Leftfield, Dublin, December
Leftfield’s third trip to Ireland in six months sees them playing Dublin’s Tripod on December 11. Tickets at €38.50 a pop (including booking fees, not including Ticketmaster charges) go on sale next Monday.
On The Record »
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New Music – The Danger Is, Martina Stafford, Osull
The latest New Music selections from the On The Record column in tomorrow’s edition of The Ticket. All tips for future New Music picks welcome below.
Striking, classic indie-pop with alluring ties and bows from Niamh Farrell and co, who’ve been honing their sound with low-key appearances at Indiependence and the Temple House festival. Debut EP ready to roll
Wexford-born, Cork-based singer with a magnificent raspy blues holler. Currently collaborating with Cork guitarist Jimmy Hoey on an album, Stafford already sounds like the real deal. Memo to RTE Cork radioheads John Creedon and Lilian Smith: get her in for a session pronto.
Osull is Cork-based electronic twiddler Sean O’Sullivan and we’re really digging his brilliant full-bodied beeping odyssey “Verbs”, now available for free download via Bandcamp.
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Superstar DJs? They’re still going
There’s no escaping their mugs on the billboards on the road into Ibiza Town from the airport. While some may think that the golden age of Ibiza superclubs and DJs larging it afterwards in the lovely villas and fincas dotted around the island ended a long time ago, the billboards and stories from the island tell another tale. The superstar DJs are still going strong here at least.
It’s coming to the end of what has been a very good season so the current promotional push is all about the final parties as venues prepare to sweep the floors, count the cash and close their doors for another year. From David Guetta to Pete Tong, the DJs and clubs attempt to flog their wares as you pass by. Even Carl Cox is still getting the gigs out here and banging ‘em out.
But that’s Ibiza. Elsewhere, there may be still a market for the lads who were larger than life characters through the last few decades – Sasha is coming to town for a gig at Tripod this weekend, for instance – but, like the Irish economy this morning, it’s a much different powerhouse to the one it once was.
Certainly, anyone who has read Dom Phillips’ “Superstar DJs Here We Go” book on the phenomenon of British superstar DJs and clubs who held sway during the 1990s and early years of the Noughties will be under no illusions as to who, what, why and how of that rise and fall.
Apart from tracking down once ubiquitous club draws like Jon Pleased Wimmin, Jeremy Healy, Danny Rampling and co to see where they are now (some very sad stories about what happened to some folks when the party finally ended and they had to go home), Phillips also looks at how the whole scene which had spung up around these DJs played itself out.
What had begun with glammy nights out in unlikely and down-at-heel northern English towns eventually just got too greedy, too coked-up and too self-important for its own good. Millennium Eve was the tipping point and it was all downhill after that. The outlandish and ambitious projects and events (like the Home nightclub in the middle of London’s Leicester Square tourist trap) ended in tears. By 2003, that particular acid house revolution had come to an end. There may be some people pining for it – Phillips compares the Facebook groups and online nostalgia which has sprung up around nights like Renaissance and Wobble to the Northern Soul scene – but the music and the clubs have moved on.
The smarter DJs also moved on. The premier league players headed to foreign parts and found new lucrative circuits for themselves with Sasha and Paul Oakenfold, for instance, finding a lot of love for themselves in the Americas. A new generation of superstar DJs came to the fore – Phillips talks about how David Guetta in particular is more like a rock icon with mainstream appeal than the characters of old – but it’s now just part of the fabric instead of being the main focus as it once was. Yes, you could stick on Guetta or Tiesto in the O2 or Odyssey and they’d probably do better business than any number of big acts you care to mention, but the notion of a fellow who spins records as a game-changer is well and truly over.
And yes, there are still superclubs in existence – Una Mullally had a good piece in the Tribune recently on the first year of The Wright Venue, the superclub in the middle of a north county Dublin retail park – but they’re no longer the big beasts of the entertainment jungle that they once were. A new generation of clubbers wanted something else from 2003 onwards and that meant a shift to smaller spaces, more interesting nights and more variety. They also got their kicks from live music and festivals leading to a huge upward spike in both the number of events and the audiences they attracted. Maybe, just maybe, a future generation will wish to return to the glitz and ritz of the superclub era. If that’s the case, all they’ll have to do is dust down the infrastructure.
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Paying tribute to Derek Nally
The sudden death of promoter, manager and booker Derek Nally in July came as a huge shock to many in the Irish live music industry and a number of tribute shows have been planned for Dublin venues in the coming weeks.
The first, Songs for Derek, takes place at the Grand Social (the venue formerly known as Pravda on Lower Liffey Street) this Saturday (October 2). Originally scheduled for Vicar Street, it will feature live sets from Bell X1 (acoustic), Howe Gelb, Mundy, Richie Egan (Jape/The Redneck Manifesto/Vision Air), James Vincent McMorrow, Freddie White, The Walls, Tír na nÓg and David Kitt. Doors open at 8pm, admission is €20 and all proceeds go the Nally family.
The following Saturday (October 9), the Tribute to Derek Nally show will take place at Whelan’s, the venue he booked for many years. This show will star Ham Sandwich, Blink, The Ganhis, Pugwash, Bronagh Gallagher and many more. Tickets are €20 and again, all proceeds will be donated to the Nally family.
Other tribute shows will include The Frames (at Whelan’s on December 15) and Christy Moore (Whelan’s on October 19).
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The Far Side – playlist for September 28 – now with stream
As played on The Far Side, Phantom 105.2, Tuesday September 28, 10pm-midnight
Listen Again to The Far Side: you can listen back to a stream of last night’s show here. You can also hear the shows presented by James Byrne (Sep 14) and Derek Byrne (Sep 21) while I was away at that link.
Brassroots “Good Life” (Self release)
Copacabana Club “Just Do It” (Self release)
Deerhunter “Revival” (4AD)
Teeth of the Sea “Cities Of Gold” (Rocket Recordings)
Divorce “Amuse Bouche” (Merok)
Fujiya & Miyagi “16 Shades Of Black & Blue” (Full Time Hobby)
Osull “Verbs” (Self release)
NDF “Since We Last Met (Ricardo Villalobos edit)” (DFA)
We Love “Hide Me” (BPitch Control)
LCD Soundsystem “I Can Change (Tiga remix)” (DFA)
Matias Aguayo “Menta Latte (Prins Thomas remix)” (Kompakt)
Cap Pas Cap “Mirrors” (Skinny Wolves)
Glasser “Glad (Delorean remix)” (True Panther Sounds)
DJ Shadow “Def Surrounds Us” (Island)
Kanye West “So Appalled” (G.O.O.D)
Mayer Hawthorne “No Strings” (Stones Throw)
Young Holt Unlimited “Soulful Strut” (Brunswick)
Laura Lee “Crumbs Off the Table” (Hot Wax)
Floating Points Ensemble “Almost In Profile” (Ninja Tune)
Low Sea “Some Kind Of Strange” (Lefse)
Shimmering Stars “I’m Gonna Try” (Almost Musique)
Twin Shadow “Forget” (Terrible)
Warpaint “Ashes to Ashes” (Manimal Vinyl)
Active Child “I’m In Your Church At Night” (Merok)
Antony & The Johnsons/Bjork “Flétta” (Rough Trade)
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Yakking and gigging at Hard Working Class Heroes 2010
OTR will be doing a spot of panel-moderating and gig-hosting at the annual Hard Working Class Heroes festival in Dublin next month.
The discussion panels, all on the theme of Welcome to the Future, will take place at the Button Factory (Temple Bar, Dublin 2) on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 October.
The one which may be of most interest to OTR readers is the Futuregazing panel on Saturday afternoon at 3.30pm. We’ve invited a number of interested parties to come along and talk about what they think the music business will look like in 2020. Our futuregazers with the crystal balls are Mumblin’ Deaf Ro, Sean Donegan (IMRO), Ian Wilson (2fm) and Alison Curtis (Today FM).
HWCH is also all about the gigs and there’s an On the Record versus Nialler9 night on Saturday at the Workman’s Club (Wellington Quay, Dublin 2) featuring We Are Losers, Squarehead, Jennifer Evans, Strait Laces, Trophy Boyfriend and The Cast of Cheers.
Full information on all HWCH activities here with the gigs’ schedule for the weekend here.
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Going up and down the polls
So what have we learned from the latest batch of opinion polls? It depends, of course, on which set of statistics you put your faith in and you will, of course, put your faith in the ones which show you and your party in the best possible light. For example, if you’re a Labour Party hack, you’ll have been getting onto Louis Copeland about a fitting for a new suit after the Millward Brown Lansdowne poll for TV3 had your party at a massive 35 per cent, way ahead of everyone else. If you’re a Green Party fan (and there are still a few of them out there), you were clapping your hands and going “yipee” at the Red C poll in the Sunday Business Post at the weekend which gave your party three per cent support, a rise of one percentage point on the previous poll.
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The post-holiday, start-of-the-week, strap-yourself-in-baby re-up
Say hello to NEW PHOBIΔ, OTR’s chillwitchwave band coming to a venue near you once we’ve learned how to play the synth. Support acts wanted.
DJ Shadow, on the other hand, is really coming soon to a venue near you. He plays three Irish shows this week and, going on the evidence of his Dubin show back in July, those who go to see him at Cork’s Savoy on Thursday, Dublin’s Tripod on Friday and Galway’s Radisson on Saturday are in for a sound and visual extravaganza. Also, as part of this year’s Offset festival, which stars and showcases world-class creatives in design, illustration, fashion, photography, publishing, advertising and animation, I’ll be conducting a public interview with Shadow at the Grand Canal Theatre on Friday. Full details on this and all other Offset events, workshops, seminars and panels here.
Very good Banter last week starring Paul Brown (Earagail Arts Festival) and Cillian Stewart (Castle Palooza) talking about the ins and outs of running an Irish festival. A capacity audience, including people contemplating running festivals and those already in the game, had plenty of questions about promotion, marketing and sponsorship for the pair afterwards – it’s great to see that there’s quite a few people willing to give the festival promotion business a go and are optimistic about what they’re got planned despite the gloom and doom elsewhere. If you missed it, keep an eye on the Banter site for the soon-come podcast. Next Banter is War Stories: Tall Tales From the Battlefields Of Irish Clubland and that happens on October 20. You won’t want to miss this particular show-and-tell.
Bruce Springsteen and Shane Hegarty do lunch. Really looking forward to hearing the “lost” songs from “Darkness On the Edge of Town” when “The Promise” lands in November.
Expect to see a lot of these acts on those Sound of 2011 lists comingatcha in three months’ time. Meanwhile, Larry Ryan asks if the new band cycle has become just too damn fast for all involved. And, with MP3 sales in the United States now flatlining, is there anyone who is going to actually puchase the tunes these bands produce?
On the other hand, people are buying tickets to see The Script like there’s no tomorrow. Seeing as the band sold 60,000 tickets for their Irish gigs in March in less than an hour last Friday, I think we can expect to see them headlining the Aviva Stadium or Croke Park next summer.
Very good post by Helienne Lindvall on how expecting some musicians to become social networking busybees just ain’t going to fly when some of them have enough problems writing new songs.
Abba take on the Danish right-wingers. There could be a musical in this.
Warren Buffett’s milkshake brings Jay-Z to his yard in Nebraska. Man, this sort of thing just never happens in Eddie Rocket’s these days.
Latest Ragged Words Presents hop is at the Twisted Pepper (Middle Abbey St., Dublin 1) this Saturday with the Brainlove Records tour pulling up the bumper and offloading Napoleon IIIrd, Pagan Wanderer Lu, Stairs
To Korea and Mat Riviere. More info here.Head west young man (or woman): the Westpost Arts Festival kicks back its heels in Co Mayo from October 1 to 10 with gigs from Fionn Regan, Mick Flannery, Kormac’s Big Band, The 4 of Us (well, two of ‘em so The 2 of Us) and loads more. Full info here.
The revolution will not be a parliamentary one: the Swedish Pirate Party didn’t quite storm the barricades at the country’s general election winning less than one per cent of the overall vote and thus securing zero seats. Sweden was, after all, the country which returned a Pirate Party MEP in last year’s European elections, something which eluded Silvio and friends (though they went rummaging in the bins for votes nonetheless). Seeing as they needed just four per cent of the vote to win a domestic seat, considerably less than the seven per cent won last year, it seems the the Swedes decided that there’s more to politics than pirates thumbing their nose at copyright czars and said no.
World premiere alert: “That the Night Come” is a new Yeats-inspired collection of songs by Donnacha Dennehy which were commissioned by American soprano Dawn Upshaw, who will perform them with the Crash Ensemble at the Great Hall, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin 8 next Saturday. The night will also feature new music from Argentina’s Osvaldo Golijov performed by Upshaw, the Crash Ensemble doing Zorn and Iarla O’Lionáird performing Dennehy’s “Grá agus Bás”. Next on the Crash Ensemble agenda: recording both of Dennehy’s peices for an album for Nonesuch due in 2011. More info here.
How to stop piracy (part 2,344): release your new music on 78rpm discs. Elvis Costello plans to stick out four songs from his forthcoming album “National Ransom” on a pair of 78s. Best of luck playing that on your iPad, dude.4 out of 5: why so many music critics turn in positive album reviews. Warning: piece may cause you to scratch your head in confusion with lines like “online critics are perhaps guilty, extending the long tail of hipsterdom into impenetrably esoteric ends, allowing no gateway for the ignorant or uninitiated to fully enjoy a piece of music writing without feeling like they’re being talked down to.” On second thoughts, make that 3 out of 5.
It doesn’t look as if there are too many takers willing to put their hands in the pocket to help Princess Superstar fund her next album. Would any OTR readers pay $10,000 for a “private burlesque strip-tease”?
And finally…. it’s July 1983, it’s New York City and it’s New Order live onstage. Enjoy.
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Janelle Monae, Dublin, December
The fabulous Janelle Monae (who stole the show at the Electric Picnic earlier this month) plays Dublin’s Tripod on December 19. Tickets for the show, which go on sale on Friday, are €28 and €32 (including booking fees, but not including Ticketmaster fees). It’s going to be a hot one.
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The 50 best British music acts right now
In this week’s edition of The Ticket, we count down the 50 best British music acts right now.
The list was compiled by Lauren Murphy and myself. We started with three simple rules, more or less the same rules when we did this with Irish acts in April 2009: (1) all solo acts had to have been born in Britain (eg England, Scotland or Wales) and/or hold British passports, (2) half or more of bands had to have been born in Britain and/or hold British passports and (3) all acts had to have recorded or released music or played a gig since January 2009. The latter condition ensures we’re dealing with current acts and not ones who haven’t produced a tune of note since the 1980s.
Both of us then drew up an individual list of 50 acts. The crossover names who were on both lists automatically made the chart and this lead to a polite heated debate one afternoon about the pecking order and the other acts who would make the cut. We were in firm agreement about the acts in the Top 10, buy beyond that, the cattle-trading began in earnest. There was huffing, there was puffing, there was childish displays of pique, there were stoney silences, there was a threatened walkout and that was just me when it came to Radiohead.
So here you have it, a list of the 50 British acts which Lauren and myself reckon are a good indication of the state of the musical nation across the Irish Sea. There are established acts and there are brand new acts, everything from new dubstep to old-fashioned rock, stuff you know and stuff you don’t know.
As to the reason why we compiled this list in the first place: whether you like it or not, British musical sounds and acts continue to have a huge influence via the music we hear and experience all the time over here. Yes, we know Irish music can compete at every level with what’s on this list – as Lauren notes in the piece, “It would have been incredibly easy to draw up a similar list of Irish acts that are fully capable of going head-to-head and toe-to-toe with their British peers”. But we did that back in 2009 so it’s the Brits’ turn this time around.
Now, over to you. What acts did we overlook? What acts should not be on this list? You know the score. We’re all ears.
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This week in The Ticket – and your plugs
The Best 50 British Bands Right Now: the fuming is about to commence here.
Ben Affleck: after the success of Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck talks about The Town, another crime drama set amongst the Irish Americans of south Boston.
Pop Corner: Ailbhe Malone is so on trend
Plus: reviews of music releases from David Bowie (CD of the Week slot for the reissue of “Station to Station”), Kill Krinkle Club, Tricky, Hogan, Aeroplane, Aeromodeller, CEO, Devon Sproule, Ben Folds and more, plus new movies on the block including The Hole 3D, Eat Pray Love, Enter the Void, Frozen, The Town, World’s Greatest Dad and Buried.
All this and more in The Ticket, in print, online and the best of The Ticket on the app.
The OTR plugs service is now open for business. Please feel free to plug and recommend stuff away to your heart’s content, but remember some simple rules. Declare an interest where one should be declared. Plugs are accepted on the whim of OTR and may be edited for length/clarity/common sense. Plugs which mention a commercial sponsor are really ads and will probably not be published in this slot. Plugs which plug the same stuff every week will also be deleted – if people ain’t interested by now, you should really get the message. There are going to be a few letters to the editor this week.
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Music docs on the big screen
Like the best music, the best music documentaries are often the ones you have to go searching for.
Cheap technology means any doofus with a video camera can put together a documentary featuring a band talking blandly about their music. But it’s the film-makers who are prepared to go beyond the cliches and platitudes who usually produce the most abiding images.
Often it’s a case that the film-maker finds a story which he or she didn’t even realise was going to be told when they switched their camera on. Sam Jones’ excellent I Am Trying to Break Your Heart on Wilco’s trials and tribulations during the making of their “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” album is a fine example of this kind of lucky break.
Then, there are documentaries on lesser-known or overlooked acts which come up trumps. Millions may have heard Motown house band The Funk Brothers doing their thing on dozens of hit singles, but few knew their story until Paul Justman put the musicians on tape in Standing In the Shadows of Motown.
New Irish enterprise Fresh & Noble will be screening a slew of lesser known music docs in the next few weeks in Dublin and Cork.
They’re showing Still Bill, Damani Baker and Alex Vlack’s documentary on soulman Bill Withers, at Dublin’s Sugar Club next Thursday (September 30). Then, it’s Nina Simone: La Légende at Cork’s Pavilion on October 25 during the city’s jazz festival.
Other documentaries to be screened in the series at future dates include Favela On Blast, Diplo’s film about his Brazilian musical adventures, and Dub Echoes, Bruno Natal and his crew tracing the basslines from Jamaica to all points on the globe.
Further information on the screenings here.
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New Music – Copacabana Club, The Casanova Wave, Teeth of the Sea
The latest New Music selections from the On The Record column in The Ticket. All tips for future New Music picks welcome below.
Curibita in southern Brazil is where to go to find Copacabana Club and their sunnysideup tropical indie grooves. “Just Do It” is the tune causing most of the fuss. They are not – repeat, not – the new CSS.
Waterford lad Brian McCartan’s one-man band is all about enticing, playful and bright sounds and tunes. His five-track debut EP, available here, will have you humming and wanting more.
Teeth of the Sea
Menacing, mesmerising, fuzzy space-rock from a band who spent last New Year’s Eve performing the soundtrack to Flash Gordon in full costume. Their “Hypnoticon EP” provides a taste of their wares until some Irish promoter decides to lose some money on a live show. -
#Now Playing – this week’s top tunes
This week’s essential tunes on the OTR jukebox. Please feel free to add your own selections below.
Halves “It Goes, It Goes (Forever & Ever)” (Hateistheenemy)
This long overdue debut album is every bit as impressive, spectral, bold and audacious as their live shows can be on occasions.
Mor Thiam “Dini Safarrar” (Rite)
Hypnotic, compulsive Afrojazz grooves recorded in 1973 in St Louis by the Senegalese drummer (and Akon’s dad).
DJ Shadow “Def Surrounds Us” (Island/The New Futility)
New adventures in stereophonic sound from the forthcoming album from Josh Davis with snare-drums to hook you up to the moon.
Mayer Hawthorne “No Strings” (Stones Throw)
More glorious retro-soul from the Michigan doo-wop throwback for those already digging the “A Strange Arrangement” album. Download the song for free here.
Rolling Stones “I Just Want To See His Face” (Rolling Stones Records)
Time once more to hit “Exile on Main Street” and don’t forget about this fascinating sliver of swamp-blues and gospel mysticism.
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The Best of British – the 50 Best British Acts Right Now
Oh yes, it’s another one of these list yokes which I know you OTR readers love so much.
In The Ticket tomorrow, we will be counting down the 50 Best British Acts Right Now. The list was compiled by Lauren Murphy and myself and featured a couple of heated exchanges and some magnanimous concessions on both sides. I think it’s a cracking list, but I would say that, wouldn’t I?
Anyway, as happened when we ran down the Best Irish Acts Right Now last year, there will be fun, games and fuming all round tomorrow so let’s get a head start on that by asking you, the readers of this blog, who you think will be at number one.
(You can also use this post to tell me what I’ve missed since I was last in these parts. And yeah, I know all about our glorious leader and his grand night out)
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We apologise for this interruption in regular programming
OTR has gone off-grid until Friday September 24. This may or may not lead to a huge spike in productivity in various sectors of the Irish economy.
You can use this post to talk to your fellow OTR readers, discuss live shows, compare ticket prices and generally shoot the breeze.
The only man to ever successfully submit an expenses’ claim to The Irish Times for vodka jellies, Conor Pope, will be updating comments. The last time he was given the keys to the OTR blog, he upset a lot of Pixies’ fans. He may do the same again so watch this space.
We return on September 24 with one hell of a post. In fact, we’re already rubbing our hands with glee in anticipation of the fun and games which are going to ensue.
Be good. And I really hope the IMF haven’t taken over the gaff by the time I get back.
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Electric Picnic’s seven year itch
This summer saw the two biggest festivals in the country celebrate seven years on the go.
Both Oxegen and Electric Picnic kicked off in 2004 and have experienced many ups and downs since then.
While there has been a lot of analysis already done about how Oxegen has developed, it’s timely to look at the Electric Picnic for signs of the seven year itch now that the masses have left Stradbally again.
Aside from 2009’s change in ownership which saw Live Nation’s Festival Republic come onboard, Electric Picnic’s biggest transformation has been a rejigging and rebranding to become a “music and arts” festival.
Given the huge competition for headliners – and the fact that many Picnic targets have completed their summer tours by early September – the festival had little choice but to embrace the arts.
While there’s annual grumbling from many about the lack of heavyweight names and the emphasis on non-musical fare, it’s plain to see that the arts and family-friendly additions have worked. After all, even though the festival itself didn’t sell out, the family tickets sold out in advance again this year.
Yet there is a sense that some of the arts programming is superfluous to requirements. There was little attention paid to the theatre shows at the Picnic, for example. until a brouhaha broke out in the week of the festival about cancellations. Similarly, a lot of events in the Mindfield area seemed poorly attended last weekend compared to previous years.
By contrast, the Picnic had a fantastic musical year with festival-goers wowing about Janelle Monae, Villagers, Fever Ray, The National, PiL and many others. When all is said and done, the music remains the biggest attraction.
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#Now Playing – this week’s top tunes
This week’s essential tunes on the OTR jukebox. Please feel free to add your own selections below.
Gold Panda “Lucky Shiner” (NoTown)
Named after his grandmother, “Lucky Shiner” catches the rising producer’s warm, hazy, evocative soundscapes at their best. Hear the album in full here.
Brassroots “Good Life” (Self release)
An international cadre of London-based hot brass players hit the back of the net with this brilliant – and unlikely – take on the Inner City house hit.
Antony Hegarty & Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra “Nessun Dorma” (Lavazza)
Antony channels his inner opera singer for an Italian coffee company and makes a damn good fist of it. Download the song for free here.
Deerhunter “Halcyon Digest” (4AD)
Bradford Cox and friends take a giant leap forward in song quality with a very strong, confident fourth album.
The Dead Weather “Horehound” (Third Man)
“An amazing piece of work. I really like what Jack White is doing” (as selected by Paolo Nutini)
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This week in The Ticket – and your plugs
Joanna Newsom: ahead of her date in Dublin on September 14, indie rock’s most harpiest talks to Sinéad Gleeson about “Have One On Me” and other matters.
The Script: They’re back! The million-selling Dublin rock/pop band tell Brian Boyd why they don’t give a toss about credibility.
Bands On Screen: ahead of the release of The Runaways, Anna Carey takes a closer look at some of the best-known depictions of rock’n'roll life on the silver screen and sees if they measure up to reality.
Plus: reviews of music releases from Robert Plant (CD of the Week slot for “Band Of Joy”), Solar Bears, The Script, Blonde Redhead, Grinderman, Eleanor McEvoy, The Jolly Boys, “Ninja Tune XX”, “The Runaways” and more, plus new movies on the block including Cyrus, Swansong: The Occi Byrne Story, Going the Distance, The Runaways, My Son, My Son, What Have you Done?, Resident Evil: Afterlife and Tamara Drewe.
All this and more in The Ticket, in print, online and the best of The Ticket on the app.
The OTR plugs service is now open for business. Please feel free to plug and recommend stuff away to your heart’s content, but remember some simple rules. Declare an interest where one should be declared. Plugs are accepted on the whim of OTR and may be edited for length/clarity/common sense. Plugs which mention a commercial sponsor are really ads and will probably not be published in this slot. Plugs which plug the same stuff every week will also be deleted – if people ain’t interested by now, you should really get the message. Dublin airport please and don’t spare the horses.
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KRS One cancels Dublin show (again)
Per promoters POD, KRS One’s upcoming Dublin show has been cancelled due to “Puretone-related madness”. Your guess is as good as mine as to what that means, but it sure beats “unforeseen circumstances”.
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New Music – Idiot Glee, Kid Karate, Alice Gold
The latest New Music selections from the On The Record column in The Ticket. All tips for future New Music picks welcome below.
Twentysomething Kentucky musician and former Mormon James Friley’s lush mix of doo-wop, folk and pop is about to start appearing on a lot of radars thanks to the “All Packed Up” single.
Dublin two-piece Kevin Breen and Steven Gannon make jagged, punky dance music which will make you want to throw yourself around a venue with abandon. Debut EP “Heart” coming soon or catch them at Hard Working Class Heroes in Dublin next month
Expect to see Ms Gold and her exotic back-story involving Winnebagos and road-trips on every Tip for 2011 list in the coming months. Debut single “Orbiter” for Pure Groove is a slam-dunk helping of Ladyhawke-like power-pop.
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Farewell to Road Records – and hello to Rough Trade?
It’s the final hurrah for one of Dublin best loved record stores tomorrow night with the Road Records Farewell Party at the Button Factory starring The Redneck Manifesto, Female Hercules, Legion Of Two, Patrick Kelleher and his Cold Dead Hands, Cian Nugent and Road Records’ DJs. It’s on at the Button Factory, doors open at 8pm and admission is €16.
Meanwhile, in other retail news, the folks at London’s Rough Trade store are conducting an online poll about where they should locate their next store. The out-and-out leading city at the time of writing? Surprise, surprise, it’s Dublin.
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Titus Andronicus and others for Harmonic series in Dublin
The upcoming Harmonic series in the big smoke has added a couple of more acts to the bill including Titus Andronicus, Willard Grant Conspiracy, The Acorn, Polvo and Pete Molinari.
Dates and venues are as follows: the awesome Titus Andronicus play Whelan’s on November 27, Willard Grant Conspiracy are at that venue on November 3, The Acorn are at the Workman’s Club on November 27, Polvo are at that venue on October 29 and Pete Molinari plays Dublin’s newest venue on October 19.
Other gigs in the Harmonic series include Peter Broderick (Workman’s Club, Oct 21), Yann Tiersen (The Village, Oct 23), Dan Le Sac v Scroobius Pip (The Workman’s Club, Nov 5), Casiotone for the Painfully Alone and Crayonsmith (The Workman’s Club, Nov 6), Midlake with Jason Lytle and John Grant (Vicar Street, Nov 7), Dungen (Whelan’s, Nov 13) and Beach House with Lower Dens (Vicar Street, Nov 22).
Ticket information here.
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The Far Side – playlist for September 7 – now with stream
As played on The Far Side, Phantom 105.2, Tuesday September 7, 10pm-midnight
Listen Again to The Far Side: you can listen back to a stream of last night’s show here (apologies for the very croaky voice inbetween the tunes).
Janelle Monae “Cold War” (Bad Boy)
Chemical Brothers “Dissolve” (Virgin)
Kele “Tenderoni (Larry Tee & Beckwith remix)” (Wichita)
Superpitcher “Rabbit In A Hurry” (Kompakt)
The xx “Shelter (John Talabot remix)” (XL)
Friendly Fires/Azari & III “Stay Here” (!K7)
Redshape “Dog Day” (Millions Of Moments)
Azari & III “Indigo” (Turbo)
Lindstrom & Christabelle “Baby Can’t Stop (Aeroplane remix)” (Feedelity)
Drop Out Orchestra “Emperor Tamarin” (Drop Out)
It’s A Fine Line “Eins Fine Grind” (Kompakt)
Prins Thomas “Sauerkraut” (Full Pupp)
David’s Lyre “Tear Them Down” (East City)
The Naked & Famous “Punching In A Dream” (Somewhat Damaged)
Cee-Lo Green “No-One’s Gonna Love You” (Elektra)
Kanye West “Monster” (G.O.O.D.)
MED “Where I’m From” (Stones Throw)
Tricky “Ghetto Stars” (Domino)
Flying Lotus “Pieface” (Warp)
Lou Rhodes & Cinematic Orchestra “One Good Thing” (Ninja Tune)
Philip Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble “The African Look” (Soul Jazz)
Archie Shepp “Attica Blues” (Verve)
Jono McCleery “Tomorrow” (Ninja Tune)
Family of the Year “Summer Girl” (Washashore)
Idiot Glee “All Packed Up” (Moshi Moshi)
Perfume Genius “Learning” (Organ)
Antony Hegarty & The Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra “Nessun Dorma” (Lavazza) -
The xx win Mercury Music Prize
Congratulations to The xx who have won the Mercury Music Prize for 2010 for their “xx” debut – and don’t worry, Villagers, there are other prizes to be won for that sterling debut album “Becoming A Jackal”.
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The National, Dublin, December
As mentioned on OTR (here and here) over the weekend, The National have just announced a show at Dublin’s Olympia for December 2. You can expect them to announce shows at that venue for December 3 and 4 as well once the first show sells out. Tickets go on sale on Friday at €28.50 and €31.50 (plus Ticketmaster fees) a pop.
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On the Record Presents: PVT & Halves
The excellent PVT play the very first proper gig at the new Workman’s Club (next to the Clarence Hotel) in Dublin this Thursday (September 9).
Support for this On the Record Presents gig comes from Halves (which, pop trivia fans, really makes them the first act to hit the stage for a paying audience). Looking forward to seeing Halves – they’ve a long-in-the-works debut album ready to be released and it will be good to hear tunes from that.
Here’s the 10 tunes which PVT’s Laurence Pike describes as the “high-rotation, pre-European tour super-favourites on my iPod over the last month”.
The Flamingos “I Only Have Eyes For You”
Alan Vega “American Dreamer”
Tonetta “My Bro”
The Platters “My Prayer”
Bob Dylan “I Was Young When I Left Home”
Lttle Willie John “My Love Is”
John Maus “Do Your Best”
Bruce Springsteen “Darkness On The Edge Of Town”
David Bowie “It’s No Game”
Johnny Mathis “Wild Is The Wind”You can also check out two PVT DJ mixes: their homage to the synth is here and the DJ mix they did for Allez Allez can be enjoyed here.
Full information on tickets for the show here.
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EP10: your shout – and post-Picnic gig announcements
You can read my highlights from Friday, Saturday and Sunday below – plus coverage from today’s paper here, here, here and not forgetting EP newbie Conor Pope’s colour piece here – but how was Electric Picnic 2010 for you? Let’s hear your highs and lows from three days of sun, cloud and rain in Co Laois.
Please note that I’ve closed the comments on the other #EP10 posts below so all comments on the festival should now go here.
I expect that there’s going to be a rake of gig announcements from various EP headliners today (the tours to make cash for Christmas presents – promoters must think Irish gig-goers are made of cash) so I’ll add them to this post when they come to hand.
UPDATE: And as predicted, here they come. The Frames play Dublin’s Olympia on December 12, Foals play that venue on November 15 and Two Door Cinema Club will be at Belfast’s Mandela Hall (December 7), Dublin’s Tripod (8) and Galway’s Black Box (9).
Villagers play their biggest Dublin headliner to date at Vicar Street on December 21 at the end of an Irish tour which calls to Waterford’s Forum (13), KIlkenny’s Set Theatre (13), Cork’s Savoy (15), Limerick’s St John’s Church (17), Galway’s Black Box (18) and Belfast’s Limelight (19).
Imelda May plays Dublin’s Olympia on December 15 – by contrast, her pre-Xmas hometown show last year was at the O2
Non-Picnic: Was Kylie in Stradbally too? She plays Dublin’s O2 on March 22 and 23 next. Also Underworld at Dublin’s RDS Simmonscourt (the venue that used to be hold the title of worst venue in town until Academy 2 came along) on November 27. And Deerhunter play Dublin’s Button Factory on March 25. Yep, that’s 2011. Even indie acts want their fans to buy tickets six months in advance.
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EP10: Sunday highlights
There can be only one highlight yesterday for this writer and it was, of course, a non-musical one. Tipperary put an end to that drive-for-five with a display of fierce, powerful, intense, majestic, inspirational hurling which tore Kilkenny apart and left them flat on their backs. No-one but no-one gave Tipp a chance going into the game – understandable, of course, because Kilkenny were, after all, the undisputed kings of the hill until yesterday at 5.05pm – but that didn’t stop Liam Sheedy’s men. Tipp are well and truly back in the senior hurling business. Thurles is going to be bonkers on Monday night.
Due to the above (which I watched in the Daily Ticket shed along with fellow hurling afficiandos Harry and Ronan) and getting overview copy together for Monday’s paper, I really didn’t get to see as many acts on Sunday as on other days. Still, I did get to see and enjoy some crackers.
Fever Ray: their first proper Irish show (everyone involved is keen to forget the Oxegen fiasco) was one of the first time in ages when it felt like you were experiencing and participating in a piece of art instead of just standing at a gig. Striking stage-set (lamps as stage-lights, lashings of dry ice and a couple of lasers) and deliriously slow-motion and low-slung electronic pop anthems. Minds were blown into tiny little pieces throughout the tent.
Two Door Cinema Club: oh yes, the Bangor boys really are that big. It’s amazing what a few aul’ TV ads can do for a band’s profile. But then again, when the tunes are as bright, boppable and brassy as these, you can understand the stickability. A rapid 18 months’ rise which shows no signs of abating.
Liquid Liquid: New York underground veterans gave it socks with cowbells, angular grooves and the kind of multi-dimensional funk that deserves its open Open University course. They did “Cavern” too, one of the greatest beats of all time.
The National: despite my initial thoughts about The National and the main stage, their downbeat grandeur and shabby epics were tailormade for the big stage as the breeze blew the drizzle onto the players. A show which added further lustre to their reputation in this country and whetted appetites for their return to Ireland in December. It sure is a long way from the Cobblestones.
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EP10: Saturday’s highlights
King Conor: Villagers come of age (Pic by Brenda Fitzsimons from The Daily Ticket)Villagers: it was most certainly A Moment. A packed tent, giddy expectations in the air and a band mixing swagger with the nerves that come from such a sense of occasion all came together splendidly yesterday evening. Who knew that the songs from “Becoming A Jackal” would so easily become singalong anthems?
LCD Soundsystem: why do we reckon that James Murphy is rethinking that whole “oh man, I don’t know, I want to do other stuff” line which he was hawking in interviews all year along? Well, maybe because he’s thinking that give up something as good as this band at full throttle may be a hasty move. As fine an LCD performance as I’ve ever seen, bold and bright on every level. “Get Innocuous” was pure headspinning, thrilling genius. And, per the interview he did with Phantom 105.2 (and thanks James for The Far Side promo), a Dublin show may be in the offing soon.
Gil Scott-Heron: I’ve waited years to see and hear this man live and he didn’t disappoint. An epic “We Almost Lost Detroit” on its own would have been worth the price of admission, with Scott-Heron starting off solo on piano with that great Old Testament voice of his, before the band arrived to colour in the lines. Old warriors never die.
Leftfield: they brought the bass and kept it thumping until the early hours. An inspired booking because they appealed both to old-school EP-goers’ sense of nostalgia and the new-school EP-goers’ love of a decent anthem. “Phat Planet” FTW.
Fang Island: ramshackle, bolshie, anthemic fraggle-rock from the Rhode Island five-piece who seem hellbent on having a good time all the time.
Lisa O’Neill: we’re even bigger fans of this Cavan singer after a hugely confident set showcasing her pure folk voice, winning bevy of songs and a fine band who didn’t over-egg the pudding.
Robyn: a packed tent for Swedish queenpin’s master-class in how to cast wicked electropop spells. From the opening “Fembot” on, this was purrrrfect. Ran Janelle close in the onstage dancing stakes too.
These New Puritans: an excellent demonstration of the sonic smarts behind current album “Hidden” and how a band so in thrall to pointyheaded sounds and theories can still produce a fabulous live rattle.
Imelda May: c’mon people, admit it, she’s the business. Rocking the main stage like she was to the manor born, this was an exciting, pulsating and quite enthralling. That version of Gloria Jones’ “Tainted Love” was the cherrry on top.
Daily Ticket: amazing feedback from the masses on Saturday’s issue, especially Conor “Pricewatch” Pope’s food recommendations and Brenda Fitzsimons’ stunning shot of Janelle Monae on the cover. Bringing you the finest #EP10 news and views from a shed in the middle of a field in Co Laois.
The rumour: The National to play three nights in Dublin’s Olympia from December 2 to 4. Reckon you’ll be hearing a lot more EP acts announcing autumn/winter indoor shows in the next day or two.
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EP10: Friday’s highlights
I cast a spell on you: Janelle Monae wows the masses (Pic by Brenda Fitzsimons from The Daily Ticket)We heart Janelle: she took our breath away. They’ll be talking about this for quite some time to come.
Foals: beefy and muscular with lots of time and space for the new tunes which they go at with considerable gusto
Cloud Castle Lake: the first Irish band of the weekend to make us smile. Lovely high-end vocals married to fascinating 1+1=7 psych dramatics.
Jolly Boys: it took me about two minutes to realise these mento veterans were actually doing “Blue Monday” and that I wasn’t imagining things
PiL: the bass is king as Lydon snarls and raves his way through a cut-and-paste selection from the back-catalogue. Dude was spotted on Saturday morning in Dublin airport jousting with an eightsomething warrior from out Blessington way called Paddy for a buggy. Paddy won.
The food: the matador pie from Pieminister duking it out with the poached salmon from Rathmullan House for the tastebuds of the Daily Ticket team.
Play Roxy for me: we heart the deluded lad who gatecrashed his way backstage not once, not twice, but three times looking for Bryan Ferry’s autograph for his ma. Some mothers do ‘ave ‘em.
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EP10: Janelle Monae
She’s just stolen the show, people. Bodypopping funk soul sister number one with backing dancers dressed like nuns from the local convent (albeit nuns with face-masks borrowed from Fever Ray).
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Why Chris is playing nice with Steve
There were probably a few EMI Music executives who choked on their spuds on Wednesday, as they watched a prize asset, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, play for Apple boss Steve Jobs and an audience of millions.
Martin performed a new song, Wedding Bells , at the latest Apple extravaganza to launch new stuff, an event that will receive more coverage than the release of most EMI albums this year.
It should come as no surprise to see Martin playing nice with Jobs. A smart lad, he knows that the traction is now with the technology companies, and that labels such as EMI are just trying to keep up.
There was nothing earth-shattering about Apple’s latest announcements – rejigged iPods, a relaunched Apple TV device and an iTunes-linked social-media network called Ping – with no sign of the much anticipated launch of an Apple streaming service.
Yet for all this, no one is disputing Apple’s importance to the music business. Jobs is, after all, the white knight in a black polo neck who gave the industry a viable, credible solution to download piracy in the shape of the iTunes music store.
That Jobs was only ever interested in music to help shift Apple products is something the industry realised when the deal was done.
All attempts by the record industry to get alternatives to iTunes up and running have come to nothing because none of these “me too” solutions are as good as the original.
And, while there are plenty of decent streaming services out there to connect you with your music in the cloud, you can bet that Apple’s version, when it comes, will be better.
No wonder Martin is happy to play for Jobs – he who pays the piano player calls the tune.
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#Now Playing – OTR’s top tunes
This week’s essential tunes on the OTR jukebox. Please feel free to add your own selections below.
Babybeef “Thunderstruck” (Self release)
Irish electronica lady Sarah Carroll Kelly gleefully applies the choppers to the AC/DC classic on her banging new album.
Everything Everything “Man Alive” (Geffen)
Debut album from the Manchester-based band who use everything and the kitchen sink for a wonderful post-modern indie slam-dunk.
Restless People “Don’t Back Down” (IAMSOUND)
Collaboration between the Tanlines and Professor Murder crews reaps some brilliant new-school Brooklyn pop rewards.
NDF “Since We Last Met” (DFA)
Check out the epic Ricardo Villalobos remix for a haunting, head-spinning remake and remodel.
The Waterboys “This Is The Sea” (Chrysalis)
The original of the big music species: we’d pay good money to hear the Stradbally-bound Mike Scott and co play this album live in full from start to finish.
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New Music – Hipster Youth, Alex Winston, Miami Horror
The latest New Music selections from the On The Record column in The Ticket. All tips for future New Music picks welcome below.
Dublin teen and 8-bit chip-slinger Aidan Wall is making a battery of fierce, frantic and fun sounds which will rock your brainy head for all its worth. Download his “Teenage Elders” album for free here.
Straight out of Detroit with a one hell of a soulful voice, Alex Winston is working with our favourite new-school pop producers The Knocks on a bunch of future classics. Check out debut single “Choice Notes” or the slowburning “Medicine” and prepare to go wow.
AKA Australian producer, remixer and DJ Benjamin Plant, yet another rising star from Down Under demonstrating a fine touch when it comes to sleek, sublime electropop. Debut album “Illumination” is the one to investigate further.
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This week in The Ticket – and your plugs
Electric Picnic: the 10 acts you really, really, really have to see in Stradbally, Co Laois this weekend.
The National: ahead of their appearance at the Electric Picnic, Aaron Dessner from the band tells us why and how years of National service hacve paid off.
Eli Roth: the actor, writer, composer and producer talks horror and The Last Exorcism
Plus: reviews of music releases from Imelda May (CD of the Week slot for the Liberties’ rockabilly diva’s new album “Mayhem”), Interpol, Rachel Sage, Grand Pocket Orchestra, Tweak Bird, Timber Timbre, Brian Wilson, Oriol, Steve Coleman, Laoise Kelly, Chris Meehan and others, and new movies on the block including The Switch, Black Dynamite, Certified Copy, Dinner for Schmucks, Jonah Hex, The Last Exorcism, Soul Boy, 22 Bullets, Bonded By Blood and Why Did I Get Married Too?.
All this and more in The Ticket, in print, online and the best of The Ticket on the app.
The OTR plugs service is now open for business. Please feel free to plug and recommend stuff away to your heart’s content, but remember some simple rules. Declare an interest where one should be declared. Plugs are accepted on the whim of OTR and may be edited for length/clarity/common sense. Plugs which mention a commercial sponsor are really ads and will probably not be published in this slot. Plugs which plug the same stuff every week will also be deleted – if people ain’t interested by now, you should really get the message. C’mon the Premier County!
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EP10: the return of The Daily Ticket
As we have done every year from 2007, we will be publishing The Daily Ticket on Saturday and Sunday at the Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Co Laois.
Produced in a shed in the middle of a field, The Daily Ticket will have reviews of the previous day’s action, previews of the day ahead, features, news, views and loads of other bits and pieces.
It will be available in the Electric Picnic campsites and main arena from around 10am on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
The team behind The Daily Ticket this year are writers Lauren Murphy, Rosemary McCabe, Conor Pope and myself, photographers Alan Betson and Brenda Fitzsimons and production brilliance from John Lane and Ciaran Murray. Ticket editor Anthea McTiernan will be providing inspiration.
Stand by for first OTR reports from Stradbally later today.
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#GnR WTF? – Guns N’ Roses open panto season in Dublin
It was the gig which had everything except, well, a gig as we usually know it. Anyone who believes that the current Guns N’ Roses set-up is little short of a pantomine will be saying “I told you so” after last night’s shenanigans at Dublin’s O2, which followed more shenanigans at the Reading and Leeds festivals in the UK at the weekend.
Last night, per reports from a hugely entertaining Twitter feed, a good thread on Boards.ie and Irish Times’ reporter Ronan McGreevy’s news story, the band were between an hour and 90 minutes late coming onstage. The crowd went ballistic (that’s bad ballistic, not good ballistic), items were flung at the band and Axl and co bolted in a huff.
What happened next ensures this gig’s place in Irish rock’n'roll history with MCD boss Denis Desmond channeling his inner Bill Graham to come onstage to tell the cats to chill.
Per Ronan’s report, Dinny told the O2 crowd “we’re trying hard to get Axl to come back on stage. I’m trying hard to get Axl to come back on stage. I’d ask you please to refrain from throwing items at him. I promise a great show, but you have to calm. I’m sorry about that”.
After 20 to 30 minutes of backstage huffing and puffing, during which time the house-lights were on which lead many people in the audience to conclude the gig was over, the band came back onstage and continued with their set until 12.50am. Yep, that probably means that there won’t be any refunds.
Cue outrage, fuming, anger and the inevitable calls to radio shows (last night’s FM104 Phone Show with Adrian Kennedy was comedy gold by all accounts). Somehow, I think we can safely say that the competition for gig of the year is OVER.
So, go on, we know some of you were there. Was it really as good as it sounds?
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The Far Side – playlist for August 31 – now with stream
As played on The Far Side, Phantom 105.2, Tuesday August 31, 10pm-midnight
Listen Again to The Far Side: you can listen back to a stream of last night’s show here (stream now live as Phantom’s web guru has returned from his lavish lunch).
The Squarehead track is from the K9 Sessions recorded for Cathal Funge’s Icon show (Phantom 105.2, Wednesdays, 10pm-midnight).
Vermillion Sands “Miss My Gun” (Sacred Bones)
Everything Everything “Qwerty Finger” (Geffen)
No Age “Glitter” (Sub Pop)
Restless People “Don’t Back Down” (IAMSOUND)
Miami Horror “Sometimes” (Caroline)
Shit Robot “Simple Things” (DFA)
NDF “Since We Last Met” (DFA)
Bob Holroyd “African Drug (Four Tet remix)” (Phonica)
The Count & Sinden/Katy B “Hold Me” (Domino)
Actress “Let’s Fly” (Honest Jons)
Babybeef “Thunderstruck” (Self release)
Squarehead “Circle” (K9 Sessions for Icon)
Two Fingers “Fools” (Ninja Tune)
Toddla T/Ms Dynamite “I Want U Now” (Ninja Tune)
Omar Souleyman “Leh Jani” (Sublime Frequencies)
Nas “Hey Young World” (Revival)
Maximum Balloon “Groove Me” (Fiction)
The xx “Shelter (Tiga remix)” (XL)
Hunter-Gatherer “Pere-Lachaise” (Osaka)
James Blake “CMYK” (R&S)
Sufjan Stevens “I Walked” (Asthmatic Kitty)
Timber Timbre “Demon Host” (Full Time Hobby)
Junip “It’s Alright” (City Slang)
Ulaan Khol “Untitled II” (Soft Abuse)
Phosphorescent “Across the Universe” (Mojo) -
EP10: timetables for main music stages
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Guest post – Alison Curtis – women on the wireless
Alison Curtis is a DJ on Today FM who currently does the 5-7am early breakfast show on the station from Monday to Friday and also presents The Last Splash every Sunday (8-10pm). As one of the very few female voices on the national airwaves during the week, Alison is in a much better position than any pundit or punter to discuss the issue of women on the wireless. Her guest post is after the jump.
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