Cheery chap Chris Morrin this morning announced the news of his support to Laura Marling on her Irish mini-tour which kicks off tonight:
Cyprus Avenue, Cork – Monday 30th June
Whelans, Dublin – Tuesday 1st July
Auntie Annies, Belfast – Wed 2nd July
Check this vid for Robotnik’s upcoming Crawdaddy gig on 25 July:
It’s four days since Dry County and my neck still hurts. Now you’re talking.
Live photo experiences for me just don’t get better. To picture, Dry County are a greasy smear of colour, boom, heat. Cars In Walls and The Eclectic broke the soundbarrier with cool support but the night belonged to DC. The house was packed with an easy, baying crowd who roared “encore!” seconds after the lights went down. We were wired. We wanted Stop, Proceed and by God, we got it.
It was the final gig. though the Dry County banner hoists once more on the New Sounds Stage at Oxegen.
When you’re at Punchestown, check the Chem Bros’ magnificent visuals and decide for yourself if Zach de la Rocha is the shit before topping off with the final Dry County performance, ever.* You’ll be glad to say you were there.
I know I would. For me, this is fuckin’ IT. This is why I take photos, why I blog, why on early weekend mornings after constant work, I wound up back back at my desk again in rapture. This is IT.
Brilliant Irish Music.
Tonight’s gig at the Axis Centre has been thrown into a jeopardy of sorts in the wake of bad news:
I’ve some bad news about our gig tonight in the Axis. DannyRedKid fell off his bike last night and hurt himself pretty badly. He’s in hospital at the moment, and he’ll definitely be out of action for the next few weeks. So, tonight we’ll be playing acoustic at the Axis, and we’ll be playing at 8pm, not at 10 as planned. Please check this space for updates on our Pravda gig, at the moment its up in the air. We might play it acoustic, or we might just cancel it altogether. We’ll have an update later today.
Dan’s a really good mate and this news has me worried I’m off to get some credit to make sure he’s okay…fingers crossed!
Peoples, get yourselves to Filmbase today at 4pm for the screenings of two cult Irish music documentaries: Darklight Festival’s cultural weekender kicks off with Shellshock Rock , “John T Davis’ lyrical snapshot of Northern Ireland’s burgeoning punk scene in the late 1970s” and The Stars Are Underground, 1996′s short film on the indepent Irish music scene based on The Frames’ song of the same name. Davis will be on hand for a Q&A afterwards. As an ardent fan of Norn Iron’s great new scene, I’m so there. Tickets cost €5.
(Check out the schedule: there are some brilliant films such as Heavy Metal in Baghdad and Tron…!!) Road Records follow up with an undergound art exhibition and book launch in the store’s basement on Fade Street afterwards with tunes from David Beattie and Maximum Joy‘s Mici Durnin. What a way to welcome the weekend…
Each Yearbook launch gets better and last night was no exception! Everything was getting into swing when I arrived with unusually tidy hair, t-shirt and jeans swapped for something more glam. HP laid on a great bar and such gorgeous nibbles sensible souls wished they hadn’t eaten beforehand!
I always find photos in the Sugar Club really tricky as the ceilings are dark and there’s little light to bounce but luckily for me, Gillian Verrechia and Aoife Caulfield were happy to help me start the night with a flash! Aoife used to work with Gill and I at HotPress but recently left to join her dream crew at Bodytonic. Gillian kicked off a new acoustic night at the Button Factory on Monday and is on the look-out for interested bands. More on that later…
First pap-snap of the night was The Coronas of breezy smiles and curly hair. We last met at the Tisch premieres a few weeks ago and as the lads return to Oxegen this year, we’ll soon meet again. If you look closely in this pic you’ll see camera-shy Jim and Sean Kinetiks edging away. Don’t worry, they didn’t get far…
As Wednesday’s daylight waxes, scared eyes line dark alleys of the web, all but hidden with a heavy hood of anti-expectation. Joy and song once pealed like bells, now only grim mutters break the silence, afraid to voice a fear consumed by the torrid wake of mayhem in recent weeks : is the end nigh? Are we set to bid adieu to another beloved band? Are Dry County calling it a day?
Speculation is rife. As reported, hints suggest tomorrow night’s ClubAC30 gig with The Eclectic and Cars In Walls at Whelans might be the effervescent Dubliners’ final performance. Rumours have spread across MySpace like wildfire, fuelled by audacious bulletins from the band itself. Yet an interview with Drop-D magazine last week claimed plans for album #2 were already underway.
It’s been a heady year: a stint in New York and the Tripod frenzy at HardWorkingClassHeroes were followed with debut album Unexpected Falls‘ nomination for the esteemed Choice Music Prize in February. Fairly frequent giggers, the band have proved a huge success on the live scene thanks to energetic, left-of-centre performances (gas masks = instant cool) and staunch support from fellow musicians (Belfast’s Cashier no.9 produced a great remix of Lost Now for the album).
All is not Lost yet! If I may make a curmudgeonly, boring point: lads, go ahead and stir up the hype, by all means. Nothing like than a few wagging tongues to sell a gig! The massive outpouring of bewildered comments prove you’re loved and will definitely contribute to the numbers. Just…clear the calendar next time. Bit of a giveaway, that :p
The wonderful, witchy Cauls at Club AC30 Dublin has offered two pairs of guestlist for tomorrow night’s gig to none other than you. *nods* All you gotta do to get your mitts on ‘em? Email rockeroffher[at]gmail[dot]com before 3 pm tomorrow (Thursday) with your suggestions of an alternate Dry County career, the funnier and punnier the better. I’ve already offered mine…think you can do better than banana plantation owners? You know what to do….
Check out this vid from Manina Film, an A-Z of festivals featuring several Irish musicians:
Here’s what they’ve got to say -
“Manina Film and the soon to be launched Irish Music Television have come together to bring you ‘The Festival Show’. In this we will be covering all the major festivals throughout Europe this summer. To kick the whole thing off we filmed an ‘A to Z’ Guide to summer music festivals including Glastonbury, Oxygen, Electric Picnic and Benicassim. Featuring Irish bands The Mighty Stef, The Kinetiks, Humanzi, Dark Room Notes, Dirty Epics, The Minutes, Ham Sandwich, The Chapters and Trev Radiator.”
It has indeed been a while since the last RockCandy event at McGrudders and this Saturday HumanMusic.ie bring a little sweetness to those of us not Glasto-bound. While not quite Worthy Farm, nonetheless Dublin’s smallest festival site brings six stages of the biggest underground names in Irish music along with visuals, food and that soft neon glow of good times.
I’m off to get some credit to make sure he’s okay…fingers crossed!
