Donal » Cyprus Avenue

Hamell on Trial at Cyprus Avenue

Donal — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:52:48 +0000

The irreverent New Yorker Hamell on Trial came to town back in February and is always a must-see. I hadn’t seen him since the days of the long-gone Lobby where I had been warned by friends not to sit up the front if you didn’t want to get a mouthful of Hamell sweat! Not much has changed although in Cyprus Avenue Hamell was that much further back from the crowd. Ed Hamell is one of those singers who can spin tales just as well as everything else on stage. If you ever get the chance to see this guy, grab it with both hands, but remember, keep a safe distance.

There’s a whole bunch of photos in the full set on Flickr. Also, see photos from support act Honest Spud Leonard.

Honest Spud Leonard at Cyprus Avenue

Donal — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:40:29 +0000

One of Cork’s finest, Honest Spud Leonard, opened up for Hamell on Trial back in February for Hamell on Trial. Sweet gig to get, especially as he had made the trip to London to see Hamell play on the same tour! There’s no show like a Leonard show, his quirky over-sized ukulele or under-sized guitar as much a feature as his long rambling stories. He did get the crowd going at the end of his set, but only to get some cred from Hamell. Honest Spud Leonard plays regularly in Cork, most recently in Sláinte, so keep an eye for him.

Skinny Patrini at Cyprus Avenue

Donal — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:55:45 +0000

Polish duo Skinny Patrini (be warned, some photos on their MySpace are NSFW but then who gets away with MySpace at work???) played Cyprus Avenue at the start of April with Elk opening up the night. I’m not too into electronica music but their stuff is pretty cool. Coupled with their space age outfits (young people these days, huh!), they put on an entertaining show.

Lighting was pretty tough so I didn’t get too many photos but there are another couple in the full set on Flickr.

Elk at Cyprus Avenue

Donal — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:55:22 +0000

Cork band Elk played in Cyprus Avenue back on April 1st as part of the Melting Pot series of gigs. They’re a bit heavy for my liking but they know how to put on a good show all the same. They seem to be playing fairly regularly around Cork at the moment so check them out!

Some more photos over in the full set on Flickr.

Reasons to be Beautiful at Cyprus Avenue – NSMA 2008

Donal — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:28:36 +0000

Reasons to be Beautiful were the third act up at Cyprus Avenue last week for the NSMA after Sonus and Philtre. Nay has a good write-up on all the acts on the night and some great photos to boot.

See some more photos in the full set.

Philtre at Cyprus Avenue – NSMA 2008

Donal — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:56:54 +0000

Philtre were the second band vying for a spot in the next round of the NSMA band competition this year. I’ve seen these lads quite a few times in Cyprus Avenue so I knew what to expect but they have a new band member (pictured below) who, to put it mildly, doesn’t lack stage presence. They have also changed the arrangements of some of the tracks so it sounded a lot tighter this time around. While the gig for the NSMA was short to fit in 4 competing bands, a listen to their MySpace also points to the introduction of piano into at least one of their tracks (One Step Ahead). This is an interesting departure as they have been mainly guitar-driven up until now. If you want to make up your own mind on them, go and listen to Took the Time which I think is their stand out track. I’m glad to say that Philtre made it onto the next stage so keep an eye out for them if you’re in Dublin on April 24th in The Village.

There are a few more photos in the full set but what do you think of the new border and watermark I’ve added? I’ve been meaning to do something like this for ages. I’m aware that it would be simple to crop out the website name but I’d rather not watermark the image itself. I’m starting to use Gimp for my photo editing more and more these days. Anybody care to tell me how to create a macro to run through the creation of borders and watermarks?

Previous Philtre gigs I’ve photographed:

Sonus at Cyprus Avenue – NSMA 2008

Donal — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:21:41 +0000

Sonus kicked off the NSMA night in Cyprus Avenue this week where four bands were battling it out to go through to the next stage. Unfortunately for Sonus they didn’t get through on this occasion but they put on an electric performance so are sure to be around for quite a while. They play in An Cruiscin on Douglas Street tomorrow at 2pm according to their MySpace.

There are a few more photos in the full set but the blue low light made it very hard to get any kinda photo. Nay was at the gig too so look out for some photos from her.

Fight Like Apes at An Brog (Murphy’s Live 2008)

Donal — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:28:12 +0000

Fight Like Apes headlined the Murphy’s Live gig in An Brog back in January following on from fine performances by My Evil Ex and Painting by Numbers. I’ve seen Fight Like Apes a number of times and they have gotten better each time. Their refreshing sound is backed up with a great live act. I just wish I could get my hands on their second EP, it always seems to be sold out when I go looking for it. I got the last copy of their first EP in a shop in Galway last summer.

The full set of photos is on Flickr as usual.

Fight Like Apes play Cork on March 23 which is next Sunday so I’m looking forward to another show from these fine people.

Laura Izibor at Cyprus Avenue

Donal — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:57:58 +0000

The extremely talented and all-round nice person Laura Izibor played at Cyprus Avenue last Saturday night. I had only heard of her and didn’t know what to expect when I turned up.

What a voice!

And she’s got a great stage presence with her warm personality shining through. I recognised one of the songs from the radio, “From My Heart to Yours”, but I had thought it was India Arie or someone like that. This was one of those gigs that you wished wouldn’t end, and believe me, I’ve been to plenty which couldn’t end soon enough! Laura really was able to interact with the crowd effortlessly. Enough gushing about the gig, be sure to check Laura Izibor out before she gets massive and turns into a diva .

There are a couple of more photos in the full set, and as you can see, all from the same angle. The red light in there messed with my pictures from the other side. C’est la vie!

Murray James at Cyprus Avenue

Donal — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:21:53 +0000

Murray James who hails from across the water played support last Saturday night in Cyprus Avenue to the wonderful Laura Izibor, of which there will be pictures in the coming days. But first, Murray James really impressed me that night; if you go to his MySpace and have a listen I think you will understand why. He says there that he got to number 3 on MySpace unsigned acts based on number of plays!

As Murray James was playing support that night, the usual thing happened where the audience don’t really want to approach the stage and it must look like a big empty room from up there sometimes. He got a good response though from those who were in the main part of Cyprus Avenue. It’s always a bonus when the support act turns out to be as decent as this.

A lot more photos from his performance up on Flickr in the full set.

Donal » Cyprus Avenue

Hamell on Trial at Cyprus Avenue

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Honest Spud Leonard at Cyprus Avenue

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Skinny Patrini at Cyprus Avenue

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Elk at Cyprus Avenue

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Reasons to be Beautiful at Cyprus Avenue – NSMA 2008

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Philtre at Cyprus Avenue – NSMA 2008

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Sonus at Cyprus Avenue – NSMA 2008

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Fight Like Apes at An Brog (Murphy’s Live 2008)

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Laura Izibor at Cyprus Avenue

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Murray James at Cyprus Avenue

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