Part 4 of the Halloween tunes is from Colin Devlin's debut album released a few years back. The version below is the LMFM session of the song 'Raise The Dead'.
There is some pleasent news from http://colindevlin.com/home in which we might well see a return to the music scene of The Devlins!
In part 3 of my 5 part Halloween posts is the beautiful album closer 'The Grave' from Susan Enan's amazing debut 'Plainsong' from 2009. Susan spent many years living in Belfast and performing live around the country. She is now based in New York, getting her music onto the soundtrack of programmes like 'Bones' and is about to embark on a House Concert tour in the UK. Details are below!
Tuesday 02 Nov 2010 Norwich, NR7, England, . House Concert - SOLD OUT This concert will be held in a house. Once you buy tickets, you will be sent the exact address of the show.
Wednesday 03 Nov 2010 Droitwich Spa, WR9, England, House Concert - SOLD OUT
Thursday 04 Nov 2010 Princes Risborough, Bucks, HP27, England. House Concert. - SOLD OUT
Saturday 06 Nov 2010 South London, SE23, England. House Concert. - SOLD OUT
Sunday 07 Nov 2010 Huddersfield, HD3, England. House Concert. - SOLD OUT
Tuesday 09 Nov 2010 Eskdale, Cumbria, CA 19, England. House Concert. - BUY TICKETS>>>This concert will be held in a house. Once you buy tickets you will be sent the exact address of the show.
Thursday 11 Nov 2010 Royal Air Force Leuchars, Fife, Scotland. There will be no general sale tickets available for this show.
Friday 12 Nov 2010 Rafford, Forres, IV36, Scotland. House Concert. - BUY TICKETS>>>This concert will be held in a house. Once you buy tickets, you will be sent the exact address of the show.
Sunday 14 Nov 2010 Tillicoultry, FK13, Scotland. House Concert. - SOLD OUT
Monday 15 Nov 2010 Hexham, NE46, England. House Concert. - SOLD OUT
Wednesday 17 Nov 2010 Stackpole, Wales. Concert. - BUY TICKETS>>>This concert will be held in the Stackpole Inn, Stackpole Village.
Thursday 18 Nov 2010 Swansea, SA14 Wales. House Concert. - BUY TICKETS>>>This concert will be held in a house. Once you buy tickets, you will be sent the exact address of the show.
Saturday 20 Nov 2010 Exeter, EX1, England. House Concert - BUY TICKETS>>>This concert will be held in a house. Once you buy tickets, you will be sent the exact address of the show.
Sunday 21 Nov 2010 Cornwall, PL26, England. House Concert. - BUY TICKETS>>>This concert will be held in a house, Once you buy tickets, you will be sent the exact address of the show.
Monday 22 Nov 2010 Southampton, SO15, England. House Concert. - BUY TICKETS>>>This concert will be held in a house. Once you buy tickets, you will be sent the exact address of the show.
Wednesday 24 Nov 2010 Rochester, ME1, England. House Concert. - BUY TICKETS>>>This concert will be held in an apartment. Once you buy tickets, you will be sent the exact address of the show. Please note, this show will be on the top floor - about 70 steps - with no disabled access.
Check out some of the House Concert Tour Videos here:
I adore this album from Irish artist 'My Brother Woody'. It's an Elliott Smith / Ben Folds inspired album of Summer. The songs are beautifully arranged and so uplifting. Get it here for free ......
Yep it's official Kings of Leon are headlining Slane 2011. Stranely for Slane it looks like most of the line-up will be announced today. I wonder will an Irish band be added later today?
This is a pretty poor video for a good song. It reminds me the embarassing clips you see in the promo for an x-factor contestant. The song is good in a Kooky sort of way.
Get the track as part of an EP for free using the widget below:
Glasgow grunge band 'Battle for 2nd Place' are fronted by Mayo singer Orlaith Pendergast and have released their debut album 'First' in Scotland. It'll be released officially in Ireland next year. Their sound is similar to the grunge sounds of bands like Mudhoney or Hole.
Orlaith has also performed backing vocals for a number of 'Union of Knives' tracks including this track which has appeared on Gray's Anatomy and Vampires Diaries.
The Whatmans are being talked about for some good reasons [here] and some less than good reasons[here] . I mentioned in a comment last week that I think there's a decent band here who over time they could develop musically into a polished outfit. Check out Devil Shoes for yourself!
With five days left until Halloween here is the first of five songs loosely connected with the Halloween season!
'World is Dead' by Juniper was one of only a few singles the band released in their short history. It's quite the doomsday track which could well have been written about Ireland in these depressed days.
I'm out of town for a few days from Saturday and won't be able to update the site until next Wednesday. Here's a list of great events happening over the next few days and a few good tunes to go with them!
Enjoy the gigs and the tunes and remember to befriend a musician if ya like what you hear!
Friday and Saturday Night in The Grand Social are two wonderful Oxjam gigs. Check out the quality line-ups.
October 22nd ( The Grand Social ) Awake Young Soldier's Story Fold The Barley Mob The Lynchburg Mob Sapphira Swann Peter Purheart G Star
October 23rd (The Grand Social) ClockWork Noise Red Kid El Hombre Jokes Junah Robotnik Aoife Hardiman
The wonderfully talented songwriter Bill Coleman launches his album in The Exchange in Dublin this Saturday and I'm really pissed off I'm missing it. http://www.bcoleman.com/
Saturday sees Ollie Cole playing his first headline gig in Dublin for a few months with 'The Danger Is' in support. You can download a live EP from Ollie Cole here:
This weekend at The Saucy Sundays Sessions: Alan Tully The Eskies Enda Reilly Alan Starr (DC Tempest) Groom Sounds of System Breakdown DJ set from the Hot Sprockets!!!
On Sunday as well is The Apollo Sessions in The Bleeding Horse, Camden Street with featured artist Prechers Son. The band are Dublin based with Brian Hogan (Kíla) on guitar and vocals and Miss Metronome aka Emmaline Duffy-Fallon (previously of Engine Alley) on drums and vocals. Together since early 2009 and gathering momentum with their dynamic live gigs, they are frequently joined on stage by guests of mighty stature, including: Tabby Callaghan, Ste O'Neill, Shane Fitzsimons (Lisa Hannigan, Damien Rice), and Kieran Kennedy (Black Velvet, Hothouse Flowers).
Finally next Thursday and Friday we have two nights in Boyles, Slane Co. Meath. On Thursday we have Saramai & The Swords headlining with Mullingar band We Go Go, Navan's The Great Simones and Drogheda's Aztaria in support. On Friday we have the hotly tipped rock band Seven Days headlining with support from Cream Carousel and Galway's new young trad rock band Fling.
Belfast folk band Tanya and The Whiskey Princes have just come onto my radar and are a pretty decent band with a great singer. They release their debut album next month and play at The Zodiac Sessins tonight.
No props, or music is aloud, singing a song does not count either.
Using a 'cheat sheet' is ok but not advised, you will tend to be deducted marks if you need to read it, so memorising it is best practice.
There will be 3 rounds to the final, the first round will eliminate x amount of poets leaving us with 8 poets in the semi final and 4 in the final. (this is open to change depending on the amount of contestants on the day)
The judges will be coming from different backgrounds, be it poetry, dance, journalism and comedy. They will be scoring on performance of the piece, its content and the audience reaction. (laughter tends to be an easy way of judging audience reaction but stilling an audience is too a worthy reaction and it will be up to the judges to realise this too) They will be awarded 10 points for each of these areas, so obviously a judge can score a maximum of 30, they can use decimal points too to the nearest tenth.
This is the 'Time lapse' footage of the making of the covers for Bill's new record 'You Can't Buy Back Your Life'. The tune is one of the tracks an on the record - more from http://www.bcoleman.com.
Buy Bill's album here:
Or Download from here for a 'Name Your Price' deal:
Sadly I'm not on the mailing list for The Whatmans so I only managed to hear of this through Harmless Noise. Here is the new video from the band for their latest single release; 'Kiss The Mind'.
'Speakeasy' is an open mic night for budding poets, musicians and comedians to come and showcase their talents whilst having great fun in a very friendly environment :)
It will be held every Wednesday night, downstairs in Shebeen Chic from 5.00-7.30.
It's a totally free event and everyone is welcome to participate, or just come along to watch the show!
Alien Envoy is the band name which Nick Kelly has used for his new album 'Nine Lives'. Nick is also a quality movie maker and will be screening the movies before the concert on the 29th October.
Tickets €12/€10conc. from www.projectartscentre.ie There will be a short audience discussion between each screening and the gig on links between making music and making movies.
Sligo live looks like an amazing mini festival. There are pub sessions, cafe sessions, gigs in clubs as well as a few well thought out main events! Here's the best of the line-up with some songs of bands and acts you must check out!
Fiach Thursday, 21st October 2010 9.30pm The Glasshouse Session Cafe Free
Lloyd Cole Small Ensemble with special guests The Lost Brothers Day Saturday, 23rd October 2010 Time 8.00pm Venue The Model Session Model Charge €25.00
Royseven are to play the intimate Oxfam Books shop on Parliament St, Dublin 2, this Saturday 16th October at 4pm.
Long time Oxjammers, Royseven are on the verge of releasing a new album and are taking time out from all that involves to play an acoustic set in Oxfam Books.
Playing in the second book and music shop on Saturday Oct 23rd will be the excellent Blind Yackety.
Hamlet Sweeney will be playing an all ages show in the Oxfam Book Store on Parliament st, Dublin 2 on Oct 30th at 3pm. Hamlet has asked a few other musicians and songwriters to pop in and give a song or two.
Bipolar Empire are a pretty decent outfit with some good tunes. They play probably their biggest show to date tomorrow at The Workmans Club with just a €7 entry fee.
Check out this live video which has clocked up a good two and a half thousand views in 8 months!
What a great poster for David Hope & The Henchmen's Tour around Halloween. David's bluesy voice is complimented by an array of excellent musicians. Check out the videos below!
Apart from being an intimate 2 for 1 show in The Sugar Club but I've read that the special guests on the night will be Lisa Hannigan and Mick Flannery!
I've been listening to Preachers Son's debut album 'Love Life & Limb' on and off for the last few weeks. I haven't as yet got to the point of review because I go from thinking this is the best Irish album of the year to thinking this isn't my thing at all! When I get a clear opinion I'll get the album reviewed. It's launched in The Mercantile this Thursday with wonderful support from Liam Ó Maonlaí, The Aftermath and My Evil Ex. Oh and it's FREE IN!
Tipperary's Bobby Noonan is keeping himself busy with a new website http://www.bobbynoonan.com/ and a few high profile gigs on the horizon. On Friday night he has the honour of opening for Cathy Davey in Dolans Warehouse. Check out my favourite track from Bobby below called Confusion in F!
'The Full Circle' is the second album from Luan Parle. There's much to admire here but the album ultimately leaves me cold and detached.
I think there are two major distinct music markets at play in Ireland. There's the urban/youthful market which is fuelled by the major bloggers and journalists and centred on the larger music venues. Then we have the rural market which is in the main fuelled by the regional stations and has it's foundations in the small venues, pubs and word of mouth of the public. Luan Parle's second album 'The Full Circle' will do well and sell lots in the rural market but I can't imagine it making great strides in the urban market.
'The Full Circle' flirts with many genres including pop, rock, blues and Imelda May esque rockabilly! The album revolves on Luan's voice which is soulful and powerful while at the same time sounding very cabaret! There are a few good tracks on here. The single 'Parade' is a nice slice of pop. 'Is This Goodbye' is a beautiful love song and is the best track on the album. 'If I' is another good love song which is mainly Luan's voice and acoustic guitar.
I've been unable to connect with the album. Apart from the love songs above the lyrics are not very inspirational. I also can't get past the album artwork which features Luan in a convertible with a shiny guitar, leather jacket and designer sunglasses all of which belongs to the good times. I suppose the best thing to say about the album is that it's an attempt to bring back the good times with songs like 'Sexy Sita', 'Parade' and 'Why Baby Why'. I just ain't feeling the love.
Every now and again I get really exited about the sound of a new band. I've spent the afternoon checking out The Riot Tapes on Soundcloud and I'm excited. Nice vocals, great tunes and smart lyrics are the defining features of Dublin Alternative band The Riot Tapes! Check out the best of the songs on Soundcloud:
These songs are unfinished demos which act as a taster to the forthcoming debut album from the band!
It's becoming a rare sight these days to see a Singer-songwriter book Whelans. Galway's Fia Rua will be upstairs in Whelans on November 2nd with Enda Reilly in support. Fia Rua's new single is available for free from Bandcamp .... or from the widget below!
Hard Working Class Heroes is taking place in seven Dublin venues this weekend with 101 bands taking to the stage. Here's are the four reasons why I'm not attending.
1. Personal Situation: While I'm very fortunate to still have a job I'm not in the financial place to justify being out three nights in a row.
2. It could be called bad timing but tonight is the most important match for Ireland in about a year and I wasn't going to miss it.
3. On Saturday Night in The Cobbelstone The Tumbleweed Love Sessions have three wonderful bands at a cost of just €8. The Followers of Otis are headlining and are supported by The Lonely Schizophrenic and Andy Delamare.
A quality night's entertainment.
4. Ticket Prices: I strongly believe that this festival of new Irish music should be free. It's not just the overpriced weekend ticket but there's the financial costs of getting to and from the city centre, beer money and a bit to eat. Before you know it the cost to see a few good bands and a few ropey new bands hits well over the hundred mark. Already there are reports on Twitter of poor attendances at the gigs last night. How soul destroying must that be for the bands? Of course the organisers will shrug and blame the recession while at the same time ask for more arts grants to repeat the same mistakes next year.
How amazing would it be if the festival was free? It will still be the Irish music lovers who will be attending but there might be more of us there.
If you are going please check out these four great acts:
Shayne was until a few weeks back one third of the folk band Arrow in the Sky. He has however begun his solo career by performing a number of solo gigs including a high profile support slot to Brendan Benson in The Stables, Mullingar. He has put a few live recordings of that gig onto Bandcamp.
Check them out here with backing vocals from Andrea Carolan:
Exceptionally talented live band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra have just released an impressive debut album entitled 'Lowering The Tone'. The album could be described as fun alternative folk for adults!
The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra from the west of Ireland consists of nine members playing instruments from the usual guitars, bass, keyboards etc. to the bizarre such as a metal dustbin! To use a rugby analogy; the front row consists of the Blake siblings Ann the lead vocalists, James on vocals and acoustic guitar and David the chief composer and songwriter in the band. They are backed by a wonderful cast of experienced musicians. Full bio here: http://www.bplo.org/about.html
'Lowering The Tone' is a really impressive collection of songs which are well written and thought out. I've had an earlier demo cd for the last year and the best songs on the album were also on that demo. Tracks like the single 'Grace Jones', 'Soon' and 'December' have become featured tracks on my various playlists that it seems rather odd for me to review them here. 'Soon' in particular has been one of my favourite tracks in the last year because of the wonderful strings and vocals.
Of the tracks on the album which are new to me I really love the drinking song 'Long Time Rogue' with James Blake on lead vocals. 'Summit' contains wonderful harmonies from Ann and David. I love the positivity within the song 'New Miracle'. In fact there isn't a poor song on the album and there's enough variation within the tracks to hold attention and interest.
As mentioned above this is a grown-up album of inspirational songs, wonderful harmonies and interesting song structures. The main quality I love about the album is the infusion of fun which flows throughout the album.
The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra - Lowering The Tone [10 out of 12]
Isn't this a great poster? I bought Ollie's debut album a few weeks back in HMV for about €6 or something like that. I haven't had much chance to really get into it as yet but it has impressed me big time.
I've been rather quiet on the blog of late. Like many Irish people I'm shocked and angry that the people in charge of the country have simply let us all down with no sign of hope.
I want to use this blog to promote the positive events happening to give us a lift even for a few hours. If anyone has an event they want plugged here please get in touch.
My own little contribution to the live music arena is back on October 14th. It's in a venue called Boyles, Slane which is an intimate venue run by real music people with a music loving crowd. I'm delighted with the following line-up:
The Blue Choir will headline. They are the best alternative rock band I've seen in a long time.
We're delighted to welcome back Kiernan McMullan to Boyles. He is an amazing guitarist with some decent songs as well!
Norabelles indie folk sound is simply seductive. I'm really looking forward to their debut album released soon.
Kicking off the night will be the newly formed Navan band The Great Simones. From the few videos on YouTube they may well be the best band on the night.
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!
