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dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip rocked Dolans Warehouse to the very rafters last week.  Mixing electronic and hip hop beats with the spoken word beat poetry, they are in a category all of their own. Opening with ‘The beat my heart skips ‘ the Essex duo made a statement of intent that fired the full-house attendance into a festive celebration. With all of the words of their new album’ The Logic of Chance‘ being shouted back by the predominantly young crowd, it was obvious that the band were preaching to the converted with Scroobius Pip’s positive messages of standing up for what you believe in ‘Stake a Claim’, renouncing knife violence ‘Great Britain’ and sex and relationships in ‘Get Better’ being particular stand-out moments. They finished with their biggest hit ‘Thou shalt always Kill’ which tonight, strangely, sounded a little muted such is the strength and live impact of the newer material. To roars of approval they encored with their very best track ‘Letter from God to Man’.

ON the new CD, Natural Angle, Irish band Gráda (meaning “gradient” in Irish) mix traditional Irish and Appalachian tunes with North American folk songwriting. Recorded in Nashville with famed bluegrass musician and singer Tim O’Brien, the band draw from a melting pot of influences to deliver their Irish melodies with an Americana edge and a bluegrass twang. At O’Brien’s suggestion Grada elected to record together in session as opposed to recording individually which captured the band live energy perfectly. Check out the band’s take on the “The Butcher Boy” (recorded by Bob Dylan as “The Railroad Boy”, a song he may have learned from The Clancy Brothers) and the explosive energy of “5 Jumps,” a set that marries a Danish reel, an original reel by former bandmate Colin Farrell, and a traditional Irish tune. Gráda will play Dolans Upstairs Friday May 7.
Gráda – The Butcher Boy
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Gráda – Five Jumps
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DUBLIN band, The Cast of Cheers, released their impressive debut album ‘Chariot’ online last February, this 10 track recording clocking in at just over half an hour is certain to be in many listeners debut album of the year list at years end. Sounding like a moodier, angrier Foals with better pop hooks than Two Door Cinema Club this remarkable debut is FREE for you to download here. The Cast of Cheers only formed in October 2009, had ‘Chariot’ almost finished by Christmas and decided to give the album out free online because considering the current download culture it was the fastest way to get the most listeners’ attention. The band have also provided access to their SoundCloud page where you are encouraged to use their stems to remix some of their songs. They have thrown up some of these remixes for you to check out on their myspace . It is only a matter of time before a Limerick gig is booked but you can catch the band in Galway’s Roisin Dubh on May 6 or at festivals over the Summer.
The Cast of Cheers – I am Lion
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Walter Mitty & the Realists have released the video for ‘Green Light Go’ their debut single and title track from the new album. Directed & Produced by Cannes Film Festival winner, Brian Deane of www.technowolfefilms.com the video was shot on location in Baker Place, Daghdha Dance Studio and in Galway. ‘Green Light Go’ is set to feature in a forthcoming Heineken ad campaign and was recorded and produced by The Cranberries sticks-man, Fergal Lawler, who as you can hear, captured the bands stomping live impact on the record.

Following on from the recent release of the brilliant and beloved Top 20 album The Stage, A Book & The Silver Screen, Duke Special steps out in venues across Ireland throughout May and June, coming to Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick on Friday june 4th with his brand new live show – The Silent World of Hector Mann & Songs from Mother Courage. The Silent World of Hector Mann celebrates a much overlooked treasure of the silent film era. The Duke will whisk audiences away on a magical mystery tour of train tracks, tramps, romance and violins, the silent world of Hector Mann, who only managed to make twelve silent movies before his mysterious disappearance in the late 1920’s. Duke Special and his band will present an evening of songs especially written for each of these twelve near-forgotten silent screen gems, combining celluloid and vinyl, spoken words and musical yarns, bringing to life the beautiful and sinister world of the legendary Hector Mann. The CD of the same name contained 12 songs written by Duke Special and 11 of his friends, including Neil Hannon, Rea Curran and Ben Castle and was recorded by legendary producer Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago. Songs from Mother Courage will feature music from the new production of the Bertolt Brecht anti-war classic Mother Courage & Her Children, which ran at the National Theatre in London, and featured Duke Special and his band alongside award winning actress Fiona Shaw.

Having impressed the critics with their debut EP last January, (‘This EP is simply brilliant – Indie Limerick; Frontman Colm McGuinness has a voice deep as molasses – Hot Press; “Super debut EP – Musicreview Unsigned; “I automatically fall in love with Dublin born singer Colms deep baritone voice” – Rockpulse) Limerick 4-piece, Protobaby, have announced their upcoming live dates. The band will play upstairs in Dolans on Fri 16th of April with support from Fallingplanes and Bobby Noonan. They will then continue on to The Pipers Inn in Clonmel the following night with a Dublin date in Whelans on June 5th. Protobaby with members Colm McGuinness, Tony Monahan, Bryan Ronan and Aidan Graham were formed over a year and a half ago when guitar player Tony and bass player Aidan first met Dublin born singer Colm for the first time through an ad placed in a national newspaper. Meeting in a local bar, sat next to an open fire Colm took out his guitar and played some of his songs. The lads loved his deep baritone Johnny Cash / Ian Curtis flavored voice and captivating lyrics. A rehearsal was arranged and drummer Bryan was soon onboard. Colm’s songs, mixed with riffs and guitar ideas from Tony along with the musical ideas and arrangements from the entire band now form the Protobaby sound.
Check out ‘Sold you a lie’ from their Freedom EP
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Late last year, BBC world DJ Gilles Peterson released Havana Cultura a double CD snapshot of Havana’s music scene 2 generations on from the Buena Vista Social Club. This song “Think Twice” from that album is now remixed by Marc Mac of 4hero featuring Danay & Carina with a nice Cuban twist and free to you to download.  The track is taken from the upcoming Brownswood Recordings release, Gilles Peterson Presents Havana Cultura Remixed. Other remixes on the record feature Louie Vega, MJ Cole, Carl Cox, Seiji, and many others, creating new interpretations to the already wonderful project featuring some of Cuba’s most inspiring new generation of musicians. Havana Cultura Remixed will be released June 7th
[audio:http://www.thelastpostandchorus.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/01-Think-Twice-Marc-Mac-Remix-feat.-Danay-Carina-MSTR.mp3]
Gilles Peterson’s Havana Cultura Band “Think Twice” (4hero Remix ft. Danay & Carina)

Monday 12th April brings to Dolans a world music concert in aid of Kiva.org featuring Parsec, Tribal Drummers and acclaimed storyteller Eddie Lenihan. Kiva.org connects people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty. The website is an open platform which empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur in the developing world. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva creates a global community of people connected through lending in a transparent, accountable way.

Folk band, Parsec are all students of Irish Music & Dance at the Irish World Academy in the University of Limerick. Hailing from different musical backgrounds and 4 different countries the group combine their experiences and influences “to create interesting fusions and experiments with various concepts of arranging”. They will be joined by tribal drummers and storyteller, Eddie Lenihan. A good night’s entertainment for a great cause.

When first shown the joyful, cartoon-like artwork for his new album, Paul Brady’s first utterance was “hooba dooba”, his favorite expression when something delights him. I meet Paul on the day ‘Hooba Dooba’ is released and encounter an artist who after 40+ years in the business is relaxed, still passionate about the songwriting craft and delighted with his new recording. On his songwriting process, he reveals. “It is a bit haphazard but its kind of magical in a way. What I do is amass scraps of music and lyrics, often, just a phrase like “money to burn” just comes and when I pick up the paper and read about some property developer who is whinging because he has lost three million and then turn on the telly and see [earthquakes in] Haiti, suddenly I go we’re alright here, lets get real here, stop whining”
“When you gonna realise how lucky you are?
You could be an infant junkie screaming for more.
Or clinging to a refugee boat waiting offshore”
“All I hear is one white male with money to burn.
And a whole lot to learn”
From ‘Money to Burn’ by Paul Brady fro Hooba Dooba
[audio:http://www.thelastpostandchorus.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/09-Money-To-Burn.mp3]
Confirming Paul Brady’s continuing commitment to the music that first brought him to national attention the University of Limerick recently announced the ‘Paul Brady Blas Scholarship’ which will enable music students to avail of tuition from the most respected traditional musicians at the Blas Summer School. Paul spent 12 years singing folk music and playing guitar with trad groups The Johnstons and Planxty, and he surprised many when his first rock album ‘Hard Station‘ came out in 1981 featuring exhilarating and angry tracks ‘Busted Loose’ and ‘Nothing but the same old story’ and of course the anthemic ‘Crazy Dreams. Of that time, Paul remembers, “The changeover was very hard and at all times I met with resistance and some were aghast. I jumped from a very secure situation from being one of the most successful solo/folk artists in the country at the time to a complete nobody in the international rock scene.” Already in his thirties, the catalyst for Brady’s change of musical direction was hearing the song Baker Street by fellow folk artist Gerry Rafferty. So impressed was he that he de-constructed the elements of the song and set about forging his own musical style. “I had no more time to lose and spending time in traditional music was like a luxury I could no longer afford. I wanted to figure out who I was now and whether there was anything more I had to offer”

Since then this musical master craftsman has written classics like ‘The Island’, ‘The World is What you Make it’ and ‘Nobody Knows’ and has been covered by the likes of Cher, Tina Turner and Bonnie Raitt. He has in recent years collaborated and written with other artists, something he also described as a magical process. He wrote the Boyzone hit “The Long Goodbye” with Ronan Keating, a track that Brady initally had reservations about “I wouldn’t put it out on a record because I felt that it was too pop for me and people wouldn’t take it from me” But the hugely positive reaction to the song lead him to conclude “What I found most liberating about it was that I’m fluent in a lot more styles of music than I have traditionally allowed myself to play with on my own records” A fluency that is very evident on Hooba Dooba which confidently and effortlessly mixes many styles from the latin shuffle of “Rainbow” to the big sweeping balladry of ‘One more Today” and onto the country swing of “The Price of Fame” the most recent Brady/Keating collaboration.
Hooba Dooba is out now and Paul Brady and his band play UCH, on April 29th.