Imelda May announced for Dolan's 'Big Top' in the Milk Market - June 5

DUBLIN'S rockabilly queen Imelda May has just been confirmed for the Dolan's Presents 'Live At The Big Top' show in Limerick's Milk Market for Sunday, June 5.

May will be joined by a full band in the multi-use venue, and follows quickly on the heels of The Coronas, who played a storming show in the venue on the May Bank Holiday weekend recently.

That was something of a test outing for Dolan's, who have an agreement with the venue to stage live shows there, and the venue proudly claimed a crowd of 1,500 for that gig - which ran off without any problems, and showed that the market venue is more than capable of hosting a live gig. In fact, the venue proved to be a top class one, with the large, canopied roof keeping the sound in and adding to the atmosphere. On the Beat understands that this will be the first of many gigs in the venue, presuming their continued success.

Gates for the June 5 gig will open at 7.30pm - and food stalls and bars will be open. It is an over 18s show and tickets priced at  €30 including booking will go on sale on Friday morning - or Thursday for members of the music lovers club.

And So I Watch You From Afar for Dolan's this Wednesday

Watch from Afar as band take over

TONY Wright, of Belfast rockers And So I Watch You From Afar, has managed to avoid carrying his band’s amps and equipment into a gig venue in Manchester on account of our phone conversation.

Needless to say he is pleased. The guitarist with the gargantuan instrumental rock outfit is equally chipper to discover that band’s new album, Gangs, has just entered the Irish charts at number 28.

“We just found that out, it is really nice,” he beams. “Who would have thought that a bunch of noisy country bumpkins would ever get into the charts - I suppose it is better than Crystal Swing anyway, not to mention Jedward. If we can do it, there is hope for music after all,” he adds with a laugh.

The achievement is warranted, the follow-up to their acclaimed, Choice Music Prize nominated self-titled debut album, a cracker - throbbing with their own brand of joyous post-rock instrumentalism.

But where ASIWYFA’s debut was slightly edgy, on the raw side, Gangs is a more cohesive offering, certainly more celebratory in mood, a tribute to their many fans included among its many fruits.

It is surprising, then, to learn that four piece band - made up of Wright, fellow guitarist Rory Friers, bassist Johnny Adger and drummer Chris Wee - completely scrapped the 20-plus songs they had written for the follow-up, so-called “difficult” second album.

“We had written about 20-25 songs and I think through all of the touring, they just kind of lost their sparkle a little bit, we weren’t quite as enthused about them, they felt a bit rushed and we just decided to start again,” says Tony.

“So we did, I think it was six weeks before we went into the studio - we nearly gave our manager our heart attack, but we didn’t like the songs any more and wanted to start again. I think the songs were written in such a confined space of time that they have a really unique feeling to them - they sound like a body of work rather than just a catalogue of songs,” he adds.

It is a wonder they managed any time to record at all, not to mind scrapping songs and starting all over again, given that the hard-rocking outfit are among that rare breed of band that is willing to tour, tour and tour again - almost to the point of exhaustion. Known for their unrelenting appetite for playing live that has seen them play over 300 gigs since the start of 2009, the band are rightly acclaimed for their high-energy shows.

“Sometimes you do get it into your head, worrying about not getting time (to record), but you just make time, you have to. I won’t lie and say it has been completely stress free, there has been a lot of stress involved, but it is a nice problem to have,” he says.

“I would feel like an utter bastard complaining about it. I’m getting to go around the world and play music - I might be half broke, but I am getting to play music,” he laughs.

The result is an eight song tribute the band’s last two years playing together all over the world, with their typical monster riffage and pounding drums thrown into the mix. There is a mite more introspection in evidence.

“We just wanted to reflect the madness we have experienced over the past couple of years, travelling around, meeting all of these gangs of people. I think we have done it, I hope so,” adds Tony.

ASIWYFA play in Dolan’s Warehouse this Wednesday, May 18. Gangs is out now.

Mr Scruff returns to Limerick for Dolan's Warehouse gig

THE return of Manchester based DJ Mr Scruff - aka Andy Carthy - to Limerick has prompted much excitement on the local scene, such was the impact of his last show in these parts in 2008.
Likewise, the news that the ‘DJ, Producer, Cartoonist and Tea Drinker’ is to play a four hour set of jazz, soul, hip hop, disco and anything and everything else he can throw into the pot in Dolan’s Warehouse, has provoked scenes of rapture among those who have witnessed such muscular feats.
Promoters Streetlife have also decided to open the terrace in Dolan’s for this Thursday night gig, with Paul Webb and Mr Noiseee to host proceedings Upstairs, while local Limerick spinner A2DF opens in the Warehouse.
Carthy, who made a name for himself under the shadow of Manchester’s mid 90s club scene, has achieved much in his career, with critically acclaimed albums and sales of over half a million records worldwide under his belt.
As a DJ, the man himself explains that he plays “across the board”, with a mind-bending list of genres in his cache.
“As a DJ, I play across the board, including soul, funk, hip hop, jazz, reggae, dubstep, latin, african, ska, disco, house, funk, breaks, soundtracks and loads more,” says Scruff.
“As a producer I make music that draws on these influences, with a large dose of cheek and good humour,” he adds.
Carthy, who is also the proud owner of a tea company, was heavily influenced by his father’s record collection in the early days, a tell tale sign of where his live set grab their inspiration from to this day.
“The event that first sparked my curiosity about music was in the early 1980’s when, as a young 2 Tone fan, I discovered a stack of my father’s original Blue Beat 7”s, including several Prince Buster songs that had been covered by my then favourite band, Madness,” he says.
Mr Scruff takes to the stage in Dolan’s Warehouse this Thursday from 10pm. Tickets are €12.50 and are available from Ticketmaster and on the door.

The Phantom Band play Dolan's Warehouse on Thursday

SOME bands are reclusive by their very nature, shunning the spotlight in favour of allowing their creative output to speak for itself. The appropriately named The Phantom Band are such a band, a Scottish six-piece who have made avoiding the limelight into something approaching an art form.
The band’s propensity for recording densely layered and exciting, on-the-edge music has, however, seen them gain plaudits and critical acclaim for their 2009 debut Checkmate Savage and last year’s superb follow-up, The Wants, thereby ironically exposing the band to the outside world via the applause they have received.
You get the feeling that this exposure might not sit well with the Glasgow-based band that, when they were starting out initially, performed and released music under alternating identities, from Robert Redford to Robert Louis Stevenson.

“We didn’t do anything by design - we didn’t set out to get that acclaim, that is maybe something that has come (as a result),” says Andy Wake, the band’s keyboardist.
“You can hear bands that are formed in order to get a record deal and get popular, you can hear it in the music and you can hear that in bands that definitely do not do that. The fact is that we were never big ‘showmen’. The whole thing about the name changes wasn’t to be cool or enigmatic, it was the opposite, we were trying to erase our history a bit, because we weren’t sure what we were doing, we were just messing around, we never formed a band with any aspirations, we were more of a collective than a band, it wasn’t settled, more just something do on a Friday night, have a couple of beers and make music and have fun.”
When they eventually settled on their present moniker, it reflected their desire to remain “under the radar”.

“When people were offering us gigs, we were never doing them to try and build up popularity, we were doing them for the experience of doing them,” says Andy.
“We didn’t want people to be able to follow us from one gig to the next, because we wanted to be able to start from scratch every time. We only stuck with the name once we were happier with what we were doing live and we were starting to form a collection of pieces of music that we would play, and the whole thing about the name emerged because people referred to us as the ‘phantom’ band, in reference to the fact that we were changing the name and staying under the radar, and it is still something that we do from time to time.”

Indeed, after the success of the first album, the band went back to this tactic when sketching out pieces for the follow-up. The Wants is a weird, claustrophobic album that channels influences as broad as Animal Collective, Berlin-era Bowie, Brian Eno, The Walkmen and The National, and is an elusive, mercurial offering that is as enigmatic as the band themselves. Unlike their first record, the songs for which were built up over a period of playing time them live, The Phantom Band literally locked themselves away for six months in a remote studio to record the follow-up, with only a broad canvas on which to paint, allowing the process to dictate the output.

“We were locked in and weren’t let out until we recorded an album,” laughs Andy. “The first time we went into the studio with some things already finalised as tracks because we had been playing them live for a couple of years, but this time we went in with pretty much nothing and were holed up for quite a while and writing it as we went along,” he explains.
“To be honest, it was pretty stressful, there was a lot of arguing, because nobody had a clear idea of what direction each track had. You end up fighting over it and trying to pull it in different directions, so you can probably hear it in the music that it does that, but it was quite interesting for us, the idea that on a different day, the whole album could have gone in a different direction altogether.”

The band employed a succession of strange and colourful instruments during this time in the studio to help with the creative process. The instruments, both home made and hard-bought, ranged from bits of furniture to a toy drum machine and FX pedals to the studio fire extinguisher.

“It is something we have always done. We don’t use these instruments to be wacky or to try and be original, we just use them because we find the sound of them interesting,” explains Andy with a laugh.
“You might say they (the albums) are quite layered and we use the studio a lot when we record, we almost use it as an instrument and really exploit it.”

Asked about playing live, which the band will do this week in Dolan’s Warehouse, the Scot is as definitive as he can be on the band’s live direction, which he says he can’t wait to bring to Limerick.
“We have always had the mindset that the live sound and the recorded sound are never going to be the same, so we don’t fight against that, we use it as something to make the live shows as interesting as we can and not replicate the album exactly,” he says.
“Obviously you can only do that to a certain degree, because people want to hear music that they know, if they have the album, but really we are conscious of making it a different experience. I have heard good things about Dolan’s, hopefully it goes well,” he adds.

The Phantom Band play Dolan’s Warehouse this Thursday.

Northside Learning Hub and Sunday Times Host Leviathan Political Cabaret

THE THOMONDGATE based Northside Learning Hub are to co-host the city’s second Leviathan Political Cabaret event this Wednesday. The event is being held in association with the Sunday Times and takes place in Dolan’s Warehouse.
Late Late Show band leader Paddy Cullivan (of The Camembert Quartet fame) will host the evening of musical satire and lively discussion, with a debate to be held under the heading “Is Music Worth Paying For?”, to form the central part of the evening.
Among the panel to discuss this topic are Spin South West DJ Michelle McMahon, Mick Dolan of Dolan’s Warehouse, Kathleen Turner of the ICO, Alan Owens of the Limerick Leader and Chronicle, David O’Connell, principal of Limerick School of Music, James Blake of the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra and the Learning Hub and David O’Donovan of Eightball.ie and the Limerick Event Guide.
This event is to mark the launch of the Learning Hub’s brand new Music Hub at Kileely House, which will house a fully equipped recording studio and music rehearsal space.
For more information see here. Please come out and support this event if you can.

Limerick Live on Cruises Street this Saturday

THE CREAM of the crop from the Irish music scene comes to Limerick this weekend for the debut music and arts festival Limerick Live, which is set to bring hundreds of music fans onto Cruises Street.
The superb Fight Like Apes and rising stars O Emperor will be joined by The High Kings and John Spillane, as well as exciting local acts We Should Be Dead, Supermodel Twins and Windings on two stages on the city centre pedestrian street.
The impressive initiative is being spearheaded by HMV on Cruises Street, in association with Dolan’s Warehouse - who will host Fight Like Apes, We Should Be Dead and Supermodel Twins in the Dock Road venue on Saturday night - and is being supported by the Limerick Chronicle and Limerick’s Live 95FM.
There will be two stages set-up on Cruises Street during the day, with some of Limerick’s brightest talent performing on the second staged, including performances from the Art In Motion Performance Company directed by Jenny Brown and guests, Myles Breen of Bottom Dog Productions, Choke Comedy Improv and Centrespace Studios. There will also be a signing area where fans can meet the bands and get autographs.
O Emperor are first on stage at 12pm on Saturday and we strongly recommend getting down early to see one of the finest Irish bands in recent memory.
Designed to be a “fun filled day out for all the family”, the street festival is intended to “celebrate what Limerick city has to offer”, according to HMV manager, Chris Keena.
“Essentially the idea behind the event is to promote Limerick city by providing people with a quality event that not only appeals to every walk of life but offers value for money,” explained HMV store manager Chris Keena.
“It is our sincerest hope that Limerick Live will grow and develop as an event and continue to attract people back to the city by re-establishing the city as the heart of the county,” he added. Dolan’s supremo Mick added his voice to a call for similar events established in the city.
“We need a project like this – and more like it – to drive on the city and take us out of the recession,” said Mick.
The FREE music and arts event takes place from 12-5pm on Saturday, while the event moves down to Dolan’s Warehouse from 9pm that night.

* We will be posting an interview with Fight Like Apes here tomorrow, do come back!

Panic with The Rubberbandits in Dolan's this Thursday night

Mornin' folks (is it afternoon already?).. Apologies for the lack of posting up here over the last few weeks - if anyone is still reading - but Electric Picnic, holidays and black tie balls have crippled our output in recent times.. Back on the air and delighted to say there is loads going on over the next few days, weeks and months, all of which you can read about in the pages of the Chronicle/Leader, or get the rag-tag bits and bobs here!

This Thursday sees local heroes The Rubberbandits return to their roots for a show in Dolan's Warehouse as part of the excellent new Panic! club night, which has already featured DJ sets from Newton Faulkner and Ocean Colour Scene and the superbly talented Redneck Manifesto last Thursday. This week the 'Bandits (after their recent exploits at EP '10 and in the capital, see below, thanks to Ken Coleman for the pics) are joined at Panic! by DJs Paul Webb, Leon and John Kelly - all for the princely sum of five squids.. But get down for 10.30pm, because it'll be sold out by 10.35pm we reckon..


LIMERICK’S dastardly rap-comic duo The Rubberbandits - who maintain their secret identities by performing with plastic bags over their heads - joined a list of guest speakers that includes Jonathan Swift and Nelson Mandela by making an appearance before the Trinity College Philosophical Society recently.
The improbable appearance came hot on the heels of a rapturously received gig at the Electric Picnic festival in Stradbally, at which the Limerick duo were joined on stage by Crystal Swing, and also after the duo sold out Dublin music venue Whelan’s last week, on a Sunday night no less, an impressive achievement in itself.
The duo are also set to appear on Brendan O’Connor’s The Saturday Night show on RTE in the coming weeks, and have also recently been filiming a weekly slot on one of RTE’s top rated comedy shows - the identity of which cannot yet be revealed.
The Rubberbandits were invited to appear at the Trinity Philosophical Society - known as 'The Phil' - last week and caused such a commotion that a roadblock had to be erected on the Dublin city centre campus, with security shutting down the building the minute they came off stage, according to a spokesperson for the duo.
To put their appearance in some perspective, in recent years the society has played host to guests such as actor Al Pacino, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, presidential candidate John McCain, actress Dame Helen Mirren, writer Sir Salman Rushdie and Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The ‘Bandits themselves said of the appearance: “We just made an appearance before the Trinity College Philosophical society where we were guest speakers. They got us to sign some old brown book that had signatures from eejits out of the 1700's with long names. Today is the first time that a drawing of Bob Marley saying "chuckig our law" has been inscribed in those pages. I spotted that Jonathan Swift wrote something about UB40 in it though in fairness”.
The Rubberbandits return to Limerick this Thursday, September 30 for a special gig in Dolan’s Warehouse as part of the new Panic! weekly clubnight.

The Body Of Christ And The Legs Of Tina Turner

Listening to Fight Like Apes' new album The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner, which is due for release on August 27. Track list below, and as we have come to expect from the excitable Dublin (now) trio, it is off the wall and sounds like none of the urgency or humour has been lost from 2008 debut album FLA and the Mystery of the Gold Medallion.

Tracklist:
01 Come On, Let's Talk About Our Feelings
02 Jenny Kelly
03 Pull Off Your Arms And Let's Play In Your Blood
04 Hoo Ha Henry
05 Katmandu (Face It, You're Caviar, I'm Hotdogs)
06 Thank God You Weren't Thirsty (Lightbulb)
07 Poached Eggs
08 Captain A-Bomb
09 Waking Up With Robocop
10 Indie Monster
11 H + Z5 Together At Last
12 Ice Cream Apple Fuck

Should get a review together for next week's Chronicle, although releases from the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra and last week's Arcade Fire album plus Dinosaur, the debut album by John, Shelly and the Creatures (who play Dolan's this Friday, see today's Chronicle for interview) are also occupying much of our listening space at the moment..

The return of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

JUST WHEN we needed a bit of cheering up, arriving out of the gloom are eight brothers from Chicago on an adrenaline-fuelled jazz train.

Hyperbole, plaudits and acclaim aside, the very fact that Damon Albarn used the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble on the recent Gorillaz record, had them on the main stage at Glastonbury, and released their album on his own label, plus the fact that they are supporting the Wu Tang Clan the night before they come to Limerick - tells its own tale.

This is a tale of eight brothers and their friend and drummer Christopher Anderson, who form this spiritual and cosmically connected brass-jazz-hip hop ensemble - and who play in Dolan’s Warehouse this Friday night.

The eight brothers, led by spokesman Gabriel ‘Hudah’ Hubert, who joined On the Beat for a genial chat recently, are sons all of the legendary jazz musician Philip Cohran, who had a seminal role with Sun Ra in Chicago in the 1950s.

Cohran turned 83 recently, and his sons were by his side to help him celebrate.

“He is still coaching us and gives us pointers on life,” says Hudah.

“Any time he hears about the things that we do, he always tells us how proud of us he is, and how much more that we have to do. Our father told us that music is supposed to be inspiring and we are here to inspire and as long as I can get that point across and people come up to us after the shows and say they had a great time, then that means I can go on with my job,” he adds.

Witnessing a live HBE show is simply hypnotic, in the absence of a better description, the eight brothers employing a mixture of battered brass instruments - tubas, trombones, trumpets - swaying and swinging as they play.

They have also added a new element of lyricism and crowd participation, beefing up their act considerably.

“The more and more you do something, the better you get at it, and you always try and flip it up and make it fresh so it doesn't become boring to you, and as long as you can be creative and keep it exciting, then the crowd is going to receive that,” says Hudah.

“Our father says when you open and close with a great song, then everything you do in the middle is going to be excellent, so we try to keep that format going and try to be as free as we can and definitely try and loosen up the crowd,” he adds.

Unprompted, the HBE member instantly namechecks the band’s recent gig in Dolan’s, saying he was just watching a You Tube video from that night in April.

“I was just remembering the energy of that crowd out there, it was nice,” he says. “The energy was incredible there last year. Ireland always shows us love, no matter what city we are in, what crowd we are performing before - they seem to love us and we respect the love back, it is a give and take thing that has been working out.”

This is a veritable Band of Brothers, who feel subconsciously connected, so do they believe in fate, that they were destined to follow this path?

“This is no accident, by no means whatsoever. Everything we have done so far has led us to where we are now. The more and more we do it, the more we know we are ambassadors to the world, we are not just representing ourselves, we are representing all the people who we grew up with, and our parents.”

Although the band recently recorded and released an EP with Irish promoters Choice Cuts, there are plans afoot for a full album release in the near future, one that should push HBE into the stratosphere.

“Right now we are back in the process of being in the studio to record some new material, we don't have a release date for it yet, we are just gathering the material because we wanna take the world by storm, we wanna give the people what they know we can give, and what we know we can give - a classic album,” says Hudah.

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble play in Dolan’s Warehouse this Friday night, along with Limerick’s own B+ (Brian Cross) and Leon.

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble return to Limerick this Friday

THE EPIC, electric, jazz driven funkof the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble returns to Limerick this Friday, with a very special line-up for the Dolan's Warehouse gig.
Fresh from headlining the main stage at Glastonbury with Gorillaz and a night after playing with Wu Tang Clan in Brixton Academy, the Hypnotic Brass return to Limerick for what should be another spectacular gig.
Joining the Chicago hip-hop jazz ensemble is Limerick's very own B+ (Brian Cross), visionary photographer, filmmaker and DJ, who was responsibile for bringing Brasilintime both to the stage and screen, including a gig in Trinity Rooms courtyard a couple of years ago, featuring the legendary Tony Allen among others.
However, Barack Obama's favourite band will be the main event, and Gabriel 'Hudah' Hubert joined us for an interesting chat for this week's Limerick Chronicle, which hits the streets this Tuesday lunchtime and also features a review of the new Arcade Fire album.

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble play in Dolan's Warehouse this Friday night. For more see the Limerick Chronicle.

Five Limerick bands go head to head for Bob Dylan support slot

AND THEN there were five.. After over a month inviting applications from the great and the good of the Limerick music scene, a whopping entry has been whittled down to five contenders, all vying for a prized spot on the same stage as Bob Dylan in Thomond Park.
This, as they say, is no time for nerves.
For most up and coming bands, regardless of genre or variety, the iconic Dylan is something of an awesome figure - an elusive character who overcame a perceived lack of vocal ability to become one of, if not the, best known and most distinctive performers in world music.
Five Limerick acts have been shortlisted to go head to head against one another for a spot on Dylan’s Thomond Park bill, which also features heavyweights David Gray, Seasick Steve and Alabama 3.
The acts are Windings, Last Days of Death Country, Brendan Markham, Nick Carswell and the Elective Orchestra and Animal Beats - all seeking to scoop the chance to open for Dylan on July 4, in front of a potential audience of 20,000 people.
Dolan’s Warehouse, in association with the Limerick Chronicle and Limerick’s Live 95FM, will host the event tonight, and with five bands playing for a mere five euro, you can’t get better value anywhere else this summer.
A panel of select media representatives - including On The Beat - will watch the bands perform this Friday and pick a winner from the bunch.
Concert promoter Peter Aiken, who was requested by Dylan personally to select a local act to open his only Irish show this year, told City Life recently that a support slot for an unknown band had, in the past, yielded huge results.
“One year we had an unheard of band to support Pink – the Coronas, and she took them on a world tour, she loved them. Dylan will be listening, so who knows? It will be good, and we are looking forward to it,” revealed the concert boss.
Mick Dolan said the volume and quality of entries received for the competition proved that Limerick’s music scene was “fantastic”.
“The standard is fantastic and the five that were picked will do us proud, whoever wins,” said Mick.

The bands selected represent the cream of the crop on the local music scene, and are wholly representative of the diversity ever-present in local music circles.

Windings is the solo project of Steve Ryan of Giveamanakick, which is, despite being around for several years, only really a band in its infancy, given that Ryan only put the band together last year after Giveamanakick went their separate ways. The group played their first Limerick gig earlier this year in support of the release of excellent new single Brain Fluid, with an album slated for release later this year.

Castletroy band Animal Beats represent the best of the young, up and coming bands in Limerick, formed in late 2007 and displaying a moody brand of rock and roll, reminiscent of The National. The band were overall winners of Limerick's Got Talent 2009, beating over 50 acts to secure first place.

Raheen native Nick Carswell has been hovering on the fringes of the national scene for the last couple of years, with Today FM’s Paul McLoone a dedicated fan of his melodic tunes, stuffed as they are with sweeping orchestration, thanks to Newcastle West sisters Deirdre and Kate Cussen on strings, while local music stalwarts Colin Bartley and Bart Kiely are also full time members, as is vocalist Sian Murray. This is one of the most eclectic ensembles on the local scene, in our opinion.

Post-rock four piece Last Days of Death Country are a band that have been championed on these pages for some time, sporting as they do one of our favourite monikers, plus an impressive set of songs that pack an aggressive rock and roll punch. Debut EP Mode and Effect, recorded with Fergal Lawler of The Cranberries, is one to check out.

Finally, last but certainly not least, is stalwart Brendan Markham, who has been around for many years, particularly as a founder member of the now defunct Limerick band The Driven, but who has only really found his niche with the release of his debut solo album False Witness, which he released earlier this year, and gathering a settled band around him.

The top five bands will battle it out for the Dylan support slot in Dolan’s Warehouse tonight.

Interview with Cathy Davey

CATHY DAVEY has always seemed to me to be the perfect indie performer; not in a spiky, PJ Harvey-type way, but rather the type of performer who can furrow her own path, and not listen to the demands of a meddling record label.
On her third album, the just released ‘The Nameless’, the Wicklow chanteuse has released the record on her own label, Hammer Toe Records.

The album is an astonishing piece of work; dark and eery at times, soaring and epic in others, delicate and often vulnerable, like Davey’s voice, which is simply captivating. But Davey, whose superb second album ‘Tales of Silversleeve’ saw her scoop a Meteor award and Choice nomination, plus double platinum sales in this country, has really had to go through the wars, as it were, to reach this point.

Signed initially to Parlophone's Regal Recordings, Davey released her debut Something Ilk in 2004, which was, in her own words, confused. Struck by stage- and studio-fright, Davey enlisted Liam Howe of Sneaker Pimps fame for her follow-up, which she recorded in a house and away from the pressures of a fancy studio and was released on EMI.
However, despite the album’s success in Ireland, she was dropped from the monolith label in 2008. This may have been the best thing that happened to her, we venture.

Davey, who was crippled by nerves when performing, was pushed out of her comfort zone to find a place she is conversely more comfortable in.

“It is the right time for me to independent, definitely,” she says by way of agreement, speaking from Belfast where she has just performed.
“I really didn't know my own head or what I was capable of or what my limitations were. By the time I got to recording this album, I had a definite sense of how I wanted to come across, and not feeling I had to disguise it for fear of being seen as being too theatrical or affected,” she adds.
She rules out any measure of success having an effect on her confidence, pointing more figuratively to the “experience of having success”.

“The larger the shows were that I played, the more I had to dig out of myself to perform in front of more people than I was used to, or rise to the occasion, that all helped me bring out, I guess, a more performing side of myself that I never imagined I had,” says Cathy.

In the aftermath of Silversleeve’s release, Davey took herself off to a little town called Albi, near Toulouse, France. There she lived in a house once occupied by a family, with the woman - now widowed - who owned it living next door. Armed with a “bag of tricks” - recording unit, drum kit, mandolin - she cocooned herself from the outside world and found the mood of the album, rediscovering her love of “song-smithery”, she says.

“I did a month there and wrote about a third or maybe half of the album - I definitely got the bones of the idea or structure there,” Cathy explains. “The people who had lived in the house before me had left an atmosphere. Also I was there on my own and I don't really speak French, so I was kind of isolated. I had all these characters - and the Nameless character evolved and I enjoyed getting lost in that world.”

As a result, the album became loosely based on that character, a “fantastical story”, Cathy explains.
Armed with help from the peerless Conor J. O’Brien, of Villagers fame, Neil Hannon and her own father, Cathy developed the album into what it is now with the help of an engineer, and clearly revelled in the process.
As a result, she has carved out a niche for herself, and sounds happy in the process.

“I have never been the type of person who wants to do any breaking of countries or endless tours just to show the world my music,” she laughs.
“I would really like to make enough money to make another album. I guess I want the ideal world, but I want to be happy in that ideal world,” she adds.

Cathy Davey plays in Dolan’s Warehouse this Sunday night. ‘The Nameless’ is now on general release.

Local band to open Bob Dylan Thomond Park gig

LEGENDARY singer songwriter Bob Dylan has personally requested that an “up and coming local band” open up his Thomond Park concert on July 4.

Entry forms carried in today’s Limerick Leader and this week's Limerick Chronicle offer a local band the chance to open for Bob Dylan at his July 4 Thomond Park concert.

Aiken Promotions have teamed up with the Limerick Leader and Chronicle newspapers, plus Live 95FM and Dolan’s Warehouse, to offer an up and coming local band the chance to share a bill with the legendary singer-songwriter.

Concert promoter Peter Aiken revealed on Friday that Dylan had personally requested that a local band open the show, which will also feature Alabama 3, Seasick Steve and David Gray.

“We are going to get a local Limerick band, an up and coming band to open it up. Dylan wants it to be a young band to open up the show - a good band,” said Peter Aiken.

A shortlist of acts will be compiled, with entries closing on May 28.

A showcase night will be held in Dolan’s on Friday, June 25 to select the winning act.

Mick Dolan said: “It’s an amazing opportunity for a young band. It doesn't get any better than sharing a bill with Bob Dylan”.

Peter Aiken also revealed that Dylan, who he called “one of the greatest icons of the 21st century”, was looking forward to coming to Limerick.

“He is looking forward to coming here. They have been looking up Thomond Park on the internet - he knows exactly where he is going,” said Mr Aiken.

Mr Aiken also revealed that he had “made a commitment” to John Cantwell, Thomond Park stadium director, to keep returning to the €40m stadium to stage two gigs a year.

“It is our intention to keep coming here and we are going to keep doing two gigs a year,” said Mr Aiken.

Mr Cantwell said Peter Aiken had “provided the goods again in terms of headline acts”.

“It doesn't get much bigger in terms of names, and the reaction has been very positive. It is going to be a great day out and the city can put its best foot forward in terms of profile and image and positive publicity,” he added.

Gates to Thomond Park will open at 2.30pm on July 4, with the first band on at 3.30pm. For tickets - priced at €60, €70.70, €81.25, and seated at €67.50 - check out www.ticketmaster.ie and other usual outlets nationwide. Booking line: 0818-719300. See page 3 of the Leader 2 section for entry forms for the chance to perform on the Thomond Park stage on July 4 with Bob Dylan.

Norman Jay plays Streetlife in the Warehouse

A couple of photos of Norman Jay playing the Streetlife gig down in Dolan's last Sunday - thanks to Joe and Ken Coleman for the pics. I didn't make it down, but heard loads of folks did and that it was a super evening, with Norman Jay in effusive form as he celebrated 30 years of his 'Good Times Soundsystem', which has earned him a Knighthood.
On the Terrace Paul Webb hosted the latest installment of his Balance New Talent Sessions with Brian Sexton, Michael Jason Grant and Dave Hall - check Webb out on Spin South West on Fridays from 21.45.
The next Streetlife party returns on May 21 with the immense line-up of Japanese Popstars and Justin Robertson, tickets on sale now!

Nik Kershaw interview

NIK KERSHAW was undeniably one of the absolute kings of the ‘80s, no question.
Try and conjure up a mental image from the seminal music videos of the mid-80s period and you can’t look further than the strange ‘Tron’-like video for ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good’, in which Kershaw danced around in a strange, glowing suit, hair coiffed to the max.
Likewise the Bristol-born singer’s ‘I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, which featured vacuous, pale-faced children mouthing the words to the song, while the teen-idol danced around a castle which billowed smoke, on this occasion sporting a dyed blonde look.
Kershaw, who was also one of the standout performers at Live Aid, comes to Limerick this week for a ‘No Frills’ acoustic gig - his first time gigging in Ireland in more than 20 years.

“I'm very much looking forward to this Irish expedition, or exhibition,” says Kershaw, speaking from his home and stumbling momentarily over his words.
“It might be a bit of both - me making an exhibition of myself,” he laughs heartily.
A genuine legend, both of the above songs were absolute standards of the 80s era, ensuring the Bristol-born singer spent a record-breaking 50 weeks in the UK Top 50 singles chart in 1984. Both featured on the debut album ‘Human Racing’ - still a classic to this day.
However, come 1990, his star was beginning to wane, and after four albums and eight million record sales, Kershaw stepped out of the spotlight, rather abruptly.
He has flitted in and out since, preferring to remain as a songwriter and producer, working with the likes of Elton John, Cliff Richard, Bonnie Tyler and more latterly, Imogen Heap, Gary Barlow and Let Loose.
Oh, and he wrote and produced The One and Only, sung by Chesney Hawkes - a monster smash hit that no-one the planet could ever claim not to have heard.

“It was huge and it still keeps coming back to haunt me,” agrees Kershaw when asked about the song, which was sung memorably by Chesney Hawkes.
“I'm still very good friends with Ches - despite me ending his career,” he laughs. “That was a weird one, that was almost the first thing, when I decided to write songs for other people, that was almost the first thing I did, and then I stuck it on a shelf and forgot about. I co-produced it, recorded it and then forgot about it. A year later the film came out and blimey - it was mad.”

Remembering the dizzy heights of his own career, Kershaw is more phlegmatic. It is clear that he was never interested in the attention and trappings of fame, indicative of his decision to step away from the limelight, rather than become almost a parody of himself.
“Well you know, it is like the old adage - be careful what you wish for, because I wanted to make music and be known for making music, and I wanted to play in front of thousands of people, but then I was totally unprepared to deal with it, to deal with the public thing, the press and media - I just wasn't very good at it,” he says simply.
On Live Aid he laughs: “That was certainly a big moment - although I keep getting reminded about it, because for obvious reasons people want to know about it, but most of my memories from it have been.. I don't know if they are real anymore, because it has become something I talk about in interviews, and I don't know how much of it is made up and how much is real”.

While he has been keen to stay out of the limelight, the affable Kershaw has nonetheless released a studio album every four to five years, all to considerable critical acclaim, most recently on 2006’s You've Got To Laugh.
He returns this year with ‘No Frills’, which essentially documents his return to the stage, performing acoustically, solo and minus the mullet and shoulder pads.
“Saying I choose to do anything is a bit misleading for me, because there is never a plan, I have always just bumped into things, which I have been doing all my career,” he explains.
“What happened was, I got offered a couple of gigs in Dubai, little acoustic ones, and I thought, I fancy going there and I can try the acoustic thing out and no-one will know any different.
“It went ok and the next time somebody asked me, I surprised myself and said yes, and I did a load of acoustic gigs last year, and I have done quite a few this year. I'm quite enjoying it, so I'll keep going.”
Kershaw is playing a wide variety of songs, classics and newer material, possibly some very new. But surprisingly for a guy who performed in front of hundreds of thousands in Wembley Stadium and elsewhere, he still admits to the pang of nerves before going on stage.
“I'm not beyond nerves, I get nervous before every show. In some ways, especially the smaller gigs, the more nervous I get, because it is just me and a guitar - no smoke and mirrors or a band to hide behind,” he says.
“I was very surprised because I was thinking "anybody can do this" - you think there is nothing special, but you are sharing something with a bunch of people, and I am delighted with how well the gigs have been received,” he adds.

Nik Kershaw plays in Dolan’s Warehouse this Friday night, with an Eighties Night to follow.

Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip in Dolan's last Friday

Thanks to Ken Coleman and Streetlife for the pics.. Great gig

Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip in Dolan's this Friday

THE SHIMMERING electro-pop of Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip’s new album opening track ‘Sick Tonight’ gives way to a grimey, drum and bass heavy beat after about thirty seconds - Pip spitting with a certain venom: “I feel sick tonight/something in my stomach ain’t sitting right/but I gotta overcome it, keep spitting right”.

This bile-tinged opener isn’t wholly representative of what is a stunningly lyrical album that ebbs and flows, but instead frames what is an astonishingly imaginative offering, the second from the hip-hop duo, who combine this spoken-word lyricism with heavy beats.

Pip’s beat-led polemics are at the beating heart of the Logic of Chance, weaving imaginative tales and themes into the music, and shining a bright light on the ills of British society.

Pip - real name David Meads - is one half of this eclectic and exciting duo who struck gold with their first writing collaboration, Thou Shalt Always Kill, a tongue stuck firmly in cheek satirical rant on modern culture. The song struck a chord with radio listeners, and was a smash, but the duo resisted the pressure that inevitably came with such early success, signing with Sunday Best, the label founded by Radio 1 DJ Rob da Bank.

“Dan and I had known each other for ages, but not musically. Thou Shalt was the first song we wrote together,” explains Pip, speaking from his Essex home.

“There was a lot of pressure to get an album out a month or two after that - but we spent over a year working on it. We had a lot of interest from big labels at the time, and we didn't go that way, which feels right now. I think if we had gone with a major, who knows if we would be making a second album now, because the first album went down really well critically, and we have been pleased to tour it and meet the fanbase, but, it wasn't particularly a big chart success,” he explains.

Pip is very much at home discussing the ins and outs of the new record, which is an eye-opener. He doesn’t shy away from the themes present on The Logic of Chance; much like his lyrics, which are literally warts and all.

On lead single Get Better he implores the disaffected youth of Britain to try and change the aimless direction of their life; on Great Britain, he rampages his way through issues around knife-crime statistics.

“There are two or three tracks on this album that are kind of along that kind of line - (focusing) more directly on problems in society,” he explains.

"Generally I always write about society, but different elements of it, and I'll often weave it into a story. “But there was a kind of urgency to be more direct about these things on this album - we should be looking at why they are carrying knives and getting into trouble or getting coked up on a Monday night down in the pub. We need to focus on giving them more options and other things to be passionate about.

“In a way some people will feel the songs are too preachy, but we will get a lot of people who these songs have really meant something to and hit home, and that is more important. The subjects I choose to write about, I will happily put myself up as a target, for those who don't agree, if that is what I have to do to get through to those people it is helping and making a difference to. I am happy to take that hit,” he adds.

Amazingly for such a well-together duo, who seem to spar and feed from each other’s energy both on record and when they play live, the writing of these songs is done individually.

“We rarely actually sit down together with a track and work on it - it is better if we allow each other the space and the time to develop the track, rather than have one of us peering over the other's shoulder,” explains Pip.

“When Dan sends me a load of beats, I'll naturally jump on the ones that sound like will fit something I have already written - that is how we work.”

Regardless of how they record, this a winning combination - the acerbic wit and master wordplay of Pip, matched by the dancey-grimey, zeitgeist-inducing beats of Dan.

“For me it is a development from the last album, it feels like Dan and I have got to know each other's ways and techniques a lot more and we have both developed a fair bit - and yeah, it feels like a really nice progression,” says Pip simply.

“It shows slightly that a lot of it was written on the road, because there are a few more banging, up tempo tracks, but there is still more chilled out points and reflective areas, but there are more ones that go across amazingly live, so it feels really good,” he adds.

Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip play in Dolan’s Warehouse on Friday, April 23.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble in Dolan's Warehouse tonight!

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble play in Dolan's Warehouse this fine Tuesday evening - they will also perform at lunchtime in Java's in UL at 1pm and appear on Spin Talk in and around 2.15 (that's good going). For more see here.

NO CONTEST this week, those funk-soul, jazz and bass hounds from Chicago, the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, are coming back to town this Tuesday and it is officially the gig of the week, if not the month, or even year.

Almost regular visitors to Limerick at this stage, the nine piece brass explosion of HBE most recently played a storming gig in Trinity Rooms last October, but since that superb evening of adrenaline-fuelled jazz magic, Barack Obama’s favourite band have recorded with Gorillaz on their superb new album Plastic Beach, and are visiting Limerick before they head off on a worldwide tour with Damon Albarn’s not-so-cartooney band.

The Hypnotic Brass are dashing around Ireland this April to promote their forthcoming Heritage EP - recorded for Choice Cuts late last year - which is coming out in advance of their first official studio length album in May, coming out on Albarn’s Honest Jon’s record label.

All sons of legendary Chicago jazz trumpeter and Sun Ra Arkestra founder member Kelan Phil Cohran, plus drummer Christopher Anderson, HBE supported and played with Blur at Hyde Park last year, as well as Glastonbury and Electric Picnic, and to see these musicians perform live is to be literally hypnotised, an aura of telepathy surrounding them.

The last time they were in town, Gabriel Hubert - aka ‘Hudah’ - chatted to On the Beat, and put down their symmetry to the fact that they grew up living and breathing music.

“We enjoy creating music - you have to have fun. That is not the main element, but it helps,” said Hudah. “The thing that makes our sound so unique is that we have been playing together since we were kids. We have been hearing these notes since before we were born. Our sound is more of a cosmic and spiritual connection than a physical connection - it almost can't be put into words, because it is bigger than our personal egos and feelings,” he added.

Get down to Dolan’s Warehouse tonight, April 13 to see for yourselves what makes these guys so special.

Fred play in Dolan's tonight

HUGELY popular Irish rock band Fred return to Dolan’s Warehouse this Friday for their first gig in these parts in many months, taking a break from recording their new LP to do so.

Last April Fred became the first ever band to play in the newly developed Thomond Park stadium when they played before the Munster and Ospreys Heineken Cup quarter-final, and, although based in Cork, proudly boast a Limerick man among their ranks - bass player Jamin O’Donovan, from Caherdavin Lawn.

While we lay claim to one of the country’s best young bands, Fred get about their business with a smile on their faces, playing some anthemic and good old rock and roll, their recent album Go God Go being one of the best releases in recent years on these shores.

Jamin took some time away from recording to speak to On the Beat this week, telling us how much he was looking forward to playing “at home” in Limerick.

“We are busy recording, at this very minute actually, I am just taking a break from it and lying down on the couch,” the affable O’Donovan told us. “At the minute we have written and recorded three songs, we kind of write and record as we go - and there are a load of ideas on the go. It seems like a progression from where we left off last time, similar but different songs - and, better, I would hope,” he laughed.

The band are “talking to a couple of labels” about releasing the follow-up to Go God Go, and are as yet unsure when it will be released, but they will be playing them for fans in Limerick this weekend.

“We will be playing the new songs in Limerick. We are not doing many gigs really, just Limerick and Dublin - we had kind of ruled it out while we were recording the album,” said Jamin. “I love playing in Limerick - it is home.. Limerick is, without a doubt, the best,” he laughed.

With a tour of the UK and Germany coming up in April, the band are gearing up to hit the road again. Go God Go is doing well for them in Canada and America, where they have a publisher, and recently missed out on a big ad campaign, albeit to a little known band called The Arcade Fire.

“We were delighted to be second placed to Arcade Fire - we are not about the money, we are just about the 'almost' glory,” laughed Jamin.

Fred play in Dolan’s Warehouse this Friday, with special guests Return to Sender and Loaded Kings.

Concern Ireland Action Haiti this Saturday

SOME OF Limerick’s finest bands and artists are to come together for a Haiti fundraiser this Saturday, showing that the recent tragedy has not been forgotten in these parts.
Action Haiti, in aid of Concern Worldwide’s relief efforts in the stricken country, are being organised by Liam Marley and local man Eric Kelleher, members both of the Aspersion Music Collective (AMC), a non-profit collective that ran shows in Limerick for several years, playing host to acts like Fugazi, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more.
The duo have declared that “after seeing the devastation caused by the Haiti earthquake, like most people, we felt compelled to do something to help in any way we could”.
Having approached friends and several Limerick based musicians, the duo have come up with Action Haiti, to raise funds to help the aid and rescue effort continuing in the poverty-stricken country.
Appearing on the night will be well-known local artists Peter Delaney, Mark O’Connor, Windings - featuring Liam Marley himself - and Mahlon Sweet Field, which features Dolan’s sound technician Sean Harrold on lap-steel guitar - rounded off with a DJ set from Viva Music Studios’ own Dan Sykes.
The organisers noted the “host of great Limerick talent who are all graciously contributing their time and effort for free” and add that they think “there will be something for everyone’s musical taste” on the night.
The Action Haiti gig takes place this Saturday in Dolan’s Warehouse at 8pm. Admission is €6, with donations encouraged.