Hope Prevails at Dolans

David Hope  

Notes cascading from a mellow wooden  flute  greeted patrons stepping in to Dolans last night as the regular trad session musicians occupied their usual spot in the downstairs bar. The dockside venue was a hive of activity upstairs and down .  In the warehouse, Minister on European affairs, Lucinda Creighton was topping the bill at a debate in the Leviathan series  title 'Communicating Europe'. I can't say it looked  too lively but I didn't dwell too long as my destination was the  Upstairs  lounge  where travelling troubadour  David Hope performed a short but compelling  set of his own songs as part of the prelude to an album launch by rock group, Senakah. I suspect Hope has no ambivalence about  European citizenship and spoke to me with enthusiasm about his recent tours in Switzerland and \Germany where he regularly plays to packed venues. For more on David and his work, this article on Breaking Tunes  is quite comprehensive; http://breakingtunes.com/davidhope



David Hope was preceded  by newcomer, Emma Kate Langford. There was quite a contrast between these two singer songwriters. Hope dominates the stage  like a colossus, the guitar looking diminutive in his  hands. The songs are at times dark in tone  accompanied by forthright rhythmic guitar  and delivered in a deep gravely voice. Emma Kate is winsome , petite and beguiling with a  clear bell like vocal quality . Something about her style reminded  me of Corinne Bailey Rae. The self penned songs are light in tone and she was well supported by Tod Doyle on beat box and vocals and Cillian King  on concertina. As usual at this venue, the amplification was effective but not overpowering.



If the performers were disappointed at the paucity of audience , they didn't dwell on it but it was hard to believe that Limerick is the home of two third level colleges, both offering music degrees One wonders where do all those  students go on Thursday night.  I might add that admission was low at €7. Dolan's do a great job in providing a convivial venue and engaging the artists but one felt that neither of these two high calibre live acts or the venue got the support they deserved this evening.

You can hear one of Emma Kate's songs from the Dolan's set list below and my interview with her on the audioboo.

listen to ‘Emma Kate Langford of Lemon Street’ on Audioboo

Friday night Late and Live in Limerick

Limerick has a new theatre space, The Lime Tree, located on the Mary Immaculate College campus on the outskirts of the city. I caught the second act of  the Cecilian Musical Society's   of West Side Story at the venue on Friday night.  On first impressions, the venue seems relatively narrow with quite a steep rake in two tiers. I was a teeny bit disappointed that the generous comfy upholstery was in fact  tangerine and not green  with blue wooden paneled walls enclosing the space. I loved the high seat backs.

Sitting at the back I can report that the view was good and the sound was remarkably good. The amplification was very subtle and all voices and musical timbres could be heard perfectly. The pit band under MD Noel Lennon made a nice tableau glimpsed from top of the house . 

The audience lingered a while in the  foyer to greet the performers. Like UCH I feel the venue falls down in creating a convivial apres show atmosphere.  Refreshments are not available and it is a bit of a trot to the nearest hostelry. While the venue is a very comfortable one for performers and audience alike, I wonder what the impact of the space will have on the activity in other spaces in the city and if there is quite enough 'product' to  fill theatre spaces at UCH, LIT and indeed at the Belltable Arts Centre in the city centre. 

Following the show I called in to Dolan's on Dock Road. I enjoyed the last half hour of  singer songwriter, Mark Geary's set upstairs at Dolan's on Dock Road. Geary is not a performer I have heard of  but he was very easy to listen to and had a relaxed easy rapport with  the  audience of 30 plus patrons   He was supported by singer Grainne Hunt and pianist Mark Kenny. There was a turn from Keith Kelly on harmonica.  Perfect late night fare

O Emperor Upstairs at Dolans'

Deise Boys O Emperor

well worth the trip to hear @oemperormusic @mydolans tonight. Very impressive young guitar driven quintet from #waterford
— Cathy Desmond (@fidleir) November 10, 2012

In an era when rock bands seem to go on never ending tours and it is no novelty to see 'forever young'  pensioners strumming their stuff at a venue near you, it was a treat to see a truly young band.   I had heard many good things about  O Emperor, a young rock group from Waterford and I was not disappointed when I heard them upstairs at Dolan's on  Friday night. There was standing room only from an appreciative student audience .  I suspect that Beatles records feature prominently in their parents' record collections.  Terrific !




Tour dates here

Oct 27th - Theatre Royal, Waterford. (With Katie Kim). 

Nov 9th - Dolans, Limerick. 

Nov 10th - McGarrigles, Sligo.

Nov 15th - Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford Town.

Nov 17th - Cleeres Theatre, Kilkenny.

Nov 22nd - Roisin Dubh, Galway.

Nov 23rd - Whelans, Dublin.

Nov 24th- Cyprus Avenue, Cork

Beatles resonances  . Watch out for them . I think they could go far 

Tony Miceli MJQ Tribute at Dolans

Following on from the David Friedman gig ,  Limerick Jazz Society  brought us another excellent vibraphone virtuoso for a gig at Dolan's Upstairs lounge.  Tony Miceli from Philadelphia fronted a recreation of the line up of The  Modern Jazz Quartet,  not a genre heading but title of an influential ensemble established in the early 50's and active on and off until the 90's.  The line up  included  Limerick man John Daly on drums, Phil Ware, piano and  bassist  Dan Bodwell. There was a good range of tempos in the set list from the frenetic Cherokee to the more restrained Blues in C minor The set list included Bags Groove, a piece named after a nickname of Milt Jackson, the vibraphone player and founder of the MJQ.  The treatment of a protest anthem opening with a slow piano exposition by Phil Ware was a highlight.The group are embarking on a short tour of Ireland and patrons can expect a very cool sophisticated set with fine ensemble playing from the quartet and effortless virtuosity from front man Miceli . Catch them in Limerick , Wexford  and Dublin later this week.


A clip of the original  Modern Jazz Quartet

Great Vibes and Super Sax : Limerick Jazz at Dolan's

Great Limerick Music Venue

I ran across John Daly, percussionist and chairperson of Limerick Jazz Society at a gig recently and he reminded me that there were a few events remaining in their Spring season. Despite having lived  for almost six years in the Shannon region, I have not heard much  jazz locally so with the evening bright and sunny, I was tempted by the promise of quality musicianship of international renown  to take the highway in to Dolans Pub Limerick city to hear the Duo Elegance, a minimalist pairing of David Friedman on vibraphone and Peter Weniger on sax.  I haven't heard a vibraphone live  since Lionel Hampton brought his band to Cork years ago and I was looking forward to this relatively unfamiliar timbre. The  duo as promised were indeed mesmerising,  casting a spell over the gathering in the upstairs room in Dolan's Pub on Dock Rd with a mix of newly minted composition and improvisations on jazz standards.

 Friedman particularly showed impressive virtuosity , so accomplished but not showy and there was a  sense of musical rapport between the two that comes from a long period of playing together.  Judge for yourself in  their take on Johnny Mandel's classic 'Emily' which was included in the set list tonight. The amplification was unobtrusive as usual from sound man, Sean Harrold . There was a mix of age groups in the respectable but  regrettably, not capacity house who listened intently to both sets. Musicians  in the audience included Finnish singer Laura Hilska, guitarist Alan Colfer and drummer Bart Kiely.

A great night of live music. I am glad the duo had sunshine for their sightseeing trip to the Cliffs. Bravo  Limerick Jazz !






Read more about Friedman and his many collaborations  in this excellent blog post by Doug Payne http://dougpayne.blogspot.com/2010/10/david-friedman-vibes.html

The last session of the Spring season takes place Wed 9th May at Dolan's . Limerick Jazz Society

Albert Niland upstairs at Dolans



Albert Niland with Dave Carey at Dolans

 Albert Niland is currently doing a short Irish tour and as we had missed him at the  Island Music Club, Clare  we made the expedition to Dolans for a midweek gig.  He was supported by fellow Galwegian,  Ultan Connolly who sounded pleasant although we just heard a little of him.

Albert, looking like a  actor from a  French Cop movie  bounded on stage,  plugged in his Spanish guitar and  served up a flamenco infused set of very attractive songs to energetic and skilful guitar accompaniment holding his guitar mariachi style high up against his chest . I particularly enjoyed the 1930's  World War 2 anthem  (I'll Be Seeing You  Sammy Fain and Irving Kamal ) with his improvisational guitar style adding  a distinctive stamp, making the rendition very much his own and unlike any of the many other covers. 

Vladimir Violinist Extraordinaire - upstairs at Dolans Limerick

It was a pub gig with a  classical twist, upstairs at Dolan's in Limerick tonight.  A salon ensemble of players , bass, piano, viola, violin  and drums  backed front man Vladimir Jablokov in  an eclectic set  mixing several genres but infused throughout by elements of fine virtuoso technique and showmanship.

Opening with a number which fused theme from James Bond with Mozart's Rondo a la Turk, Vladimir and  the  band breezed through Strauss waltzes and polkas, Hungarian dances, jazz standards , show tunes and classical standards with great panache and good humour, the band seeming to enjoy playing together .   We particularly enjoyed their take on Bowie's Life on Mars and Van Morrison's Moondance , in splendid arrangements by keyboard player, Adam Kuruc  . The amplification was subtle, not overpowering and the string sound was fairly true to the unplugged sound.  This is rare in my experience and well done to sound man Sean Harold .

The  venue is intimate and suits smaller gatherings and while not packed to capacity, there was enough to create an atmosphere .

The lead man Vladimir Jablokov is a great live performer with a charming  air  of  a Bohemian  Waltz King about him. He appears to be fused to his instrument, the violin being merely an extension of himself and he plays with such exuberance, you could not but be entertained by him.  A great night .  I hope the tour is successful for them and we see them around again next year. Bravo!