Skip to main content

Month: June 2011

THE BROKEN HEARTBREAKERS & CONALL BAILEY

THE BROKEN HEARTBREAKERS

CONALL BAILEY

In a double header extravaganza, NZ’s latest blowins to Ireland, The Broken Heartbreakers, take on Drogheda’s key music figure Conall Bailey and backing band, Super Turbo Ninja Club in a night that promises to end in broken strings. FRIDAY 1st JULY WHELAN’s upstairs bar Doors: 8pm 10 Euro entry THE BROKEN HEARTBREAKERS – WINTERSUN Release New Zealand’s Broken Heartbreakers have been stunning their home with their original big lonesome little heart songs for nearly a decade. Their records have received gushing and well-deserved praise from New Zealand’s foremost critics, all reveling in the music’s beauty and sonic promise. A compassionate and compelling live act, the BHBs have seen the country, wowed the city, and along the way shared the stage with US songwriting heavyweights The Handsome Family and Lou Barlow. Wintersun reviews: **** ½ stars Otago Daily Times “a gorgeous album” Radio New Zealand “desert-dry wit, and melodies sturdy enough to hang your hat on” Sunday Star Times “Intelligent, heartfelt, aching and entrancing” www.elsewhere.com www.thebrokenheartbreakers.com DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE PREVENTS MURDER! Conall Baileys’ “Finding Holes” “Finding Holes is my innermost thoughts and anger – basically instead of killing someone I’ve made music.” Not only is Conall Bailey creating art, but he’s selflessly ensuring the safety of the public at large at the same time. Two years in the making, ‘Finding Holes’ features over twenty artists, some hailing from as far afield as New Zealand. The twelve track album is as diverse as Baileys’ repertoire of musical instruments. “writing music stops me from walking into McDonalds and spraying everyone with a spud gun.” You’d be forgiven for thinking that this might be dark offering, far from it. ‘Finding Holes’ is fundamentally upbeat, using Baileys’ wicked humour to balance challenging topics. Inspiration for his tracks comes from a unique range of sources. “Buy and Sell You’ deals with amorous ghosts, ‘Jim Jones’ tackles the infamous cult leader, ‘Drowning’ takes a look at heartbreak and the title track, ‘Finding Holes’ is an introspective to our own convictions. A key figure in the Drogheda music scene the singer songwriter is a founder member of trad six piece The Albaquirky Turkeys and alternative rock band Super Turbo Ninja Club Confirm on Facebook HERE

THE NECKS

THE NECKS

“one of the most extraordinary groups on the planet…not so much a trio as a revolutionary consortium redefining music… “ – The Guardian.

“One of the greatest bands in the world”The New York Times.

Continue reading

BLACK KAMIKAZE ORCHESTRA

BLACK KAMIKAZE ORCHESTRA

“Daddy Hemingway & the Boys & the Girls” BLACK KAMIKAZE IS A CREATIVE UNIT THAT DRIFTED TOGETHER OFF THE STREETS OF BERLIN, GERMANY. A UNITED NATIONS OF MUSICIANS, TWO ARE AMERICANS, ONE BLACK, ONE WHITE; TWO ARE GERMANS, ONE FROM THE NORTH, ONE FROM THE SOUTH; AND ONE IS ITALIAN. MATURE AS PERSONS AND AS MUSICIANS, THEY BRING A COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCE TO THE STAGE AND TO THE MUSIC. BLACK KAMIKAZE MEANS NO HOLDS BARRED: YOU CAN FLY! BLACK KAMIKAZE ORCHESTRA IS THE OTHER KAMIKAZE UNIT WHEN THE FRONT LINE CAN’T SHOW UP! THEY ARE EQUALLY AS GOOD, THE ONLY COMMON DENOMINATOR BEING DADDY HEMINGWAY AT THE CONTROLS, SINGING HIS ASS OFF! Band Members ROBERT C HILL (USA) LENA WENDE (GERMANY) SAMUEL S JOHNSON (USA) JAMES MCGREW (USA)

SONG CYCLE
EVERY MONDAY

Whelanslive.com presents

SONG CYCLE

New weekly singer songwriter showcase

Every Monday Upstairs at Whelan’s

This week featuring:

Rob Smith Martina Flaherty “Songs stay alive in the same way that memories do, and being alive they grow up and undergo changes and develop. If a song is too weak to do that, if it is lacking in sufficient stamina and will to endure sadly it will not survive.” Nick Cave – The Secret Life Of The Love Song

Whelan’s are currently accepting submissions for their new weekly singer songwriter showcase. Birth and blossom of great songs has always being something that Whelan’s has been uniquely privileged to be a part to. It makes sense then for us to finally offer a platform for local and non local acts to experiment, sing and share in the friendly informal setting of Whelan’s upstairs. Taking our cues from our favourite artist’s musings on the creative process (Van Dyke Parks lends us the title from his seminal 1967 opus) this night offers artists a fresh new stage to breathe life into songs, experiment with ideas or simply just play for the sheer enjoyment of it.

Each week will feature three to four acts playing 30 minutes. Song Cycle kicks off on Monday May 2nd 2011, entry is free and all are welcome.

Please contact songcycle@whelanslive.com with submissions.

Confirm on Facebook HERE

SONG CYCLE
EVERY MONDAY

Whelanslive.com presents

SONG CYCLE

New weekly singer songwriter showcase

Every Monday Upstairs at Whelan’s

This week featuring:

Joe Ryan Ken Bolton Eileen Gogan Aaron Finn “Songs stay alive in the same way that memories do, and being alive they grow up and undergo changes and develop. If a song is too weak to do that, if it is lacking in sufficient stamina and will to endure sadly it will not survive.” Nick Cave – The Secret Life Of The Love Song

Whelan’s are currently accepting submissions for their new weekly singer songwriter showcase. Birth and blossom of great songs has always being something that Whelan’s has been uniquely privileged to be a part to. It makes sense then for us to finally offer a platform for local and non local acts to experiment, sing and share in the friendly informal setting of Whelan’s upstairs. Taking our cues from our favourite artist’s musings on the creative process (Van Dyke Parks lends us the title from his seminal 1967 opus) this night offers artists a fresh new stage to breathe life into songs, experiment with ideas or simply just play for the sheer enjoyment of it.

Each week will feature three to four acts playing 30 minutes. Song Cycle kicks off on Monday May 2nd 2011, entry is free and all are welcome.

Please contact songcycle@whelanslive.com with submissions.

Confirm on Facebook HERE

THE FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC

THE FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC

+ BIG MONSTER LOVE & AT LAST AN ATLAS The Former Soviet Republic is the mostly solo project of I.H. Wright of Betaghstown Co. Kildare. Don’t concern yourself if you’ve never heard of it (the Google Streetview car didn’t even bother to go up the road where Wright lives), Betaghstown is the sort of place that most likely hasn’t heard of you either.

Continue reading

LUMIERE

Whelanslive.com presents

LUMIERE

+ guests. Lumiere is two distinct voices cut from the same geographic cloth. One is Éilís Kennedy, whose sound has ready access to the soul without need for scaffolding or spotlights. For over a decade, hers has been one of the most underrated voices in Irish music.

Continue reading

MORE TINY GIANTS

MORE TINY GIANTS

(Album Launch) + BLIND YACKETY Mixing the hard aggressive energy of late 70’s punk with almost everything from blues to hip-hop to country and everything in between, More Tiny Giants are a five piece band from Co Wicklow, and their debut album titled King Hesheme  masterfully showcases a truly original sound. While hints of Tom Waits, The Pixies, The White Stripes & Sonic Youth trickle through the songs, More Tiny Giants’ debut is a massive gust of fresh air – raw, powerful, and utterly devastating. Confirm on Facebook HERE

JASON WEBLEY

JASON WEBLEY

+ Leanne Harte

Since his beginnings as a street performer, Seattle-based accordion troubadour Jason Webley has built a loyal following around the globe with his energetic, uninhibited live performances.

Continue reading

WELL ENOUGH ALONE

WELL ENOUGH ALONE

+ Vincent Cross & The Lazy Band

Well Enough Alone is a bluegrass outfit based in Dublin, Ireland. With many influences from the hot licks of Tony Rice and to the traditional high lonesome sound of Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin.

Continue reading

THE ANSWER

MCD presents

THE ANSWER

+ guests

Irish hard-rock hero’s The Answer have just announced details of an exclusive headline performance at Whelan’s on Saturday October 1st 2011.

Continue reading

MICHELLE SHOCKED

MICHELLE SHOCKED

+ guests LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Between the widening gap of ultra-rich and working poor – or, for that matter, uber-celebrities and starving artists – stands Michelle Shocked, an independent singer- songwriter and a working artist thriving on the spoils of a hard-won fight.

Continue reading

EOIN GLACKIN

MCD presents

EOIN GLACKIN

+ guests Following his sold-out show Upstairs at Whelans, Dublin native Eoin Glackin returns for his first headline show in the venue’s main room on Wednesday July 27th Eoin Glackin’s debut major label release ‘Not Lost’ is out now on CD and download from Sony Records. The album was recorded in London and was produced by Ian Grimble, whose production credits include tracks for Manic Street Preachers, The Clash, Morcheeba, Beth Orton and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. ‘Not Lost’ is one of those rare debuts that heralds the arrival of a fully-formed talent, eager to jump into action and sweep all before him, from the first strident note of ‘End Days of The Computer Age’ to the Springseen-ish strut of current single ‘Dark Rockin’ Woman’. Dubliner Glackin’s musical awakening came when he stumbled upon fellow northsider Damien Dempsey on the TV Show ‘Other Voices’. “I was at home,” he says. “My dad walked in to the room and said, there is some singer-songwriter from Dublin you should see. He (Damien) was starting off ‘Negative Vibes’, three lines into the song. I started crying and I had no idea why. Growing up, there had never been that one band or singer I was into. Damien changed everything.” Glackin has also been given career advice by another musical hero and legend, Bruce Springsteen! “I walked up to Bruce and told him I just had to meet him. I’ll never forget his advice – ‘You gotta have the best band, the best songs… After that, it’s just luck and guts kid, luck and guts.’ It’s a message he’s taken to heart. Glackin puts himself on the line every time he picks up his guitar. As for luck – well, he believes in making your own. Here’s where it all begins.

TICKETS:

€10 inclusive of booking fee are on sale now from ticketmaster.ieWAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078]

PEADER KING

PEADER KING

+ guests

Peadar King will continue his “Shadowlands” Album launch tour with a special night with his band at Whelan’s on Wexford St.

Continue reading

PUGWASH

whelanslive.com presents

PUGWASH

+ guests Thomas Walsh is a Choice Music Prize, Meteor and Ivor Novello nominated songwriter having been the driving force behind his cult powerpop outfit PUGWASH for ten years and recently being one half of the cricket loving pop duo ‘THE DUCKWORTH LEWIS METHOD’ with musical partner Neil Hannon. Thomas was born in his parents house in Drimnagh in 1969. “Lazy bugger even then I was, not wanting to go to the hospital to be born”. As men landed on the moon and the sixties were officially coming to a grand musical close at Woodstock, Thomas set about listening to all the classic pop music that was streaming forth literally every week from his parents TV, radio and stereo. “My brothers started to bring Al  Stewart, Mike Oldfield, Queen and E.L.O records into the house along with Roy Wood, Slade and Gilbert O’Sullivan ones that my Mam and Dad already had there…..you can see why I’m steeped in a love of great pop!”. Thomas, in his guise as PUGWASH has released 7 albums in ten years and been given numerous accolades..one of which is still a ‘goosepimple’ moment for him. “Back in 2006 Brian Wilson’s manager David Leaf obtained  my e-mail through an acquaintance and sent me a mail saying that Brian loved my track ‘It’s nice to be nice’ and as he was coming to Dublin to play in Vicar Street he’d love to meet me. MEET ME!!?? He came, I met Brian, he said ‘Hey! You’re the nice to be nice guy’, I said ‘Yes’ and he said ‘Great song’…..I still think it was all a fantastic dream to be honest”. After years of artistic success it was time to get something more out of the music game, so OF COURSE an album all about cricket was the  obvious step towards that..??!! No? Well 50,000 sales in the U.K, a Top 40 U.K debut chart placing, numerous award nominations, famous fans (Stephen Fry, Simon le Bon and Noel Gallagher to name but a small few) and sell out shows in London (Queen Elizabeth Hall) and Dublin (Olympia)  all within a year of the release of ‘THE DUCKWORTH LEWIS METHOD’  certainly adds up to a resounding YES!! In 2010 Thomas & Pugwash were snapped up by the renowned AMA – Music Agency and Thomas has just secured a worldwide publishing deal with SONY/ATV. August 2011 will see Pugwash release their 5th album “THE OLYMPUS SOUND” on none other than the venerable E.M.I., the bands new home

TICKETS:

€10 incl booking fee available from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] & Tickets.ie

RICK SHEA

RICK SHEA

+ guests “For me the story comes first, the musical setting follows and an acoustic guitar seems like a good place to start, but sometimes you do need to plug in the Telecaster and put a little grit on things. I’ve always liked the analogy that your songs are kind of like your children and for me I guess that means a few of mine may need to go to reform school”. 60 miles east of Los Angeles where the urban sprawl starts to thin out and the desert starts to take over sits the old railroad town of San Bernardino. In 1978 when Rick Shea was growing up there, dozens of honky-tonks and truck stop bars still lined the outskirts, tough places where the remnants of California’s golden age of country music still drifted through like the hot winds. “I started playing folk and coffeehouse gigs after high school and sort of fell into the country music scene…as a sideman and a singer I worked 6 – 7 nights a week. It was rough sometimes but a good education, that’s where I first heard a lot of those old songs – Merle Haggard, Lefty Frizzell and Buck Owens – every night.” Shea has managed to parlay that tough but real education into a successful career as a solo artist, with five critically acclaimed albums and appearances at the Strawberry Festival, the Tucson Folk Festival, the Canmore Folk Festival, the Freight and Salvage, McCabe’s and many of the other folk, rock and acoustic venues in California and the West. Shea is a deeply evocative singer and a formidable guitarist. His songs are almost cinematic in their scope and embrace everything from norteño and border rock to the more traditional folk and country music of California that he grew up with. Due out in July 2009, “Shelter Valley Blues” is the title of Rick’s latest album. Recorded at his home studio outside Los Angeles, Shea plays acoustic, electric, steel guitar and mandolin and is joined by guests including Heather Myles, Moira Smiley and, from Los Lobos, David Hidalgo and Cougar Estrada. The mood of the album swings from the hard country of the title track to the Irish-tinged folk of “Ty Robby” to the Rockpile meets Tex-Mex romp of “Sweet Little Pocha”. Shea covers a wide spectrum of styles with confidence and ease yet always maintains respect and reverence for the music that reflects a career playing at venues from dusty San Bernardino honky-tonks to Madison Square Garden. “Staunchly independent…represents the best of California music,” Jonny Whiteside/LA Weekly As a sideman, Shea has worked with everyone from roots rock kingpin Dave Alvin to folk chanteuse Katy Moffatt to indie rock legends R.E.M. As a member of Dave Alvin’s band, “The Guilty Men”, Rick toured the U.S. and Europe for 6 years as an opener and multi-instrumental sideman, playing everywhere from Hollywood to Austin to Madison Square Garden and played on most of Dave’s albums during that time including the Grammy winning Public Domain. “He has a storyteller’s sense of detail and more, a sense for which details to leave out,” Jim Washburn/OC Weekly After three solo albums and two collaborations, “Trouble and Me” (2002) with fiddler/singer Brantley Kearns which Dirty Linen called “stunningly good” and an album of hard country duets with Patty Booker, “Our Shangri LA” (2004), called “nothing short of a masterpiece” by Shaun Dale in Cosmic Debris , Shea says he’s enjoying playing again as a solo artist. “I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I do, music to me is a very direct and pure form of expression that can reach across time and place. The songs I go back to are the old ones, the ones where you feel the connection 70-80 years later like you were in the same room, that’s what gives me goose bumps.”

THE JOY FORMIDABLE

MCD presents

THE JOY FORMIDABLE

+ guests

The Joy Formidable have announced a Dublin date on their upcoming tour at Whelans on Sunday 16th October. Tickets priced €15.00 inclusive of booking fee

Continue reading

SONG CYCLE
EVERY MONDAY

Whelanslive.com presents

SONG CYCLE

New weekly singer songwriter showcase

Every Monday Upstairs at Whelan’s

This week featuring:

Tara Stewart Ciaran Lenehan Fia Rua Sinead McNally “Songs stay alive in the same way that memories do, and being alive they grow up and undergo changes and develop. If a song is too weak to do that, if it is lacking in sufficient stamina and will to endure sadly it will not survive.” Nick Cave – The Secret Life Of The Love Song

Whelan’s are currently accepting submissions for their new weekly singer songwriter showcase. Birth and blossom of great songs has always being something that Whelan’s has been uniquely privileged to be a part to. It makes sense then for us to finally offer a platform for local and non local acts to experiment, sing and share in the friendly informal setting of Whelan’s upstairs. Taking our cues from our favourite artist’s musings on the creative process (Van Dyke Parks lends us the title from his seminal 1967 opus) this night offers artists a fresh new stage to breathe life into songs, experiment with ideas or simply just play for the sheer enjoyment of it. Each week will feature three to four acts playing 30 minutes. Song Cycle kicks off on Monday May 2nd 2011, entry is free and all are welcome. Please contact songcycle@whelanslive.com with submissions.

SONG CYCLE
EVERY MONDAY

Whelanslive.com presents

SONG CYCLE

New weekly singer songwriter showcase

Every Monday Upstairs at Whelan’s

This week featuring:

Scott McWatt Cal Folger Day The Longtails “Songs stay alive in the same way that memories do, and being alive they grow up and undergo changes and develop. If a song is too weak to do that, if it is lacking in sufficient stamina and will to endure sadly it will not survive.” Nick Cave – The Secret Life Of The Love Song

Whelan’s are currently accepting submissions for their new weekly singer songwriter showcase. Birth and blossom of great songs has always being something that Whelan’s has been uniquely privileged to be a part to. It makes sense then for us to finally offer a platform for local and non local acts to experiment, sing and share in the friendly informal setting of Whelan’s upstairs. Taking our cues from our favourite artist’s musings on the creative process (Van Dyke Parks lends us the title from his seminal 1967 opus) this night offers artists a fresh new stage to breathe life into songs, experiment with ideas or simply just play for the sheer enjoyment of it. Each week will feature three to four acts playing 30 minutes. Song Cycle kicks off on Monday May 2nd 2011, entry is free and all are welcome. Please contact songcycle@whelanslive.com with submissions.

SONG CYCLE
EVERY MONDAY

Whelanslive.com presents

SONG CYCLE

New weekly singer songwriter showcase

Every Monday Upstairs at Whelan’s

This week featuring:

Derek McNamara (10.30) Kurtis Murphy (9.50) David Ding (9.10) John Murphy (8.30) “Songs stay alive in the same way that memories do, and being alive they grow up and undergo changes and develop. If a song is too weak to do that, if it is lacking in sufficient stamina and will to endure sadly it will not survive.” Nick Cave – The Secret Life Of The Love Song

Whelan’s are currently accepting submissions for their new weekly singer songwriter showcase. Birth and blossom of great songs has always being something that Whelan’s has been uniquely privileged to be a part to. It makes sense then for us to finally offer a platform for local and non local acts to experiment, sing and share in the friendly informal setting of Whelan’s upstairs. Taking our cues from our favourite artist’s musings on the creative process (Van Dyke Parks lends us the title from his seminal 1967 opus) this night offers artists a fresh new stage to breathe life into songs, experiment with ideas or simply just play for the sheer enjoyment of it. Each week will feature three to four acts playing 30 minutes. Song Cycle kicks off on Monday May 2nd 2011, entry is free and all are welcome. Please contact songcycle@whelanslive.com with submissions.

HANDSOME FURS

MCD.ie presents

HANDSOME FURS

+ FUNERAL SUITS Handsome Furs are not a message band and they are not political, but Handsome Furs are a message band and they are political. The juxtaposition of cold, metronomic, electronic beats, courtesy of Alexei Perry, with the jagged, dissonant and frail, broken or breaking, guitars of Dan Boeckner portray what it is to be a human being at the bottom of the 21st century.

Continue reading

LOVERS

Whelanslive.com presents

LOVERS

(Portland,US) + guests Lovers – Dark Light Loud and proud, Portland, OR based Lovers is a band of emotional intensity and complexity. Their new album Dark Light begins with singer Carolyn Berk’s confession, “every time the music starts, I can feel my aching, shaking heart”, and from there, Lovers embark on a spiritual journey of inspired three-part harmonies, deep introspection, and next-wave humor. Since 2001 songwriter Carolyn Berk has established her unique voice as Lovers with four acclaimed, haunted and heart-broken previous albums. Lovers (celebrated lyricist Berk, synth-programmer and performance artist Kerby Ferris, sequencer and percussionist Emily Kingan) craft an intimate portrait of female friendship, sexuality, and evolution as an infinite process. The three first encountered in 2002 after Berk’s near-fatal van explosion while on tour with an earlier incarnation of the band. Emily Kingan, then on tour with classic Portland feminist hardcore band The Haggard, invited Berk to join the bill. Ferris was their roadie. Years later, Kingan organized a meeting for her two friends and future band-mates in South America, where Berk was travelling and Ferris was living at the time, performing in various experimental electronic projects in São Paulo’s thriving music scene. The result was sisterly love at second site, and prophetic premonitions of the creative collaborations to come. Says Berk about Lovers presently: “We are like sisters. We are sisters.” Dark Light, recorded at Portland’s beloved Type Foundry studio with Badman label owner Dylan Magierek (Mark Kozelek, Thao Nguyen & Portland Cello Project, Starfucker) is the first for Berk, Ferris and Kingan together. Says Portland’s Willamette Week, the new record marks “a change in Lovers philosophy that takes the band from being a singer-songwriter’s outlet to a full-on synth-driven pop group, and it does so masterfully.” The result is an expansive sonic landscape of colorful wonder and hope, and an interactive and engaging performance that strives to leave audiences inspired. “Carolyn Berk’s songs are full of breathless melancholy and a sinking, infinite sadness. In them you hear hints of the circus-fuineral magic-realist run-on folk song of Neutral Milk Hotel, the dreamy twilight grandeur of Mazzy Star, Bright Eyes’ last-gasp soliloquies, and the ghost-haunted majesty of Magnetic Fields’ loneliest highways. But I’ll be damned if Berk isn’t a more entrancing spell-caster that any of them”. The Boston Phoenix

TICKETS:

€10 excluding booking fee available from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] & Tickets.ie.

NICK HOWARD – CANCELLED

***THIS GIG HAS BEEN CANCELLED***

NICK HOWARD

+ guests Nick Howard is an award winning British Singer Songwriter who achieved mainstream success with his critically acclaimed debut album ‘Something To Talk About.’ Songs from the album have been featured in scores of TV shows and films and received heavy rotation across radio networks in the US and in Europe. In the last two years, Nick has toured with and supported artists such as Gavin DeGraw, Lifehouse, Boyce Avenue and Counting Crows. Nick’s music has been featured on The Hills, Jersey Shore, Next, True Life, Cougar Town, 90210, LA Ink, Greek, Army Wives and countless other TV shows and films. He has performed multiple times on live television in the US and Europe, including appearances on NBC, Fox and the BBC. His single ‘A Better Man’ broke into the US radio charts which led him to be featured as an ‘Artist To Watch’ by US media giant, Clear Channel. He has performed to tens of thousands of people this past year throughout the US and Europe. Nick Howard is an award winning British Singer Songwriter who achieved mainstream success with his critically acclaimed debut album ‘Something To Talk About.’ Songs from the album have been featured in scores of TV shows and films and received heavy rotation across radio networks in the US and in Europe. In the last two years, Nick has toured with and supported artists such as Gavin DeGraw, Lifehouse, Boyce Avenue and Counting Crows. Nick’s music has been featured on The Hills, Jersey Shore, Next, True Life, Cougar Town, 90210, LA Ink, Greek, Army Wives and countless other TV shows and films. He has performed multiple times on live television in the US and Europe, including appearances on NBC, Fox and the BBC. His single ‘A Better Man’ broke into the US radio charts which led him to be featured as an ‘Artist To Watch’ by US media giant, Clear Channel. He has performed to tens of thousands of people this past year throughout the US and Europe. Confirm on Facebook HERE

WATCH:

TICKETS: CANCELLED

€10 door / €8 plus booking advance available from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] & Eventbite

MINDFIELD CD COMPILATION LAUNCH

Psychonavigation Records presents

MINDFIELD CD COMPILATION LAUNCH

featuring:

Zombie Computer [LIVE] Adeyhawke [DJ / LIVE] Maschine [LIVE] Meljoann [LIVE] Tiny Magnetic Pets [LIVE] Mick Chillage [LIVE] Obsil [LIVE] Dialog [LIVE] + DJ’s Keith Downey & Enrico Coniglio

TICKETS:

€10 (Includes FREE Mindfield compilation CD)  incl booking fee available from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] & Tickets.ie

JOHN SPILLANE

JOHN SPILLANE

+ GUESTS. Twice winner of the meteor award in the best folk/trad category, John Spillane has toured the country and the world spreading joy with a mix of melodic tunes, entertaining stories and poetic lyrics.

Continue reading

HAT FITZ AND CARA ROBINSON

HAT FITZ AND CARA ROBINSON

+ MESCALITO & SONS OF GINGERBREAD

Now firmly established on the European and UK festival circuits Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson return to Australia to perform selections off their eagerly awaited and critically acclaimed CD “ Beauty ‘n the Beast” during a series of showcase performances across the country from October to late December.

Anyone who has seen Hat Fitz perform at one of his many festival appearances across Australia know how the big man can stir up an audience. With his wild frantic interpretations of early delta blues classics and self penned songs in tandem and now joined on stage with drummer washboard and whistles not forgetting the soulful syrenings of Ireland born Cara Robinson they are a force to be reckoned with.

Few performers world wide, have been able to match the wild man approach to the delicate art of finger picking perfected by Hat Fitz.

their music is heavily amplified acoustic blues, much of it in the style of blues guitarist from the 20s and 30s. Sometimes in the delicate finger-picking manner of the blues folkies sometimes flat out almost frenzied with growling vocals and driving drums/washboard. If someone gave Charlie Patton an electrified beat up metal body guitar and a jar of slurps this is what it would sound like Hat Fitz is a true home-grown equivalent of someone like RL Burnside or T-Model Ford playing raw and deceptively simple unique music From America’s No 1 Blues publication “Blues Revue” Issue 103, Dec / Jan 2007. [ with a nod to the hypnotic, one chord Hill Country sound ] They have since released their new Album, “Beauty N the Beast which is a generous nod to old time hill music, with their own touch of traditional past experiences.

on the self-released HAT MAN’z on hiz way ! Fitz plays resonator guitar with an insistent groove, growling out the lyrics, while Itchy pounds the skins. The title track, “Black Nite”, and “Hold my hand” lean toward the R.L.Burnside school, while “Foot Dog Rag” and “Freddy Spaghetti” are more delicate. Well-known songs receive imaginative treatments: “Motherless Children” is wobbly and weird, and “Death Letter” races along recklessly.

WATCH:

GANGSTERS

GANGSTERS

+ guests Gangsters are a ska band from Dublin. They were formed in the early Ninety’s. They were influenced by the ska scene of the early eighties. They made several appearances on tv in the ninety’s.

Continue reading

BRASSROOTS

Whelanslive.com presents

BRASSROOTS

+ guests

Brassroots. Born on the streets of East London 2008. Louder than life.

Brassroots are an explosive 8 piece brass band formed by American trombonist Jerome Harper, whose mission in life is to establish a flourishing brass band scene in our nation’s capital.

In 2010 Harper took the band from strength to strength, setting stages ablaze from Scala to Glastonbury, London Jazz Festival to Lovebox, Secret Garden Party to the Grand Finale of Big Brother live on Channel 4.

Having independently released (and sold out of) their self-titled debut EP, Brassroots have received global radio play from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Rob Da Bank and LA’s legendary KCRW. All this caught the attention of DoRight! Music, who released the Good Life EP worldwide & topped the Jazz charts and racked up over 200 iTunes chart appearances so far.

With a sky-rocketing notoriety, Brassroots are currently enjoying a residency at Rich Mix, one of London’s coolest venues. On the second Wednesday of every month ‘Brassroots Presents’ showcases new acts before taking the stage themselves for an illicit love triangle between Michael Jackson, Gnarls Barkely & a whole load of horns….

This summer Brassroots are very excited to be playing WOMAD, Secret Garden Party, touring the UK & Ireland & generally blowing your socks off… See you on the road or in a field!

TICKETS:

€12 incl booking fee available from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] & Tickets.ie

COBY GRANT

COBY GRANT

+ guests Coby has an uncanny ability to connect with her audience through her intimate lyrics, beautiful melodies, sweet voice and infectious grin. This is one young woman not to miss out on!”

Continue reading

THE VASELINES

Harmonic presents

THE VASELINES

+ guests most favorite songwriters in the whole world.” – Kurt Cobain I’ll always hold the Vaselines in my heart.” – Krist Novoselic “Once upon a time, a beautiful, teenage Glaswegian couple formed a band and recorded a single, perfect album.

Continue reading

THE YEAR THE MONKEYS LANDED

THE YEAR THE MONKEYS LANDED

+ KEITH GROGAN The Year The Monkeys Landed are a three piece hailing from Coolock, in Dublin. This is a band with an eclectic array of influences, with a ‘Do-It-Yourself’ attitude.

Continue reading

THE OLD FIRM CASUALS

Demented Promotions and Ouija Present in assoc. with Tower Live:

THE OLD FIRM CASUALS

With support from: RUNNIN’ RIOT PRIMITEVO “”The Old Firm Casuals” are a brand new American Street Punk band from San Francisco, Ca feat. Casey Watson (bass & vocals) who was in Hardcore bands “LOOK BACK AND LAUGH” & “NEVER HEALED”

Continue reading

AGNOSTIC FRONT

Demented Promotions and Ouija in association with Tower Live Presents:

AGNOSTIC FRONT

20 BULLS EACH + guests “Legendary Hardcore/Thrash titans, AGNOSTIC FRONT, are back with another testament to the bands flawless legacy! Recorded at the now infamous Planet Z Studios in Hadley Massachusetts by Zeuss (Hatebreed, Shadows Fall), Warriors is the yet another landmark in hardcore’s history. Produced this time around by vocalist Roger Miret’s little brother, Freddy Cricien (Madball, Hazen Street), the bands message of family and unity has never come across stronger in their music. Warriors is a statement of strength in the face of adversity and few bands make a statement louder than AGNOSTIC FRONT. In today’s civilization, people continue to suffer undergoing the grief, corruption, oppression and exploitation without a way to elude their troubles. Many have lived through these problems for ages, and the moment one tries to fight for what they believe is right, the elite brings them down and their voices are disregarded. For over a decade, AGNOSTIC FRONT has helped get these messages across to the populace to help solve these problems through socially driven music known as “hardcore.” In their latest offering, the band gives power and strength to these ignored voices. As one of the original hardcore bands that lived and breathed the problems that controlled their everyday New York City lifestyle since 1983, they have been amongst the most venerable and notorious outcasts of this hardcore movement. These rarely confronted and always respected leaders of hardcore were established as one of the meanest-sounding bands in the emerging punk genre, helping to initiate the term “hardcore,” and placing an entire uproar on the New York map by association. From the start, AGNOSTIC FRONT released a catalogue of fast and violent punk tunes consisting of distinctive and aggressive drumming, bass work, and a non-stop barrage of chaotic shouting. AGNOSTIC FRONT’s uncontrollable drumming and fuming guitars fill every minute like an onrushing storm of flailing limbs and incinerating transistors. The heavier paced balance between the energy and discipline of their earlier punk roots strikes a taut and vivid rock barrage that moshes in close formation. “It’s social politics,” Roger states. “The day-to-day reality of waking up, reading the newspaper, and walking around the neighborhood. It’s a hard stare on why the world is still one fucked-up place, and we tackle the very real shit that’s going down: gentrification’s running rampant, street justice, world destruction, working wages, and backs are still being stabbed.” Long outliving their now-legendary contemporaries like Minor Threat, SSD, Dead Kennedys and Black Flag, AGNOSTIC FRONT could easily live off their laurels, but their fight is yet over! Throughout their storied history, AGNOSTIC FRONT have been anything but a ravishing group of individuals living prosperously and content. In fact, the band is more akin to have experienced growing up in adverse streets, undergoing arduous times, serving time in prison, become inflicted with murdered friends, the list would go on perpetually. But while there are definite vestiges of the past affecting them, they manage to continue and expose the conflicts they had to undergo in a compellingly evocative approach by relating it to their views of the world today. AGNOSTIC FRONT continues to be living embodiment that “hardcore for life” isn’t an empty slogan or a musical dead end. No one is born with tattoos. No one’s born hardcore. But when the ink or the music sets in, you’re changed. Their latest offering reaffirms that AGNOSTIC FRONT as a band, still operates like a musical razor blade. Regardless of their history, the proof is simple: AGNOSTIC FRONT’s anthems are hard, cutting, and the remarkable music continues to broaden with every release. “We support UNITY! We despise ignorance and hatred within our scene. The only people we should be at war with is those who oppress us, not with each other. Unite! Fight the system! Not ourselves! Believe – Hardcore!”” Confirm on Facebook HERE

TICKETS:

€20 (incl booking fee) are available now from Tower Records and WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078]

JEFF MANGUM (NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL) – MOVED TO VICAR ST

***THIS GIG HAS BEEN MOVED TO VICAR ST***

JEFF MANGUM

(NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL)

***THIS GIG HAS BEEN MOVED TO VICAR ST***

Like many of its Elephant 6 counterparts (Olivia Tremor Control, Apples In Stereo), Neutral Milk Hotel has its origins in the small town of Ruston, LA. The Elephant 6 Collective was formed there by a group of childhood friends who shared a love for music that no one else in Ruston seemed to know (much less care) about. The intervening years have seen the members of that core group spread across the country, each following his own musical calling. While Olivia Tremor Control cultivate their (seemingly endless) creative impulses to sublime effect, and Apples In Stereo have restored pop song-craft to the art form it was always meant to be, Neutral Milk Hotel are to many the heart and soul of Elephant 6.

Jeff Mangum has always been Neutral Milk Hotel‘s central figure, and he’s used that moniker for everything from his own solo excursions to marching band-like musical happenings. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea marked a new phase for Mangum and his namesake. The group’s debut album, On Avery Island, was a wonderfully dense hodgepodge of song and sound, an ambitious, eclectic work that reflected the nomadic lifestyle that Mangum and his friends shared at the time. But the two years leading up to In The Aeroplane Over The Sea brought a stability that the band never had (nor wanted) before.

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea may contain even more solo acoustic compositions than its predecessor, but in a nice turn of irony, it’s also the most collaborative NMH offering. Gone were the days of hop-scotching across the country, living in closets and sleeping on floors. The four principal members of NMH lived together in Athens, GA, and though you could hardly call it domesticated, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea possesses an intimacy, and a sense of purpose, that could only come from shared experience. It’s even more conceptual than its multi-layered predecessor, taking on history, faith and spirituality as some of its central themes. But the group’s aim was not as much to reinterpret these themes as to rediscover them. The result is very personal and isn’t always a pretty, stream-of-consciousness account of what was gained from the experience.

Listen carefully. Repeat.

There are currently plans to release a two-volume set of early Neutral Milk Hotel, featuring music from the early, self-released cassettes, live performances, and unreleased recordings. The band wants to do this as a result of the excessive prices at which bootlegs are currently selling online and elsewhere. They will be available from Orange Twin. No date has been decided upon for released. It could be awhile in the future. Jeff has been working on a collection of short stories. He also just joined the circus and wants to make a movie about snails.

TICKETS: SOLD OUT

* Strictly no photography or recording of any kind is allowed during this performance.

***THIS GIG HAS BEEN MOVED TO VICAR ST***

PEDRO & CO

PEDRO & CO

+ guests: Carl Andreucetti Nikki Sheridan Frank Grimes Andrew Hozier-Byrne Pedro & Co’s distinctive sound is influenced by American and English folk music, the Irish singer-songwriters of the last decade and the harmonies of Crosby Stills Nash & Young and Simon and Garfunkel.

Continue reading

DECLAN O’ROURKE
SECOND DATE ADDED

***SECOND DATE ADDED DUE TO DEMAND***

DECLAN O’ROURKE

and band + special guest. Whelan’s – Tuesday 14th & Thursday 16th June. Let’s hear it for the freshly minted independent artist, the ones that have shaken hands with the devil that is the corporate music industry, and then decide to go it alone. Declan O’Rourke is one such independent artist.

Continue reading