From Friday to Sunday, Dun Laoghaire is hosting the Festival of World Cultures. The event promises a mix of music, performances, markets, food and other eclectic fun.
Check out their website for a full programme of events. Some are free and some are ticketed (the awesome Seu Jorge is sold out) but it all looks fun.
http://www.festivalofworldcultures.com
Thanks to the wonderful folk at Foggynotions, we’ve got 2 double passes to give away for “Little Wings” who is playing Upstairs @ Whelan’s, Wed August 13.
Little Wings is the project of artist and musician Kyle Field. Having worked with stars like M.Ward and Devendra Banhart, Kyle Field released his 7th album last year: Soft Pow’r. His music can be described as lo-fi folk and his latest work has a raw yet slumbering feel like what a grizzly bear might listen to when he’s feeling moody. He’s not unlike the popular Bon Iver and comes with a big thumbs up from us.
to be in with a chance to win tickets, just leave a comment here or send me an email at mytop5blog *AT* gmail.com
listen to Little Wings, Gone Again
It seems order has almost been restored after a festival-filled summer and a spate of indoor gigs are on the agenda to help us through those dreary Autumn months.
First up, a second date has just been announced for MGMT’s visit to the Ambassador, the pair now play 3rd and 4th of November with tickets for the second show going on sale this Friday 8th August priced €24.50. They are supported by new Canadian favorites Violens, who have been likened to everyone from The Zombies to Prefab Sprout. Their current single Violent Sensation Decends wouldn’t be out of place on a Shins album and is currently making the playlist of every radio station worth it’s salt.
Friday 7th November sees Tripod play host to Goldfrapp. Their latest album, Seventh Tree, saw Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory moving away from the much loved sparkly disco sounds of previous releases such as Supernature and moving in an altogether more grown-up, low-fi direction. Alison’s voice is beautiful enough to carry off their new ethereal sound and the Tripod show, which follows not long after their Electric Picnic date, should be a treat for fans and newcomers alike. Tickets are on sale now and are priced at €32.50 and €35.50 for standing or seated respectively.
November also sees the welcome return of Cold War Kids to our shores. After the unprecedented success of their first album, Robbers & Cowards, the Californian quartet return to Dublin on foot of the release of their follow up album, Loyalty to Loyalty, due for release September 23rd. Cold War Kids play The Academy on November 5th and tickets are €28.50.
AS if that isn’t enough to get excited about, Scottish indie rock veterans Primal Scream play an intimate gig in the sumptuous Olympia Theatre this November 17th. Their current album Beautiful Future sees the band move in an altogether more pop-orientated direction, but if we’re lucky they’ll still belt out some of the old favorites from the glory days of Screamadelica and XTRMNTR.
Tickets €33.60/€39.20
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If you can’t manage to stay indoors until November, there is also a veritable plethora of gigs to get excited about in October. The superlative Bon Iver plays Tripod on the 7th of October. After their sellout June show was moved from Crawdaddy to Tripod to accomadate unprecedented demand, Bon Iver’s popularity has been firmly cemented in Ireland and tickets to see Justin Vernon and co perform songs from the absolutely sublime album, For Emma, Forever Ago, will be snapped up. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised to see the October show echo that of the previous with a move to a larger venue.
Tickets €22.50/€27.50
If Black Kids infectious Summer anthem I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You is anything to go by, their gig in The Academy on the 21st October should be a high energy, dance-till-you-drop-sing-along night of fun. With tickets priced at just €17.50 it’d be just plain rude not to go.
Finally, celebrate Halloween night in style with the pioneer of scratrching, king of hip hop dj-ing, the legend that is Grandmaster Flash. He plays Tripod on October 31st and tickets to see one of the founding fathers of hip hop are a mere €20.00.
If you find yourself desperately longing to go out tonight but find your brain needs a little stimulation after a long week/Oxegen then here’s my advice for you: STEP AWAY FROM THE LOCAL BOOZER. Hop on a DART/bus/whatever and head for the city early - or better yet, stay in town after work. Here’s why:
Fight Like Apes play a free instore gig in Tower Records on Wicklow Street this evening at 5pm. Get there early to avoid being stuck at the back entrance to Brown Thomas with the Italian accordian playing mascot. Fresh from thier performance at Glastonbury, Fight Like Apes deliver their unique blend of shouty, high-octane, high-energy punk pop - if this doesn’t sound like your type of thing get yourself down to Bewleys on Grafton Street for a nice cup of tea and a sit down instead.
Tonight also sees Analog 2008 kick off in style with Dublin Docklands playing host to Lou Reed, Shane McGowan, Gavin Friday and Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins, to name but a few. Rouge’s Gallery is the brainchild of Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski and music producer extrordinnaire, Hal Willner. Rouge’s Gallery is a collection of old sea shanties and pirate ballads given a modern day twist by a bevy of accomplished singers/songwriters/producers/etc. Willner’s impressive mish-mash of Hollywood A-listers and music industry legends is enough to get even the most discerning of gig-goers chomping at the bit. Go to see Lou Reed and Shane McGowan share a stage for the bargain price of €50.00 and, if this doesn’t stir up your senses, go to throw your knickers at Tim Robbins. A number of tickets are still available here.
Guitar enthusiasts and music fans across Dublin are in for a treat this week with the return of the Walton’s Guitar Festival of Ireland. Celebrating it’s 5th anniversary, this year’s festival is set to be one of the most exciting to date with a stellar line up and an awesome calibre of workshop mentors. Sponsored by Irelands pre-eminent instrument store, Waltons , the festival features performances from some of the world’s most critically acclaimed musicians who will be strumming their way through a number of different venues throughout Dublin from July 2nd – July 6th. Not only can punters experience some of the industry greats performing live, they will also have the rare opportunity to partake in workshops headed by the likes of Australian Tommy Emmanuel , who is widely reputed to be one of the world’s best acoustic guitar players, and Joscho Stephan, who is well known for his association with Django Reinhardt and the famous Hot Club de France.
The concerts kick off on Wednesday with a lunchtime performance by festival organiser, Alec O’Leary, and continue through to the evening with highly acclaimed Italian newcomers, Soloduo. Other highlights include performances by early music ensemble Tonos, and a collaboration of music by John Feely and Paraguayan Berta Rojas at the National Concert Hall. Croatian beauty Ana Vidovic brings her unsurpassed classical style to the National Gallery on Saturday lunchtime, followed by a performance in Tripod that evening by Tommy Emmanuel (Book early for this one, he really is amazing and the show is sure to be a sell out). The festival wraps up with the spectacular Joscho Stephan Trio who play an intimate show in the Sugar Club on Saturday night. As mentioned, the live shows are peppered with workshops and classes, including an exciting opportunity for budding guitarists to partake in ‘The G Factor’, a votes based competition on Wednesday with the winners being given the chance to perform a full concert at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. The full timetable of events is available here.
The Sugar Club, 20th June 2008
It was back to the Sugar Club for me on Friday night, this time to attend the Balcony TV Awards 2008. The awards mark the second anniversary of the show where many of Ireland’s finest new musicians have cut their teeth and made their first foray into the public eye. Started in 2006 by 3 flatmates (Stephen O’Regan, Pauline Freeman and Tom Millett), Balcony TV started out life recording up and coming Irish acts from a tiny balcony on Dame Street. The recordings quickly became an internet sensation and Balcony TV was recently nominated for a prestigious ‘Webby Award’. Balcony TV now boasts a sister site in Hamburg and rumours about expansion into the US and Europe are rife.
With free admission before 10.30 and a poster bearing the promise of FREE BEER, it was no surprise that the venue was packed tighter than a tin of sardines. Throw in entertainment from the likes of Royseven, The Kinetiks, John Spillane and Reader’s Wives amongst others, and you have all the right ingredients for a cracking showcase of the cream of new Irish talent. The awards, which came in the form of little golden guitars, were presented throughout the night by the likes of Leanne Harte (last year’s winner of the ‘Best Female’ award) and Una Mullally (journalist and Dublin music scene queen).
A special mention goes to The Kinetiks, who played an impressively tight set, and to German beatbox master, Alberto the Musicbox, who rapidly transfixed the crowd with his phenomenal ability to emulate an unbelievable variety of music genres and instruments. Check out his myspace page here.
Alberto the Musicbox.
(Photo courtesy of entertainment.ie)
Right, time to get down to business. And the award goes to…..
Best Male Keith O’Brien
Best Female Luan Parle
Best International Act Apes in the Orange Grove (Netherlands)
Best Alternative Show Raven
Balcony TV Hamburg Jan Baruschke & Markus Rollwage
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Best Show Zoe Conway & John McIntyre
Best Band The Script
Congrats to all the winners and thanks to the organisers for a great night!
Remember we have 2 double passes to give away for Damon & Naomi this Wednesday at Whelans.
Put yourself in the draw by replying to this comment or emailing me at “mytop5 at gmail.com”
I’ll contact the winners on Tuesday.
Lykke Li, The Sugar Club
12th June 2008
The Sugar Club is renowned for it’s acoustically rich surroundings, perfectly suited to showcasing the honeysweet voice of Swedish songstress Lykke Li. Her impressive vocal range was particularly apparent on the beautifully melancholic Hanging High, which Lykke considerately dedicated to “the most heartbroken person in the room”. However, I can’t help but imagine how uncomfortable it must feel to take to the tiny stage at the foot of the theatre-style seating area that overwhelms the venue and be confronted with a bunch of be-trilbied scenesters with one resounding message held in their eyes: impress me. So it’s fortunate for Lykke Li that she’s as mad as a bag of spanners then isn’t it? Following her stupendous three piece band onto stage to the beat of Dance, Dance, Dance sporting a rather impressive giant drumstick and an array of musical paraphernalia adorning her chest like an elaborate necklace, Lykke proceeded to get involved with every aspect of the musical process from start to finish. Unlike the sultry-voiced but ultimately stoic El Perro del Mar (AKA Sarah Assbring) who played support with a sufficiently nonchalant air, Lykke utilised every inch of the tiny stage, grabbing drumsticks, bellowing into loudspeakers and tooting on kazoos like a Maori tribesman on speed. Her manic exuberance was catching and before long the solitary dancing couple at the bottom of the stairs were joined by the, until now, rather inhibited crowd. The set crescendo with radio favourite I’m Good, I’m Gone followed up with a loudspeaker intro to the infectiously catchy Breaking It Up.
Following a brief stage exit, defensively declaring ‘I’m a debut artist!’, Lykke and co. heeded calls for more, asking the crowd whether they wanted to dance or cry. Needless to say, there didn’t seem to be too many morose buzz wreckers in the house so Lykke improvised by performing ragga version of I’m Good I’m Gone and delighted the crowd by breaking into a rather impressive rap which, after a few seconds of dazed confusion, became apparent as A Tribe Called Quest’s Can I Kick It? The newly elated crowed voiced their appreciation for Lykke’s enthusiasm by replying with a resounding ‘Yes you can!’
AS the gig wound up, finishing on a high note and leaving the room buzzing with energy and hankering for just a little bit more, there was a general post-gig consensus that the we, the audience, had laid witness to something just a little bit special.
Thanks to great people at Forever Presents we have a great indie band coming up and 2 double passes for you to go!
Damon & Naomi, Whelans, Wednesday 25 June.
How do you describe Damon & Naomi? Dream-pop, indie-folk, lo-fi? They’re just really good. Not flashy or extravagant. There are no grab-you-and-shake-you-by-the-collar melodies or riffs. Their music is delicate, intricate and atmospheric. A great band and a great price at 16euro.
To be in the draw for A FREE DOUBLE PASS. Leave a comment below (you’ll have to sign up but don’t worry we don’t send out anything) or email me at mytop5blog at gmail.com
Listen to Damon & Naomi: ETA
For those of you who missed the awesome but sold out Bon Iver show recently, tickets are now on sale for his next gig in October.
It’s ridiculous how far you have to plan ahead these days…
Get your tickets here.
