Picks of the Picnic

For those of you heading to Stradbally this weekend I thought I'd put together a quick list of what I think you should be going to see with a track from each to get you in the mood. This is only a small cross-section of what I hope to see over the weekend but it'll hopefully give a taste of what's to come.

Click below to get the track list

*Note - Tracks removed due to DMCA complaint

Friday:

Jeffrey Lewis and The Junkyard - To Be Objectified

Jeffrey Lewis comes to EP with his brand of lo-fi anti-folk. Although he doesn't possess the strongest voice his poignant, introspective and sometimes extremely funny lyrics make this an act not to miss. He also throws a bit of art into the middle of his shows.

Black Ghosts - Any Way You Choose to Give It (Boy 8 Bit Remix)

I know its technically not a Boy 8 bit song but it gives you a taste of the bit crunched sound he'll be displaying.

Dark Room Notes - Shake Shake My Ceiling

Dark Melodic Electro-Indie from this Dublin four piece. Catch them on Friday or Saturday in this Thisispopbaby area/tent.

Japanese Popstars - Delboys Revenge

Having only heard this track fairly recently it has taken up residency on my iPod. This is the what I will be going crazy to at 1 in the morning in the Little Big Tent.

Villagers - Meaning of the Ritual

Ex-Immediate Conor O Brien will take to the stage in the body and sound on friday evening. Whether it is an acoustic or full band set make sure you don't miss this (but if you do they're also playing on sunday on the Crawdaddy stage round 1.10

Saturday:

Lisa Hannigan - I Don't Know

This is the 'hit' song from her debut offering 'Sea Sew'. Get down to the main stage to see the full breadth of this songwriters talent before she blows up even more.

The XX - Crystalised

A lesson in minimalist indie songwriting. Everyone take notes.

Jape - Phil Lynott

Cracking tune from 'Ritual'. All that needs to be said is 'Look. at. the. fucking. moon'

Explosions in the Sky - Catastrophe and The Cure

Delay drenched guitars combine with powerful drumming to write moving instrumental music that could soundtrack your life.

Marina and The Diamonds - The Shampain Sleeper

If you haven't heard of her yet your missing out. Steadily gaining in popularity this half-greek songstress writes quirky piano pop with a smidge of synthy-electro bleeps thrown in for good measure.

Sunday:

Basement Jaxx - Raindrops

New single from a duo who just can't seem to write a bad song. Vocodered brilliance throughout.

Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work

This three piece from Northern Ireland came to my attention through a friend and it baffles me that they aren't huge already. One of the catchiest indie-pop songs I've heard in a long time.

Florence and The Machince - Cosmic Love

Possibly the artist I'm most excited about this weekend, Florence and The Machine take to the stage in electric arena round 17.15. Having slowly been gathering interest from the media, realeasing an excellent debut album and having a song (this one in fact) soundtrack an O2 ad, Florence Welsh's star is most definitely on the rise.

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt.1

This song has a soft spot in my heart as its the song that introduced me to the Floaty-pop-noises of The Flaming Lips. Will Wayne Coyne zorb his way around the crowd? I'll just have to go down and find out.

Passion Pit - Moths Wings

One of my top picks from the groups debut album 'Manners'. I hope they can live up to my expectations live.

The full Stage Times are available in PDF here – Friday Saturday Sunday

Read More...

Summary only...

Villagers in The Stables, Mullingar 28th February 2009

Yesterday myself, Blathnaid and Rob of Egoeccentric went on a bit of a trek down to Mullingar to see Villagers play in the Stables. Apparently all gigs there start late so there was time for a quick pint in Dun Laoghaire before the drive down to the midlands.

Click on the read more for a review of the gig.

This being my first trip to The Stables I didn't know what to expect. What I found was what looked to be a converted stable. The venue, whose capacity I couldn't guess but would assume to be quite small, was laid out with long benches. Minimal lighting was provided by the candles resting on each bench, which served to increase the air of intimacy in the venue. The walls and ceiling were plastered with gig posters which created a nice juxtaposition between the old world charm of the Stable and the modern edge of the music scene it houses.



Arriving slightly late at about 10.15 we were just in time to see the first act, 'The Ambience Affair' a guitar and drum duo that make heavy use of loop pedals to create expansive soundscapes. The pair took to the stage about 22.20 and launched into a 30 minute set of quietloudquiet acoustic tracks with a shoegazy edge. One of the pitfalls of using loop pedals is the tendency to fall into the same patterns and to rely too heavily on the amount of layers you can create so that the basic song suffers. Unfortunately The Ambience Affair's set suffered from this and the resultant effect was that no single song stood out. Then again that might be the point. Despite these minor quibbles I enjoyed the performance a lot. In much the same way as I listen to 'Massive Attack', The Ambience Affair's hypnotic loops provide an soundtrack that can either be used as ambient background music or can be fully attended to for maximum enjoyment. I'd be interested to see how this band progresses if they harness some of their soundscapes and turn them into slightly more accessible songs.

Second to take the stage were normally three piece Arrow in the Sky who were short a member for the evening. For most of set the pair made use of acoustic guitar and mandolin to produce fairly standard singer-songwriter fair with a few odd instruments thrown in. Listenable but but not exactly innovative. Poor crowd interaction didn't exactly help and the performance would have benefited greatly from some eye-contact with the audience and a bit more energy from the performers.

This could not be said of Villagers who somehow mananged to produce a set that was both a quiet and intimate affair while still using walls of guitar feedback and unbounded energy. The Brainchild of Ex-The Immediate Conor O' Brien, Villagers recorded output is a completely solo project however they're live performances are a collaboration between various musician friends of Conor's. With a constantly rotating line-up (which at one gig point of Richie Egan of Jape) one would expect some level of sloppiness in the playing but Villagers set is as tight as that of a band who have been on the road for years. The line-up consists of Conor on acoustic guitar, Berkely guitarist Tommy McLaughlin on electric guitar, (I think) David Crean on Keys and two other members, whose names I unfortunately did not take down, on Bass and Drums.

The 12 song set soared from quiet to loud, integrating tracks from their 'Hollow Kind' EP. Conor O' Brien filled his lyrics with a rare passion and conviction that makes the listener believe in what he's saying. Tommy McLaughlin seemed to be channeling the spirit of The Bends/Ok Computer era Johnny Greenwood, with intricate melodies and minimalist playing giving way to chaotic distortion and acres of feedback. A solid performance from every member made you believe that this wasn't just the work of one man and that every musician felt as much the part of the music as any other.

Although it may seem like the press are holding Villagers up on a pedestal the heights of which they can never live up to, performances like this make you feel like you've witnessed something special and makes you believe that this band could go far. So if you have the chance go see Villagers now before they take to the cities and stadiums.

Read More...

Summary only...