Album News: John Mayer - Battle Stations video 2-

A second video from the studio for the new John Mayer album Battle Stations. That nice sounding song at the end is 'Heartbreak Warfare' which could be the album opener.

Watch:

Live: Holy Roman Army and Tenaka at Crawdaddy

Next Friday is full of great gigs, album launch gigs. As well as SEBP, The Holy Roman Army are due to release How the Light Gets In at Crawdaddy on May 15th. It's a great album and the show itself promises to be just as good. Support comes from blog favourite Tenaka, giving his debut live performance, as well as Storkboy Choons and Colours Moving.

Doors are at 8, and tickets are €10.

More info:
http://www.myspace.com/theholyromanarmy
http://www.myspace.com/tenakadrifting

Live: Super Extra Bonus Party at Andrew's Lane Theatre

Super Extra Bonus Party will play Andrew's Lane Theatre on May 15th to promote their new album Night Horses, the follow-up to their excellent self-titled Choice Music Prize winning debut. I've been lucky enough to hear the new record, and I must say that I'm damn impressed. Some nice collaborations and some even better instrumental tracks on there.

Tracklisting
1. Super Team Go!
2. Radar (Featuring Cadence Weapon)
3. Who are you and what do you want? (Featuring R.S.A.G)
4. Thin Air (Featuring Mr. Lif)
5. Night Horses
6. Comets (Featuring Heathers)
7. Eamonn (Featuring MayKay)
8. Start to End (Featuring Rodrigo Teles)
9. Tea time with Lord Haw Haw (Featuring Captain Moonlight & White Noise)
10. Sonora (Featuring Ann Scott)
11. 2
12. Mark Hughes Top Corner
13. A Mid Summer Nights Cricket Disco

They'll also be touring around the country in support of the new album:;
May 1: Limerick City Kid: Trinity Rooms
May 2: Drogheda, Louth: The Star and Crescent - Drogheda Arts Festival
May 8: Cork City: The Pavillion
May 15: Dublin, Andrews Lane Theatre with The Rubber bandits + special Guests
May 16: Newbridge, Kildare: The Riverbank Arts Centre
May 22: Sligo: The Clarence
May 23: Belfast: Club AU@Laverys
May 28: Galway: Roisin Dubh

Download:
Super Extra Bonus Party - 'Radar' (ft. Cadence Weapon)

Setlist: Counting Crows, Odyssey Arena, Belfast, 7 May 2009

In the wrong order, but this is all I have so far. Anyone care to send me the full setlist? I'll be taking down my own at tonight's show at the O2 in Dublin. There's still tickets available, so I suggest you snap them up. The Hold Steady are supporting, so it should be a great gig.

Round Here
Mr Jones
Murder of One
Ghost Train
Catapult
Angel of the Silences
Have you seen me lately?
Long December
Hangin' Around
Miami
Good time
Sundays
Washington Square
You Can't Count on Me
Friend of the Devil

Download: Dave Matthews Band - Seven

Fourth new song from the main album part of Big Whiskey and teh Groogrux King played live by Dave Matthews Band this tour. 'Beachball' from the bonus disc was also played. And now from the main album, we have 'Spaceman', 'Why I Am', 'Seven', and lead single 'Funny the Way it is'. Please note: Dave Matthews says he knows this wasn't a good version of the song, it should get better as the tour progresses.

Download:
Dave Matthews Band - 'Seven' (live 05-05-09)

Credit to SnakeEyes for the upload and Nate for the lyrics:

baby, when I think about you
all I wanna do
is be by your side, take a little ride
take a little

baby, you know I’m all about you
all I wanna do
is take a little ride, maybe get inside
maybe get in

mama told me, “boy, someday that girl’s gon’ change your mind
and then you’ll know”
I never knew but I do now
I never knew but I do now
I love you, love you, love you, love you
you, you, you, you, you, you, you

mama told me, “boy, someday that girl’s gon’ steal your mind
and then you’ll know”
I never knew but I do now
I never knew but I do now
I love you, love you, love you, love you
you, you, you, you, you, you, you

sour as my fingers
dirty pickpocket
I can still taste you
I won’t wash my hands
red is the color
of the sun with my eyes closed
I can still taste you
and I will again

dark little place, he gets to go
dark little place, he gets to go

woman, please
I’m in your possession
you are my obsession
let me go down, let me go down, let me go down, let me go
down, down, down, down, down, down

dark little place, he gets to go
dark little place, he gets to go
dark little place, he gets to go
dark little place, he gets to go

mama told me, “boy, someday that girl’s gon’ steal your mind
and then you’ll know”
I never knew but I do now
I never knew but I do now
I love you, love you, love you, love you
you, you, you, you, you, you, you

woman, please
I’m in your possession
you are my obsession
let me drink you, let me drink you, let me drink you, let me go
down, down, down, down, reel me in, reel me in

mama told me, “boy, someday that girl’s gon’ steal your mind
and then you’ll know”
I never knew but I do now
I never knew but I do now
I love you
dark little place, he gets to go

red is the color
of the sun with my eyes closed
I can still taste you
and I will again

Live: Chris Cornell at the Olympia

Wow, not only is he making overproduced albums, he's also performing overpriced gigs. This time, for €44.20 and €49.20 at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin on June 14th. Tickets go on sale this Friday. Somehow I doubt it'll sell-out, unlike Chris himself.

Remember when he was brilliant? You do have Euphoria Morning, don't you?

Setlist: Bob Dylan, O2 Dublin, 6 May 2009

Last night's show was Bob Dylan's last of the current leg of his Neverending Tour. Similar set list to the first night, but he did change it up a little. 'If You Ever Go to Houston' sounded even better the second time.

Setlist:
The Wicked Messenger
Girl From The North Country
Man In The Long Black Coat
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
Blind Willie McTell
Desolation Row
It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
Po' Boy
Highway 61 Revisited
Ballad Of A Thin Man
I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
Ain't Talkin'
Summer Days
Like A Rolling Stone
All Along The Watchtower
If You Ever Go To Houston
Spirit On The Water
Blowin' In The Wind

Live: The Maccabees at the Academy

Hear the new Maccabees album Wall of Arms? It's great, and kind of like the British Arcade Fire, if such a thing can be done.

Anyhow, they play the Academy in Dublin on May 27th and Spring and Airbrake in Belfast the following night. The Dublin gig is €16, a great price for a band that could well be huge. Tickets are on sale now.

More info:
http://www.myspace.com/themaccabees

Watch lead single 'Love You Better':

Setlist: Bob Dylan, O2 Dublin, 5 May 2009

Bob Dylan returned to the Point last night, but now it's a whole new venue, where he sounded even better than last time. And what a great looking setlist.

Setlist:
1. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (Bob on keyboard)
2. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Bob on guitar)
3. Lonesome Day Blues (Bob on keyboard)
4. Just Like A Woman (Bob on Keyboard and harp)
5. Rollin' And Tumblin' (Bob on keyboard)
6. John Brown (Bob on keyboard and harp)
7. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again(Bob on keyboard and harp)
8. Under The Red Sky (Bob on guitar)
9. Honest With Me (Bob on keyboard)
10. Masters Of War (Bob on keyboard)
11. Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on keyboard)
12. Ain't Talkin' (Bob on keyboard)
13. Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on keyboard)
14. Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on keyboard)
---
15. All Along The Watchtower (Bob on keyboard)
16. If You Ever Go To Houston (Bob on keyboard)
17. Blowin' In The Wind (Bob on keyboard)

Download the first ever live performance of 'If You Ever Go to Houston' last night. Thanks to gorgeous George for the setlist and download:
Bob Dylan - 'If You Ever Go to Houston' (live at the O2 Dublin)

And check out IndieLimerick's review here:
http://indielimerick.blogspot.com/2009/05/bob-dylan-live-at-02-dublin-050509.html

Album News: Black Lips - The Drop I Hold EP

The Black Lips have announced the release of an iTunes only EP, retailing all this week for less than two dollars. One song, the title track 'The Drop I Hold' features GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan is available for free download from yours truly.

Download:
Black Lips - 'The Drop I Hold'

Watch:


More info:
http://www.myspace.com/theblacklips
http://www.black-lips.com

Album Review: Herm - Monsters

Herm - Monsters

On my iPod, Irish band Herm appear just after Hem, the band who released the beautiful 'Half Acre', 'Home Again' and countless other soft-seeping tunes. Herm, are nothing like Hem. They're much more upbeat, much livelier. And even more exciting.

Opener 'The Way' instantly lets you know what you're in for, it's like early U2 in a way, along the lines of 'I Will Follow'. It's powerful, a little growly, but never overbearing. Like Boy, Monsters is full of well crafted pop-rock tunes. Single 'Heads' was released last month, and has a beautiful riff and a fine "woah-oh" bridge. Everyone has to love those "oh-oh-oh"s, right? It's intstructive along the lines of cannibalism, like Ainslie Harriott for the Hannibal Lecter generation. It's rare that a song makes you smile like this one does.

Hugh's vocals are like E from the Eels, especially on the duet 'Love Story'. It's one of the highlights of the album, and has beautiful stringwork accompanying the gorgeously-textured vocals. The title-track 'Monsters' is a bar room stomp, with a swampy blues riff. It's fantastic. If you download one track to sample from the record, make sure it's this one.

With songs with names like 'Scab' and 'Monsters', and lyrics about cannibalism, you'd be concerned that this is going to be a metal album, but it's nowhere near that. It never approaches anything like that. Take the aforementioned 'Scab', it's a dirty little ditty, a menacing brute of a song, but is gentle, like a silent killer. 'Sofa King' is another one of those broody songs, and doesn't go for the obvious pun of the title, which is a huge relief.

The storytelling throughout is excellent, like on 'Monsters' and 'Sofa King', but also on the tale of the boy called Ray on 'Cellar Door'. I'm not going to spoil what's behind the cellar door. You'll have to listen. More artists should make songs as dark as these.

Songs like 'Rosemary', 'The Long Way Down', 'The Best Bit', and 'Love Story' then are much more radio friendly, so it makes it hard to predict where this band go next. If 'Rosemary' gets some radio airplay, which it well deserves, it'll be in that direction, but for me, I prefer the swampiness of some of the more downbeat songs. Even still, wherever they go next, it's going to be a thrilling ride.

I highly recommend this album, one of the best Irish albums of 2009 so far.

More info:
http://www.myspace.com/hermwork

Setlist: Girls Aloud, 02 Dublin, 3 May 2009

Second of Girls Aloud's two night stand at the O2 Dublin. Anyone have the other setlist or was it the same?

The Promise
Love Is the Key
Biology
Miss You
The Loving Kind
Waiting
Love Machine
Rolling Back the Rivers in Time
B-Stage
Untouchable
Sexy! No, No, No... / Disturbia (Rihanna cover)
Broken Strings (James Morrison cover)
Love Is Pain
Call The Shots
Revolution in the Head
Sound of the Underground
Fix Me Up
Womanizer (Britney Spears cover)
Something Kinda Ooooh
---The Show / Wake Me Up / Jump / No Good Advice / Can't Speak French
The Promise Reprise

'Broken Strings'

Live: Hockey at the Academy

I have a bad feeling about this. Not that it'll be a bad gig, but that it just won't happen. Hockey won't be playing the Academy on September 22nd 2009. You know why? They'll be massive by then, the show will have to upgraded to a bigger venue. Maybe the O2. Well, that's what should happen anyway. This is the best band to come out in a long time. Maybe since the Libertines came on the scene. Or the Strokes. Whoever floats your boat. They're as good as them all. (Oh and Passion Pit are damn good too, but you know that by the sheer amount I rant about them). But Hockey are the band of 2009. Everyone is going to love them. Like the way they embraced MGMT. Only these guys are more than just one or two songs. Everything I've heard from them in studio and live has been excellent.

Anyhow, tickets for the Academy gig are €16 and are on sale now. Expect a sell-out.

Download: Julie Feeney - Love is a Tricky Thing

Inaugural Choice Music Prize winner Julie Feeney is about to release her new album, and has made lead single 'Love is a Tricky Thing' available as a free download. Two of my favourite general Irish blogs have it to stream and download, so I'll link to them rather than reposting it myself. It's taken from new album Pages which is out at the end of this month.

Stream it on culch.ie here:
http://www.culch.ie/2009/05/05/julie-feeneys-love-is-a-tricky-thing/

Download it on "This is what I do" here:
http://darraghdoyle.blogspot.com/2009/05/download-julie-feeneys-love-is-tricky.html

More info:
http://www.juliefeeney.com/intro.html

Competition: Future of the Left at the Academy

Welsh band Future of the Left will play the Academy 2 on the 17th of May. They supported Fight Like Apes at the Village last year and were tremendous, so no doubt this year's headlining gig will be just as manic!

I have two tickets to the show to give away. All you need to do to win is tell me what your favourite Future of the Left track is and why. Just a simple explanation will do. Post your answers in the comments section or email me at swearimnotpaul@gmail.com to enter. I've had a nice few entries so far, but there's still some time left to enter.

I love this, just for the name:
'adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood':

Download: Akron/Family - River

The new album from Akron/Family is out tomorrow, it's called Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free and is released on Dead Oceans. In order to celebrate this (read: promote), I've got an mp3 download of the song 'River' from the album.

Download:
Akron/Family - 'River'

More info:
http://www.myspace.com/akronfamily

Watch 'Everyone is Guilty':

Album News: The Very Most - Summer EP

Indiecater records have announced the release of The Very Most's second EP of the year. To follow on from their Spring EP, they're releasing Summer. Wonder will it be Fall or Autumn next.

It comes at a great price of two euro fifty, yes 2.50, and can be bought here:
http://www.indiecater.com/2009/05/the-very-most-summer/

I also have a sample of the Very Most - 'You're in Love with the Summer' so you can try before you buy. But at two fifty, what choice do you have?

Download:
The Very Most - 'You're in Love with the Sun'

Download: Dave Matthews Band at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 26 April 2009

Full show download from Dave Matthews Band's appearance at the New Orleans Jazz Festival last week. Thanks to TheNoise for uploading these tunes. They're mp3s taken from the web stream.

Download:
01 - Intro
http://www.sendspace.com/file/b0arox

02 - Grey Street
http://www.sendspace.com/file/c2fm4e

03 - Why I Am
http://www.sendspace.com/file/y1c0cx

04 - Anyone Seen The Bridge? -> (Too Much fake) ->
http://www.sendspace.com/file/xpqv5t

05 - Ants Marching
http://www.sendspace.com/file/5om8bg

06 - #41
http://www.sendspace.com/file/61xu2t

07 - Funny The Way It Is
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ieqthp

08 - Stay (Wasting Time)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/33fvgi

09 - Pantala Naga Pampa -> Rapunzel
http://www.sendspace.com/file/56aua8