More gigs, more bands, more photos.

Another week flys by in a blur and on top of my previously mentioned dissertation to be researching, I’m also working on a PR campaign project, hopefully the project will be used to launch the KilkennyMusic Street Team next year. I’ve also got a video project, a cultural sociology assignment aswell as various photoshoots with other 3rd year students who need a photographer as they are working on various projects.

Outside of college this past week, aside from my ongoing dispute with technology, I’ve been occupied with yet another long list of projects and work, we were back in rehearsals for the upcoming performance of Heart Shaped Vinyl in aid of the O’Neill centre, as a part of the Rockfall festival next weekend. There was podcasts, meetings and talks about the upcoming ArtLinks seminars on “How to get ahead in the music industry.” I picked up a copy of the new Jimmy Eat World album but have yet to decide what I think of it!?

In the coming week, I’m planning photoshoots with local bands, I’ll be organising photos and more for the long awaited re-launch of the Itchy Trigger Finger website. There’s the return of the OneTake Sessions this Thursday night, another podcast to be done, I’ll be working on all of my college projects and will hopefully decide what I think of the new Jimmy Eat World album!?

No doubt my list will all make up other blog posts, for this one, I turn the pages of my notebook back to Friday night;

In much need of unwinding and once again a choice of gigs on around the town I spent my time moving between Cleeres Theatre and the Zoo Club to catch five different acts;

First, I hit the Zoo Club for the return of Kilkenny Metal Promotions with three more out of town bands hitting the stage. Limerick based progressive metallers Shardborne kicked things off, replacing Sorrowfall on the bill (apparently their lead singer’s lung collapsed for some reason!?) Shardborne’s first song was an instrumental, slow, funky, melodic one. It was an unexpected, yet refreshing, change from the recent metal nights which seemed to showcase an unlimited number of unoriginal grunting and roaring metal bands in Ireland. Unfortunately it wasn’t to last, as the singer joined the band for the second song he didn’t bring anything to the performance, except encouraging the idea that this band was lacking a frontman.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a band enjoy playing their own music so much, throughout their set (which was 4 only songs) the two guitarists and the big guy on the 6-string bass seemed to be having more of a jamming session, smiling and laughing at how cheesey they could get. But the singer just didn’t have any strength in his voice to bring to it, essential when the band seemed clearly influenced by the likes of Dream Theatre. He just held his wirelss mic and made headbanging seem like an awkward and pointless movement.

As soon as their set finished I was over to Cleeres to catch a few minutes of Pal Steelo supporting the Guggenheim Grotto. A pretty small crowd sitting around the back of Cleeres, with Pal Steelo standing with his guitar in a solitary yellow light onstage. He praised KKM for “putting on original music” before his last song “Crazy for you”. I cursed myself for not getting over earlier to hear more of him, what I heard sounded great, I also cursed the poor lighting in the room for only allowing a small number of shots, which you can check out here.

Then it’s back to the Zoo to catch another progressive metal band, this time from Waterford, Orpheus. Surprisingly they haven’t even set up yet, they don’t even seem in a hurry!? When they’re eventually good to go, they confidently break into their first of many tight and chunky songs. And once again they are unfortunately lacking in the frontman area.

Before each song the two guitarists and the big guy on the bass (a different big guy and this time it’s a 5-string) all adopt suitable poses before erupting into the next song. They definitely sound the best on the night (Daw doing a great job on the desk considering somebody stole all the mics from the Zoo!?) but Orpheus seem somewhat bored in their own performance, maybe too confident and their vocalist seems to struggle between playing guitar and singing.

They finished up with a cover by “one of the greatest bands to ever play on the planet..”, Death. I picked up a copy of their two-track demo, it was only €1.50 and the band are “very hungry”, upon first listen it’s okay, I’m just not too keen on the whining vocals.

Then it was back to Cleeres to catch the Guggenheim Grotto. It was only Kevin and Mick down for the gig, they’re road-testing some of the new material off their upcoming album. I was very surprised by the small turnout to catch this opportunity to hear new songs from the lads, their last gigs in Kilkenny were more expensive and you couldn’t beg, borrow or steal a ticket!?

I was also hoping to finally get some shots of them for the KilkennyMusic galleries, I’ve failed every time so far due to either the venue being too packed with people or due to the previously mentioned poor lighting. So you can now check out some shots of the Guggenheim Grotto in their new KKM album. I only heard one song from the lads, a brand new one; “Heaven has a heart of stone”. With just one guitar and two vocals, the song is one of those slow and melodic laments that the Guggenheim Grotto do so well, and it left me looking forward to the new album as I left the intimate settings in the backroom to catch the final metal band in the Zoo.

I reach the Zoo club just before the final set, just in time to once again witness the usual local metallers sneaking in the back door to avoid supporting Kilkenny Metal Promotions by paying the small cover charge. These are probably the same people who will bitch and complain about the lack of gigs when nights like these are cancelled due to a lack of covering costs. Some of them are even in metal bands in Kilkenny! That being said, there were members of Atrax Mantis, Slave Zero, Blue Meryl and Itchy Trigger Finger who payed in.

The final band on stage are Sirocco, who categorise themselves as folk/thrash metal and are pretty much what you get when you combine Thin Lizzy with Metallica. This might sound appealing to some of you, but for me, it’s not! Their set is a mix of Thin Lizzy like guitar work, a foot on the monitors kind of thing, and James Hetfield type vocals. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a guy in leather pants and a guitar that looked like some vicious bottle opener! There’s windmills and headbanging a plenty giving me some great opportunities to get some shots. It’s the Metallica influenced vocals that ruin it. The songs are long and drawn out, with that very Irish guitar sound. Their last song is announced to be “painstakingly long” and although it’s only about 5 minutes long, it leaves me with no real interest in hearing them again.