Lisa Hannigan to come back to Limerick

We might be on holidays, but that doesn't mean we are not keeping tabs on exciting news building regarding artists on their way to Limerick over the next few months..

First up is the exciting news that Eightball are bringing Lisa Hannigan back to our fair city, and that the venue is going to be St. John's Church - aka Daghdha's Dance space - where the Swell Season performed to such aplomb last year. We are excited! The gig is set for Thursday, August 6. See eightball.ie for full details and tickets are already on sale here.

More later, gotta go enjoy the sun some more! Stay tuned..

Cois Fharraige update

Just had a quick chat with a spokesperson for MCD who "couldn't confirm or deny anything" about Cois Fharraige going ahead, except that they have applied for a licence.
Informed sources tell us that while they have applied for a licence for Cois Fharraige, as of yet MCD don't have a sponsor for the event (Sony Ericsson did the needful for the last two years) and haven't approached any acts yet.
This would lead us to be a bit sceptical (maybe realistic is a better word) about the event taking place or not, considering the state of the economy and the fact that no-one has any money at the moment.
Anyone know any sponsors interested in helping out?!
Hoping for more news towards the end of the week.

MCD apply for Kilkee Cois Fharraige licence

On the Beat has learned that MCD have applied for a licence to hold Cois Fharraige in Kilkee again this year, with September 11-13 the dates being sought.

This news would bring a massive boost to the seaside town - and the Mid West region - as upwards of 15,000 people have flocked to the idyllic resort over the last two years for the three day festival.

More news when we get it, but see below for a report on last year's festival.

DESPITE predictions it might be a complete washout, somehow the return of Cois Fharraige - held in association with Sony Ericsson - to Kilkee, proved another remarkable success for the small coastal village.

A deluge of rain reaching epic proportions threatened to turn many - this reporter included - off making the short trip from Limerick last Friday.

Like many Limerick natives, Kilkee is something of a second home for me, and this festival was a keenly awaited one.

There must have been shudders in Kilkee when the rains set in on Friday, but despite this thousands of eager music fans flocked to the town, and facilities were much improved this year, with a number of camp sites available to those souls set to brave the elements.

The major feature of last year’s festival were the huge numbers of people who arrived down for the weekend with no intention of taking in the music on offer in St Senan’s GAA pitch at the top of O’Curry Street. Instead, they intended to soak up the atmosphere on offer around the town, and again, this proved the case. Pubs provided music of their own, with some going all out to capture punters.

Meanwhile, up to 6,500 ticket holders took the time to check out the likes of the Coronas, the Futureheads and the Zutons in the kayham tent on the Friday night. Conditions were soggy at best, but the Zutons in particular provided a sparkling performance, with the camera chiefly interested in attractive saxophone player Abi Harding.

Amazingly, the weather on Saturday morning was perfect - blue skies and sunshine were gently tempered by a wind that became merely a breeze as the day wore on. Entertainment was provided around the town and the main street was mobbed from an early hour. Personalities like Munster’s Paul O’Connell were more than happy to sign autographs and pose for photographs in the sunshine.

It was left to bands 28 Costumes and the Broken Family Band to contend with the lure of the Irish soccer international on Saturday evening, before Kila continued their impressive run of spirited performances as they returned for a second year.

However, one of the highlights of the weekend was the dungaree-wearing, Jack Daniels swigging, three-string guitar playing Seasick Steve Wold, who blasted out his hobo-style songs I Started Out With Nothing and I Still Got Most of It Left and Doghouse Blues.

Unfortunately laddish rock band Supergrass were not as impressive, impassively taking to the stage and blasting out six or seven new tracks with little compunction or connection with the crowd, before playing hits Moving and Richard III.

"This is a nice place you’ve got here, we’ve been here now for a few days," singer Gaz Coombes tells the crowd, before the band rush through a version of monster hit Alright - apparently a song they haven’t played in a long time.

As we file out of the tent after Pumping on your Stereo, the party continues downtown as the main street is wedged with people dancing in the street.Incredibly, Gardai later confirm that despite the huge numbers in town for the weekend, the majority are well-behaved with few public order offences.

Sunday brings the undoubted highlight of what has become a very successful weekend, for punters and businesses alike. Scottish legends Travis draw such a roar from the crowd that Fran Healy is forced to stick his fingers in his ears, and the band put on a show that liberally sprinkles classic hits with newer, edgier material such as J Smith and new single Something Anything.

Writing to Reach You, Side, Turn and Flowers in the Window are played with such joy and aplomb that people remember why they loved Travis in the first place.

And the band can hardly be heard over the roar of finale Why Does it Always Rain on Me, happily sung with gleeful irony rather than resignation.

With any luck this festival will return next year, but, if not, we always have two brilliant weekends to look back on.

One from the archives, Evan Dando interview

Received an email/press release this morning with the enlightening news that The Lemonheads are to "regroup" with a unique covers album called 'Varshons'.

Produced by Gibby Haynes (he of the Butthole Surfers), this is the first album to bear the Lemonheads tag since the 2006 self titled release, but essentially it is Evan Dando and assorted players. On 'Varshons' Dando et all have covered songs by Gram Parsons, Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt, G.G. Allin, Wire, July and plenty more. Kate Moss and Liv Tyler even feature.

Full tracklisting as follows :
1. “I Just Can’t Take It Anymore” (Gram Parsons)
2. “Fragile” (Wire)
3. “Layin’ Up With Linda” (G.G. Allin)
4. “Waiting Around To Die” (Townes Van Zandt)
5. “Green Fuz” (Randy Alvey & Green Fuz)
6. “Yesterlove” (Sam Gopal)
7. “Dirty Robot” v/ Kate Moss (Arling & Cameron)
8. “Dandelion Seeds” (July)
9. “Mexico” (Fuckemos)
10. “Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye” f/ Liv Tyler (Leonard Cohen)11. “Beautiful” (Linda Perry)

The album is to be released on Cooking Vinyl on Monday June 15 - more than a year since this reporter spoke to Evan Dando of the 'heads about the record, his career and more in advance of a rare gig in the city, and let's be honest, this side of the Atlantic.

So, in honour of this pending release, we have dragged this interview out of the archives, shaken the dust off it and reprinted it here in full, for your pleasure.

IT IS hard to know where to begin with Evan Dando.

Reading old interviews with the lead singer and only constant member of the Lemonheads reveals that the once notoriously media-friendly singer has become elusive and prickly in recent times.

Trying to become familiar with Dando’s history, and that of the Lemonheads - once considered one of the biggest bands in the world in the mid-90s – merely induces a severe bout of head-spinning.

At anyone’s best count, there has been at least 15 different members of the Lemonheads since the band first released EP Laughing All The Way To The Cleaners in 1986 and huge column inches have been devoted to how Dando, as much a grunge icon as one certain Seattle native, threw it all away.

1992 release It’s A Shame About Ray – featuring some of the best pop songs of the 90s such as the title track, Rudderless, Bit Part and My Drug Buddy, all of which remain timeless classics to this day – was followed by Come On Feel The Lemonheads a year later, and Evan’s star went into supernova.

He was never taken as seriously as some of the other leading lights of his generation, possibly due to his good looks, which saw him dismissed as a pretty boy. His talent is undeniable however.

Many publicised meltdowns took place, including Glastonbury in 1996, when an obviously strung-out Dando was booed off stage. He has admitted several times to prolific drug use, famously in the early 90s to smoking crack-cocaine to most recently in a Guardian interview from a year or two ago when he revealed he was still dabbling in psychotropic drugs. However, he has recently claimed to be on the straight and narrow, so it appears there are number of contradictions in the tales about him.

The Lemonheads returned with an eponymous release in 2006 after a long hiatus, during which Dando released several solo records, and are apparently set to release a new album this year.

I decide to start on this seemingly safe territory.

Although Dando tends to slur his words slightly – I am unsure if this is due to the years of hard living or the annoyance of an early morning call – he turns out to be quite forthright.

Asked about the new record, he dashes out a multitude of information about the as-yet untitled project.

"We hope to finish it up some time in June to come out in August and it is a covers record," he explains, "So I have been very busy lately, travelling all over the place, recording bits here and there.

It’s definitely on the psychedelic side, but it’s really fun, the whole thing."

Dando explains that he and producer Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers picked the songs which will include those by Wire, Tim Hardin, GG Allin, Gram Parsons and more.

It is clear that the project is a departure for Dando, but that he also needed a diversion.

"It is definitely different, it is on the quiet side even though there is some loud stuff too and it should have something for everyone on it," he drawls.

"It is fun and I really like these songs, but I need to kill some time, or whatever, I need to bide some time until I want to put out a real proper record in January."

It appears this record will still bear the moniker of the Lemonheads.

"Yeah, lots of different people are playing on it, but it’s going to be called the Lemonheads, I just figure there are so few record stores left anyway, why not keep at least a whole section?" he laughs.

As if to explain his own joke, Dando adds: "I’ve been doing a lot of quieter stuff, I might, whatever I end up doing – I might go do some more solo records eventually, but for a while, I’d like to do a bunch or a couple more Lemonheads records."

This admission is not a surprising one.

There has been noticeable dichotomy in the songs Dando has written for his solo records than those for Lemonheads projects.

Prompted by Karl Alvarez and Bill Stevenson - both members of The Descendents, a band that Dando was heavily influenced by in his early years - on a tour of Brazil in 2004 to record an album with them, the result was 2006 offering, the Lemonheads, the first released under the moniker in almost ten years.

It was also a much rockier, up-tempo affair than his 2003 solo release Baby I’m Bored.

"Yeah, that’s the thing, that’s why I called it that," he agrees. "It sounded like a Lemonheads record. I started writing those songs that just seemed…right, and those guys (Stevenson and Alvarez) were just like perfect doppelgangers for what I wanted the band to be when we started - really good players."

Seeing as he mentions the beginnings of the band first, I feel bold enough to enquire about origins of the Lemonheads and if there was a specific period he remembers above others.

"1989," he volunteers without a thought, "That’s when it was like ‘wow this is really fun’ because we got to go to Europe and stuff every couple of months, that meant more, before we really started to take it seriously."

He once said that he was content merely to play music and get by, but never wanted more. Again, he agrees.

"That’s all, yeah, that’s the thing, I mean a lot of people forgot that’s all any of us were in it for before everything got so crazy. A lot of my friends got really rich and stuff and it got all strange then.

But then, I always remembered through the whole thing ‘all you ever wanted was to live ok off this’ so if you can do that you are doing really well."

The conversation turns toward the re-release of seminal album It’s A Shame About Ray which was recently awarded classic album status by NME, an award Dando accepted, but he reveals it won’t sit on the mantelpiece in his New York home.

"Yeah it was so ugly I threw it away," he laughs. "I mean I was honoured to get the award but it was so ugly I would never have had it in my house. I ended up fishing it out and I gave it to the band that played that night, so they were psyched. It didn’t even say my name on it, it was really shoddy."

I wonder how he views the album now, in retrospect.

"I like it a lot, I think that the next one is really good too, but at that point there was so much over-exposure people didn’t even really listen to it as much," he says in reference to Come On Feel The Lemonheads.

"But there is something cohesive about Ray that makes it work really well live too."

He says he will play "Ray" through in full to begin his acoustic show when he comes to Ireland, a real treat for fans and those that venture out to see him when he returns to these shores.

"I’ll play it in order and then go on to other stuff. I’m going to give it a shot and see if it works, just playing through the album and then I’ll be half an hour into it and I’ll take it from there. I mean I don’t play the cover ever, but everything else is fun to play acoustically."

The cover he refers to is of Paul Simon’s Mrs. Robinson, one the band were asked to do and which the record company tacked on to the end of the album, to Dando’s obvious displeasure. "Yeah that was just an accident, we loved the movie - The Graduate - but didn’t ever care for that song much, so we thought what the hell, they could give us some money, we didn’t have any money back then.

And then, bob’s your uncle, it’s the only thing anyone ever remembers. Well, actually people bought the album and a lot of people liked the other stuff too so I can’t really complain about that."

We wander through a discussion about authors – he declares James Joyce as a favourite – and he reveals he is going to write a book soon, but not a biographical one.

Looking forward he says this will be a year of firsts, as he is due to play for the first time in Israel and South Africa, and it appears he still gets pleasure from his calling.

I wonder if he still lives as wildly as he once did, and for the first time, he clams up.

"Ah you know, I don’t really talk about that part, I have already talked enough about that in the past," he says in reference to his frank admissions of drug use.

Still he laughs when I ask if he has settled down slightly. "I wouldn’t say so, it’s still the same as always, you know? I’m still all over the world at times so it doesn’t matter what you are doing, it is still pretty hectic and it is really fun still, so we will see."

Pictures from Africa Day 2009

True Blood Souljaz on the Hip-Hop stage

The Main Stage

Cathy Davey

A few drops of rain for Niwel Tsumbu

Mundy

Children of Soweto

The Loose get their groove on..

Africa Day 2009 in Limerick

Africa Day yesterday, though the weather gods didn't take much notice, bringing us a deluge of Limerick rain, rather than the more appetising and warming climes from faraway African lands.

Despite the on/off showers, it was heartening to see hundreds of local people come out to support this Irish Aid-sponsored event, held behind City Hall, in the shadow of King John's Castle.

A riot of colour - a bazaar if you will - greeted you on arrival, as food stalls, information tents and drumming groups dotted the inner sanctum of city hall and the delightful green space out the back.

Wandering through the festival, one was greeted by the hip-hop stage first, located conveniently across from the food stalls; the juxtaposition of fine Africa food, tinged with bouncing hip-hop made for a wonderful assault on the senses.

Further up through the festival and right in front of the Castle Tavern was the main stage, situated up against the back wall of the castle and boasting stunning views across and down the river. Surely one of the most picturesque spots in the city and a new festival venue? More on that anon.

As I arrived, the delightful Cathy Davey was just beginning her set, sprinkling favourites from her Tales of Silversleeve album with new, seemingly darker material from her forthcoming release, due to be recorded this summer.

A large crowd had gathered to hear Ms Davey, but were ultimately rewarded by a rain shower towards the end of the set.

Undettered, they remained in situ for Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu - due to play at Electric Picnic this year - who impressed with his eclectic blend of rumba, jazz and flamenco inspired African rhythms, complete lyrics in his native Lingala.

Offaly native Mundy took to the stage next, warming up for a big finish with material from his less than inspiring recent release Strawberry Blood. However, when you can finish with the anthemic July and mix a cover of MIA's Paper Planes with the biggest hit of last year - Galway Girl - and receive this kind of reaction, you have to be doing something right.

Chatting to On The Beat back stage, Mundy seemed relaxed and happy, something he put down to the recent birth of his first child, a girl. Mundy said he thought Africa Day was a "a great thing. It is great to see the merge of two cultures and even to be asked to be involved in something like this - which is a bit different to what I would normally play - it is nice to be a part of something."

He added: "I was doing my rain dance, but I think July is what brought the good weather back out."

The Offaly man was followed by the Children of Soweto - a real highlight on a sodden afternoon. This trio of exuberant African performers gave us a lesson in gospel and acapella hymns, celebrating the core beauty of South African history through poetry and the pulsating rhythms of traditional dance and music. Fantastic.

Finally, the excellent and energetic Republic of Loose drew proceedings on the main stage to a close. Despite the rainfall, this seven-piece trio drew a smile from the sizeable, hardy crowd that stuck out the rain to see them - quirky frontman Mick Pyro doing his best to get the crowd bouncing, and succeeding.

A superb day all round, Irish Aid are to be congratulated for sponsoring such an event, one that drew two core cultures together, sprinkled liberally with diversity and positivity.

Word around the site was that this could be an annual event - possibly at least for the next three years - while local promoters are gearing up to use the site for a big commercial gig later in the year. The site can potentially hold up to 3,500 people On The Beat was told.

Let's get to it!

(pics courtesy of Don Moloney/Press 22)

Martin Sheen watch - day two

Of all things to hear at 5pm on a Wednesday evening, the news that one of your all-time heroes is walking around Limerick - Parnell Street to be precise - has to be one of the strangest.

Yes, Martin Sheen - aka Ramon Estevez, President Bartlet, Capt. Willard - was spotted walking around Limerick yesterday evening by one of Owen South's (LL photographer) many sources around town.

Needless to say we hopped in the car to go looking for him, trying to figure out where he might go from the end of Parnell Street? Left onto Roches Street?

Rumour has it he might have been on the Angela's Ashes tour? Nope, that rumour confirmed as false by local tour guide, Mick O'Donnell.

Maybe he fancied a bit of shopping on Thomas Street? Nope, no sign.

King John's Castle? The Treaty Stone? St. Mary's Cathedral? Nope, nope and nope.

Well we tried, but trying to find a huge Hollywood movie star in Limerick city ain't easy.

Anyone who spots Mr Sheen might drop us a line? Here he is in one of his iconic roles, Capt Willard from Apocalypse Now..

In the meantime, watch him on last week's Late Late Show here.