Tag: Dublin

Public Service Broadcasting at The Button Factory: Review

This originally was published on Goldenplec.com

Public Service Broadcasting at The Button Factory May 31st 2013

Public Service Broadcasting have travelled the length and breadth of both the UK and Ireland on this tour, before arriving for a show in The Button Factory in Dublin, in support of their debut album, ‘Inform – Educate – Entertain’. Borrowing the album’s title from the BBC’s charter, the band have used samples from archive information films and fused it with their musical ethos to forge something special, which would be a feat to recreate live.

Entering the venue, The Violet Roadkills had taken the stage. Playing tracks from their new album, ‘Led Kindly Light’, the krautrock fourpiece were tight with each instrument balanced beautifully in the soundscape. Just a pity there weren’t more people there to hear them.

Bank Holiday weekends in the capital can be strange affairs as people escape to the country. It was not until moments before Public Service Broadcasting were due to take the stage that the venue actually filled up. As the stage crew readied for the event, it became apparent that this wasn’t a gig, it was a proper audio visual show. Either side of the stage, the shells of old televisions were stacked four high, for use with projectors. Hanging at the back of the stage was a main screen and to the left towards the back of the stage was another huge ‘TV’ screen.

For the live shows PSB have three people on stage, Wigglesworth on drums, sitting to the left, Mr. B on visuals and J. Willgoose, Esq. ‘on everything else’. There are no vocal microphones set up for interaction with the audience, instead comunication is made through a series of sampled phrases in a ‘proper English’ accent. The trio themselves beautifully add to this co-ordination as they are clad in corduroy, tweed jackets, dickie bows, shirts and ties.

The band start the night off as they mean to continue. The stage comes alive. For ‘London Can Take It’, the venue lights mimic search lights and vintage war footage is played on the main screen at the back of the stage, with other imagery lighting with stacked television sets either side. Musically, it’s really interesting. Alongside samples and triggered noises, J. Willgoose, Esq. plays banjo. Not something you’d really expect to see in this environment. This really is a feast for the senses.

As they progress through their set, J. Willgoose, Esq. moves between instruments, to guitar sampling riffs, and thermin on ‘Dig for Victory’, he’s never still. During ‘The Now Generation’, to make the visuals a little different on the tracks, Mr B, leaves his spot at the back of the stage and wanders the stage with a roving camera, from which we can see his point of view on the stage. At points during this track, there’s a subtle synth sound not unlike Paul Hardcastle’s 19, this track rocks a little harder though. The rock is continued with a ‘New Dimensions in Sound’, starting off quiet and thoughtful, with sampled string plucks and bells before add a good dash of distorted guitar.

At the end of eack track J. Willgoose, Esq. plays a polite ‘Thank You’ sample before adding ‘Dublin’. A heckler shouts ‘Sligo Rovers will win the league’ towards the stage, to which J. Willgoose, Esq. retorts with a ‘Yes we’ve all had a few’ sample, which makes the entire audience laugh. The lack of direct verbal communication from the band isn’t an issue, Willgoose acknowledges the well populated venue. The audience are enjoying the audio visual spectactle, though it does take a little while for them to dance. There are calls from the floor for ‘Spitfire’ and ‘Everest’.

Listening to ‘Inform – Educate – Entertain’, it’s easy to picture what the visuals may be for the sampled material. The live show fuses the the music and the visuals so tightly together, it may be hard to return to listening to the audio only.

‘Spitfire’, the track that brought PSB to many people’s attention is a definite fan favourite, with cheers bellowing from the crowd from the first roar of the sampled plane. This gets everyone dancing as the visuals explode across the screen. The splash of colour around the screens onstage beautifully portrays ‘ROYGBIV’, each television set on either side of the stage, features the PSB satellite logo on a different colour background. The trio leave the stage to rapturous applause but the audience are going no where. They want to hear/see ‘Everest’. On the week of the sixtieth anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s ascent to ‘the roof of the world’ there really is no other way to finish off the show.

Public Service Broadcasting have achieved what they wanted to with ‘Inform – Educate – Entertain’, they have provided us with a look at the past which we probably wouldn’t have looked at twice. They’ve educated us with images of wartime rationing and encouraged self sufficiency and they’ve entertained us. This show is something very special, visually engaging, musically sonically gratifying, they’ve set a new high for audio visual shows.

June 7, 2013
We Will Rock You: Live at The O2 Dublin – Review

We Will Rock You : Live at The O2 Dublin – Thursday April 4th 2013

We all know the extensive appeal of the music of Queen but delivered in a musical format could it still pack a punch? We Will Rock You came for a visit to Dublin’s O2 and despite a ten year West End run and 12 million people attending the show, I still had my reservations.

The show is based in the future where Earth is now called the iPlanet. Rock n roll is outlawed, there are no instruments and all that exists are boy and girl bands. Underground believers, called ‘Bohemians’ believe that in the past there was a time when people made their own music, this era was called ‘The Rhapsody’. Step forward one brave soul who calls himself ‘Galileo Figaro’ who fires lyrics to fifties rock n roll songs out out of him. He hooks up with a nice girl, who is called, wait for it, ‘Scaramouche’. They battle against the Killer Queen, have to get to the Seven Seas of Rhye.. OK, you get the idea, it’s cheesy as hell.

Ben Elton’s script is a little bit ‘colour by numbers’. Good guy/Bad Guy, will the guy get the girl? Of the main leads, ‘Scaramouche’ gets all the sarky oneliners while ‘Galileo’ comes across as a little bit moany. There are indicators throughout, which give the impression that the script has been updated as the years have past, character names, song titles not long left the Top 40. The revolving sets were clever and gave a Mad Max vibe to the stage.

Musically, the first half of the show’s highlight was Scaramouche’s version of ‘Somebody to Love’. It really did take until halfway through the second act to really grab the attention despite the best efforts from the cast with audience interaction. It didn’t help that the venue was half full, desperately pointing out the need for a proper mid sized venue with a huge stage in the capital. A line or two of a Queen song, just isn’t enough, I was wanting more. And so it seemed that’s what the audience around me wanted too, to ‘Rock’ as the title suggests.

The introduction of the live band and the explosiveness of the finale of ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, delivered what I had hoped from the entire show, but it was a little too late. I left a little disappointed, maybe what I wanted was a full live Queen set but then again, who really could even come close to filling Freddie’s shoes?

April 6, 2013
Jameson St Patrick’s Live: Bombay Bicycle Club, Jape and The Cast of Cheers – Review

March 17 2013. Bombay Bicycle Club, Jape and The Cast of Cheers – Live at The Academy

I’ll be honest, for the past number of years, I’ve avoided the Dublin city centre on St Patrick’s Day. So when I got an invitation to Jameson Live, I was curious to see what was going on but slightly hesitant at the thoughts of facing St Patrick’s night in the city.

Heading into The Academy, where the event was taking place, it was quite apparent that this was an event, it wasn’t just a gig. The entrance had been transformed and walking down the hallway, myself and my companion were handed a drink and a burger token each. Nice touch. A pass to the cordoned off bar upstairs meant we got a nice seat on the balcony and a perfect view of the stage, which had been fantastically transformed for the night. A stone like wall with an embedded video screen behind where the band would play was flanked by wooden barrels on either side, very old school distillery. As the crowd waited for the first band to start. We were offered the aforementioned burgers, my meat eating companion is still talking about how good it was.

The Cast of Cheers were first up and it takes the crowd a couple of tracks to get into it with the band noting that the crowd were ‘a reserved bunch but a great bunch’. Throughout their set, the band show themselves to be competent musicians but Kevin Curran stands out as a potential drumming god. Alongside recent singles ‘Animals’ and ‘Trucks at night’ they play some new material with ‘Closest Friend You Have’ having an early eighties ska reggae feel. They finish their set with the title track from their album, ‘Family’. Good solid performance, looking forward to hearing more of their new material.

Jape are up next and add to what is gearing up to be a line up with extreme danceability. The audience are now well on course for a good night and ‘Movement’ immediately wins them over with it’s seriously contagious rhythm and refrains. In line with the day that’s in it, the three piece, lead by Richie Egan, have some green hats thrown in their direction, which are worn for a time. Jape are a solid act and have their stage show down to a fine art with the perfect balance of songs in the right place at the right time. ‘Floating’ grabs everyone’s attention but it’s understated intro but when the guitar lines kick in, the whole place kicks off. Finishing off the set with ‘The Oldest Mind’ and ‘Scorpio’, Jape leave the audience hanging, wanting more. Fantastic set from one of Ireland’s premier musical acts.

With two greats acts having already graced the Academy stage and a waiting audience already partying, Bombay Bicycle Club have big shoes to fill to continue the trend. I shouldn’t have worried, from the opening notes of ‘How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep’, the audience were in the palm of the London band’s palm. Live, the band’s numbers swell to six for certain songs, availing of extra keys/guitar and Amber Wilson’s vocals. Lead singer, Jack Steadman, has a certain look leading me to think that he went to public school and was always one of the good boys. It seems good boys can put on quite a show. Even for outsider who may not be acquainted with the band, and that can happen at events like this, Bombay Bicycle Club are immediately accessible. Even if you don’t know all their songs or lyrics, you can dance to the band, handy in converting new fans.

Having a back catalogue of three albums means BBC’s set is turned into something of a greatest hits, with songs from their first single, ‘Evening/Morning’ to last year’s ‘Beg’ getting an airing. It’s also a testament to how their career has progressed since their debut EP release in 2007.

Stand out tracks for this punter were ‘Lights Out, Words Gone’, with its slow disco feel and ‘Ivy and Gold’, and uptempo track which defies you not to move. The band themselves describe it best as they introduce it with ‘Are you ready for a hoedown?’ Dublin apparently was, as the crowd goes nuts. Like The Cast of Cheers, Bombay Bicycle Club take the opportunity to play some new material and promise that as soon as the album is done, they’ll be straight back to Ireland. ‘Carry Me’ is an uplifting dance track, putting BBC in a place where the have become indie music’s Faithless. More of

As Bombay Bicycle Club leave the stage, they’ve lived up to expectations and together with Jape and The Cast of Cheers have provided us with a great night’s entertainment. As an event, the Academy looked amazing, it was a well run event and the burger idea begs to question why more events don’t have food available, especially over the course of a long night. If Jameson continue to grow their ‘Live’ nights with events of this caliber, they’ll be known for more than their whiskey.

Thanks to Jameson and Burrell.ie for the passes and the photographs of the night.

March 21, 2013
CMA Songwriters Series: Live at Whelan’s Review

Originally published on Goldenplec.

Thursday 21st February 2013, Whelan’s Dublin.

The CMA Songwriter Series is an interesting concept, some of Country music’s biggest hit-makers share a stage, playing songs acoustically that they’ve written and telling stories about how these songs came to fruition.

Sitting on a row of stools across the Whelan’s stage, the evening was introduced by Bob DiPiero, a seasoned songwriter who has written ’20 number 1’s’, his first, ‘American Made’, in 1983 for The Oak Ridge Boys. Next was Chris Young, 2006 winner of TV show, ‘Nashville Star’. It wasn’t until his second album that Young achieve success but as a recording artist, he’s now achieved his fifth consecutive number 1.

Kristian Bush has had success as a solo artist and also as part of ‘Billy Pilgrim’ and more recently ‘Sugarland’. Apart from writing, he’s also produced music for artists including Beth Wood and Shaun Mullins as well as the soundtrack to ‘Shallow Hal’. On the last stool sat Brett James, who has written, amongst others ‘Jesus take the wheel’ for Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Mr Know It All’. He’s also the wearer of the best cowboy boots Ireland has ever seen. Sitting behind the four is Kristian Bush’s brother, Brandon, to provide a little keyboard backup. In earnest though, his talents shouldn’t be looked at as back up. As well as playing with Sugarland, Brandon has also played with Train and John Mayer. So, these guys know how to make records that sell.

Whelan’s has an attentive, all seated audience for the show, which started promptly at eight thirty. The four are at ease with other, three of them having definitely worked with each other before. The jokes and banter start with Young, telling of how his bags got lost and having to go shopping to get some clean clothes. He’s not lying, he even had to borrow a guitar for the evening. Once the introduction niceties are over, each play a song it turn, giving a back story about how the song came about . Bob DiPiero starts with ‘The Church on Cumberland Road’, a song made famous by Shenandoah.

First song of the night for Chris Young was ‘Get You Home’. At 27, Young’s voice seems older than his years. He has a timeless deep classic rich velvet country voice. Throughout the night, the other comment on his voice, with Kristian Bush, saying that he wants to swap seats the following night as it’s unfair to have to follow Mr. Young. When it is his turn, Bush hits the nail on the head with his description of what the CMA Songwriter series is all about as a chance to ‘get to play the songs you might know, with a voice you might not’.

Of the four, Kristian Bush, is the one you would instantly want to be friends with. He’s not quite like the others, he wears a scarf, and a little fedora and constantly smiles. To a non country music audience, his music would also be the most accessible. ‘American Window’ wouldn’t be out of place on a Bruce Springsteen record.

As Brett James, introduces his first song, he tells of Kenny Chesney calling him one Christmas Eve, asking what he was doing on December 26. After leaving his wife and kids behind for the songwriting session, ‘We Went Out Last Night’, was based on the session before the songwriting.

Throughout the night, Bob DiPiero tells of how ‘Blue Clear Sky’ was inspired by Forrest Gump. Brett James gets everyone laughing, doing his impression of what Kings of Leon would sound like singing ‘Cowboy Casanova’, Kristian Bush shows what catchy songs he writes with ‘My Headphones’ and ‘In My Flip Flops’ getting everyone singing. He tells us his songs only get the go ahead once his kids, who acts as his informal A&R guys, give the OK. Chris Young admits to wearing sweatpants and gives chat up line tips with ‘I can take it from here’.

The last song of the night is due to be Brett James with ‘Jesus take the Wheel’ but with a standing ovation, there’s no way, they can’t do at least one more tune. We get four. And they are crackers. DiPiero starts off with the infectious ‘Daddy’s Money’, Chris Young finishes with ‘Voices’ which won 2011 American Country Music Award for Best Single, Kristian Bush with ‘If You Got to go’ when Brett James finishes with his version of Uncle Kracker’s highly singalongable ‘When the Sun Goes Down’.

Almost three hours later, the music ends. This was an amazing night of music, showcasing some of the best Nashville and Country music has to offer. There are not too many chances to catch artists like Chris Young and Kristian Bush in a venue like Whelan’s, never mind hearing the songs stripped down to how they were written. A fantastic night’s entertainment and for the uninitiated an unbelievable Country music education.

February 25, 2013