Great Friday This Good Friday, Where Else Would You Be?

WHILE the whole country and Limerick’s vintners were holding their breath about pubs opening on Good Friday, the folks behind Limerick’s homegrown rock spectacular, the Great Friday Festival, were quietly going about their business, preparing for their annual day-out this Friday. Great Friday has been running in one form or another for almost eight years, but in 2008, moved to an outdoor location where some of Limerick’s finest bands took to the stage to entertain the masses.
Last year hundreds of revellers turned out to see fifteen bands on the main stage and eleven DJs in the newly introduced dance tent, in a field in Murroe.
Great Friday returns this year with an even better line-up, and a “shiny new” location. The location of Great Friday is shrouded in mystery, and those interested in attending must take a bus from Arthurs Quay, which will run from 11am today.
“We have a shiny new field all ready to go, and while it is much flatter and more convenient, I would still advise people to wear wellies and to bring something to sit on,” laughed Cathy O’Flaherty, of Great Friday Event Management.
Cathy said she didn’t think that the decision to allow pubs to open on Good Friday would affect the one-day music festival.
“I might have a small impact, but I don't think it will be much,” said Cathy.
“It is still a big day out for people and we are showing the Munster match, so people can keep their options open.”
This year’s festival will feature a dozen bands, including local acts the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra and Acoustra, with Dublin band Funzo headlining, while 11 DJs, including Dan Sykes and Jamie Behan will perform.
A number of magicians, fire-breathers and graffiti artists will also showcase their talents at the festival.
“It is certainly a more eclectic line-up than last year in terms of the group of bands we have - from electronic bands to full-on rock bands, a bit of everything,” explained Cathy.
“We also have the chill out tent for acoustic acts and a dance tent for the DJs,” she added. All of the profits from the festival will go to Rape Crisis Mid West, and just 600 tickets are available, so get moving.
“The whole thing is for charity, any and all profits will go to the Rape Crisis Centre,” explained Cathy. “We only do this for the fun of it, no-one gets paid for this. We are trying to keep costs down to a minimum, so only 600 tickets are available, and quite a few have been sold. I would advise people not to wait until the day to buy tickets, as they are selling fast.”
Great Friday takes place today. For full details see www.greatfriday.ie.

Best Gigs of the Year in Limerick 2009

TEN BEST LIMERICK GIGS OF THE YEAR 2009

10 - Big Chillum with Horace Andy - Dolan’s Warehouse, June.
Horace Andy (of Massive Attack fame), Inntinn and Dom from Blood and Fire gave us a dub session extraordinaire in June

9 - Great Friday Festival - A field, Murroe. April
A wet, windy day in April saw the Great Friday Festival return to Murroe - but good spirits, a superb line-up of local bands and a heaving dance tent made up for the weather.

8 - The Wailers - Dolan’s Warehouse. February.
The first of two gigs in the Warehouse from The Wailers, fronted by sole surviving member Anton ‘Family Man’ Barrett, plus rising star Elias Atias, saw the group play the seminal ‘Exodus’ album in full.

7 - Franz Ferdinand - Dolan’s Warehouse. February.
Heavyweights Franz Ferdinand arrived in Limerick - one of only three gigs in Ireland to promote new album Tonight - and reminded us what a superb live band they are. An electric performance.

6 - Walter Mitty and the Realists album launch - Baker Place. August.
One of Limerick’s best up and coming bands launched their debut album Green Light Go in Baker Place in August, an adrenalin-fuelled energy rush of a gig that leave the audience sweaty and hugely entertained.

5 - Tweak - Sunken Foal - St. Munchin’s Church. September.
An electro-acoustic delight, as part of the week long Tweak Festival that saw several innovative performances. We look forward to next year.

4 - Elton John - Thomond Park. June.
The first concert in the newly developed €40m stadium. Rod was good, but Elton knocked our socks off.

3 - Donal Dineen - Fresh Air with Katie Kim and James Yorkston - Daghdha. December.
The final night of the Christmas Presence weekender featured Donal Dineen’s projections and Katie Kim’s heart-stopping post-rock rhythms.

2 - Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Trinity Rooms. October.
A nine-piece brass band from Chicago that play fun, soulful superb jazz and R&B that was so good they got a slot as the house band for Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz’ project. Their second gig in the Trinity Rooms was a masterclass in exciting jazz-funk, which had the room on their feet for two hours. Fingers crossed they come this way again.

1 - Lisa Hannigan - Daghdha Space, St. John’s Church. August.
The beguiling Lisa Hannigan in the finest venue in the city was quite simply a recipe for gig of the year. The band still play with a smile on their faces, and the music is still superb, plus Hannigan’s new material screams of potential. We look forward to seeing Daghdha become more established on the gig scene in 2010.

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