Although LoveMusic, HateWar at Dorans will be cracking I think you’ll probably find me here tonight for two reasons:
A) I’m sick to death of Dorans’ lighting
B) Last Thursday I went to see Galway’s Mugger Dave at McGrudders, along with Rennie and the Heartburns. Thanks to yummy vodka and the discovery of a cooool little acoustic lounge - we urged Rennies’ bassist up for a few turns to which he forgot the lyrics and the chords - I pretty much missed Mugged Dave. Of their set, a few hazy 1am memories of men in black shirts and white ties remain. I promised myself I’d check their next Dublin show.
Also on the bill are Fear The Foliage and Miracle Bell, who I’ve been wanting to check out for a while. What is it with Kildare and electronic noises, was there a highest per-county capita of SNES consoles and Doctor Who during the formative 1988-1999 period? Whatever, it’s looking good
Now, I must go and pray to God of Sound Desks for a decent light rig in The Village. Anyone heading to Candy Karaoke or Dorans later? Bells optional.

The Control Freak - Death Via Satellite at Eamonn Dorans - 07/06/08

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Synth Eastwood are back with a fifth audiovisual treat and it’s lucky Friday 13 for Temple Bar. After a year’s graft, four shows and a voyage to Berlin, an advance on the home front with a theme of Flags & Anthems sees a schedule split between two shows, both packed with art and music.
Kicking off the night in Filmbase is a free SE starter featuring a print exhibition of work on the Flags & Anthems brief from dozens of international artists along with a performance from Somadrone and installations from Dublin artists Hugh Cooney and Digital Semifore.

Later the show moves next door to the Button Factory where new club NightFlight will be waiting for the baton and what a topping line-up in store! NightFlight’s highlight comes in the form of the eagerly-anticipated Synth Eastwood band: Simon Cullen of Le Bien, Philth, Jape Simon Hayes of Stasis Collective and DJ Tu-Ki will form a live interpretation of loops submitted to Synth Eastwood site. Preceded by Le Galaxie and John Donnelly, also on the night are DJ sets from Jon Averill & Matagouri.
Seri-o, that’s a whole range of art and music encapsulated in a single night’s festivities and I for one think it stands to be a corker. Tickets for the Button Factory gig are a measly €10 so really, that’s your Friday sorted, all you have to do now is look forward to it…

Read the NightFlight blog!

I really dig that blue man with maracas…I might print this poster and cut him out for my wall!
Continuing their domination of the night, Raidió na Life take over Traffic on 30 May to raise some cash for new decks…the old ones will be donated to a youth project PCP teaches at the YMCA. Cranking up the Academy for a Friday night Tropical Heat Wave, RNL residents PCP and DJ Halfdutch are joined by Worries Outernational, Richie !Kaboogie and A-Force of alphabetset.net. Promises of bass-heavy hip hop and reggae dancehall style are sworn to blow the roof off as Dublin’s club talents converge.
The Academy, 30 May, 10 - Late, €8,

It’s taken ages to post these: I’ve been perfecting a new Photoshop action that will help batch images at a much faster pace. The pictures from Friday’s Tracer AMC/And So I Watch You From Afar gig are cool and I’m really happy with them, as the lights in Murray’s are very, very dim and ASIWYFA are very, very fast.
I tried some flash a la NME but didn’t like its look. Blur and glare weren’t doing it either it so transpired that trusty f2.8 on 1600 ISO at 160/sec…the camera setting of rock’n'roll…was the only way forward. I wanted to capture flicks, reeling heads and constant motion. I didn’t bargain on the genuine vibe of the night in snaps from odd moments of stillness.

They were fabulous. To review, I’d say they adapted well to the crowd and venue: despite the restrictions of an intimate audience in a funnel-shaped venue, the soar and drill of ASIWYFA commandingly loud, they played clearly with vigour, avoiding the volume threshold that leads music into noise. I heard a profound difference between the live and studio performances: The Voiceless rings with as much urgency as a bareback race against time, greasy bass sliding in amongst pealing guitars the advance of drums, uniting a headstrong force, urging their instruments to sally on.  They shine on polished records and sheen with sweat on stage. Energy and instruments lock, meandering mp3s transform into fast-paced rivers of song, blending a set that’s over only all too soon. Considering it was their first ever Dublin show despite a UK tour beginning tomorrow, I’m glad I got the chance to see And So I Watch You From Afar so up-close: if there’s any justice, the next time I see them live it will be from very, very far away….

And So I Watch You From Afar - 16/05/08 - ClubAC30Dublin - BoomBoomRoom

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Here’s a little bit o’ fun and games! The nice people at Club AC30 Dublin -whose awesome Chequerboard, Airiel and Ulrich Schnauss show blew up the Button Factory on Friday night - have whipped together a sweet collection of good stuffage for two lucky souls. To celebrate the AC30 Dublin/BoomBoomRoom’s massive pairing of And So I Watch You From Afar and Tracer AMC, pinnacles of Belfast’s stellar post-rock scene, we’ve been bouncing around all sorts of high-faluting notions! One such display of extravagance concerns The Utter Freebie Madness of the AC30 camp who want to give away signed posters and albums from each band along with two pairs of passes for the May 16th gig.

All you have to do is concoct your own mock post-rock tribute band and spoof album cover. To get you started, we’ve thrown a couple together ourselves! Most contrived band name or downright zany cover wins. Send yours to rockeroffher[at]gmail[dot]com…Entries close at 6pm on Wednesday night. Now, where did I leave my psuedonym?