The Friday wishlist: can someone please bring Stevie Wonder to Ireland for a gig this year?
Jim Carroll
Now that Stevie Wonder has been confirmed as a headliner for this year’s Glastonbury Festival, we’re hoping some Irish promoter will do the decent thing, pay his fee and bring him over to Ireland for a show. C’mon promoters! Steve Wonder, man.
Speaking of gigs and the summer, let’s share the contents of an interesting text from one of our many industry sources who is usually on the money: “Oxegen 2010 – Muse, Faithless, Arcade Fire, Florence & The Machine, Eminem“. As this is speculation, the usual OTR health warning applies.
Here’s Stevie back in the day…
I’d pay cash money to hear Stevie sing “Heaven Help Us All” 21 times as his setlist.
Gil for EP
one of my biggest regrets in life was not seeing stevie wonder in NYC two years ago..i was there as the first stop of my round the world trip and he happened to be playing that same weekend…i rounded up my friends we were staying with in NYC and they agreed we’d go and they’d organise the tickets….they bought a couch instead and forgot about the gig altogether….i still havent forgiven them and probably never will
i would sell my boyfriend to see Mr Wonder….
oxegen wise, i also predict Arcade Fire and Muse as two of the 3 acts to headline oxegen…but FATM? one album isnt enough to headline is it? also by the time she’s played here again in May, the word overkill comes to mind…
in place of her I’d love to see them crooked vultures play their first festival and irish appearance…the second album is due out later this year (or this summer as I recently read) yes that would do nicely, them crooked vultures on the main stage (or main tent) at oxegen 10′ please…
Meh to that line up. Would like to see AF for the new stuff but wouldnt lose sleep over missing them.
Holding out for hot chip and lc soundsystem for EP with a decent fill of smaller acts
U2, Michael Buble concerts for Aviva Stadium still doing the rounds.
Other news – Harry Crosbie has got planning permission for his Point Village square thing – basically turning the space beside the O2 into a temporary space surrounded by shipping containers for weekend markets and free gigs. A great idea because it makes use of empty space at a time when no-one is developing any property. If only someone would do something similar with that eyesore on North Wall Quay which was going to be the HQ for rogue bank Anglo Irish.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0212/breaking117.htm
I had the great good fortune to see Stevie Wonder in Brisbane a few years ago and, if it was schmaltzy in some parts (albeit small parts) it was excellent in the main. Wonder had a fantastic ensemble of skilled musicians with him and he ran the gamut from his early recording career right up to more recent offerings. I’m just re-reading my post before i submit it. Scrap the schmaltzy statement. It was a 5-star show!
Think you could add Leftfield to the Oxegen speculation……Fly Lo for EP
@6
this makes me very very very very happy…i live right beside the 02, so this will be a brilliant addition to the area….go team Crosby
u can probably scratch anyone playing at Bonaroo from being there, it’s on the same weekend
Did I miss the memo? The last time I looked “doing a Stevie Wonder” was shorthand for pissing your talent away in a blizzard of sappy, MOR shmaltz. I know lots of artists from the 60s and 70s that went AWOL are back on the road again and entertaining the crowds, but Stevie? It’ll take a lot to obliterate the memories of I Just Called To Say I Love You…
(see also Prince, Rod Stewart etc)
If Arcade Fire play Oxegen it’ll be one of the VERY earliest shows they play on the tour for their new album. They’re not doing Coachella, they weren’t announced in the first batch of bands announced for Bonnaroo this week and with neither of those booked I don’t think it’s likely that they’ll do Sasquatch in the middle of those two without doing one of the others on either side (that lineup is announced on the 16th I think). So that would bring it up to the middle of June with no gigs played.
Not saying that they won’t start the tour in Europe, just that it’d be early in their schedule if it happens.
However Billions are listing them as being available for bookings in August-September though that might mean North America specifically. Also the dude who runs the arcadefire.net fansite is normally pretty plugged in when it comes to info on them and said this week that they won’t “be touring really until August,”
fergal – for this I turn to the great J Mascis. I interviewed him years ago and he was just back from a Frank Sinatra gig somewhere and was going to see the Rolling Stones somewhere the following week. “You got to see these people when they’re still around”. Too right. I remember seeing Johnny Cash at an early evening (6pm) show in the Olympia years ago, just before Rick Rubin got involved. It was cheesy in places but it WAS Johnny Fucking Cash.
Cian – i’m hearing the sound of an agent with two festivals on the dog and bone
caroline – i think it’s awesome. What a great idea. Fair play to Harry
OC – Boonaroo is JUNE, dude
Noise – you obviously haven’t seen Prince live, fellow
Ian – see health warning above – all guesswork about festival line-ups are speculative in nature
harry’s given us over the years, Vicar Street, the new point theatre, the grand canal theatre and now this? He should be made the new lord mayor of Dublin….
see health warning above – all guesswork about festival line-ups are speculative in nature
Fair ’nuff, just don’t want people getting their hopes up on that one. A primavera rep said a while back that they tried to book them but they were told that it was too early for them and were told it’d be mid-June when they start touring again. Though that was before Billions listed them for August.
is J Mascis as impossible to interview as legend has it?
daniel – it was a trip. This was many, many years ago – back when they were doing the Rollercoaster tour with My Bloody Valentine, Blur and Jesus & Mary Chain. I interviewed all the bands for the programme and Mascis took forever. When I did get him on the phone, he’d accidentally hang up and take forever to get back on the line. I faxed him a load of trivia questions to answer and he insisted on answering them by phone and more years went by. I must dig it out sometime.
I would much prefer to see Arcade Fire at EP rather than Oxegen but a xmas date at the O2 would be a nice one
This was many, many years ago – back when they were doing the Rollercoaster tour with My Bloody Valentine, Blur and Jesus & Mary Chain.
Was this in 93? There’s an interview that Mascis and Shields did with guitar world that you can read at …
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=2113178
… which does not go all that swimingly.
Ian – 1992, I think. All four bands did a three or four night stand at the Brixton Academy and some other shows too. Will see if I can find the pieces
Was thinking the very same today after seeing Stevie duet with Esperanza Spalding. She’d be a great coup too…and some babe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMc2vK01ez4
Rollercoaster tour was 1992. I remember because I was still at school and had no chance of bunking off to London, much to my upset. A friend who was living in London at the time told me that, on the night he went, Blur were pelted with bottles. Serious sonic mismatch.
@ Jim 13
Yes i’m a big fan of seeing them while they’re still around! Being too young to have seen most of who i’ve wanted to see ( ‘i just called to say i love you’ was number 1 the day i was born) I’m making up for lost time now….
I’ve head vicious rumours locally that black eyed peas are going to be the second act to play Thomond Park this summer. they’ve gone from Rod and Elton last year, to pink and the peas this year… any chance it’ll be thrid time lucky next year and they get it right?
It’s February – let the festival speculation begin! Oxegen will have Muse, Kasabian, the usual suspects, no surprises.
Predictions/wishlist for Electric Picnic: Massive Attack, ASIWYFA, The Slits, Cluster, Midlake, Hot Chip, LCD, Joy Orbison, Floating Points, Four Tet, Gil, Flying Lotus….
Jim, did I miss the regular outporing of comments on the JNLR figures? My friendly media planner sent over their analysis of 2009 radio listenership early today, looks like there’s been a general switching off of radio stations in the evenings. In fact lots of shows in decline which probably explains the silence from the radio chiefs on the figures. Let me know if you want me to fire it on.
Fiona
Am I the only one to notice Jim wrote ‘Oxegen 2009′ and not ’2010′? Guess we’re all in twenty-ten denial!
fiona @ 22 – I dont know what the hell Blur were on the bill. They certainly didn’t match the rest of the acts for live power
Ger W @ 23 – how did those Thomond Park shows do last year?
Quint @ 24 – i’m hearing Midlake, Beach House, Low Anthem and Gil Scott-Heron for EP
Fiona – Please do! You have the address, don’t you? To be honest, I dont think the JNLRs are the same since they went quarterly – the changes don’t seem that dramatic as they were when the books came out every six months.
Seamus – that’s two of my typos you spotted today! Can you send your CV to the office and mark it “sub-editor urgently needed for OTR”?
So happy to see faithless back! One of the best live bands I’ve ever seen. Haven’t been to poxegen since 07 and I’m not sure if i’ll bother with it again, Faithless, Pearl Jam, Florence &The Machine and Muse have all been announced for this years Rock Werchter!
http://www.rockwerchter.be/en/home/
They were both well attended in fairness, i mean for the elton one they were drenched out of it with the rain. more balmy for the rod gig. I could understand the line-up last year to be honest, in my opinion they picked two fairly safe bets cetain to get a decent crowd. There is one corner of the ground low enough that you could see over the wall from across the road, i’d safely say about 80 happy people caught the whole thing for free!
Looking forward to seeing if they get more adventurous in the act choices, but i guess if they’re only entitled to two gigs a year, they’ll keep it pretty safe. But still, nice to see a bit of rock n roll coming to town, it’s good for the city!
Jim, re JNLRs. Will send it on, what’s your address? Tried making up an Irish Times one but got a bounce-back. Fiona
What’s the word on the multi-story carpark that was supposed to be part of the new Point development?
Would be very useful for us out-of-towners and sure to be a good moneyspinner.
Two bands I’m hoping to catch on tour this year are The National and Gaslight Anthem. Proper gigs though, it would be a shame if their only appearance was an afternoon or early evening slot on the festival circuit.
And get up North!
Don’t know about Mr. Crosbie and his container box village but I want that bloody big wheel he’s promised and I want it now!
Blame my love of “The Third Man” – every city should have a big wheel.
I think it’s somewhere in the midst of the Blur biography that Alex James says the proudest moment of his musical career was when Blur were louder than MBV on that tour in ’92.
Colum – louder but shite-r.
Jim,
You paying royalties to Mogwai for that?!
Jim Reid explains why Blur were on the tour here:
http://thequietus.com/articles/00529-the-jesus-and-mary-chain-interview-alan-mcgee-oasis-and-the-future
colum – no!! thanks for the link, though
If Stevie took to the Dublin stage with small band, a fullsize Moog synthesizer centre stage and no songs on the setlist past 1976 then he’s got my money
Monday wish list, can someone Rage Against The Machine if the EUR67.50 for the Dublin date of their Pension Fund Top Up World Tour is to cover the cost of the free show in London?
Apologies all, can someone ASK Rage Against the Machine.
the 67.50 is a punishment fee as the song only went to # 2 here