Tieranniesaur Tier-repetita and Dolans Summer Party

For the third time this year, I had the pleasure to see Tieranniesaur live, this time in Dolans for the Summer Party. A great event with a gret line up from the Windings, to Girl Band .. basically a 5 euro well spent.

The sun and an almost clear blue sky even invited himslef for the party before the darkness.

There was also a presentation of an interesting compilation:
Strange Passion - Explorations in Irish Post Punk, DIY and Electronic music 1980-83:

 http://www.nialler9.com/album-week-strange-passion-explorations-irish-post-punk-diy-electronic-music-198083/

Tieranniesaur ready to take the main stage in the warehouse

Tieranniesaur

Another band I've seen recently in Bourkes was Girl Band (Update now renames Gilla Band):

Upstairs: Girl Band

Upstairs I also discovered Melodica Deathship, you can listen there here: http://mdsdub13.bandcamp.com/

The night line up, feel free to check them out:

• Warehouse Stage (Curated by Out On A Limb Records):
  Crayonsmith // Dead Red Light // Elk // The Jimmy Cake // Jogging // So Cow // Ten Past Seven // Tieranniesaur//
• Upstairs Stage (Curated by windings)
  Dott // Girl Band // The Great Balloon Race // Land Lovers // Magic Pockets // Melodica Deathship // MynameisjOhn // Percolator // windings
• Bar (Curated by A Love Supreme): DJs, Acoustic Sets, Collaborations.

Nouvelle Vague in Dolans

Last saturday I had the extreme pleasure to be in Dolans, for another great gig. This time it was "Nouvelle Vague" a french concept band, the coolest to the extreme....
I am still subdued on this sunday morning...

Nouvelle Vague on Stage - Instagram

Airy ... and dancing... with themsleves

Singing

French Woman ... lethal and dangerous ;)

French woman ... quirky and talented

Bemused audience and Fascinated crowd

Songs played ( from what i remember , sure  I am forgetting some ):

• Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division) 
• Ophelie est zoophile ( Jad Wio cover )
• Putain Putain (Arno)
• Mala Vida ( Mano Negra cover )
• Too Drunk to Fuck (Dead Kennedys) 
• Making Plans for Nigel (XTC) 
• Teenage Kicks (The Undertones)
• Ever Fallen in Love (Buzzcocks)
• Dancing with Myself (Billy Idol)
• Master and Servant - (Depeche Mode)
• Blister in the Sun - (Violent Femmes)
• God save The Queen - (The Sex Pistols)

A taste of their music :

My SeaSessions 2012

I went to my first SeaSessions in Bundoran last weekend.
It is a very vibrant, cool music festival, down by the beach, exposed to the Atlantic fury.

Weekend Pass

Brilliant line-up:

KAISER CHIEFS, THE MINUTES, REV RUN (RUN DMC) & DJ RUCKUS, THE CORONAS, SIMON & OSCAR (OCEAN COLOUR SCENE), HOT 8 BRASS BAND, BITCHES WITH WOLVES, DELORENTOS, THE ORIGINAL RUDEBOYS, JAPE, WE CUT CORNERS, TOBY KAAR, TIERANNIESAUR, DUNE COLLECTIVE, CRY MONSTER CRY

I headed up ( 3 and half hours drive ) Friday afternoon, after ensuring I had a proper tent in order. 

Once there, after parking into some unofficial field ( this would cause some epic muddy departure later ), I set up my tent, near the Tramore boys and girls.

cosy camper

After a couple of drinks, we headed off to the gig tents, and started to enjoying the first bands ( notably the minutes ).

Finished off Friday night with the Kaiser Chiefs, brilliant, even if i missed 4-5 songs - including "I predict a riot"... or may be it was a perfect timing - due to event independent of my own will .. and a lovely red haired called Heather - if it was ever to be her name - only to ( most likely ) never see her again.

On Saturday, we awake in the mud, and were back on the drinks, I focus my attention on the North tent, and we had a great gig with TierAnnieSaur ( check their album on band camp ).

TierAnnieSaur...

Tierannisaur...

Fashion sense, how not to wear sunglasses:

No fashion sense

Hot 8 Brass Band on the main stage... warming us up to the sound of Marvin Gaye song

Sexual healing ....

The coronas on main stage:

The coronas...

Lessons learned over the weekend:
#1: All bits are important in a tent... especially the tiny piece which goes on top, and prevent rain to get down through the vent.
#2: Take Monday off, you'll need it to rest after, despite the sleeping till 12am everyday.
#3: Never ever ask a girl's name after making out with her. Loud music is not a valid excuse, nor bad hearing.
#4: Even if you take your ticket alone, you always end up, meeting friends.
#5: A Nissan micra is not a car made for offroad driving... even if mine is quite good in the mud.
#6: Many girls always try to look pretty and stylish, even in the mud and in the rain... which is an impressive feature at times ( Remind me of Clisare video on camping )


Anyway I loved the SeaSessions, and will definitely think of coming back next year ( probably with a Monday off, so i can enjoy the Sunday bands ).

Franz Ferdinand in Dolans

Another brilliant gig this week, in Dolans, with the fantastic Franz Ferdinand, a great music set, all the hits and four cracking new tunes, on the top of that.
As Stuart Clarke puts it:

The morning after the Franz night before! They were deadly, as was Dolan's and Limerick in general. What a venue and city!
— Stuart Clark (@stuartclark66) May 20, 2012

Franz Ferdinand have been the band of my first years working in Grenoble, transitioning from my student life. Great tunes, all full of memory. Brief another amazing night in Limerick :D

The setlist was :

• Cheating on You / Do You Want To / Tell Her Tonight 
• Right Thoughts / No You Girls / The Dark of the Matinée 
• Brief Encounters / Fresh Strawberries / ??? / Midnight! 
• Take Me Out / Ulysses / Trees & Animals / 40′ 
• Outsiders / Jacqueline 
• Encore:
• Michael /This Fire

UPDATE:
You can also read the excellent review of the gig on the Blog IndieLimerick:
http://indielimerick.blogspot.com/2012/05/franz-ferdinand-live-at-dolans-limerick.html

A good start for the Month of May

Bank May Holiday, with his now traditional Riverfest, was planned to be a busy weekend. The weather at times was menacing, but everything turned out great.

All started out with a chill out session on Friday night in the infamous Wicked Chicken, all with good tunes and excellent company (K & P )

The infamous Wicked Chicken....

We could not end up the night like that, so off we went finish ourselves to the Costello, his sticky carpet, and relax dance-floor, made some brilliant encounter down there, from past DJ (now teacher of the place) to Mr Scruff gig's friends.

Costello godess overlooking the dancefloor...

Water the drink of legends ;)

Definitely the perfect warm up for the long weekend.

On Saturday the big BBQ cook off, took place on Arthur Quay's, we manage to preserve ourselves a table, well guarded by bubbles gun.

Almost shining on a busy Arthur Quay...

Nice free food, and free music along with great people, mostly musician and psychology student, with the odd intrusion from work colleagues.

After an afternoon baking in the - at times - sun, it was time for me to go to Thomond Park, to enjoy a game of Rugby (Munster vs Ulster )

Munster Mascot

Munster on the attack....

This end up my day, but from what I heard the festivities were to continue long after my departure.

I had an excuse to leave early (10pm), as I was going diving in Doolin the following day.

On sunday morning, I arrive in Doolin, after escaping the gates in place for the Great Limerick Run.

Stoned view from Doolin pier

It did not take long to launch the boat, and off we went to the Aran Island ( Inis Mor ) to dive the wormhole ( I am still in the process of editing the video, so wait for the next post ).

In the afternoon we went for another one, along the Cliffs of Moher, under the sun.

The Cliffs viewed from the sea....

Once we were done, we had to take care of the boat, and after complicated exchange with some locals ( not facilitated by the foreigner accent of our diving club - including mine ), we ended up finding a suitable place to park it overnight. And it was time for fulfilling dinner.

A bit later, I had the extreme pleasure to be join by G&T in McDermott pub , around some nice guinness, enjoyable trad music session, for a nice chat. And it was not till well past 1AM that we had to say goodbye.

Guiness for strength in McDermotts

The legendary G&T

Up came monday, after a restful night - not enjoyed by everybody due to the weather conditions. 

And we were off, for another dive, this time  the club boat was hosting many guests from different clubs ( Cork SAC, Burren, and Ennis )

Aughinish Boat

Delightful dive, starting with an impressive wall of Anemones displaying all their colors in patches ( Orange, Yellow, Purple, blue.... ).

Aughinish Diving boat making way for the happy hooker.

And on our way back, we were greeted by a jumping dolphin, following us up to the pier.
You can actually read a bit more about this May dive weekend on the Aughinish website:
http://www.aughinishdivingclub.com/news/159-dolphin-the-cliffs-and-worm-hole


Some more....

Happy Hooked in Doolin ... ( the ferry  name ;)

The Cliffs viewed from Doolin....

Senakah launch album - Dolans - 1

Another good gig in Dolans, Senakah for the launch of their single ( Human Relations available on itunes )


Additionally you can check out the video for the song on youtube, which features nicely Limerick city (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xvY4qh6l3w )

Limerick Music Scene

I have spend my first thursdays evening of 2012 in the quite decent Limerick pub called: Bourkes ( website: http://bourkesbar.com ), enjoying some delightful and various musical acts. From electronic DJ Toby Kaar, to pop band "yeh deadlies", every night have been a joyful discovery.

Limerick is full of nice pubs where you can listen music, live bands and discover artists. The main venue for artist would be The Dolans ( http://dolanspub.com/ )  with the big warehouse but also a more intimate venue upstairs.Upstairs in the intimate atmosphere I have discovered Vertigo Smyth, James Vincent Mcmorrow, Maria Doyle Kennedy amongst other... while in the big concert room I have enjoyed The Answer, Lisa Hannigan, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mick Flannery...



There is also a concert hall in the University ( http://www.uch.ie/ ) , and The Daghda Space - sadly now defunct - use to be another alternative venue.

But beside the musical venues, the pub are showing great activities: Cobblestone Joe and Nancy Blake have regular live band on wednesday and sunday nights. The Curragower pub and Foleys allows you to listen to some blue grass.

Interesting DJ's can be heard in Mickey Martins, but also in my favorite funky bar: The Wicked Chicken.
The Wicked Chicken also entertain some concert downstairs or in combination with Baker Place.
In my head I am still bopping to some 50s song, thanks to show hosted by DJ Andy Smith.



And lastly Bourkes have started a series of great quality musical acts.




Limerick has a very much alive music scene, with passionate listeners and sound enthusiasts.
An interesting blog delivering gig reports: Indie Limerick ( http://indielimerick.blogspot.com )

Read here last thursday gig report:
http://indielimerick.blogspot.com/2012/01/certain-three-tour-2012-bourkes-bar.html


As a conclusion lets' finish with the lost brothers as seen on Other Voices:

Concert - The Answer in Dolans

Brilliant concert last night in Dolans, featuring the Northern Ireland band: The Answer.

The two support band were let's say entertaining, the first one though not bad, reminded me of spinal stap through their outfit ( head bandana, cut jean, leather trouser, goth style singer.... ), the second paid a lot less attention to its outfit, but as soon as the guitar started, they meant business, the energic singer performed the perfect warm-up to the leading act.

The first I saw The Answer , was at The Who concert in Cork, about 2-3 years ago, at the time I was really impressed by their style and their energy.

:D :D :D

Concert Bucket list

• Radiohead: Dublin 2006 and 2008
• The Who: Cork
• Jethro Tull: Dublin 2011
• Gorillaz: Dublin 2010
• Arcade Fire: Dublin 2010, and Marlay Park 2014
• Joseph Arthur
• Page & Plant Dublin 
• Robert Plant Dublin The Pint (3Arena) 2018
• P.J. Harvey  Dublin Olympia 2023
• Tryo: Grenoble
• Pink Floyd 
• Jeff Buckley: impossible
• Bjork Electric Picnic
• Lisa Hannigan: Limerick
• Mick Flannery (Dolans 2009)
• Noir Desir: no longer possible
• Rodrigo y Gabriela: (Limerick)
• Dyonisos
• Ham Sandwich Dolans, Whelans, 20 year 2023....
• Jerry Fish Circus Electric Picnic - checked

- updated 10 June 2016
- updated 30 May 2019 

- updated 22 October 2023

Gorillaz Concert Dublin 11 November 2010

I went to Dublin last week for the Gorillaz concert in the O2.



The concert was absolutely brilliant, though i thought at time the crowd was a bit asleep. I'd almost forgot De La Soul, and how brilliant and energizing they could be.

It was not a band performing, but more a full swinging orchestra, with guest coming on the front line, and what guests: Bobby Womack, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, and Daley (you can listen the new Gorillaz song featuring him here) incredible revelation for me, Little Dragon....

Thanks Mr Albarn:

Ended up to be a quite pleasant few days in Dublin.

Mick Flannery - Concert

Last friday i went to Mick Flannery concert in Dolans, brilliant act.



The Cork man himself


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.
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And just for the pleasure, i am adding one of his song accompanied by Lisa Hannigan:

Rodrigo y Gabriella ... summer 2009

Oh god i miss the free summer concert in Grenoble, fortunately there is some good bands playing in Limerick, most notably in Dolans, last night it was Rodrigo y Gabriella, absolutely brilliant.

2008 Top 10 Things

The Time is publishing it's top 10 of evrything for 2008: Time Special Top 10 2008, so here's my personal top 10 for 2008

• ASM 9th french rugby union championship final. Against Toulouse, even if it was not the result expected, Auvergne is still lookking to win the Brennus. Actually if Clermont win against Munster next saturday, this might replace that entry.

• Radiohead "In Rainbows" in Dublin
  An excellent new album, distributed freely through the web (i know it's actually 2007).
  
  And on the top of that, i've seen them in a fabulous concert in Dublin, dreamy from the start with a double rainbow welcoming the group in Marlay Park.
  

• Wall-ee
  The last pixar marvel, absolutely enchanting, in particular the silent 1st part of the movie.
  

• US presidential campaign
  From Hilary raise, to Obama victory... it has been a quite exciting and over-publicized campaign. Change could not come at a best time ( or at a worst ? ).
  

• Bertie Ahern stepping down.
  Fascinating, a great political figure, which shape today's ireland, a finance minister who does not have a bank account (how did he get paid ? in cash ), a man who lead the peace process. He had an incredibly long career in Irish Politics, which is contrasting, when you compare to the american system: Obama political career only started 4-5 years ago, while Bertie started in his 20's... France is unfortunately no different.
  With all the afairs, he also did a lot for the raise of Irish stand up comedian.
  

• Large Hardron Collider almost start up
  The Large Hardron Collider, building is finished, and experiment will be able to start. A particular feeling about that news, as lots of my teachers in Clermont University worked ( and are still working ) on that project.
  

• Munster-All Blacks in Thomond Park
  What a game, makes you proud of living in Limerick.
  Everything, from the Munster haka to finsh was exceptional that night.
  

• Lisa Hannigan "Sea Saw"
  Some interesting things happen this year in music, from Portishead latest addition "Third" to MGMT "Kids", but i have a tender preference for Lisa Hannigan first album, and not only for her live show in UL.
  

• Basking Sharks in Kerry
  The first time, I saw so huge animals in the sea... I know it's not a big news, and they are quite frequent on the Irish Coast, but it's in my top ten...
  
  Next year I'll try to get closer, bigger picture of them.
  

• Crunch....
  This growth rate seems unreal, and crazy for most part of the year, and now it's gone, in less time than it takes to write it. How artificial has been our occidental capitalistic lifes ? We'll see if 2009 brings better alternatives