Myriads In The Shimmering Trees

SpunOut.ie

2010-06-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

SpunOut.ie is an online magazine that provides journalistic articles in varying media on all sorts of topics - in the website's own words it "is an independent, youth powered national charity working to empower young people to create personal and social change."

The website is incredibly interactive and is divided into six sections: Home, The Mag, Health & Life, Take Action, Forum and Get Involved. The Mag section is where fiction and poetry gets published and it is where SpunOut.ie have published my poem Rat Race. They have changed the structure of Rat Race, though, for reasons I can only assume have to do with the space available on the display page - for the original version click here.

They take all sorts of articles, not just fiction writing, so it is definitely worth clicking into the Get Involved link and seeing what you can contribute to SpunOut.ie.

Minus 9 Online - Minus 9 Squared's cousin

2010-06-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

The editor of the monthly online zine Minus 9 Squared has set up a new blog called Minus 9 Online. The aim of the new blog is to provide a continuous stream of work by writers and artists during the gap between publication of the monthly zines proper.

The blog is split into two categories - Words on a Page, for poetry, prose and short stories; and Pictures on a Screen, for all work of a visual nature.

Three of my poems currently feature in the Words on a Page category of the blog - Fantasies, All the Old Friends and Rankle; though, once the blog receives more submissions they'll disappear from the home page quite quickly!

Submitting work to the blog is a good way of getting exposed and could lead to being published in Minus 9 Squared itself, or even in other magazines as anybody could be reading/viewing the content. At the time of writing, the blog remains relatively bare, so help fill it up with a catalogue of work by getting the submissions in!

Minus 9 Squared

2010-04-05T16:25:00.001-07:00

Minus 9 Squared is a literary zine that contains poetry, prose, photographs, artwork, and many other products of the arts by various contributors. It has only been recently set up and the first issue can be viewed here.

I was fortunate enough to have my poem Chaos to Silence published in this issue, and my friend Michael Fogarty also had a poem published (and, by random chance, the poems feature beside each other in the online magazine on pages ten and eleven, which is always nice).

All the work, both written and visual, is excellent, and hopefully there will be more to come from Minus 9 Squared and its contributors in the future.

New blog - 'Peace in a Crack Den'

2010-01-23T06:50:00.000-08:00

I've set up a poetry blog here. It's called Peace in a Crack Den. I've been writing poetry for years, but all this time I've been putting them on Bebo. Moving some of what I've written over to Blogger makes a lot of sense, especially seeing as Bebo has died the spectacular social networking death we all surely knew was coming.

That's what happens when Facebook turns up and shits all over its biggest rival. Anyways, I'm talking crap.

Do check out the poetry blog, I'd appreciate constructive, critical feedback!

Thanks.

Francis Reilly/Theobald Wolfgang.

Locked/The Race

2010-01-06T06:29:00.000-08:00

Locked

Locked, the door and this house, in need of maintenance by one, who refuses to do the job while being unaware of this decision, living blissfully ignorant to that which looks them in the eye, smiling while lying, crying because of the dying feeling surrounding the house, incapable of breaking down the locked door with the battering ram approach which served so well in the past, but has now become obsolete with the passing of people and time, both as irretrievable as each other, yet both the only ones with the power to unlock the door to this locked house, as one is one, but has always been many, just at different intervals with bigger or smaller locks, depending on the circumstance and time of when the first meeting took place, with the early years spent falling hopelessly and the more recent encounters spent pushing potential away out of fear of producing more pieces for the house's mantel.

The Race

Racing, always racing, looking to reach the end before the track runs out, before time suddenly stops and what seems endless in youth becomes sparing in age; snatches of it pass in front of my very eyes, within touching distance but transparent, vapour that cannot be trapped in bottles or on windows, that cannot be frozen or solidified in any way possible, like hope, belief, chance, love, hate, fear, sorrow, and all emotions big or small, major or minor, real or imaginary, like those mental diseases that many ignorant people believe are a self-serving myth, a massive attack of self-deprecation spawned from some ‘sick’ need to be appreciated, to be desired - imagine, wishing to be wanted, bemoan the human condition and its vulnerabilities, and pray never to succumb to the weakness of neediness for this, in the eyes of the ‘mentally tough’, is a cardinal sin, one punishable by being exiled, sent to live in isolation; spiralling off track in exuberant amounts of distraction and over-elaboration when the simple matter is an overwhelming need to escape this goldfish bowl of a nation with its corrupt bureaucrats and personal histories, to start anew abroad, somewhere big yet also small, a place to see and be seen, to live and be lived through, where experiences come and go daily in the people you meet and the surroundings you inhale; shaking legs show the pent up energy and frustration this suffocation is causing, fit to burst, racing toward the end without knowing when or where the starting block was, not knowing when or why the decision was made that this place, this house, this life, was too restrictive to breath properly in, or where it was the shackles were locked around the ankles, forcing the running of the race to take place in just one place, running a hole right into the same spot for the last three years as everybody else is released off the chains and out into the real world, with real ground to run into, with real lights, real sounds, real conversations, real feelings, real things they do not show us on the television anymore, out to where we can see that lies are what they are for ourselves; I just need to run my race, no matter where it takes me or how quickly it ends.

Mad

2009-11-29T08:11:00.001-08:00

“A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free.” - Kazantzakis

How much is a little? Better still, how much is too much? Our laws are not made to be broken; if they are broken, the people who break them - particularly in the really bad instances - are often deemed to be “mad”.

And what constitutes being “mad”? Hoping for a person way out of your league to turn around and notice you? Is that being “mad”? A thought like that imprisons you rather than liberates you, so then what? Do you get more “mad” and keep hoping?

The liberation is the action, the bravery to step up. Maybe you need to be a bit “mad” for that alright, but that is a different kind of madness; it is more so a confidence, a belief that the person WILL notice you even if they are not in your league.

But what constitutes a thought that is overly “mad”?

So “mad” that people actually stop in their tracks and either just stand in stunned silence or tell you to calm down?

And is such a madness liberating? Or does it imprison you in a box of isolation from your family, your friends, your colleagues, your peers?

I have been feeling a bit “mad” recently. Does this mean I am free? Because if this is what freedom feels like, I want to tie a new knot in my cut rope; freedom is not worth this.

Nothing is worth this.

Waiting at the train station

2009-11-29T07:35:00.000-08:00

"I am told that our lives are not worth much,
They pass in an instant as the roses fade."

Jump...

2009-11-28T13:26:00.001-08:00

My friend Anto Gallagher took these pictures - but I want all the glory so not only am I in the pictures but I also fixed all the settings on the camera.

My ego is now satisfied.

"Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall."

To Skerries!

2009-11-13T14:10:00.000-08:00

I was out in Skerries recently for a good friend's 21st. The next day he took us for a random stroll about the place - we caught it on a beautiful day, especially seeing as it was early November. I was surprised at how well the pictures turned out to be honest - they were, once again, taken on my phone.

This is my friend Sam standing in 'The Captain's Hole.' The waves lapping up onto the rock made this a nice shot. If you've noticed the shadow it belongs to my friend Dara, who is from Skerries.

Skerries looks well in the right light.

Dara said Skerries was trying to impress us.

It did a mighty fine job, it has to be said.

A picture from a phone shouldn't be worth much...

2009-11-13T13:57:00.000-08:00

"The book of love is long and boring" - it really isn't.

2009-10-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

This is a rare rant, so bear with it and it might just impact on you. If it doesn't, I apologise for wasting more of your time.

When a person fails to take an obvious hint, they begin to wonder about their value in life and whether or not their reading into something that seemed so obvious was correct at all - even when it was confirmed by the primary person anyone could want confirmation from.

You think you have it all when the person you have feelings for says they reciprocate. It is hard to see any potential flaw, at least in the beginning. They should be happy times, filled with the adolescent - and perhaps reckless - sense of abandonment that all relationships have in their early stages.

But what if circumstance intervenes before anything even has a chance of happening? What if they admit to you their true feelings, but then are so engulfed in more important things - and, make no mistake, no matter what the songs, the books and the films say, there ARE more important things in the real world than chasing love down many blocked off alleys - that they cannot commit to something potentially life-changing?

At least in your eyes.

And it is in those five words that all the difference in the world often lies, for if they decide that they are too young to miss out on all the experiences that one can only have when they are young and FREE, then how are you to argue that these feelings you feel - and that you know they feel - are so important as to put everything else aside for a commitment that, realistically, can wait another ten years? Whether it be with you or with someone else.

Personally, I have grown up believing and hoping the fantasies, the stereotypes we see on television everyday, actually happen in real life. But they don’t, and if they do, they don’t stay that way for long. The saddest thing of all, for me at least, is that it has taken me twenty years of living, three years of writing, five hundred and eighty-three crap poems, nine even worse short stories, countless attempts at living “the dream” that ended in failure, and this blog post to realise that truth.

The movie ‘500 Days of Summer’ addresses this truth, but the ending gives everyone hope for poor Tom Hanson - even though we have just watched the man have his heart torn out by a woman, Summer Finn, who KNEW the truth, the harshness of relationships and the fickle stock placed in the word ‘love’. Never mind the fact she tells Tom at the end that he was right to believe in love, to believe in fate, the fact is everything is just a coincidence - and Tom is two seconds away from believing that until the script writer decides to make Tom unlearn his lesson. He gets a phone number from a girl named Autumn - surely a coincidence, but the look in Tom’s face at the end tells you he thinks it is more than that.

Look, this is all opinion, people may agree, others may not. All I am saying is don’t get your hopes up when you think something special might happen - it is not fair on the other person and it is not fair on yourself because if and when you come crashing down, you only have yourself to blame for believing a fabricated fiction that ultimately sells many a Valentine’s card.

I will end with this: “the book of love is long and boring” sings Peter Gabriel. It really isn’t - it is dramatic, which is far from boring. But what he fails to mention when he sings about wedding rings is how little they mean these days. And all I really want now is a big hug from a certain good friend, because at least in that hug I can close my eyes and pretend the outside world does not exist - for those few moments, everything with life is right again. A hug like that found in a friend is a rare gift.

Yes, this was a rant. And yes, they generally lead to nothing and have no empirical leg to stand on. But someone somewhere might care. Maybe.

Killer Chloe are 'on the loose'

2009-10-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

“Contrary to popular belief, and in spite of what our name may suggest, we are NOT a lesbian death-metal band.”

May 22nd, 2008. This VERY important statement is posted by four-piece progressive post-punk band Killer Chloe on their MySpace blog. This post is important because clarity is a dying art and nothing could be more unclear than thinking a friend’s band or a friend of a friend’s band are a lesbian death metal band, even though the band themselves are - happily, I assume - all lads.

And if the idea of listening to a lesbian death metal band wasn't enough to make you wince, further into the post you soon learn that the name Killer Chloe came from an old recurring dream of vocalist and synth player Peter McNamara’s in which his rabbit Chloe would one day become ten foot tall and wear a top hat and monocle, and host countless parties in McNamara’s house with a bunch of other giant rabbits.

'KILLER CHLOE IS ON THE LOOSE' the imaginary headline would scream, much like the imaginary screaming of the imaginary people desperately reading this imaginary article in the hope its advice would save their imaginary lives.

Now, if you read that particular blog post before listening to the music, you may be inclined to think another bunch of posers are 'on the loose.' Either that or be struck by an image of rabbits and lesbians head banging side-by-side at an Immolation gig, giant rabbit ears flopping wildly about.

However, Killer Chloe have attracted the attention of various reviewers over the last few months with their catchy three song demo ‘Sandersons’.

They are more akin to a toned down, less synthesised Fight Like Apes than any death metal band, with the voice of vocalist McNamara the only stark contrast that could be drawn between the two bands’ sounds.

The stand out song on the demo is easily the title track, ‘Sandersons’. Luke Nelson’s bass line, Feargal Corrigan’s guitar riff and Greg Purcell’s hi-hat drumming hook you into the song from the beginning. And that’s before the final two and a half minutes of the song which are purely instrumental and will make you dance to the rhythm for those two and a half minutes.

‘Sandersons’ shows Killer Chloe at their best, utilising their ability to come up with musical hooks that get lodged in your head to annoyingly good effect as this is a song you will want to come back to again and again.

‘Mother Hubbard’ begins in a similar vein to ‘Sandersons’, with more rhythmic drumming by Purcell and more catchy guitar and synth parts. But there comes a sudden change in rhythm in this song that can catch you unawares if you’re not ready for it. It took me a couple of listens to get used to it. This happens a couple of times in the song and sounds unnatural, making the song seem like it’s broken up into deliberate, separate parts.

The synth bridge of ‘Mother Hubbard’, though, is excellently done, with McNamara’s repeated “I’m screamin’ down a well” vocals sounding like they are actually being shouted down a well, or at least from 100 yards away.

Final track ‘Teschi Lush’ is my personal favourite and is better overall than ‘Mother Hubbard’ in that any changes in rhythm seem natural and progressive, uniting the song while avoiding the use of just one rhythm throughout. It is the darkest song on the demo, with the guitar parts and synth keyboard combining to emphasise McNamara’s lyrics, especially the repeated “I kissed a mirror, I kissed a mirror, I kissed a mirror” vocals.

My only gripe with this song comes roughly two and a half minutes in when four synth chords are played one after the other. Between these chords are pockets of silence that really disrupt the song’s rhythm. If they were played right through it would be a simple yet beautiful bridge, but the pockets of silence are off putting and can catch you off guard no matter how many times you listen it.

For a demo, ‘Sandersons’ is well produced and the band is clearly comfortable playing together. Killer Chloe have the ability to write catchy tunes, both lyrically and instrumentally, yet they should write one or two softer songs too, just to have that bit of diversity in their arsenal.

I look forward to catching these lads live, and who knows, maybe there will even be some death metal lesbians and giant killer bunny rabbits at their next gig? Make sure you join me to find out. They play the Trinity Freshers Ball in the Academy this Tuesday, October 13th, at 8pm and play 4 Dame Lane at the same time on the 17th as part of the 2009 Hard Working Class Heroes Festival.

Bribry 'Swings' Sky High - new solo project by Brian O'Reilly

2009-09-10T06:43:00.000-07:00

Bribry is Sky High is the new solo pseudonym taken on by former Star Crossed Enemies front man Brian O’Reilly. O’Reilly has just finished recording debut EP ‘Swings’ with former Guillotines and Star Crossed Enemies band mate Gary White. While White took part in the recording of ‘Swings’ he will not form part of the live line-up of Bribry is Sky High full-time, with Redreck vocalist and guitarist Ian Campbell set to partner O’Reilly onstage.

O’Reilly’s ‘Swings’ pop songs are heavily influenced by the likes of Bright Eyes - who he has covered during past gigs - the Beatles, Smashing Pumpkins, being in relationships and watching the world around him through a glass half full perspective.

‘Swings’ has four tracks, two of which are the old Star Crossed Enemies’ songs ‘Black Magic’ and ‘Mira’, as well as O’Reilly solo favourite ‘One Thing To Do Before You Die’ and one completely new track, ‘A Poem I’ll Sing Out Loud’. And, of course, all four songs include the ‘woos’, the ‘aahs’, the ‘oohs’ and the ‘woo-hoos’ that have become such a distinctive hallmark of O’Reilly’s song writing over the past two and a half years.

‘Black Magic’, the EP’s opener, is easily the loudest song on the album. White’s chord sequence and preceding repetitive riffs combine with O’Reilly’s drums and chorus ‘woooo-oooo-aoooo-oooo’ vocals (if that’s spelled correctly I should get seven free EPs) to grab the listener’s attention from the beginning.

From then on, ‘Swings’ becomes progressively mellower, with ‘Mira’ being poppier than ‘Black Magic’. White abandons the electric guitar here to go for the acoustic, suiting the nature of ‘Mira’ perfectly. The entire rhythm of the song is uplifting, even if the lyrics being sung by O’Reilly aren’t so at times. ‘Mira’ is a catchy song and is available to listen to on the Bribry is Sky High MySpace page.

‘One Thing To Do Before You Die’ is an O’Reilly classic and will be familiar to all who know O‘Reilly’s music from his previous solo incarnations. There have been two demo recordings of this song before now and the only real difference between this version and the previous two - besides sound quality, which is better on the ‘Swings’ version - is that the new version is played at a faster pace than before. The little improvements and changes made in the song since its first demo appearance can be heard in the ‘Swings’ version, as well as the confidence and experience O’Reilly and White now have to execute it exactly the way they want it. Add the excellent production of the EP as a whole to these things and it gives you the best, and hopefully definitive, recording of ‘One Thing…’

‘Swings’ ends on a short but happy note with new track ‘A Poem I’ll Sing Out Loud’ - a definitive love song written by a musician who’s niche is writing love songs, as O’Reilly himself acknowledges in the very first lyric. The acoustic finger picking rhythm is addictive in a sense and, combined with the use of the glockenspiel, you can’t help but bop your head along with it and smile. A synthetic cello is thrown in at the song’s end to wrap up the EP nicely. This song is the happiest of the four tracks and has been dubbed by O’Reilly himself as the new ‘One Thing…’

‘Swings’ was produced by Andy Knightley who has worked with the likes of Sinead O'Connor, Bell X1, The Rags and Damien Dempsey in the past. Knightley doesn’t miss a sound here and his experience has benefited O’Reilly’s effort greatly, maximising the potential of each of these songs.

The EP is to be released on iTunes towards the end of September, with the hard copy - featuring cover art drawn by White and Carol Broderick - being available on October 1st in Road Records. Bribry is Sky High perform in the Cobblestone in Smithfield this Sunday, September 13th. Check it out if you’re in the mood to smile to yourself.

http://www.myspace.com/bribryisskyhigh

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bribry-Is-Sky-High/132899008888

http://www.bebo.com/bribryisskyhigh

Apollos Thebe seize the music - and so should you

2009-08-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

Prendo: definition - after an extensive look through the ‘Wiktionary’ (a wiki can answer anything these days), I finally discovered ‘prendo’ to mean something along the lines of ‘to seize’, ‘to take’, ‘to hold’, ‘to charm’, and ‘to keep’ in Galician, Spanish and/or French. If I’m wrong, correct me now and I shall forever hold my silence.

Nowhere, though, did I find a definition saying ‘to lose’. And yet, that’s what Apollos Thebe’s new single ‘Prendo’ is all about - a man losing a lover and a friend, losing the person as they change and start to sound “like everyone else but who you are to me.”

And maybe that epiphany is the point? Maybe when vocalist Alex Dunne loses “something oh so terrible”, he’s thinking of the beauty of the word ‘prendo’ itself while sadly conceding that seizing, holding and keeping the one you think you want is impossible because the landscape of his relationship with the person is shifting without him even noticing?

“Things are not the same as they used to be, and I can’t tell this.”

Or maybe Dunne and the rest of Apollos Thebe simply felt the word ‘prendo’ was a nice title for a song? Either way, over elaboration or not, the fact is Apollos have struck again with this beautiful new single.

‘Prendo’ is typical of what we’ve come to expect from Apollos Thebe. The vocals with thought provoking lyrics are at the forefront along with rhythmic drumming and catchy guitar riffs, which are backed by a piano, an acoustic guitar and backing vocals, all of which combine to form this uplifting song.

While new bands arriving on the commercial music scene, like Florence and the Machine and The Temper Trap, continue their foray into a more alternative side of music - moving away from the overplayed three chord indie Kooks sound that has long since lost its hold (not intended as a dig, more so meant as an example of a ‘fad’ band that couldn’t learn a new trick, seeing their popularity die as a result - and I liked their first album!) - Apollos Thebe remain true to their unique sound, “bettering ourselves”, to use their own words, through music with each and every song they write.

The B-side of the ‘Prendo’ single is ‘G’, a song which featured on their self-titled EP but was confined to a 38 second intro. The elongated version featured on the new release is three minutes 28 seconds long and features lyrics, as well as the introduction of a glockenspiel just over a minute into the song - the resulting instrumental succeeding in bringing a smile to my face. How can a song with a well deployed glockenspiel NOT raise a smile?

A stand out feature of Apollos Thebe is their ability to create good rhythm. A band can make a reputation off of strong, catchy rhythms and in both songs on this single - whether it be the instrumental part of ‘Prendo’ or the layered lyrics at the end of ‘G’ - Apollos create various rhythms that grab the listener’s attention and holds it for the duration of the two songs.

And if nothing else, presentation is something to be appreciated, and presentation is everything to this band, which can be seen in the sleeve design for ‘Prendo’ (unfortunately the picture I took below doesn't do it justice).

The single is available in Tower Records now. Apollos Thebe perform live on FM104 this Sunday, August 30th from 10pm. Seize the opportunity to hear them live for free in the comfort of your own home!

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prendo#Verb_form

http://www.bebo.com/apollosthebe

http://www.myspace.com/apollosthebe

http://twitter.com/apollosthebe

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Apollos-Thebe/65066443837?ref=sgm

http://www.youtube.com/Apollosthebemusic

Star Crossed Enemies - no longer Star Crossed but it's with a Happy Ending

2009-08-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

It is with enormous sadness that I write about the break up of Star Crossed Enemies. After the highs of being loved by the unlikely folk of Limerick, of reaching second place in the download,ie charts, of recording an EP and of making many a person smile with their onstage chemistry, Brian O’Reilly and Gary White decided to part ways with their final show together taking place in the Spirit Store in Dundalk supporting Michelle Anne Kelly.

The good news is that they will continue to collaborate on various projects over the next year or so, with Star Crossed Enemies song ‘Mira’ already recorded for O’Reilly’s solo project BriBry is Sky High, with further collaborations with other musicians also in the pipeline. ‘Mira’ is available to listen to on the BriBry is Sky High MySpace page. A full EP, titled ‘Swings’, is planned for release in October and is one to look out for.

White has also been throwing down some interesting solo demo work over the last couple of weeks, with work on the piano in particular producing some interesting results. A Danny Elfman and Vincent Gallo inspired song, titled simply ‘Movie Scene Ending’, is available to listen to on his MySpace page, as well as three other songs.

It’s really a case of watch these spaces over the coming year as both men start again along the arduous path to making a name for themselves in a music scene that scarcely allows it. But they did sign an autograph on the last Star Crossed Enemies EP they sold at their final gig in Dundalk - they won’t say no to more of that in the future.

http://www.myspace.com/bribryisskyhigh

http://www.myspace.com/garywhitemusic

EBG - Elegance, Beauty and Grace

2009-06-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

There are three simple elements to this songs; the piano, the vocals and lyrics, and the rain and wind in the background of the first half of the song.

Gavin White’s ‘EBG’ chronicles a story of a boy who had a girl, but then lost the girl - and he is now asking for another chance. Sounds clichéd enough, but there is nothing clichéd about the main body of lyrics, or about White’s haunting voice that sounds like a distant whisper coming from the gentle storm behind the piano.

Ah, the piano. Each note played by White at the song’s beginning hangs and fades away into the rain and wind. Then we reach the chorus, and the piano slowly enters a rhythm as White sings:

‘Give me another chance to say,
I love you more day-by-day,
Give me another chance to say,
I miss you more day-by-day.’

Then every note is left hanging again, and the story continues. By the second half of the song, the piano is playing the chorus chords and the sounds of the storm cannot be heard. Then, when the last note is played and left hanging at the song’s conclusion, there is no storm anymore, and this combined with White’s final verse seems to highlight the realisation that he will never get the girl he is singing for back.

EBG is far from uplifting and won’t be on many people’s party play lists, but it is stunningly simple and beautifully executed (especially considering the song was recorded in White’s front room). The song really encompasses the three words of its title.

The song can be found on White's 'Insomnia' band page (linked below). Also, keep an eye out for White's band 'My Red Sea', whose electro sound is far removed from the delicate piano employed in 'EBG'.

Insomnia:
http://www.myspace.com/insomniairl

My Red Sea:
http://www.myspace.com/myredsea
http://www.bebo.com/myredseairl

Apollos Thebe - The Voice of God that hopefully won't Stawp

2009-04-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a while. Apologies for the lack of action on this blog. College work has kept me busy, as has the inevitable social life that comes with it. This will be brief, just a word on a wonderful band I stumbled happily across a while ago:

“You can take the time to find out what has really kept you here.”

I’ll come back to this.

Two minutes and forty-seven seconds into track six of Apollos Thebe’s self-titled EP. Drums and bass; rhythm building up to something bigger. Cue the acoustic. Then the cello. Then it comes together, and the vocalist informs us of the time available to find out what has kept us rooted to the spots where we sit now.

A rhetorical statement, surely? The answer is on the stage. Apollos, you are what have me entranced. I wish I could replace the word ‘sit’ with ‘stand’ but, alas, the Button Factory is empty on this Saturday April 11th, meaning a place at the bar, out of sight of the other ten or so people in the venue, is in order. The Sprites are ordered a plenty.

I first came across the five piece - self described as varying genres, from New Wave to Progressive, Electronica to Powerpop, with a taste for the film score side of things too - at a Radio City gig back in February when I went to see the Thousandaires. A happy coincidence. Despite only catching the last few songs of Apollos’ set, the band’s performance that night was enough to convince me to buy a copy of their EP. I found their sound to be intriguing. This lot warranted further investigation.

Which brings us to the present (via a chance meeting with the band’s brilliant photographer the day after the Radio City gig, but the Puppet Magazine adventure will be covered in a later post, no doubt). The Button Factory may be dead, but the performance is alive. Perhaps it could be considered a tad controversial or egotistical to name a song ‘The Voice of God (Clear The Throat)’, but if it was ever justified, it may as well be Apollos’ tune. There are only five lines of lyrics, repeated, looped, telling us to take our time and letting us know that they will never let us go.

Because they, Apollos, actually CARE what the people who follow them think. What all 822 MySpace friends think and what all 841 Bebo fans think (these figures have more than likely increased by now). They even threw in a birthday greeting for a late arrival to the Button Factory gig.

The band recently made it onto Phantom FM’s play list, and appeared on the show to talk a little about the band (unfortunately I committed a cardinal sin and missed it!). However, as posted in the band’s Bebo blog, when they say “we” they do not simply mean the members of the band, but the people who helped the band to where they are now.

“We are yours”, they state, and you believe it when you watch them, as they play with smiles on their faces even though they are only playing to a handful of people. The handful are the people they care about, the dedicated Apollos’ groupies (although they may not appreciate being called groupies). A band that really cares is a rare thing to come across. Rarity means uniqueness, and Apollos certainly have that.

Their sound is unlike much of the new stuff arising out of Dublin, with the cello in particular adding a dimension too many bands these days attempt to find by sole use of the keyboard. Apollos’ blending of the keyboard and cello gives them an edge over other bands and a sound other bands can only cast envious glances toward.

‘Stawp’ and ‘Amber’, as well as ‘Voice of God (Clear The Throat)’, are stand out tracks (despite the unfortunate irony of a false start with ‘Stawp’ on the night - they had to stop ‘Stawp’; oh dear, I went for the horrible pun) with their pace making them anthems in a sense amongst the Apollos following, at least to those who turned up on the night. Numbers gradually increased as Apollos progressed through their set.

Despite this, it is the beauty of the instrumentals that has captured my heart, which they did not play at the Button Factory. ‘Tel Aviv’ sounds as tragic as it is inspiring. Images of helplessness flash across my mind upon hearing it, yet something about the end brings a ray of hope.

Then ‘AonmyE’ sounds like an orchestra piece that defies conventional orchestra pieces, even with its background chanting, simply because of the speed it moves at. When I listen to this song my head never stops moving, and the fact the song has no lyrics means words sit on the tip of my tongue. Anyone can practically sing anything they want to it, making it a song for anybody and everybody.

The band’s EP is available in Tower Records. Obscurity can only remain for so long for Apollos, as it would be sheer tragedy if big things do not happen for them. A tragedy for music lovers who rely on the radio for the latest ‘tunes’ that is.

http://www.bebo.com/apollosthebe
http://www.myspace.com/apollosthebe

Star Crossed Enemies - a new direction

2009-02-28T08:16:00.000-08:00

Since the split of Guillotines, Brian O’Reilly and Gary White have created a new sound for themselves with Star Crossed Enemies. However, this new sound is one that may not be deemed ‘exciting’ enough for gig promoters in Dublin to consider as headline material. The example being used here is the band Green Lights’ final gig on the 27th of February, 2009. The bill for this gig was, in playing order (first to last): Star Crossed Enemies/The Funeral Suits/ and Green Lights.

I have mentioned Star Crossed Enemies and Funeral Suits in earlier posts (gig reviews). I enjoy the music of both bands immensely, despite their differing/contrasting styles. It is always good to mix and match, pick and mix, and any other euphemism you can think of that implies the appreciation of various types of music (in this instance).

So it was with tired anticipation that I approached Whelan’s on Wexford Street (tired because of fatigue; trust the stereotypical college social lifestyle to do that). I had heard good things about Green Lights in the build up, but it was Star Crossed Enemies I was particularly interested in seeing.

The Donaghmede/Malahide two-piece were coming off the back of a two day trip to Limerick, where they played two gigs and recorded a performance for Limerick FM. O’Reilly and White were delighted with the reception they received down in Limerick. They attracted two big crowds, they sold roughly thirteen EPs and were even requested for autographs by a couple of audience members.

It was a big come down, then, to stand on stage upstairs in Whelan’s in front of eight or so people. The sarcasm was rife in O’Reilly’s cry of ‘We’re back Dublin!’ As they progressed through their set, several stragglers moseyed in, catching maybe half of Star Crossed Enemies’ set, or even just a couple of songs.

They were warmly received by the small crowd in Whelan’s at the time. However, there was a larger crowd for Funeral Suits and a still larger crowd for Green Lights (naturally, seeing as it was Green Light’s farewell gig). One gets the impression that this is the sort of thing Star Crossed Enemies will need to get used to.

O’Reilly and White are all too familiar with playing in front of just two men and a dog from their days in Guillotines. However, the difference between Guillotines and Star Crossed Enemies is this: Guillotines had songs that, if they had the following their music was crying out for, would have been anthems.

‘Come What May’, ‘Down and Out’ (written by former Guillotines guitarist Gavin White), and ‘Seventeen’ were big songs, songs a person cannot ignore while sitting in a bar as they are, literally, in your face. And, of course, there was ‘Early Days and Centuries’. This was THE song for Guillotines. They went hand in hand. Then it was re-worked by O’Reilly and White and it became THE song for Star Crossed Enemies.

Then, they dropped it from their repertoire (also dropping ‘Come What May’ and ‘Seventeen’ in the process). An internal discussion decided that ‘Early Day’s did not fit in with Star Crossed Enemies’ new direction. They did not want to be associated with a solitary song anymore. A brave move, considering ‘Early Days’ was receiving plenty of airplay on Limerick FM at the time and was second in the download.ie charts.

So now Star Crossed Enemies and Guillotines are indistinguishable. To make comparisons and to choose a preference is unfair and illogical as they come from two different styles of music. Guillotines were louder, more abrasive in parts. Star Crossed Enemies are easier on the ear; some of their music is beautiful.

And herein lies the predicament facing them. They are not, by any stretch of the means, at this moment and time a band that would be considered for a big headline slot in Dublin. The music they create is music promoters like to use to warm up the crowd; time filling music. Bands of a louder, more commercial nature are favoured to headline gigs in Dublin. And, crucially, bands with a more ESTABLISHED fan base are favoured to headline gigs in Dublin.

Star Crossed Enemies run the risk of being labelled (unfairly) as boring. Songs like ‘No Happy Ending’ and ‘Light’ have a fast rhythm to them, but many of their other songs, like ‘One Thing To Do Before You Die’ and ‘Mira’ are slower, softer songs, which is not a bad thing as they are good songs with imaginative and heartfelt lyrics. However, it means they are likely to earn the dreaded opening slot at many of the gigs they play as promoters prefer the bands that are loud and in your face to headline their shows.

Therefore, it makes sense that building up a loyal following is essential for them to make headline slots. However, building up a loyal following requires exposure, which means people seeing them at gigs in their supporting slots now. But if only four to ten people are seeing them a gig, and maybe one, if they are lucky, takes a keen interest in the band, then how long will it take for the twosome to build up a large fan base that will allow them to contest for the bigger headline slots? And, perhaps more importantly, will they have the patience to wait that long?

Knowing O’Reilly and White, headline slots do not interest them. They just wish to reach a wide audience and show them the diversity of their musical pieces. However, the two are not mutually exclusive, and it could be that frustration at failing to reach the wider audience they crave may get the better of them.

Limerick have opened their ears and hearts to Star Crossed Enemies thought-provoking and beautiful music. Will Dublin do the same? And, if not, will Dublin at least graciously accept the free biscuits O’Reilly and White are offering at their gigs?

http://www.myspace.com/starcrossedenemies
http://www.bebo.com/StarCrossedEnemies

Swimming in a Red Sea - looking at the foundations

2009-01-21T04:39:00.000-08:00

Following the split of Guillotines back in June of 2008, guitarist and vocalist Gavin White spent a lot of time recording solo pieces on his MacBook under two different aliases, Herodotus’ Dream and Insomnia.

White is very politically orientated in thought and action. He studies Economics and Politics in UCD. He is heavily influenced by the likes of George Orwell and Karl Marx, amongst others, and this comes across in his music. For example in the Herodotus’ Dream song ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’, White screams “1984 is coming up behind” and “1984 is knocking on your door”, references to Orwell’s famous novel ‘1984’ (not intended to be patronising, just clear in description). His songs have an air of political entrapment about them.

However, following personal circumstances and the break up of Guillotines, White’s songs took on a different approach when he assumed the alias of Herodotus’ Dream. Songs such as ‘Je Taime’, ‘Stepping Stones’, ‘Substitute’ and ‘Untitled #2’ give an indication of White’s mental state at this time. It was also around this time that White collaborated with Francis Reilly of Gravity Storm to write the music for Reilly’s despairingly sad poem ‘Hope Is Lost’.

Interestingly, under the guise of Insomnia, White’s new found passion for electronic music can be seen in songs like ‘Prgtry’, ‘Time Magazine’ and ‘Rotax’ which utilise the MacBook’s full array of instruments and beat processors. Elements of the acoustic sound of Herodotus’ Dream are also retained in ‘Confession’, ‘IP4’ and Metropolis, while the tragically beautiful ‘EBG’, which stands for ‘Elegance, Beauty and Grace’, the title of White’s Insomnia album, brings out the darkest in White.

Being a fan of White’s solo material, and of previous band Guillotines, I awaited with much interest for months to see if he would instigate a new a band at any stage. He was always keen to get back on the live circuit in Dublin but things were quiet for a time, with White seemingly focusing entirely on his solo projects.

One song from the Insomnia album caught my attention immediately with its slow build up and explosion of noise. It was called ‘IP5’. The opening lyrics were “There’s a hand drenched in the red sea/can’t you feel it?” This song was stuck in my head for a time, but I didn’t think it would start what is has started now.

Fast forward to January 2009. White leaves me Bebo comment. “We recorded a present for you.” I visit the Bebo page of White’s new band, My Red Sea, a three piece consisting of White, bassist David Duffy and drummer Shane (not Shay) Given. I scroll down to the tracks and see one song that was not there the day before. It’s titled ‘My Red Sea’. A pattern is forming.

I click play and the song begins its slow build up, with two guitar riffs looping, the bass bassing and the synths synthing. Then the drums come in and the riffs change but the looping remains and the synthesisers come to the fore. Then the riffs stop and White’s all too familiar voice starts singing. “There’s a hand drenched in the red sea/can’t you feel it?” It’s IP5 reworked and made better than it was. Once again I find the words ‘My Red Sea’ stuck in my head, except this time they are there as a band and a song, not just a song lyric.

The band’s sound stems from a range of influences. This include electronic artists such as Autechre, Burial and Boards of Canada and more ‘traditional/mainstream’ artists like Radiohead, Bloc Party, Nine Inch Nails, My Bloody Valentine, Deerhunter and Modest Mouse.

My Red Sea’s Bebo page simply says “This revolution will be televised.” This gives bands, fans and everyone a range of choices. You can sit back and watch the tidal wave crash; you can drown in the crashing of the wave; or you can be at the front of it all, side-by-side with White, Duffy and Given, and ride the crest of the wave.

I know what I’m doing. I’m going swimming in a Red Sea.

http://www.myspace.com/myredsea
http://www.bebo.com/myredseairl

Heart and Soul - Joy Division box set

2009-01-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

“With a few exceptions, everything Joy Division recorded and released is contained here. Joy Division: 1977 to 1980.”

These are the final two lines of the Joy Division Heart and Soul box set. For those of you who do not know me personally, I am a massive Joy Division fan. I got into them after the movie Control came out on DVD back in March or April. Can’t really remember, and it’s not all that important, I suppose.

Since first seeing Control, I’ve managed to get hold of several Joy Division CDs. Now, Unknown Pleasures, Closer, Still and others make up a substantial chunk of my CD collection.

I also got a couple of books, Touching from a Distance, by Deborah Curtis, the widow of late lead singer Ian Curtis, and Joy Division: Piece By Piece by Paul Morley, who wrote extensively about Joy Division, and continues to do so to this day.

I became engrossed in the story, the drama and the tragedy of it. Hooked, just like everyone else. After Control was released, it suddenly became ‘cool’ to like Joy Division. Commercialism, twenty-odd years on (apologies for the vagueness; I was too lazy to work out the exact time difference from Joy Division’s premature end to their sudden rise to popularity). Typical really (both the commercialism and the laziness).

So, back to more pressing matters. The box set. Named Heart and Soul after a Joy Division song (naturally) from the band’s second album, it contains four CDs which have eighty Joy Division tracks spread out over them. Nice.

There are recorded tracks from their main albums, as well as random recordings from sessions with different producers, including Jonathan Peel and the now infamous producing genius Martin Hannett.

As well as this endless amount of music, also included is a book containing pieces on Joy Division by Morley, who I am a big fan of, Jean-Pierre Turmel and Jon Savage, neither of whom I had heard of prior to reading their pieces (to my embarrassment, perhaps?). At the end of this book is a list of all the songs and live performances included on the CDs, as well as the band’s discography, biography, sessionography and live television and film performances.

Clearly, plenty of effort was put into this box set. The packaging is decent too. It opens up, with two CDs either side of the slot containing the book. The choice of picture for the cover is also simple, yet striking. It’s a close up image of one side of Ian Curtis' face, taken during one of the band's BBC performances. His expression on the cover epitomises his life, the life of Joy Division and the music they made.

I didn’t need to buy this box set. I have the vast majority of the songs several times over on my computer and on CD already. However, my buzz comes from buying CDs and when my friend picked the box set up and showed it to me, there was only ever going to be one outcome. And I'm delighted it was so.

For those of you who read my post entitled ‘Between the click of the light and the start of a dream’, you’ll recall my fondness for a demo version of Arcade Fire’s No Cars Go. Joy Division have a wonderfully, sad, atmospheric song called, fittingly, Atmosphere. Before buying the Heart and Soul box set, I had several versions of every other Joy Division, bar Atmosphere. I often wondered if there was a live version or an early version that I was missing out on.

Well, disc three, track nineteen is that version. It’s called Chance (Atmosphere). It’s longer, not as clean cut and more gripping, in my mind, than the version I’m used to. The sound of the song is completely different, but the rhythm and atmosphere it creates remain just as powerful. There are extra lyrics which altered my original perception of the song. Curtis’ voice is rougher, as if he knows what he’s singing will come to pass some day (of course, everyone who listens to Joy Division has that feeling about Curtis' singing, so my thought here is just a conformist opinion). This version of Atmosphere was previously unreleased and was recorded in Eden Studios in London.

For this song alone, I’m happy I bought the box set. Technically then, I spent €26.99 for one song. Not true, however. I like all the songs on the box set, as I’ve heard them all before. There were only two songs which I didn’t have before purchasing Heart and Soul; As You Said and In A Lonely Place. Both these songs, like Atmosphere are sad, atmospheric songs.

Maybe my preference for this side of Joy Division’s music at this moment and time tells you something about where my head is right now, both musically and mentally, but that is quite irrelevant to this post (although I could make a perfectly legitimate argument for why it is relevant, but I won’t).

I also love the version of Ceremony included in the box set. I only had a live version of this song before buying Heart and Soul, which is completely different to the version contained on the box set. The live version is faster and more urgent in comparison to the slower build up of the version from the box set. The song is incredible and, allegedly, was the last song written by Curtis’ before his suicide in 1980. It was released as New Order’s first single in 1981, New Order being Joy Division re-incarnated minus Curtis (they would release the single twice that year, with the second release featuring Gillian Gilbert, who wasn‘t in New Order when they released the single first time around).

The box set contains all the original tracks from the band’s two albums, Unknown Pleasures and Closer, as well as compilation album Still and best of Substance. Several unreleased tracks are also included.

For anyone interested in listening to Joy Division, this box set gives you all the songs you could want, as well as the nifty book, which gives plenty of information about the band’s brief history. Recommendation and a half is all I’ll say.

Key Tracks:
Disc One: Digital, Disorder, She’s Lost Control, Transmission
Disc Two: Atmosphere, Dead Souls, Komakino, Isolation, Heart and Soul, The Eternal, Love Will Tear Us Apart
Disc Three: No Love Lost, Leaders of Men, Ice Age, Chance (Atmosphere), As You Said, Ceremony, In A Lonely Place
Disc Four (live performances): Dead Souls, Candidate, Atrocity Exhibition, Colony

My choices are personal and may differ entirely from other peoples’ choices. If you encounter conflicting opinion, my suggestion is simple…listen to all eighty tracks.

Oh, and happy new year to one and all!

Between the click of the light and the start of the dream.

2008-12-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

‘No Cars Go’ blares. Not the tidy studio version from Arcade Fire’s second studio album ‘Neon Bible’, but the demo version recorded for the band’s first EP.

It has an unusual, we’ll say, effect on me. It is making me shiver, not a frightened or cold shiver, but a shiver of excitement. It is making my heart beat faster and my body shake.

We know a place where no space ships go
We know a place where no subs go
No cars go
No cars go
Where we know

My leg vibrates of its own accord, going crazy with the rhythm of the song…

Between the click of the light and the start of the dream
Between the click of the light and the start of the dream
Between the click of the light and the start of the dream
Between the click of the light and the start of the dream

Then, my favourite part of the song kicks in…

I don’t want any pushing, and I don’t want any shoving.
We’re gonna do this in an orderly manner.
Women and children!
Women and children!
Women and children, let’s go!
Old folks, let’s go!
Babies needing cribs, let’s go!

My head nods over and over again, eyes closed, nodding, nodding.

The song comes to its rough, typical-demo song close.

And I double click on it in my Media Player again. I just can’t get enough.

Music can do anything. It can make the smallest of us feel tall and the biggest of us break down. It can create social stereotypes and eliminate social stereotypes. It can unite and divide. It can create ignorance and encourage genius.

It’s amazing how music can randomly inspire us or suddenly depress us. The power it can hold over the human psyche is both wonderful and terrible in equal measure. History has given us many examples of people who have done both great and horrific things under the influence of music. Everyone has their own personal examples, I know I do, and everyone knows of the examples that were in the public eye.

The influence and power of the communicating mediums (newspapers, radio, television, world wide web, etc) is often discussed and debated amongst the world’s greatest intellectuals. But what about music as a medium? It is not debated to the scale with which the literal communicating mediums are, but it is certainly ‘exploited’, the only word for it, to the same extent.

Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, Ian Curtis, Conor Oberst, Elliot Smith, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. The list goes on and on. All have used music to push across their messages, their ideals. And you know what? They weren’t the only ones doing it. EVERYONE is doing it.

Yet why is this ignored by the planet’s greatest minds? Is music below them? Or do they think that music as a medium of its own accord is not as powerful as the main forms of communicating mediums we are familiar with? Ignorance may be bliss, forgive the cliché, but it does not change the simple fact that…

BANDS CHANGE LIVES.

This sounds ridiculous. That doesn’t detract the truth from the statement. Music’s power stems from the fact that it can be truly subliminal, hiding the message beneath layers of instrumentals, between twisted words and newly-formed metaphors. The message seeps into the listener’s mind, ingraining upon it the point that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives…if the message is conveyed correctly that is.

Too often, people ignore the lyrics of songs. They hear the beat. They dance to the beat. They are happy with the beat. Song ends. That’s it. No, that shouldn’t be it. There should be engagement with the song. There should conceptual understanding gained from the song. Not today. Not when band’s can write anything as long as it’s catchy.

So why is THIS being ignored by the world’s intellectual minds? Why is the abuse of music as a medium not raising questions? Because its influence is not being acknowledged or respected.

Music creates feelings no other thing in the world can replicate. If conveyed correctly, its message will be timeless. Those with the power need to stop abusing it for money and success and use it for the greater good.

The other communicating mediums have failed in resisting humanities constant need for gratification. Maybe music is the option. Maybe it all starts here.

Between the click of the light and the start of the dream.

Stone Throwing Youths - leaving the Mannikin in the closet

2008-11-19T15:56:00.000-08:00

Following the split of much loved West Corkian band Mannikin (634 MySpace friends isn't bad going), guitarist Brian Casey suddenly found he had a lot of time on his hands. He disappeared from the music scene for a while, writing songs in Spring 2008 to release "for the laugh".

The end result is his new musical project, Stone Throwing Youths. Maybe 'youth', the singular, would be more apt however as, so far, the Cork born, Dublin based student is alone in this venture.

He is, however, looking for other musicians to play gigs with (as well as gigs to play!), so any musicians interested in playing some alternative/indie/rock music should contact Casey, as this project has the potential to be massive.

As it is, not content to simply just write the songs and leave it at that, Casey decided to use his multi-instrumental talents to record the two demos on the band's MySpace page alone.

Casey’s two demos are different to the pop/indie songs produced by former band Mannikin. Drawing on influences ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Bright Eyes, Casey’s solo efforts are rhythmic, thought-provoking and, most notably, LOUD. Also, this project gives Casey the opportunity to be a lead vocalist, something not afforded to him in Mannikin.

He certainly has the voice for it anyway. His deep tones subtlety shaping lyrics suits the music being played perfectly, while the backing vocals (which he did himself) harmonise exquisitely with the main vocals.

The quality of the two recordings is impressive, especially considering the fact Casey recorded them entirely on his own. He played every instrument used in the songs.

‘Downside Down’ starts with a drum beat reminiscent of the beat which starts the Strokes song ’Razorblade’ and drags the listener in. This is then followed by a catchy guitar riff. This riff, along with the re-introduction of the drums, explodes into the lyrics and everything else falls into place.

Of the two songs, this is the catchier and, perhaps, ‘popier’. I run the risk of Casey’s wrath here, as I don’t think ‘pop’ is a label he wishes to be tarnished with. Therefore, I must emphasise that the music in general isn’t pop, but that ‘Downside Down’ is a catchy tune that could be a pop hit . It’s a song you can’t help bopping your head to.

‘Wasting Time’ displays a slower side to Casey’s music, yet also displays just how loud he can be too. Again, the lyrics are thought-provoking, with many references to Jesus (don’t worry, it’s not religious rock) that humanise him in a way the Catholic Church would never allow. The final line “I want to see the world but I’m wasting time” strikes a particular chord as Casey himself is blind.

The songs are tight and demonstrate Casey’s ability to play various instruments to perfection. He really is a one man band, and this alternative/indie/rock outfit are definitely worth checking out. Keep an eye out for the release of the Stone Throwing Youths five track EP and for any upcoming gigs that may (hopefully) or may not happen.

http://www.bebo.com/stonethrowingyouths
http://www.myspace.com/stonethrowingyouths
http://www.thesixtyone.com/stonethrowingyouths/
http://www.bebo.com/mannikin
http://www.myspace.com/mannikinmusic

"Perspective is worth 80 IQ Points" - Alan Kay

2008-11-16T14:52:00.001-08:00

It’s an unusual quote, I’m not going to lie. It’s also a strangely relevant one, or at least I found it to be strangely relevant today.

On Sundays I usually have a match for my local football team, Grange Woodbine. There wasn’t one today however, so we just had a small five-a-side tournament amongst ourselves and a few players from the senior side.

Things started poorly for yours truly, who made ridiculous mistakes and got quite frustrated with the games in general, as I am wont to do unfortunately.

Roughly halfway into the tournament, the manager stops us playing and calls us to the centre of the astro pitch. He doesn’t look himself for some reason.

He tells us that a lad who played for the team last season was found dead this morning.

Silence. Stunned silence. A horrible, stunned silence. A silence the likes of which people want to break but don’t quite know how to break it. Heads are just in hands.

The assistant manager, who knew the lad since he was six, makes a contribution, but tears begin to well in his eyes and his voice begins to crack.

I didn’t know the lad. I never met him before, having only joined the team three or four weeks ago.

But I could SEE what the news did to the rest. It really upset those who knew the lad. I felt awkward, as if I shouldn’t have been there when the news was broken. But I was, and there was nothing that could be done about that. I tried to console a couple of them, but the reality hadn’t really sunk in with some. It will though.

The reactions of the lads was what struck a chord with me. Today I saw a bunch of ‘lads’ lads show that they were human and had emotions inside of them.

On a football team, it’s easy to forget the people you’re playing alongside have lives of their own. Things are always put away when you get to the football pitch. But not today; today, it was brought to the football pitch.

Lads who were frustrated with the way the football was going suddenly forgot their frustration. Naturally, considering the news just broken to them. My own frustration even faded, as I was now just concerned for those around me.

Perspective is an amazing thing, yet most of the time it only comes in the form of tragedy.

We finished the tournament. We went for some drinks in the bar afterwards, and, for a time, some managed to put what they had been told to the back of their minds.

I’ve been there, although it was a long time ago now, and I’ve done the exact same thing. But when it’s dragged back to the front of your mind again, the reality, permanence and helplessness of the situation finally comes to light.

And that’s when characters are made stronger or weaker.

As for perspective being worth 80 IQ points?

After today, I’d be inclined to value it just a tad higher…something I probably should’ve started doing five years ago.

Whelan’s/Top House (Howth), Friday 14th November 2008 - Saccade/The Thousandaires

2008-11-15T05:47:00.000-08:00

Tonight I travelled from one gig in the city centre to another gig on Howth summit to see two of my favourite bands, Saccade and The Thousandaires. For my troubles, I also witnessed the two polar extremes of sound quality in venues; really high quality sound in Whelan’s, and really poor quality sound in Top House. Don’t make judgments on anything yet however; wait until reading the remainder of the blog before doing that.

Saccade gave an energetic display in Whelan’s as part of the Heineken Green Synergy festival, despite bassist Phil Daly not being 100% due to illness. If you haven’t heard of them before, you haven’t been around the live circuit in Dublin often enough.

They’re a four-piece indie-rock-pop group who formed back in 2006. They’ve supported bands such as The Coronas and Ham Sandwich, while also reaching the semi-finals of Deis Roc, a competition screened on TG4. They released an EP in 2007 called ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ and a track from that record, ‘Wastin’ My Time’, reached number five in the downloadmusic.ie chart. They recently released a single, ‘Courtesy Class’, and have an album due for release in Spring 2009. Not a bad pedigree.

It was with this experience behind them that they learned the art of controlling the tempo of their live shows. They way do this is impressive; using songs like ‘She Won’t Let Me In’ and ‘Breath’, they slow things right down, while ‘Courtesy Class’, ‘See How They Fly’ and ‘Wastin’ My Time’ are used to get venues jumping again. Other songs, such as ‘Miracle’ and ‘Last Tango’, are cult hits amongst their following.

One thing all their songs have in common is that they’re catchy. By the end of a Saccade gig you could be humming any one of them.

While the crowd neglected to get right in front of the band on stage (in fact, they were as far away as it was possible to be from the stage while not being at the bar), they really responded to the band’s energy, and there wasn’t a person in the venue not moving some part of their bodies’ by the end of Saccade’s set.

Whelan’s is well known for its impressive sound quality. It didn’t disappoint here as you could catch every little effect guitarist Jay Fowler produced. Steve Walker’s vocals could also be heard clearly by the crowd, while you’d have to be on the other side of the city to not hear Daly’s bass or Ed Kelly’s drumming.

It was an energetic set on the night from Saccade in a top quality venue. To hear the new single, ‘Courtesy Class’, go to the band’s MySpace or Bebo page. It has received positive reviews from Hot Press and online music sites, so it’s well worth a listen.

Following the Saccade set, it was straight into a taxi to Eden Quey and onto a 31 to Howth to see The Thousandaires in Top House for a charity gig.

I’ve seen The Thousandaires many times before. They are an upbeat pop band, or, as they prefer to call themselves, “the birthchild of Razorlight and The Kooks, sexually abused by Damien Dempsey.” Needless to say, upon hearing this phrase, curiosity is instantly aroused.

The rhythm section of the group, bassist Shaun O’Beirne and drummer Garret Clearly, have made songs like ‘Don’t Come Knockin’’ and ‘Waiting’ favourites amongst the band’s following with their infectious beats and rhythms, while other songs like ‘Sometimes You Think Too Much’ and ‘Scared of Falling in Love’ are upbeat pop songs, despite the not so upbeat titles.

Sean O’Reilly’s lyrics are catchy, yet they seem to be a lot deeper than their clever play on words and the music around them would have us believe, and if you think this is the case, it makes listening to the songs that bit more entertaining. Guitarist Neil O’Callaghan, affectionately called ‘Harry’, brings a solid rhythm guitar to the group, allowing O’Reilly to knock out catchy riffs at will.

All of this makes them great to watch. They really get crowds dancing and singing. However, on this night, the venue wasn’t with them at all. The sound quality was atrocious and there were a lot of technical difficulties’ that needed to be rectified while the gig was in progress.

It’s a shame as the venue itself is quiet nice; a cosy little pub at the top of Howth. Clearly, however, it isn’t suited to gigs of this nature, as the issues with the sound desk proved. Throughout the Thousandaires set, levels were set disproportionately, so on one song the guitar would be too loud and on another it would not be loud enough. The sound was also just too muffled in general.

The band, though, displayed initiative during ‘Sometimes You Think Too Much’ when O’Reilly’s guitar riff couldn’t be heard, taking away the song’s main focal point. Almost seamlessly, ‘Harry’ took over O’Reilly’s riff duties and, even though the rhythm was now barely audible on O’Reilly’s guitar, the song sounded a lot stronger than it would have had they left things unchanged.

However, another technical difficulty arose when O’Reilly’s vocals became inaudible during ‘Don’t Come Knockin’’. The problem was never fixed, so his vocals remained near indistinguishable for the remainder of the gig.

This was a particular shame during a new song showcased by the band, entitled ‘Chapter Closed’. It was a song that, to me, seemed to be a departure away from the pop songs usually associated with the Thousandaires to a darker sound. The echoing of the guitars, the beat of the drums and the circling bass line all intrigued as they sounded different to what I’ve come to expect from them. It would’ve been nice to hear the lyrics properly too so a proper assessment of the song could be made.

Yet, despite all this, the crowd in Top House responded amazingly to the band’s performance. They sang along to the songs and danced without a care in the world, possibly in complete ignorance of the sound problems. They were just out to have a good time. As it was a free gig, there was a good turn out on the night, something that doesn‘t happen often enough at these gigs.

There was nothing wrong with the Thousandaires performance; all the problems lay in the poor quality of sound in the venue, which is a common occurrence in small venues like Top House.

The band have a demo on their MySpace which is definitely worth a listen if you like either drum orientated fast paced songs or upbeat pop songs.

Saccade:
http://www.myspace.com/saccade
http://www.bebo.com/Saccade

The Thousandaires:
http://www.myspace.com/thethousandairesireland
http://www.bebo.com/thethousandaires

Pravda, Wednesday 12th November 2008 - Acoustic Bowie/Mail Order Messiahs/Star Crossed Enemies/Land Lovers

2008-11-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

Pravda has one major thing going for it when it comes to gigs - the gigs are free. This entices people to come, which creates an atmosphere that can’t be found at a lot of paying gigs. Another, perhaps slightly minor, advantage it is that, because it’s so small, people are literally forced (which is maybe too harsh/strong a word) into contact with the bands that are playing at it. This gives any band a chance at turning even the biggest of sceptics into followers as they cannot possibly ignore something that’s staring them in the face so blatantly.

Alas, as the old cliché goes, you can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. That proved to be the case with the first act, Acoustic Bowie. First, some interesting background information:

Acoustic Bowie (real name Peter) has released his own album of material and toured Europe with it; he has been in a full on Bowie tribute band, which was disbanded because of family commitments; he has recently returned from an eight year self-imposed exile from music to reform the Bowie tribute band; and, finally, solo gigs, such as this Pravda gig, are a means for him to get the old Bowie classics back into his head again.

Quite impressive, it has to be said. Obviously the crowd didn’t know any of this though. Yet, the question needs to be asked, would knowing any of this information have made them sit up and take more notice of the man, or would they have just sat nodding politely, like they did anyway, throughout his set?

Either way, this shouldn’t detract from his performance. He may only be back gigging regularly two weeks, but his voice hasn’t suffered at all from the eight year break it took.

He had some technical difficulties beforehand (broken strings are never fun) and, while his guitar may have been out of tune at times (a lack of a sound check didn’t help his cause in this regard; not his fault - only ‘headliners’ sound check in Pravda), that didn’t stop those who were genuinely listening and enjoying his performance from singing along to tracks such as ‘Space Oddity’ and ‘Man Who Sold The World’.

The number of genuine listeners, however, wasn’t as high as one would like. The full Bowie tribute band is definitely something to keep an eye out for in the foreseeable future anyway.

Next up were Mail Order Messiahs. The two-piece intrigued without doing a thing; a laptop on stage has that effect it seems. It was for backing track purposes; very interesting backing track purposes as it turns out.

The electro backing tracks sound quite…unusual. They make one sit up and take notice. It’s nice to see a band daring to do something different. It’s even nicer to see a band daring to do something different while clearly not giving a toss (ooooooohhh)what other people think.

I’m not even sure how to describe their sound. I settled on Experimental Electro Pop, but their MySpace has them down as ‘Recession Pop’. Fitting really, considering the way the country’s gone.

The timing of guitarist Mike Liffey was impeccable; he and the backing tracks were a coherent whole for the entire set. The ear piece he had on clearly did the job.

The sound in Pravda, however, didn’t seem to do anyone any favours on the night, and singer Dar Fahy’s vocals sometimes got lost amongst the backing tracks. Again, this leaves Pravda’s sound checking policy in question. MOM weren’t so much as “logistically compromised”, as Fahy claimed jokingly on stage, as they were compromised by this policy.

Their EP, ‘par avion ep’, is well worth a listen if you want to hear something that’s completely the opposite of everything that makes the charts what they are.

Star Crossed Enemies followed up MOM for their debut gig. The free biscuits were out in force, just as promised. The dawn of a new era for Brian O’Reilly and Gary White, signalled by the revolving, multi-coloured disco ball they had on stage.

There was a good turn out for this fresh start, and the band’s opening song was ‘Break Free From Every Corner Of World’; a statement of breaking free from past allegiances maybe? I wonder. The crowd began to really get involved in proceedings when ‘One Thing To Do Before You Die’ came on. O’Reilly was shocked to hear them singing along.

The alternation of drumming duties between O’Reilly and White was impressive and showed the multi-instrumental talent that Phantom FM acknowledged in them. They proved that they’re not one trick (or, in this case, instrument) ponies.

Despite both members having plenty of gigging experience at this stage, neither had played with a backing track before. Inevitably, timing mistakes occurred, but this is something time and practice will remedy. The material is definitely good enough and interesting enough for them to take the mistakes made as a simple stepping stone to improvement.

In terms of pure entertainment, they certainly didn’t disappoint, as O’Reilly walked along the bar while singing and rang his sister during the set to get the crowd to wish her a happy birthday. The crowd lapped it up.

They screamed for ‘The Love Song Of T.S. Eliot’ to be played all night, and, even though it looked like Star Crossed Enemies wouldn’t play it, they played it as their last song, much to the delight of the crowd who sang every word.

I can’t emphasise enough, however, how bad Pravda’s sound checking policy is. Like Fahy of MOM’s vocals, White’s guitar at times was drowned out by the backing tracks. Every band needs to sound check, not just the headliners.

Keep an eye on Star Crossed Enemies' MySpace for news of the ‘Early Days and Centuries’ single launch. The samples of this single on the band's MySpace are well worth a listen.

The headliners, Land Lovers, are closer to the ‘indie/pop’ sound of today than any of the other acts on the night. Their songs are catchy and you can’t help but tap your foot or nod your head to the rhythm of the song. The small number of people they brought to see them did more than that, and danced around to their tunes.

There was nothing about them that makes them stand out from the number of other bands of a similar mould on the Dublin music scene, but they are quite good at what they do.

As a group, they are tight and their experience can be seen in songs like ‘Modern Romance’ and ‘Dark Secret’, which contain many of the catchy lyrics and impulsive drum rhythms that gets the head bopping. Their album ‘Romance Romance’ is worth checking out if you like this kind of music.

Mail Order Messiahs:
http://www.myspace.com/mailordermessiahs
http://www.mailordermessiahs.com/

Star Crossed Enemies:
http://www.myspace.com/starcrossedenemies
http://www.bebo.com/StarCrossedEnemies

Land Lovers:
http://www.myspace.com/landlovers

Boom Boom Room, Saturday 1st November 2008 - How Will They Cope/Heritage Centre/Funeral Suits

2008-11-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

One clear thing to come from attending this gig is that people only go to small pub/club gigs to see their friends’ bands. This seems to be obvious knowledge about the Dublin music scene. Yet it doesn’t make sense. Take this gig for example. The price in is €8. Surely a desire for your money’s worth would entice you to see ALL the bands on the bill, as opposed to seeing one band, your friends’ band, who you’ve probably seen a dozen times before anyway. Why bother going at all if it’s just to see the one band? Not even a tinge of curiosity can make people attend these gigs for reasons outside of seeing their friends’ bands. People are odd. Or maybe I’m just odd. Ah well…

As it is, How Will They Cope opened proceedings to a crowd of roughly ten people or so. The nerves could be clearly seen in the face of singer and keyboardist, Davy Kehoe. They say playing to an empty house is more intimidating than playing to a packed one. Kehoe’s introduction of the band sounded a little timid.

However, the applause he received from the ten or so people in the audience gave him the boost he needed and he launched into their opening song, ‘Mistral’. In between songs, the nerves could still be seen, but during the songs it looked like they were never there at all.

One man is all it took to get the other people in the crowd going. He constantly shouted and cheered, and spouted phrases along the lines of “I WANT TO RIDE THE DRUMMER!” (to which Kehoe replied “You’re the only one I’m afraid!”).

‘Kings and Queens’ is a nice song that makes no reference to kings or queens (as highlighted on Balcony TV; check it out on HWTC’s MySpace). The harmonica is an interesting weapon in their arsenal. Not many bands would bother with it, but it works well in HWTC’s songs.

One thing I liked about HWTC was their crowd interaction. If the crowd said something, they’d respond (example above). If something happened on stage, they’d make reference to it (like when the song ‘It’s Over’ died suddenly at the end; if HWTC didn’t acknowledge that, it would’ve looked really poor, but by acknowledging it they turned it into a joke and gave the crowd a laugh).

People only began turning up toward the end of their set, which is a shame as they were my favourite act on the night.

Heritage Centre were up next. By the time they took to the stage, the place had filled up rapidly; people are actually standing now. This is an example of the reliance on friends to come to gigs.

The order in which bands play often dictates the number of people they’ll be playing to. Chances are, if you’re first in line and you haven’t managed to get enough people to show up, you’ll be playing to two men and a dog.

At least if you’re last on and, for whatever reason, you haven’t managed to get people to turn up, you have the potential cushion of other bands’ fans staying around to watch you (and even then, that’s an unlikely occurrence unless they plan to just hang around in the venue anyway).

Something about singer Conal McIntyre’s voice on one or two of the songs reminds me of Tom Smith from the Editors. Some of the lyrics are phrased and sung in a similar way to Smith. Maybe that’s just me, but it’s something I noticed (and it is meant as a compliment).

Heritage Centre are impressively tight as a group. They’re experience is obvious from the way they play their songs and the way they conduct themselves on stage. The piano is effectively used. It was nice to hear a simple classical piano sound used for once instead of the keyboard sounds we’ve become used to from bands attempting to be ‘different’, yet only succeeding in sounding just like everyone else.

The amount of people in the place at this stage means it now has the atmosphere of a proper small gig. People chatter away while Heritage Centre play. They have a strong collection of songs that all their fans seem to know off by heart, giving them a loyal fan base most bands in Dublin would kill for.

They launch their single, ‘Losing Touch’, in Whelan’s on December 3rd. The single promises to be a big success, so attending the launch sounds like a plan.

People began to leave after the Heritage Centre set. We’re back to a relatively small number again. It’s disappointing to see, but what can you do?

The last band of the night, Funeral Suits, clearly couldn’t care less. They’re up there to have a laugh. Their sound is rougher than the other two bands and makes the members of the crowd who hung around to see them tap happily along to their songs.

The man from earlier (the one who wanted to ride HWTC’s drummer) is back dancing in front of the stage. He would eventually take his shirt off and drop his trousers. He must really like them.

Funeral Suits ooze arrogance in abundance. Whether it’s part of the ‘image’ or is genuine, I don’t know. Arrogance can be a risky game to play if people don’t take to it, and some people didn’t seem to take to Funeral Suits’ arrogance at times.

The dancing man tried to get on stage, but they shoved him off, which seemed to annoy some people. They went down well with most of the crowd it has to be said.

They’ve released an EP. Some of the songs are on their MySpace and are worth checking out if you like music that’s rough around the edges.

How Will They Cope:
http://www.myspace.com/howwilltheycope
http://www.bebo.com/RPDA

Heritage Centre:
http://www.myspace.com/heritagecentre
http://www.bebo.com/Heritagecentre

Funeral Suits:
http://www.myspace.com/thefuneralsuits
http://www.bebo.com/funeralsuits

Introduction - The Beginning Of Something That Shouldn't Begin

2008-11-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

"Leaves
Murmuring by myriads in the shimmering trees."

- Wilfred Owen, From My Diary, July 1914.

I've chosen to start my blog with this line because in relation to this blog it means, to me, that the whisperings of many new things are about to become louder. Please note the "to me" part. That's important. I don't want people leaving me comments saying I've interpreted the line wrong, or anything like that. So bear in mind, "to me"...

Basically, this blog has been set up for two reasons:

1. At the behest of a certain Brian O'Reilly (who would've killed me if I hadn't set this up).

2. To help improve my writing; I'm hoping to receive a lot of critical feedback, so please, criticise the bajaysus out of the stuff written in this blog.

The reason for Brian's wish to see this blog materialise is because he wants to see the reviews I write of gigs I attend, including reviews of his own band Star Crossed Enemies (who I'm quite fond of).

The reason for my own wish to set this blog up, and the reason I want to be criticised a lot, is because I'm studying to become a journalist. I need to be able to write for the masses, so I'm hoping the masses will tell me whether my writing is good enough for them or not.

Gig reviews won't be the only thing to go in here though. I'll put random ramblings about absolutely nothing up here too, just to see if anyone makes sense of them for me.

And that's the end of the introduction. Let's hope Myriads In The Shimmering Trees is a raging success or a horrible failure, and not one of those middle of the road blogs that are just 'there', in the way, and making no difference to anyone, especially not the person who wrote it in the first place.

I talk too much.

Also, if you are interested in reading Wilfred Owen's From My Diary, July 1914, you can do so here.