Pat Carty

Kingtrashcan FM Show #2

2011-10-20T23:11:00.001Z

Checking In

2011-10-14T11:12:00.001Z

Is It Time

2011-05-10T22:24:00.000Z

to take this up again?

Nothing But The Rent

2010-09-23T11:01:00.003Z

I never seem to get around to this anymore. If you're interested, I report more regularly on Facebook and, the odd time, on Twitter.

More God Than Man

2010-06-28T00:24:00.003Z

If I may paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, to not love Stevie is to not love life. More, due to popular (one) request, in the next few days.

New To Me

2010-05-11T13:11:00.001Z

The National - very good indeed, roll on the picnic

McLaren

2010-04-14T20:27:00.002Z

He didn't just talk a good fight, check it out. R.I.P.

I Must Get One Of These To Go Outside The Gaff

2010-03-18T11:41:00.001Z

Isn't it great to be part of Europe?

Carty's Best O' 2009

2009-12-23T12:42:00.005Z

the votes are in
In no particular order...

If You Go Down To The Woods Today

2009-09-03T13:15:00.004Z

Heading off to the Electric Picnic in the morning, chomping at the bit. Full report next week. If any one's looking for me, I'll probably be hanging around Trenchtown, paralysed with booze and island rhythms.

1001 Albums To Hear Before You Die

2009-08-12T15:31:00.003Z

What took some of us years to collect can now be yours in a very short time indeed. It's a good thing I suppose. Plenty here to keep you going until death. Dig.

Rock N' Roll Summer Part I

2009-07-27T11:52:00.008Z

First things first, the boys and I took a trip down to Punchestown about a month ago to see the mighty AC\DC. If you don't like the DC then you really don't like rock n' roll at all, there's no poncing about, they don't ever feel the need to get Brian Eno in to "expand their sound", they never harp on about getting back to their roots because they never left them in the first place. The arguement has been made that they only have one song but even if this was true, it's a very good song indeed.
The day started well enough with beers over in Kenny's gaff discussing the relative merits of Back In Black and Powerage (my favourite), then the Coff turned up and we got our pre-hired lift down to the gig, a fine affair, drinking beers in the back cracking jokes about poor old Michael Jackson.
Problem 1 - we got to about 5 miles from the gig and were told by a lovely police man that we had to walk from this point. It's been said before but it's worth saying again, once they get your money, MCD don't give a shit.
A long power walk, with beers, got us finally into the gig where there was supposed to be 70,000 punters or there abouts but there was at least twice that again and it was only six o'clock at this point. See the point above about MCD. The only consolation is that these days are coming to an end thanks to the world falling apart.
The bar next, pints of foam for €6, we drank a lot of them and here was Carty's fatal mistake, the rookie error, for as much as I'd like to tell you about how great the DC were, I can remember very little of it. Sigh, the fellas tell me I had a great time but I may very well have got up and done a song, I can't remember (one of the few vague memories I have is of the sound being taken away by the wind during the encore, rock and roll, for the most part, belongs indoors). Anyway I got home straight away after, unlike a lot of other unfortunates who got stuck walking all over the country, see point about MCD above.

Onwards to Bruce Springsteen's two day stop at the RDS. Does it ever stop fucking raining in Dublin? Wille, Ken and I head over to Crows in Balsbridge on the Saturday, hundreds of us huddled under the awning outside the boozer "enjoying" our booze and fags. Two birds who flew down from Donegal (huh?) knocking back the doubles like they were endangered, they surely did not last the whole gig. Jason shows up, in we go to the show, more foam, Bruce comes on and shows what a genius he is straight away by covering Creedence's "Who Will Stop The Rain" resulting in the man now having what ever amount of soaking Irish people eating out of his hand. The papers call the show a religious experience and they weren't far wrong. Highlights for me included Because The Night, Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, an Awesome Born to Run and Waiting On A Sunny Day where the boss appeared to indeed stop the rain. That can't be true can it? Sadly I missed Thunder Road cause I was in the Jacks, sickened. Keogh's after, hazy to say the least.
Sunday morning, bad pain but staggered back to the Palace to meet the Coff for round 2 with the Boss. Stout and plenty off it and then straight out to the show. A point of order, why are all the rock shows in Ireland associated with the shittiest beers? who the hell wants pints of Coors Light? Worse again, who wants slightly warm bottles of Budweiser? The Coff and I moaned about this in the queue and then bought four bottles a piece (and that wasn't the end of it either). Ran into my cousin Adrian and his wife Tara off the TV, good people. Springsteen kicks off, if anything even better than the night before, the rain, for the most part held off, Coff and I danced and laughed like idiots. I said to Coff at one point "Jacks N' Bar" indicating where I was off to, " I hope he plays that tune" replies the Coff to much guffawing. Highlight? Jungleland and Trapped - amazing. Great moment when Bruce gave the mike to a little girl, she manages a full chorus and the whole place erupts. The man is a class, class act. There was some confusion over a curry in a hotel on the way home but that's a story for another time due to some legal complications.

I was in a right old heap on the Monday but I had tickets for Allen Toussaint in Whelan's so had to go out and do it again. How do you think all this was going down at home, bearing in mind this was the weekend of my wedding anniversary? Headed in with Kenny, the first stout was something akin to trying to ingest a pint of warm treacle, although strangely by pint 3 things were improving immensely. Whelan's is a great spot to see anyone but , yet again, they sold too many bloody tickets so to say the view from upstairs was restricted was putting it mildly but the sound was great as was the man himself, taking us through a potted history of New Orleans music, shame he didn't have a little band with him as I'm not the biggest fan of people playing on their own even if they are as unfairly talented as Mr. Toussaint. A plus point in the fact that there were very serious music fans at the show, you know the type who laughs at every single thing the artist says just to show everyone else how hip they are. These people are not interested in drinking so the Ken and I had a clear run at the bar which we took full advantage of. We then hightailed it back to the Mullingar house and got wrecked, laughing away.
I took Tuesday off work.

The weekend just passed found me in Croke Park for the mighty U2 on both the Friday and the Saturday night. Let me point out first of all that I do not number myself among the Irish men and women who have turned on U2. I'm a fan, the new record has it moments although it's not their best. Bono pays his taxes in Holland because it saves him money? That's what I'd do, although I would refrain from telling other people what to do with their cash, but anyway. My other though about them is that if I was lucky enough to be, say, Larry Mullen, the one thing that would really piss me off is the fact that the singer in my band spends most of his time off saving the world while he should be concentrating on making more records. All that being said, live U2 have always been exceptional, it's over twenty years since I first saw them play and they have never been less than very, very good.

What's the story with not being able to have a drink in Croke Park, Ireland's national stadium? A Big sign saying that drinks were not allowed on the pitch by law, no such problem in the RDS, what's that all about? And while I'm giving out, Dublin is a major city, Croke Park is it's finest stadium and yet you must walk to and from it, no attempt at public transport. All the foreign visitors for the U2 shows must wonder about this one.
The show itself was even better than expected (second only in my U2 experience to the fantastic gig they did in Slane shortly after Bono's father passed on), the first thing I noticed on the Friday night was the great sound they'd manage to get in the stadium which they must certainly did not have the last time the '2 played there. The much talked about Claw was very impressive, although Springsteen didn't need any such messing to turn a stadium into a small club, discuss.

Highlights, although it was all pretty great, included a brilliant Unforgettable Fire, Until The End of the World, Pride, Sunday Bloody Sunday, the acoustic Stuck In A Moment. All overshadowed of course by the truly exceptional Bad.
For me, the new dance version of "I'll Go Crazy" is rubbish and what's the point of writing a great bridge to a mediocre song and then leaving it out when you rejig it?
pints afterward in the Living Room , the smoking area out the back now combines the smoking area of three pubs. The day is coming in Ireland when all pubs are just outdoors, the smoking ban is just stupid, nobody lives forever.

Saturday night, into the Palace at 5, outside (again) smoking, drinking and carrying on. Up to the show for 9, another great performance although for me Friday was better as they seemed to be working harder to prove something, nice to hear In A Little While and the best song from the new album, Unknown Caller, but it was all good. A lot of guff goes Bono's way but the man can hold a tune. Back to the Living Room for more beer but the tank was running low at this stage, home relatively early.
The Sunday, didn't even get dressed till about 7.30 in the evening and that was only because I couldn't go and get the paper in my jocks.
Nearly forty boys, nearly forty.

Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T13:07:00.001Z

Forget everything else, this is what you should remember;

Just A Little Louvin

2009-06-17T10:11:00.004Z

As much Louvin Brothers as you'll ever need.
Here they are from a long time ago

Remember, Satan is real.
Which is a fine excuse to show you the greatest record sleeve of all time;

Adios Koko

2009-06-04T14:39:00.004Z

Good luck to Koko Taylor who has passed away. Here she is with "Tease Your Man" from the Chess Story box set (worth any amount of money you may have to pay for it).

Ain't No Ting

2009-05-30T15:47:00.003Z

They don't do Reggae but they cover most everything else that matters, check out the Groover's Paradise, it's good for what ails ya.

Let The Big O Flow!

2009-05-16T10:56:00.004Z

Get some soul in your life! If you don't already have this, you should be shot.

Old Gods Nearly Dead

2009-05-15T14:30:00.004Z

Been to see both Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton in the last week, I don't think I'll be rushing to see 'em again. Dylan had his moments but has there ever been such a superstar with next to no stage presence? I wasn't expecting much "hello Dublin, do you feel awwlright?!!" action but some attempt at stagecraft would have been welcome. He was certainly better than occasions I've seen him before but the voice, if it was ever there, has long departed and he can't even manage the guitar anymore, it may well be time to call it a day. Pretty good versions of "Wicked Messenger", Girl From The North Country", "All Along The Watchtower" and "If You Ever Go To Houston" though and the new album's a good one but perhaps it's finally time to end the never ending tour.

Clapton's music is something I've never been crazy about, I'm partial to a bit of Cream (ho, ho) and I like the Layla album but that's about it. There is no doubt about his skills as a musician but he's not the greatest song writer in the world and no one in their right minds needs to hear "Wonderful Tonight " again, although we did of course.
The new Dublin O2 is a beautiful thing to be sure and we were lucky enough to have sixth row seats, in amongst people who were going through some sort of religious experience but problems started almost straight away with all bars being closed during the performance. Now this has got to be down to Mr. Clapton himself, there is no way a new venue would close a bar, depriving themselves of some income and don't give me the excuse that it would spoil the performance as plenty of people came and went with hotdogs and popcorn (at a gig, I ask you?). Just because you're now clean as a whistle doesn't mean I have to be Mr. C, and perhaps some more booze would have made your lacklustre performance easier to take. As said earlier Clapton has some good material but he does have some awful stuff too and he treated us to more of this than was warranted but even classics like Layla and Crossroads lacked any spark. The band were all very accomplished and Clapton is a jaw-dropping guitar player, especially this close up but, to me, they were going through the motions, no fire whatsoever. At least Dylan still showed a few, a very few, flashes. Say what you like about the Stones as a money hoovering touring company but at least Jagger still makes an effort to get you involved.

Roll on the AC/DC, U2 and Springsteen summer gigs, proper showmen all.

The Stath!

2009-05-03T00:11:00.004Z

As everybody should already know, Jason Statham is possibly the finest actor at work today. Yes Sean Penn is a genius and will always be there or there abouts at the Oscars, yes Mickey Rourke surprised everyone with the Wrestler but no one entertains like the Stath. This being said, nothing could prepare even his most ardent admirers for Crank 2: High Voltage, you just have never seen anything like it, the madness at work here has to be experienced to be believed. Yes it's over flowing with racism and sexism and yes it is incredibly violent but for sheer "I can't believe they did that" entertainment, it cannot be beat. See it.

Friday

2009-03-31T16:31:00.001Z

Hopefully...

Fightin'!

2009-03-22T00:55:00.002Z

Now that was a fight.

Good Man Gone

2009-01-29T16:09:00.001Z

John Martyn R.I.P.

Top Cat

2009-01-23T13:33:00.001Z

I dream of being as cool as this
What lady could fail to fall out of her smalls at that?

Brucie Bonus

2009-01-22T11:19:00.002Z

For You

Costello + Dylan = New 2

2009-01-20T10:38:00.002Z

Like many people my age who have grown up in Ireland, I can measure the various stages of my life in new U2 releases. Trying to figure out what was going on the first time I heard The Unforgettable Fire, going to see them in Croke park in the 80s, sneaking out the window of my bedroom in my parent's house to go and buy Rattle and Hum when it was released at midnight, hearing a snatch of The Fly in a mate's flat while at college and roaring at everyone to shut up so I could hear what it was. And now, the new single is here and... well my first impression wasn't a great one (I can hear Costello's Pump It Up and Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues) although I'm getting to like it more each time I hear it and, no doubt, by the time I'm jumping around Croke Park at the end of summer cocooned in the warm glow of too much stout, it's gonna sound fantastic. Judge for yourselves;

Oasis In Good Idea Shocker!

2009-01-14T11:50:00.004Z

Let's be honest, Oasis are, at best, okay. Some good tunes and a good singer, although you have to ask why no one has ever taught him how to walk properly. Hats off for this though, in an effort to promote their new snoozy album, they gave the songs to a load of New York's buskers to get them out there before the record's release.

Gator

2009-01-04T01:15:00.003Z

I'll take no shit from anyone when it comes to the genius of Burt Reynolds but I saw Gator over Christmas and it really is a load of old shite, the theme tune is pretty great though. Take it away, the late, great Jerry Reed

2009

2009-01-01T05:07:00.001Z

Carty Comes Alive

2008-12-19T11:20:00.004Z

In Dublin next Tuesday? Then get you arse to the Oak for some rockin'! We're on around 11. Drinks are on you.

The O2 Dublin

2008-12-18T10:41:00.002Z

This week finally sees the reopening of the old Point Depot down on the docks, now renamed the O2. There's been plenty of hype about how the sound and seats are now perfect, although it couldn't really have got any worse than the old place. We had some great nights there all the same - Bowie, Springsteen, Dylan, Willie Nelson and two of the greatest gigs I've ever seen - The Rolling Stones from about ten feet away and the awesome majesty of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant playing the Zep Catalogue on the night when the Coff and myself appeared to suffer simultaneous heart attacks that resulted in us threatening young lads intent on jumping around with serious violence if we weren't left alone.
I'm heading to the new gaff to see the Kings Of Leon this Friday and I think I'm more looking forward to seeing the new venue than a band that I consider, at best, all right.
Of course, when anything new pops up in Dublin, one man has to get in before everyone else so here is our old friend Bono, with his long suffering mate Dave, at the new venue.

Merry Christmas Baby

2008-12-17T00:26:00.000Z

Who throws a shoe? I mean, really!

2008-12-15T21:12:00.001Z

Who can blame the throwee?

The '2 At Christmas

2008-12-03T00:12:00.003Z

Further evidence that Adam Clayton is the luckiest bastard in the world. Neither plays a note nor gets off his arse, nice.

New Springsteen Single

2008-12-02T10:22:00.001Z

Class

Guernica

2008-11-28T22:39:00.001Z

This is hanging in my kitchen. No, not the real one.

Your Funeral, My Trial

2008-11-14T14:56:00.004Z

"Sonny don't go away". Too late, he's long gone but you can enjoy the fantastic sounds of Sonny Boy Williamson thanks to the Blues Town blog. This is the Chess Years box that's long out of print, the sound quality is fantastic and it's all great but make sure to check out "Fattening Frogs For Snakes", "Keep Your Hand Out Of My Pocket" and "Help Me", there's even a track for Christmas in the form of "Santa Claus". Enjoy

The Greatest Piece Of News Of All Time

2008-11-12T22:53:00.003Z

In what may be the finest development since beer, it's been announced that the Faces are getting back together with a view to touring. It's in both the NME and the Hot Press.

Ronnie Wood is gonna get in a whole heap of trouble.

The Coff Goes Down The Pub

2008-11-11T15:34:00.001Z

You may say the quaility is terrible but that's actually the speed at which The Coff dances.

God Bless America

2008-11-05T13:43:00.002Z

I tried to persuade my daughter that she was watching history unfold on the TV this morning but she was more interested in cartoons and toast. What can you do? Anyway, on such a fantastic day in not only the history of America, but world history, I would like to present this video to you which proves, if further proof was needed, that America is the greatest thing ever. You're unlikley to see this in Russia;

Lay off the pipe boys, lay off the pipe.

Before The Flood

2008-10-22T22:17:00.003Z

He was on Later with Jools Holland the other night and naturally stole the show so head on over to our old friend JR and check out Allen Toussaint's "What Is Success". Once you get a taste for the New Orleans master's work, get a hold of "Life, Love & Faith" and "Southern Nights". Highly recommended.

Hungry For The Wolf?

2008-10-22T14:56:00.004Z

Sadly there's only so many Howlin' Wolf recordings in the world and they won't be making any more of them but, luckily for you and me, Mr Arkadin has posted most of them on his site in the form of the Complete Recordings 1951-1969. Not even the worst of idiots could go wrong.

Tears For Levi Stubbs

2008-10-21T21:59:00.001Z

RIP the Voice

Buy This

Been A Long Time Since I ...

2008-10-09T09:51:00.003Z

Ages away from this as real life gets in the way, where are the stories of Tom Waits and the Electric Picnic? In the meantime, dig on this;

That's "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by William Bell and if you want more of the same, here's an early Christmas present recommendation from the boy.

Tom Waits For Every Man

2008-07-29T23:22:00.002Z

Ahead of my trip to see Uncle Tom on Thursday night, here's his recent concert in Atlanta, available to download for free, courtesy of the venerable National Public Radio.

Performing Admirable Feats

2008-07-22T09:56:00.002Z

Needless to say Toots and The Maytals were bloody brilliant the other night, had us all jumping around all over the place. Take note Mr. Young. Next up - Tom Waits Thursday week - should be interesting. The last few days have me listening to a lot of Little Feat - here's "Down The Road" from 74's "Feats Don't Fail Me Now"

Toots tonight

2008-07-14T14:37:00.003Z

The less said about Neil young's "performance" out in Malahide the better (80 blips to watch him spend 25 minutes, yes you read that right, wrestling with a song no one knew) but not to worry for tonight me and the boy Ken are going to see Toots & The Maytals! I've seen them a good few times and they remain one of the best nights you can have without taking off your clothes, well not all of them anyway. Here ya go, "Pomps & Pride" - class.

Elbow At Glasto

2008-07-08T10:28:00.001Z

Isn't this just great?

Roll on the picnic, lift me out of this malaise for a few days at least.

Up Next - Neil Young

2008-06-19T21:01:00.004Z

Although I'm no huge fan, The Coff and I will next be outdoors at Neil Young's show in Malahide Castle on the 29th of June. Don't get me wrong, I certainly like a lot of what he's done but I would be far from the obsessive that some people seem to be. For me albums like Ragged Glory, Freedom and Tonight's the Night will always get a spin along with the ones everyone likes such as Harvest, After The Goldrush and Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere. Anyhow in my continuing position as the nation's favourite public servent you can go here to get your hands on pretty much everything old Shaky has released. I've heard that The Frames are down for support which means the first half of the day will be spent at the bar.

Stripped, Muddy, Crowded House

2008-06-18T11:53:00.006Z

A lot of serious Stones fans reckon that Stripped, their live and studio acoustic reworkings of some of their strongest songs is the last decent album with their names on it. I've loved it since I got it but only the other day did I discover the shady existence of disk 2 of the set. This is made up of b-sides and outtakes, some of which I already had but check out the first five tracks on disk 2 which were all recorded in Tokyo in March of 1995. It's enough to restore your faith. You can get your hands on the whole lot here at the ever interesting Never Get Out Of The Boat.
While you're there, check out the great Muddy Waters, live in Paris in 1964. A blinding show.

Talking of good shows, The Coff and I took in Crowded House at the Olympia on Monday night. Fine show it was too with all the hits you'd expect but it was news to me how handy Neil Finn was on the guitar. Almost made up for Prince, almost.
Good show is not the phrase that will be applied to my second show with the Black Pits at about 11.30 the same night in Thomas Reed's. It's a lesson I learnt a long time ago that some other people still need to pick up. No matter how cool you think you are, you cannot play when you're completely wasted, nobody can. Do the gig first, after which I'll be the first man at the bar.

A Royal Let Down

2008-06-11T22:24:00.005Z

Gutted

If you had planned to see Prince and are at a loss for what to do on your night in Dublin then you can still get in to see Iggy & The Stooges so it's not a complete loss but, more importantly, come to the after Ig celebration in Thomas Reed's/The Oak. I'm playing with the Black Pits downstairs around midnight.

Talking of putting on a show, here, as promised is my "dancing" from the recent Bruce Springsteen gig. Kenny "Nureyev" White joins me in the second half.

Postscript: if this is true then MCD, yet agin, have a lot to answer for.

Get To Know Bo

2008-06-06T11:33:00.003Z

Bo, Bo, Bo! Go to the ace Mojo Repair Shop, get your hands on the Chess Years box set and rock n' roll your fucking head off! A lot to get through but not to worry, you've got the rest of your life. Check out "Bo Diddley Is Loose" off disk 3, "Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut" off disk 6 and "Hey Red Riding Hood" off disk 7. His place in heaven is assured by the titles alone.

Bruce Springsteeen (...Slight Return)

2008-06-04T10:12:00.004Z

Never spoke of the fantastic, none more rocking, return of Bruce Springsteen to Dublin a week and a half ago. Bruce had booked three nights in the open air environs of the Royal Dublin Showgrounds. On the first night, I was busy at a charity quiz for my cousin but as luck would have it, the boozer was near the venue so every time I went out for a cigarette, I got to hear Bruce in the distance. At the quiz itself I won tickets to Crowded House on the 16th of June which are useless to me as I'm already going to Prince the same night, typical. After the quiz, I took a bus into town which was full of people back from the gig. I spoke to a couple of old dears from the North who said he was, without doubt, the best thing they'd ever seen. Appetite well and truly whetted.

Work was, as always, an obstacle to be surmounted on the Friday before I could hit the boozer with the boy Kenny at about 4.30 and eventually Willie and The Coff made it in and off we went to the RDS.Took us a while to get in the door and when we did, it appeared that the bar was closed! Getting over the shock we squeezed in a side door and could see F. all so back outside the main arena, bar open, loaded up on pissy beer, decided at the behest of Kenny to "Do One" outside and then headed in the back. Got a great spot where we could see and hear everything and proceeded to enjoy one of the finest gigs I've seen. The whole thing was a highlight but let me pick out "Murder Incorporated", "Devil's Arcade" and "Glory Days" as being especially good. There is video footage on Willie's phone of me throwing shapes which I'll post when I get it. Suffice to say the famed "Carty Kick" is much in evidence.

Took us a while to get back into town where the night descended into drunken mayhem involving Martinis (!) and Bloody Marys.

Bruce took a break on the Saturday but I didn't. A day full of concoctions of various hues, one highlight was running into E-Street Band member, and ex Stray Gator for Neil Young fans, Nils Lofgren and he was decent enough to say hello and chat. Watched Munster win the Rugby with little interest, saw a bit of the Eurovision which, in this weekend of all weekends, proves finally that there are just two types of Music - Good and Bad, and saw Hatton fight. Ate some Chinese and collapsed into bed.

Sunday, drinking a beer by 11.30, joined the lads, enjoyed a pint or three with Mark Collender, took a very long taxi drive during which I nearly burst for want of urination, more booze, Jason Quinn joined us and back to the same spot in the RDS. Bruce was just as good again but it was marred slightly by the wind which interfered with the sound. That said, any gig where he plays "Badlands", "Because The Night", "The Ties That Bind" and "Glory Days" has to get pretty high marks. More booze, home, bed.

Monday - bad, bad shape.

Bo No Mo'

2008-06-03T13:21:00.004Z

Sad, sad news that Bo Diddley has finally gone down that dark road. After all these years, his records are still absolute dynamite. Don't believe me?, check this out, from fifty three, that's 53, years ago.

Gives me a reasonable excuse to post this picture again, it's Bo, Me and The Hayes at a rock n' roll festival a few years back. While I'm at it, here's some more Bo, Let's try "Ooh Baby", and hear Bo rock the violin.

More Bo you say? Check this out;

She Has Her Knockers But I'm A Fan

2008-05-23T12:54:00.005Z

Just because I'm in a good mood today
(in a couple of hours I'm hitting the boozer
before heading off to see Bruce Springsteen),
here's some top class-bluegrass (nice) from Dolly Parton.
Admirable decolletage madam!

Letsagetabitarockin! Weller returns!

2008-05-21T10:57:00.003Z

Work is giving me a pain in the arse, and not in a sexy way, we're all just pushing dust around. This is what I'm talking about, the title track from Paul Weller's new album "22 Dreams"

Look Busy, The Boss Is Coming!

2008-05-19T22:35:00.005Z

Bruce Springsteen is playing three times in Dublin over the next weekend and most of the crew are going twice. There will be a biblical amount of boozing. We're as excited as a gang of young ones. Here's the boss from Vancouver in March doing Jimmy Cliff's "Trapped". Pure class.

Nick Cave & Other Animals

2008-05-15T11:13:00.005Z

Complaints have been received about the fact that I was present at the Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds show in Dublin castle a week or two back and that no report had been forthcoming. Let me put this to rights. First off, Mr. Cave is always good value for money but things were taken to a bit of an extreme here, my two companions for the night had paid €140 a piece for tickets with a cover price of €50, and just when I thought things were settling down a bit what with everything not selling out in seconds this summer, in Dublin at least. Not to worry, two stout fellows they were and are in the form of Neil Doherty and Jim Roche. We met out the back of Brogan's which has easily the worst beer "Garden" in Dublin but I didn't storm Leinster House when they passed the smoking laws so I only have myself to blame. At about 7.30, Jim proposed we head over to the Castle to see the support band. This prompted a raised eyebrow from myself as I'm more in the habit of loading up on grog first but away we went and benefited greatly by being on the receiving end of magic armbands that allowed us into the front section, it seems the rest of Dublin was getting tanked first. There was good reason for this, pints of Heineken (I say Heineken but they had the consistency of fairy liquid (the washing up liquid not some sort of alternative lifestyle soft drink)) at €6 a go. I muttered several curses under my breath as I took delivery of three.

The Bad Seeds are a fantastic rock n' roll band and it was a great show, despite the fact that the new record is not the greatest thing I've ever heard. Highlights for me were "Into My Arms" and "Red Right Hand" and, without doubt, Mr. Cave's fantastic trousers, blue pin stripe flairs over black Chelsea boots - top marks, great 'tache as well. I heard that Shane McGowan came on as a guest but I missed this as I was outside having a drink, something I'm sure the wasted genius of McGowan would appreciate if he still had the faculty for linear thought. The night finished well in The Mezz, a good old school rock n' roll bar although it must be said that my friends and I are now very old and some people just can't drink for shit no more.

Here's some rareish Nick, from the soundtrack of "Until The End Of The World"

Willie Nelson Is Seventy Five Years Old

2008-05-03T00:05:00.003Z

No Music fan should let this occasion go by without raising at least several glasses. Celebrate with one his finest records courtesy of JR Heat Warp

Here he is essaying "Dead Flowers" with Keith Richards, Hank Williams III and some other bollocks.

Here's the beautiful "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground" from the "Honeysuckle Rose" movie, which you really have to see if only for the scene where Willy drives the tour bus while being at least eight sheets to the wind.

Lethal, Lethal Weed (The Coff knows what I'm talking about)
Do yourself a big favour and buy this.

Rumours and Downright Lies

2008-04-22T14:54:00.008Z

Rumour of the week: It's likely that velvet-throated crooner Tom Waits will be in Dublin this summer. I'll be the one down the front with the bull horn and the jack hammer.

From the complete bollocks department comes the whisper that Bowie will be at the Ele ctric Picnic. I would put this suggestion up there with the notion of me being made president -both good ideas that would bring pleasure to a lot of people but highly, highly unlikely.

Another hero who won't be knocking around Ireland this summer, at least not to my knowledge, is Elvis Costello, and more's the pity. Console yourself by checking out an awful lot of his music here. The highlights are too many to mention but do check out the underrated "Brutal Youth" as well as "King Of America".

Talking of Tom Waits and David Bowie (clever link this), Scarlett "Horn On a Concrete Elephant" Johansson has an album of Tom Waits covers coming out next month, with Bowie providing backing vocals on a couple of tracks. How nice it is to see these two old men help out a young women in this manner, with absolutely nothing in it for them. Anyhow, the first single's knocking around the web, I don't think much of it (you can't be blessed with everything young lady!) but have a listen here.

Winwood

2008-04-12T21:52:00.000Z

I like this

Close To The Edge

2008-04-05T11:16:00.003Z

Miss the interview with The edge on The View last week? Watch it here.

In other '2 news, Rolling Stone reports that the first three albums are getting the double disc release treatment. Only a matter of time so before the mighty "Unforgettable Fire" finally gets a fresh coat of paint.

By the way, I went to see U2-3D and it really is something else. The effect of the extra D is such that if I had been half cut and it had been raining in the cinema, it would have been just like the real thing.

Who's Next

2008-04-05T10:33:00.003Z

Some truths we hold to be self evident, one of those being that the Who are the greatest. Another fact that you should be aware of is that "Raising Sand", the Robert Plant and Alison Krauss album produced by T-Bone Burnett, was one of the albums of last year.

Burnett was also the brains behind the glorious "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack so it's pretty fantastic news to hear that he's going to be working on the new Who record. This is unlikely to be a pig's ear.

If you're not in the know, you can listen to "Raising Sand" here. And then go out and buy it, you fool!

More T-Bone news: He's only gone and done an album with B.B. King and all! Does the man ever sleep? There's a solo album in the works too, go here for a free mp3.

Hey Carty, What's The Story With The Electric Picnic?

2008-04-04T22:38:00.002Z

Tickets came out last Friday and, not being one to wait, The Coff and I bought one each, at a very tasty €246 each! I expected a sell out but that certainly hasn't been the case. Have the Irish public finally started to get sick of shelling out more and more money for these things, an opinion voiced in the Irish Times' Ticket, or is it the fact the line-up leaves a bit to be desired thus far? Bit of both I think.
In my opinion the line up is okay so far, I'm sure there's more to come but it'll be interesting to spend a weekend knocking around listening to the likes of Grinderman, the Sex Pistols, Tinariwen, George Clinton, Candi Staton, The Waterboys, Duffy (who put on a great show in the Academy recently), Goldfrapp, Kila and, yes!, Hayseed Dixie. Anyway, the music is only part of it, excuse me for going a bit brown rice here, but it's all about the VIBE MMMAAAAANNNN! Don't miss it.

Sad to say, the other great festival weekend I had last year is not going to be repeated, as it seems the Midlands Music Festival is not to be this time, which is a real shame as the Sunday of it was possibly the greatest fest experience I ever enjoyed. It's hardly surprising though, there wasn't many people there and every second person you met had got in for free (not us of bloody course).

Legend

2008-04-03T10:16:00.002Z

Christ, check this out

He's the new Marvin Gaye, says I. His first album's great but Once Again is an absolute corker. Forget about his association with the detestable Kanye "Aren't I great?" West and go get his records, they're that good.

"Yeah. It was all… I really have no idea if anyone ever shoved it up the shitter"

2008-03-27T13:22:00.009Z

Fantastic interview with Keith on the GQ site. Here's "Shake Your Hips" by Slim Harpo, as covered on "Exile On Main St.", while you read it.
"Shine A Light" is on the way. You didn't hear this from me...
here's an MSNBC report...

The Lawnmower Man

2008-03-19T21:52:00.003Z

George "No Show" Jones is to tour Ireland this summer but the promoters seems to have dropped the ball in that there's no east coast shows at all. Looks like the Coff and I will have to head west to catch the Possum but it should be worth it. Who can forget the fine tale about him and his lawnmower?

Here's one of his great early tracks, "You're Still On My Mind"
Buy George!

More George, one of the greatest country records of them all

Sweet

2008-03-06T23:00:00.001Z

Cheer up, it's not so bad. You live in a world where stuff like this exists

It's Not Your Bag Baby

2008-03-05T22:45:00.004Z

NME reports that Keith Richards is taking part in a new ad campaign for Louis Vuitton. Considering this and my last post, have they got some outside help they don't need round the Stones' office?

Let's hope the new Scorsese movie's as good as the trailer but would it have killed them to repeat the format he used on "No Direction Home" with Dylan, i.e. new interviews and a load of rare footage. It's not like there's a shortage of live Stones video available. I've got two 4 dvd boxsets from the last two tours for christ's sake. I really have got to stop giving these people my money.

A Moustache On The Mona Lisa

2008-02-29T10:52:00.002Z

Check this out.

Who, in the name of Jaysus, thought that was a good idea?

Your Funeral, My Trial

2008-02-28T11:01:00.004Z

Just because I was listening to him yesterday and because anyone who's ever tried to live for an extended period with another human being (Don't Start Me Talkin', to quote another of his great tunes) can recognise the sentiment, here's the great, great Sonny Boy Williamson with "Your Funeral And My Trial"

Return Of Short Arse

2008-02-27T23:28:00.004Z

Great news in that Prince has announced a one off show in Dublin for June the 16th. I've only seen him live once before, years and years ago In London on the Lovesexy tour, 1990 I think. A mate of mine at the time was working in the Wembley box office and called me the day of the concert saying she had a spare ticket, it turned out to be for the VIP section so I was in the same row as members of Duran Duran! It was an incredible show, Prince arseing around on a bed and driving a thunderbird on to the stage (Not to mind his singing and playing).
Check out this clip from about 3:30 onwards to see Prince blow everyone else off the stage.

Jaysus!

2008-02-25T09:41:00.004Z

Look at the state of the "suit" that this amadan turned up to the oscars in. And then he went and won! Another step forward for wuss rock, lord help us all.

P.S. I saw "There Will Be Blood" last night. Not exactly a barrel of laughs but Daniel Day-Lewis is as great as everyone says he is.

Keys Vs The '2

2008-02-11T19:50:00.000Z

This is good

Slow Death

2008-02-11T11:17:00.000Z

"December is the cruelest month.." Mike Scott once memorably sang but January and February are no bloody slouches either. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING going on. The New Willy DeVille album is good mind but then all his records are ace, and the new REM single sounds good although I've no love for them. No gigs on the horizon apart from Disney on Bloody Ice with the kids. If the 21 year old me met the current me in the street, he (I) would kick him (me) in the arse.

Free Willie!

2008-01-22T19:11:00.000Z

"Over You Again" is the best thing he's done in ages and the rest of it's not bad either, especially the title track, a Kris Kristofferson number from a few years back. Yes it's yet another new Willie Nelson album.

Check out willienelson.com, I especially recommend Willie's own, and very fine, "Legalize It" t-shirts. A class act.

A Very Big Hunk O' Love

2008-01-19T23:06:00.001Z

Like Elvis?
Of course you fucking do!

All the Memphis Flash you'll ever need.

STILL the king.

On The Road With The Crowes...

2008-01-14T22:39:00.000Z

One of the great bands are back, click here for a listen to the new Black Crowes single and then get down on your knees and prey that they play in Dublin this year. Still one of the best live bands I've seen.

Dig This

2008-01-14T14:50:00.001Z

Here's the new one from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Not the greatest thing I've ever heard but his stuff tends to grow on you. We present this in honour of Kieran Hayes who emerged from a long coma only last Saturday.

While we're at it here's the new one from Goldfrapp, she sure knows what the little boys like

A year or two back myself and the Coff saw them preform in the rain at Oxegen, out she comes surrounded by young ones in their underwear with horses, or we're they wolves?, heads on. Now that was a fucking show.

Carty's Cast Iron Plunger

2008-01-11T14:13:00.000Z

Here's my top tip for 2008 - Duffy, straight outta Wales. Bit o' a fox n'all.

The Coff and I have already got the tickets for the Sugar Club in March. See you there.

More Joe

2008-01-11T13:39:00.000Z

Look at the Jaysus head o' this fella!

there's more craic to be had over at JoeDolan.com

No Show Like A Joe Show

2008-01-11T12:37:00.001Z

We were mulling over the death of Joe Dolan and the massive attendance at his funeral. The question was raised as to whether it was a closed casket, the general consences was that with a head like that he was one of the few men who required a closed casket while he was still alive.

Good luck Joe.

In Need Of Some Meat Madam?

2008-01-06T00:41:00.000Z

Our man Jack has a new website, if you're in London and you need some meat, give him the nod.

Although I still haven't forgiven the bollocks for failing to get me into the Zep.

All I Want For Christmas Is...

2007-12-18T17:44:00.000Z

As with everything else they've ever done, the Mighty 'DC get it right when it comes to Christmas. What else could you possibly want to find under your yuletide, or for that matter any other kind of, tree other than a "Mistress For Christmas". Hooray!

Blue(grass) Christmas

2007-12-17T12:58:00.000Z

Let's have another, here's Bill Monroe with "Christmas Time's A Coming".

More Christmas Cheer

2007-12-17T09:50:00.000Z

Let's hear Sonny Boy Williamson's thoughts on the holiday season with "Santa Claus"

"We'll have a Rock N' Roll Christmas"

2007-12-13T17:59:00.000Z

Wise words indeed, from none other than Gary Glitter Esq. Here's the Black Crowes doing "Back Door Santa", proper Christmas Rocking and they have a new album on the way in the New Year so don't put your head in the oven just yet.

The Greedy Bastards

2007-12-07T11:56:00.000Z

If you, like I, have often wondered what would happen if a couple of the Sex Pistols joined Thin Lizzy then wonder no more!. Here, as the first post of December, is a Christmas number dedicated to Kenny White.

Hammer O' The Boy

2007-11-16T10:29:00.000Z

A "mate" of mine rang me from Lodon last night to kindly let me know that he's going to see Led Zep at the O2. He's knocking off some bird from Hello magazine and so has secured a free ticket.
Sickened.
He described telling me about it as "dancing in front of a fella in a wheelchair".
I still rate the night the Coff and I went to see Page & Plant at the Point as one of the best concerts I've ever seen. I don't think there's much chance of a tour as Plant seems to be, quite understandably, interested in other things. His new album with Alison Krauss is a humdinger.

Queer Dog

2007-11-12T16:10:00.001Z

Good luck to Norman Mailer who passed over the weekend. I actually met him on two occasions and he was very pleasent to me when there was nothing in it for him. My favourite story about him is the one where he nearly lost his eye to some punk in the late seventies/early eighties. Mailer though the young ruffian had implied that his dog was homosexual (it was a poodle for christ's sake), "Nobody calls my dog a faggot!", Nice

Go and read;
The Naked and The Dead
The Executioner's Song
Oswald's Tale
The Fight (Best book on sports I have ever read, although that's a pretty short list)

here's a bizarre clip of Mailer biting off part of Rip Torn's (excuse me) ear after the actor has hit him on the head with a hammer. You are unlikely to see many authors acting the mick like this.

Radio Philo

2007-11-05T17:34:00.001Z

Check out this great documentary on Philo from the BBC for one week only, still the greatest Irish rocker of them all.

Radio Zimmy

2007-10-22T20:53:00.000Z

Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour is back on the wireless in the States (it'll be back on th BBC soon - it will never, ever be on RTE) It's very heavily scripted but I really enjoyed the first series, a lot of great music ,a good 50% of which I hadn't heard before, which is saying something at this point. This is the way radio is supposed to be, turning you onto stuff you missed, one person's record collection out on display for the rest of us. Don't get me started about the state of radio (and television) in this country because it will be very hard to shut me up. We're at the dawn of Irish digital radio, will RTE drop the ball? Does the Pope have a Sunday gig?

Tune into Series 2. If you dig this then you should really check out Little Steven's Underground Garage. Another bloke who knows his onions.

Addendum: News just reaches us that Bob has done a car advert for the sponsors of his show to the shock of a lot of his fans. So what? the show stays on the air and Bob gets a few quid and possibly a new car, it's called show BUSINESS folks.

No Ordinary Joe

2007-10-20T21:39:00.000Z

It's been Joe Strummer week around my house. First off, I finished the really excellent Redemption Song: The Definitive Biography Of Joe Strummer by Chris Salewicz (his Mick and Keith is also highly recommended). It's easily one the best, and certainly one of the most thorough, rock biogs I've ever had my hands on. The only problem being that when reading about a life like Joe's, one feels only jealously and inadequacy at one's own meagre existence. Even during his so called lost years between the end of the Clash and the emergence of the Mescaleros, he really seemed to be having a ball. Bastard.

I also laid out for the DVD of Joe Strummer:The Future is Unwritten. reading the afore-mentioned biog filled me in on the fact the Julien Temple, the director, was a close mate of Joe's and it certainly shows here. This is rock n' Roll documentary as it should be, a film worthy of it's subject. Go and buy it, even if you don't like Joe, a great rockin' history, the footage is revelatory. The Clash showed how to do it, get in, make one of the greatest records of all time, change everything, stop, do not reform.

Earthquake Weather, Joe's first solo non soundtrack album, isn't the greatest record ever made and not a patch on the great work he later did with the Mescaleros (If you're reading this then I hardly need tell you that The Clash were one of THE great groups and their records, for the most part, reflect this) but it's still worth a listen. It's out of print at the moment as far as I'm aware (no doubt it'll be re-released at some stage) so here, for your delectation, is one of the highlights, Island Hopping.

I was lucky enough to see Joe Strummer live three times (with the Mescaleros of course, I'm not that bloody old), twice in the Olympia and once over in London supporting the Who at Wembley Arena. I've great memories of the Olympia shows - His changing of the lyrics of 'A Message To You Rudi' to incorporate mentions of O' Connell Street, His leg going a mile a minute as he shouted at the band, half his age, to hurry up into 'White Riot', White Man in Hammersmith Palais and Joe walks back out at the end to urge us to support local groups. Joe was the man, plain and simple. To Paraphrase Bob Dylan, talking about Johnny Cash, You could set your compass by Joe.

If anyone knows where I can get hold of some of the Joe Strummer radio shows from the BBC world service then let me know.

Not A Fair Cop

2007-10-14T00:00:00.000Z

Last week we went to see the reformed Police in Croke park. This was one that we had all been looking forward to. The Coff, as a drummer, has been a fan of Stewart Copeland since he was a young lad and I had just finished reading the rather fine "One Train Later" by Andy Summers, it's a great read and the best book I've ever read about the joy of learning how to play an instrument. Taking all this into account, it's very sad to relate that the concert was a huge let down. The pacing was all wrong, a lot of the songs seemed to be taken at a canter rather than a sprint and Sting (what the hell happened to Sting after the Police broke up?) didn't seem that bothered. In fact, Copeland and Summers both played very well but were let down by Mr. Consciousness. Of all the concerts we went to this year, the weather was the best we got and the stadium is fantastic but it just didn't make it. If I could compare it to the U2 shows in the same venue a couple of years ago, when they set the stadium on fire, it really came up short.

Buddha

2007-09-24T22:09:00.000Z

I see that Bowie's Buddha of Suburbia is back in the shops. This is the one that first alerted hard core fans like myself that the man's creativity wasn't completely gone. The cd had been out of print for years and your's truly, the fool that he is, paid a fortune for it on ebay a couple of years back. Anyhow, if you were to sly over here for a minute, you might be able to catch it for nowt. You didn't hear it from me of course.

My Friends Electric

2007-09-06T21:31:00.000Z

A lot to catch up on...

first off, what some people have said will be the last outdoors Rolling Stones show (although I doubt it), Aug 18th, Slane Castle 2007. The weather yet again let us down as we hit town early to buy bus tickets to take us from Dublin out to the wilds of Slane so we hit the Oval on Abbey Street to wait it out. The bartender knew which side his bread was buttered on and stuck 40 Licks on the stereo leading to a massed sing along at 12.30 in the afternoon - nice. By the time the weather cleared and the old gang had assembled - Coff, Willy, Denis, Murt, Kenny and myself, it was getting on in the afternoon and a good many pints had gone down. Stopping only for a tasty burger and a trip to the off licence, we made our way to the bus stop only to be greeted by a queue that you could see from space and the rain started again. We made a deal with a taxi man and were on our way although we did end up with a day's march to the actual gig when we got there, that said we could enjoy a few beers in the back of the cab so it's all swings and round abouts.
Missed both Frankie Gavin and the great Tinariwen by the time we got there so I can't say much about them. The Hold Steady sounded like they were playing with a blanket over their heads and the Charlatans were really shite and totally out of place. This didn't matter a jot once the opening blast of 'Start Me Up" rang out to begin two hours of fantastic rock n' roll thrills. Jagger made frequent mention of the fact that it had been 25 years since they had been in the venue (and his attempt at Irish gave everyone a great laugh) and in fairness, apart from the recent "Rough Justice", the set list could have been exactly the same. Highlights included a great "Dead Flowers", "Midnight Rambler", James Brown's "I'll Go Crazy" and the encore of "Brown Sugar" with Jagger running round like a man half my age, not to mind his. Great, great show. Getting home from Slane was, as always, a pain in the arse but I did manage to run into Don Brady in the Oak playing the part of the drunkest man in the universe.

Electric Picnic

Friday
Good old Electric Picnic took place last weekend. Three days of music and sitting round in a field drinking- how can you beat that? Spent the Thursday night in Hayes' gaff hitting the booze and got in to the campsite the next morning about 10.30. All set up and sitting down with a drink by noon - the cocktail hour. We'd bought a load of cans and managed to sneek in a bottle of Absolute while we were at it so we were in fine form before we heard a note and in fact Friday was a bit confused. I remember seeing the Good, The Bad and The Queen (great), a bit of Manic Street Preachers (alright), a bit of Bjork (Confusing, when you're drunk) and not being able to even get near the tent for Modest Mouse (boo!). Night ended for me at the Bacardi tent, sipping cocktails and chatting to the nice English bloke who was telling me how he got there and then, casually, took a pair of glasses out of his pocket and put them on. Then he turned them on, something out of an Elton John nightmare. I had to ask him to take them off before I could follow what he was saying. Bed for me.

Saturday
Most refreshed after yet another night asleep on the ground and the breakfast of champs - warm beer and half a pack of Camels. First musical stop of the Day was Marlena Shaw who wished us peace and love several times but no hate and war for some reason. Good bloody singer through. This was followed by an extended stay in the old style saloon, which made me feel very much at home in my Roy Rogers gear. Nicest bouncers in the world but what's the story with this eco cup business - pay a €3 deposit with your first drink and then hang on to your glass, the theory being you can leave it back to the bar at the end of the night (at which point surely you'd just want a last drink?). I'm all about saving the world but don't give me a pain in the arse. Back to the main stage for the fantastic Easy Star All-Stars, who actually make Pink Floyd and Radiohead listenable, blasting it out in a reggae style. Jarvis Cocker next, great show, great arse wiggling although he could do with a few more songs. The Polyphonic Spree were a bit too over the top for me, the singer having the biggest god complex I've witnessed since Micheal Flatley. "Supergay" was one comment bandied about ( this comment lead to a long tirade from Myself and Jim aimed squarely at the always immaculately turned out Niall O'Doherty, the final remark containing reference to the fact that there is a lot of soap in the world but you are only in the possesion of one arse) while "a poor man's Arcade Fire" was another. I'm not even mad about Arcade Fire so you can see where this left me.

The Jesus and Mary Chain gave it out in fine style - loud and rockin' and even seemed close to having a fight on the stage - result. Tried in vain to get into see the Beastie boys but to no avail. At this point I headed for the tent as I was falling asleep standing up, getting old you see. Things I missed - everyone getting a bit browned off at the Chemical Brothers (I've never seen the attraction in watching someone play records) and Hayes jumping on the Carousel while out of it. In a misjudged attempt to impress a member of the opposite sex, he claims, he used his hat to whip the wooden horse then jumped from beast to beast and finally held on between two of these mighty animals, stage coach style. He slept alone that night.

Sunday
Woke early on Sunday and managed to use the surprisingly clean facilities and get a proper breakfast with coffee and actual food. Then back to the vodka and beer. In with Rachel and Hayes for the spiritual sounds of the Dublin Gospel Choir (great version of Stevie Wonder's "As") and then over to the chill out stage to spend my Sunday morning getting down with the hippies (interesting chat with the vendor who was out of it on acid on the way). Lovely set up here and enjoyed some mellow sounds with my beer, special mention to the dude out of Kila who is some musician. Back to the main stage for Horace Andy giving us a bit of Studio One. We then went in search of the "special guest" in the tent and realised after about 30 mins that we were in the wrong one, but got in to see the end of the Beastie Boy's "secret" show and out of the torrential rain. Did
get to hear them do "Sabotage" however, which was all I wanted frankly. Back to the main stage in the drizzle for a fine show from Soul II Soul. Went back to my tent at this point for some supplies and had my times mixed up so we had to listen to Rilo Kiley on the radio which was annoying but made up for it by sneaking in several cans for Iggy and The Stooges on the main stage. The man is a force of nature and, as always, gave a fine account of himself. Life, it would appear, begins at 60.

Took a lift home at this stage with the redoubtable Jim Roche (bit of panic in the car park when the van got stuck in the mud) as my daughter was starting school the next day and staying on would only have shown me, as the man says, to be the leading asshole of the state.

Great festival, highly recommended but how many more years left before the whole world turns up to it.

Lastly, good luck to Pavarotti. I'm no expert on his music but that was a proper star who carried himself well. Remember him this way.

Nowhere For Nothing

2007-08-28T11:15:00.000Z

New Springsteen single for nothing, you can't argue with that.

Mighty Midlands

2007-08-01T18:44:00.001Z

I've recovered sufficiently from last weekends revels to attempt to weave the tale. Regular readers will have already heard the savage tale of this year's Oxegen experience and how I predicted that this would be a much sweeter affair, not least because of the different promoter. I was right, of course. An example of how to do it right and it made the return to "real life" all the more heartbreaking.

Friday night we only made it as far as the Hayes house in Portarlington and sat up half the night boozing it up good-o and listening to classic eighties rock from the likes of Toto, Journey, The Jovi and their ilk. Someway to prepare for a country festival says you, the only way says we.

The weather actually seemed to be ok on the Saturday morning as we drove from Portarlington, through my home town of Tullamore and on to Mullingar. Needless to say we were all dieing and we had to stop and buy even more beer because we had taken a large chunk out of our weekend allocation on the first night, but you'll have that.

Very smooth sailing when we got to the car park as the Coff refused to stop his jeep until we were ordered to on pain of death. This cut out a lot of that walking shit that can so ruin a kick off, we got our provisions in and got the tent up just before the rain started again.

As we're becoming old hands at this, a lot of other punters spotted our tent raising skills and requested help with their own meagre efforts. I was having none of it and took a seat with the first few cans although, the Coff, Willy and the Hayes all helped out. I may add that one of these 'gents' was up making a fine breakfast the next morning and wouldn't even offer the boys the time o' day so we'll be watching for him again.

Finally made it into the arena at about three after a lot of drinks by the tent, was it still raining? Can't remember to be honest. The campsite was pretty much right beside the main stage but our first port of call was Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder on stage two - an early highlight, fantastic music played by superb musicians. He had the crowd eating out of his hand.

Caught a bit of Aimee Mann at the main stage, very good she was too before suffering through Steve Earle's desperate set. He needed a band as one dude playing protest songs to a half drunk crowd in the rain does not a good experience make. He tried with "Galway Girl" and "Copperhead Road" but he was a let down. The same could not be said for The Waterboys who gave great show, special mention goes to Steve Wickham's fantastic coat but what was the muckball version of "Walk On The Wild Side" about? They were followed by another disapointment in the form of Kris Kristofferson who again delivered a dreary set with just an acoustic guitar and appeared to be reading some of his lyrics out. The set was enlivened somewhat by the fantasticly staggering exit of Hayes as he headed for the hills, worse for wear.

Once Kristofferson finished, I headed for the tent myself and found Hayes half in and out of it but couldn't move him, I took a seat cracked open a few cans and listened to the Christy Moore set (very good, if you like the sort of thing) in comfort - that's how close the camping was to the stage!

Day 2
After 9, yes 9, hours of sleep (amazing what a shead load of booze and the absense of children can do to a body) I awoke fresh and well to face the day. Once the breakfast rolls, Coffees and morning ablutions had been taken care of we again hit the beer in the presence of the sun for a change. Headed in a bit earlier this time to catch a fine if subdued set from Niall Toner followed by equally fine turns from The Hillbilly All-Stars, The Hothouse Flowers (the great lost Irish band) and the Blind Boys of Alabama (almost enough to give the boy religion). Caught a bit of Kila at stage 2 and then a really great set from Paul Brady, a surprise to me, on the main stage. When he played "The Island" you could hear a pin drop and it was genuinely affecting. Well done Sir!

The Fest closed with certainly the finest shirt of the weekend which covered the back of the mighty Glen Campbell, who played all the hits and included a Beach Boys medley - result!

A surprise finish to the musical part of the fest took place as we joined a queue for food, a discussion broke out on the merits of Whitney Houston which prompted yours truly to step out of the line and gave a full throated (HELLO!) version of "The Greatest Love Of All" much to the amusement of all and sundry.

The line forms here for next year.

Pepper

2007-07-25T09:06:00.000Z

This is amazing - get it while you can, it won't be there for long. If anyone has "Revolved", I'm missing a few of the tracks, give me a shout.

The Best Band You've Never Heard Of

2007-07-19T14:26:00.001Z

The One band we saw three times while we were in Tennessee were the incomparable Dempseys. I've really never seen anything like them, a three piece band of jaw-dropping musical skill. You'll probably have already seen them without knowing as they featured heavily in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line. Their repertoire focused on early rock n' roll and country (why not?) and their guitar player, Bradley Dean Birkedahl, might be the greatest I've ever seen close up. His medley of the styles of all his favourite guitar players has to be heard to be believed. Joe n' Ron on the bass and drums aren't too shabby either. If these guys ever tour Europe, people won't know what hit them.

Music City, USA

2007-07-19T11:51:00.000Z

Still haven't got around to weaving the tale of the Nashville visit so here goes.

We got into town on the Friday afternoon, after a drive down the music highway, about 200 odd miles from Memphis. A nice touch was that when I stopped for a jacks break it was at the official George Jones/Roy Acuff rest stop. Does this state take it's musical heritage seriously or what.
When we hit Broadway looking for our hotel, little did we know that the CMA Fan Fair was in full swing, meaning the streets were teeming with country music fans of all shapes and sizes. The Coff almost crashed the car trying to get to the cowboy stores so we could get tooled up, we bought a fine collection of hats, boots and belt buckles so we could fit in, although we really only succeeded in standing out of course. High tailed it to the hotel, put on the gear and headed back out - the first thing that happened is as the four of us were waiting on the corner for a taxi, a baseball wearing fool in a truck roared out "Faggots!" in our direction. This upset us somewhat until we realised that we looked like extras from "Midnight Cowboy" standing on the corner, trying to drum up some business (see Photo).

Up and down the fine bars on Broadway, one thing to be aware of in Tennessee is that no matter what dive you go into, every band will be absolutely fantastic and prove the axiom that there aren't a lot of guitar players in Dublin, just a lot of people who own guitars. My favourite boozer was quickly decided upon as Tootsie's World Famous Orchid Lounge, I'd been hearing about this place for years in various books and documentaries but nothing prepares you for what a kip it first appears to be and how quickly you fall in love with the place. It's on two levels with a stage just inside the door and another one at the back upstairs, they advertised live music from 10 in the morning and I felt it my duty to put this to test on the Sunday morning which lead to a truly great day of boozing. The staff are great and ferociously easy on the eye and the clientele were second to none in their quest for a good laugh and a story. A GREAT spot. Let the pictures speak a thousand words...

I must point out that there are other things to do in Nashville apart from drinking, check out the old Ryman Theatre where they used to hold the Grand Old Opry before they built the facility out of town. We got the backstage tour with a sweet old dear who was near to retirement, three times she asked me where I was from and told the same stories over and over again but it was nice, they'll let you record a cd of your own beautiful voice as well but too many of Tootsie's cocktails meant this was simply out of the question for me.

Don't miss the Country Music Hall of Fame and RCA Studio B tour. They must have spent millions on the hall of fame, a fantastic building with exhibits on everyone who's ever mattered in country music - Jimmie Rodger's or Hank Williams' guitar? check. Merle Haggard's government pardon? check. The Original sign from Nudie's Taylors in LA? check. Elvis' matching gold Cadillac and piano? of course. Look at the photo of the "Waylon" wall - class.
Studio B is where anyone who was anyone recorded, it was Elvis' favourite studio in Nashville and they let me play the piano - heaven.

Make a trip to Ernest Tubb's Record Store of course, and don't miss the Grand Ole Opry. Warning: while it was great to go to the Opry, it does celebrate the worst in country music as well as the best, i.e. on the night we went we got to see Porter Wagoner which was pretty fantastic but also had to sit through some god awful "new" country by overweight no-counts who couldn't even be bothered to get dressed up for the occasion.

All in all, I'd go back tomorrow.