What a fantastic night for unsigned talent to express what artistic flavor of music each one of them have, even better to play to a roof packed venue which you don't see to often in Dublin for this kind of show, it was buzzing... at least 60 percent of the people was there for the music the rest tried to talk over the electric waves of pure music but the pulse of hard working and gifted musicians stole the night.
GIG RANK: **** 4 out of 6
THE POTENTIAL
COLLECTION 2
CD REVIEW
Unlike many magazines and music critics that will keep it short and sweet i feel this cd needs to be broke down, because this compilation of emerging talent each deserve an opinion
1.Bad seed by Jezzebelle You can hear the passion stream from this track with a nice upbeat acoustic folk blues feel the vocals stand out pretty well as they simmer a bit like Janice Joplin early blues number but a sweet little tune. *****
2. Permanent shade of undress by Tyrone Relph This song has a soft feel of nice folk jazz gutair work and some fantastic lyrics with some ass kicking vocals. ******
3. Off my chest by GDC (Gra Don Ceoil) upbeat with some catchy melodies this tune has the potential of commercial success in one hand the vocals both backing and main get to the point with simple harmonies but sounds well mixed. ****
4. Speak in tongues by Richie Marshall the vocals on this track sound like they have a mission and that's to impress the tune is well constructed and the dynamics has some good moves in the song this guy reminds me of Jeff Buckley with more of a passionate twist. ****
5. Walk on by Michael Whelan I had the privelige of getting this tune and reviewing it when it was a demo and i will stick to my guns on this one its deep and has a real moody feel to it, a bit like Chris Rea but more balls to the tune than Chris would do, the vocals have the husky vibes going down with blues screaming to get out ..superb. ******
6. Doctor please by Steve Duffy I love the harmonica piece in the intro the tune has a real anthem feel with some cool lyrics, you can feel the soul and moody tones that this song has its very charming and would sound super with a good backing band excellent stuff. *****
7. Freeloader by Eibhin Eviston The piano work in this tune gives the song a more soft and uplifting tone with the vocals streaming out some good dynamics bringing the tune in and out of some classy melodies. ****
8.Make you smile by Wayne Brennan I would class Wayne as a male version of Joni Mitchell full of folk and superb lyrics this is a super little number with sign me now written all over it excellent craftsman ship on the production on this song. ******
9. Don't rescue me by Christine Deadly I listen to this track a few times, you will too.. very unusual vocal i thought it was out of time but its not it is original with a twist of Irish trad mixed with some Cardigans style playing. ****
9.Black and blue by John Murphy There is a nice Irish folk feel from this tune the vocals sound more on the David Gray/Paddy Casey tone its got some cool lyrics and very catchy chorus this is a super tune but less of the F word and this is going places. ***
11.Van by Susie Donnelly This is a real strong vocal presence song with soft folk melodic tones from the vocals the tune has some awesome natural dynamics the lyrics are very well placed in parts, great qualities from this song and very listenable. *****
12.Zach snakes by Old Red Yeehaw with some Primus in the mix the tune has a raw upbeat rockabilly feel but with some super well thought lyrics thumbs up on this song its original ill give that. ******
This has to be one of the best compilation cd's yet of some future stars and believe me there is on this album, well done The Zodiac Sessions this is the nucleus of unborn talent.
ROCK CHICKS PLAY NITE AT THE VOODOO LOUNGE 18th OCTOBER 2007
The nights entertainment had an array of female artists and one male band dressed in drag. From a great point of view there was a showcase of eight acts this is not an easy task trying to balance out the flavor of music through out the night with so many acts. Marc from Dublin Underground certainly pulled the night off with some fantastic music on the rise with live music until the wee hours of 2:30 am, this is one event well worth checking out as it will be one of Dublin’s finest places to find a showcase of emerging talent.
In the order of appearance I will give you a brief review of the night’s entertainment.
Emma gave a fine performance expressing her talent from nice cluster of cover songs, her vocal ability is very strong with plenty of passion in her voice. The backing band that stood in with Emma gave off more of an improvisation of the songs. Maybe they did not gel as well together but still pulled the gig of well on the night.
Pamela has a very unique style in her voice the way that she words and phrases the lyrics are fantastic. Very professional stage presence. The audience was captured by Pamela’s vocals both very strong and very interesting, Pamela has a original style which is very hard to find in most acts that are emerging out there on the scene today. Top marks for Pamela on the night great show.
Great to see Leanne again I had the pleasure of seeing Leanne at the Balcony TV awards. Leanne played with a full band back then, but tonight Leanne was doing a solo show it was a lot different I would have to say a little more mellow for Leanne, guitar playing was well executed and the tone from her vocal had very folk /blues style but gave an excellent feel to the set. I enjoyed the version of The Rocker “Thin lizzy” very powerful song yet Leanne brought it back to a more passionate blues version of the tune.
This two piece act gave a great mood change to the night with very elegant style of blues with a jazzy tone, there was some nice licks and slide playing coming from the guitar and the lead singers voice has nice sharp jazz feel, It was a real good laid back show from La Loge.
When this band came on the stage you could feel straight away you were going to be rocked they have some sweet melodies mixing them with the elements of ska and punk and grinding them together with metal, the lead singer has a powerful voice and can hold a note with no vein popping emotion. The band however could work a little better on the rhythm section as they where a bit loose but showing the full potential of a superb band.
This five piece band had a plan up their sleeves and when they hit the stage with an abstract approach and with a megaphone in hand, with some great upbeat melodies, this must be part of an intro they use but the concept worked well. They have a nice feel to their music with some reggae/pop and blues melodies, the drummer was a bit loose and dropping a few beats but still held it together, they were jumping around a lot on stage with some good moves and humour towards the crowd.
Top class show from this band full of confidence, But I must take a bit of the chip off their shoulder. I would like to see them on a better night maybe they were tired or drunk or a mix of the both, the music and what they were trying to put across was almost expressed with raw punk with a fusion of dramatic poetry. The good point I would like to say about this band is they looked like they where enjoying themselves because they got the crowd rocking for sure.
This is an emerging band on the scene and really impressed me with their set and the dancing fan club that follows them. They have a great stage presence about them and the music has some great catchy tunes with a nice pop rock feel with the potential of a real good career in todays market. Great show from the girls oops! I mean the guys on the night.
Here is one pub in Dublin you would not think of going out to a live music show well you better reroute your city center venture on the weekends to Wakinstown this has been a host to many major Irish acts and many more to play with it's lavish beer garden and smoking area and a venue with a real intimate feel, it has a seating area of about 150 people with a cracking sound system installed, The promoters at www.musiclee.ie are doing a great job to keep a real live music atmosphere and filling the pubs dates with top acts.
Tonights show was Declan O'Rourke with support from Eugene Donegan
Eugene kicked off the night to a full house with a good upbeat number followed by a gentle folk tune that brought a element of peace to the air this guy is very confident and great stage composure great rhythm and vocals on the night i say we will hear a bit more about this artist very good!
The main act on the night was Declan O'Rourke the crowd gave him a warm welcome as he entered the stage with his gutair and harmonica in hand, this was a great unplugged show from declan while strutting some of his songs from his previous album Since Kyabram with his smooth and melting vocals that captured the audience and rhythm gutair playing with passion to die for, Declan gave the crowd a gem of a show Declan played some of his new songs from his new album due for release pretty soon, the songs are a change for the better from Declan more upbeat and some good catchy choruses, Declan called Eugene to join him on stage to do a duet and one of Eugene's numbers,
As the show came near the end Declan was cracking some jokes and telling some stories the audience were shouting up" No Brakes" as a request and he kicked into the song with the audience singing along too, this was Declan's crowd pleaser excellent number, Declan called up another guest Alice Jago to sing CROWN OF THORNS this was a great little number with a cool rag time feel Alice has superb vocals and got to grips no problem with this tune,
Declan finished off the night with calling up all his guests including a special appearance by Fiach they done a version of Bob Marley's Waiting in vain this was a great ending for the night with a cracking performance from Declan and his special guests.
