Halves are confirmed for Electric Picnic 2008! Bringing the Strad to Bally, they return with the grand gesture of a full string quartet and a promise of the nice stuff which recently went down well at Punchestown.
After the unforeseen nixing of Transmission festival in Austria last month this surely have the Halves camp on their on their uppers again. Expect to hear more this autumn…”it’s all very hush hush” just now though
Oooh, Trevor Halpin’s not happy with Knockanstockan at all. The passionate Music Reveiw contributor posted his account of the merged Ballyknockan festival and took offence at the unexpected manner which Baby Jenx found their show cut short:
After being to a gig to see these guys only a week before in The Academy in Dublin, they are the band of this year to hit the music scene, with melodic streaming vocals and uplifting sounds, you must get your ass of the chair and catch a live gig from these guys, you are missing something special, unforgivably their set was cut short by the Knockan Stockan festival coordinator ..Called himself Owen, with a can of beer and a walky talky in hand just for show, came up to the engineer and pushed him off the desk and lowered down the sound I was very upset to see this happen and so was many punters, as I took him to one side and asked him what was his problem he said “I am the festival co ordinator I am responsible for the music and the sound levels. I asked why did you assault the sound engineer and touch the desk and he said “they have their stages turned into the neighbours and we turned ours to the lake??.. the alcohol speaking” I said who set the stages up, he replied come into Knockan Stockan this is The Ballyknockan Festival your in the wrong place, Do you want some preps or a beer..I could not belive this guy was in charge, As this was going on the security pulled the power on Baby Jenx this is the bad fault in festivals as maybe the Ballyknockan festival should not have got involved with the Knockan Stockan as they could not run a ten year old disco never mind a festival, i’ll leave it up to you on how a festival should end…in my opinion it should not end like this. But thumbs up to Baby Jenx after travelling all the way down there to be cut off after a few tunes in by the Knockan Stockan…
Sounds like a nightmare for any band. Wonder what KS have to say…were you at BallyKnockanStockan, were there problems with the sound for any other bands? I know a fair few of ya were rattling ’round the lake last weekend, have your say here!
More videos cataloguing ASIWYFA’s recent recording escapades can be found over on their MySpace blog. With two awesome EPs under their belts, Tonight the City Burns and This Is Our Machine and Nothing Can Stop It, the time’s ripe for their debut album. “One motherfucker of a tour” promises to accompany the November release. Good-ooh!
In the meantime, catch And So I Watch You From Afar at Stendahl Festival in Limavady on 16 August.
Launching their Taken Away in a Car EP at Antics tomorrow night, it’s all come good for the Drogheda threesome who’ve spent the last year off the radar, spending, saving, spending, hanging out at super-cool gigs and cementing a savage live rep. So how the hell did they get the time to recover from the departure of Mick Walsh, write and record a glut of new tunes and retain that reputation, when we all know what happens when rockstars go quiet? Ah, yet another holy mystery of Irish rock….
An established highlight of the western summer, here’s what’s in store for Thursday: “Admission is FREE. Come early for special Strange Brew party bags, free pours and other treats. Fun Fun Fun! Followed by indie beats, alternative rock and good vibrations from the past, present and not-too-distant future with Gugai.” More info at www.roisindubh.net…
Defo a contender for best venue if these kinda treats be the Gugai-norm!
Here’s a shot of Galway’s Disconnect 4 having a deadly time… Joe Fuda joined the band for some live dates recently and the pics are up on his quirky blog.
Everyone has favourite venues to watch or play at. Does location make a difference for you or is it all about the music?
Which clubs stand out, for what reasons? Nice places like Andrew’s Lane Theatre and Upstairs Whelans brought a new spectrum to the live scene in recent months, Voodoo Lounge closed down, the BoomBoomRoom relocated. Have your loyalties shifted any?
Crayonsmith – bizarrely this week’s featured artist on MySpace Canada – are not a band Irish gig-goers would associate with The Hub, Eustace Street’s blackboard-paint hole of the live gig shuffle. Cavernous and dark, laid out like a Seventies cabaret club, no one gets out from the sweaty, low-rent shows clean or sober. Yet Islands, who Crayonsmith just supported on a North American tour, head to Temple Bar this autumn. I can’t help but wonder if the marvellously eccentric Nick Diamonds sat Ciaran Smith down one night with a bottle of dragonfire and demanded to know Smith’s favourite, dankest underground Dublin venue and decided to play there. It could happen.
Cypress Avenue in Cork was a good laugh and I’ve a soft spot for Carlow’s Music Factory but on the whole, don’t know nearly enough about venues beyond the capital. Have you been to the Liquid Lounge, Roisin or Cleere’s in Kilkenny? Any good places up north? Would you trek across the country for a show in a certain venue?
As a band, what’s the best place to play, sound- and atmosphere-wise? Have you found clubs who really reach out to visiting bands or vice versa, offer really crummy facilities?
My favourite Dublin venues would be…Crawdaddy for cracking late-night shows, chillaxed labyrinths of McGruders and ALT‘s lofty, well-lit hall. Lights always swing it for me
Dublin’s premier alternative promoter Death Via Satellite turns 21 today and celebrates with yet another rocking gig in Eamonn Dorans tonight. Autoban, ABAM and Sons of Now lay on the lethal mix while this…this is your birthday present:
Doors 8pm!
*EDIT* I have to reiterate what a deadly giveaway that CD is. Someone get me one!
Dublin garage band The Revellions recently recorded a special live session at the BBC Maida Vale studios with Mark Lamarr. The five tracks air tonight on God’s Jukebox and also include an interview with the quiffy chap. Good mates of The Urges, The Revellions are a broody bunch and we all know the quiet ones are to be watched…and heard.
Catch God’s Jukebox at midnight on BBC Radio 2. You can access the station easily with digital radio.
Otherwise keep an eye out as they return to the live circuit with August gigs before heading to Germany. More details at www.myspace.com/therevellions
