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!

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..

News, news and news - Halfset to play in Limerick

Some news on shows coming this way - just remember where you heard it first..

The wonderful Halfset are coming this way next week (Sat 21), on the back of their Choice Music prize nomination for the excellent album, Another Way of Being There.

They played three tracks from the delightfully electro-acoustic-dreamy album at the Choice, complete with eye-catching visuals etc. Another Way.. is possibly better than debut Dramanolog, released in 2005 - and I never thought I would find myself typing that.

But wait, there's more!! Halfset are going to be supported by Adrian Crowley (also a Choice nominee, in 2008) in a wonderful double bill - his fourth album Long Distance Swimmer is still burning a hole on my I-pod.. All of this, in the Belltable? Can't go wrong..




Some other news now, Dolan's on the Dock Road venue are to welcome Detroit rockers the Von Bondies - who have signed to Dublin label Model Citizen, home to Fight Like Apes - to the Warehouse on May 12. New album due from the garage rockers on April 10 - Love, Hate, And Then There's You - previews on their myspace.

The Warehouse are also welcome Northern punk-rockers Stiff Little Fingers (May 21), Delorentos before they break up (May 15), and Lloyd Cole (May 9) - plus the return of Fred (April 8), Bell X1, Duke Special, a Giveamanacoustic gig, The Enemy (April 19), John Mayall, Paul DiAnno (Iron Maiden frontman!! April 3), David Kitt (super new album - April 5), RSAG (April 22) and more!

We will have news soon on some other high-profile gigs happening on the May Weekend, but we have been ordered to keep stum in the meantime while the kinks are ironed out..

Going to Fight Like Apes tonight in the Warehouse - after an incendiary performance at the Choice last week, looking forward to it..

Also Messiah J and the Expert on Saturday - Recession? What recession?

The Killers to headline at Oxegen - shock horror

MCD tell me that this is "just announced", The Killers are to headline at Oxegen in July - obviously this has been one of the most well-known facts about this summer's annual trip to Punchestown.

Not much else to say but, Yawn.. Not to impressed with their choice of headliners (Kings of Leon and the increasingly poppy Killers) so far, but on closer inspection there are a number of interesting acts already announced, including:

Blur (woo-hoo!)
Bloc Party
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Elbow
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's
Pendulum
Fight Like Apes

That's a bit more like it. Obviously the current climate is having an impact on festivals scheduled to take place in the summer, seems there won't be anywhere near the same number as last year, be interesting to see who takes a punt.. Not much word on Electric Picnic yet, but news expected soon.

The Cork marquee gigs are slated to take place again this summer, with mixed line-up - I'll wait for Slane to see the Prodigy - but they play Cork on June 18, also playing are Gilbert O’Sullivan (June 20), Kasabian (June 21), Christy Moore (June 27), Josh Ritter (July 4), Rod Stewart (July 7)