We Will Be Giants!?

Dame st. was glowing with warmth as an unusually eh.. summery? summers day was coming to a close last Friday (3rd August 2012) evening. Upon entering the candle lit Mercantile venue there was a sense of something I hadn't expected, relaxation and calm. The lads of We Were Giants were greeting people at the door in their typical down to earth and polite way, if you had not have heard these guys before you would probably have been expecting some light acoustic tunes, maybe even a Bon Iver cover.

Inevitably the soft candle light turned out to be just the trick as the first support act took to the stage and it wasn't a million miles away from Bon Iver either... Seasoned pro Mark Geary delivered in typical fashion with a set of soft thought provoking tunes, finishing with a ruff and gritty belter.... Even Colm O'Loughlin added to the set combining his vocals with Gearies to make the worlds smallest (but just as effective) vocal choir. 

Next up was Radio Friendlies with their power pop sound. It wasn't hard to tell the last few albums this band listened to before they wrote the songs that made up there set.... riffs mirroring the likes of Feeder, Nirvana and Pixies were rampant in there songs, so much so it was easy to mix up a lot of them with covers. They're bassist seemed uninterested at times, with shy vocals that hardly had any impact. However they were tight that's for sure, with a confident front man too. With a bit of fine tuning they could have potential, but they'll need to dig deep for something fresh.

We Were Giants next and all of a sudden the candlelight seemed to fade, replaced with stage lights and darkness. Anyone who was eagerly awaiting a taste of what was to come after Part One (WWG's debut E.P.) was to be satisfied immediately, as "the giants" opened with a new one... "Satellites". If this tune is a sign of the future for WWG then the future looks bright indeed. It was also a first look at their shiny new drummer Jason Maleney who took over from Ger McGauley just a few months ago. Jason was solid and looked the part too, I think he will fit in nicely with the lads. He teamed up well with Danny "Foreskins" Farrelly, who's reliable and strong bass lines blended perfectly with the guitars. The brothers Colm and Ste O'Loughlin were like a tag team on the mic taking turns introducing songs. Together the two created a gig worthy of a much bigger stage, with riffs, harmonies and hooks that could hold their own against ANY other band in Dublin today. It wasn't long before they swooped into fan favourite "Vampires" along with a set full of other Part One hits, finishing with the climatic "This is it"..... A two part ballad that starts epic and ends with an explosion of guitars and vocals, definitely one of there best. A monster ending to a monster set. These guys are a must have for your music collection and it would be well worth keeping an eye on their tour dates too. It remains to be seen whether they will in fact be giants, but with a set like this it would take a monster to stop them!

http://weweregiants.bandcamp.com/album/part-one

http://www.youtube.com/user/werewegiants?feature=results_main

Green and Gold? Ireland 5 Best Olympic Hopes!

Euro 2012 is long gone and soon (hopefully) Ireland's disappointing performance will be forgotten. Time to move on? Yes I think so!.... Next stop London. Yes I figured with the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony tomorrow... that it would make a fitting topic to kick off my Blog. More specifically what are the chances that us Irish will finally get something to cheer about this summer? The British as usual have high expectations of themselves and quiet rightly so. "Team GB" has a lot of talented athletes and they are hoping to surpass the 19 gold medals they achieved in Beijing four years ago. So what are Ireland's chances at Olympic glory? Here are my top 5 to watch over the next few weeks.

5. Peter O'Leary and David Burrows (Sailing: Star class)

These two lads could be a surprise for gold having qualified for London by coming 9th in the ISAF World Sailing Championships. More notably they have managed to beat the current Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze medal holders in the Pre-Olympics where they came first.

4. Robert Heffernan (20km/50km Walk)

Alright, this guy does not throw shapes that's for sure. Although often one of the more poked fun at events in the Olympics, Walking is in fact an integral part of the Athletics schedule and Heffernan has a great chance at a medal. He has been unlucky in the past coming 4th in both events in Barcelona. A lot of people see 2012 as his turn to get a medal... who knows he might walk it!! (Sorry for that)

3. Grainne Murphy (Swimming 800m/400m Freestyle, 400m I.M.)

She has won a silver medal in the 1,500 meter Freestyle at the European Aquatic Championships and was even shortlisted for RTE's sportsperson of the year, all at only 19 years of age too! Murphy is definitely one to keep an eye on, if not for her swimming skills then at least because she is quite the looker!

2. Paddy Barnes (Men's Light Flyweight Boxing)

This guy is not to be messed with. With tonnes of experience under his belt Paddy is a definite threat for the gold in London. He won his first medal in Beijing 2008, claiming the bronze. He also won gold in his two most recent tournaments the 2010 European Amateur Boxing Championship and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. So he must have a fighting chance of three in a row in London!

1. Katie Taylor (Women's Lightweight Boxing)

No prizes for guessing who number one would be here. When Katie isn't shooting music videos with Tallaght rockers Bipolar Empire, she is most likely in a boxing ring or training to be in one. Having said that it is also likely she could be on a football pitch somewhere as in  addition to boxing she plays for the Ireland Women's senior football team. Katie has an incredibly decorated career so much so I would be here for a week listing her honors, which go as far back as 2005. Let's just say this girl does not like bronze or silver... gold is the only colour that will do for Katie (Alongside green and white that is), so don't be surprised if you see her take the gold in London, my money will certainly be on her!

Letting my Mind Roar!

My fingers have been twitching impatiently above the keyboard for sometime now. It isn't that I have not been writing lately but more I have had so much I want to write about. Usually I keep a lot of my writing private. This is in part due to the genre, it tends to be fictional and so uninteresting to the masses. It is also in part due to my everlasting lack of confidence in writing publicly... Something I hope to change with this blog. I have being teasing myself lately with the prospects of finally publishing a blog and the push I needed came this morning. As I logged onto my Facebook account I saw a comment on my news feed from a friend of mine who was telling the world (proudly I might add) that he had started a new blog. It wasn't so much that he had started a blog that interested me, but rather the fact that he had no fixed topic... He has decided to write based on all of his interests, without restriction.... this is what I needed, less rules and more writing!

So as a result, welcome to my new blog where I will be sharing my thoughts on everything and anything that happens to be pressing on my mind, that could include anything from Sport (the new football season, Olympics, my training for Dublin Marathon etc.), Music (listening, writing, concerts etc.), Film(reviews, previews etc.) to Technology, Politics, News.... everything and anything really. The only thing I can guarantee my posts will have in common is that they will all be written by me! Enjoy...