This Saturday in Cleere’s sees the return of Problems At The Pancake House and with them arrive Grand Pocket Orchestra, Hola Manana (played back in early June) and locals Indie Kids Can’t Dance.
You got your dark times and you got your happy times. Grand Pocket Orchestra are somewhere in the middle: they write happy songs about not so happy things, with the intention of making the awful seem not so bad.
Call it indie-pop, art-rock or just musical mayhem, but GPO are a band like no other.
2007 saw the group rise continually through the Irish indie scene, playing festivals from their formation, winning Hotpress’ Magazines Music Video contest as well as creating a scene in themselves. 2008 is set to be a huge year for the band after releasing their debut EP to great reviews, and featuring on US compilation ‘Future Sounds’. GPO released their debut EP in Ireland on February 1, with an extensive Irish tour as well as promotional dates in the UK and Germany.
Hola Mañana are a mostly instrumental group, drawing influences from the likes of the Penguin Café Orchestra, Amiina, the Album Leaf, Beirut and Sigur Rós. Combining pianos, synths, guitars, hushed vocals, glockenspiels and ukuleles, Hola Mañana manage to make the type of music that you fall asleep to, before jumping out of bed in a fit of dance.
So far, the group have enjoyed many a fun-filled show with more planned in the coming years and centuries. For now, they are still hacking away at their recordings, hoping to eventually get some sort of release out.
This will be their second gig in Kilkenny, having played at the last Problems at the Pancake House night in Ryan’s to a packed audience with the River Valley Band. This time however, the group will also be performing under a slightly altered line-up.
Getting things underway on the night are Kilkenny outfit Indie Kids Can’t Dance, consisting of Liam Doyle, Michael Nolan, Lee Shanahan and David Doyle. As they go into their 4th year as a quartet, the band are constantly evolving and adapting their sound.
Admission is a mere fiver and there’s a limited supply of free hand packaged CDs for the first few in the door.
He’s played the Rhythm & Roots Festival and here he is for the 4th of July with, ‘4th Of July’ taken from his debut album ‘Put The O Back In Country’ (it’s the second track on the album).
Happy whatever day…
With just over a month to go before the first ever Dysart Festival takes place in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, concert goers are being reminded that they have until Wednesday next, July 9th, to purchase the last remaining early-bird tickets.
The two-day summer festival, the first to be held at the site of Dysart Castle on August 9th and 10th, features some of the biggest names in the music business including Jools Holland, Marc Almond, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Gemma Hayes and Welsh Opera diva Katherine Jenkins.
Speaking about the forthcoming festival, promoter of the event and Thomastown native Enda Leahy said “Thomastown seems to have some mystical pull on creative and eccentric types, going back centuries. Long before it produced one of the three greatest Enlightenment thinkers the Irish philosopher George Berkeley, it was a monastic and educational centre.
“We’re thrilled to have such an array of great international artists coming here to perform and hopefully perpetuate that mysticism for many years to come. Everyone in the region knows Thomastown is a hub for craic and creativity, and the early bird launch locally is our effort to ensure all the local community get a chance to enjoy it at the best price possible. Hopefully they’ll snap them up before it’s too late.”
The early bird tickets are on sale for people in the local area to get excellent value tickets ahead of the rush. They will be on sale via the Dysart Festival website www.dysartfestival.com until Wednesday 9th July or from regional outlets listed below. One-day early bird tickets are available from €55 after which the normal price of €75 will apply.
In addition to the headline acts, a slew of the hottest young Irish bands will also perform on a second stage called the Glade stage including chart toppers Republic of Loose who will headline on the Saturday alongside Luan Parle, Ham Sandwich and The Flaws, The Chapters and many more.
I’ve been asking this question the last two days straight. For the love of God, will someone please turn off the rain.
They’re in Kilkenny this coming weekend with Problems At The Pancake House, so for your Wednesday viewing (can’t believe it’s the middle of the week already), here comes Grand Pocket Orchestra with ‘Odd Socks’.
Great tune.
Here you go… on a rainy day… The Undertones with Here Comes The Summer.
With music from Radiohead and animation by Gaston Vinas, here’s ‘2+2=5′ to start off your week.
Let it be a week of peace, quiet, relaxation and all that kind of stuff.
The Guggenheim Grotto roll into Kilkenny for their second and final show of 2008. You can catch them live in Cleere’s tonight from 10pm.
Here’s some of the lowdown from this week’s Kilkenny Advertiser…
The Guggenheim Grotto are back in Kilkenny this weekend as they take a break from their assault on the US market.
With a debut album that has made admirable inroads across the waters, a number of tracks featuring on TV shows over the last two years, the popular Dublin-based trio return for an intimate, acoustic performance in Cleere’s Theatre.
The trio (Kevin May, Mick Lynch and Shane Power) are celebrating the release of their latest single, ‘Waking Up In America’, a pop-rock song which pairs their haunting harmonies with classical and contemporary instruments.
You can read the full report here. Tonight’s show is a full band show as well and if anything like the last time the full band were down should be absolutely excellent.
Trainspotting is well under way and tickets are quickly being snapped up for the weekend performances (across tonight, tomorrow and Saturday). Another gem you might here in the production by The Devious Theatre Company is ‘Union City Blue’ by Blondie, so here’s the video for your Thursday. Enjoy.
Yes please… Orange Juice with ‘Rip It Up’. Missed a video yesterday due to last minute dashing around for the grand opening of Trainspotting in Kilkenny which was extremely well received last night. The show continues for the next four nights and if you haven’t picked up a ticket yet you’ll be able to do so by calling into the Watergate Theatre in Kilkenny or booking over the phone by calling 056 7761674.
For now though and staying in line with the sounds of Trainspotting this week, enjoy Orange Juice.
