Category Archives: Limerick

Possibly Maybe

It’s the final episode of the current season of Later with Jools Holland this week and it features another half dozen artists from around the world. The Red Hot Chili Peppers put out their tenth studio album (and their first in five years) in August. It’s called I’m With You and sees lead guitarist John Frusciante being replaced by Josh Klinghoffer. Frusciante did play on the band’s cover of Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground on 1989′s Mother’s Milk album. It’s been four years since Bjork released her previous studio album and Biophilia is her eight and most recent one. Ruby Baby was written by Leiber and Stoller, was first a hit for The Drifters in 1956 and again six years later for Dion. It’s been three years since Oasis released their sixth (and possibly final) album. Guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher has just released his first solo record and it’s called Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, which is also the name of his band. He draws on his Irish and Mancunian heritage on his live version of the classic from The Smiths. Gillian Welch is an American singer-songwriter who performs within the country and bluegrass genres. She makes music with her partner David Rawlings and they released their first album since 2003 earlier this year. She might not be an obvious choice to sing a Radiohead tune, but her take on Black Star doesn’t seem out of place in her repertoire. Michael Kiwanuka is a British songwriter of Ugandan parentage who grew up in London. You can hear soul and jazz influences in Tell Me a Tale, the title track of one of two EPs he’s released this year. Spector are a five-piece from London and the indie sound of What You Wanted is nothing new, but worth a listen. This season’s final instalment of Later goes out tonight and Friday on BBC Two

Higher Ground (Stevie Wonder cover) – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Ruby Baby (Drifters cover) – Bjork

There is a Light That Never Goes Out (Smiths cover) – Noel Gallagher

Black Star (Radiohead cover) – Gillian Welch

Tell Me a Tale – Michael Kiwanaku

What You Wanted – Spector

Clockwise from top left: Gillian Welch, Bjork, Michael Kiwanuka, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Spector, Noel Gallagher

Who’s Next

Later with Jools Holland reaches episode seven of its nine-week run tonight and features the usual eclectic mix of musicians from around the globe. Most of the performers, however, will be very familiar with London. Florence Welch was born there and her band, Florence + the Machine, will be playing songs from their second album, Ceremonials. Former Suede frontman, Brett Anderson, will be promoting his fourth solo album, Black Rainbows. Pete Townshend is, of course, better known as guitarist and songwriter for The Who. Last month, Pink Floyd released a 38th anniversary edition of Dark Side of the Moon. It’s also 38 years since The Who released Quadrophenia and Townshend will be playing songs to celebrate its re-release. I wonder why they couldn’t have waited until 2013. Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, My Morning Jacket have been going for over a decade. Circuital is the title of their sixth studio release since 1999. Agadez is the name of the region in Niger where the singer and guitarist named Bombino grew up. It also gives its name to his first collection of songs that he released earlier this year. London-based Cold Specks sing about Holland on their debut single. The band is led by Canadian singer Al Spx and her voice and music are heavily influenced by the blues. Later goes out live every Tuesday on BBC Two and is followed by a recorded show every Friday

Oh Darling (The Beatles cover) – Florence + the Machine

Oceans Burning (The Horrors cover) – Brett Anderson

Girl From The North Country (Bob Dylan cover) – Pete Townshend

All The Best (John Prine cover) – My Morning Jacket

Tar Hani – Bombino

Holland – Cold Specks

Clockwise from top left: Brett Anderson, My Morning Jacket, Cold Specks, Bombino, Pete Townshend, Florence

Mixing Pop & Politics

“It’s surprising how quick a little rain can clear the streets,” sang Billy Bragg on a wonderful rendition of The Saturday Boy at Dolan’s last night. The Limerick streets are used to rain, of course, and if they were empty on a Monday night it was because everyone was at the Warehouse to welcome the Bard of Barking to town for the first time. It’s hard enough to get people to come out any night to see a solo singer backing himself on guitar, but it was a testament to his standing that he attracted a full crowd on a cold and wet Monday night in October. I got to Dolan’s early and filled my stomach with some tasty Guinness stew and later washed it down with pints of porter in the Warehouse as I joined some friends to check out the opening act. Paddy Nash hails from Derry and he did a fine job warming up the crowd. He was quite comfortable with the audience and explained that he had walked out on his job in the film industry when they wouldn’t give him the week off to follow Billy around the country. A song called Billy Bragg Jeans was inspired by a story Paddy heard about Billy buying a pair of jeans for a few quid in a charity store. He also gave us a song called Rubber Bullets that was sung from the perspective of a child growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. His best song, and the one the audience enjoyed the most, was called Ballad of a Nobody. This was a witty song that told the story of an average man with an average life and had everybody in stitches as its key line was repeated each time

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Three Is The Magic Number

It had been a while since my friend John and I had been to a gig in Limerick, but we made that right last Wednesday night. John’s a big fan of British and Irish folk music and I quite like singer-songwriters. Both categories were catered for at the Belltable on October 5th as three talented musicians from the British Isles came to town. James Yorkston, Adrian Crowley and Alasdair Roberts were the trio and Limerick was their first stop on a four-night tour that would take in Cork, Dublin and Kildare on the subsequent nights. It was my first visit to the Belltable since its refurbishment earlier this year and I must say I was impressed with what they’ve done to the foyer and the theatre area. Fife native James Yorkston was first up and he tried out a load of new songs on us. I’ve been a fan of his music ever since I heard his song Woozy with Cider and it was a pleasure to finally hear his wonderful voice in person. I’m afraid I can’t recall any of the titles of the new songs, but his quiet delivery and plucked guitar on one was reminiscent of Thom Yorke. He’s no Jimi Hendrix on guitar and spent some time tuning it between tunes, but also engaged in a bit of banter with the audience while fiddling with his strings. Yorkston was joined by Alasdair Roberts at the end of his set as the two paid tribute to a folk legend. Bert Jansch had passed away that morning and Yorkston revealed that his very first paid gig was supporting the Glasgow-born musician. He last met him when he supported him in Paris a few years ago. He admitted that he didn’t know him that well, but you could tell that Jansch’s music meant a lot to him. He and Roberts delivered an emotional version of a traditional ballad about a sailor who takes advantage of a servant girl that brought the first half of the show to an end

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Dancing at the Zombie Zoo

This weekend, the streets of Limerick will be filled with hundreds of revellers dressed in shabby clothing and wearing badly-applied makeup. What makes this weekend different to others, however, is that everyone’s going to be dressing as zombies on the occasion of the city’s first celebration of these ghoulish spirits. The Outbreak Zombie Festival runs from today until Sunday and will feature a host of events around the city. These include film screenings, band performances, flashmobs and even parades. The festival is a non-profit event and its proceeds will benefit a local charity named the Cliona Ring Foundation. This organisation assists families with children who require long-term treatment for serious illness. The event is bound to attract interest from all over Ireland and you can find more information about the festival at their site

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Here Comes The Rain Again

The weekend just gone was a bank holiday in Ireland and the weather was quite unusual for early June in Ireland – it was sunny. I was working for most of it and I played hours of sunshine tunes while I relaxed at work. I was back there again today, but this time I had to put together a completely different playlist. The image above shows the view that greeted me this morning as I drew back the curtains before making the short journey to my place of employment. It got worse as the day went on before improving in the evening. Of course, we’re used to this kind of weather in Ireland, even in the summer. I enjoy sunny days, but I like rainy ones just as much. As long as I don’t get caught out in them, of course. I find that music can be the perfect compliment to the rhythm of the falling rain, so I listened to over a hundred rain songs at work today. Here are half a dozen of them


Happy When It Rains – The Jesus & Mary Chain

Summer Rain – The Lackloves

Walking In The Rain – Grace Jones

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (BJ Thomas cover) – Mercury Rev

Have You Ever Seen The Rain? (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover) – Teenage Fanclub

I See the Rain (Marmalade cover) – Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs

How Bazaar

Later today, I’ll be visiting a bar boot sale at the Raggle Taggle Studios space on the corner of Sarsfield St and Henry St in Limerick. It’s basically a car boot sale without the cars. I guess it would be more correct to call it a jumble sale or a garage sale or even a flea market, but what’s in a name anyway? As you can see from the top half of the event’s poster (above), the sale will include clothes, footwear, records, CDs, DVDs, books and other stuff that people no longer want. Sellers have paid €10 each to set up a stall in the hope of swapping their unwanted goods for some hard-earned cash. I’ve accumulated quite a bit of “stuff” over the years myself and I should actually be trying to flog some of it from behind a stall. Instead, I’ll be popping down to have a browse and no doubt hand over some euros for items I don’t really need and have no place in which to store them. I can’t wait. The sale begins at 1:00 and runs until 6:00. It’s free entry for punters, though they may donate a few bob if they wish. It only costs a tenner for stallholders to set up and they get to keep any money they earn. Donations collected by the organisers will be used to fund an annual interactive digital arts festival called Tweak

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The Party’s Over

Voting booths have just opened in 43 constituencies all over Ireland in an attempt to choose 165 representatives from 566 hopefuls to make up the next Irish government. Since 1932, Ireland’s largest political party, Fianna Fáil, has been the main government party for nearly 60 years in total and has been in power for all but 30 months in the last 24 years. This period of time coincided with the affluence of the Celtic Tiger, but also with its recent collapse. As a result, the party’s dominance in the opinion polls has also collapsed by almost two-thirds since the 2007 election. Fine Gael, historically the country’s second party, have benefitted the most, while Labour, Sinn Féin and Independent candidates have also seen promising increases in their support. What all this means is that Fine Gael will be the main party after the voting has been completed and will most likely form a coalition with Labour. For the first time in the nation’s history, the “Soldiers of Destiny” look like being relegated to third place. The party’s slump in popularity forced many of its members to jump ship before the election was called and will see many more lose their seats this weekend. This frightening scenario has seen at least one former government minister resort to desperate measures in order to hold onto his seat

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