Tired Pony began life as a doodle in Gary’s jotter. During idle moments on Snow Patrol’s year-long tour cycle for their last album, A Hundred Million Suns, Gary began writing songs for this imaginary band. Forward to January 4th 2010, a cast of characters assembled at Portland’s Type Foundry studio; from the extended Snow Patrol family there was Troy Stewart, Iain Archer, Belle & Sebastian’s Richard Colburn and producer Garret ‘Jacknife’ Lee, who brought in Tired Pony’s final two members, Peter Buck from R.E.M. and Scott McCaughey, the Seattle musical polymath who’s been R.E.M.’s full-time auxiliary member since 1994.
Football or music ..... football or music ...... football or music .....
I think I've had my fill of Football for the moment. I'll be watching the Germans beat Eng-er-land but it's now time I get myself to The Glor Sessions downstairs in The International Bar tomorrow night for a chance to see these wonderful acts:
The Hoarsebox team are very savy at the auld internet marketing. The more people to share this information the more free songs you get direct to your inbox. It's not a bad trade-off as Hoarsebox make some decent music with that distinct feature of four part harmonies!
Pretty much all of Meaths finest bands are playing this fundraiser in Ryans of Gormalough on Sunday Bank Holiday Monday. Recession prices are just €15 or bring a friend for a combined total of €25.
Here's a video clip just posted on YouTube from one of Meaths finest new bands Red Queen Contest.
Declan O'Rourke is previewing the songs from his forthcoming album in the very intimate Cobalt Café on North Great George's Street TOMORROW NIGHT 26th June. No advance sales, all tickets will be sold on the door. Tickets €14 and very limited.
Here's some performances from The Cobalt Cafe found on YouTube. Some performances are from the Nighthawks monthly sessions night.
'Iceland Inspires' is an open air concert held close to the now quiet Eyjafjallajökull volcano at Hamragarðar near Seljalandsfoss waterfall.
'Iceland Inspires' is a free concert to any lover of the eclectic line-up and will be streamed live around the world right here on inspiredbyiceland.com. The live stream will also feature specially pre filmed songs on stunning locations around Iceland.
Amiina Damien Rice Dikta For a Minor Reflection Glen Hansard Gus Gus Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson Hjaltalín Lay Low Mammút Parabólur Páll á Húsafelli Seabear Spiritualized Steindór Andersen
New Dublin band Awake Young Soldiers [formally Cabin Fever] are releasing their debut EP next Thursday in Whelans with brilliant support from Adela and the Meanits and The Blue Choir.
Have a listen to the single below. It's really good.
Peter Doran is a fine singer and songwriter who has made the bold move of allowing the download of a live version of 'Sleepless Street' his new unreleased album for free from Bandcamp.
Sure why dont you check it out and get the free download?
I'm delighted Irish bands are still making great videos considering the lack of opportunity for these to be seen on TV!
You can see El Hombre Jokes this Friday in Boyles with Frantic Jack and Kitty & The Can Openers. You can also catch them if you go to Birr next Saturday!
There's not too many albums which get 5 Stars from Hot Press but the good man that is Patrick Freyne allocated the compilation from Popical Island the full 5 stars in the last edition of Hot Press! Listen to the album here or go see all them great bands in Whelans upstairs today from 3PM.
CAPTAIN'S LIVE BLANCHARDSTOWN INDEPENDENCE OPENING WEEKEND
SATURDAY JULY 3RD & SUNDAY JULY 4TH, 2010
Saturday July 3rd
Declan O'Rourke The Mighty Stef The Chapters Me and the General Hoarsebox The Revellions Kid Karate
Sunday July 4th Codes Bipolar Empire The Urges The Rags Gypsies on the Autobahn Sixteen Layers Stone Motion Entry by ticket only! Apply for tickets at www.captainslive.com
I'm really disappointed by our politicians. Expecting them to do good is a bit like expecting Liverpool to win the league. It always ends in disappointment.
Enda Kenny should have packed his bags because the vast majority of the people in this country does not want him to run the show!
Maybe Captain Moonlight called it right a few years back! Check out track 4 below!
.... yes I know I post too many video clips on here and I know you probably skim past them like I do when I visit blogs but please check this out ....
Created by the band's bassist Darren Korb, tweeked by the drummer, Mark O'Toole and polished by Dublin based editor, Kevin Cooney, this is Audio Fiction's official version of Race the Hourglass, which is currently also available on Harmonix's Rock Band Network. Audio Fiction are a part Irish band based in New York City and have a very bright future ahead of them!
Vodafone Ireland To celebrate our announcement of the Vodafone stage at Oxegen, we have an exciting competition for bloggers!
We’re giving you the chance to win 1 pair of Oxegen tickets for yourself and 1 pair to give away on your blog.
In order to take part, write a blog post to tell us why you should win. Send your post to vodafoneview.ie@vodafone.com or tweet us the link for judging. Open until midnight on 16th June.
So all I've got to do is blog about how I'd love to go to Oxegen ....
.... here goes ..... cough, cough, cough ....
I would never pay €225 to go to a music festival. Add in beer money, food, wellies, camping equipment, car parking ticket etc and you are on the wrong side of half a thousand!
A line-up consisting of Eminem, Jay-Z, David Guetta, Dizzee Rascal, Fatboy Slim and The Prodigy and their adorable fans would be a considerable factor in my decision to stay home.
While there will be some genuine music fans I'd say the majority of the paying [in fact the majority of the crowd will have 'free' tickets with MCD claiming another 'Sell Out'] crowd will be the children of the middle class lucky enough to have a job. In other words children of the Public Service .... !!!!
I do not want to go and see these same kids off their heads at night and puking up in the morning.
However ... despite all this I'd love a free ticket to see some decent Irish bands such as:
Bell X1, Villagers, Wallis Bird, God is an Astronaut, Joe Echo, O Emperor, Ash, Planet Parade, The Coronas and Two Door Cinema Club
Ben & Jerry’s offers Irish music talent a sweet spot supporting ‘Doves’ at London’s Sundae Festival
Legendairy ice cream makers Ben & Jerry’s is on the hunt for the very best and most exciting Irish musical talent to join a stellar line up at the sixth annual Ben & Jerry’s Sundae Festival this July 24th and 25th in London’s Clapham Common. Sundae Festival is a moovellous weekend of sweet, sweet music, Fairtrade-friendly activities and dairylingly delicious ice cream and frozen yoghurt.
There are two warm up slots up for grabs for unsigned bands to support alt rock band Doves, alt rock legend, Billy Bragg, indie rockers Frightened Rabbit and bands of the moment, Cherry Ghost, Exit Calm and Goldheart Assembly and Ben & Jerry’s Ireland is calling out to local talent to fill the slot.
To enter, Irish bands should log on to www.benjerry.ie/moosessions and upload a video or audio of their music. Fans, friends and communities will help bands get that slot by voting for them on www.benjerry.ie. The final two bands to perform will be selected from a shortlist of the most popular entrants.
To tickle tastebuds even more, the annual festival comes complete with dollops of free Ben & Jerry’s in 19 flavours, social activism, including fab Fairtrade activities, fun-fairground style attractions and even fresians! As usual, the festival will be Climate Neutral, with a ticket donation given to charity.
Full festival line-up, including Saturday’s headliners will be announced shortly on www.benjerry.ie. Closing date for entry is June 21st.
Many moons ago I got into an Irish indie band called The Glee Club. They were signed to 4AD and released an amazing album called Mine! Beautiful stuff altogether ....
...... fast forward to a new Irish band Queen Elvis. There's something about Caroline's voice that reminds me of The Glee Club. Queen Elvis write indie-folk tunes with nice melodies and great lyrics. Check out the tunes below and the band's MySpace ....
Here's what they say about themselves .... "Fling will take you on a musical journey encompassing influences from Russia to South America, while never forgetting their roots in Irish Trad and Bluegrass. Their highly original material leaves audiences enthralled and exhilarated."
I'd be delighted to see ya in Boyles, Slane on either Thursday 24th June or Friday 25th June. Kopek are giving away a new song 'Love Sick Blues' which can be sent to your email address using ....
So here's the full line-up for this year's Le Cheile. This year will be different as Oldcastle has managed to be 15-20 minutes closer to Dublin with the opening of the slick M3 motorway! I was on it yesterday and was disappointed I didn't get a good view of the Hill of Tara!
Here's some more details of the main acts playing ....
Friday 30th July - Mick Flannery with support from Henrietta Game and Baker Jr.
Saturday July 31st - Jerry Fish with support from Ollie Cole and Simon Fagan
Sunday 1st August - Jack L with support from Saramai Leech and Emilys Eldest
As always with Le Cheile there's lots of other great events going on ..... check out the website for more .....
Last week I posted about Jne 4th and being particularly annoyed at my inability to not being in more than one place at the same time ..... same thing for next Saturday!
If you're not going to Macca here's a few alternative options .....
The Lonely Schizophenic - Bewleys Cafe Theatre!
If you think singing Let It Be, Strawberry Fields and Yesterdays with thousands of people is going to be the best sing-song in Dublin on Saturday you are mistaken! For every Beatles classic there's going to be a 'Panda Porn', 'I Miss Me Da' and 'Itchy' to sing until you break down in tears from laughing!
Support comes from Andy Delamare, Keith O'Brien and Stephen James Smith and will cost €7.
'I Miss Me Da'
Then again you might want to go to Whelans ..... but go upstairs or downstairs? Hmmmm
In the main room are Indie 3 Piece Planet Parade who are really good. I say it like that because many people are talking them up and I actually believe the hype!
Quality support comes from Doctor Leaves and it's only €5 in!
However ...... going upstairs is even better for your pocket as you get to see Storybooks For Small Dogs with support from Youth Mass for free!
While over in Airfield €10 of your cash gets you to see the impressive Halves!
Dublin 2 piece Cocophone was the winner of the first 'Becks on the Night' battle of the bands competition and left the venue with €2,500! Cocophone make really nice indie-pop tunes with great vocals. Think of a chilled out Belle & Sebastian and you'll be close to their sound. Even better check out their MySpace and this video ....
For you couple of regular readers on the blog you might have noticed (a) the lack of posts and (b) the deterioration of the quality of posts and (c) the lack of reviews on the blog. Life has become a bit more complex recently so I am lacking the time to focus on the blog. All will be back to normal real soon!
However ..... I have two great nights lined up in Boyles and we are calling them ...
Slane Castle Whiskey Presents ...
MID SUMMER NIGHTS
June 24th
Youth Mass Hamlet Sweeney, The Crayon Set, Ronan Leonard, The Carolan Brothers
June 25th
Kopek, Kitty & The Can Openers Frantic Jack
As always the gigs are free in and kick off straight after the evening World Cup match!
2 U I Bestow named after the Mundy track on the 'Romeo & Juliet' soundtrack is the music website of an experienced Maths Teacher moonlighting as a Freelance Music Journalist.
I write about Irish artists only on this site. I also have a new website promoting all the free albums I find on bandcamp: http://freeirishalbums.wordpress.com/
This is a hobby not a living! If your music is included here feel free to email me to get it removed. However be aware that your music will be featured on the popular site elbo.ws!
