The Blizzards headlined the recent(ish) Indie-Pendence Festival in Mitchelstown on the last night of the festival.  This festival just gets better each year, well done to Shane Dunne and all involved with putting a free festival together with such great acts.  The Blizzards have truly come of age with a fine second album recently released although I’m not convinced by their choice of first single.  There are many other stronger choices for singles on Domino Effect.  Judging by the reaction the lads got from the crowd the album should be selling well.  I just bought it yesterday, along with Mick Flannery’s White Lies which has been playing non-stop so I’m afraid I only listened to Domino Effect straigh through once.  At the gig one of the photographers was certainly smitten by lead singer Niall Breslin, she just smiled her way around the front of the stage taking photographs and even proclaimed “I think I’m in love”.  I don’t get it, sweaty hairy fecker that he is .

Some more photos in the full set on Flickr.  The Blizzards are back in Cork on October 2 when they play the Savoy.

Related Posts on www.donal.ie

• August 7, 2008 -- Fred at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)
• August 10, 2008 -- Fight Like Apes at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (1)
• August 30, 2008 -- Ham Sandwich at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (1)

Ham Sandwich made a welcome return to the Indie-Pendence festival following a fine display last year.  Their debut album “Carry the Meek” has been out for a while now and is well worth picking up.  They’re playing at Electric Picnic today and seem to have a few gigs coming up in September around Ireland.  Check out their MySpace for mor info.

More photos in the full set on Flickr.  I’m almost done with photos from this festival although I have lingering from last year’s festival so I might dig them out.

Related Posts on www.donal.ie

• August 7, 2008 -- Fred at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)
• August 16, 2009 -- The Villagers at Indiependence (0)
• September 20, 2008 -- The Blizzards at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)

The Flaws played on the Sunday evening of the recent Mitchelstown Music Festival.  They are a band I’ve liked for a while since buying their album “Achieving Vagueness”.  I know it’s unfair to keep making comparisons with other bands but they have a sound very similar to that of The Killers.  This is no bad thing and the album is well worth checking out if you are into this type of music.  It’s not ground-breaking but it’s well produced and instantly catchy.  I’d expect to hear a lot more from the band in the coming year.  Check out their MySpace for a few tracks.

See more photos in the full set on Flickr.

Related Posts on www.donal.ie

• August 7, 2008 -- Fred at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)
• September 20, 2008 -- The Blizzards at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)
• August 30, 2008 -- Ham Sandwich at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (1)

Cathy Davey headlined the Saturday night at the recent Mitchelstown Music Festival. I’ve been a big fan of Cathy Davey for quite some time but never made it in to see her during her residency in Cyprus Avenue last year. I had her two albums playing almost non-stop on my mp3 player by which time I had reached saturation point when you need to give an album a rest. I got the CDs out again and listened while driving down to Mitchelstown on Saturday. Sometimes the live act doesn’t live up to what you expect but Cathy Davey and her band put on a sublime performance. It was a little unfortunate that she was on straight after wonderful sets from Fight Like Apes and Fred as her music is much more understated and subtle. Have a listen on her MySpace if you haven’t heard her before and you’ll see what I mean.

It was a joy to photograph Cathy Davey so there are a bunch of other photos in the full set on Flickr.

Related Posts on www.donal.ie

• August 10, 2008 -- Fight Like Apes at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (1)
• September 20, 2008 -- The Blizzards at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)
• August 7, 2008 -- Fred at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)

Fight Like Apes justified their later billing at this year’s Indie-Pendence festival in Mitchelstown last weekend with a frenzied performance.  Last year they played during the day when they were not so widely known but this year they were on after Fred, which is no mean feat, and just before Cathy Davey headlined.  Their mad cap live performance just seems to have got more insane and they have a lot of new material which should make its way onto their debut album which, like their EPs, has a long-winded title “Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion”.

Just two more photos in the full set as the lighting was tough for their show.

Related Posts on www.donal.ie

• September 20, 2008 -- The Blizzards at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)
• August 13, 2008 -- Cathy Davey at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (1)
• August 7, 2008 -- Fred at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)

Zany Cork band Fred played on Saturday in Mitchelstown at the Indie-Pendence festival. It must be almost 8 years since I saw them play first when I was in college. While they may have lost some hair and filled out a bit, they haven’t lost that great stage presence and the ability to put on a great show. Their most recent album, Go God Go, has seen their music go to another level but they also played the oldies on Saturday. Go listen to them on their MySpace and purchase one of their albums in your local record shop. Do it for the kids.

A few more photos in the full set on Flickr.

By the way, apparently they will be on the Ray D’Arcy show tomorrow (Fri) morning on TodayFM.

Related Posts on www.donal.ie

• September 20, 2008 -- The Blizzards at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)
• August 30, 2008 -- Ham Sandwich at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (1)
• August 17, 2008 -- The Flaws at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (2)

The Kinetics were one of the surprise acts of the weekend at this year’s Indie-Pendence Festival in Mitchelstown. I had never heard of them but they have a great sound and are sure to go far. You could even say they have a lot of potential after putting on a fantastic energetic performance (all puns intentional and well-meant). Lead-singer Gaz Harding could be mistaken for lead singer of The Strokes Julian Casablancas but this is where they need to be careful. Ireland has plenty of bands capable of emulating this style of music with the likes of The Blizzards putting more of a ska element into their music and Delorentos creating luscious melodies. The Kinetiks are in the same field as these two bands who have already done quite well but it’ll be interesting to see how The Kinetiks make their mark.

See some more photos in the full set on Flickr.

Related Posts on www.donal.ie

• August 16, 2009 -- The Villagers at Indiependence (0)
• September 20, 2008 -- The Blizzards at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)
• August 30, 2008 -- Ham Sandwich at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (1)

The delectable Gemma Hayes headlined on Friday night at the Mitchelstown Music Festival, Indie-Pendence. Gemma Hayes is one of those artists who seems to have been around for an age and whose music is instantly recognisable so it was great to finally see her live. Even the rain held off, as it has done for the rest of the festival so far, touch wood. I also caught Rulers of the Planet and The Kinetiks on Friday, photos to come this week. Shamefully, I still have photos of last years festival lingering on my hard drive which never made it here so I’m trying to get this year’s photos up straight away.

See more photos in the full set on Flickr. Also, check out some tracks from Gemma on her MySpace.

An odd thing I stumbled upon when looking up her site, I went to http://gemmahayes.com without the www and it re-directs to http://gemmahayes.com/Store/DisplayItems-1-0.html which is actually a Supergrass online store at http://www.supergrassrus.com/Store/DisplayItems-1-0.html. Something odd up me thinks.

I’m looking forward to seeing The Blizzards headline tonight. Let’s just hope that rain stays away.

Related Posts on www.donal.ie

• September 20, 2008 -- The Blizzards at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)
• August 13, 2008 -- Cathy Davey at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (1)
• August 10, 2008 -- Fight Like Apes at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (1)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSePZqnlo-o

Mitchelstown Music Festival, Indie-Pendence, is back again this year at the start of August with another fantastic line-up. Where else would you see all these bands play on the same weekend and for free? Check out the vid above for a selection of the bands playing in this years festival.

Gemma Hayes, The Kinetiks, Rulers of the Planet, We Should Be Dead, The Vital Spark, Cathy Davey, Fight Like Apes, The Chapters, Fred, Dirty Epics, Travega, New Amusement, Supermodel Twins, The Blizzards, Ham Sandwich, The Flaws, The Laundry Shop, Alphastates, Hope is Noise & Sweet Jane, Giveamanakick, The Aftermath, Vesta Varro.

Update: Times of the festival this weekend.  Who do you want to see most?

Friday August 1

1930 The Vital Spark
2010 We Should Be Dead
2050 Rulers of The Planet
2110 The Kinetiks
2230 Gemma Hayes

Saturday August 2

1700 Supermodel Twins
1735 New Amusement
1810 Travega
1850 Dirty Epics
2000 The Chapters
2045 FRED
2130 Fight Like Apes
2230 Cathy Davey

Sunday August 3

1700 Bravado
1735 Sweet Jane
1810 Hope is Noise
1850 Alphastates
2000 The Laundry Shop
2045 The Flaws
2130 Ham Sandwich
2230 The Blizzards

Related Posts on www.donal.ie

• September 20, 2008 -- The Blizzards at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)
• August 30, 2008 -- Ham Sandwich at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (1)
• August 7, 2008 -- Fred at Indie-Pendence in Mitchelstown (0)