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§ November 12th, 2008
The Swingin’ Blue Cats played a blinder on the Sunday night of the Cork Jazz Festival at the Firkin Crane. They provided fantastic upbeat music for the Shanghai Palace Nights swing dance event organised by Elaine & co at Swing Dance Cork. I’m a bit of a fan of swing-dancing, having started classes earlier on this year after years of going to Doubletime and seeing The Roaring Forties and not having a clue how to dance properly. If you want to try it yourself, Elaine is starting another course of classes from next Monday upstairs in the Liquid Lounge. All details are on her website, Swing Dance Cork.
See more photos in the full set on Flickr.
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§ November 7th, 2008
Cork on Ice makes a welcome return to Cork this year based again down in East Gate Business & Retail Park. Last year was going swimmingly (or ice-skatingly!) well for me until I managed to twist my ankle playing football. That was the end of my trips down to Cork on Ice. They open up on November 14th and are there until January 13th 2009. It’s a pity there isn’t a permanent ice-rink in Cork. Would there be a market for it?
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§ October 26th, 2008
Mick Flannery played the Lodge two weeks ago as part of the tour to launch his second album White Lies. Mick Flannery has been touring quite a lot in the last couple of years which was evident by the full house at The Lodge. While he hasn’t lost his bashfulness on stage, he seems to take it all in his stride now.
Tomorrow’s Paper, which I believe is the first single from the album White Lies, has been getting a lot of airplay on local and national radio so it seems Mick Flannery is getting the recognition he deserves outside of Cork, where he has been selling out shows for a few years now. That song is a bit more upbeat than songs from his debut album and overall I think White Lies is a more varied and considered album. There seems to a be an avalanche of good Irish bands releasing strong albums at the moment. While you’re in town (or online) buying this album, why not pick up Ian Whitty’s second album too, From the Word Go from Messiah J and the Expert, Go God Go from Fred, and Honeycomb Moons from Armoured Bear.
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§ October 23rd, 2008
Clare O’Mahony played support to Mick Flannery down in The Lodge in Mallow recently and appears to be playing support on more of his upcoming gigs. Clare was joined on stage by another guitarist who also contributed on backing vocals and together they created nice melodies and interplay with their guitar picking. Clare once alluded to Dawson’s Creek during the gig and its impact on one of her songs and this influence is plain to see in many of the songs. You could just imagine watching the dilemmas of Dawson, Joey, Pacey et al. unfurl whilst listening to her music and in this respect her style reminds me of Christopher Dallman. Unfortunately there was quite a bit of chatter down the back in The Lodge but those of us up front certainly enjoyed the show.
If you’re going to see Mick Flannery in the Pavilion on Friday then get in early to catch Clare O’Mahony.
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§ October 21st, 2008
Ian Whitty released his long-awaited second album Lucky Caller No 9 with a bang last week in the Pavilion. It’s an edgier, more energetic production than his first offering Will o’ the Wisp with stand-out tracks such as Houndstooth Shirt and Fallen Stars (In Late Night Bars) already getting quite a bit of radio airplay. There are throwbacks to the more subtle and softer tones of the debut album with the gorgeous The Family is Still Young and the delectable She Knocks Me Out. Can you guess I’m a fan?
I was looking forward to the gig for many reasons: first time photographing a gig in the Pavilion which was very impressive; getting my grubby hands on Lucky Caller No 9; and finally to see Armoured Bear playing support. Unfortunately we didn’t get in to see Armoured Bear but it’s another gig to get to in the near future. Armoured Bear also have an album recently launched which is high on my wish-list. Amoured Bear a.k.a. Anto plays drums for Ian Whitty so I managed to get a few shots of him all the same.
There’s another review of the gig here by the fine folk at Drop-d.ie, who also have a review of the album, as do Red Track Music and Good Seed PR. I just noticed that Ian Whitty has his very own Facebook page so do a search for him if you’re on that (not sure about linking to Facebook pages when I’m logged in…).
See more photos in the full set on Flickr. Oh, and go and buy the album, it’s in the shops on Friday Ocobter 24th.
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§ September 20th, 2008
The Blizzards headlined the recent(ish) Indie-Pendence Festival in Mitchelstown on the last night of the festival. This festival just gets better each year, well done to Shane Dunne and all involved with putting a free festival together with such great acts. The Blizzards have truly come of age with a fine second album recently released although I’m not convinced by their choice of first single. There are many other stronger choices for singles on Domino Effect. Judging by the reaction the lads got from the crowd the album should be selling well. I just bought it yesterday, along with Mick Flannery’s White Lies which has been playing non-stop so I’m afraid I only listened to Domino Effect straigh through once. At the gig one of the photographers was certainly smitten by lead singer Niall Breslin, she just smiled her way around the front of the stage taking photographs and even proclaimed “I think I’m in love”. I don’t get it, sweaty hairy fecker that he is :).
Some more photos in the full set on Flickr. The Blizzards are back in Cork on October 2 when they play the Savoy.
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§ September 3rd, 2008
The Blackwater Triathlon Club held their first triathlon last Sunday in Fermoy. Having done one triathlon at the start of the summer, we had pencilled in this as the next event. I only managed a relay event this time as I couldn’t do the run but I’m glad I did that much. Like the last one, the sun just managed to come out for the race which made it a bit more enjoyable, if enjoyment can be gleaned from something like this! Thanks to Dan for being official photographer until I finished with the swim and cycle.
I did have a few qualms about the triathlon. The swim part seemed much shorter than 750m. I know we had a strong current but that couldn’t account for the mostly sub 10 minute times being posted. Due to safety restrictions the transition area was across the bridge from where we got out of the water which meant a bit of a jog after the swim. This wasn’t too bad but I thought the transition down from the church after the bike was a bit on the long side. I was well knackered at that stage. Again, this was necessary for safety reasons but you’re not thinking about that when you’ve finished your 20km. At least I knew I was finishing at that point.
Also, my anti-fog anti-leak goggles fogged up and leaked very early on which made it difficult to distinguish between the yellow swim caps and the big yellow buoy. Please change the colour of one of these for next year!
Some people at the finishing line after the jump: check out the full set of photos for a lot more.
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§ August 30th, 2008
Ham Sandwich made a welcome return to the Indie-Pendence festival following a fine display last year. Their debut album “Carry the Meek” has been out for a while now and is well worth picking up. They’re playing at Electric Picnic today and seem to have a few gigs coming up in September around Ireland. Check out their MySpace for mor info.
More photos in the full set on Flickr. I’m almost done with photos from this festival although I have lingering from last year’s festival so I might dig them out.
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§ August 17th, 2008
The Flaws played on the Sunday evening of the recent Mitchelstown Music Festival. They are a band I’ve liked for a while since buying their album “Achieving Vagueness”. I know it’s unfair to keep making comparisons with other bands but they have a sound very similar to that of The Killers. This is no bad thing and the album is well worth checking out if you are into this type of music. It’s not ground-breaking but it’s well produced and instantly catchy. I’d expect to hear a lot more from the band in the coming year. Check out their MySpace for a few tracks.
See more photos in the full set on Flickr.
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§ August 13th, 2008
Cathy Davey headlined the Saturday night at the recent Mitchelstown Music Festival. I’ve been a big fan of Cathy Davey for quite some time but never made it in to see her during her residency in Cyprus Avenue last year. I had her two albums playing almost non-stop on my mp3 player by which time I had reached saturation point when you need to give an album a rest. I got the CDs out again and listened while driving down to Mitchelstown on Saturday. Sometimes the live act doesn’t live up to what you expect but Cathy Davey and her band put on a sublime performance. It was a little unfortunate that she was on straight after wonderful sets from Fight Like Apes and Fred as her music is much more understated and subtle. Have a listen on her MySpace if you haven’t heard her before and you’ll see what I mean.
It was a joy to photograph Cathy Davey so there are a bunch of other photos in the full set on Flickr.
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