The Autumn: Winter series continues this Friday, Saturday

THE SUPERBLY titled Autumn:Winter Collection series of shows continues with a double-header of gigs in the atmospheric St. John’s Church this weekend, with some of Limerick’s top bands taking to the stage on Friday night and Sharon Shannon bringing her accordion to the altar on Saturday night.

The series - which will see Bell X1 and Villagers appear in the church in the coming months - marks a special date this Friday when promoters Eightball.ie celebrate the ninth birthday of the Limerick Event Guide with a very special show in the intimate 14th century church.
The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra, We Should Be Dead and Walter Mitty and The Realists will provide a very special show to celebrate the milestone, while an after-party will take place in the Loft at the Locke Bar, featuring top local DJs Leon and A2DF, Greenwood and Broken Funk.

Chart-topping trad musician Sharon Shannon takes to the stage the night afterward, providing fans the opportunity to see the Clare-born artist - one of the finest of her generation - perform her popular songs in the jaw-dropping venue. Shannon’s debut solo album, which featured U2’s Adam Clayton, became the biggest-selling Irish folk album ever, and was released after she quit university in Cork in the late 80s to concentrate on music, later joining The Waterboys.
“School for me was like prison, so to be able to just do what I loved and get paid for it and be free during the day, to just learn more music and be myself and be happy, was amazing,” Sharon has said.
Saints & Scoundrels, her most recent album, features songs from a superstar cast that includes Imelda May, Jerry Fish, The Waterboys, Carol Keogh and Shane MacGowan.
Backed by her four-piece band, Shannon will perform an evening of the finest traditional music from her extensive and number one selling back catalogue, which should prove to be a big hit with local music fans.

The Limerick Event Guide 9th birthday takes place on Friday, October 29, Sharon Shannon on Saturday, October 30.
Doors for both shows open at 8pm. Tickets are available from Euro Empire on 061-317211.

'Love Haiti' this Sunday in Bentley Barker's

SOME OF THE best and brightest local bands, DJs and entertainers, are to gather together this Sunday to participate in a fundraiser for Haiti, which will take place across five floors of the Brazen Head complex on O’Connell Street.
‘Hurt for Haiti’ takes place this Sunday from 3pm and will feature a huge number of local bands, DJs, actors and comedians, while Limerick’s ethnic population will be well represented, while specially prepared food will also be available at the all day event.
The organising committee of the event are keen to emphasise that they are working “hand in hand” with the Irish Red Cross, who will oversee and take responsibility for all of the money collected.
The event will seek to raise funds for the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti, which devastated the country and left thousands dead and many more without basic provisions or homes.
The organisers are appealing to the people of Limerick “to give something that hurts them a little bit”.
The main stage will be set up in the Courtyard of Bentley Barker’s, with the Downtown Dixieland Jazz Band kicking off proceedings at 3pm. They will be followed by The O'Malley's, The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra and Walter Mitty and The Realists throughout the day, with Jon Kenny, Myles Breen and Mike Finn acting as ‘ringmasters’ for the day.
Bands such as Joe Browne and The Durty Dawgs and The Half Yards will play in the Brazen Head from 6pm, while local pianist Nick Carswell will open proceedings in the upstairs piano bar in Bentley's from 7pm.
The Roots Factory crew, Paul Tarpey, Tokin’ White Boy and Jon Greenwood will all take to the stage downstairs in Issac's Bar from 9pm.
The top floor of Bentley’s will also act as a relaxation room throughout the day, featuring massage therapists and sitar players.
Specially prepared foods will be available all day, including a barbecue buffet and a pig on a spit. Various auctions and raffles will also take place on the day, and the organising committee wished to thank everyone who has helped so far, particularly Doras Luimni, Limerick City Council, the Red Cross and Bentley Barker’s.
“Everyone we have approached was keen to be involved, we haven't had to knock on any doors, they have all been open to us, people have been more than willing to help. This thing has touched people in a way that hasn't been seen before,” added the spokesperson.

Line-up and more details below:

Bentley's Courtyard:

3pm The Downtown Dixieland Jazz Band
4pm Live Magic Show with Terence Andrews
5pm The Varadys,
6pm Shannon Bangla Group
7pm Drea
8pm The O'Malley's
9pm The Funk Junkies
10pm The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra
11pm Walter Mitty and The Realists
12am DJ Tom Fitz


The Brazen Head
From 6pm, The Brazen Head will open its doors and house more great bands, such as The 54 Club and Joe Browne and The Durty Dawgs and The Half Yards. .

The Piano Bar
From 7pm, The upstairs piano bar in Bentley's will open up, Nick Carswell will kick start proceedings and give way to Steve Hanks and many other Jazz cats throughout the night.

Isaac's Bar
From 9pm, Issac's Bar downstairs will start hopping to the sound of Limerick most well respected DJ's, The Roots Factory crew, Paul Tarpey, Tokin White Boy, and Jon Greenwood to name a few.

The Board Room
On the top floor of Bentley Barkers, there will be a space dedicated to relaxing in a calm environment with complementary massage therapists on hand to guide you to full relaxation, and even a Sitar player to keep the mood nice and vibey.

Coors Light 'Peak' gig on Limerick Docks

LIMERICK Docks was transformed into an outdoor music venue for one night only on Saturday night, as the Coors Light ‘Peak’ concert drew hundreds of revellers down to the banks of the River Shannon to hear some fine music.

The free concert took place on Steamboat Quay in the shadow of the Clarion Hotel, with large mounds of scrap metal acting as intriguing backdrops.

Local band Walter Mitty and the Realists, along with local DJ Brigadier JC, were selected to fill a much coveted spot on a bill which also included well-known Irish acts Dark Room Notes and R.S.A.G. and UK indie band Reverend and the Makers.

This was the popular Sheffield band’s second appearance in Limerick this year and loud-mouth frontman Jon McClure told the crowd Limerick was a “lovely spot”.

McClure told the Limerick Leader that Limerick is a “lovely kind of cool town” and that he had a “wicked gig”.

The gig was particularly notable for the use of a space normally reserved for rusting metal and a number of shipping containers were used to create a sort of amphitheatre effect, while a large canopy covered the crowd, which, in the event of it being such a fine evening, was not required. Local photographer Ken Coleman had been commissioned to create some visual projections, which danced their way across the metal containers while the bands entertained the crowds. “The idea is to use shipyards and ports - custom building venues out of unconventional sites," said a spokesperson for Coors Light.

"Limerick was chosen as the first venue for this series of gigs because it is seen as having lots going on and being quite forward thinking,” added the spokesperson.

A specially designed stage and screen was custom built for the event, as was a bar made from a 40 foot shipping container. Kicking off at 6pm on a fine and warm September evening, local rock band Walter Mitty and the Realists were given the opening slot and wowed the crowd with their frenetic Talking Heads-esque brand of rock, playing songs almost exclusively from their very recently locally released debut album, Green Light Go.

(All pics courtesy of Ken Coleman)

Walter Mitty and the Realists - Green Light Go Album Review

Walter Mitty and the Realists

Green Light Go

(Forty Five Records)

THERE was never any doubt about local band Walter Mitty and the Realists’ potential, a fact which is hugely evident when they perform live.

They are a frenetic, adrenalin-fuelled energy rush propelled by frontman Niall McTeigue - the question was only if this energy could be captured in the studio and not lost in transit?

We are happy to report that the sweaty, head-spinning dynamism of this band has been captured in all its glory on debut album Green Light Go - a fact that must be due in some part to the involvement of Cranberries sticksman Fergal Lawler, who acted as producer, engineer and mixed the album.

The band keenly refer to Lawler as akin to a fifth member Lawler’s ear and eye for detail is impressive, witness the wall of sound that ends the excellent Instantly Nothing, a soft hands production that keeps hold of the intricate guitar parts. In another pair of hands this detail might have been lost to the noise.

The core of the Mitty’s set has come to life here and anchors this debut, lead track Green Light Go a post-punk delight, McTeigue backed up on vocals by Anna Murphy and Tara Nix of We Should Be Dead, the album racing out of the tracks at a break neck pace, while the brooding Sucker Punch - a live favourite - is also captured perfectly here.

The early-Chilli Peppers/Beastie Boys-esque second track Lie in the Summer is an eye-opener for those who thought this band were all about noise, the two-tone nature of the song demonstrating a depth that belies the relative youth of the Mittys. My Inner Child Is A Drumkit allows McTeigue to demonstrate that howl of his, his timbre eerily reminiscent of David Byrne or even Cobain, while his brother Conor wows with his axeman skills.

Completing the Mittys line-up is drummer Paul O’Shaughnessy and bassist Colin Bartely, all four forming a tight and frenetic unit.

The effervescent Red is a Number is a revelation, sounding as fresh as it ever has, the plucked bass line likely to remain in your head for days.

We Live Alone now shows a softer, more subtle sound to the Mittys, an almost ballad-like track, but it is the Nirvana influenced Oh The Shame that is the highlight for us, all angular guitars, angry lyrics and shouty vocals.

Instrumental track Restless Endless finishes the album, a gentle wall of feedback allowing the listener to take a breath and take stock of what is an excellent first album from these boys.

RATING: 4/5

Tonelist - album review

RATING: *****

FAIR PLAY to Noel Hogan; the former Cranberries’ guitarist is using his considerable clout to help Limerick bands get a leg up by releasing a 14 track collection of the best in up and coming local bands.
The selection process employed here is varied, giving us the best in rock and roll (local noisenik duo Giveamanakick, frenetic rockers Walter Mitty and the Realists), indie (Supermodel Twins), electro-ambient (Drumming Room, Headgear), pop (We Should Be Dead) and more.
It is a testament to the local scene that there is such variety on display here - a sign of strength if ever there was one.

The LCD Soundsystem-esque synth sounds of Drumming Room open proceedings, with the very fine Good Riddance.
The whispering, dulcet tones of Steve Ryan open Giveamanakick’s offering, the excellent Brittle Bones - one of the highlights of their outstanding recent album Welcome to the Cusp. The duo showcase their softer side with this track, a subtle and menacing offering with a delightful sting in the tail.
One of the heavyweight offerings comes from Headgear, Daragh Dukes contributing the superb Where is Home, all twinkling glasses and slightly countrified guitars and violins, a stand-out track.
The poptastic two girl-boy quartet We Should Be Dead demonstrate some depth with Disaster - ‘don’t come lying to me/telling me I’m all you’ve got/you can’t live without me’ - Tara Nix’s lead vocal mixing beautifully with Anna Murphy’s backing, the quartet showing why their brand of bubblegum-pop is going a storm in the US.

A quick burst from Supermodel Twins and Vesta Varro follows - two of the more well-known bands from the local scene; the Twins currently recording their debut album, with Footprints an early sign of their upbeat, pop-rock potential and Vesta Varro showing why they have garnered praise in Canada and Germany, where they currently have a booking agent. In fact, this a rather more melodic offering from the local band - full of harmonies and soaring vocals.

Hogan’s latest project, Arkitekt, follows quickly with Pacing, seeing him teaming up again with Oxford singer songwriter Richard Walters, formed from the ashes of the Monoband project. Leaping like a phoenix from the flames is this soaring track, bearing Hogan’s stamp - curt strings and military style guitars and drums. A real eye-opener.

The album literally leaps from strength to strength as it reaches a conclusion - the superb Grace Jones from the devilishly theatrical ensemble Brad Pitt Light Orchestra, in our estimation one of the most exciting of all local outfits.
Shannon artist Alan Fitzgerald - operating under the moniker of Alkali Flat - offers one of the more textured offerings, Preferred Vision cutting a dash between acoustica and heavier rock. There is a raw element here, one that screams of potential.

The laid back acoustic nature of Seneca is apparent on Playing Fair; exhibiting their flair for anthemic melodies that will stick in your head long after you hear them. The quartet embrace their Irishness in a confident way not heard since the last big thing to emerge from Limerick, Mr Hogan’s former group.

Nestled around one of the best things to emerge from the Limerick rock scene in years - the frenetic, Talking Heads-esque Sucker Punch by Walter Mitty and the Realists - are two local singer songwriters with a difference.
Brendan Markham, once of Drive fame, gives us the balled False Witness, one evocative of a young Jagger as Markham howls with his bluesy timbre.
Finally, veteran local musician Mark O’Connor offers us the Bells of St. Mary’s as a final track, a delightful shoe-gazer of a track, with a distinct Limerick-edge, all brooding guitars and tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

A superb slice of the local scene, bundled into one package. We know there is enough material for a follow-up - Tonelist 2 - so let’s have it.

The return of the Great Friday Festival

FESTIVAL season kicks off in earnest this weekend as the fifth Great Friday Festival returns to a field near you in the Limerick area.

The venue for the day-long festival is being kept shrouded in mystery but, for a mere €30 music fans can see 16 bands and 12 DJs from the local music scene perform on stage in an open-air venue.

More than 350 fans attended the Great Friday Festival last year, and capacity this year has been increased to 1,100, with about 900 tickets going on sale to the general public. The ticket price covers the cost of bus travel to and from the event, which, as it is being held on Good Friday, is a ‘Bring Your Own Beer’ style event.

“The first band will be on at 12 o'clock and the event finishes at midnight, so it is 12 hours of madness,” explained Cathy O’Flaherty general project manager with Great Friday Event Management, who are running the festival.

“Buses will go every half an hour from Arthur's Quay and there will be more to bring everyone back when it is over.”

The success of last year’s event, which was the first Great Friday gig to be held in a festival-setting, prompted the organisers to return this year.

“It was brilliant last year, apart from the cold everyone had a great time. The neighbours invited us back and the guards commended us and everyone had a great day,” explained Cathy.

There is also a charitable element to the festival, as it is one of a number of events that Great Friday Event Management host every year to raise money for Worthy Cause, a Limerick-based charity that runs projects in the Siam Reap area of Cambodia.

“We are giving a large percentage of the profits to Worthy Cause and the rest will be reinvested into doing this again next year,” explained Cathy. “We do a Fall Prom every year and we raised about €5,000 this year for them. So far we have built a self-help community centre and a new school, and the money pays for doctors to visit the site and care for children based there.”

Some of the acts playing at this Friday’s festival include Walter Mitty and the Realists (pic above), Snowman, The Fewer the Better, Ten Past Seven, Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters and Nick Carswell and the Elective Orchestra. Tickets and further information is available from www.greatfriday.ie or from Baker Place, Limerick.

FULL Line-up and times:

GREAT FRIDAY FESTIVAL 2009
LINE UP FOR MAIN STAGE
12:10 – 12:40 Hundred Flower Campaign
12:50 – 13:20 Blackstar
13:30 – 14:00 Nick Carswell and the Elective Orchestra
14:10 – 14:40 The Overkills
14:50 – 15:20 The Out Last Knights
15:30 – 16:00 Clurichaun
16:10 – 16:40 Idle Hands
16:50 – 17:20 Lights Over Phoenix
17:30 – 18:00 I Caught Fire
18:10 – 18:40 Syllian Rayle
18:50 – 19:20 The Fewer the Better
19:30 – 20:00 Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters
20:10 – 20:50 Ten Past Seven
21:00 – 21:15 Benoit and Walter Mitty
21:15 – 22:00 Walter Mitty and the Realists
22:10 – 22:50 Snowman
23:00 – Close DJ Kav

Eye catching photos from Alan Jacques

Some eye catching photos just arrived via email from Mr Alan Jacques of Live 95FM. Pictured is Aoife from electro-rock outfit the Moth Complex who are playing the ninth Green and Live Sessions gig that Alan runs every month Upstairs in Dolan's. Looks like they are probably worth checking out. See them plus Distractors and rock-tastic Limerick band The Fewer The Better on Sunday December 28.

In the meantime next Thursday's (Dec 18) Green and Live features The Funeral Suits, Walter Mitty and the Realists, Black Daisy and Supermodel Twins. Four bands, all for FREE. Good man Al (and thanks for the photos).

http://www.myspace.com/mothcomplex