Social Event for the Zimbabwe Group

It was a sunny day in Firhouse last Saturday (27th September) when members of the Amnesty International/Irish Section/Zimbabwe Group and also some native Zimbabweans, not part of the Amnesty group, gathered for a Barbecue. The social event was enjoyed by everyone and there was an audible hum in the air from all the chatter. I met some of my Zimbabwean friends and others I had never met before and the atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant, sadly unlike what many millions of people are currently experiencing in that once prosperous land-locked southern African nation.

Even though there was an awareness of the awful hardships of the people in their native land, the Zimbabweans I talked to were in good spirits. One thing I have understood about Zimbabweans is the love they have for their homeland and there was a considerable amount of conjecture on the problems facing Zimbabweans everywhere (exiled citizens face difficulties too).

But the Barbecue was being held as a break from the heavy, daily worries of our Zimbabwean friends and no sooner had the charcoal been lit then we were all munching away at the food that everyone provided. Traditional Zimbabwean food was available for everyone to eat. I contented myself with the standard sausages and chicken breast with a smattering of salad. A wonderful time was had by all and by the end of the day everyone was filled with food and also with enjoyment. I was struck by the hospitality radiated by the hosts.

All of us from the Zimbabwe Group would like to extend our gratitude to Tendai and her family for hosting the Barbecue.

My Venues. Yours?

The BUTTON FACTORY is my favorite venue for live music. It has been in existence barely a year and in that space of time much has changed. Formerly the venue was known to all as the TEMPLE BAR MUSIC CENTRE. The changes brought about by last year's renovations have been radical and the sound quality is now much better. Previously the seating was uncomfortable, it now has quite relaxing furnishings for punters to enjoy. Furthermore there is a much more welcoming atmosphere generated at the venue, giving fewer and fewer reasons for people to complain.

Mc GONAGLES was a haunt of mine around the late 1980's in DUBLIN and they had a series of Saturday afternoon gigs (known as 'Live @ 3') specially suited for teenagers. The excitement of its cavernous interior along with the whiff of danger it provided plus the ear splitting volume enticed me to go and seek out this 'Parish Church', like many of my vintage no doubt. Along with 20 ballrooms in IRELAND, and the CAMDEN BALLROOM in north LONDON, an IRISHMAN by the name of BILL FULLER owned many venues globally. He died recently in the US (in his 90's) and was probably comparable to BILL GRAHAM (notorious US Promoter). FULLER also owned Mc GONAGLES and succeeded in making a fortune from operating venues across the US and beyond.

Another powerful PROMOTER, and also IRISH, is VINCE POWER. He started off by acquiring THE MEAN FIDDLER club in Harlsdon (North LONDON) and the name has become a strong brand name, as well as making POWER a millionaire. EAMONN DORANS is a great club in DUBLIN's TEMPLE BAR district and plays host to many newly formed bands. It is a showcase venue and I would imagine it is the perfect place for A&R people to frequent in the city. The toilets are to be avoided though.

But the doyen of DUBLIN's pub venues is probably WHELANS a place untouched by the excesses of glamour, it is intimate and holds a charm that few other music forums can compete with. You'll not always get top artists playing there every night but it never fails to warm hearts. Not a place to be ignored, they have now added an extra upstairs venue for more gigs to be accommodated. The Wexford Street venue is the beating heart of roots orientated music in DUBLIN.

Other venues of note here include: The OLYMPIA THEATRE (Dame Street), JJ SMYTHS (Aungier Street), The CRAWDADDY (Harcourt Street). The LOWER DECK (Portobello) is a place where I suspect all the staff have been issued with complimentary Hearing Aids due to the soaring decibel levels they have to endure. All manner of Underground/Garage/Punk/Metal/Noise bands are regularly featured in that venue - its a haven for anyone who enthuses about live music.

DIY music venues are growing in popularity and the latest such place to come under the CHRONICAL's radar is tucked away in affluent south DUBLIN, DEANSGRANGE to be precise. It goes by the name of the 'HIDEAWAY HOUSE' and is literally a residential dwelling run by a Punk collective where bands come to put on gigs. On a recent visit I was met by some of the people organising the 'gaff' (mostly aged under 25) who are very motivated and local Indie/Punk musicians are always welcome. The ethos is entirely positive and admission is usually very reasonable. I'm a big fan of collectives and the whole DIY culture. For fans, by fans so everyone benefits.

That concludes my round up of, what I believe, are some of the best venues on offer at the moment in DUBLIN. You may differ in your choices but that reflects the vibrant, exciting times for music in our capital city currently. Long may it continue.

Sounds Of The 1980's - My Youth

I am inside (where else would you be with the current weather) listening to 'George Best', the first LP by THE WEDDING PRESENT, and it bristles with energy and excitement. What a pity they and many other bands, it must be said, no longer energise nowadays. Back in the 1980's it seemed that nearly every band that bothered to cut a record had to be heard: SMITHS, HOUSE OF LOVE, SPACEMEN 3, MICRODISNEY, STARS OF HEAVEN, MEGA CITY 4, SENSELESS THINGS, I could go on and on. The music emanating from cities across the UK (and further afield) was the noise annoying the shit out of our parents. Sexually inhibited boys had, at last something to latch on to. It was a kind of release valve. MORRISSEY's hugely over-subscribed free (if you wore a SMITHS or MORRISSEY T-Shirt) gig in the Wolfrun Hall, Wolverhampton c. 1989, was an example of that valve in perfect working order. If you were sexually confused, or in any way lacking in confidence, MORRISSEY's 'asexuality' was a breath of fresh air. You were not alone.

For me my saviour was a DJ, JOHN ROBERT PARKER RAVENSCROFT, better known as JOHN PEEL. I have a blog on him prepared for publication in the 'CHRONICAL' scheduled for later this year, so I'll keep my words on him here to a minimum. Peely was on between 10 and midnight on Monday's, Tuesday's and also on Wednesday's. He was a joy to listen to. Of course he obsessed over some awful music, but many artists he gave 'Needle time' to made some wonderful sounds. A good proportion of the music he championed (too many to mention here) remained in obscurity however the charm was so appealing to a sixteen year old listener like me.

Television, these days, isn't kind to music but in the 1980's there were a number of programmes set aside for 'sound enthusiasts'. Most famous would have been 'THE TUBE' on Channel 4. Even that show had a mainstream ring about it. Presented by BOB GELDOF'S ex wife, PAULA YATES, alongside co-presenter JOOLS HOLLAND, THE TUBE was made in NEWCASTLE but was a hub of entertainment for teenagers everywhere. Most of the music covered on the programme was quite homogeneous, however it had its moments. I can recall PAULA YATES swooning over TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY (eighties pop singer). Indeed any slightly good-looking male musician at the time, that appeared near YATES, rarely escaped her amorous attention. By the end of the 1980's 'THE TUBE' was history.

I started to buy my first records around 1988. ARETHA FRANKLIN,UB 40, ELMORE JAMES, BOB WILLS, LOOP, JESUS AND MARY CHAIN, NANCI GRIFFITHS, STIFF LITTLE FINGERS and BILLY BRAGG were just some of the people whose records made their way to my battered DANSETTE (bought in the summer of 1988 at a car boot sale in the East Midlands, UK for £4). It was exciting to grow up with these sounds around me. If it had been in the 1940's the sounds would probably have been bombs exploding. COMET (RIP) and FREEBIRD Records were two of my haunts at weekends. Both shops were heaving with records and my constant efforts to locate LP's that PEEL had played on his shows were usually fruitless. It became a challenge to me and eventually I would start to find some of those records.

DAVE FANNING (RTE) also influenced my aural passions. Hearing him play DINOSAUR JR.'s 'Freak Scene' for the first time was an epiphany and I made it my duty to get the band's recordings. However at IR£9.99 I had to wait and then got it years later on CD (!). People go mad about NIRVANA (US) but I would say that the 'grunge' band of most importance at the time was MUDHONEY. The latter's 'Touch Me I'm Sick' and TAD DOYLE's 'Saltlick' mini LP were some of the better records in that genre in the late 1980's.

ANDY KERSHAW was (and is) a legendary broadcaster and I can well remember buying an LP by 'Zydeco' musician, BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO and his masterly talent on the Accordion after ANDY featured him on one of his shows on his BBC Radio show. I have amassed a good number of African LP's (and CD's latterly), one of my most treasured is 'Shabini' by THE BHUNDU BOYS from ZIMBABWE. Its a perfect example of the shimmering guitar playing they were famous for in the mid eighties. The energy of the 'Soukous'/'Jit Jive' styles they created was compelling. Had it not been for my access to 'Medium Wave' on my little red transistor, I got as a Christmas present in 1984, I may never have bothered with music to the extent I did.

Buying LP's was an event for me. Because I had no income I relied on the odd fiver (or tenner if I was lucky) from relatives at times like birthdays and Easter or Christmas. Typically I made the journey into central DUBLIN at the penultimate day of the school holidays so as to have something to look forward to before my studies resumed the following day. The decade in question was a time of economic hardship in IRELAND but musically it was quite exciting. One of the small clutch of Irish bands that I loved (and still do) was THE GOLDEN HORDE. I would spend my days in school telling anyone who'd listen about them. When I got home I'd play the 2 or 3 tunes by the band that I had taped off the radio. One of my enduring pleasures was pressing the 'play' button endlessly and telling myself: "The homework can wait."

So the 1980's were my 1960's - a time when music could ease the horror of school and I dreamed of working in a Record Shop. 'Maybe I could work in 'ROCK ON' ', I thought, but it didn't happen. 'I 'll have to see about 'GOLDEN DISCS'. my dreams would have to wait to become a reality and sure enough I fulfilled that longing and in 1997 (starting to sound like 'This Is Your Life') I found myself working behind the counter in a DUBLIN based record emporium, TRINITY RECORDS where I extended my knowledge of music both business and artistically. However the 1980's was when my dreams began - a time in my life I'll never forget!

BRIAN COWEN - Our Best Ever Taoiseach?

Is BRIAN COWEN our best ever Taoiseach? Well I'm not sure yet, but I'm not sure that he's that unpopular either. He has had responsibility for other roles in government such as: Health, Foreign Affairs , and latterly, Finance. Alongside that breadth of experience he is one of the most popular TD's in the country, he regularly tops the poll in his constituency of Laois/Offaly and his party colleagues make much of his sense of humour - something that I, and I suspect others outside the political arena, was not aware of.

Public life in Ireland has been hit, in 2008, with the death of such talented people as NUALA O'FAOLAIN and RONNIE DREW and we are the poorer for their passing. Another outstanding individual who died recently was SEAMUS BRENNAN, a tireless servant to the Irish people and a well loved politician. I thought that the immediate response of BRIAN COWEN was dignified and showed that he was human and not an unemotional politician. It was at this point in his premiership that I realised that here was someone not immune to expressing his true feelings, there was no apparent reticence displayed. Other Taosigh, most notably CHARLES J HAUGHEY, wouldn't have been as honest as COWEN and our current leader is not afraid to tell it as it is. Its his style.

Since the end of the AHERN era, the 'SUNDAY INDEPENDENT' has been in a miserable huff. Mr COWEN hasn't been clasped to the metaphorical bosom of the weekly newspaper. Frequently he's the target of criticism over the handling of the economy and other issues. A lot of that criticism may be well founded, however I get the distinct feeling that AENGUS FANNING, EOGHAN HARRIS and others at the paper are distraught at AHERN's departure from office. The 'Bass' swilling gentleman from north Dublin has been replaced by the tough-talking man from Co. Offaly. Mr COWEN is not thought of as being good copy on a Sunday. Maybe a rival newspaper will be more sympathetic.

EOGHAN HARRIS says that BERTIE AHERN brought a tear to his eyes when the former Taoiseach addressed the gathered parliamentarians at Westminster a couple of years ago. Well I have never felt emotional at anything uttered by Ahern. He doesn't like to ruffle feathers - unlike Mr COWEN, who is more frank in his assessments of the problems facing the country. He doesn't mince his words (an example was his use of an expletive in the Dáil shortly after becoming Taoiseach). Unlike HARRIS I prefer BRIAN COWEN to BERTIE AHERN precisely because he genuinely gives a damn about the issues he has to work on. He's not afraid to walk on some egg shells to do his duty. With BERTIE you liked him, but what did he believe in?

With the current economic crisis BRIAN COWEN will have his hands full. Can he bring us through the turbulence successfully? Well we may find out in due course. I have confidence that 'Biffo' will do his best to take the state out of recession. He may appear arrogant to some but at least he has the robust political attitude which his predecessor was bereft of. Many may feel he isn't up to the job but I would caution against such analysis. He doesn't need motivatoion as a leader, even if he, at times, makes EAMONN GILMORE (Labour leader) look like BILL CLINTON.

I for one respect Mr COWEN and have a strong belief in his sincerity. Now BRIAN, if you could only wear some less ill-fitting suits..........

Seasick Steve

Its late March, 2007 and I'm in the Virgin Megastore in London's Piccadilly. One of my purchases is an album called 'Doghouse Blues' and it's by a guy going by the moniker of Seasick Steve. He's an American hobo musician in the Blues tradition. Oh what delights a trip to London throws up!

Back in Dublin, two months later and I'm ensconced in the Crawdaddy club awaiting the arrival of Seasick Steve for the first Dublin gig of his tour, Digital camera at the ready to take a few shots of the Mississippi - born artist. I manage to creep up to the front and am able to capture Seasick in his natural environment playing his heart out for the packed audience.

An unconventional arrival is in store. Instead of coming onstage from the back, he strolls through the crowd assembled, almost biblically, strumming his guitar. My snapping starts in earnest. Seasick's voice is amazing: sounds black and lived-in but he's as white as a sheet to look at. The most important factor though is the sheer sincerity the man transmits. He rambles about the guitar he bought and of his recent heart attack. Women, of a certain age, are warned not to get too excited whilst he removes his shirt to reveal a goodly number of, what I would classify as tasteful, tattoos.

Well the gig went well and I very soon became aware 0f Seasick's music. He's played here in Ireland a few times since that hot and sweaty night in the Crawdaddy and is building up an avid fanbase here. Interviewed in the current issue of Hot Press magazine, he has now, according to the article, signed to a major label and there is a more than good chance of remaining on the label too. With his latest release imminent (I Started Out With Nothin' And I Still Got Most Of It Left).

Of the new recording he says to the fortnightly magazine: "The title refers to how I started out with nothing and how that feeling is still there - it don't matter what you take away from me because I 've still got what I came with." Which reminds me I've still got my Digital Camera with some fabulous pictures that I'll treasure of the Seasick Steve gig I attended, live in Dublin (May 2007).

If anyone is thinking of going to see the good man my advice is to go. There's not many Blues musicians alive today and I can say it was a very special experience to witness a Seasick Steve gig. A word of warning, ladies, try not to get too excited if he decides to take his shirt off!