Cheebah and all that - Limerick, Ireland

High 2009

Back from a break, lots of good stuff coming your way in the next while, offering new perspectives on the city. Here is an interesting one to begin with. This photographer took over 50 photos and videos from a kite (!) yesterday flying over Arthurs Quay park. As he says the crowds were on their way to thomond park when he took the shots. The river and rugby, two seemingly constant good things about Limerick.

Photo above is by James Powers (Wind Watcher) photo used here with his permission. More details on how he took the shots here.

Shane

One Sunday in Limrock

Poets of Rhythm were back in Dolans

while hip hop legend Steinski played in the alley(!) at Mickey Martins.

Some film footage from Poets of Rhythm below

Poets of rhythm in Limerick Ireland 2008
Uploaded by cheebah

Barrington's

Barrington's Pier
Originally uploaded by LimerickStudent

as gaeilge

larger version here (2.5mb) by Paul Tarpey.

Tourist trappings

‘I'm not a tourist, I live here’ is typed on Dj Adam Whitakers shirt. With typical London brashness he's wearing it here adjacent to the Treaty stone in the midst of weary looking day trippers who grab composed shots of the stone and the Castle together as travel boxes are ticked on two day visits. Adam is on a dedicated short trip also with a box of records that cost more to transport on the plane than himself. When not on tour he resides in the magical land of House music, a special place where he respects the original rules of the WARE-house i.e that funky music must be delivered via an organic dancing manifesto. I pulled a cheesy 80s comp lp from my stash at one stage to get a cheap laugh but in serious tones he says ‘ I grew up with that record’. His yearly trip to the Cheebah house of wax this time extends to a Saturday in the Trinity Rooms where each week the courtyard showcases a different style to complement the mighty Webb in the Main Room.

Each time he vists theres more stuff to offer. Not only just musically representing a distintive London vibe, this guy has made a couple of instrumental-beaty records himself as part of the ‘Unusual and Electric’ crew.These are now i tuned and available to buy online as well as being currently for sale on vinyl from All City in Dublin. A designer and photographer with a eye for detail that extends on ocassion to personally screen printing his record sleves , our man uses these trips to road test product in front of one of his favourite euro crowds.

Caits warming up the crowd in Mickeys cutting funk with tracks DJ Monkleft behind.Wearing a fashionably ripped Cheebah Shirt her look probably had notions of being Debbie Harry but kind of arrived at Debbie Gibson, still a vibrant look though. Adam then steps up, tossing a salad of the Nevilles ‘Hercules’ with Young Mcs and sprinkling a few sounds like Will Powers ‘Adventures in Success’. The main course is rolled out with Sidney Youngbloods ‘if only I could (a polarising classic from the early 90s). This it seems was a big Limerick track judging by the reaction from an older section of the crowd. Some loved it and some didn’t but it was remembered as the start of those halcyon mainstream House years . Everybodys here as a goth trembling version of Bauhaus,s ‘Kick in the eye’ fills the alley and the Dj is playing cupid behind decks to an English guy and Polish woman on a date in a peep show kinda way. Now bring on the dancing Adam and watch as he whips up chunks of pumping quirkiness that alternate between reggae tinged breaks and house before his own tracks and cheeky bootegs are wheeled out (Candi station with ‘Crazy’ and a daft Queen one spluttered in the mix) Our Dj had just finished a 90s house night in London recently and brought that energy and a few of those records over with him notably a storming D Train cover. The rain stayed away but the crowd didn’t, making it a very busy night for “team mickeys’ as glass pint towers swayed to that ‘Break my stride’ song thing he always finishes up in Limerick with.

Balls

It is two years now since photographer Deirdre Power captured four men playing cricket on a side street in the heart of Limerick city centre. The image which appeared in EV+A symbolised an imminent image change for the sport in Ireland. Since then we have had the Ireland world cup story and now local gardai are getting involved with the Limerick cricket cup in running a 6 a side 10 over cricket competition in UL next month. They are looking for participants to represent as many countries as possible. Full details here.

Also looking for participants is a slimmed down version of hurling, called hurling cubed. It comes to Limerick on the 17th to the 19th of July in Arthurs Quay. According to An Fear Rua along with the four cubes there will be a DJ arena! If you want to check how it is played you can see Limerick's Aoife Sheehan play it in Gameball an online sports show, that she presents. Watch it here on youtube or much higher quality stream here (episode6).

Apart from that may not be much more to look forward to on the hurling front this year, (although bookies today making Limerick 40-1 to win outright seems ridiculously long odds). For a number of reasons I didn't make it to Thurles so it gave me a good opportunity to turn on the TV, kill the sound and listen to radio commentaries. I decided to leave RTE 1 out this time and instead moved between the locals. Clare FM had three on the mic with Jamsie O'Connor proving some of the analysis. Not really matching the comic or indeed passionate heights reached by Matthew McMahon, it was still worthwhile if only for the rapid fire commentary which sometime came into play. Over on Live 95, Liam Ahern is now in the slot previously occupied by Mal Keaveny. Very slick and professional, Ahern keeps the flow going with very little dead air. His analytical side kick on Sunday was TJ Ryan. Shortly after the second half began TJ confidently declared that Limerick were now getting their gander up. Within five minutes Clare had two goals and that goose was cooked. However my favourite duo came from community station West Limerick 102. Ger Downes and John Fitzgerald, with their commentary (not Daddy Freddy but fast), on point analysis and tremendous passion and energy are two that I will return to again. Hopefully they will be working right through August.

Shane

Arthur Salutes Sean

Bedford Row, Limerick. Pic by Paul Tarpey

One Shot- 07-pc

The power of music is in it's message, so whether it was hearing jamalski in the underground singing 'piece of reality' and forgetting the words or seeing moonlight performing 'dirty cunts' or me playing the aforementioned song in a set in the greenhouse and with everyone dancing having the record thrown off by the deck by a woman who found it offensive because she worked for fianna fail (you owe me a new record bertie) it was all about the shared experience with a group of people. This was never truer for me than on paddy's day in downtown hollywood when after marching with thousands of people and chanting with the bus riders union in an anti war protest everyone congregated outside the main stage to hear the music, including this little girl.
'music is my weapon'

pc

One shot- 07 -PT

In celebrity culture a useless picture can tell a thousand words. A shrugged heat reader response to this complacency accepts the recycling of tabloid standby words and images as a necessary intention. The spectacle continues without edit points.

My paparazzi image of this year highlights the primo talking point of all the shifting conversations on the cultural scene in Limerick this year, which is the effort needed for bodies on the floor. Whether it’s a Daghdha night of dance or a Strutt night of trance a cities identity is defined by the attendance/ participation in events, that its important to remember, may not be there forever.

So to all that sat in the dark in the university's sound lab for Greenwoods debut as an avant garde composer to those that fell out of the dark for Dracula at the Belltable, respect.

For 2008 lets do it all again but this time bring a friend.

(photo above of Emma, hands down number 1 supporter of every rockin gig this year).

Paul Tarpey

Emma Jervis

Indian Bliss, originally uploaded by emma jervis.
In recent weeks, we have put up the tag limerick button on the right hand side which displays the latest photos uploaded to flickr with the Limerick tag. Through this we came across Emma Jervis's work. Great sets of photos including ones from the recent Zion Train gig, Nicolette in the Underground, BPLO in the Belltable and from a Saturday in the Milk Market.

Shane