Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Bands set to rock Bialystok
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| Judge Richard Dowling, Patryk Pugawko, Bialystok native studying in LIT, Mayor of Limerick, Maria Byrne, Adrian Cunningham, promoter and David Keary, judge, launching the Rock to Bialystok Competition to take place in Dolan’s Limerick in April |
50,000 baying students, mega-rock band the Guano Apes and the oldest rock festival in Poland - what do they all have in common? One lucky Limerick band could be among them, performing as the opening act at the Juwenalia Rock Festival in Poland in May.
Local bands are being called on to enter the ‘Rock to Bialystok’ competition that could see them play at Poland’s oldest rock festival in front of an amazing 30,000 music fans.
The contest, billed as Limerick’s first all rock band competition, will take place over three nights in Limerick in April, with the eventual winner scooping the prestigious prize of an opening spot at the huge international festival.
This coming Monday marks the closing date for entry for the competition, and the organisers are urging local bands to enter the heats, and are seeking “original, energetic and exciting rock bands from the Limerick area” to take part.
“We have a good few entries already and we still have just under a week to go before the closing date,” explained competition promoter, local man Adrian Cunningham, of the Production Office.
“This really is a brilliant opportunity for a local band and there will be three nights of heats in Dolan’s, a nice venue, and each heat will be professionally recorded and the band can keep that recording free of charge,” he added.
The eventual winner will receive an all expenses paid trip to Poland to play at the Juwenalia festival, but Adrian warned that is a rock festival, so a rock band was required.
“It is a rock festival, make no mistake. There is a pre-selection process and it for bands of a rock genre - not necessarily heavy metal, but it does include that. If you are not the kind of band who can stand up in front of 20 or 30,000 people and excite them, then you wouldn’t get very far,” he said.
“We would encourage local bands to enter and there is a burgeoning scene here in Limerick, so we know that the bands are there.
“It doesn’t matter about the quality of the demo, it is the material we want to hear, it doesn’t need to be professionally produced,” he added.
Interested bands need to apply before midnight on Monday, March 28 and should send two mp3 tracks and a full biography to rtb@juwenalia.bialystok.pl.
Nine bands will be shortlisted to play at the three heats in Dolan’s, which will take place on April 5, 12, 19, and three selected bands going through to the final on April 26.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Electric Picnic 2011 line-up announced
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| Arcade Fire: Headliners for Electric Picnic 2011 |
It has been well documented that the Electric Picnic 2011 line-up was unintentionally leaked (possibly hacked) online yesterday, but the official announcement was today, and there are a number of names in the official release that weren't on the leaked list. It's a very tasty line-up indeed, and here it is in all its glory:
BEIRUT; DEATH IN VEGAS; MOGWAI; JIMMY CLIFF; DJ SHADOW; WHITE LIES; OMD; MIDLAKE; THE CHARLATANS; LYKKE LI; BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE; THE GO! TEAM;
BOYS NOIZE; TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS; FLYING LOTUS; PAUL KALKBRENNER; TWIN SHADOW; WILLY MASON; SINEAD O’CONNOR; GAVIN FRIDAY;
HEALTH; TRENTEMØLLER (LIVE); KILLING JOKE; MUNDY; SHARON SHANNON AND HER BIG BAND; ADEBISI SHANK; O EMPEROR; THE WALKMEN; ADAM BEYER;
CAST OF CHEERS; MICAH P HINSON; IVAN ST JOHN; CODES; DAVE CLARKE;
BRITISH INDIA; CAITLIN ROSE; R.S.A.G.; THE DANGER IS; POTBELLEEZ
We understand that Pulp will headline the Sunday night, but no word on the other headliners. A very exciting line-up with big guns (Arcade Fire, Pulp, Chemical Brothers), super-cool, out there selections (Flying Lotus, Beirut, The Walkmen), favourites (Jimmy 'I can see clearly now' Cliff, Toots and the Maytals, Interpol) and a great Irish line-up (Ivan St John, Adebisi Shank, The Danger Is, Sinead O'Connor, Mundy, Codes, Cast of Cheers, etc etc).
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| Flying Lotus: A rather cool dude, and playing at the Picnic! |
Faves such as the Body and Soul, Mindfield, Global Green, Arcadia, Comedy Tent (Rubberbandits are mentioned in the press release), Trenchtown, and all of the usual will return, more details to follow.
EP '11 takes place from Sept 2-4 in Stradbally, and tickets are on sale now, here are the details:
TICKETS:
Weekend Tickets are €240 / Family Camping Ticket EU240 per adult. Payable in easy instalments
Sunday Day Tickets: EU99.50 (No camping permitted)
Campervan Tickets for access to Regular & Family Campervan Parks are €60
Tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.ie & usual outlets. All ticket prices include booking fee & VAT
Credit Card Hotline: Ph 0818 719300 Republic of Ireland / 0870 2434455 UK/Northern Ireland.
Phone / internet bookings are subject to 12.5% service charges. Agents fee is €2.50.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Line-up announced for Body and Soul festival 2011
The line-up for this year's Body and Soul festival has been announced, and boy is it tasty.. One of the - ok - THE best festival we attended last summer returns with a bang - here is the list/blurb, taking place on June 18th & 19th in Ballinlough Castle, Co. Westmeath:
Alex Wilner aka The Field
Fat Freddy's Drop
LambMount Kimbie
Darkstar
Holy Fuck
The Correspondents
Arborea
Brandt Brauer Frick
Cloud Castle Lake
Lisa O'Neill
Daithi O Dronai
Plaid
Joris Voorn Wow. Super line-up, and more to come, I'm sure. Here's more from the blurb:
This JUNE 2011, the intimate Other-World of Body&Soul will be returning to the labyrinth of stone-walled gardens, winding pathways and woodlands at Ballinlough Castle, with the same smattering of magic and mischief in a weekend, packed with an eclectic mix of live electronic and acoustic acts, holistic arts, green crafts, a secluded Soul Kids garden, art installations and bubbling hot tubs in the forest. The weekend will also feature Body&Soul's flamboyant Saturday Night Masquerade Ball - now an annual event, where revellers are invited to slip in to costume, don a mask, and dance incognito under the stars.
In keeping with the Solstice tradition the festival will culminate in a closing lakeside fire ceremony - a magnificent spectacle which will include floating art, giant puppets, fireworks and flamethrowers.
With weekend camping tickets from as little as €99 (Limited Early Bird), festival-goers are invited to enjoy Body&Soul hospitality in a carefully embroidered tapestry of creative surprises and undiscovered musical gems.
This was genuinely the best festival of last summer - think of the best parts of Electric Picnic, without the queues, walking or rain, and camping on a golf course - we can't wait to go again this year! Get buying tickets now!
Weekend Camping Tickets from EU109
Sunday Ticket EU55
Limited Early Bird Tickets EUR99
Camper Van Tickets EU30
Bus Information here. Event & Bus combined tickets available. Ticket Prices incl. Booking Fee from Tickets.ie online bookings: www.tickets.ie or telephone 0818 333 32 31.
Two Door Cinema Club win Choice Music Prize Album of the Year 2010
Sure, the album is not as delicate as Villagers/McMorrow, as completely jaw dropping as Halves or as woozily rocky as O Emperor - but it is a complete package, a sugar-rush of effective tunes that have marked TDCC out from the start as ones to watch.
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| Two Door Cinema Club celebrate winning the Choice Music Prize Album of the Year 2010 |
Massive kudos to Two Door Cinema Club who were last night announced as the winner of the Choice Music Prize – Irish Album of the Year 2010 for the album Tourist History (Kitsune).
There, I said it. Although quite shocked at the event in Vicar Street, I have had some time to reflect on the outcome, and would not bedrudge the lads their success one bit. And a great gesture by donating the 10,000 cash prize to charity. Impressive.
We saw Two Door play in Dolan's early last year, before Tourist History had ever been released or even included on an ad for a mobile phone company, and they were amazing. A crowd full of revved up teenagers brandishing glow-sticks danced their socks off through the electric set, and it seemed that the lads were definitely not destined for flash in the pan status.
Sure, the album is not as delicate as Villagers/McMorrow, as completely jaw dropping as Halves or as woozily rocky as O Emperor - but it is a complete package, a sugar-rush of effective tunes that have marked TDCC out from the start as ones to watch.
The usual naysaying has begun already after the event - and I feel for the likely runners-up Villagers and James Vincent McMorrow (by all accounts in the final three along with the Bangor electro-poppers), but then this award has NEVER been predictable, has always kept people guessing, and in recent years has already rewarded the ever-so-slightly left of centre of the Irish music scene (Adrian Crowley, Jape and Super Extra Bonus Party spring to mind). I think this award is likely to propell TDCC to bigger and better things, and their acoustic set last night was a joy to behold, showing the young trio to be real musicians.
That said, Conor J. O'Brien must be gutted. After missing out on the Mercury Music Prize (which insiders believed he had a great chance of winning), many felt (this writer included) that the Choice was a formality, a done deal. Not so. Conor is gracious enough and talented enough to take it on the chin, and is clearly destined for great things himself. If there was an award for best performance on the night, Villagers would have strolled out the door and down the street with it. Not to be, however.
Another great night at Vicar Street, with great performances all round, showing the current healthy state of the Irish music scene - if it was a little reliant on the Dublin music scene. Waterford's O Emperor very nearly stole the show on the night, and the lads enjoyed themselves afterward, but were very gracious in defeat too.
Look forward to next year.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
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