdinand and Mumford and Sons taking to the warehouse stage. They have always catered brilliantly to the local bands, the venue and owners are a superb asset to the city.

Last Sunday saw the place transformed to a festival set up with bands playing in all corners for the building . Bands played upstairs, the warehouse and the bar with an access all areas pass for only five euro. I arrived late missing out on a few bands but the atmosphere was great , with a full who's who of the limerick music scene enjoying the place. The full line up included bands such as La Galaxie , Daithi , Shardbourne , Leading Armies , Animal Beats , Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters, Dead Red Light , Kiernan McMullen and Patrick O Brien.

The now famous 'Termights Klub' was brought back for the night , which was a beloved local disco in town (Upstairs in the old savoy). The old DJ played records to the wee small hours in the upstairs section finishing off a great night. Check out videos from the night below.
Cheers to Dolans for a great night and here to many more years of greatness.

Senakah live at Dolans , Limerick 02/05/2013 Review

 

A great night of music took place last night in the cosy upstairs venue of Dolans. There was a very poor turn out from the public but then again a school night in the lead up to a big bank holiday weekend you can kind of understand, however those of you that didn't go you missed out on a quality night.

First up on stage was Lemon Street which is the name behind local girl Emma Langford's band. Emma was joined on stage by Tod Doyle and Cillian King. Really enjoyed their set which included a Cajon drum , accordion and banjo thanks to the two lads. Keep an eye on the band here and be sure to check them out.

Next up was excellent singer songwriter David Hope, it is always a pleasure to catch Dave live and the Shannon native always delivers a great set. It is rare you get to see him on his own and only playing his original material as he tirelessly tours the country playing venues with his cover band (also a great nights entertainment !) .
It was great to hear him play some of his new album 'Scarecrow' live which is a regular on the ipod and also hear some newer material too, he clearly never stops writing. Hopefully we will see him back for an all original night with a full band soon. Keep an eye on him here.



Last up were headliners Senakah , Its been awhile since I saw them live last and with a full band on tow. The band have been racking up some serious interest around the world of late as their single 'Human Relations' made great in roads in the music scene. The lads have toured intensively over the last few years taking in big tours of America. Name changes and a second album about to be released the band are at their peak. Its been five years since their debut album 'Sweeter than bourbon' hit the shelves, the new album comes out on the 17th of May with a release party set for the Workmans club in Dublin. I haven't had the chance to hear any of the new album bar the singles 'Human Relations' and the excellent track 'Ugly' , we were treated to a set of old and new tonight and the new material sounds great. The new album was produced by local man and cranberries guitarist 'Noel Hogan' and I'm sure his influence has been great on the record. The band sound great and I hope to see them live after the album is fully out to a full house to which they deserve. Keep an eye on their tour dates and go buy their album from here.
Cheers for a great night!

Set List:
Clarity
Good for what ails you
Smile
Ugly
Down to Today
Envy
Shelter
Marks
Head of Steam
Sleepless Amazing
Human Relations
Frontline
Sinking
Stronghold

Happy 15th Birthday Dolans Warehouse

Limerick will be the place to be this weekend with a whole host of events happening as part of the Riverfest 2013.

In the mix of these events will be Dolans Warehouse celebrating fifteen years of incredible service to the city. The warehouse has been the epicentre for the limerick music scene for all those years , time and time again the venue has booked amazing artists to play the venue. The crew at Dolans are celebrating in style this Sunday with a full line up of bands and topping it all off with their version of the beloved Termites nightclub. It all kicks off at seven bells and all this for just five notes.
Head down if you can!

Line up so far:
La Galaxie
Daithi
Shardbourne
Leading Armies
Animal Beats
Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters
Dead Red Light
Kiernan Mcmullen
Patrick O Brien
Termites

Albums Worth Listening to in May 2013

L-R

John Blek & The Rats - Leave your love at the door.

Loving this release by Cork band on the rise, Fans of Ryan Adams will want to check these guys out, Check out the full album streaming on hotpress here

The National - Trouble will find me

Senakah - Human Relations

Local band bring out the much anticipated second album this month, The lads play Dolans tonight. Check them out here 

Peter Delaney - Witch Bottle

Another local act now in the form of Singer - Songwriter Peter Delaney. Peter bring his lovely easy listening uke filled album out this month thanks to 'Out on a Limb' records. Stream it here . Album launch gig in Dolans on the 11th of May.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito

Seasick Steve - Hubcap Music

 

Suggestions as always very welcome!

John Smith live at Bourkes , Limerick 18/04/2013 Review

On an extremely windy Thursday evening I sought shelter and fine music in Bourkes. I was not disappointed. Seoda Shows have been hosting some amazing gigs in Bourkes of late and are set to continue with an enviable line-up of artists, with the likes of O Emperor and Tieranniesaur due to grace the intimate venue in the coming months. Previously, the venue has brought some wonderful acts to the people of Limerick without charge, but as one can imagine, this was not sustainable in the long-term and the gigs will now be ticketed affairs. Which is fair and will mean that gig-goers are guaranteed a spot on the night. Further to that, the prices are seriously reasonable - last night's show featuring John Smith only cost €5, peanuts when you consider the calibre of artist on show. If you haven't attended one of these shows check them out here .

First on stage was local girl Emma Langford. Emma plays with the band 'Lemon Street' and was accompanied by one of her bandmates George Mercer on electric guitar. She played a melodic set which showcased her diverse vocals as the punters piled in and leant an ear to her unique musical yarns. The band are constantly gigging so be sure to check them out live. Keep an eye on them here



The pub was heaving as the main act arrived on stage. I have only recently discovered John Smith thanks to youtube clips featuring the singer with Lisa Hannigan at various gigs. Impressed and intrigued I was spurred on to dig a little more and was delighted to then get a chance to see him live. The Devon-born singer-songwriter creates a masterful sound which tips it's hat to folk, country, bluegrass and the blues, but more importantly has an integrity and a rawness that supports and enhances his story-telling. He has just released his fourth album 'Great Lakes' which I thankfully got a hold of last night - no mean feat considering the scramble for CDs which occurred after the gig.

Needless to say, the crowd were captivated throughout the set. John was joined by another John on Double Bass, and both musicians displayed a humble connectedness with each other and the room, that you don't often see these days. At times it felt like we the audience were gathered round the seanchaí, hanging on every word of the tale. Sometimes, John's soaring vocals (stretching from whispered to guttural tone reminiscent of Ray LaMontagne) and woven melodies commanded our attention. Smith expertly created a connection with the room in a way that many artists can fail to do, which made for a very memorable gig in this intimate venue. Keep an eye on him here ,
Cheers for a great night!

100th Live Review and Counting

Still love doing live reviews and still love writing this blog, Thanks for reading :)

Julie Hawk live at Dolans 05/04/2013 Review

Meant to write a review for this a while back but better late than never I guess. The upstairs venue provided a great setting for a super night of music back at the start of April.

First support act on the night were the delightful limerick band 'Monday Villains' , The lads have only been in operation for a couple of months and have already a great live sound. The bands age is hard not to comment on as they are very young and all school goers. Their sound harps back to the Americana blues era of sixties. The lads played some great original material and some super covers thrown into the set which included the likes of Muddy Waters and Canned Heat. Great to see such a young band full of talent taking to the stage. Hopefully we will see a lot more from Monday Villains soon. Keep an eye on them here


Next up were local band 'Randolf and the Crokers' and if you read indielimerick you will know by now I'm in the band so wont go on too much about how we played awesome :)
The lads played a nice forty minute set of original tracks. We are currently recording like mad and hope to have a single out at some point soon. In the meantime the lads won the 2012/2013 UL battle of the bands on the 11th of April and will be gigging a lot of the summer months, keep a trace on them here

Next up were the headline act of 'Julie Hawk' and a super band of merry men. Julie is currently London based but originally a Galway Girl. She has been making massive in roads in the music scene over in England and has just released a super self titled six track EP. Which can be bought from iTunes here. Tonight saw her play the fourth night of a six night tour of Ireland. Her set tonight featured most of the EP which included a lovely rendition of the Smiths 'This Charming Man' . Well worth checking her out if you can , you can find her here.

Cheers for a great night of music!

FRED Release new single as a Free Download!

Indielimerick favourite FRED have just today released their brand new single 'Battles' as a free download. This is the first new material since their excellent 2012 release 'Leaving My Empire' and hopefully we will see a string of live dates to follow it. FRED are super live and if you get a chance check them out you won't be disappointed! Check out the single below and go download!