Two DIY and one skinny Wolves’ gig later

Last weekend was quite eventful for me, I managed to see a load of Irish acts and one from LA. Not bad for a weekend in the middle of January. The common thread running through all of the gigs was the way that they were organised and where they took place; downstairs in a regular Northside pub, in a shed and in an art gallery.

On Friday, I headed along to my first gig of the weekend in The Tap pub near Smithfield. My friend Aonghus is the “singer” in a noise band called Sex Bat (short for Sexual Battery). Aonghus has been in a plethora of noise, experimental and metal bands over the last few years but somehow I’ve never made it to any of his gigs. So I made an effort this time. The gig was in the basement and was a DIY jobby to celebrate some dudes birthday, Cian was his name I think. I didn’t know what to expect Sex Bat to be like. Noise is a pretty broad term afterall! I moved up to the front as they took to the stage – big mistake… Within 30 seconds of the gig starting, Aonghus’ flailing arms hard knocked a full pint out of my hand, all over me and those unlucky enough to nearby. Another 30 seconds later I got punched in the stomach as Aonghus screamed the most aggressive non-descript roars down the mic. The set went on like this for awhile as Aonghus launched himself into the crowd and sprawled out on the floor. The band jammed along all the while producing a dirty amalgamation of feedback heavy guitars, harmonics and sporadic drum bursts. Tommy from Estel visibly hammered also joined the jam, using a pint glass as a slide wave after wave of squealing distortion wailed from his direction. This was one of the most intense gigs I’ve been to in a long long while. Afterwards Aonghus explained that the aim of Sex Bat is “pure aggression” – I think they’ve got that down to a tee.

Photo by Maeve.

Saturday saw me standing in a creaky shed on South Circular Road soaking up the incredible sounds of Children Under Hoof. About 15 friends of the band gathered together for what was to be a trial run for a series of regular gigs in the Shed, aka the Box Social. The shed is usually used as a practice space but for the night, it was a particularly suiting venue. As the roof lifted with the wind, ghostly knocking noises were added to the mix while the band blazed their way through 5 lush ambient / experimental jams. Dead pan beats a la Neu!, synths galore, a variety of eccentric trinket sized instruments, sax, considered bass lines and yelpy washed-out vocals all contributed to create a somewhat epic soundscape throughout the whole set. I was enthralled for the whole thing and further convinced that Children Under Hoof at the vanguard of making interesting original music in Ireland. Luckily I had a WAV recorder with me on the night so you too can bask in the glow of the Children Under Hoof live experience.

Bonefire (live at the Box Social) mp3

Photo by Jamie, Skinny Wolves

Sunday is meant to be a day of rest and relaxation so it was fitting that LA’s Lucky Dragons were performing at the Joy Gallery. Fitting because of the positive and uplifting nature of the Lucky Dragons set. Support act Boys of Summer started proceeding with an extended drone wank that unfortunately had no climax. Some people seemed to appreciate it but it was completely lost on me. Next up was Sunken Foal, his album ‘Fallen Arches’ was one of the best Irish albums of 2008 so it was great to finally catch him live. I wasn’t sure how his sound would work live but being joined by his friend Rob really helped lead Foal Duncan Murphy find the right dynamic between the organic guitar sounds and the layers of synthetic beats / samples. Then came Lucky Dragons’ turn. Luke Fischbeck is the mysterious human being behind Lucky Dragons. Throughout the show, Fischbeck leads the audience through a collaborative experience of communication through sound. Contact mics on long cords were passed out into the audience and the only way sound could be generated is if people connect by holding hands. It was really cool to see complete strangers sitting on the floor connecting with each other to make music, albeit fairly trippy sounds. The whole experience was completely unique and even though I did personally contribute, I was left with a really positive feeling afterwards. It was like meditating or something. Even the three teenage girls who had talked incessantly through the other sets shut up for a few minutes. Apparently Lucky Dragons will be back later this year so if you get a chance, I totally recommend heading along.

Morning Ritual by Lucky Dragons from Jordan Dykstra on Vimeo.

Life at the Joy

So with the New Year, a new beginning and a new office. That’s right, Analogue now has office all of our own (well sort of). The week before Christmas, I took a desk in a shared creative space called Redspace. It’s above the Joy Gallery and is shared by Graphic Designers, Documentary makers, Web designers, Artists and an Animation company. I was getting sick of working from home and thought I’d be more productive if I was in an office of some sort. So when the deskspace came available in Redspace, I jumped at the chance. It’s cool being surrounded by lots of other creative types, I know this sounds lame but it’s inspiring in a way. Anyways, the Joy Gallery is hosting some pretty sweet events over the next few months.

Life at the Joy is the first permanent exhibition running in the gallery, it launched just before Christmas and is open every Saturday from 12-6pm. It features work from Laura De Burca, Oisin Byrne, Rachel Ni Chuinn, Fiona Hallinan, Ruth Lyons, Kate Strain, Alex Synge and Amy Walsh.

This Friday, 9th of January:

THE SOUNDS>>>

Australian B12 Shot a.k.a. Holly Fluxx is hitting our shores for the first time this January to treat us to a night of popcore, raphop, fun’n'bass, and sparkle-art-noise. The ultra-productive B12 Shot does not limit herself to just making amazing music. She also set up the ‘Gooey On The Inside’ collective along with Ultra Violet MC. This Melbourne based group promote gigs, organize parties, write, design, and publish zines, and create their own visual art. With upcoming releases on the cards, and a reputation for original, creative, and most of all… Fun live sets, this show looks set to be a monster!

Support on the night comes from…

Attention Bebe, the local legends who dare us not to dance or smile as they play their unique takes on classic pop and dance tracks from the 1990′s. You may have caught ‘em at some of their recent ‘happenings’ in the Bernard Shaw, or busking to the Xmas masses on Grafton Street, or on their brilliantly named ‘World Tour of Portabello’!.

Other support comes from…

Sixfoot Apprentice, a member of the !Kaboogie gang who’ve been putting on gigs in Ireland for 3 years now. His sets vary from poptastic bassy booty bounceyness to faster spazzier breaks, but always highly danceable. Expect the unexpected here, with mashups of pop and breakcore, punk and hiphop.
and…

Maryjane, playing midi grunge drum distortion to soundtrack your so-called life.

Check out all tonight musical acts here…

B12 Shot – www.myspace.com/b12ishot

Attention Bebe – www.myspace.com/attentionbebe

Sixfoot Apprentice – www.myspace.com/sixfootapprentice

Maryjane – www.myspace.com/comacomacoma

THE ART>>>

Iheartwillies, Shorter Trousers, Ginge, Eilis and B12 Shot together will be producing a number of black-line illustrations where the objective of the show is to get the audience to finish them. All 5 have a unique style of doodling so the end results should be interesting, covering subjects like the big bang theory and crying celebrities.

On the night there will be 20 A0 prints with 100 markers. The audience will be free to colour the images and add to the drawings as they wish. No image is for sale, and all the art will be given away for free to the first 20 people to arrive to the show.

All the images from the show will be put together in a colouring book format so everyone will have a copy to take home with them.

This is a unique approach to an art show where the viewer has full permission to do what they want, and where scribbling is encouraged.

So come, drink, dance, colour in …..blah blah bluh.

B12 Shot
says her style is is high speed broadband onomatopoeia + sparkles.
www.myspace.com/gooeyontheinside

Eilis McDonald
“To me, music always has to look like it sounds. Whatever that means to you it should transpire.” – David Lee Roth, 1995
Eilis McDonald is a multi-media artist based in Dublin.
www.eilismcdonald.com

Iheartwillies
Dublin based illustrator with previous exhibitions in Dublin as part of The Projected Weekends and in Buenos Aires this past September in two established contemporary venues, Expotrastiendas and Palacio de las Artes.
She has also produced album covers for artists on Acroplane, Wronglab, Mechanical Records and an upcoming release on Netlab. Lisa has produced poster design for various Irish collectives such as Back To Bass Kicks, !Kaboogie, Wobble, Breakfast and Redrum.
www.myspace.com/iheartwillies

Ginge
Dublin based model maker and animator who has exhibited in the Prague Quadrenial and also recently with local collective Synth Eastwood at the Deaf festival. Finn also produces a unique range of jewelery from found objects such as dominos and dice which will be available on the night to buy.
www.myspace.com/goontheginge

Shorter Trousers
Dublin based photography student, Shorter has worked with the Artisit? festival and produced photographs for the Ard Bia Gallery. Her work has been exhibited in Film Base as part of a group show and she has produced posters for Leechrum Records and Stress! in Galway.
www.myspace.com/shorter_trousers

Saturday, 25th of January:

Skinny Wolves presents
LUCKY DRAGONS (USA, Upset the Rhythm/Marriage Records)
w/ Boys of Summer
& Guests tbc

(more details to come, closer to the event…)