Category: Festival

Festival, Films, Music, Opinion, Short FilmsLeave a comment

Redcap Productions Presents: Pigstock 2011

ChrisWrites

Local Film company Redcap Productions specialise in music videos for local bands and have produced this mind blowing video from Pigstock 2011. An awesome compilation of clips from the best in local music, such as ASIWYFA, Mojo Fury, Farriers, The Bonnevilles, Gacy’s Threads, Kasper Rosa and many more rocking the various Pigstock stages set to ‘Easy Meat’ by LaFaro. If you are part of a local band who are looking a music video, these are the guys to call. Contact details below. Continue reading “Redcap Productions Presents: Pigstock 2011”

Festival, Music, Music review, Opinion1 Comment

Lunatics Running The Asylum

ChrisWrites

On Saturday 28th May 2011 I was at the Pigstock Fest in Killinchy Co. Down.  While checking out the best this festival had to offer I decided to head to the Main Stage to check out The Burnt Reynolds but there was a problem. Everyone seemed to have disappeared. The band put a call out for everyone to move forward. After a few minutes of little to no movement they declared that the song was for the two randomers sitting in the grass.

Where was everyone? After about ten minutes of wondering I came across the Engine Room where a huge crowd had gathered. I was intrigued so I stood and waited with the rest until a band appeared.

Now, before I comment further this is how these boys came out to the gathered fans:

Continue reading “Lunatics Running The Asylum”

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The Un-‘Sung’ Heroes of Pigstock ’11

ChrisWrites

Once again Festival season is upon us and the NI circuit is getting better. This weekend it was the turn of Killinchy, Co. Down which was hosting it’s relatively new Pigstock Festival. It is a Festival still in it’s infancy but to attend you would never know. A fantastic line up of the best in local music, Pigstock does a wonderful job giving the chance for unsigned acts to play to the people.

Like the now legendary Glasgowbury Festival, Pigstock is an amazing up and coming festival which is fast becoming a must attend. Headlined this year by ASIWYFA and LaFaro as well as showcasing a wealth of talent by some of the most hardworking and often ignored bands on the scene.

Now anyone interested in reading about Pigstock have no doubt read counless reviews about Mojo Fury, LaFaro and ASIWYFA mainly because all those pretentious Musos generally write about little else. Always looking to review the big names so they can look back from behind the McDonalds counter and think, ‘I wrote about them, once’.

Even BBC Radio Ulster’s Across The Line, who claim to bring us the ‘best new music from Northern Ireland’ have fallen into a similar trap. In fact the very people who use our money, as licence payers, to review new music on our behalf, and how do they pick which band to review?It seems if you are mates with those who work for ATL then you are guaranteed a review and that’s from their own mouth. Continue reading “The Un-‘Sung’ Heroes of Pigstock ’11”

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Roy Walker at the Udderbelly Festival

ChrisWrites

On Friday 6th May 2011 I hit the big 30. The biggest difficulty in this was deciding what to do in order to mark such an occasion and I think, on originality alone, I should win an award. I went to see the Legend that is Roy Walker do stand up in an upside down purple cow.

Ok, I know this sounds like I sat at home, dropped some acid and blogged about the consequences but this did indeed take place. I’m sure you’ve seen the purple ‘Udderbelly’ cow on E4. Well for 12 weeks, at the Southbank centre in London, the cow in question has set up residence Continue reading “Roy Walker at the Udderbelly Festival”

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Glasgowbury 2011: First Acts Announced

ChrisWrites

On Saturday 23rd 2011 at Eagle’s Rock, Draperstown the ‘small but MASSIVE’ Glasgowbury festival begins. Nestled in the Sperrin mountains, the annual gathering sets the sky on fire with music from the hardest working of Irish talent and now we have our 2011 headliner and I couldn’t be more excited to hear it’s… Continue reading “Glasgowbury 2011: First Acts Announced”

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Super Mario Begins

ChrisWrites

This years South by Southwest festival brought about a cultural revelation. It featured the debut of a Joe Nicolosi directed and produced short that takes Super Mario to a whole new level.

Recreating this well known story as an Indie flick was an inspiration and has led to this hilarious short film. Nicolosi has done for Mario what Christopher Nolan did for Batman. Continue reading “Super Mario Begins”

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Festival of Colours

ChrisWrites

Sunday 20th March 2011 was the day of the Hundu festival Holi (Festival of Colours to you and I) in which Hindus celebrate the end of the Winter Season with song, dance and of course colour.

The celebration was extended to Belfast and opened for the public so that everyone could experience this cultural festival so I decided to head down and check it out. Continue reading “Festival of Colours”

Festival, Music, Opinion, ReviewLeave a comment

The Un-‘Sung’ Heroes of Glasgowbury

ChrisWrites

The word is out and the local blogs are bouncing to the reverberation of this years Glasgowbury festival. The only problem is that most seem to have taken a look at the line up and chosen to talk about the few rather than the many. It’s almost as if everyone has just taken the headliners on each stage and laid out reviews of the fashionable instead of understanding the ‘Small but massive’ ethos behind the festival and immersing themselves in the new and the fresh rather than the usual suspects of the Northern Ireland music scene. Well I’m here to take you on a journey through the unsung heroes of Glasgowbury. The hidden gems that graced the many stages with reverence and surprised the gathered crowds. These are the ones to watch, not the ones to be seen to watch.

First up would have to be Derry band ‘Swanee River’ who graced the Spurs of Rock stage. These guys are the epitome of Classic Rock and are Glasgowbury veterans. Their special brand of Rock with a lick of Blues was just what was needed to kick start the madness. With songs like ‘Bouncy Castles’ and ‘The Dose’ they rocked the crowd from start to finish and constantly shone with the experience and enthusiasm of a band made for the festival circuit. The first show to turn a tent inside out as the crowd bounced, sang and cheered to the dirty sound of ‘Swanee River’. Continue reading “The Un-‘Sung’ Heroes of Glasgowbury”