Saturday, November 10, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Phantasm and other gigs
Has been a while and only typing here now after coming back from the most excellent Phantasm in Whelans so I dont type long drunk rambling emails to the presenters that I met! Was definitely the best Phantasm since I have started going- great groups, great vibe, and was great to actually chat with some of the presenters whose shows I like. Really sound people I must say and looking forward to the next one!
Now- down to business with the gigs. The only big one that I have managed to make it to recently was LCD Soundsystem in Tripod. Managed to get a ticket when they moved the venue and released some extra ones. Saw them at Electric Picnic but they were just superb in Tripod. Definitely better to see them indoors than out- had a great vibe going the whole nite and even though with the slow songs at the end you just wanted them to keep on going! Met some non-gig friends afterwards and had to put up with a shite DJ but you cant have everything!!
Have been to see some of the smaller Irish groups recently as well. Took the boys down to Tower to see Dark Room Notes. Really like their music since I saw them in Crawdaddy a good few months back. Was great to bring the boys along as well for once- great to show them what a live band is like. The oldest had a few words with the drummer which is great since he and his brother are taking drumming lessons....and I am going to get some custom earplugs made courtesy of a Dr friend!!
Also took Nadia (Russian friend) to Lauren Guillery and the Claws (along with Ojos Robos and Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters) Lauren was her usual excellent self and Nadia quite liked her as well. Wasnt really into Ojos Robos but the Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters had a great sound. Very small turnout for that gig but was still good...deaf afterwards though!
Now to Phantasm- twas Phantom Fm's 1st birthday party so the had a bash in Whelans with The Chapters, Neosupervital and The Future Kings of Spain. Great crowd tonight- some of the other Phantasms have been hit and miss depending on the groups but tonight was right on the button. The Chapters had a couple of good songs but as a whole they were just missing something. Neosupervital were quite good and love the electric 80's vibe they have. The Future Kings of Spain just rocked and nobody was going to stop them!! Defintely best group of the night and they deserve all the talk I have heard about them.
Met so many of the Phantom presenters as well- first saw Pearl downstairs (excellent Sunday morning show) and then when I wandered upstairs I saw the excellent Nadine O'Regan (Kiosk on Saturday morning-best show in my books by far) Had a good chat with her and then met Derek Byrne (Album archive and Bedrock on Sunday nights) and had a good chat with him as well. Derek actually brought me over to where most of the Phantom people were and introduced me to a few others....some of them I admit I cant remember (especially not at 3 in the morning with just a weee bit too much vodka!) but met Laura Lee Conboy (Spiral Stares on Wed night), Not so Sinister Pete (Pure morning), Louise Mannion (news), Brian Daly (something management). Must say they are all really geniune people and the enthusiasm they have in their shows really shows when you meet them.
Was then having a chat with a sexy Shelly but had to run at that stage so didnt quite last to the bitter end but close! Had a week without the boys since they were in Portugal and have to collect them from the airport tomorrow...will hopefully be sober by then! And then there is the gig tomorrow night....Idlewild in the Village! Have been listening to them for years so cant wait!! It only dawned on me today that the boys plane might be late and I will not be a happy camper if I miss this! Anyway- off to bed...know that I will post a few things on Myspace and Facebook tomorrow but at least they wont be drunken ramblings....ramblings maybe but not drunken:-)
Now- down to business with the gigs. The only big one that I have managed to make it to recently was LCD Soundsystem in Tripod. Managed to get a ticket when they moved the venue and released some extra ones. Saw them at Electric Picnic but they were just superb in Tripod. Definitely better to see them indoors than out- had a great vibe going the whole nite and even though with the slow songs at the end you just wanted them to keep on going! Met some non-gig friends afterwards and had to put up with a shite DJ but you cant have everything!!
Have been to see some of the smaller Irish groups recently as well. Took the boys down to Tower to see Dark Room Notes. Really like their music since I saw them in Crawdaddy a good few months back. Was great to bring the boys along as well for once- great to show them what a live band is like. The oldest had a few words with the drummer which is great since he and his brother are taking drumming lessons....and I am going to get some custom earplugs made courtesy of a Dr friend!!
Also took Nadia (Russian friend) to Lauren Guillery and the Claws (along with Ojos Robos and Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters) Lauren was her usual excellent self and Nadia quite liked her as well. Wasnt really into Ojos Robos but the Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters had a great sound. Very small turnout for that gig but was still good...deaf afterwards though!
Now to Phantasm- twas Phantom Fm's 1st birthday party so the had a bash in Whelans with The Chapters, Neosupervital and The Future Kings of Spain. Great crowd tonight- some of the other Phantasms have been hit and miss depending on the groups but tonight was right on the button. The Chapters had a couple of good songs but as a whole they were just missing something. Neosupervital were quite good and love the electric 80's vibe they have. The Future Kings of Spain just rocked and nobody was going to stop them!! Defintely best group of the night and they deserve all the talk I have heard about them.
Met so many of the Phantom presenters as well- first saw Pearl downstairs (excellent Sunday morning show) and then when I wandered upstairs I saw the excellent Nadine O'Regan (Kiosk on Saturday morning-best show in my books by far) Had a good chat with her and then met Derek Byrne (Album archive and Bedrock on Sunday nights) and had a good chat with him as well. Derek actually brought me over to where most of the Phantom people were and introduced me to a few others....some of them I admit I cant remember (especially not at 3 in the morning with just a weee bit too much vodka!) but met Laura Lee Conboy (Spiral Stares on Wed night), Not so Sinister Pete (Pure morning), Louise Mannion (news), Brian Daly (something management). Must say they are all really geniune people and the enthusiasm they have in their shows really shows when you meet them.
Was then having a chat with a sexy Shelly but had to run at that stage so didnt quite last to the bitter end but close! Had a week without the boys since they were in Portugal and have to collect them from the airport tomorrow...will hopefully be sober by then! And then there is the gig tomorrow night....Idlewild in the Village! Have been listening to them for years so cant wait!! It only dawned on me today that the boys plane might be late and I will not be a happy camper if I miss this! Anyway- off to bed...know that I will post a few things on Myspace and Facebook tomorrow but at least they wont be drunken ramblings....ramblings maybe but not drunken:-)
Monday, October 8, 2007
Work work work
Havent been on here in a while but work has been hell. Too many late nights and one late morning so not much spare time except to sleep. I even noticed that sometimes when I type now thatItIscomingOutLikeJavaCode which is not a good thing really! Have been to a few gigs recently which I will have to get down before I forget. Memorable ones were Lauren Guillery and the Claws and Labhaoise Brennan but more on that later. Off to bed before the witching hour for once!!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Irish newspapers
First off- I am not a fan of the Irish newspapers. There are not any papers in Ireland that I think have the information that I am looking for and have a balanced view on issues. I will occasional read the Irish Times (The Ticket) but I just do not like the style of reporting for most of the columnists. Perhaps it’s just the style of journalism in this country that I don’t like. I cannot read the Sunday Business Post either since it is really written for Irish business men and the tv/radio adds for that paper will have me reaching for the remote lighting quick so I do not have to hear it. The only positive thing about the paper is the Agenda section and in particular Nadine O’Regan who often has an informative article about differing subjects. I will also look at the Book World and the Sunday Book Review when I have the time but it could be months before I actually get a chance to read any of the books that sound interesting. I should read the New Yorker more often but I usually forget to check that one. When I was back in the States I would read the Washington Post and will occasionally read it online but with all newspapers being blocked in work that is not very often. The only paper that I will occasionally look at in work is LeMonde but it does take a bit longer for me to read so don’t do that too often.
When it comes to tabloids 'despise' is the only word that is appropriate! The journalists that write for them will sensationalize anything and it is more than just annoying. They are not just a dog with a bone but more like a rotweiller with a childs head…maybe an extreme description but one that shows my utter distaste for those papers. Unfortuntately in todays society is getting difficult to not to ignore them as I use to be able to. Every street seems to have a newspaper cart with the headlines emblazoned on it. With the proliferation of Metro and HeraldAM as well there is no way to escape it really. I will admit that I buy one tabloid on a weekly basis but that is only because the tv guide has all of the free satellite stations that I watch listed in one area. (BBC1-4,ITV1-4 and Film4) I take the guide out and the paper goes straight into recycling.
So that leaves me with reading the Economist. I have read this off and on since college and I still think it is the only publication out there that has a balanced approach to world news and affairs. With no bylines you never know who wrote the articles so any egos are out of the way and they just get on with reporting the news. It may be a bit high minded at times but I think they have an excellent coverage of European affairs and have the mix right for the socio political issues that are going on at the moment. So maybe I have pigeon-holed myself into getting my news from one source but it is somebody I can trust!
When it comes to tabloids 'despise' is the only word that is appropriate! The journalists that write for them will sensationalize anything and it is more than just annoying. They are not just a dog with a bone but more like a rotweiller with a childs head…maybe an extreme description but one that shows my utter distaste for those papers. Unfortuntately in todays society is getting difficult to not to ignore them as I use to be able to. Every street seems to have a newspaper cart with the headlines emblazoned on it. With the proliferation of Metro and HeraldAM as well there is no way to escape it really. I will admit that I buy one tabloid on a weekly basis but that is only because the tv guide has all of the free satellite stations that I watch listed in one area. (BBC1-4,ITV1-4 and Film4) I take the guide out and the paper goes straight into recycling.
So that leaves me with reading the Economist. I have read this off and on since college and I still think it is the only publication out there that has a balanced approach to world news and affairs. With no bylines you never know who wrote the articles so any egos are out of the way and they just get on with reporting the news. It may be a bit high minded at times but I think they have an excellent coverage of European affairs and have the mix right for the socio political issues that are going on at the moment. So maybe I have pigeon-holed myself into getting my news from one source but it is somebody I can trust!
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
This book should be compulsory reading for kids and young adults…and there are quite a few adults out there that could benefit as well! I do not always have perfect sentence structure but I do use capitalisation and punctuation- there is no reason why people should be forced to read through a mishmash of words in order to find out somebody’s point! All you have to do is look at an online forum (boards.ie) to see what I mean.
What is the most annoying though are the people that use text speak for everything. Some of these people are in their 40's and should know when its appropriate to use text speak and when its not. What is worrying as well though is that I have come across atrocious spelling and punctuation on dating sites by women who state that they are teachers. If that is how they portray themselves then god help their students!!
What is the most annoying though are the people that use text speak for everything. Some of these people are in their 40's and should know when its appropriate to use text speak and when its not. What is worrying as well though is that I have come across atrocious spelling and punctuation on dating sites by women who state that they are teachers. If that is how they portray themselves then god help their students!!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Electric Picnic 2007
What better way to start off blogging than with Electric Picnic- great this year!! Started off with a bang….quite literally unfortunately since a guy decided to play bumper-cars with the friends car. Straight into the back of us and then of course we went into the car in front…so details exchanged and on to the event! Some of the others were down a bit earlier than us and managed to save us an excellent camping spot in the Green campsite…close to the action but far enough away as well. Must say a big congrats to the EP organisers this year for the way the festival ran….plenty of room in the campsites, clean toilets, all music/cinema/other tents in the one central area…worked much better than last year. I also seemed to run into most of the people that I knew were going to be down there….last year I didn’t run into anybody at all so a good change! Some great people to chat with at the shows as well so there was a good vibe all around.
Will just give you a quick breakdown of what groups I saw and what I thought of them….
Friday
Hot Chip- some very catch tracks and a good way to start. Have heard them on Phantom quite a bit recently and they are a band to watch!
Manic Street Preachers- ok not really a Manic fan but went down for a listen…was just ok and crowd seemed to like the favourites they were playing.
Bjork- Fabulous! Have loved her voice since the Sugarcubes and it was excellent to see her live. I must have been beaming since this lovely blonde woman whose name I didn’t catch was chatting with me about how good it was. A few too many slow songs I thought for a festival but she got the crowd pleasers in there as well and it was a great vibe!
Modest Mouse- can’t say that I had really heard much of their music before …and I cant say that I heard any there either since I couldn’t get near the tent. Place was jammed and there does seem to have been a problem with the sound system in Crawdaddy. Something just did not sound right…like something not plugged or wired properly.
Bumped into Ennis in the middle of a field…quite literally…we were crossing paths and I let him go in front and it was only then I recognized him! No sign of the others of course and cant get them on the mobiles so off to…
LCD Soundsystem- ahhh excellent stuff! Great buzz and they had the crowd moving Can see why their Dublin shows have sold out already!! Great way to end the music Friday night.
Wizard of Oz with Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon
Ennis and I went to this and I didn’t realize what a Pink Floyd fan he was. A great way to watch the Wizard of Oz and you can see where it does correspond with the film for some tracks at least.
Saturday
Delorentos- good Irish band and some very catchy tunes. Should be hearing some great things from them!
Angus and Julia Stone- Wow! Julia has an excellent voice- captivating and mesmerizing! This was the best surprise of EP and I will have to get their CD. They have already been in Dublin unfortunately so will have to wait till they come around again.
Malajube- Excellent stuff!! Loved the tunes they played…shame that they didn’t have more time. Saw them in Crawdaddy in Dublin this year and they were excellent there as well.
Jenny Lindfors- wandered into Body and Soul to catch the end of her set. Really sweet voice although it doesn’t have the depth that I usually like. Good few songs though and ended with a Zeppelin track!
Comedy tent- Met up with Gary and the others and saw Dave McSavage. He is funny but he can be a bit extreme and definitely warped!
Architecture in Helsinki- some great music here. Hadnt heard too much of it before and was quite surprised! Same problem with the sound in Crawdaddy tent-a guy started talking to me about it so I wasn’t the only one to notice.
Ratatat- love this sort of music. Had the crowd moving and great vibe. Think that God is an Astronaut is better but still a great show!
Erasure- some great memories with them. Great tunes and place was moving! Andy Bell is getting a bit old to be dancing in a white vest top but he was having a good time so it was good to see him in great form!
Beastie Boys- excellent! Some great memories from teenage years of their first album so had to go to this. Started chatting with the lovely Helena and Annika while waiting- know that I have seen Annika before somewhere but just couldn’t remember where. They work for the same consultancy company that I have in my place so it could have been from some of the colleague’s photos. Great time with them and some great tunes although a bit slow…ended with some headbanging tracks though!
Chemical Brothers- started off good but had to leave. The place was insanely packed and I was nearly getting knocked off my feet…and I am not a little guy! No way I could get into a groove so left.
Wandered around for a bit and went to the Cinema tent for the Daft Punk film…after seeing the end of Garden State they announced there wasn’t going to be any Daft Punk since the film was still on its way. Played Blazzing Saddles which is good with a crowd!
Sunday
Fight Like Apes- great Irish band with a great post-punk sound! Lead singers voice is excellent- it was a bit worn out though and she had a problem with the last song but she got there in the end!
The Fall- great sound! Mark Smith is hilarious and the only real punk rocker there! Drunk and robbing mikes from all over the place….excellent!
Dave Couse- went down to see him since I know one of his sisters…only found out recently about his music. Caught a few songs and it was hilarious when it started to lash and he actually stopped in mid song to welcome all the people trying to stay dry!
Bat for Lashes- excellent group! Another surprise for me and the lead singer has a captivating voice. Great sound and I will have to check out their work!
Clap your hands say Yeah- some great tunes! Didn’t know much of their songs before but catchy stuff. One song had four guys drumming and all I could think of was that they would only need one if they had the drummer from Battles!
Sonic Youth- was far too slow for my liking so moved onto
Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pimp- excellent stuff! Great vibe and they had the place moving! Recognized Derek Byrne from Phantom so said a quick hello (he has an excellent show on Sunday nights at 9 so for Dublin people its on 105.2 or for the rest you can stream it from www.phantom.ie)
The Go Team- my God this one does what it says on the tin! From the moment they started they had the place moving. Infectious tunes and the only person I can think of that could resist dancing is a paraplegic! Not music that I would listen to at home but damn is it good live. Probably the best performance I saw- so energetic!
Primal Scream- Some great tunes here and the crowd were in the groove so excellent way to end the Main stage for EP!
End of the main stages so wandered around with Gary…went up to Bodytonic but didn’t stay stick around too long. Some amorous girls there so thanks for the kisses!
Went to Lost Vagueness…ok WTF is appropriate here…will need something much harder than the vodka to actually get into that. Gary showed me the picture he had taken earlier of the naked girls on stage who took tampons out of their fannies and threw them into the audience…about sums up the strangeness of that place!
Village Hall- some decent music and ran into Annie from the Facebook EP Meetup group…was suppose to meet up with the group on Friday but missed it because of the accident! Stuck around for a short bit but had to go since my legs were falling off me at that stage. Still managed to go to Body and Soul for a bit of dance music though since I was resisting the end of the weekend!
Well that’s pretty much it…jam packed weekend!! My legs are dead from all the dancing but lots of great groups and great people so looking forward to EP08!
Will just give you a quick breakdown of what groups I saw and what I thought of them….
Friday
Hot Chip- some very catch tracks and a good way to start. Have heard them on Phantom quite a bit recently and they are a band to watch!
Manic Street Preachers- ok not really a Manic fan but went down for a listen…was just ok and crowd seemed to like the favourites they were playing.
Bjork- Fabulous! Have loved her voice since the Sugarcubes and it was excellent to see her live. I must have been beaming since this lovely blonde woman whose name I didn’t catch was chatting with me about how good it was. A few too many slow songs I thought for a festival but she got the crowd pleasers in there as well and it was a great vibe!
Modest Mouse- can’t say that I had really heard much of their music before …and I cant say that I heard any there either since I couldn’t get near the tent. Place was jammed and there does seem to have been a problem with the sound system in Crawdaddy. Something just did not sound right…like something not plugged or wired properly.
Bumped into Ennis in the middle of a field…quite literally…we were crossing paths and I let him go in front and it was only then I recognized him! No sign of the others of course and cant get them on the mobiles so off to…
LCD Soundsystem- ahhh excellent stuff! Great buzz and they had the crowd moving Can see why their Dublin shows have sold out already!! Great way to end the music Friday night.
Wizard of Oz with Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon
Ennis and I went to this and I didn’t realize what a Pink Floyd fan he was. A great way to watch the Wizard of Oz and you can see where it does correspond with the film for some tracks at least.
Saturday
Delorentos- good Irish band and some very catchy tunes. Should be hearing some great things from them!
Angus and Julia Stone- Wow! Julia has an excellent voice- captivating and mesmerizing! This was the best surprise of EP and I will have to get their CD. They have already been in Dublin unfortunately so will have to wait till they come around again.
Malajube- Excellent stuff!! Loved the tunes they played…shame that they didn’t have more time. Saw them in Crawdaddy in Dublin this year and they were excellent there as well.
Jenny Lindfors- wandered into Body and Soul to catch the end of her set. Really sweet voice although it doesn’t have the depth that I usually like. Good few songs though and ended with a Zeppelin track!
Comedy tent- Met up with Gary and the others and saw Dave McSavage. He is funny but he can be a bit extreme and definitely warped!
Architecture in Helsinki- some great music here. Hadnt heard too much of it before and was quite surprised! Same problem with the sound in Crawdaddy tent-a guy started talking to me about it so I wasn’t the only one to notice.
Ratatat- love this sort of music. Had the crowd moving and great vibe. Think that God is an Astronaut is better but still a great show!
Erasure- some great memories with them. Great tunes and place was moving! Andy Bell is getting a bit old to be dancing in a white vest top but he was having a good time so it was good to see him in great form!
Beastie Boys- excellent! Some great memories from teenage years of their first album so had to go to this. Started chatting with the lovely Helena and Annika while waiting- know that I have seen Annika before somewhere but just couldn’t remember where. They work for the same consultancy company that I have in my place so it could have been from some of the colleague’s photos. Great time with them and some great tunes although a bit slow…ended with some headbanging tracks though!
Chemical Brothers- started off good but had to leave. The place was insanely packed and I was nearly getting knocked off my feet…and I am not a little guy! No way I could get into a groove so left.
Wandered around for a bit and went to the Cinema tent for the Daft Punk film…after seeing the end of Garden State they announced there wasn’t going to be any Daft Punk since the film was still on its way. Played Blazzing Saddles which is good with a crowd!
Sunday
Fight Like Apes- great Irish band with a great post-punk sound! Lead singers voice is excellent- it was a bit worn out though and she had a problem with the last song but she got there in the end!
The Fall- great sound! Mark Smith is hilarious and the only real punk rocker there! Drunk and robbing mikes from all over the place….excellent!
Dave Couse- went down to see him since I know one of his sisters…only found out recently about his music. Caught a few songs and it was hilarious when it started to lash and he actually stopped in mid song to welcome all the people trying to stay dry!
Bat for Lashes- excellent group! Another surprise for me and the lead singer has a captivating voice. Great sound and I will have to check out their work!
Clap your hands say Yeah- some great tunes! Didn’t know much of their songs before but catchy stuff. One song had four guys drumming and all I could think of was that they would only need one if they had the drummer from Battles!
Sonic Youth- was far too slow for my liking so moved onto
Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pimp- excellent stuff! Great vibe and they had the place moving! Recognized Derek Byrne from Phantom so said a quick hello (he has an excellent show on Sunday nights at 9 so for Dublin people its on 105.2 or for the rest you can stream it from www.phantom.ie)
The Go Team- my God this one does what it says on the tin! From the moment they started they had the place moving. Infectious tunes and the only person I can think of that could resist dancing is a paraplegic! Not music that I would listen to at home but damn is it good live. Probably the best performance I saw- so energetic!
Primal Scream- Some great tunes here and the crowd were in the groove so excellent way to end the Main stage for EP!
End of the main stages so wandered around with Gary…went up to Bodytonic but didn’t stay stick around too long. Some amorous girls there so thanks for the kisses!
Went to Lost Vagueness…ok WTF is appropriate here…will need something much harder than the vodka to actually get into that. Gary showed me the picture he had taken earlier of the naked girls on stage who took tampons out of their fannies and threw them into the audience…about sums up the strangeness of that place!
Village Hall- some decent music and ran into Annie from the Facebook EP Meetup group…was suppose to meet up with the group on Friday but missed it because of the accident! Stuck around for a short bit but had to go since my legs were falling off me at that stage. Still managed to go to Body and Soul for a bit of dance music though since I was resisting the end of the weekend!
Well that’s pretty much it…jam packed weekend!! My legs are dead from all the dancing but lots of great groups and great people so looking forward to EP08!
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