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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.
Related Posts on www.donal.ie
§ 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.
Related Posts on www.donal.ie
§ August 10th, 2008
Fight Like Apes justified their later billing at this year’s Indie-Pendence festival in Mitchelstown last weekend with a frenzied performance. Last year they played during the day when they were not so widely known but this year they were on after Fred, which is no mean feat, and just before Cathy Davey headlined. Their mad cap live performance just seems to have got more insane and they have a lot of new material which should make its way onto their debut album which, like their EPs, has a long-winded title “Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion”.
Just two more photos in the full set as the lighting was tough for their show.
§ August 7th, 2008
Zany Cork band Fred played on Saturday in Mitchelstown at the Indie-Pendence festival. It must be almost 8 years since I saw them play first when I was in college. While they may have lost some hair and filled out a bit, they haven’t lost that great stage presence and the ability to put on a great show. Their most recent album, Go God Go, has seen their music go to another level but they also played the oldies on Saturday. Go listen to them on their MySpace and purchase one of their albums in your local record shop. Do it for the kids.
A few more photos in the full set on Flickr.
By the way, apparently they will be on the Ray D’Arcy show tomorrow (Fri) morning on TodayFM.
§ August 5th, 2008
The Kinetics were one of the surprise acts of the weekend at this year’s Indie-Pendence Festival in Mitchelstown. I had never heard of them but they have a great sound and are sure to go far. You could even say they have a lot of potential after putting on a fantastic energetic performance (all puns intentional and well-meant). Lead-singer Gaz Harding could be mistaken for lead singer of The Strokes Julian Casablancas but this is where they need to be careful. Ireland has plenty of bands capable of emulating this style of music with the likes of The Blizzards putting more of a ska element into their music and Delorentos creating luscious melodies. The Kinetiks are in the same field as these two bands who have already done quite well but it’ll be interesting to see how The Kinetiks make their mark.
See some more photos in the full set on Flickr.
§ August 3rd, 2008
The delectable Gemma Hayes headlined on Friday night at the Mitchelstown Music Festival, Indie-Pendence. Gemma Hayes is one of those artists who seems to have been around for an age and whose music is instantly recognisable so it was great to finally see her live. Even the rain held off, as it has done for the rest of the festival so far, touch wood. I also caught Rulers of the Planet and The Kinetiks on Friday, photos to come this week. Shamefully, I still have photos of last years festival lingering on my hard drive which never made it here so I’m trying to get this year’s photos up straight away.
See more photos in the full set on Flickr. Also, check out some tracks from Gemma on her MySpace.
An odd thing I stumbled upon when looking up her site, I went to http://gemmahayes.com without the www and it re-directs to http://gemmahayes.com/Store/DisplayItems-1-0.html which is actually a Supergrass online store at http://www.supergrassrus.com/Store/DisplayItems-1-0.html. Something odd up me thinks.
I’m looking forward to seeing The Blizzards headline tonight. Let’s just hope that rain stays away.
§ July 6th, 2008
Cork’s gentleman singer-songwriter Ger Wolfe was last up on stage in the Spiegeltent on that Sunday afternoon two weeks ago which also featured Ian Whitty, Aaron Dillon and Cian. It had been a mammoth gig with each of the artists playing lengthy sets but Ger’s joviality stirred the crowd once more. He also presented Cian with a birthday cake which was a bit of a surprise to Cian but it was a nice touch. Check out Ger Wolfe’s relaxing style on his MySpace and I can heartily recommend any of his albums, all are true gems. Edel Sullivan accompanied Ger at the show, see below.
See more photos over on Flickr in the full set.
§ July 5th, 2008
Ian Whitty and his band were up next on stage in the Spiegeltent after Cian and Aaron Dillon almost two weeks ago. I’ve seen Ian Whitty play numerous times over the years and he is now a more rounded and complete artist. His debut album Will o’ the Wisp is more softly spoken and subtle than the rockier sound he and his band now display. Having said that the later music still has the fantastically clever and imaginative wordplay so evident on Will o’ the Wisp. The next album is coming out later on this year and it’s one I can’t wait to get my hands on; songs like Houndstooth Shirt and Not on Your Side are already instantly recognisable at his gigs. You can currently check out these songs on his MySpace.
The phone above is part of the props used in case you’re wondering! There are more photos in the full set.
§ June 28th, 2008
Aaron Dillon and band played the Spiegeltent as part of the Cork Midsummer Festival last weekend and were up on stage after a great performance from Cian. Having seen them Aaron Dillon play a number of times this year, most recently for the launch of his cracking debut album at the Triskel Arts Centre, I was really looking forward to this. Apart from appearing shell-shocked at being on stage during the day he, and the band, played a lengthy quality set with one of my favourites still being the sing-along song about the economy which didn’t make it onto the album.
Lots more photos in the full set.
§ June 25th, 2008
Cork singer Cian opened up at the Spiegeltent last Sunday for the start of a mammoth show lasting about four hours featuring Aaron Dillon, Ian Whitty, and Ger Wolfe. This was the first event of the Cork Midsummer Festival that I got to but there’s a load of stuff on over the coming weeks. Of the four acts, Cian was the only one I hadn’t seen before although I had read good reviews about him beforehand, all of which were well justified. Listening on his MySpace, the songs are instantly memorable with Don’t Be a Fool one of my favourite tracks there. Cian has a crazy vocal range and relaxed guitar style which perfectly complements this.
More photos as always in the full set on Flickr.
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