Samual James at the Crane Lane

Samuel James sings the blues. We don’t often get blues singers in this neck of the woods. It’s not really our metier. So, when one comes along the calibre of Mr James, we should be counting our blessings. Not yet out of his twenties, he’s making a name for himself Stateside, being compared favourably with blues artists like Keb’ Mo’ and legends such as Son House and Mississippi John Hurt. No mean feat. He recently completed a mini tour of Ireland, taking in a few gigs in Cork, Dublin & Clonakilty). The night I caught was a free midnight gig in the Crane Lane (Cork) on Wednesday 16th last, following Alabama3’s earlier session. He was, understandably, nervous; not least due to their (totally) justified reputation. But there is nothing to do in a situation like that but get up on that stage and start making some noise and, hopefully, an audience for yourself. When I arrived, the crowd was still milling around, buzzing from the Alabama 3, and only just beginning to focus on the new arrival (SJ), who was up on stage with just himself and a guitar and a whole lot of foot-stomping. By a couple of songs in, the crowd was being very much won over, helped by a couple of musos literally hauling people forward to the stage to bridge the gap between Mr James and his burgeoning audience. This helped no end, as he looked less isolated to the crowd at large and more and more were being hooked in all the time. As an audience, we were definitely more interested in the very fast and the very complicated, which was good as Mr James is very good at both. He is a superb guitarist. And he spears to get totally lost in what he’s doing, to the extent that at times you were not sure whether he had not forgotten the audience entirely, until he speeded up again and the crowd started whooping. [If you’re trying to get a picture of the sound/feel for what he was producing, my mind kept thinking Cohen Bros films, esp. their most recent. Does that help? Maybe not. You can check out his myspace anyway (see below).] At one point, there was a rather entertaining pass where a member of the crowd started doing what can only be described as interpretative line dancing, while Mr James slowly rotated the guitar upside-down and around, while not missing a beat (but making life a little difficult for his happy helper who had to spend some time hanging on the edge of the stage trying to make sure he was still mic’d up for the duration. Well, we know this much: he knows his instrument backwards! Boom Boom! OK, I apologise for that one. Bad me. Blues, at least the kind sung by Mr James, originated in the Baptist Church, as Mr James explained, before taking us on a roaring encore of Q&A called “John the Revelator”, with the audience hollering (only word for it) the responses to Mr James’ on-stage who was playing at prosletysing. Bloody good stuff! I found out later that apparently, after Mr James had finished his gig and left the stage, Harpo Strangelove, (the harmonica player from Alabama3) and himself returned to the stage to do a number together. And I missed it because I was being good and getting to bed before half one on a school night. Curses! P.S. Now as the Irish leg of his mini-tour this side of the Atlantic was organised by my flatmate, I met Mr James a number of times, like when he was getting over jet lag by having a doze on the couch or stopping off en route to a sound check. And, ladies, he is as lovely in person as he looks on stage. Just in case you’re curious. You may not be. But you might. (www.myspace/sugarsmallhouse)

Morrissey at the Marquee

The first time I came across the New York Dolls was a few years ago as a mention in a biography of Vivienne Westwood. The next time was on Thursday afternoon as the Boy was hyperventilating down the phone on being told that I’d gotten late tickets to the Morrissey gig in the Marquee with the NYD playing support. (He got very excited about the New York Dolls.) Now, this is probably nothing you don’t know already but Morrissey quite possibly had the same reaction when the NYD (actually…am I allowed abbreviate? Oh, damn it all to heck – I live on the edge!) agreed to reform at his behest for a one-off gig at the Meltdown Festival in 2004. I have to say that I’m tickled pink by the idea of someone of the stature of Morrissey being a die-hard fan - it’s kind of like trying to picture him in short trousers. Mind you, he probably had the same hair-do… Ok, so what has all this got to do with the gig in the Marquee on Thursday? Well, for the ones down the back, it’s because the Dolls played support to Morrissey in the Marquee on Thursday. Do try and keep up. Kudos to Aiken Promotions! OK – so the New York Dolls! Generally thought of as the fathers of punk, one-time clients of Malcolm Maclaren, starting in 1971, stoping in 1977, reforming in 2004 and now playing in little old Cork in a tent. I think you’ll have guessed by now that I’m a Dolls virgin so I am not going to upset dyed-in-the-wool fans by commenting on or even trying to name any of the songs. Having said that, I do remember one in specific – the easy-to-remember, easy-to-pronounce-and-sing-along-to “Pills”. The Boy did liken them physically to the Village People – don’t shout – it’s more that they’re five very different-looking people on stage (there was a definite ACDC vibe going on with Sylvain Sylvain’s wardrobe) but they put me more in mind of the Stones, not least because of the striking similarities in looks and swagger between Johansen and Jagger. But I suspect that Johansen may not take himself as seriously as Jagger (working on the assumption that Jagger does, mind you). Speaking of wardrobes, when are men going to realise that the wearing of pink, stretch, spangly tops will actually enhance their level of attractiveness? Make-up, dresses, pink spangly – try it out! It worked for that dude out of Babylon Zoo, it works for Eddie Izzard and it worked for David Johansen on Thursday. Look it – women have been cross-dressing for decades – trouser suits, short hair – why not men? I miss the New Romantics… Sorry – wandered - back to the gig! It seemed to me that the crowd took a little while to warm up to the Dolls and really get into it but by the time Mr Johansen was introducing us to the local boy on stage we were happy, happy people. I love their stuff – it’s original, unpretentious, good old rock’n’roll punk and, most importantly, great fun. I would love to see them again, hint hint. A total change of scene and mood, Morrissey took to the stage after a LOT of flashing strobes, as a picture of sartorial elegance. Immaculate hair. We were asked for our compliments/comments. The grey really does make a man look distinguished. Opening with “All you need is me” (wonderful lyrics) and following with “Ask” (my personal favourite – it should be printed on cards and handed out in schools and health centres), he made efforts to gel with his audience and show his fluffy side by speaking Irish at us (phonetically from a card, but how many of us can do much better?) and even tried a bit of a Cork (sorry, Cark) accent. It was quite sweet, really. I wandered out for a bit in the middle, when he wandered into his more modern, solo stuff. There was a feeling of detachment around, which I thought was me disengaging from the music but have heard it since from others so perhaps it was emanating from the stage, or perhaps I happened to talk to the only people in the place who felt it, who knows? In any case, I was back inside just in time to miss his cover of the Buzzcocks’ “You say you don’t love me” (apparently superb) but in very good time for “How soon is now?” and the totally excellent encore “Irish Blood, English Heart”. And let me tell you, you haven’t heard that song until you’ve heard it being bellowed by a tent full of Morrissey fans – sends shivers down the spine, especially the bit about Cromwell. Now I want to know about those pictures used as the backdrop. I’ve been wandering around the web to see if anyone has info on them, but no joy. Now the one on the left was a face-on mugshot, taken on the 26th June 1940 and just before he launched into “How Soon is Now?”, his keyboard played a slow and strange rendition of “Happy Birthday”. Hmm…bit of a mystery. Any enlightenment? Is it a really obvious connection? (Aside from the dates coinciding, of course.) It was a definite themed set – what with the mugshot triptych and the smaller image on the front with a snippet of accompanying information, which was saying basically that the guy in the picture was arrested for stealing a watch but claimed that the owner had given it to him. Both were drunk, apparently. Hmm…yes…and the mystery thickens. P.S. Apologies to the first support band as I did not hear them and cannot find where I wrote their name and arrived at the gig with only just enough time to have a quick beer before the Dolls … em … well … anyway … I’m only human!

The Brigadier - The Rise and Fall of Responsibility

And if the formatting goes on this entry too, I will be very put out. The Brigadier “The Rise and Fall of Responsibility” All songs written, performed & produced by Matt Williams · Growing up is hard to do (part 1) · When will I be with you? · The language of love · Envy · Une Soiree · Under the influenza · Hot Toddy · The melancholy days · This, is why… · What can’t be fixed · The box in the back of my mind · Growing up is hard to do (part 2) · Façade What can I say? I love this album. It’s odd, feel-good, has hints (only hints, mind you) of burlesque, Julian Lennon ( know, I know, but work with me here), The Feeling…but none of it is overwhelming. He’s pretty damn unique in my hearing. And now I have to wax lyrical about it for 300 words. Oh hell, sod that, just go buy it and go for a drive. In the sun.

Celeste Lear

“Looking up from underwater” Björk, Moloko, Goldfrapp…they all spring to mind with the opening bars of Ms Lear’s CD, “Looking Up From Underwater”. In fact, a lot of things spring to mind as the cd wears on. For example: · Track 2 – weak lyrics · Track 3 – early-90s drum&bass feel summer · Tracks 4 & 5 – more early 90s reminiscence · Track 6 - moving on – feels like the sound track to Romeo & Juliet. · Track 7 - Siobhán Donaghy soundalike · Track 8 – All About Eve · Track 9 – celtic Moloko · More 90s, more Björk derivation… And so on and so on. Ms Lear has a grand strong voice and can write a tune but my problem with this album is that it all seems to sound like someone/something else. There appears to be a great effort at originality here but it ends up being someone else’s sound. Pity.

Heliopause

Heliopause EP Recorded & Mixed at Soggy Cabin Studios, Cork · paprapo · who ate the cabin boy · middle distance · maybe later · caught rotten It’s a brave band that goes purely instrumental. Charlie Don’t Surf are one Cork crowd who pretty well know what they’re doing and can pull it off with just the music alone. It remains to be seen whether Heliopause can get to the same point, without requiring the ‘lively antics of their bass player’ on stage. According to their press release, they’ve been together since 2005, meeting as students. In other words, they’re young and inexperienced. They’re learning. The laid back “maybe later” shows promise. It shows restrain and control which is not so evident in the earlier tracks. And “caught rotten” has depth to it that is refreshing. The opener “pamrapo” could do with an overhaul of the drum line as this could be a show piece for some tight, rhythmic percussion, which unfortunately at the moment is merely filler behind some not-that-interesting guitars. What’s needed here, I think, is some intensive study on behalf of the band in rhythmic and tonal intricacy. If you are dropping the lyric entirely, then the rest simply has to be wholly engaging. And, I’m sorry to say, aside from sparks in the last two tracks and the very beginning (and I mean VERY beginning) of “who ate the cabin boy”, this wasn’t. Having a great live show is good and is a rather excellent start but, unless you plan on selling solely on the basis of live DVDS, then the music has to carry without the visuals. There is promise here but Heliopause have chosen a difficult road. Music sans lyrics is a difficult market to corner as the audiences tend to be more demanding and the instruments must do so much more work. All I can suggest is that you get hold of some modern minimalist (e.g. Steve Reich) or African music (e.g. our own Niwel Tsumbu), and listen to the swirling kaleidoscope of sound and rhythm which is possible, listen to the glorious complexity of it all and, well, listen good. Heliopause: Brian Dunlea (Bass) Sean Daly (Guitar/Synth) Damien O’Leary (Guitar) Jamie O’Donoghue (Drums) www.myspace.com/heliopausecork

GAMAK

Giveamanakick

Friday 19^th April 2008

Cyprus Avenue, Cork

What do you get if you take two angry accountants (well, that’s what they looked like – either accountants or IT specialists – take your pick) and put them in a room with two drum kits, four guitars (one teeny-weeny one), a cowbell, a whistle and a scary-ass facemask? Giveamanakick, that’s what.

No one could claim no warning when you consider that the stage had been set up by men in nuclear boiler suits. The presence of a coat stand on stage should not have set any ingénue’s mind at rest. These two guys mean business and they mean it to be a loud and as fast as possible. And as incoherent. Ok, ok, audible melody does rear its head every so often and even the pace and freneticism calm occasionally, but we’re talking overall impression here.

They opened with the kick-ass “Spring Break” (not that I could make out the name or the lyric from what went on on-stage – this I gleaned from peering over the sound desk at the set list), which also opens the new album, “Welcome to the Cusp”. Playing in Cork for the first time since the last time, or so Steveamanakick said, they also claimed to be nervous. Really? It didn’t show, lads. Tracks like “Horses for Courses”, “Brittle Bones” and “I Dream of Shavings” showcase the pair’s tight timing and sheer professionalism. The whole set was loud, fast, pumping, alive and you found yourself moving without realising you were doing it. I defy anyone to go to one of their gigs and sit or stand still through it.

The audience (what a sedate word), aka their fans, loved them – that goes without saying. I’d never heard them before and I loved them. They should be playing to bigger crowds, if there’s any justice in the world, in bigger venues with even glitzier drum kits (loved the drums!)!

I’m not going to go on and on or try and describe their music; that would take from it, I believe. But it’s very simple. They are a superb live band so, guys, if you want a good night, go and see GAMAK – catch them if you can and try to keep up! (You might want ear plugs…just a thought.)

GAMAK

Steveamanakick – vocals/guitars

Giveamanakeith – drums/vocals

Ian Whitty & The Exchange

Ian Whitty & The Exchange

With guests Supermodel Twins

The Roundy Rooms, Cork

April 17^th 9:00pm

Opening the gig, Limerick-based, US-influenced band, the Supermodel Twins, were tight and very rehearsed, but the aftertaste left was that they were derivative and unimaginative, being something akin to American Pie meets the Feeling. However it was nice seeing Samwise Gamgee on lead guitar and backing vocals.

This left the floor for Ian Whitty and the Exchange. Ian Whitty is long established as a solo artist and this set-up is a new departure for him. Nevertheless, he was appeared relaxed and comfortable on stage. The Exchange comprises a mix-um-gather-um of local musicians, lured from other groups, such as Stanley Super 800, for the project. The group consists of guitar, bass, drums, violin & cello and it is a very talented group that Mr Whitty pulled together for the gig in The Roundy Rooms tonight.

It is rare to see an artist perform as well solo as he does with a group. In fact, it is more often the case that the change from going solo to fronting a group results in the loss of something, a flattening almost of the whatever quality which separates them from the pack. Ian Whitty does not suffer from this. Not at all. Actually, it is more like comparing apples and oranges and we got a taste of both this evening.

It was a long enough set with the five musicians squashed into the small stage area and the bass completely hidden in the background (which might be looked into for future gigs in this venue, purely on an aesthetic level mind…ahem). Mr Whitty chatted amiably before each track, giving a potted history of its origin, including tales about a kidnapped pit bull and ill-advised romantic encounters, all of which added to the seriously feel-good factor of the night.

“Houndstooth Shirt”, the first single for the group, is released on April 18^th. If you want to get a handle on exactly what this group are about, have a listen. It’s esoteric, quirky (I am not a fan of that word but sometimes needs must) and suits them down to the ground. Actually, there were no weak tracks in the set, but my personal highlight was a simply magic moment when he launched into a solo number, “Knocks me out”, and the background noise from the crowd dispersed like the red sea parting.

Bass: Paddy, not Flor

Drums & vocals: Anto Noonan

Violin & xylophone: Larrissa O Grady

Cello: Grace Mc Carthy

Guitar & vocals:Ian Whitty