Saturday Night

Last night I joined the real world and went out on a Saturday night! My friend Ann offered to put me on a guest list for a gig in Dolans, so how could I refuse?? I donned a frock, put on a bit of warpaint,and I followed a hair how-to for the first time in my life (thanks Sunday Times, I got lots of compliments!).The gig was the IMRO Showcase Tour 2010, so I got to see four acts for nothing, how recession busting is that??
First off was Nick Carswell and the Elective Orchestra, which were fantastic. I was really impressed by their orginality, and muscality. The four pieces are made up of a drummer, cellist/vocalist, double bassist, lead vocalist/keyboard player/guitarist, so quite an impressive selection for a wee group of people.There had moments that they reminded me of The Frames on a good day, and Sigur Ros from their energetic days. Rarely do I go to a gig and decide to buy an album from people I've never soon before, but I'll definitely be looking to get something from these guys, and will certainly be heading to their gigs in the future. Handy for me as they hail from Limerick!
After that we had Steve from Windings playing solo, some of you remember him from his previous incarnation from Giveamanakick. I've seen Windings a good few times over the years, and to be brutally honest I was pretty disappointed with his performance last night. I suppose people have bad days, but it was a shame. Priosly I have seen him doing stunning work on guitar, with intricate loop pedals mixed with charming quirky lyrics.
Supermodel Twins, the third band caused a not so serious fight between myself and John, we both disliked them but John claimed that they were crap. Which they really weren't, they are excellent at what they do, I'm just really not a fan of chirpy poppy rock music. They were tight and snappy, with catchy riffs, which is exactly what you need from a band like that. I can see them becoming really popular, like weezer in plaid shirts and Limerick accents. Whereas because they weren't doing anything innovative or new/cutting edge John thought they were tripe. ...silly stubborn boys!

Lastly closing the night were my good friends The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra, and I have to say it was one of their best gigs I've seen in a long time. They somehow squeezed their 8 piece band onto the tiny stage, and they looked like they had a blast for the whole time they were up there. They have a great mix up theatrical dark caberet mixed with delicate harmonies and strings. They've been gigging in various incarnations for 10 years, but are now releasing their debut album later this year (designed and illustrated by yours truely!). It was lovely to finish the night with couples waltzing on the dancefloor!

Graphic Design for Brad Pitt..

Today I was doing sketches for the new Brad Pitt Light Orchestra (BPLO) album. I've done work for them before, some posters and single covers, and we have a good working relationship. They want to stay with their black white and red colour scheme as it suits the dramatic caberet feel to this seven piece band. I'm working on a series of drawing of the band members, in pen, which I will be later scanning in to play with composition. It's been hard work but I feel it coming together and I'm quite excited about what I'm gonna do with it.
There album will be released in the next few months ,and I will be doing their t-shirt designs too, which should be lots of fun.
The above is a poster I did for them a while ago.

Electric Picnic!

This weekend just past I went to one of, if not the best music festival Ireland has to offer, Electric Picnic.To those of you not in the know the Picnic spans 3 days and has hundreds of acts, events, and installations, it's a festival of music and art with great spirit. With all the crazy busyness lately I only managed to get my ticket the night before the concert, a whopping E245, but still worth every penny. Last minute lifts were arranged and myself and my boyfriend joined Ann and Helen in a tiny Ford Fiesta crammed to the brim with camping essentials.Unfortunately we left a little late and were stuck in torturously slow traffic, we averaged about 15 m/hr for the journey. After endless confusion of which entrance to use(Ann was a performer and had a different ticket), and a grueling walk to, and search for a camping spot, our Friday did not really begin untill 9pm.Sadly we missed great acts like Fred, and The Stunning, but lessons were learned for next year-leave very early.Our painful day was made up for by a truely stunning performance from Sigur Ros. They had been the act I was most looking forward to but was quite cautious about building too much enthusiasm for such a quiet band, main stage can be a disaster for such an ambient sound. My expectations were far exceded as they put on a spectacular show of light and swelling soundscapes.

Sigur Ros
After a couple of hours of restless sleep we cooked up some tasty sausages on the stove-we never go camping without creature comforts of chairs and a stove, it can make all the difference to a trip.On Saturday I was more than a little hungover but I dragged myself into the Body & Soul area to watch a great performance from Windings. Being a Limerick act, I was delighted to see such a large and appreciative audience. The following couple of hours I spent distributing free badges with my website address on them to ladies who I thought would like my clothes. I was a bit apprehensive at first to be bugging people, but everyone was so nice and interested it soon became pretty easy,even with a hangover! A trip to see Cathy Davey, and then The Breeders followed, both well worth seeing,especially The Breeders. Me being in the delicate state that I was I went for a wee nap. Which gave me some energy, that unfortunately was sucked right back out again by a boring and unengaging performance from Tindersticks.We retreated to the comfort of Body & Soul, with it's amorphous scultures and light installations.

Brad Pitt Light Orchestra

One of the highlights of the weekend was seeing my friends the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra(BPLO) playing on the Pod Stage in Body & Soul. A great crowd turned out to see the 7 piece band squeeze onto the tiny stage. It was a perfect billing for the Sunday afternoon, suitably chilled out sweet numbers mixed with cabaret humour, and they were even blessed with some sunshine. Other highlights included a debate in the Leviathan tent,on the role of art in the current economic climate,and White Cholera( featuring David Blake of the BPLO in an angrier more political incarnation). The Sex Pistols on main stage were a sorry disappointment, nearly resorting to begging for applause, I couldn't bring myself to watch their slow and painful death.

The vibe of the picnic is what makes it stand head and shoulders above the rest. It's not about pumping big money into huge names to get ticket sales. It's their determination to create a welcoming and loving atmosphere, there are none of the aggression and trouble you would see at other events. Kids are welcome and inventively catered for, that's how safe this place feels. There is a wide range of clothes stalls, and a welcome variety of food catering to vegan, veggie and alchohol free needs. There are obvious downside, the toilets being the main complaint for everyone. They were a slight improvement on last year, but you still need an iron resolve and hearty stomach to survive them. It was a fantastic weekend but it was with a little relief that we bundled back into the fiesta knowing we were driving towards ceramic toilets and warm showers.