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

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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!

Albums Worth Listening to in April 2013

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The Milk Carton Kids - The Ash & Clay

John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts

Ethan Johns - If Not Now Then When?

dREA - Hunting EP

Much anticipated from local man Damien Drea, From what I have already heard this is going to be a great EP, Keep an eye on him here

Kiernan McMullan - Company EP

One time limerick native brings out another lovely record, check him out here

 

 

 

As Always Suggestions Very Welcome!!