Following on from today’s gig, I’ve added my shots of Wexford thrash metallers Cronus to the KilkennyMusic Galleries.

You can check the pics out here and read about the gig here on my KKM Staff Blog.

I’ve just posted a whole collection of photographs from last weekends “heaviest gig ever in Kilkenny” featuring 2007 Battle of the Bands Winners Atrax Mantis, Slave Zero, “extreme metal from Malta’ Abysmal Torment and Slovakian “brutal gutteral sickness” Sanatorium.

Swing by the KilkennyMusic Galleries and check them out. You can also read my recap of the gigs here on my staff blog.

The Devious Theatre Company certainly know how to put the word ‘fun’ into ‘fundraiser’ as four fantastic local acts turned out in Cleere’s on Saturday night last to raise much needed funds for the Kilkenny based theatre company’s production of ‘Cannibal! The Musical’ in the Watergate Theatre this August.

People were warned that anything was possible for the night any the group held true to their word. First to take to the stage was Happy Medium frontman Ken McGuire, known for his work with KilkennyMusic.com and himself a part of The Devious Theatre Company. With a set list of new material including ‘Weary Is The King’ and ‘If You Could Return’ it was the final song of the set that had everyone on their feet singing and cheering as the packed house echoed every word of ‘Sweat’ by Inner Circle. The members of The Devious Choir (including John Morton, Kevin Mooney and Paddy Dunne), which had been formed five minutes before the show, gladly “gave it socks” as the night was truly under way.

Second to the stage was Gowran man Jack O’Leary, now trading under the name of Moses Moorhous. With cellist Jane Murphy and songstress Aisling O’Neill in tow, Jack performed a terrific set of original material coupled with his trademark story telling. Songs like ‘Doomsday River’ and ‘Blessed Ignorance Of Man’ had swiftly become fan-favourites. Known for is solo performances, the addition of the cello and backing vocals further compliment O’Leary’s already respected and matured unique sound on the stage.

One of the real treats of the night however was the Kilkenny debut of four-piece 40 Love, the combination of Conor Brett, Danny Coady, Liam Teehan and David Thompson creating a real twist in the musical cocktail of the night. Peddling the kind of country based, steeped in Americana, hard rock currently en vogue thanks to the likes of the Kings of Leon, the band made a huge impact with the likes of ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and ‘Maggie’s Farm’. The vocal combination of Brett, Coady and Thompson coupled with the pseudo-funky bass lines provided by Teehan and the sharp timing and wizardry of Brett on the guitar had everyone in the now loaded venue jumping, whooping and cheering along to some of the finest tunes to come from across the water.

The headline slot on the night was reserved for Supernova Scotia, the brainchild of David Sheenan. Composed of Sheenan and some of the members of A Safe Dry Place the group have built up a massive internet following thanks in part to a unique combination of instruments from the harmonicas to synth organs, electronic and live drum beats, roaring electric guitar sounds and deep driven bass lines and inspiration from the likes of Kraftwerk, Death In Vegas, The Jackson 5 and Prince. Having played a low-key gig in Cleere’s Theatre on the Friday night with Queen Kong, the band let loose on Saturday night and didn’t disappoint. Friends and fans of the band sang along to every word and wouldn’t let the band leave the stage, encouraging a repeat of earlier tunes like ‘In The City’. Having firmly made an impact on the live circuit last night, the band are going to be back in town for the Problems At The Pancake House showcase night in Cleere’s Theatre on August 18th.

The night wouldn’t have been complete without some ‘Devious antics as early in the night Jack O’Leary ushered local artist Mick Minogue to the stage to provide face painting for the evening - one face painted for every song played on the night. Needless to say there were some strange looking creatures lurking around the bar afterwards.

The night was deemed as success by the group who will be performing the Irish premiere of ‘Cannibal! The Musical’ by Trey Park (of South Park) this time next month and we’ve been assured that the funds raised on the night have gone straight into the Cannibal budget! Tickets for Cannibal are available now from the Watergate Theatre by phoning 056 7761674 or check www.devioustheatre.com for all the details.

Some of the madness from the Tampora gig last weekend

After another mad week and weekend, Ross has posted his recap of last weekend’s madness in The Zoo, a gig rumoured to be one of the last in the venue (tribute-wise / all ages-wise) which saw Tampora (Pantera Tribute) and Skin Ticket (Slipknot tribute) wreck the place for a few hours.

The recap is great and so are the photos… check out the ‘Tribute From Hell‘ here and the Tampora photo gallery here.

Its a rare occasion that we bring a full gig to The Loft (first and only other time being the beginning of February this year) but last night’s show with Laminate and Original Lineup would have to make you think again. Both bands were on top form last night, Original Lineup starting at the later time of about 10:20pm before Laminate took over around 11 and played through a barrage of tunes until after midnight. While a lot of the crowd (one of the greatest crowds we’ve seen in recent times) took advantage of the seats available in The Loft for Original Lineup there was no stopping people getting up and leaping around for Laminate.

If you missed last night - and shame on you if you did - you missed one of the highlight gigs of the year, one particular KilkennyMusic.com forum regular calling it “the best KilkennyMusic.com gig ever”. Now, we might argue that point ourselves given that we’ll have been to all the gigs, but at the same stage the gig in The Loft last night was possibly the best of the year so far.

As such, we’ve put ‘Paper’ by Laminate up on YouTube this morning. It was shot on my (Ken) K800i mobile, so excuse the lack of broadcast quality. That said, if you would like to consider sponsoring KilkennyMusic.com towards the purchase of half decent video camera (we’re trying to raise a grand for it) then please contact us as we’re all ears and dying to get these gigs recorded! If you’re reading this on the RSS feed, take a visit to the KilkennyMusic.com homepage where the video from last night is now the featured video, or else jump straight to it on YouTube. Ross will have photos from last night’s madness in the KilkennyMusic.com gallery after the weekend as well.

Thanks a million to Derren, Harvey and Johnny (Laminate) and to Matt, Robbie, Neil, Jelly and Art (Original Lineup) for last night and to everyone who made it to the gig and rocked out. Bound to be some seriously sore heads and ears this morning.

So last night marked the return of KilkennyMusic.com to Cleere’s theatre in Kilkenny following a five month break (due in large part to the start of the One Take Sessions last year). But to say we came back with a bang is a bit of an understatement!

First to the stage last night were metal outfit Crucifracture who put on a seriously heavy set to start things off, kicking the setlist off with ‘Fist Your Bitch’. Some name for a song but it keeps in line with the heavy and dark nature the band carry. Now down to a three-piece with Red on lead vocals, the lads rocked out for the guts of about 35 minute but it took just the first two or three songs for calls to turn it down from the main bar!

Turn it down? What now? Guess they missed having us in there

A guest appearance by Itchy Trigger Finger’s Jimmy Trigger (J/Bat, T-Rigger, T-Rock, Tigger, check the podcast and I think you’ll understand!) bridged the gap between Crucifracture and Waiting For Vega who got to the stage around 11:20 or so. The band are strangers to Kilkenny but for former Clergy-man Gary ‘The Main Event’ on the bass.

A new band, actually their first gig, and tip of the hit to them it was a quality performance. Heavy influences of Incubus and A Perfect Circle in there, the lads played around a half hour set and in between songs managed to pull a birthday cake and 21 kisses for one ‘Hannah’ who had traveled from Dublin for the gig (along with a small army of Waiting For Vega friends). Seemingly “21 lads can have a go on Hannah”… pure madness and a first for KKM. Solid performance, pretty tight and but for one or two hiccups prior to the start of the set it all went well.

Word of warning - if these lads are playing near you, keep well clear of the stage or anything that can hold a man’s bodyweight by the last song. They said they had a surprise in store for the end of the show, and originally wanted to wrap the lighting bars in toilet paper and set them on fire before we stepped in but in true rock star fashion the kit was part trashed and the Lizard guitarist jumped atop the bass bins, hoisted himself onto one of the lighting rails, shimmied to the middle of the venue and hung from his ankles for the last song.

An absolute mad night of music and a fantastic way to kick off the live calendar again. Up next month we’ve got The Re-offenderz and Original Lineup which possibly won’t be as crazy, antics-wise, but is certainly set to be a cracking gig.

As for me, I’m off for breakfast to try recover from last night! Kudos to everyone who turned up, for a band that haven’t played Kilkenny before they certainly had a good crowd! Many thanks also to David Sla and the lads in Crucifracture who stepped in at the last minute for the support. You’ll catch them next weekend in Paris Texas before making an all ages appearance in ID mid-March and finally supporting Slave Zero later in the month, once again in Cleeres.

Hopefully last night will have given them an indication as to what they’re in for!