Pick Your Rock and Metal

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Lithuanian Sunday

COME Sunday evening, as Douglas Adams once said, we are all faced with the 'Long, Dark Teatime of the Soul' when the TV is rubbish, and you have had 'as many baths as you can usefully endure'.

Fear not, for Lithuania to the rescue! Ehh! says you...Lithuania?

For on Sunday, Lithuanian pagan metallers Obtest hit The Limelight, with Overoth and Brigantia. For a measly eight of yer pounds and fifty of your pennies the long, dark teatime of your soul will be bansished by dark reveries of sonic oblivion...and a few pints are available to purchase too!

Yet another Distortion Project success methinks!

Get rockin' for Haiti!

acts No Egos. Do your part


From: Info Add to Contacts

To:



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BELOW is the CDC note on the forthcoming Belfast4Haiti gig on 31st January. Get along if you can - donate if you can't. Not a great many bands here for regular readers, but if you can then the delights of The Answer and Swanee River will get heads 'a' nodding and feet 'a' tapping - not to mention surreptitious air guitarin'.

"It has been over a week since the tragic earthquake struck the Caribbean island of Haiti. Even as we write aftershocks are still hitting the country and people are still, miraculously being pulled alive from the rubble of their former homes. The death toll, which some fear could reach as high as 200000 beggars belief, while tens of thousands of children have been orphaned.
"The day the news broke musicians and local music scene supporters wondered about the possibility of running a small benefit gig or fundraiser – anything to help the massive charity programme that Haiti will need to rebuild its shattered infrastructure.
"Within a week this grew, to take in The Spring and Airbrake, Katy Dalys and The Limelight. 50 acts, the cream of local talent, have agreed to play for free. Sound engineers, Djs and anyone willing just to provide a spare pair of hands have offered their time. Local businesses have offered their services as raffle prizes. All we need is you to come down and give as much as you can – starting with the very, very reasonable £10.00 ticket (though best think of that as a minimum donation…) www.ticketmaster.ie with no booking fee at all.

"For your tenner the Belfast4Haiti people can offer more than 30 live bands (‘which live bands?’ you might ask. Well (deep breath) …The Answer, General Fiasco,
"In Case Of Fire, Joe Echo, Panama Kings, Ben Glover, Brian Houston,Olympic Lifts, Mojo Fury, Dutch Schultz, Pocket Billiards, Cashier No 9, A Plastic Rose, Cutaways, Not Squares, Colenso Parade, Queer Giraffes, Ten Gallon Hat, Escape Act, Kowalski, Team Laser Explosive, Yakuza, Uber Glitterati, The Rupture Dogs, Tin Pot Operation, Black Bear Saloon, Axis Of,Swanee River,The Good Fight, The Beat Poets, Comply or Die, The Lobotomies, Suicide Dolphin Bombers. (yes, the rumours are true, the Suicide Dolphin Bombers will be playing. Can’t wait.
"Given the fact that both the Answer and General Fiasco headlined the Ulster Hall last year this bill represents amazing value for money even before you take into account the wealth of up and coming bands. That’s before you take into account the Djs, the raffles and the fact that Sunday 31st’s gig runs from 3pm-1pm.

"There’ll be plenty of opportunities to donate to this great cause on the day, but tickets are going very, very fast – available from Katy Dalys and Ticketmaster. There’s no booking fee so 100% of the ticket proceeds go towards the Disasters Event Committee. A similar concert was organised in the wake of the 2004 tsunami which raised £18084.64. Let’s beat that.

"Check out http://belfast4haiti.com/ for updates and join http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=253887616903&ref=ts On facebook."

Gettin' better with A Little Bitter

OKAY, time to confess...A Little Bitter are probably one of the favourite local bands we have reviewed and seen. There are many great, great local acts out there, but A Little Bitter seem to have both a charm and intensity that few are able to match.

If you haven't caught them live yet now here's your chance:

12 Feb The Rosetta Belfast

27 Feb The Black Boat Bangor
6 March The Nerve Centre Derry
20 March The Diamond Ahoghill

www.myspace.com/alittlebittermusic

Will see you at least at one or more of these dates...we're the ones who know all the words to Jebus, Angel and Battle Cry...

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Rock for Haiti

FOR those of you occassionaly switch yer telly from music and sports channels you can't have helped to be moved by the horrific scenes emerging from Haiti.

On Sunday 31st January there will be a gig - Belfast4Haiti taking place to raise funds for the population of this tiny, deprived nation.

Many of the acts and DJs will not interest readers of this site but here are four reasons why you should make the effort:
1) It's in a good cause
2) The Answer are headlining
3) Swanee River are playing
4) It's in a good cause


Below are the details from the organisers and the full list of acts....and remember that this is a gig associated with DEC - in other words it's official and the money will help those suffering the dreadful after effects of the earthquake.

BELFAST 4 HAITI  50 ACTS – ONE CAUSE
THE LIMELIGHT / SPRING & AIRBRAKE / KATY DALYS

SUNDAY 31ST JANUARY 2010

£10
3pm – 1am

Haiti's strongest earthquake in more than two centuries rocked the Caribbean nation on Tuesday 12th January, The Haitian government reported that nearly 70,000 bodies had been recovered by official crews. So far, official estimates have placed the death toll at 200,000, with 250,000 injured and 1.5 million homeless. Experts caution that any final death toll will be a "guesstimate" as the scale of the disaster makes an accurate tally impossible. Many countries have responded to the appeals and launched fund-raising efforts, as well as sending search and rescue teams. The top names in the Northern Ireland music industry are pulling together for a massive one day event on Sunday January 31st with 50 acts including live bands and DJ's. Back in 2005 a similar event was held raising a total of £18,084.64 for the Tsunami appeal. All proceeds will be donated to the Haiti fund. Belfast 4 Haiti will take place in The Limelight, Spring & Airbrake and Katy Dalys on January 31st 2010, tickets are priced £10 and are available in Katy Dalys bar or Ticketmaster.

LIVE BANDS

The Answer
General Fiasco
In Case Of Fire
Joe Echo
Panama Kings
Ben Glover
Olympic Lifts
Mojo Fury
Dutch Schultz
Pocket Billiards
Cashier No 9
A Plastic Rose
Cutaways
Not Squares
Colenso Parade
Queer Giraffes
Ten Gallon Hat
Escape Act
Kowalski
Team Laser Explosive
Yakuza
Uber Glitterati
The Rupture Dogs
Tin Pot Operation
Black Bear Saloon
Axis Of
Swanee River
The Good Fight
The Beat Poets
Comply or Die
The Lobotomies
Suicide Dolphin Bombers

DJ’s

Stuart Baile
Nakatomi Towers DJs
Jane Bradford DJs
Panic Dots DJs
FAUX DJs
Shag DJs
Helter Skelter DJs
Chalkman
Ed Zealous DJs
Factotum DJs
Sketchy DJs
Josh Mc Cann

Please be advised this event is being run by the DEC – Disasters Event Committee
Charity No: 106263
DEC HAITI EARTHQUAKE, PO BOX 999,
LONDON,
EC3A 3AA.

Venue: The Limelight / Spring & Airbrake / Katy Dalys

Date: Sunday 31st January

Ticket Price. £10 no booking fee

Doors: 3pm

Monday, January 11, 2010

Distortion Project listings January/February

Book yer Saturdays - here's the Distortion Project listings for coming weeks. Add these to your metal diary and the gig list elsewhere on the blog

Saturday 30th January. Waylander + Natan + Burial, £9.00
Saturday 6th February. Anger Management (ex. Murder One/Medula Nocte) + By Any Means + TBC, £7.00
Saturday 13th February. Altus Astrum + TBC + Languished.
Saturday 20th February. Sweet Savage + Sinners Fall + Valkaine
Saturday 27th February. Interrogate (first gig as a 3 piece) + Mental Deficiency + Guilty by Association.

Calling Newry metalheads

QUICK call to the metal community in Newry. Tara commented on an earlier post about coaches/buses that are travelling up to the big smoke to the Machine Head/Hatebreed/Bleeding Through/All Shall Perish St George's Market metal meltdown on March 1st.

We hear are not aware of any planned buses up from Newry. but if you do let me know by commenting, or if you have a car travelling up with an extra seat email me and I'll pass the details on

Saturday, January 02, 2010

So 2010...what's happening

'SO here I am once more, in the playground of the broken hearts; one more experience, one more entry in a diary self-penned...'

When Derek Wilson Dick (a.k.a. Fish) penned those words for Script for a Jester's Tear it was a song that was the emotional heartbeat before the chart success of Kayleigh.  In the same sense the fantastic year that was 2009 is but a prelude, nay a warm up for what is to come. With, but a few short days passed IN 2010, it seems that the coming 12 months are set to be a truly vintage year.

New albums are scheduled from the likes of Airbourne (March 8th), Coheed (April), Stone Sour, Down, Bullet for My Valentine, HIM, Cancer Bats, Avenged Sevenfold [tragic news about The Rev's death; hopefully new platter will be an appropriate swansong], Trivium [feck off the music snobs, they're still a good metal act!], Anthrax [Will Bush be back?...and truly we don't care who has vocal duties as despite those that slabber Anthrax were amongst the best of the 80s...and Bush was even better!] and, and, and, and, and, IRON FECKIN' MAIDEN's latest release is set to hit the stacks towards the end of 2010

Below are the confirmed gigs at the time of going to press [which is fancy way of saying we are too pissed to have more comprehensive listings!].  Any other gigs you know of, let us know!

Sweet Savage/September Cross/Soundstone - January 9th - Pavillion, Belfast
Million Dollar Reload/Bandwagon - January 16th - Diamond Rock Club Ahoghill
Waylander/Natan/Burial - January 30th - The Limelight
Glyder - January 30th - Diamond Rock Club Ahoghill
Marduk/Anaal Narthrakh - 3rd February - The Limelight
Airrace (feat.Jason Bonham) Feb TBC - Diamond Rock Club Ahoghill
Deft Leppard - February 20th - The Empire
Hayseed Dixie - February 22nd - Spring and Airbrak
Machine Head/Hatebreed/Bleeding Through/All Shall Perish - March 1st St George's Market
Blaze Bayley - March 4th - The Limelight
Hed(pe) - March 12th - Spring and Airbrake
Skindred - March 21st - Spring and Airbrake
Winger/Stormzone - March 27th - Spring and Airbrake
Eyehategod/Black Cobra - April 4th - The Limelight
Airbourne - April 13th - Mandella Hall
Dropkick Murphys - 20th April - St George's Market
GMT - April 24th - Diamond Rock Club Ahoghill
Bolt Thrower - May 3rd - The Limelight
Kiss - May 7th - O2 Dublin
Distortion Project 20th Birthday (Orange Goblin +19 other bands!!!) - all over Ormeau Avenue!
Metallica - 11th & 12th May Odyssey [HELL YEAH!]
Pearl Jam - 23rd June Odyssey
Deep Purple - 28th June Custom House Square

2010 -  one rockin' year!