It's hard to imagine the Academy hosting a better gig than The Killers last night. A fantastic performance matched with brilliant quality sound made for a great evening. Opening with For Reasons Unknown followed by Somebody Told Me was a perfect way to start the concert. There were many highlights over the course of the show, with all three albums well represented. For me, the high points were Bones, When You Were Young, Tranquilize, Under The Gun and the two new songs, Spaceman and Neon Tiger. Spaceman in particular is definitely one of the best songs they've written so far on the basis of tonight's performance. Let's hope it translates on to the album. Sam's Town as well was amazing with it being a lot closer to the Abbey Road version than the one on the album.
It was my first time seeing the Killers and I'd heard a lot about Brandon's voice being weak in concert but I didn't find that in the slightest. His voice was very strong and really shone. He's a great frontman and the Academy stage was clearly too small for him. He'll have no problem working the crowd at Marlay Park tonight. The sound helped and really added to the gig. The crowd was good, especially during the big crowd pleasers, All These Things That I've Done, Mr. Brightside etc.
I'd be interested to hear how people got their tickets (I got incredibly lucky on Ticketmaster) because it certainly wasn't an easy ticket. Based on tonight I would say the band are still trying to find their true audience as it was a real mix tonight. The front row was almost exclusively young girls (certainly on my side) with the crowd getting more diverse further back (and more energetic. Still don't understand the fascination with watching the gig through a phone in order to get a crap video of it rather than just enjoy the show as it happens but maybe that's just me) . The differences between their first two albums are pretty clear and it'll be interesting to see what direction the next album goes in. It'll be tough for them to top this gig at Marlay Park later on tonight. It was most definitely a stadium sized show in a small venue and the songs were clearly built for big audiences. It was a pleasure to see them so up close and personal.
Here's a performance of Spaceman from America not so long ago. Trust me that live, this song goes to a whole different level. They've really got it nailed now.
The Mary Janes are often forgotten in discussions of great Irish bands but their two albums were two fantastic records. In particular Sham is a great cd. Fronted by the genius of Mic Christopher, they were a great rock group, before they broke up in 1999, when Mic went solo. Unfortunately, his career was cut short in 2001 when he died in Holland. His solo record 'Skylarkin' was released after his death and is another wonderful record.
I've always preferred Mic fronting this rock band than the more acoustic style of his solo record, even though 'Skylarkin' is a fantastic album too. 'Sham' is great from start to finish and an essential purchase if you can find it, which isn't easy to do although you can get their excellent debut album 'Bored Of Their Laughing' on iTunes. Here's a few mp3s from the album.
#26. Just under 50mb.(Any record companies want a track removed, just send me an email and I'll remove it immediately.) O'Death, Blitzen Trapper and Okkervil River all have upcoming dates in Dublin.
You can stream live performances from Jim James, She & Him, Jakob Dylan, Steve Earle & Gillian Welch on the npr website. They'll be available as podcasts soon enough I'd say. The Steve Earle & Jakob Dylan shows have already been released.
Richard Swift has released a new 5 song ep which you can download for free from here. Some really good tracks on it. Only available for a limited time so get downloading.
Been listening to Conor Oberst's new album the last couple of days and been mightily impressed. I was a bit sceptical when he dropped the Bright Eyes name for the record but there was no reason to fear. A really strong set of songs, it's well worth picking up. Here's the video for 'Souled Out' off the album.
You can download a video of Wilco's show from the weekend at Live Mp3s. It's ripped from the webcast so the picture is quite fuzzy but more than watchable. The sound is great so well worth the download. Excellent show.
Setlist: 01. Misunderstood 02. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart 03. You Are My Face 04. Impossible Germany 05. It’s Just That Simple 06. Stage Banter 07. Handshake Drugs 08. Pot Kettle Black 09. One Wing 10. Spiders (Kidsmoke) 11. A Shot In The Arm 12. Jesus, Etc. 13. Hate It Here 14. Can’t Stand It 15. Walken 16. Monday 17. Outtasite (Outta Mind)
Wilco debuted a new song at the festival at the weekend called 'One Wing'. Here's the video. For good coverage of the festival head over to Rolling Stone where they have a lot of reviews and info.
A music blog from Ireland featuring my favourite Irish and international artists. All mp3s are offered for promotional puropses only and will be removed after two weeks. If there is an issue with one of the songs please email me (thundercrackplaylist@gmail.com) and I will remove it immediately.
