Part of the Future Days festival. Support from the lovely Baby Dee and Paul Curreri. Video niceness from the Prince below to mark the occasion.

Timing is everything. After last night’s screening of Where’s My Job Gone?, both RTE and TV3 news led with the story that Dell are going to chop 250 jobs in Ireland. Those who had just watched the show would have found the analysis which followed about the job cuts a little superflous.

Granted, it was a fairly odd concept for a show: take two redundant Irish workers to eastern Europe to meet the people who had taken their jobs when their respective factories closed and moved east. But what this No P45 Frontiers brought home to both participants and audience was that multinational companies like Dell will always move to the country which offers the lowest wages and cheapest costs. And that no longer is Ireland.

The two Irish workers visited Poland and the Czech Republic to find countries and people who resembled Ireland and themselves 15 years ago. There’s an abundance of young, bright well-educated people ready to work, government agencies willing to do whatever has to be done to bring those jobs to town and cheap costs all round from rent to transport. The Poles and Czechs probably also have an aspiring Bertie Ahern waiting in the wings - or maybe they could take our one off our hands when he finishes his various laps of honour.

But unlike Ireland, those Polish and Czech workers know that these multinational companies are the geese that will lay golden eggs for only so long. There’s no talk of jobs for life here, like there was in Ireland when companies began moving in to IDA facilities to avail of our cead mile failte and low tax rates. There’ll be no Bosch job waiting for their kids when they leave school.

In eastern Europe, they already know those jobs will go elsewhere when costs go up. Indeed, Poland and the Czech Republic are now facing competition from Romania and the Ukraine and you can sure the costs are even lower as you go further and further east. One of the Czech inward investment executives said the test now was to work out what would happen in five or 10 years when those companies left. It made you wonder if any Irish investment agency folks had been so prescient a decade ago.

A Friday or two ago, I went to see the Republic of Loose during their residency at Dublin’s Academy. I’d heard great things about the new album (the first tune from it, “I Love Music” is a winner) and I’d seen them back in January in Groningen, but the home turf is always more of a test.

It was a hell of a show. For a start, watching the audience was almost as entertaining as what was happening onstage. That floorshow was a flotsam and jetsam of Dublin past, present and future: apprentice chancers from a decade ago who’ve now graduated to prize chancers, a couple of multi-millionaires, a pair of weather-beaten poets, a future TD for Dublin South, contestants from Terenure’s Next Top Model, a few Italian wideboys who kept admiring each other’s perfectly sculpted sideburns, three Nigerian body-builders and at least 67 twentysomething first-jobbers with large credit card debts.

The real action, though, was happening onstage. Few acts can match the Loose when it comes to firing up funky riffs, chunky breaks and stone-cold infectious verse-chorus-verse bits all night long. They don’t look it, but they’re the house band at the Apollo on an alternative univese.

But best of all, they’ve a show-stealing frontman in Mick Pyro. Channelling in fairly equal measure the spirits of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, James Brown, Brendan Grace, Solomon Burke, Joe Dolan and LL Cool J, Pyro cajoled, provoked, teased, screamed, shouted, stomped and flirted away for the entire set. Any time the show was on the verge of flagging, Pyro would intuitively stoke up the atmosphere again. He was putting the “show” in “showbusiness” that night for sure.

For any long-time Loose watchers, the most noticable thing about the show was that Pyro was as sober as a disctrict court judge on his way to an all-night poker game. Now and then, Pyro would take a swig from a bottle of beer, but he wasn’t as messy or unfocused as we’ve seen him at previous shows. He was sharp, on point, rolling with it. The two facts may well be related.

The drink made an appearance in Neil Dunphy’s fine interview with the band in the Sunday Tribune. Dunphy realised that Pyro’s battle with the bottle had as much to do with the band and new album “Volume IV: Johnny Pyro and the Dance of Evil” as the music which inspired the songs.

Pyro certainly had no problems with Dunphy’s questions:

“Look, I have no problem admitting I’m an alcoholic. I gave up for a year and then fell off the wagon.”

There’s a song on the new album about it, titled ‘Poquito’. “It’s true, yeah. It’s about me falling off the wagon. Trying to describe that feeling. I’m not drinking spirits anymore.”

Is he aware where it all could go? “Well I’m aware of where it is. I drink too much. I have a problem with alcohol. I have to stop, but I need time off to do it. I don’t buy into a lot of the psychology on it, though. If I thought what I was doing was making my art suffer, I wouldn’t do it. I’m trying. I’m taking it pretty easy just drinking beer. I was pretty scared of making some of the music we are making, even the hip-hop on the new album. But you have to listen to yourself. I can be pretty cynical of people telling me what to do or that what I’m doing is wrong.”

Most of the new album was written while Pyro was on the wagon for the year. “I don’t think alcohol has anything to do with creativity, ” he says. “I get very anxious sometimes in social situations and it can help you then, but in terms of writing songs, drink is nothing but a hindrance. I was drunk writing ‘Comeback Girl’, but then maybe that’s why it’s a repetitive hit.”

Whatever about the ease with which Irish society as a whole self-medicates with alcohol for all that ails them, musicians have a much more complex relationship with drink. At work and play, alcohol is there at every single turn. They’re probably playing in a licensed premises so it’s available before the show and after the show. It’s probably on the posters advertising the gig too in the shape of the ubiquitous sponsorship from some drinks company or other and it’s on the rider in the dressingroom too. Like every other sector in society, some handle it fine while others, well, just don’t handle it at all and go off the rails.

It’s the same when it comes to admitting there’s a problem. Some do and some prefer to keep up the illusion that life is A-OK. They maintain the bravado, sink a couple of pints and play Jack-the-lad rather than admit this drug has taken over their life to the extent that they can’t function without it.

But as Pyro showed, that belief is a bit of a fake. He points out in the Tribune interview that being off the drink didn’t have any detrimental effect on his songwriting for the new album, which is probably their finest work to date. And, on the basis of that Academy show a few weeks ago, it has been nothing but beneficial for his mojo as a frontman either.

It has been noted on this blog a few times that May is the mother of all months when it comes to gigs in Dublin. Well, thanks to Forever Presents, here’s a chance to go to see some top-drawer shows next month without having to pay a bean. We have ONE pair of tickets to give away to the following shows:

(1) The fantastic Octopus Project (video for “Truck” from the new album “Hello, Avalanche” below), with support from the excellent Duchess Says (Sugar Club, May 13)

(2) Xiu Xiu (Whelan’s, May 22)

(3) The lovely Silje Nes (we’re still loving her “Ames Room” album), with support from Madam (Whelan’s, May 23)

(4) The Young Republic (Sugar Club, May 27)

To win the booty, simply predict who is going to be in this year’s Champions League final. C’mon, there are only four teams left in it (well, three - you don’t really expect Chelsea to win on Wednesday, do you?). Entries close when Barcelona and Manchester United kick-off at Old Trafford tomorrow night. In the case of a tie, the poster who makes the funniest comment wins. Winner announced on Thursday morning.

As played on Phantom 105.2, Saturday April 26, 10pm-midnight.

Chikita Violenta “War” (Noiselab)
White Denim “Don’t Look That Way At It” (Full-Time Hobby)
Foals “Heavy Water” (Transgressive)
Wolf Parade “Call It A Ritual” (Sub Pop)
Giveamanakick “Spring Break!” (Monkey Heart)
No Age “Cappo” (Sub Pop)
The Big Sleep “Slow Race” (French Kiss)
Oppenheimer “Major Television Events” (Fantastic Plastic)
Arms “The Frozen Lake” (Melodic)
Jamie Lidell “Another Day” (Warp)
Hercules & Love Affair “Time Will” (DFA)
Daedelus “Twist The Kids” (Ninja Tune)
ESG “Moody” (99)
Santogold “Creator” (Lizard King)
Duchess Says “Tenen non neu” (Alien8)
The Singles “Hypnotized” (Sound Artefacts)
New Amusement “Lights Go Down” (Any Other City)
Noah & The Whale “Five Years Time” (Young & Lost Club)
White Shoes & The Couples Company “Tentang Cita” (Minty Fresh)
Sky Larkin “I Was A Teenage Hand Model” (RCRD LBL)
The Notwist “Where In The World” (City Slang)
Halves “Amberscene” (Hate Is The Enemy)
Jeff Martin “Strange For A Tuner (Chequerboard remix)” (Casino Gravity)
PacificUV “Waiting” (Warm)
The Czars “Concentrate” (Bella Union)
El Perro Del Mar “To Give Love” (Memphis Industries)
Bon Iver “For Emma” (Jagjaguwar)
The National “Without Permission” (Beggars Banquet)
Charles Lloyd “God Give Me Strength” (ECM)

Judging by recent business deals, music and media companies see plenty of potential in music blogs.
(more…)

Not all outdoor shows this summer will feature old men and over-priced indie acts. There are also a few homegrown festivals to keep an eye on.

On May 3, the Sibin Festival takes over the Man O’ War pub in north county Dublin. Its four stages will feature General Levy, DJ Storm, Noise Control, DJ Bailey, Magnetize and many more.

Festivals returning to a field near you include the Irish Green Gathering (Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, August 8-10), Day Of Darkness (Ballylinan, Co Laois, July 4-5), Mantua Project (Ballaghadereen, Co Roscommon, August 1-3) and Glasgowbury (Draperstown, Co Derry, July 26).

Castle Palooza is also back, with Mystery Jets, The Black Seeds, The Flaws, Luan Parle, Fight Like Apes and others playing in Tullamore over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

While he spends a lot of time in Ireland, Canadian producer and musician Daniel Lanois seldom plays here.

This will be redressed next month when Lanois, currently working with U2 on their forthcoming album, plays two shows to tie in with screenings of Here Is What Is, the documentary on his work as a musician and producer.

Lanois, along with drummer Brian Blade, plays Dublin’s IFI on May 31 and Galway’s Town Hall Theatre on June 1. Both shows will be followed by a screening of the documentary (trailer below)

New additions to the Soundtrack ‘08 (just a pity the sponsors 86′d the idea of calling it Story, Bud) festival in Dublin’s POD complex include De La Soul (Tripod, May 31 - see video below), Noah & The Whale (Crawdaddy, May 26) and The Ruby Suns (Crawdaddy, May 30)

Per Billboard magazine, Jack Johnson is the greenest pop star on the planet thanks to such measures as insulating his new solar-powered recording studio with used denim.

Are the reunited Yazoo really worth €67.50? That’s the price to see them at Dublin’s Olympia on June 2.

First update, Hercules & Love Affair. Thanks to Catherine for pointing me towards the official explanation as to why the price of tickets for this show were slashed by 30 per cent:

We are delighted to confirm that Hercules & Love Affair have confirmed an Irish date this summer at The Academy Dublin on June 1st as part of Heineken Music. MCD welcome Heineken involvement, a leader in sponsorship of Live Music events they have confirmed that their involvement will result in the ticket price for Hercules & Love Affair to be reduced to 30.00 euro including booking fee

Heineken Music? They’re the ones sponsoring the Nick Cave gig, aren’t they? The gig with the hefty €49.50 tickets for a sponsored event. Obviously, their “involvment” didn’t lead to cheaper tickets there. And there are still tickets on sale. Hey, maybe they’ll slash the price of tickets for that one too!

Second update, Tom Waits. Thanks to Jackie for pointing me towards this news story. Love the line about “Hot Press have learned”. Yeah, they read this blog. Only took them a week to get the story up there, though. Still, better than their yarn about how having The Kooks on the cover led to the band having a smash album. Shame that both The Ticket and Day & Night had the band on the cover a fortnight before that. Wonder why the “EMI source” forgot about those covers, eh?

Because I saw them a couple of times last month, I didn’t go to the Crystal Castles gig the other night in Dublin. I was interested, nonetheless, to read reviews of the gig and especially the venue.

From the reviews, the “new” Andrews Lane Theatre sounds good, a room just the right side of sleazy and situated right bang in the middle of town.

Apart from the venue, everyone talking about the gig also seemed to have something else in common: they were talking about the kids in the audience.

From Niall’s review for State:

IThe venue was largley occupied by kids from 16-20 years old. There were glowstick-laden nu-rave kids, walking haircuts, Nathan Barley clones, extremely fashion conscious, and normal ‘non-distinguishable by fashion’ folk dotted in-between.

UnaRocks was also there:

There were a million (maybe less) hip kids hanging out at the gig. I felt old. But their clothes and haircuts were pretty cool, in fairness.

Mega-snapper Caitriona had this to say in response to Una’s post:

I felt extraordinarily old

Regular On The Record poster Steve K also noted the presence of the kids:

Also, did anyone go to see Crystal Castles last night? I had to leave because of the noise, though it was a great gig. But full of kids, jam packed, and they loved it. I had no idea they had this kind of following… were they a guest on Skins or something????

It’s interesting that all of these people commented on the fact that they were not the youngest people in the room as if they’d suddenly realised that a baton had been passed to a younger generation. I seem to remember reading similar comments after the El Guincho show at Antics a few weeks ago. Even twentysomethings, it appears, notice a generation gap when it is pushing them aside on the way to the bar or the stage.

It’s something I’ve stopped noticing, to be honest, because I’m usually one of the oldest people in the room at most gigs I go to. See, I’m an auld fella and I’m proud. I’ve seen things you kids will never see. I’ve also seen things you kids will never want to see, but the less said about those gigs the better.

I have noticed, though, that there’s a definite cut-off point when people just stop going to smaller gigs on a regular basis and it usually occurs in a person’s late twenties. Around about then, they see a big flashing neon stop sign which signals the end of the road and they take heed of it. Sure, they’ll go to shows now and then in the Olympia or Vicar Street and they’ll be out in force for the summer event gigs. But mostly, they’ll stay at home, look after the nippers and keep their money for their mortgages. Sometimes, their musical tastes also stagnate leading to a generation of people who venerate acts who were big when they were still regular gig-goers (hey, why else does Morrissey still have a career?).

Of course, there are exceptions who completely missed that stop sign (and one or two people who are in the venue because of work), but Irish gig audiences, by and large, are twentysomethings. It’s their domain, their playground.

But if I go to a show abroad, there’s a much wider spread of ages. I went to see Crystal Castles and HEALTH in New York’s Mercury Lounge last month and there were kids, twentysomething hipsters, nerdy blokes who obviously worked in the computer trade and old lads like myself all in the one room without anyone paying any attention to the age breakdown of the audience.

Elsewhere, gig-going does not not seem confined to first-jobbers or their peers. It’s a much more all-inclusive affair, where it’s seen as something which doesn’t stop just because you swap the rent for mortgage payments or when your job becomes a career. In Ireland, by contrast, gig-going sometimes does appear a mite ageist. That there’s a whole new bunch of kids eager to go out and see live music and make noise and get sweaty and be enthused by it all is, I reckon, something to be happy about.

Remember the bit of a kerfuffle here the other week about MCD charging €44 to see Hecules & Love Affair at The Academy in June? Remember how we pointed out that you could see Andrew Butler and his boyz for £12 (€15) in Glasgow and just a tenner (€12.50) in Nottingham?

Well, have a look at this. Tickets are now €30 for the gig. Yes, they’re still on the high side compared to the UK shows but they have been reduced.

Is this the first time ticket prices have gone down rather than up? Is this a sign of an impending recession?

Maybe it’s MCD’s equivalent of a spring sale. Surely it’s not because they sold zero tickets for the show and took action to prevent an empty room?

Actually, did anyone pay €44? And will they get a refund?

Also, when was the change made? I got a press release last Thursday still advertising the old price.

In the middle of this debate about the ins and outs of record retailing (including Mr Dracula from Tower in Dublin defending that shop’s pricing policy), people started talking about and eulogising indie shops like Road Records in Dublin, Soundscapes in Toronto and the much missed Mulligan in Galway.

Such praise was not necessarily down to low prices (although it undoutedly helps), but was more about how these stores have the stock, the enthusiasm and the knowledge to win over a community of music fans.

For me (and obviously many of you), record shops are my favourite waste of time. I carry a little notebook with me which contains pages and pages of scrawled album titles and artists to check out. I might read a review or hear a name or see someone mentioned in connection with someone else and it’s all noted down. It’s my never-ending shopping list, the one which leads me from one new sound to the next. Even though I download loads and loads of MP3s every single week, I still prefer to buy the actual disc. That’s probably why it seems as if my gaff is built with CD boxes and not concrete blocks.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve ended up purchasing a CD because of something someone behind the counter has said about the album or has scribbled on a label stuck to the cover before putting it in the racks. Because music is an addiction, you always crave another hit so you add that CD to your stack and take it home with you. The CD may not have been on the rather long list of scrawls in the notebook I carry with me, but I was sold nonetheless.

Record stores have many attributes but it’s that ability to entice you to buy something you’d never heard of before you walked in the door which beats all for me. If a store can do that, it merits your time, money and a word of mouth recommendation to another addict.

There are some cities which I’ve mapped out in my head in terms of record stores. When I lived in London back in the day, my A-Z of Soho was all about Black Market and Mr Bongo rather than the location of this tube station or that pub. I’ve spent many happy hours strolling up and down the one street, Carrer Tallers, in Barcelona because it’s where a dozen record shops are situated (or were - even the Catalan market can’t support that number of shops any more). My first visit to Berlin saw me wearing out shoe-leather trying to get all the shops on a lengthy list.

And that debate reminded me of all the great shops which are still out there. The likes of Waterloo in Austin where you could happily spend 100 bucks and come out with 10 or 11 great albums. Or Other Music in New York, which is happy to lead you down all sorts of avenues you didn’t even realise existed. Or Sounds of the Universe in London, the shop run by the people behind the Soul Jazz label. Yes, it all depends on what you’re after - since I’ve stopped buying vinyl, I’ve struck a lot of shops off my list - but I’m sure there’s many, many more you can add to this list….

When it comes to interviews, most musicians don’t have a lot to say for themselves. There are exceptions, but they are exceptions for a reason. These are the musicians who have been through the mill, musicians who have genuinely fascinating points to make, musicians who actually enjoy answering questions which have nothing to do with what their producer or engineer did in the studio.

When faced with a tape recorder, however, most musicians, even those with fantastic albums to talk about, let the cliches roll. New bands are the worst offenders. They have absolutely nothing of interest to say because, in most cases, they have done absolutely nothing of interest. They’ve made a CD. Anyone can make a CD. Hell, I could make a CD. Actually, hang on, apparently I’ve made a few CDs.

The real stories are the ones behind the music, which is why the most interesting interviewees are the tone-deaf, sneaky, conniving, slippery people who pull the strings. Give me an hour’s face-to-face with Malcolm McLaren or Walter Yetnikoff any day over the boys in any band. Both chaps may have egos the size of the Grand Canyon and a tendency to be grouchy and unpredictable, but both always have great stories to tell when they get warmed up.

Back in 2004, Yetnikoff was in Dublin plugging his amazing book “Howing At The Moon” and I interviewed him for the paper. Full interview follows for those who’ve asked about it.
(more…)

We wrote last week about the Analog Festival. Well, the niceness continues with news that Ninepoint Records are doing a night at the Analog Studio venue during the fest featuring Thread Pulls, Danish act Mit Nye Band and UK outfit Petit Mal. It happens on July 19th and tickets are a tenner.

According to some Universal Music Group legal eagle, throwing away promo CDs is a breach of copyright. Bang goes the frisbee Olympics I’d planned for next month using all those watermarked CDs lying in a corner of the office which no-one has bothered to listen to.

You get a better class of article in the FT. Where else would you find Charlie McCreevy, Guy Hands and The Beatles in the the one piece? Yes, it’s another couple of hundred words on copyright extensions.

The New York Times takes a close look at The Filter, the Peter Gabriel-backed music recommendation service.

I can’t wait to see this widely available for the Wii

Unfortunately, they don’t make record bosses like Walter Yetnikoff any more. Here’s Walter in full flow. If you have not read Howing At The Moon, the best book ever written about a former record label boss, make amends NOW. Note to self: must dig out interview with Yetnikoff from a few years ago.

If Stereogum or Idolator write about some act signed to Universal Music, beware. Social networking set-up Buzznet, which recently acquired both music blogs, got a big cash injection of their own from, yes, Universal Music Group. Here, any major labels wants to throw what is left of their cash at On The Record? Or are you all involved in the bidding war for Nialler9? Yeah, thought so. It’s the pink banner, isn’t it? Memo to designers: we need a new look.

It’s not just On The Record who goes around giving Radiohead and their fans a good-humoured dig in the collective belly. Oh no. Here’s Chris Salmon having a pop at the ‘Head over their new social networking site which he sees as just another instance of the band milking the lucrative cash-cow that is their fan-base. Meanwhile lots and lots of Yankee fans of the band are getting worked up about the fact that the band are using Ticketmaster to flog tickets for their forthcoming US tour. See, I just knew the band should have gone with the name-your-own-price tactic for the live shows. Maybe then, there would not still be tickets on sale, as there are this morning, for their shows in Dublin and the UK. Thom baby, Skype us or send a carrier-pigeon. We can help. We can do a competition or something.

Speaking of Ticketmaster, it’s interesting to see Leftez Letter readers bringing up Ticketmaster rebates as a reason for high ticket charges. In a nutsell, rebates happen when the ticket giant allegedly passes a couple of dollars per ticket sold back to the promoter of the show in question. Yes, a couple of dollars from the various handling and convenience charges paid by the punter makes it make into the promoter’s bank account. Not surprisingly, we don’t really hear much about these rebates as all parties prefer to stay schtum about this practice. Indeed, it’s a long time since I’ve even heard anyone mention rebates - they came up during the Pearl Jam dispute with Ticketmaster and some clued-in consumers raised them in this discussion about high ticket charges. Mmmm, wonder does this happen in Ireland?

The Daily Telegraph has seen the future of the record industry and it has a peculiar pong to it. Procter & Gamble, the company behind such brands as Pampers nappies and Crest toothpaste, is to start a record label called TAG Records, in cahoots with Def Jam, to promote a line of men’s deodorants and body sprays. Look, I didn’t make it up, it was in the Telegraph, OK? The Telegraph, not the Mail.

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the MySpace Music hook-up between the social networking site and a couple of the major labels still in business. We asked then what it would all mean for indie labels and artists. Well, per Wired, it certainly won’t mean any equity in the new venture.

Ever wondered what happened to all those writers who used to contribute to Melody Maker, Sounds and the NME when it was good? Are they still out there tilting at sonic cathedrals and cracking jokes about Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts? Or are they just writing for whatever broadsheet will have them? Well, a whole load of them, including Steven Wells, Chris Roberts, Neil Kulkarni, Angus Batey, Simon Price and John Robb, are set to contribute to new online yoke The Quietus.

And finally, congrats to the Sunday Tribune hurling pundits for getting it wrong two weekends in a row. Last Sunday, Enda McEvoy and Liam Griffin had Kilkenny seeing off Tipperary. Yesterday, Enda and Liam had Galway getting the better of Liam Sheedy’s boys. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

This week’s announcement by supermarket giant Tesco of a further move into music retailing provides yet another reason to hope for the continued existence of local independent record stores.
(more…)

The way the live music calendar is shaping up, you could probably spend every single night during May and June at a live show and still miss out on some great acts.

Fleet Foxes and The DoDos are two acts who made a huge splash at this year’s South By Southwest music festival in Texas and who are well worth catching when they visit Dublin in the coming weeks.

Now signed to Sub Pop and with a debut album due out in the summer, Fleet Foxes play Whelan’s, Dublin, on June 14th, with support from Beach House.

San Franciscan duo The DoDos will play tunes from their excellent Visiter album (like “Fools” below) when they play Crawdaddy, Dublin on June 13th.

The nonsense over why there are still tickets on sale for this summer’s Glastonbury festival continues.

Oasis’s Noel Gallagher entered the fray this week, telling BBC’s Newsbeat show that it’s all Jay-Z’s fault.

“Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music, do you know what I mean?” claimed Gallagher. I’m not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It’s wrong.”

Leaving aside the fact that Gallagher thankfully doesn’t book the festival, Glastonbury’s sales slump is due more to the audience’s bad experiences with the weather in previous years than to some collective decision by the British middle classes to diss Jigga.

Say hello to new Irish label Any Other City, which has opened its stall with a fine mini-album from New Amusement (video for “Lights Go Down” follows)

Good to see Dublin’s Boom Boom Room venue back in action. The excellent The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock launch their debut album at the club’s new location at Murray’s, 34 Upper O’Connell St, tonight.

Irish promoters obviously have more faith in the weather than the rest of us: outdoor shows were announced this week for Muse (Marlay Park, Dublin, August 13th) and Lenny Kravitz (Marlay Park, Dublin, August 19 with Alanis Morissette).

Please note the question mark and the tag used for this post.

Rumours about a Tom Waits show in Ireland this year have been reaching fever pitch in the last week or two, as all three main players in the Irish live music business - MCD, Aiken Promotions and POD Concerts - have made their pitch to Tom’s Mister Fourteen And A Quarter Per Cent.

Various venues for Waits’s first Irish show since he played Dublin’s Olympia in November 1987 have been mooted, including Malahide Castle, the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, Donnybrook Stadium, the RDS and the Phoenix Park.

There has also been speculative chatter about shows in the National Concert Hall, The Academy and Vicar Street where you would have to sell your first-born at the door to get in.

Our guess? And please note this is a guess so no questions about ticket prices or when tickets are going on sale or anything like that. Three nights in a marquee to be pitched in either the RDS or the Phoenix Park in early August.

Lykke Li and pop music fit together like Sweden and Ikea.
(more…)

Future Days is the festival from Foggy Notions and Forever Presents which will be happening in various venues in Dublin in June. The first confirmed acts for this are Low (Andrew’s Lane Theatre, June 13) and Metronomy (a late show at Andrew’s Lane Theatre on June 15 for the folks who’ve done a boss remix of Goldfrapp’s “Happiness”). Expect more acts - and confirmed dates for Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Dan Deacon and Baby Dee - soon

That quote is taken from a piece which appeared in a recent issue of Marketing magazine. It was written by Colm Ó Riagáin from Slattery Communications who has worked on music sponsorship gigs involving Nokia (yes, including those infamous Nokia Trends Lab events which seem to have gone a little quiet of late) and Hennessy.

It’s an interesting piece, especially given how much we’re led to believe that bands will depend on brands for cashflow in the future now that the revenue stream from sales of plastic discs is no longer a viable way of putting food on the table.

While many brands have rushed into the music arena with all guns blazing, O Riagain feels that a much more considered view must be taken by aspiring sponsorship players.

Music is not a quick fix for brands. Those interested in marketing through music must have a long-term strategy in place and they need to ensure that their association is a collusion of brand, brand experience and interactivity that fits with music and the marketer’s objectives. More crucially, big brands should not settle for a trite association; they need to be a conduit and if the concept is not working really well after say three years, the likelihood is it never will. In other words, it is time to consider pulling the plug.

Ó Riagáin also points out that music consumers are no idiots and can spot a dodgy sponsorship deal a mile away.

Consumers, now more than ever, are aware of companies trying to get their attention through music in a bid to get them “on-side”, brands must give consumers ‘added value’ - often in the manifestation of something they cannot get elsewhere. A survey by UK agency, Entertainment Media Research, highlighted this issue. When consumers were asked their opinion about brands working in the music space, 82 per cent of those surveyed said that there were few brands interested in music and the rest are just jumping on the bandwagon. As many as 86 per cent thought brands needed to do a lot more than logo placement to gain their respect. More importantly for bands (not brands), 75 per cent thought that bands sell out too easily to brand sponsorship deals.

Given that the piece is addressed at the marketing and advertising community, Ó Riagáin unfortunately does not address such issues which have been raised here and elsewhere in the past about how and why branded events are every jot as expensive as unbranded events or how to make the events more attractive to punters.

While he cites Bacardi and their B-Live club events as an example of a successful sponsorship hook-up, it would have been interesting to see how he would judge other sponsored events such as the high-profile Meteor Music Awards or Vodafone’s Bright New Sounds using the same set of criteria.

He also doesn’t explain the rationale behind that quote about the Irish music scene (used as the title of this post) which stands out a little like a big sore thumb in what is, in all others respects, a well reasoned piece.

I find it hard to believe that anyone would believe the Irish music scene has benefited greatly from the huge amount of usually wrong-headed and badly judged marketing and brand activity. Beyond those promoters who have lined their pockets with cash from various beer and brand marketing budgets, Irish punters have gained mostly nothing from brand activities in Ireland, which probably explains the cynicism when yet another beer company announces yet another music festival featuring the same old line-up and the same old ticket prices.

Our Tune of the Week choice from last week play Whelan’s, Dublin on June 14, the only Irish date on their European tour.

Thanks to our pals at Shock and PIAS Ireland, there’s a pair of tickets to the forthcoming Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip gig at the Button Factory, Dublin on May 7 PLUS a copy of the duo’s forthcoming smashing debut album “Angles” up for grabs this afternoon.

To win, simply say what act you’d add to the DLSvSP’s “just a band” rant of infamy from “Thou Shalt Always Kill” and why.

Competition closes at sundown and the entry which makes me laugh the most wins the booty.

I’ve spent the last few weeks working my way through David Simon’s excellent “Homicide: Life On The Streets” tome about 1988, the year he spent shadowing homicide detectives from the Baltimore Police Department. It formed the basis for the much admired TV series and indeed, there are plenty of sketches from the book which later made their way into The Wire. There’s a real-life Jay Landsman in the book, for instance, and then, there’s a scene involving the use of a photocopier as a lie-detector machine which was tailor-made for Bunk and co:

Of course, that same scene had been used much earlier by the people who made Homicide:

But before the TV came calling, there was the book and the real beauty of the book lies in Simon’s ability to put the reader in the room with hard-chaws of every stripe. Whether it’s detectives boozing their way through suds in yet another late-night dive or B-more yos trying to squirm their way out of another bit of bother, Simon’s observations are always perfectly judged. You can see it in how he writes about the daily drudge of life on the homicide desk - the constant carping from superiors about statistics, for instance, and how those charged with solving usually nasty and too often casual murders try to balance doing their job with the admin side of things. It’s in how he sees cracks developing in the foundations of the once great Charm City, cracks which were set to spread and splinter in the crack and smack years which were to follow. It’s in how he tracks how the crimes they’re working on mark those detectives even when they step away from their desk or shoddy patrol car or bar-stool. There’s both an edge and a bounce to his writing which almost makes every scene zing.

Simon’s own notes on the experience are also worth noting. Having got permission from the top brass to join the homicide unit (he was given the rank of “police intern”), the reporter from the Baltimore Sun then had to win the trust of the detectives. This took time and, inevitably, a lot of drinking. He quickly accumulated a stack of notebooks, “a dog-eared tower of random detail that confused and intimidated me”, as he caught the beat of the unit and the city which produced 234 murders during Simon’s year on the beat.

After that, Simon went back to the Sun, but he had an itch to do more than just journalism at a paper which he no longer felt was in the real newspaper business. He spent a year observing life and death in an inner-city neighbourhood which became a book, co-authored with Ed Burns, called The Corner. It was turned into a HBO mini-series. Then there was The Wire, a TV show which redefined just what a TV show could do.

Simon’s next turn? Well, that’s Generation Kill, another HBO jaunt and another gig alongside Burns. This time, they’re working with Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright’s book about his time embedded with a US Marine Corps special operations unit during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The series airs in July and here’s the trailer (thanks to Ivor for the link)

Bumper to Bumper is a headphone disco taking place at Grand Canal Square, Dublin next Saturday (April 19) as part of the Dublin Dance Festival.

Phantom Anthems host Sinead Ni Mhorda and myself will be spinning the tunes from 7pm to 10pm. You’re likely to get indie anthems, electropop gems, funky-punky boom tunes, gigantic hip-hop, sunnysideup rare grooves and bubblegum sounds of every description.

Admission to the event is free but you need to get yourself a ticket in advance (see here for ticketing details).

You also need to bring a FM radio with a headphone because, well, it’s a headphone disco, innit. No PA, just you and your headphones dancing around the square. The three hour set will be broadcast on Phantom 105.2 so you tune in your radio and Bob’s your uncle.

Also, it’s Ireland in April so bring a brolly, a jumper and a hat.

It will be the best fun you could possibly have in Dublin next weekend. And it will probably change your life too.

As played on Phantom 105.2, Saturday April 12, 10pm-midnight.

Daedelus “Fair Weather Friends” (Ninja Tune)
The Ting Tings “Keep Your Head” (Columbia)
Magic Wands “Black Magic” (Ark)
Jamie Lidell “Wait For Me” (Warp)
Mr Scruff & Quantic “Giant Pickle” (Ninja Tune)
Dosh “If You Want To, You Have To” (Anticon)
Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip “Look For The Woman” (Sunday Best)
Born Ruffians “Barnacle Goose” (Warp)
Teenagers In Tokyo “Very Vampyr” (Back Yard)
The Mae Shi “Lamb & Lion” (Team Shi)
The Ettes “Marathon” (Self-released)
The Kills “Hook & Line” (Domino)
Times New Viking “End Of All Things” (Matador)
A Place To Bury Strangers “To Fix The Gash In Your Head” (Killer Pimp)
Lykke Li “I’m Good, I’m Gone” (LL Recordings)
The DoDos “Fools” (French Kiss)
Effi Briest “Mirror Rim” (Loog)
Goldfrapp “Happiness (Metronomy remix)” (Mute)
She & Him “Sentimental Heart” (Merge)
Fleet Foxes “Sun Giant” (Sub Pop)
David Holmes “McCready Rides Again” (Oh Yeah)
The Notwist “Where In This World” (City Slang)
This Will Destroy You “Leather Wings” (Magic Bullet)
Daniel Lanois “Where Will I Be” (Red Floor)
Shelby Lynne “Anyone Who Had A Heart” (Lost Highway)
Dorothy Ashby “Myself When Young” (Cadet)
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins “I Put A Spell On You” (Okeh)

The Analog festival returns to Dublin’s docklands in July with performances from Hal Willner’s Rogue’s Gallery, Tortoise, Efterklang, Taraf de Haidouks and many more.
(more…)

It’s set to be a busy couple of months for magazine- turned-promoters Foggy Notions.

With their well regarded print magazine on hold and an online publication in the works, the focus is on putting bands who would have featured in the magazine on stages in Dublin.

Forthcoming Foggy shows in Whelan’s worth leaving the house to see include the remarkable Los Angeles outfit Health (May 9th), Deerhunter (May 8th), the excellent Philly combo Man Man (May 11th - see video of band performing “Top Drawer” below), Silver Jews (May 16th) and No Kids (May 24th).

There’s even a Foggy Notions festival in the works. Future Days will feature Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Dan Deacon, Baby Dee and and others in various Dublin venues in June.

The best domestic showcase for local bands? That would probably be the IMRO Showcase Tour, which has consistently proven its worth on past tours starring The Flaws, Oppenheimer, Fight Like Apes, Rosey and others.

This year’s instalment has featured 46 acts and 11 dates around the country in the past few weeks.

There are three Dublin gigs to come. The excellent Cap Pas Cap, Concerto for Constantine, New Amusement and Crimes Against are in the Sugar Club tonight.

The Kinetiks and The Infomatics are the pick of the bunch at the Hub next Thursday, while the Sugar Club must-sees on Friday the 18th include Hybrasil and Readers Wives

Putting some of that Arctic Monkeys loot to good use, the Domino label release “Slip In And Out Of Phenomenon”, a retrospective of New York punk-funk kingpins Liquid Liquid, on May 23.

The Skinny Wolves are back and they’ve got Brooklyn hipsters Effi Briest lined up for their next club night at Transformer (Thomas Read’s, Dublin) on April 18.

Kiwi with an Irish passport Liam Finn releases his debut album “I’ll Be Lightning” here on April 18 and marks the occasion with shows in Cork (Whiskey, 23), Galway (Roisin Dubh, 24) and Dublin (Sugar Club, 25).

Hurrah! Times New Viking were one of my SXSW highlights and Foggy Notions are bringing them in to play Andrew’s Lane Theatre in May.

Here’s a video of a geezer dancing to one of their tunes. Hey, it’s Thursday evening, what more do you want?

The most savage put-down of a magazine article I’ve read in an age, here is Rocks pulling no punches as she rips into Hot Press.

She takes issue with the cheap sensationalism used by the magazine to cover Limerick rapper Nailerz and it’s a humdinger of a retort.

Hotpress directs you to Nailerz Bebo page, where is the usual thickery that such morons advertise on their Bebo pages, but, surprise surprise, no songs. You see, Hotpress don’t care that this person ISN’T EVEN A FUCKING MUSICIAN, they just want something controversial.

So you root around for a while and eventually find another Bebo page where his songs are. And they are the greatest fucking piles of shite, you’ll ever listen to (in fact, maybe Hotpress didn’t even.) It’s the usual absolute crap that ten-year-olds could do.

Don’t mess with Rocks.

There’s nothing old-fashioned about a fantastic song and Fleet Foxes know all about fantastic songs.
(more…)

Readers may recall me raving last year about Italia Wave, one of Europe’s friendliest and best value music festivals.

It’s on again this year (July 16 to 19), this time in the seaside town of Livorno on the Tuscan coast. Over 100 acts will be playing (The Chemical Brothers and The Verve are their big names at the moment) and there will be loads of music, literature, cinema, theatre, electronic and digital culture stuff happening all day and night.

The best thing about Italia Wave (besides the weather, the food and the location)?

Most parts of the program will be free of charge. The day-time stages and events will have free access, while tickets for the Main Stage ill be 10 to 20 euros (depending on the day and the time of entrance) and 10 Euros for Elettrowave (the festival’s all-night dance stage)

(1) Liverpool 4, Arsenal 2. Bring on Chelsea. Again.

(2) Eamon Dunphy, Graeme Souness and Bill O’Herlihy ganging up on Liam Brady afterwards. Brady did not look happy, did he? Maybe that explains why he let the cat out of the bag about the Chelsea result before RTE screened the highlights. (Thanks to Ivor for the YouTube link)

(3) Shameless. While it has never reached the peerless heights of the first series (when series creator Paul Abbott was still involved in scripting and sculpting every episode), the current series has been hugely enjoyable. The last episode was a hoot, tying up a few loose ends and throwing a surreal dream sequence into the mix too.

(4) Nighty Night with Vincent Browne. It continues to be the most watchable news show on the box for probably all the wrong reasons. I meant to write about this last week when Vinnie had Nell McCafferty, Senator Mary White (she wants to be president, you know) and Noel Whelan reviewing the papers, but forgot all about it. You keep watching because you really don’t know what is going to happen next or just what the presenter will say. That said, those trademark sighs and groans came across much better on the radio.

(5) News reports from Limerick. Someone must be watching The Wire.

Some of you will remember the Vodafone’s Bright New Sounds yoke from a few months ago. Well, the competition is now over and it would be churlish of me not to congratulate winning band The Minutes. I’m sure the 407 bands who entered but didn’t win will agree that it’s just an unfortunate co-incidence that two of the three winning band members work for Vodafone.

A couple of people (including Fearghal, Petee and Barry) have pointed out that €44 to see Hercules & Love Affair at The Academy in Dublin on June 1 is a bit much. It certainly is, especially when you consider the ticket prices for their UK shows earlier in the week - it’s £12 (€15) in Glasgow and just a tenner (€12.50) in Nottingham. Holy outrageous mark-up Batman!

Speaking of tickets, Bono and pals know where the money is at. No, not that deal, but this move by his private equity company Elevation Partners to acquire a stake in everyone’s favourite whipping boys Ticketmaster.

It’s official: Apple’s iTunes now sells more music than any other retail outlet in the United States. We give the CD another 4 years, 10 months and 16 days.

Vinyl, though, that’s another story. Here’s some filthy turntable porn for you.

Hear the drummers get wicked. But what about the noise of crumpling paper… is a one-day percussion fest taking place in Dublin’s Liberty Hall Theatre on April 26. Presented by Ergodos (the people behind the Printing House Festival of New Music), the event will feature New York’s Lehman College Percussion Ensemble and Dublin’s RIAM Percussion Ensemble performing Edgard Varèse’s Ionisation. There will also be performances of John Cage’s Third Construction in Metal, Michael Byron’s Music of Steady Light, works by Irish composer Aengus Ó Maoláin and English composer James Else and various drumming workshops.

And just in case you hadn’t noticed, the revisionism has begun. From today’s paper:

The media “has less time today for serious parliamentary reporting” than was the case in the past, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said last night.

This the same Bertie who reduced the amount of time he himself had to spend in the Dail answering questions over the last few years?

This one comes from the Foggy Notions stable and will star Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Dan Deacon, Baby Dee and many more. More info to come.

Ticket sales for this year’s Glastonbury festival are said to be steady rather than spectacular, with about 100,000 of the 137,500 tickets sold since they went on sale yesterday. Maybe Rod Liddle is right: festivals have become middle-aged. Or perhaps he and the other Glasto champions take a look at some very interesting alternatives.

As played on Phantom 105.2, Saturday April 5, 10pm-midnight.

Yes, we’re back in the radio business. More new music than any other show on your radio (well, any other show on your radio on a Saturday night) meant plays for White Denim (two tracks from their forthcoming thriller of a debut album), A Place To Bury Strangers, Times New Viking, the amazing Kit, New Bloods, DoDos, Fleet Foxes, El Guincho and She & Him. There were also berths on the show for Bad Brains (I’ve been reintroducing myself to their “Rock for Light” album of late), Minor Threat, James Brown and Tough Alliance (“A New Chance” is one of those 2007 albums I’m only getting around to now - if you like Studio or any of that slinky Swedish groove-pop, you’ll like this), as well as new music from The Notwist (the new album is delicious), Gemma Hayes (her new album is also a wow) and Camille (that is the French Camille, the Camille with the excellent new “Music Hole” album).

White Denim “Lets Talk About It” (Full Time Hobby)
Born Ruffians “I Need A Life” (Warp)
Bad Brains “Big Takeover” (Caroline)
Minor Threat “Think Again” (Dischord)
A Place To Bury Strangers “Don’t Think Lover” (Killer Pimp)
Times New Viking “Relevant Now” (Matador)
Kit “Fake Broken Legs” (Upset The Rhythm)
Islands “The Arm” (Anti)
New Bloods “The Cycle Song” (Kill Rock Stars)
White Denim “Mess Your Hair Up” (Full Time Hobby)
The Last Shadow Puppets “My Mistakes Were Made For You” (Domino)
The DoDos “Fools” (French Kiss)
The Notwist “Alphabet” (City Slang)
Sea Wolf “Leaves In The River” (Dangerbird)
James Brown “Night Train” (People)
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble “War” (Self-release)
El Guincho “Palmitos Park” (Discoteca Océano)
Tough Alliance “Silly Crimes” (Sincerely Yours)
The Black Keys “All You Never Wanted” (V2/Co-Op)
Camille “Gospel With No Lord” (EMI France)
The Choir Practice “I See Things” (Mint)
Fleet Foxes “Sun Giant” (Sub Pop)
She & Him “I Thought I Saw Your Face Today” (Merge)
Gemma Hayes “This Is What You Do” (ATC)
High Places “Shared Islands” (Caff/Flick)
Alaska In Winter “Rain On Every Weekend” (Regular Beat)
Bon Iver “The Wolves (Act I & II) (Jagjaguwar)
No Age “It’s Oh So Quiet” (Stereogum)

Bell X1’s current tour of the United States has come to an end. Here’s Paul Noonan’s recollections of the last week in Portland, Vancouver and Seattle.
(more…)

This may be the summer when Ireland’s love affair with the outdoor show begins to wane.
(more…)

More acts from bygone days have decided to go back to work.

The Specials will hit the reunion trail later in the year, this time with Terry Hall onboard for the trip. The band will spend the summer rehearsing for dates from September.

New Kids on the Block are also considering such a move. All five members are to appear on US TV show Today to mark the 20th anniversary of their Hangin’ Tough album, and a tour is expected to be announced.

This may well be the most intimate live vibe of the year as Canadian electronic artist Milosh plays two shows in a suite in the Radisson Hotel in Sligo this coming Sunday.

The show is part of the Model Arts and Niland Gallery’s New Spaces for Music programme. With the venue closed for redevelopment, the gallery will put on shows in other unusual venues during the coming months.

Tickets for the Milosh shows are €5 and capacity is limited to 25 people.

Milosh also plays Whelan’s, Dublin on Wednesday April 9.

Ghostface Killah brings the ruckus to Dublin in May. The Wu-Tang Clan luminary, who has released some very fine solo albums (especially “Fishscale”) plays the Tivoli on May 15.

Think you can do a better Radiohead tune than Radiohead themselves? The band are looking for fans to remix “Nude” from latest album “In Rainbows”. Full information here

Don’t expect to see tickets for Paramore’s Irish debut at Dublin’s RDS on June 2 hanging around very long when they go on sale next Monday morning.

Three of the four major music labels, Universal Music, Sony-BMG and Warner Music, have jumped into bed with MySpace to turn MySpace Music into “an one-stop source for all music, in all its various digital incarnations”. The odd ones out, EMI, will “probably” sign up shortly, meaning all four catalogues will be available via the new service.

Per the New York Times:

Visitors to the site will be able to listen to free streaming music, paid for with advertising, and share customized playlists with their friends. They will also be able to download tracks to play on their mobile devices, putting the new site in competition with similar services like Apple, Amazon and eMusic.

Questions: so what does this deal mean for acts who currently use MySpace but who are not signed to any of the Big Four labels? Will they be able to make use of this “one-stop source” or are MySpace and MySpace Music to be two seperate entities? Are MySpace’s terms and conditions of use going to become more major label-friendly?

Massive Attack play the Live at the Marquee season in Cork on July 1. Tickets are €46.20 and go on sale next Thursday.