ASIWYFA: 3 Belfast Shows In 1 Day - Fri 17th Dec

So...to confirm. We are doing 3 shows on the one day THIS Friday in Belfast. The first one is at 3pm at Catalyst Arts Centre (GUESTLIST ONLY - emailed), the second one is from 5.30pm - 7pm, Barge on Lagan (GUESTLIST ONLY - emailed) and the third one is in Auntie Annies in the evening, doors at 10pm. Absolutely no guestlist for ANYONE for this last show, you gotta queue and pay your £6! Hope you enjoy the shows xxx

Belfast Music Week Highlights

Belfast is one of the great musical cities and it has given birth to many artists who are now internationally admired. From 12 – 19 September Belfast will play host to over 100 live music events showcasing our new bands, songwriters and DJ’s. The line-up will feature key artists from our rich musical heritage to our thriving contemporary music scene. Music Week will also feature industry workshops, seminars, networking events staged across the city featuring leading speakers of international stature from the global music industry.

This is an art form that is defining the new mood of Belfast and our latest generation of musicians are playing a crucial role in revitalising the city. Belfast Music Week will culminate with an MTV presents Mark Ronson & the Business Intl, live from the Belfast Waterfront. Internationally renowned as one of the world's finest DJs and producers, Belfast will partner with the world’s largest television network for the release of his new album Record Collection.

Our immersion in music is total and our festivals rock. Therefore we have every confidence is inviting all music lovers to check us out, in person, at Belfast Music Week.

Check out some of the highlights from the week:

SUNDAY 12 SEPT

STREET STOMP City Centre at 3pm
The 1930's, Farriers, Ethan Ash, Thom Southern, Emerald Armada and more...
Tuneage from some of the city's most talented musicians, live, raw, acoustic and free

COMMUNION BELFAST Black Box at 8pm
Lowly Knights - Ep Launch
Matthew & The Atlas
Marcus Foster + Pete Roe

MONDAY 13 SEPT

Terri Hooley Walking Tour
Leaving from Good Vibrations, White Tavern Street 6.30pm tickets £4 from Good Vibrations

White Mountain Music Publishing Presents
Mojo Fury Unplugged
with special guests
Allie Bradley & Naoimh O’Hagan
No Alibis Bookstore Belfast 7-9pm £5

Third Bar Belfast Presents...
Cashier No.9
Elspeth
Connor Kelly
The launch of Belfast's new artist development, management and consultancy business: Third Bar Belfast.
The Menagerie at 9pm £5

TUESDAY 14 SEPT

The Real Music Club presents
Ben Sands Album Launch
Errigle Inn 8pm £8

Gigging Northern Ireland Showcase
Seven Summits
Colly Strings
The Veronas
Rachel Austin
Auntie Annies 9pm £5

LaFaro
Documenta Drone Pop
War Hole
The Menagerie 9pm £5

WEDNESDAY 15 SEPT

The Real Music Club Presents
Songwriters in the Round with a House Band
Featuring Ben Glover, Anthony Toner, Eroll Walsh, Clive Culbertson
and some of the best players on the music scene
Black Box 7.30pm £12

Skibunny 'Hugs' Album launch party
Skibunny + very special guests
The Barge (Between The Waterfront Hall and the Queen's Bridge), 10pm, free

Di Di Mau record label Showcase:
A Plastic Rose
The Good Fight
Dutch Schultz
Robyn G Shiels
The Menagerie 9pm £4

THURSDAY 16 SEPT

Album Launch ‘Oh Yeah - Contenders’
A compilation of new music from Northern Ireland-
A Plastic Rose
The Wonder Villains
Farriers
More Than Conquerors
Oh Yeah Music Centre 8pm £5

Love Buzz Presents:
Kasper Rosa
Colenso Parade
Love Buzz DeeJays
The Menagerie 9pm £5

Sketchy
Stiff Kitten 10pm £4

FRIDAY 17 SEPT

Hennessy, McGoldrick & McSherry
Three of Irish traditional music’s most famous sons
An Droichead 7.30pm £10

Ulster Orchestra:
Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov, Wagner, Beethoven
Waterfront Hall 7.45pm £8 - £23

The Undertones, DJ Terri Hooley, plus special guests.
The third annual ‘Oh Yeah Legends’ award, recognising major contributions to the NI music scene.
Oh Yeah Music Centre 8pm £10

Boxcutter
Space Dimension Controller
Midland
The Menagerie 9pm £5

SATURDAY 18 SEPT

Belfast Music Coach Tour
Departs Ulster Hall at 2pm

Belfast Urban Sports in association with T13 present The Milestone Session
Bands and DJs from 1 – 6pm
Dutch Schultz
Delirium Tremens
Noise Control
A Plastic Rose
Titanic Quarter Belfast £Free

Volume Control 1st Birthday
Colly Strings
The 1930’s
Paul Shevlin
Matrimony
Settle For Jess
Panama Kings
Oh Yeah Music Centre 3-7pm £5 All ages

CDC presents
Brendan Benson
Special Guests The Lost Brothers
Auntie Annie’s 8pm £14

Belfast Calling... showcase of the best music from Northern Ireland
Cashier No. 9
Ed Zealous
The Jane Bradfords
John D’Arcy
Followed by club Helter Skelter DJs
Spring & Airbreak 7pm £Free showcase - Ticket Only event. Tickets to be obtained through mailing info@cdcleisure.com stating 'Belfast Calling'. 2 tickets per mail will be allocated.

STIFF Presents:
Pendulum (DJ Set)
& Master X
+ Support
Stiff Kitten 10pm – 3am £10 - £12

SUNDAY 19TH SEPT

Songwriter Songs Of Praise Brunch
Katy Daly’s
1-3pm free

MTV Presents
Mark Ronson and the Business Intl
Guests to be announced



View the full listings for Belfast Music Week 12 - 19 September 2010.

Skibunny Belfast Barge Launch Poster

Skibunny Belfast Album Launch Line-up Announced

As we may have mentioned already, our debut album HUGS is released on Monday 27th September. To celebrate the release, we will be throwing NOT ONE, but TWO special parties, in BELFAST and EDINBURGH. Here’s the details for BELFAST - it’s on a BOAT!

SKIBUNNY “HUGS” ALBUM LAUNCH PARTY
featuring
SKIBUNNY plus very special guests!
STUART BRAITHWAITE (DJ set)
RAMS POCKET RADIO (solo)
CONEY ISLAND SOUND(DJ set)
visuals by the 15 Second Film Festival
at
THE BARGE, BELFAST (between Waterfront Hall and Queens Bridge)
WEDNESDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER
DOORS 8PM (Curfew 11pm)
ADMISSION IS FREE!

Capacity is strictly limited to 100, entry guaranteed by advance subscription to info@smalltownamerica.co.uk

AND it’s all part of Belfast’s Music Week, in association with MTV

Skibunny Announce Special Floating Belfast Album Launch

Belfast duo Skibunny release their new album Hugs on September 27th but there'll be a special FREE ENTRY launch gig on a barge in Belfast a couple of weeks beforehand.

SKIBUNNY is TANYA Mellotte (vocals, guitar, keys) and MARK Gordon (vocals, bass, guitar, keys). With one eye on tunes and one on the dance floor, "Hugs" is 40 minutes of bittersweet electronic guitar-pop beating with an uplifting heart, sitting somewhere between NEW ORDER, GOLDFRAPP and THE CURE, ranging from the washed-out bliss of Aah Ooh to the crunching stomp of recent EP lead track Walk Don't Walk, and including a re-imagining of the Afghan Whigs track Milez iz Ded. The album’s central theme is about wanting more than your lot, about taking risks in life and love, and if it doesn’t work out? You pick yourself up, dust yourself down and do it all over again, but this time a little bit better. Hugs also features guest vocals by MAPS and Kaori Tsuchida from THE GO! TEAM.

The album's free barge launch is on Wednesday 15th September in Belfast, somewhere between The Waterfront Hall and the Queen's Bridge; to guarantee entry please email us. "Hugs" itself will be available to buy from September 27th and as always comes with a limited edition CD (containing specially-recorded material) when purchased from the STA store.

ASIWYFA: Lowdown On New Records

THE LETTERS EP

Here it is then folks, some brand new ASIWYFA tunage. They had 4 days to do this in the studio between tours and here it is, "The Letters EP". Four tracks in under 20mins, that's a record for them they think?

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it for you. I hear the rumble of an album on the horizon...

Tracklist:
1. S Is For Salamander
2. D Is For Django The Bastard
3. B Is For B-Side
4. K Is For Killing Spree (Ode To)
Release Date:
22/02/10 however it'll be available from the merch desk at the band's HUGE Xmas show at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.



SPLIT SINGLE w/ TALONS

To those who are yet to discover the 6 piece, Hereford based band, Talons have already started making some pretty big waves in the UK instrumental rock scene. Featuring two violins and crushing guitar riffs, their unashamed exploration of uplifting, joyous highs followed closely by dramatic, Apocalyptic lows shows a brave sense of willingness, not usually found in a band so shy of years. 'Bethlehem', a live favourite on their recent, debut UK tour, captures their energy and enthusiasm perfectly, leaving the listener excited and hungry for more.

The split single will be released on limited edition (of 100) 3" CDs via Big Scary Monsters Records on November 23rd.

ASIWYFA

ASIWYFA News Update

So we're just home from an amazing tour around the UK, we were blown away by the turn out to our shows, it's by far the best response we've had, so to everyone who came down to make that possible we owe a massive debt of gratitude, thankyou. The tour was also made that little bit more fantastic as we were in our lovely new red van, thanks to everyone who got in touch with a name for it, loving "Jean Claude Band Van", could be a winner....we'll see.

Check out our tour diaries on our myspace.

THIS WILL DESTROY YOU
We head off on Thursday to hook up with Texas noisies This Will Destroy You, prepare for carnage, these guys got 11 out of 10 in their last Rock Sound review, so we're gonna be uping our game on this one. Plus if their recent interview in the same mag is anything to go by, there's gonna be blood on the dance floor (friendly blood of course).

EUROPE
We head off for Europe round 2 in November, please bring yourself and a friend down to your nearest show. Check the dates on the myspace.

OCEANSIZE
After driving the 2000 miles between St. Petersburg and Glasgow we join Oceansize for their UK tour, again we love the band and if the van makes it back we'll be having an awesome tour with the guys.

ULSTER HALL XMAS SHOW AND EP LAUNCH
The biggest show of our lives, this is the show you dream of playing as a kid, please please come down and support us, we can't tell you what it means for us to be playing this venue, and in true ASIWYFA fashion we want to sell this beast out. More info coming soon.

We're gonna be releasing a limited edition EP at this show called "The Letters EP", we've just finished it off and we're really proud of it, it will contain 3 to 4 tracks including "S is for Salamander" which we've been thumping out at recent shows.

ALBUM 2
Not much we want to say about this as yet, only that we're in the process of writing between touring and it's looking like we may be in the studio in January, we'll keep you all posted.

Shut Em Down - ASIWYFA/AU Secret Show

LaFaro: In Training

Ahead of the humiliating pasting that will befall Not Squares and The Vinny Club from Dublin's Richter Collective at the hands of the mighty STA - go Calories, go LaFaro - THIS Thursday at The Dockers Club in Belfast, here's footage of LaFaro in training.

Where's Burgess Meredith when you need him?

Calories too looked pretty tasty at Truck at the weekend. Ferris, clean some space in the trophy cabinet for a big shiny belt.

And So We Announce The Biggest Show Of The Year!

We in Smalltown Towers in association with Trans are proud to present the most exciting show of 2009! Our very own four piece instrumental juggernauts And So I Watch You From Afar will play Belfast’s infamous Ulster Hall on December 18th 2009. Since the
bands sold out Mandela Hall Album launch show in March, this was always the next step for ASIWYFA. With a full support bill which includes some very special guests, this is a show you will not want to miss- fact!!

Tickets are available now and are priced at a very reasonable £8 in advance and can be purchased from the
Waterfront Hall Box Office on 028 9033 4455 and from The Ulster Hall. Full supporting line up to be
announced soon, keep checking back for the details!

Buy Tickets Now

Public Service Blogcast Episode 34

This episode: Andrew Ferris looks back at the STA curated aftershow for the recent Do You Remember The First Time event at Belfast's Ulster Hall. Plus a competition to win a ASIWYFA 7" vinyl.

Public Service Blogcast Episode 34
41 minutes 13 seconds
Recorded 13/04/09
Tracklisting
00.29 Decimals - Retreat
04.40 Future Islands - Old Friend (from Wave Like Home album - Upset the Rhythm)
09.16 Halves - Blood Branches (from split 7" with Subplots - Hate Is The Enemy)
12.59 Not Squares - Vita Sackville-West (from WroK free download mini-album from Last FM)
17.02 Clone Quartet - That's What's Going Down (from Broken Spectre demos)
22.38 The USA Is A Monster - Cocaine Wedding (from Space Programs album - Load Records)
26.51 Chin Up Chin Up - We Should Have Never Lived Like Skyscrapers (from We Should Have Never Lived Like Skyscrapers album - Suicide Squeeze)
32.03 Pure Reason Revolution - The Gloaming (from Amor Vincit Omnia album - Superball Music)

If you have any suggestions for future takeovers or want to get a track played on a regular show, get in touch - email blogcast@smalltownamerica.co.uk.

Currently watching: 24

Do You Remember The First Time? Review

As a precursor to Andrew's feature on Public Service Blogcast Episode 34 which will be online over the Easter weekend, here's Alternative Ulster's morning after the night before on last month's celebration of Northern Irish music.

So, last night was Do You Remember The First Time?, the huge gig at the Ulster Hall in Belfast, organised by trans and BBC Across The Line. And it was something special. The old hall looks magnificent following its refurbishment, all buffed-up, modernised and showing off every inch of its Victorian splendour, and it says something for music fans here that the place was utterly packed out from 7.30 until the whole thing drew to a close four hours later. 14 acts played, all from Northern Ireland and including five unsigned acts - Lowly Knights, Kowalski, Cashier No.9, Panama Kings and LaFaro - next to Ash, the Divine Comedy, headliners Therapy? and a guest appearance by Gary Lightbody and Nathan Connelly from Snow Patrol.

Each band got a chance to play one of their own songs and a cover of a band they saw play the Hall, which threw up some treats. As much as it was great to hear the newer bands play their stuff to over a thousand people in a packed hall (Cashier No.9 gave a storming version of ‘When Jackie Shone’, looking like they were born to play to big crowds, while a brand new Foy Vance song stunned the hall into awed silence), the fun was in the cover versions. Some played it pretty straight - Duke Special, whose band includes a member of The Waterboys, played a great version of their ‘Fisherman’s Blues’, LaFaro tore through The Strokes‘ ‘Juicebox’ and Fighting With Wire did the same for ‘You Really Got Me’ by the Kinks (apparently bassist Jamie saw a reformed version in 1994) - while a notable few put their own spin on things. Panama Kings turned Ash’s ‘A Life Less Ordinary’ into a fantastic cosmic disco track, Neil Hannon rattled through ‘Gigantic’ by the Pixies, just him and his piano, and The Lowly Knights paid tribute to the Divine Comedy with a gloriously huge arrangement of ‘Something For The Weekend’.

And there were surprises. Ash’s decision to play acoustic and without drums was disappointing, while we could probably have done without ‘Chasing Cars’, but it seems churlish to complain when the whole thing was done in such good spirits. Fighting With Wire were joined by Jetplane Landing’s Andrew Ferris for storming versions of Jetplane’s ‘Calculate The Risk’ and ‘Know Your Enemy’ by Rage Against The Machine, which seemed to bemuse as many people as it thrilled.

Finally, Therapy? came on and gave the people what they wanted. Andy Cairns looked like he was having the time of his life on stage as they rattled through a 100mph version of ‘Screamager’ (bless them for wheeling out their biggest hit), followed by (yes!) Stiff Little Fingers’ ‘Alternative Ulster’, then being joined by every band on the bill (and some that weren’t) for a mass ‘Teenage Kicks’. No bullshit, just dozens of artists and hundreds of people together in a glorious venue, paying tribute to the music and memories that have shaped their lives. A total celebration of Northern Irish music that must rank alongside the recent A Little Solidarity event.

After the party, the afterparty, as we adjourned upstairs to see Andy Henry from Clone Quartet play a solo laptop set before Not Squares embarked on a delirious assault on our ears with their schizoid punk-funk. And all this on a school night. Incredible.

ASIWYFA Album Launch Tonite!

Despite some rumours that are doing the rounds, tonight's And So I Watch You From Afar album launch event at Mandela Hall in Belfast is NOT sold out and there'll be plenty o' tickets on the door. Also on the bill are Lowly Knights, Adebisi Shank, Pocket Billiards and La Faro. Doors at 8.