Based in the deep and dusty heart of Arizona but with Dubliner Keith Walker and Mexican Ana Barraza at the fore, Sister Cities appositely embody a uniting of nations and with that musical styles and substances. Your Heart, lifted from the veritably strong, emotionally scatty Pockets EP of last November , sees Stars' whimsical eruptions of sentimentality seared on clattering, askew cymbals as Barraza's subtle vocal swells bleed into the ascending strains of a gloriously tumultuous chorus. Twinned with its impeccable production and acutely inspiring instrumental manipulations, it makes for a seething dream of a number. [...]
this is a digital version of a compilation i put together for my own enjoyment in november 1991 of some of my favourite tunes at the time. this of course was in the days before itunes and therefore the days before the shuffle button and the playlist, when you'd either have to listen to an entire album straight through or waste a lot of battery time fast forwarding on your walkman to your favourites. or you just made your own playlist on a trusty c90 instead. mostly contemporary and basically fairly predictable for a [...]
Three of the best Irish bands of the '90s went out on tour together around the country around Christmas. Here are Kieran Frost's photos from The Savoy in Cork. Sultans of Ping @ Savoy Theatre, Cork by Kieran Frost [...]
This year has been an exceptionally good one for State - winning awards, our best ever figures, State Interventions, live gigs, the continuing fine run of Irish and international music to write about - and we rounded it off in style last night with our third Midnight Mass. Taking place in the Mercantile, we presented six live acts in aid of Focus Ireland. As ever, we endeavored to bring you a mixture of the established and new. On the latter front, We Are Losers were stunning - a thrilling mix of noise and melody and surely one of the key [...]
They may have been away for fifteen years, but 2010 has seen a flurry of activity from the Power Of Dreams camp. The re-release of debut album Immigrants, Emigrants and Me and subsequent reunion tour were both warmly received and this month will see them back out gigging with Sultans Of Ping FC and The Frank & Waters. Now we have this career spanning compilation that finds them back on a major label. Some would argue that the 'best of' box has already been ticked by the year's earlier release and those sparkling first tracks are indeed still [...]
Three of the country's most successful and iconic bands of the nineties have announced a triple bill tour for the end of the year. The Reverberation Tour will feature a rotating line-up of Power Of Dreams, Sultans Of Ping F.C. and The Frank And Walters on the following dates: 20.12 Palace Bar, Navan Co Meath 23.12 Academy, Dublin 28.12 INEC, Killarney 29.12 Savoy, Cork 30.12 Royal Theatre, Castlebar Co Mayo 31.12 Dolans Warehouse, Limerick [...]
A great night to be back in Montreal. Arbutus and Frontrunners are co-sponsoring an event called GENES GENES GENES at Eastern Bloc (7240 Rue Clark - up Clark past Jean Talon / Station de Castelnau is right around the corner) that is a combination of performance art & dance, film, live music, instillation works, and a DJ dance party. It all starts at 10PM, but is preceded by a dinner presented by Silly Kissers and Beaver (you had to RSVP by 11am today, sorry ). But when the dinners over and the time is roughly ten in [...]
Fifteen years after their last outing in the capital, Dublin pop-rock outfit Power of Dreams are back to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album. Immigrants, Emigrants and Me was the album released when the then trio were plucked from rainy Ireland to (a probably equally rainy) London, where the streets were paved with gold – or at least where record companies could afford to throw silly money at young, promising acts. Three albums and a couple of jaunts around the world later, the band disbanded amicably, their long-term hiatus finally coming to an [...]
At the end of the 1980's Dublin found itself at the centre of a miniature musical revolution. Well, perhaps that's stretching it a bit but there certainly were some excellent bands knocking around at the time. Bands like A House, The Pale, Something Happens, Fatima Mansions, An Emotional Fish and Whipping Boy. Power of Dreams were there too – three schoolboys creating jaw-droppingly good rock songs and, in Craig Walker, possessing a gifted lyricist. With U2 approaching their creative zenith, it was also a time when A&R men skulked around in the shadows of city centre venues, searching for the [...]
Following demand for their show at the venue on Friday 12th of March, Power Of Dreams have added a second show on Sunday 14th. Tickets €20 incl booking fee available from Ticketmaster Outlets, Tickets.ie & WaV Box Office. Power Of Dreams on MUZU Related Power of Dreams (20th Anniversary show) - Whelan's, Dublin Power Of Dreams reunion shows Féile - The Tripp To Tipp [...]
Power of Dreams: 'Immigrants, Emigrants and Me' - 20th Anniversary Shows Dublin's legendary Power of Dreams to reform! Power of Dreams were formed in Dublin in 1989 by songwriter Craig Walker . The band's debut EP 'A Little Piece of God' was voted Single of The Week in UK music weeklies Melody Maker and Sounds , which led to them signing to Polydor . Their first album, 'Immigrants, Emigrants and Me' [...]
After a few years of will they / won't they hesitation, the original Power Of Dreams line-up have announced a short reunion tour of the UK and Ireland to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of their debut album Immigrants, Emigrants and Me . The landmark will see a double CD reissue, to feature containing all 14 original tracks plus the debut "A Little Piece of God" ep and various b-sides, to be released on 1st March 2010. Pre-order it here . Live dates, meanwhile, take place at: 05th March 2010 - London, The [...]
I began this blog seven months ago and I must admit that I had no idea back then what shape it would take. I'm quite surprised that I've reached my hundredth post so soon. This means that I've posted an average of three times per week, even though I have sometime gone weeks where I haven't posted at all. Most of my posts have been about music or gigs that I've attended or musicians I like. I've also posted a few times about current affairs, my travels, football and film. My two most popular posts have been Happy Birthday, [...]
Before Oxegen there was Witnness. Before Witnness, well before Witnness there was the on off story of Féile. If you're of a certain age, you have most likely consigned band names like Flowered Up, Power Of Dreams, Energy Orchard and The Mock Turtles to the dustiest recesses of the back of your mind, where hair wraps, the Inter Cert and ox-blood Doc Martins also possibly languish. If so, you will also no doubt be fondly familiar with Féile, the infamous music festival commonly regarded as the frontrunner to the slick juggernauts of today. Those who routinely [...]
If you are in town you could go to Leanne Harte & Elder Roach in Bewleys Cafe Theatre! Then again 3 legends are upstairs in Whelans. Martin Egan, Fheargal McKee and Craig Walker are sure to provide us with a magical night! Finally why not join the stars in Boyles, Slane on Friday drinking to the sounds of Wayne Brennan!
Three of Ireland's indie legends are appearing Upstairs in Whelan's tonight. Martin Egan , former Power Of Dreams frontman Craig Walker (pictured), and Fearghal McKee , legendary frontman with Whipping Boy with his new Line-up (SSS), share a triple bill. Egan, whose songs have been recorded by Christy Moore, Hothouse Flowers, will be performing brand new material, some of which was written with Eamon Carr of Horslips and Will Merriman of The Harvest Ministers. Walker this year celebrates 20 years in the music business with a new album, Siamese , [...]
Wow what a line-up for the tiny venue of Upstairs in Whelans. The only good thing about the recession is that while you may have less gigs to go to, you will have magical nights to experience. More info: http://www.myspace.com/craigjo hnwalker http://www.myspace.com/martina egan Let's remember how brilliant Craig Walker (The Power of Dreams) and Whipping Boy were:
He'd been away a long time but, three quarters of the way through last year, Craig Walker came home. Much had changed since he first left Dublin for London some twenty years ago. The cause of his departure was Power Of Dreams , the band he formed at school with his drummer brother Keith and Mick Lennox, a local lad who played bass and whose parents had an empty gym that proved a handy rehearsal space. Pouring tea in his Dublin apartment, Craig remembers how the fledgling band made it out of the rehearsal [...]
This is the beginning of the new Friday feature, where I post a sample mp3 Love Song from the vaults of the Irish Music Scene. The Power of Dreams kick us off with an anti-love song; Maire I Don't Love You. The tune appeared on the debut album from 1990 called Immigrants, Emmigrants & Me. The Power of Dreams line-up for the 1990 Immigrants, Emmigrants & Me was: Craig Walker - guitars/vocals Keith Walker - drums Michael Lennox - bass additional guitars by Robbie Callan The Power of Dreams had five great years with the [...]
My how time flies. It was a year ago this week that we launched the print version of State, a few weeks on the heels of State.ie. Obviously a few things have changed along the way but we're delighted that the start of our second year in operation finds us in excellent shape. Almost as good shape in fact as Richie Egan, who took this year's Choice Music Prize to virtually universal delight. What was most pleasing was the fact that nine out of the ten nominees had appeared in our pages or on the site, with only Lisa Hannigan [...]
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