Bank of Ireland National Student Music Award 2008 runners-up Jerome’s Law will play two June dates of the prestigious Garageland Gigs showcase! They are :
Sunday 8th June… Eamonn Dorans
Guillotines* Jerome’s Law* Sonas* Von Bismark
Doors 7.30pm / Adm €10
and
Saturday 21st June… Sugar Club
Jerome’s Law* Stimulants* Under Consent Of The King*
Doors 7.30pm / Adm €12
…Er, not really, unless it’s a secret, psychic gift. The truth is, Floyd Soul and The Wolf return from headlining CityFest and winning the Bank of Ireland National Student Music Award to a headline show at Dublin’s Sugar Club on June 1st while my birthday’s really the 2nd. The gig is a pre-tour warm up to keep the Waterford four on their paws; a new single Give It A Chance is on its way along with a super-sleek summer shoot with Ian Letcombe, one of their NSMA prizes and something I just can’t wait to see.
Watch out for their exclusive interview in the next issue of HotPress, on the shelves from 22 May!
Angela Macari-O’Looney of Irish Unsigned wrote a comprehensive review of the Bank of Ireland National Student Music Award 2008 final at The Village. I cannot link directly to the article so have reproduced it here. Be sure to head over to the website to check out the original post and have a good nose around: the IU guys are amongst the most supportive patrons of emerging Irish music and would love to see you…
As I walked into my favourite gig venue in Dublin, a great sense of pride enveloped me, at the thought that I’d been invited to such a great Irish music event. There was already a good many people there milling around and it was only a little after eight. So grabbing a drink at the bar I spotted one seat. Great! Somewhere to sit, take in my surroundings and prepare myself for what I envisaged to be ONE GREAT NIGHT. And it was!
A pretty blonde MC [Jacqui] took to the stage to introduce the show and announce the bands who would be taking part. I had acquired a list of my own and had familiarised myself with each band prior to this. I felt a rush of excitement at the thought of seeing these wonderful bands all on the one night, each with such a great portfolio of gigs, recordings and competitions already behind them as they would now be vying for this prestigious award.
A new vid popped up on the net from Webby-nominated Balcony TV featuring an acoustic Ladydoll performance above Dame Street…check it out!
In other news, Ladydoll are enjoying a busy buzz as they support the New Bloods on Sunday night at The Whiskey in their hometown of Cork. Later in the month you can catch them supporting the mighty Fighting With Wire in Dolans Warehouse, Limerick on 23 May.
The Flaws - Bank of Ireland National Student Music Award @ The Village - 24/04/08
Who strung tenterhooks across The Village ceiling? Following the Bank of Ireland National Student Music Award since the get-go meant a real investment in the outcome: of six incomparably different bands, who would triumph? Philtre, Ladydoll or The Dirty 9s, who just won Deis Roc?
Winning a high-profile television competition is a pretty big accolade to land slap bang in the middle of the search for Ireland’s most talented student band. Scoffing at baby-faced boys singing about real life is easy but there’s no doubting the 9s have their act down pat with a handle on pleasant melodies set to upbeat, poppy tempos with enough variation to catch you on the shy. Songs for radio. Songs for van drivers to serenade to. There’s no swaggering bravado but they do wheel and smile. You get the sense that they see a spotlight as a source of illumination rather than a chance of exposure. They seem a solid, grounded young band who’ll stick around for some time to come. The maturation of their musical ethos will be a pleasant one to witness.
Ladydoll and Philtre, chosen from the Cork heat at Cyprus Avenue, were not my favourites to win. Hugely different in style, neither grabbed me as outstanding or bold. I appreciate the energy of Philtre, the frantic ogmygodwe’vegotasongandwe’vegottasingitNOW! grimace works well for Biffy Clyro but Philtre, named after a love potion, are more like the new Superjiminez.
Progression and a tentatively experimental nature give Ladydoll a good grounding to build on. It’s great to see bands tinker with machinations of music whether it’s strange basslines or keyboards or random pauses. Ladydoll just didn’t invigorate or stir me from their place on the stage and I was right up front on my own. Look lively lads!
Jerome’s Law now, certainly thought themselves deserving: tuned up a notch from the qualifying heat at UCD, heads higher, jumps jauntier, you could tell this buzz was their biggest yet. Lush and light-headed pop keys over ambitious guitars, all this band need are a few years of kicking up their heels. Let the fun begin!
When it comes to checking off a list of rock band cliches, Floyd Soul and the Wolf are so high on points they’re almost ground-breaking. Brooding frontman prone to microphone seizures? Check. Classic rock backing from a bemused band? Check. Blistering tattoos and songs about booze? Check-shirts!
Luckily for them, decent people don’t judge so shallowly. Only the band know their full ability and motivations and on that premise, deliver their interpretation of performance art. Entering the competition proved their dedication: what comes now will prove their worth.
Disconnect4 give their vehement all: advanced to Dublin from the NUIG heat with FS&TW, Papa Leon howled into the mic, wild-eyed, feet never still. Scenes must be caused but not without reason: the reason being tight, emotional rock. They’re beautiful, sexy and blissfully self-aware. Disconnect 4 know exactly what kind of band they want to be: the winning band.
Joint honour of runners-up therefore elicits unenthusiastic responses from Disconnect 4 and Jerome’s Law. Boos go out across the venue from the Dublin crowd. Waterford forestry student Floyd Soul and his Wolves are deemed winners of 2008’s National Student Music Award. The Flaws take to the stage to placate the crowd.
Six bands baiting breath and craning their necks, ears straining, hearts bursting guaranteed genuine chaos ensued. This is a competition. This is a result. Each group played their very best and knew the final was a genuine end-of-term assesment of their skill having already made the honour roll. There were no dunces on the night.
I wasn’t surprised to hear FS&TW won. They do electrify and pour experience of life into their songs. Last year’s winners wasted their prize and let slip the chance to further their progress with studio time and a finished product. Floyd Soul should have a very good festival season, they would rock the truckbed of Castle Palooza and Indie-Pendence. A single was sent off for mastering in Nashville a while ago, its release set to coincide with an autumnal tour. Disconnect4 could be playing stadiums before that or the Dirty9s might split. A lot can happen in a few months. Give the kids their summer break : school’s out!
Live photos:
A right stink was kicked up by one lone dissenter on the official Road To V messageboard regarding the inclusion of Galway band Blasterbra in the final 14 of the festival competition.
Apparently as the band are Irish and non-resident in the UK, they were not eligible to participate, despite the previous inclusion of the new-defunct The Immediate. V representatives contacted Blasterbra in search of a loophole to ensure they retained their place in the final but efforts proved fruitless and Blasterbra were dropped.
Read the band’s MySpace blog for more…commiserations guys 
Here’s to Floyd Soul and the Wolf’s howlin’ success! The Waterford pack romped home to victory in the Bank of Ireland National Student Music Awards final at The Village last night. Chosen in the first heat of the competition in Galway along with last night’s joint runners-up, DISCOnnect4, their raw, rocking style impressed judges no end. Also in second place were Dublin’s own Jerome’s Law, who stole whoops and cheers from The Village crowd with an enthusiastic live performance. Dirty 9s, Ladydoll and Philtre conceded good-natured defeat and left to pack up their gear and drown their sorrows. Performing popular songs from their Acheiving Vagueness album were the The Flaws, who polished off the night for The Village crowd.
The winning band receives a slew of prizes including extensive rehearsal and recording time, CD duplication, legal advice and a cash prize from IMRO, which means we may soon see an EP from the Waterford four. Also in the mix is an interview with HotPress and a photoshoot with fabulous Ian Oliver.
Fourteen bands will be announced as semi-finalists of the Road To V competition this morning and Galway’s own Blasterbra are among the lucky few!
Over 2,000 acts applied for a chance to join the V 2008 festival line-up and will now compete in London and Liverpool to decide on a final pair who’ll feature on the line-up. Previous winners include The Young Knives and Bombay Bicycle Club, while this year’s headline acts of the festival itself feature Muse, Kings of Leon, The Chemical Brothers and The Progidy. Blasterbra compete in the Islington Academy in mid-May and will also be filmed on the night by sponsors Channel4, who continue to record the Road To V with a specialised show fronted by Carl Barat of Dirty Pretty Things, newly-announced as a competition judge alongside four other British industry luminaries.
Since I saw them battle the Galway corner of the National Student Music Awards, Blasterbra acquired a new drummer and spent the time rehearsing their undergarments off. They’ve a highly appealing sound drawing attention from many musical camps, holding snazzy tunes My Sweetheart The Punk and Quiet You under their belt. Now it looks as though progress has cemented a solid grounding for the trio, ready as they are to commit force and reckoning to their musical direction. Off you go to London guys, we’ll be rooting for you…have a blast!
