2 Gigs worth.

Over the weekend I attended 2 gigs. On Friday night I went to see Editors in our local music establishment Dolans warehouse and on Saturday night I saw local band Protobaby supported by Fat Baby Pandas or Bobby Noonan and Band.

Thes Subject of this post is Editors Live.
I'm a fan of Editors (Note: not "The Editors") since the release of their second album "An End has a Start" and as a result was looking forward to the gig immensely. This Gig was part of the bands tour to support the release of their third album "In this Light and on this Evening". I attained the album in anticipation of the gig to be at least a little familiar with the new material.

Having sat down and listened to the album in its entirety I was underwhelmed. Dispensing of the high-octane that I loved about  "An End has a Start" and, to a lesser degree first album "The Back Room", in favour of a darkly, electronic synth sound I was slightly worried. It didn;t have the same energy of the other 2 albums and I was unaware of how it would turn out live.

So, with a little apprehension I attended the show.

The show itself was very good. The band opened with "Munich" from "the Back Room" and then moved on to titular fan favourite "An End has a Start". I was content. The band obviously knew the style that had made people fans to begin with and played to it.

From then on, however, it seemed to play out that every second song was new.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the songs much better live than I did on the album and it was impressive to make it all work live, not to mention that the band seemed to really enjoy what they were doing.
I simply didn;t think that the new songs were anywhere near as good as past glories, beyond the single, "Papillon" from the new album .

So, while the show is enjoyable I would only to see Editors again if they were playing at a festival. On this tour, I would not.

Unless you happen to be a hardcore fan and want to say you were there, skip it.

No Mouse in this House...

So, I've received an e-mail from Dolans Warehouse, what would've been the venue for the miracle that is Modest Mouse playing Limerick, and I was very disappointed.
You see, the e-mail was to let me know that Modest Mouse were not actually going to be playing in Limerick. I was assured that they would still be playing in Dublin. Woo-fucking-Hoo. I have to say, i'm a little pissed off. I mean, its possibly my own fault for getting so hyped up about it before the band were confirmed, but meh. I'm still disappointed.
Anyway, I can't say what Dolans did anywhere near as eloquently or soul-crushingly...so here it is:

"Hi Music Lovers

It is with heavy heart that I write this mail to you as contrary to online rumours Modest Mouse will not be playing Dolans this December.

There was a whisper of it happening some weeks ago but in the end the band have decided to play just Dublin this time around. We will endeavour to catch them on their next European tour.

In the meantime try to console yourselves with all the other wonderful gigs we have over the next few months.

As always, if anything else wonderful happens with Dolans, you will be the first to know!

TD "

So there it is. I apologise if I got anyones hopes up as much as my own. And now we can mourn Modest Mouse together.

Diamond in the Rough

I'm sitting in my Living room after wasting an evening watching "The Inbetweeners"(meh). Now, on the other hand, I'm enjoying the musical work of "Marina and the Diamonds".
The style of music is strange. Its a blend of interesting piano and string arrangements infused with an electronic feel and weird sounds. If you want to hear what I mean, you can check out the first single from the "Crown Jewels EP" here.
This isn't her first foray into singles, however, having released a single called "Obsessions/Mowgli's Road" earlier this year.

I came across this little gem(If you'll pardon the expression) while at home watching the NME tv station.
As Loathe as I am to watch/listen to the NME, I was very pleasantly surprised to come across "I am not a Robot" on TV. I was enthralled. Not just by the music video, but by the startling range of "Marina". Just so we're clear, Marina does not have a band called "The Diamonds". This is merely the stage name of Marina Diamandis, solo. Kinda like "Get Cape.Wear Cape.Fly.".

But getting back to my initial point...her range is amazing. She can hit incredibly classically high notes but then drop it by about an octave and a half. She is a great, great singer. I find she does suffer a little bit though in her ballads. While she can still sing, nothing wrong there, she just doesn't capture the attention the way she does during her more upbeat songs. Again, they're good songs, they just could be so much more.

Anyway, I hope that I've managed to introduce you to a new artist who will hopefully be around longer than all the other NME trendy wannabe musicians. I'm looking at you, arctic monkeys.

Her Album should be available later this year.

Modest Mouse, Excited Crowd

The Word on the street, my friends, is that Modest Mouse are playing Dolan's Warehouse in Limerick on December 5th of this year. This is more or less confirmed due to the myspace page of the supporting band "Frightened Rabbit"(Modest Mouse and Frightened Rabbit?). If you would like to verify this amazing news for yourself, you can find it here.


Now, I for one am extremely excited about this news as a long time fan of Modest Mouse. Tickets for the event are not on sale yet but as soon as they are I'm getting one! Modest Mouse are also playing in Galway and Dublin(Or so say the rumours), so if you can't get to Limerick then by the sounds of things its no big deal.

Modest Mouse saw their popularity rise with the release of their last album "We were Dead before the Ship even Sank" which featured the single "King Rat". This was helped by the fact that the music video for the aforementioned single was directed by the late Heath Ledger.
This was also a huge album for fans of The Smiths as the album featured the guitar work of Johnny Marr. Marr joined the band in 2006 and after the "Mouse" released the album "Ship" faded away again only to appear again in the Lineup of "The Cribs"(who?...I know).

So, Marr probably won't feature in the live show, but Fuck it. Modest Mouse are Legends. With classics like "Dashboard", "3rd Planet" and "Float On", you'd be a fool to pass up the opportunity to see these guys Live.

As soon as tickets go on sale I will let you guys know.

But I get mine first.

White Lies are Good Lies

A band that has caught my attention of late is the talented White Lies. Where they're from, I don't know, but its not essential to enjoy the music(Obviously). However, it would be interesting to know in order to decipher the musical background.
I'm going to take a guess and say that they're english. Influences I hear are The Smiths, Joy Division and the more recent Editors. If you like these bands its a safe bet that you'll like White Lies.
What made me sit up and take notice was the incredibly named radio single "Death". Now, I say incredibly named because...well, its not the kind of song title you'd normally expect a DJ to reach for. "And Next up we have DEATH!" Though that wouldn't be out of place on a death metal radio station who play alot of the band "Death"...But I digress...
The song "Death" is truly exceptional. Lyrically and musically. They make an extremely happy sounding song from extremely depressing subject matter. That is, contemplating mortality. The Chorus is Epic with the singer(Whose name I don't know) Cries out "This Fears' got a hold on Me!" while the chorus swells with major chords. Truly brilliant. Literally. If that sound was physical, it would be shiny.
Another song that caught me was "From the Stars". This song (and, indeed, the entire album come to that, which is unsurprising considering the influences I described previously) is thematically similar. It also deals with death but this song is different. It literally deals with death. the opening line is "I saw a friend that I once knew at a funeral, he took the time out to be seen". The heavy toms then kick in to keep a beat.
But these are just two tracks I have described. Throughout, the songwriting is superb. The lyrics create images that anyone with half an imagination can see. The music suits everything, creating suspense, building to a crescendo or just working unnoticed in the back while the lyrics work their magic. Awesome listening.
White Lies album "To Lose my Life" is recommended listening and is available now. If you can get your hands on a copy, DO IT!

What about 99 red ballons?

Currently, I'm listening to alot of Electro-pop.At least, thats what I call it. Mainly, I'm listening to a band called Freezepop(Who are excellent within the genre) and they call themselves "Synth-Pop".
Is this to distinguish their calibre of avant-garde esque electronic trickery from the likes of Lady Gaga?To be fair, if I were in their shoes I would probably do the same.
Thats not to say that I don't appreciate that type of Electro-pop. I do like a tune or two from Gaga, Iglu and Hartly and, guiltily, the odd Ashlee Simpson song(In her electronic phase). As a result of this saturation of non-instrumentalism, I've started moving back through the annals of music history to uncover the Fine Young Cannibals(Of "She Drives me Crazy" fame), Don Henley("Who composed the wonderful "Boys of Summer") and Depeche Mode.
Does anyone think that Daft Punk would qualify to be under the Electro(Synth?) pop heading? Or would they be the accursed "Dance" or "Techno"?
Personally I think that Daft Punk are far too musically gifted. Commonly, they use real instruments midi'd directly into a sounddesk to create alot of samples and patches for their songs. That means that the guitar and drums you would hear on the likes of "Aerodynamic" or indeed "Robot Rock" are actual guitar and drums played by the french duo themselves. True Musicianship.
Also, If it has struck you as odd that I've decided to discuss music at random, there is a simple response. I've decided to turn this blog into a "Music, Art and Cinema" Blog (As if there wasn't enough). This means that I'll hopefully have far more to blog about in the near future. I've recently attained the new Muse album and will review shortly. Movies...I'll be going from classics up to modern day, I don't discriminate. Art, will mainly be "Street-art" and photography. It still counts.

So yeah. New Format, new subject (Thats far more interesting than the previous subject) and I might look into a new name/layout. But I don;t imagone the name getting cleverer than the current.

The Prick Test

As misleading as the title of this post may be to some, letme me get this out of the way early...This is not about deciding whether or not a phallus is or is not a male member nor is this about how one should go about finding out whether someone is unpleasant.
This is a metaphor.
This is about how my amigo known as "Sully" around these parts is my "prick test".
A prick test as you may know is carried out when one wants to donate blood. One is "pricked" by a small needle on the finger and their blood, on the needle, is tested.
Sully is the needle.
My words are the blood.
Sully has made me realise that, while I am much less prolific than I once was, I still have much to donate.
Like the high Iron count in my blood, my words are of value.(Thats right, I'm so metal I have a huge Iron Count)
Sully has made me cry out "What the FUCK?!" just as the needle does as it pierces my flesh.
Thank you Sully, thank you.

Much of the Downturn in regular posting has been down to my busy schedule. My hobbies keep me busy 4 days a week while Socialising takes up my weekends. This leaves me a single day of rest on which I usually like to turn off my brain.

But this long,long break has given me tales-a-plenty to recant. I have travelled and seen many wonders on the mainland.
I have taken up MMA(mixed martial arts) and my rock-climbing is solid as...well, a rock.

So the future looks to be glorious in this time of recession and my writing is leading us there. Look forward in disbelief.

...Also, rumours of my death are greatly exagerrated.