BarryGruff Presents #14: No Monster Club, The Dead Beat + Be Curious, Kid :: Saturday, April 20th :: Flanagan’s Bar, Newbridge

‘BarryGruff Presents’ returns to Flanagan’s Bar for its 14th Newbridge installment on Saturday, April 20th. 

Over the course of the past 18 months there’s been some really special nights in Flanagan’s. Saturday night’s show promises to be another top night of live music with No Monster Club & The Dead Beat + Be Curious, Kid.

Dublin’s No Monster Club is without doubt, one of the finest and exciting live acts in Ireland right now. Their rough around the edges blend of surf rock/bubblegum pop/lo-fi indie has been compared to The Strokes, The Velvet Underground, The Unicorns and The Libertines and seen them share the stage with the likes of Ariel Pink, Squarehead, Wavves, Girls Names, Abe Vigoda and HEALTH. No Monster Club went down a storm the last time they were in Newbridge with We Are Losers, and this visit promises to be just as brilliant.

Fellow Dubs The Dead Beat are a four piece indie band, whose sound is firmly rooted in that classic indie sound. Far from being straightforward landfill indie, of which there is already too much; this is melodic indie/alternative rock done with a swagger and poise. The band is currently putting the finishing touches to their new EP, Your 19th Revolution, and take some time out for a first show in Newbridge. Joining them on the bill will be Kildare’s own Be Curious, Kid who has been steadily building a rep for themselves locally with their own indie-rock stylings.

It’s FREE in as usual & the show starts at 9pm. Another night of great music in prospect. [RSVP here]

BarryGruff Presents #14: No Monster Club + The Dead Beat + Be Curious, Kid :: Saturday, April 20th – 9pm – Flanagan’s Bar, Newbridge

BarryGruff Presents #13: The Depravations & The Dead Heavys :: Flanagan’s Bar, Newbridge :: Saturday :: March 16th

‘BarryGruff Presents’ returns to Flanagan’s Bar for its 13th Newbridge show on Saturday, March 16th. 13, lucky for some, huh?

Over the course of the previous shows there’s been some really special nights littered with many great performances. This coming Saturday will be another top night of live music with The Depravations and The Dead Heavys.

The Depravations are Galway four-piece indie-folk band who take their influences from a combination of ’50s and ’60s surf music, old country and blues. The band went down a storm when they played late last year and return as part of their tour in support of their excellent debut album, ‘Onwards, Westwards’. The album, like their music in general, is filled with warmth, rich sounds, stories and harmonies; they are one of the West of Ireland’s hidden treasures but hopefully not for too long.

The Dead Heavys are gearing up to release their debut record, produced Jagz Kooner (Primal Scream, Kasabian & Sabres of Paradise). The Waterford bands brand of funky indie rock, tinged with psychedelics and a catchy pop sensibility, is utterly infectious. Not a surprise then that they’ve already made quite a stir. In February alone they played a sell-out show in The Village, appeared on Today FM and have been announced for a slew summer festivals. 2013 looks like being a big year for the lads from Waterford, and what’s bigger than coming to Newbridge? 

It’s FREE in as usual & kicks off at 9pm. It’s going to be another great night of live music and one not to be missed. [RSVP]

BarryGruff Presents #12: Nathan Conway & The River Valley Band and Paul McCormack & The Flying Fontaines :: Flanagan’s Bar, Newbridge :: Saturday :: Feb 9th

‘BarryGruff Presents’ #12 is here & returns to Flanagan’s Bar, Newbridge for a first show of 2013 on Saturday, February 9th. It’s going to be a fantastic night of live music w/ Nathan Conway & The River Valley Band & Paul McCormack & The Flying Fontaines.

Having teamed up with The River Valley Band after releasing ‘Run on Diesel’ with The Bottlestoppers in 2011, Conway & Co return to Newbridge for the first time since releasing their debut album, ‘Sonny Boy’ last year. Nathan is one of Ireland’s most underrated songwriters, a veritable national treasure waiting in the wings. Taking old folk, gospel and good time rock n roll, they create a beautiful, timeless and assured soulful country sound, with Conway’s intuitive storytelling and striking vocals bringing it all home.

Paul McCormack is one of Newbridge’s finest folk musicians and a storyteller beyond repute. A career spanning decades has seen him play the world over, his repertoire of songs is in the thousand, yet somehow it has taken all this time to put an album together. Something’s are certainly worth the wait. Backed by members of Knoxville Morning and Sea Area Forecast, this is an early chance to hear songs from the forthcoming album.

It’s FREE in as usual & kicks off at 9pm. It’s going to be another great night of live music in Flanagan’s, so let’s kick off the first ‘BarryGruff Presents’ of 2013 with a bang! [FB event page]

The Joy Formidable + We Are Animal :: Academy :: Dublin :: Sat Jan 26th

Two of Wales’ best acts right now, The Joy Formidable and We Are Animal, on the same bill for €15. You can’t go wrong, right? 

Okay, it is a bit late in the day but if you’re looking for something to do this weekend in Dublin, I can’t recommend this show highly enough. I got along to the Liverpool leg of the tour on Tuesday in The Kazimier and it was immense, simply immense. 

If you’re not familiar with the acts here’s a short explanation. The Joy Formidable? Soaring riffs and rampaging guitar heroics meet to form an emphatic and epic wall of sound; a masterclass in how indie-rock is supposed to sound. We Are Animal on the other hand are a curious bunch,  sometimes dark and trippy, buzzing guitars and distinctive vocals are set to a rhythmic groove. If Tuesday’s show in Liverpool is anything to go by, this shouldn’t be missed.

The Joy Formidable & We Are Animal play Belfast’s Limelight tonight & The Academy, Dublin, tomorrow night (Saturday). Doors 8pm/€15.

BarryGruff Presents #11: The P Affection, The Depravations & Appo :: Flanagan’s Bar, Newbridge :: Saturday :: Dec 15th

All aboard for 11th and final BarryGruff Presents show (of this year) in Newbridge!

‘BarryGruff Presents’ returns to Flanagan’s Bar, for a very special Christmas show on Saturday, December 15th. It’s going to be a fantastic night of live music, as usual, w/ The P Affection, The Depravations & special guest, Appo.

The P Affection is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Padraig McCauley. The Naas based band’s self-titled debut was released to rave reviews and followed by Cakes For Occasions earlier in the year, has exceeded even their lofty expectations. They have grown as a band, their sound even tighter; a wondrous blend of indie-pop, rock, ska, and folk is formed into a distinct and cohesive sound, all of their own. The Depravations are Galway four-piece indie-folk band who take their influences from a combination of ’50s and ’60s surf music, old country and blues. With a couple of excellent EP’s filled with music of rich sounds, stories and harmonies; they are one of the West of Ireland’s hidden treasures and certainly not to be missed on their first appearance in Newbridge.

Meanwhile support comes from special guest, Newbridge’s very own, Appo. Always a scintillating live performer, the gravelly voiced troubadour’s blend of folk and blues is powerful, captivating and delivered with some gusto.This will be the last ‘BarryGruff Presents’ of the year, so let’s send of 2012 with a bang!

Entry is FREE as always and the show starts at 9.00pm in Flanagan’s, Newbridge on Saturday, December 15th. [Facebook event]

 

BarryGruff Presents: The Statics, The Violet Roadkills & Wayfarer :: Arthur’s, 28 Thomas Street :: Dublin :: Friday :: Nov 23rd

I’m delighted ‘BarryGruff Presents’ is on its way back to Dublin once again, this Friday, November 23rd. We’re taking over Arthur’s on Thomas Street, the newest addition to Dublin’s live music scene under the watchful eye of The Mighty Stef.

I’m really excited about this one and to have ‘The Statics’, ‘The Violet Roadkills’ and ‘Wayfarer’playing on the night. There is more details and tracks from the acts below. Doors at 8pm and admission is FREE, hopefully some of you can make it along to make it a really great night. [Facebook event]

The show is on Friday November 23rd, Arthur’s (Upstairs), 28 Thomas Street, Dublin 8. Doors at 8pm and admission is FREE. There’s more info/links below.

The Statics:

Echoing the likes of The La’s, John Power & The Coral, The Statics specialise in upbeat, energetic and heart warming indie-goodness with twangy rhythmic guitars, rich distinctive vocals and sing-a-long choruses, played with energy, refreshing honesty and assured sense of style. This Dublin four-piece are a real hidden gem but hopefully not for too long.

 [Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter]

The Violet Roadkills:

Also hailing from Dublin, The Violet Roadkills are a somewhat different prospect. Taking their cue from the likes of Death In Vegas and Holy Fuck, they have a preference for a loud, intense and powerful mix of heavy riffs and driving synths, channelled into a haze of Electronica and Krautrock. Their influences from My Bloody Valentine, Royksopp, Steroelab to Godspeed You Black Emperor run riot throughout their music. These guys don’t mess about, and do what they do very, very well. This is a first Dublin show in sometime and one definitely not to be missed.

[Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter]

Meanwhile support comes from Newbridge trio Wayfarer, whose soft and gentle folk sound is something of beauty, a perfect combo to kick off any night.

This really promises to be a great night in Arthur’s, the newest addition to Dublin’s live music scene, so come on down for a buzz!

BarryGruff Presents #10 w/ Our Krypton Son, Ciaran Lenehan & Sea Area Forecast :: Flanagan’s Bar, Newbridge :: Saturday :: Nov 17th

It’s hard to believe this is the tenth BarryGruff Presents show in Newbridge, how did that happen?

Anyway. BarryGruff Presents #10 returns to Flanagan’s Bar, Newbridge for another fantastic night of  live music on Saturday, November 17th, w/ Our Krypton Son, Ciaran Lenehan (full band) & Sea Area Forecast.

Chris McConaghy aka Our Krypton Son hails from Derry, where he cut his first musical teeth and establishing his song writing credentials sharing stages with David Kitt, Jape and Cashier No. 9. In early 2010 McConaghy gathered close musician friends together to create Our Krypton Son. Our Krypton Son’s muse traverses the songscapes of Wilco, Costello, Bowie, Waits and Orbison; with McConaghy’s voice fragile, tender and touching. This is a first visit to Newbridge for Our Krypton Son as part of their Irish tour in support of their self-titled debut album.

Dublin folk rocker Ciaran Lenehan takes time out from prepping his new album to return to Newbridge, where he has become a firm favourite. Having earned his stripes on the live circuit with the likes of Damien Dempsey, Frank Turner and Wallis Bird, Lenehan is a songwriter to be reckoned with; simple, assured and engaging. Most importantly he has the talent to make wonderful stories into fantastic songs. This is a rare chance to see him perform with his full band behind him.

Meanwhile support comes from Newbridge’s very own Sea Area Forecast who bring their indie folk sounds to the town for the first time since releasing their debut EP. It all promises to be yet another memorable night.

Entry is FREE as always and the show starts at 9.00pm in Flanagan’s, Newbridge on Saturday, November 17th. For more info & Facebook event.

Competition: The Unusual History of Ether in The Riverbank

The Unusual History of Ether, play The Riverbank , Newbridge next Thursday, November 1st. Having been introduced on the blog last week, The Unusual History of Ether have kindly offered BarryGruff readers the chance to go and enjoy the show in The Riverbank.

There are two tickets up for grabs. No silly questions, just email your name to barrygruff [at] gmail [dot] com with ‘Riverbank’ as the subject title. Winners will be drawn at random and the competition closes at 12:00 on October 30th 2012. 

The Unusual History of Ether is a songwriting partnership between Rebecca Collins and Danish guitarist Mikkel Ploug. The fruits of this union is fresh, slightly dark but profoundly beautiful indie pop songs, which are sung with passion, performed with grace and recorded quite beautifully. The Unusual History of Ether do, at times, recall the noir-ish, Gothic parts of Anna Calvi’s irresistible self titled debut from last year. 

Tickets are €10/€12. Doors at 8pm & support comes from the ever brilliant Sive. Here’s a few choice cuts from the band.

Hard Working Class Heroes 2012 | A Brief Preview

While not without it’s criticisms (what the fuck doesn’t?) there is nothing to brighten up the onset of a dreary Irish winter than Hard Working Class Hereos. Now in it’s tenth year, HWCH, has introduced me and many others to a lot of great new Irish artists and bands year on year. 

Anyway HWCH returns to Dublin tonight & runs till Saturday with shows taking place in The Button Factory, The Mercantile, The Grand Social, Meeting House Square, Twisted Pepper and The Workman’s Club. While I wholeheartedly suggest people venture into uncharted territory in the hope of new musical discoveries, I still have a number of suggestions.

Weekend tickets priced €45 and nightly tickets are €20 (+ fees). Here’s the full schedule. 

Thursday:

SertOne (Meeting House Square | 9:20-9:50):

With out doubt one of Ireland’s most promising talents; prodigious, prolific & easily one of my favourites. SertOne’s latest EP, Shapes In The Sky, (his fifth release in just over a year & a half) demonstrated every bit of this brilliance. Armed with an astonishing array of head-nodding beats and slick samples he takes us on a journey through a subterranean world of 8 bit sounds, beats and a hip-hop influenced grooves. The live show is every bit a winner too, this Portadown-born producer is surely destined for great things.

Spies (The Grand Social | 10:30-11:00):

Dublin based five piece indie band specialize in an epic kind of indie, dramatic almost & full of feeling, emotion. If you were looking  for comparable acts it would be somewhere between Interpol and The National. Both times I’ve caught Spies’ live show, I didn’t leave disappointed.

Friday:

Kid Karate (Meeting House Square| 8:40-9:10):

Dublin ragged rock/punk duo Kid Karate are long time favourites round these parts. Over the past two year’s they’ve become such a formidable force. As a live band, few come anywhere close to their shows of gritty riff-laden rock n roll, or in terms of volume and energy. The have an unearthly knack for scuzzy rock n roll jam filled with furious riffage and thunderous drums, not to mention throat zapping vocals. Kid Karate’s debut album will soon be upon us, this is one show not to be missed!

Ghost Estates (Meeting House Square| 10:00-10:30):

Ghost Estates have already carved out their place on Ireland’s musical landscape. With three songwriters in the band, stylistically it’s diverse, taking in a mix of new wavey sounds, reach for the sky guitar anthems and straight up indie rock. This amalgam has seen them arrive at their own distinct sound of hazy electronica edged indie which send a shiver down the spine. It is said two heads are better than one, well, judging by Ghost Estates’ debut, three are certainly better than two. There self-titled debut is the best Irish indie album in a long, long time!

Saturday:

Conor Mason (The Grand Social | 7:50-8:20):

With three albums under his belt, Mason has now found his space on the musical landscape, not dissimilar to that occupied by luminaries Matthew Jay or Elliott Smith. His latest album, Standstill, is a masterpiece in song writing, flowing gently by, amid a sea of soft lilting vocals, whispering lyrical poeticisms and subtle instrumentation. His music is permeated by an air of richness, comforting tranquillity and shrouded in melancholy. One definitely not to be missed.

The Mighty Stef (Meeting House Square | 10:40-11.10):

Consistently one of the most impressive Irish musicians over the past few years, three great albums, the last of which was ambitious  and brilliant projects yet. A fiery folk-punk attitude and a predilection for the darker side of life have always permeated his songs but of late, some more uplifting nuances are coming through. Live, The Mighty Stef is different class, he approaches every show with the same intensity and dedication, punters are never left short changed.

There’s plenty more on show too. I hope to swing by and see, if possible that is; Biggles Flys Again, The Casanova Wave, White Collar Boy, Faws, Heritage Centre, CLU, Solar Bears, REID, Girl Band, Jogging, The Depravtions & We Cut Corners.

BarryGruff Presents #9: The Statics, Keith Moss & Wayfarer :: Flanagan’s :: Newbridge :: Thursday Sept 27th

I’m very excited about this one, especially after the absolute blast at the last gig in Flanagan’s, I’m not sure the place has recovered yet.

Ready or not BarryGruff Presents #9 is here & returns to Flanagan’s Bar, Newbridge for a special Arthur’s Day show on Thursday, September 27th. There’s a great night of live music ahead with headline performances from The Statics & Keith Moss and support from Wayfarer. There’s more info below & the ‘Facebook Event’ is right here.

Fresh from a storming show at this year’s Castlepalooza, Dublin 4-piece The Statics, bring their jangly infectious indie-pop sound to Newbridge for the very first time. Echoing the likes of The La’s, John Power & The Coral, there’s is heart warming indie-goodness with twangy rhythmic guitars, rich distinctive vocals and sing-a-long choruses, played with energy, refreshing honesty and assured sense of style.

Similarly it’s a first Newbridge outing for Dublin-based Keith Moss, who has been garnering plaudits for his music since winning IMRO’s ‘Young Songwriter of the Year’. Something of a punk poet, Moss’s music is a curious work of rare beauty which positively drips with passion and emotion. A great time to catch him live before his debut album is released in October through Reekus Records. Meanwhile support comes from Newbridge’s very own Wayfarer, whose soft and gentle folk sound is something of beauty.

It’s FREE in as usual and the show kicks off at 8.30pm & as it is Arthurs’ Day expect some Guinness related drinks promotions too.

BarryGruff Presents #8: The Annulments, The Cedar Sound, Appo & DJs :: Flanagan’s :: Newbridge :: Sat Sept 15th

‘BarryGruff Presents’ #8 is here & returns to Flanagan’s Bar, Newbridge on Saturday, September 15th.

It’s going to one hell of a night w/ 3 great live performances from The Annulments, The Cedar Sound, Appo & DJ sets till 2am from Robbie Coffey & Cormac Brady (Super Extra Bonus Party).

Dublin quartet The Annulments’ sound comes from a broad blend of influences, taking in blues, folk country, dixieland, mountain minstrelsy, soul and rock and roll. With a respect for these musical traditions, they create wonderful and arresting tales of unjust love, mislaid plans and labours lost. The Annulments are a band whose stock is steadily on the rise.

Accompanying them on the bill are The Cedar Sound and Appo. Compiled of members from Kildare and Dublin, The Cedar Sound have hit the gig trail this year, taking their Americana Folk sounds with them across Ireland. Meanwhile Appo, one of Newbridge’s finest troubadours, returns for his second performance of the series. He and his gravely bluesy-folk remains one of the town’s best kept secrets.

Entry is FREE as always and the show starts at 9.00pm and runs until 2.00am in Flanagan’s, Newbridge on Saturday, September 15th. For more info & Facebook event.

Electric Picnic 2012 | Sunday

Johnny Feeney concludes his round-up of last weekends’ Electric Picnic with his view on Sunday (his thoughts on Day 1 are here and day 2 here). A huge thanks to Johnny for taking the time to do this, I for one have enjoyed reading them & I’m sure I’m not alone.

The sun was out in force on Sunday and there were a lot of lost-looking souls around the place after two hard days of partying, some of whom I met decided to go home early, but with the influx of day-ticketers Sunday certainly felt like it had the biggest crowds of the weekend.

The first act I caught was Dublin electronic duo Forrests in the Little Big Tent. Their dreamy, ambient electronica first came to my attention only a few weeks back so I figured this would be a nice way to ease myself into the day. Their music comprises of layers and layers of sounds on top of not-too-heavy beats and is extremely easy on the ear and introspective for a nice piece of escapism. Very enjoyable and I shall look forward to more from these.

Dublin Gospel Choir are something of an institution at the Picnic who I’d always contrived to miss because of their early Sunday main stage time slot but I made the effort to catch them this year and I’m glad I did. They specialised in gospel versions of crowd-pleasers such as Arcade Fire’s ‘Wake Up’, Elbow’s ‘One Day Like This’ and the Killers’ ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’. There was a big crowd for this with most just sitting down and relaxing in the sun while taking in the performance.

Mmoths AKA Jack Colleran, like Forrests before him, is a skilled proponent of blissful, ambient electronica and his set in the Little Big Tent offered up his usual high-quality tunes heavy on dreamy synths and sounds. This is music to get lost in rather than dance to and if that’s your thing, look no further.

I was very excited about seeing Of Monsters and Men and it was clear by the packed Crawdaddy Stage that I wasn’t the only one. Opening with the joyous ‘Dirty Paws’, this was unbridled feel-good indie-folk from the off. The ubiquitous radio hit ‘Little Talks’ was always going to get the biggest reaction from the crowd but highlights for me included the slowburning ‘Lakehouse’,  ‘King and Lionheart’ and the sensational closer ‘Six Weeks’. The band seem to be as astonished as everyone else with their meteoric rise and this was obvious when singer Nanna got the crowd to sing her father a happy birthday over her phone and the drummer took pictures of the crowd on his camera at the end. Delightful.  

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, the alias of dance producer Orlando Higginbotham, tore Little Big Tent apart from the get-go. This was the set of the weekend where everything just came together perfectly. Included were a pumped crowd dancing like lunatics, outrageously entertaining female dancers and Higginbotham switching vocals with his female vocalist and dropping top-class dance tracks such as ‘Tapes & Money’, ‘American Dream, Pt II’, ‘Household Goods’ and ‘Stronger’. The album Trouble is definitely worth checking out. Head and shoulders above anything else I saw over the weekend.

Next up were Lanterns on the Lake in the Cosby Stage. Playing to quite a small crowd, this was very slow, quiet, dainty folk-pop and didn’t particularly grab the attention. I was quite taken with last year’s debut album, Gracious Tide, Take Me Home, but felt this wasn’t the right setting for them. 

Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan is every inch the star. Here, dressed elegantly in black evening dress and high-heels, she delivered an incredible performance. The older, more otherworldly material such as ‘Horse & I’ and ‘What’s A Girl To Do’ sounded great while the new songs left me excited for the upcoming album The Haunted Men. However it’s the more delicate piano-led songs that amazed most here. New song ‘Laura’ is just gorgeous while the impossibly beautiful ‘Siren Song’ tugged at my heart strings and left me fighting back the tears.

Festival favourites Hot Chip never fail to get the party started and here was no different as they closed the Electric Arena in style. Heirs apparent to the sadly departed LCD Soundsystem, they belted out classic tracks such as ‘Over and Over’, ‘Ready For the Floor’ and ‘One Night Stand’ while the ground underneath the heaving, dancing crowd shook. A great way to end what has been a great festival.