Irish music blog. Containing gig, live and concert reviews reviews; album reviews; setlists for recent Dublin shows; album news; and basically everything from the Irish music scene.
This year is yet another great year for smaller Irish festivals. Never mind the behemoths of Oxegen and Electric Picnic, it's at the lesser known events where the true talent emerges - especially of a local sort.
Le Cheile 2010 is set to be fantastic. It takes place from the 30th of July to the 2nd of August in Oldcastle, Co. Meath at three venues in the town: Caffrey's Redrooms, Creams Marquee, as well as the Oldcastle House Hotel.
The lineup itself looks amazing with headline shows from Mick Flannery, Jerry Fish, Jack L, Fight Like Apes, Noise Control, and Weapons Detector, as well as The Richter Collective presents Bats and Not Squares.
And that's not to mention the brilliant acts further down the bill like Henrietta Game, Planet Parade, Codes, Grand Pocket Orchestra, Jogging, Ollie Cole, John Shelly and the Creatures, and many, many more.
Fantastic lineup for this year's CorkXSW (based on the US SXSW), which takes place Saturday 31st of July in Skibberean, Co. Cork. So far ten acts have been confirmed, but there's sure to be more added to the lineup. It features some fantastic acts, both from here and abroad. Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Martha Wainwright, Mick Flannery, heck, all the acts on the bill are worth checking out.
Lineup: MARTHA WAINWRIGHT BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY THE FRANK AND WALTERS JOHN SPILLANE MICK FLANNERY HOTHOUSE FLOWERS LUKA BLOOM INTERFERENCE JINX LENNON FUTURE TRAD COLLECTIVE
Part Five, and the final part of my countdown of the Best 50 Irish Acts today. The only requirement for entry is that the artist must have played live or released something in the past twelve months.
10. Mick Flannery 'Tomorrow's Paper' from Corkonian Mick Flannery's second album 'White Lies' is about as good a singer-songwriter classic as you're likely to hear. In fact that whole album is utterly brilliant. A vast improvement on his debut Evening Train, he's an artist who keeps going from strength to strength. He tours endlessly around the country too, so be sure to catch him when and if you can.
9. Adrian Crowley Winner of this year's Choice Music Prize, Adrian Crowley is finally getting the adoration he deserves. His first album came out way back in 1999, but it seems like the 2010s will be his decade. My own favourite artist Ryan Adams loves him, and if that's not praise, he's due to appear high up on the bill at Electric Picnic 2010 as one of Ireland's biggest names.
8. The Swell Season/The Frames/Glen Hansard These are all lumped in together as they're whatever Glen Hansard decides to do after polishing his Oscar when he wakes up in the morning. He's focused mainly on the Swell Season in the past few years, but with the Frames still gigging (and also set to play this year's Electric Picnic), there would be no better time than 2010 for some new material from Ireland's greatest rock band. Until that happens, however, we still have Glen and Marketa churning out gorgeous duets, as well as reissues of the Frames' breakout albums to keep us going.
7. The Holy Roman Army Fellow Carlovians, the Holy Roman Army appeared on the scene last year with their amazing electronic record How the Light Gets In. Their song 'Stagger Gently Home' was a captivating track, and after appearing on Nialler9's MAP gained attention all over the world. They are similarly amazing live, and have really honed their live act since I first saw them early last year. They've also followed up that debut album with a fantastic covers EP, Desecrations, which can be downloaded for free here.
6. Oliver 'Ollie' Cole Ollie Cole is best known for being the frontman in Irish pop-rockers Turn. They made some incredible albums during their time together, with Forward being the standout. However, on his own, Cole is proving to be even better. He released his debut solo album We Albatri last month, and is one of the country's most charming live performers.
5. The Chapters The Chapters are a bunch of the most down-to-earth musicians in Irish music. After a rocky start with label bankruptcy and the like, the band finally signed with 3รบ, who unleashed 'Videotapes' on the world last summer. Since then, the band has been engulfed in success, releasing the fantastic debut album Perfect Stranger, and going on to appear on radio on TV both here and across the pond. They're set to be one of the biggest draws at this year's Indie-pendence on the August Bank Holiday weekend.
4. The Divine Comedy/The Duckworth Lewis Method/Neil Hannon Like the Frames and the Swell Season for Glen Hansard, these two bands are Neil Hannon's babies. In 2009, Hannon joined forces with Pugwash's Thomas Walsh to record the greatest ever Irish concept album - about a fundamentally British game. It was one of the year's most captivating and charming albums, featuring the utterly brilliant 'Jiggery Pokery'. 2010 sees Hannon back in his old work clothes, with the Divine Comedy due to release their tenth album Bang Goes the Knighthood on May 31st.
3. James Vincent McMorrow In my review of James Vincent McMorrow's recent debut album Early in the Morning, I called it "the best album to come out of Ireland in a decade". Yes, it's that damn good. The songs from it have been used in an advert for Barnardos as well as on hit US television shows Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill. However, this is only the start for McMorrow, who will definitely be the breakout Irish star of 2010.
2. Bell x1 Bell x1 are my favourite live band. Any chance I can get to see them, I take it. Paul Noonan is a fantastic entertainer, and the band are always on form together. The public knows this too, and they easily could have played 365 days at the Olympia or Vicar Street last year. They've come a long way since the days of Juniper, and release wonderful singles as well as enchanting albums. They've also gained a huge following in the US, where they've appeared on primetime television shows - including many great live performances.
1. Fight Like Apes A bizarre bunch of folks, fronted by the brilliant vocalist MayKay, Fight Like Apes released one of the most-anticipated Irish albums of the 00s, And the Mystery of the Golden Medallion to much fanfare in 2008. It was every bit as good as expected, and was released worldwide last year. Their live show is even better, playing festivals all over Europe last summer, including a standout performance at Glastonbury. They represented Ireland at the Eurosonic Festival last January, which has just been released as the free album Live at Eurosonic. Download that fantastic set here. Ireland's greatest act right now.
Another day, another interview. If only every week was like this! My latest victim is one of Ireland's finest young songwriters, Mick Flannery. The Corkman speaks about recording with a big label, the joy of playing live, Christmas albums, and how he approaches songwriting. He also shows his own love for fantastic music by picking his best album of the decade.
Did you find it a very different experience making White Lies with EMI after self-producing your debut? I did yes. I was very much out of my comfort zone, a bit lost really. I was working with a new band and even though they were great I realise now how long it takes a group of people to actually become a band. I find we play the songs a lot more interestingly now at gigs than we did at the time of recording. EMI, Willie Kavanagh in particular, were very patient and understanding during that time, I suppose down to having seen it all before. I definitely learned a lot from the experience so I have no regrets really.
'Mad Man's Road' is one of your oldest songs, will we ever get to hear a studio version? There is a recorded version from those sessions we did for White Lies. The recording is fine we just felt it didn’t fit in with the rest of the album so we held it back. It may be released later on sometime.
There's a song on your self-titled EP called 'Christmas Past', would you ever have an inkling to make a Christmas album? I don’t think so. I’m not averse to themed albums but nothing as pansyish as a full dose of festive drivel.
Do you pay much attention to awards? You were nominated for Choice, and won at the Meteors. Were these proud moments? I’ve forgotten about them. It was nice to have been nominated. No matter how modest or humble any band is, us included, they still want recognition for what they do and it is nice when it comes,
You lived in New York for a few months to try your hand at making it as a musician over there, what happened? Mostly drinking to be honest. Very little in the way of ambitious endeavour.
You now play all over Ireland, do you enjoy touring and playing live? I do, very much so. I’m very lucky that we all get on very well and have a good time in each other's company.
You've often spoken of your love of Tom Waits, Kurt Cobain, Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams etc. Who is the best act you've ever seen live? And have you taken anything from their show to put into your own? Waits and Leonard Cohen are the best I’ve seen live. I don’t consciously rip any specific things off for our gigs. I’m always aware of the need for a few more upbeat songs to make a gig enjoyable for an audience.
How do you feel about collaborating? Is there any act you'd love to work with? I’ve tried it in the past with no real results. I think I’m too shy really to write with other people.
How do you approach songwriting? I have no particular approach. Ideas come at strange times so I keep a recording thingy with me and then work on the idea when I have the time. Mostly music first lyric afterwards.
How important are reviews to you? Do you google yourself to see what people are saying? Reading a good review is nice but I don’t really pay a whole lot of attention to them. I’ve never googled myself no, but now you asked I might, strange.
Do you ever get recognised in the streets? Only by people I know really.
What advice would you give for younger musicians trying to make it? A good manager is extremely important, someone who looks out for your interests no matter who they have to go up against.
What's next for Mick Flannery? More touring? A new album? An EP? A rest? All of the above really. We’ve started doing demos for a new album. Hopefully we’ll be able to release next year.
I'm asking everyone this at the moment. What's your favourite album of the decade? And your favourite Irish album? Ryan Adams, Heartbreaker. Van Morrison, Tupelo honey
Mick Flannery currently has a deluxe re-release of his excellent White Lies in stores. It includes an extra special bonus song, as well as Mick's entire live performance at the Opera House in Cork last year. The bonus song, 'Christmas Past' with Kate Walsh, can currently be heard on Mick's MySpace: www.myspace.com/mickflannery
And you can buy the deluxe edition White Lies here: iTunes
Thanks to Peter over at 2uibestow for the heads-up about this gig. Mick Flannery will be playing Vicar Street on November 7th. Tickets are €25 and go on sale on Monday.
Watch Mick playing 'Tomorrow's Papers' on the Late Late (back in the Pat Kenny days):
Yet more acts have been added to the already incredible lineup for this year's Electric Picnic. Mercury Music Prize favourites Florence and the Machine, our own Mick Flannery, Baaba Maal, and Laura Izibor have all been added.
Oh, and one other act I'm really excited to see... The Duckworth Lewis Method!
Watch Mick Flannery 'Safety Rope' live at the Cork Opera House:
The official Choice Website hasn't been updated yet, but by now you should all know that Jape and Richie Egan took home the ten grand prize. Hopefully it'll put him back into the album charts too.
Last night's show was an extravaganza of music. Four of the ten acts did not perform due to other commitments (not sure why soundtrack maestro David Holmes didn't play, he was in attendance. I'm sure it was him I spotted!), but the six who did play showed while Ireland's music scene is so great in 2009.
Eventual winner Jape opened proceedings with 'Christopher and Anthony', the song with the truly infectious chorus that just won't leave your head. 'Graveyard' works so well in a live setting, and shows that he was a worthy winner of the award. Let's just hope he spends the money on musical equipment and nothing culinary!
Messiah J and the Expert were next up and came on early. Now I'm not usually a lover of hip-hop, but I must say I was really impressed by their performance. What makes them special for an Irish act is that they don't sound like a bunch of Irish yokels trying to rap, they actually sound like accomplished rappers. A real hip-hop group, which will no doubt be an inspiration for kids in the future. They've opened Ireland up to hip-hop.
One of the real highlights for me was the first chance to see Mick Flannery live. I wondered how his stripped back material would work in a live setting, and it was much better than I could have imagined. 'Wait Here' was so much darker live, and shows what a great storyteller Mick is. 'Tomorrow's Paper' was probably my favourite song of the evening. It was a stark contrast to 'Wait Here', and really makes me want to see him perform a full set.
I missed the start of Halfset due to bathroom commitments (if Oppenheimer can have commitments, why can't I be allowed to pee?). Their live set reminded me of the Postal Service, who I really adore. They're a proper band which I liked, none of this press play on the laptop nonsense that you get from some of those dancier artists.
R.S.A.G. was different to what I expected. Forget the new Bell x1 record, Jeremy Hickey is the man who really embodies Talking Heads. Well a Talking Heads with a lot more drumming. It was a great spectacle of a show, the full-on sights and sounds things you don't expect from a smaller less accomplished artist. He should be massive.
The night ended with a set from Fight Like Apes. As usual, it was a great set from one of Ireland's best young bands. I'm really excited to hear some new material from them and see where they go next, because at the moment it looks like they're really starting to take off. Thus it was great to see them in a venue like this before they move on to the Olympia and maybe even the O2.
It didn't take long for the winner to be announced, none of the dramatic pregnant pausing after "The winner is". Not begrudging Jape for winning (because the album is excellent), but it is a clever choice from the judges after the alienation some people felt with Super Extra Bonus Party last year. They were dead right.
Professionally recorded video of one of last year's standout Irish artists, Mick Flannery performing 'Safety Rope' at Cork's Opera House.
Thanks to EMI Ireland for pointing me in the direction of the video. It's a stellar performance, and really makes me want to go see him when he returns to Dublin.
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