Insensitivity Training
The only news source I ever pay any attention to is The Guardian Online. Admittedly I only ever give it a cursory glance over my morning coffee, because world news tends to depress me, but occasionally a story catches my eye and I postpone my morning dump long enough to read the whole thing. On Tuesday I shat with an alarming velocity, which could be attributed to Monday night’s indulgence on Guinness and mixed pickles, or to my bowel’s venomous response to this article by Tanya Gold, about Ricky Gervais’s new comedy-drama Derek, which aired last night on Channel 4. It seems every time Ricky blows his nose The Guardian has some fucking hack freelancer on the case, spouting off an opinion piece which never amounts to anything more than a load of bitching about what a horrible person he is, this time under the guise of intelligent discourse on the treatment of disability in modern television. Well I, too, am a hack freelancer, and I won’t stand idly around having my chosen profession besmirched by these goddamn humourless dickheads.
Jesus, maybe I should slow down on the whiskey until I finish this thing…
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IN STORES NOW#62: The Man Whom
It was a few months ago when we met Wexford-based Ian Doyle, who plays under the name The Man Whom. He was in Belfast supporting Chris Campbell‘s EP launch at McHughs bar.
Then, because of the way the music scene is here, he ended up crashing on my sofa. All in all, it was along night of music drinking and smoking – and the next morning much chat was had about the state of music today, vintage guitar amps and politics. After which, we also found time to record a session in my garage, with my cat busting some cool dance moves.
Iain is currently on a mini tour of the island – he played Kilkenny and hits Dingle tomorrow night. Catch him if you can at one of these fine venues.
The Staves
Back in February, Bandwidth had the great pleasure to meet up the rather wonderful Emily, Camilla and Jess Stavely-Taylor, three singing sisters collectively known as The Staves. All of them remembered the first time the band played Belfast, for the Open House Festival 2011 – now they were back in town with Michael Kiwanuka, playing the Communion Belfast night.
The exciting news is that they’ll be back in Belfast a third time, on 23rd April – the day after the release of the new EP ‘The Motherlode’. In the meantime, here are 2 magical session tracks.
They’ll be back in Belfast on 24th April where they’ll play McHughs, then on 25th April they’ll be in Dublin, then Cork the 26th. That’s three chances to see them – do not – repeat, do not – miss them. After that, they’re off to support Bon Iver on his North American tour, and off into stardom forever.
Monsieur Le Pew
I haven’t been around the Bandwidth offices recently. I hear Will was mistakenly informed that I had been killed in a boating incident and had a small fountain erected in the lobby, depicting me scrabbling for life in the wreckage of a boat, an arch of water gushing from my anguished mouth. The truth is I could only hope for such a noble demise. Though I am still technically alive, I am not sure my existence could accurately be described as ‘life’. For the past few weeks I have been locked in my room listening to George Jones records, drinking port wine and ritually flogging myself with my belt, like Agent Van Alden from Boardwalk Empire. I should have chosen my activities more wisely because I only have one George Jones CD and port wine gets old really fucking fast, but I was in such a funk I wasn’t thinking clearly, and then so tortured I was by self-loathing I decided I didn’t even deserve to upgrade to whiskey and Hank Williams. Finally I was jolted out of my stupor by a goddamn wasp which managed to invade my room despite my having the place sealed so tightly shut I had been breathing mostly fart and dead skin cells for about four days. After trying to attack the bugger with an empty port bottle I decided to just open the window and let him go the easy way. And then folks, I saw the light. Beautiful gleaming sunlight. And anyone who knows me knows I can’t resist a sunny day at Botanic Gardens with a hip flask of whiskey and my perv-friendly shades. There is nothing in this world that will restore one’s faith in the overall goodness of the world than watching two girls play frisbee barefoot on the grass, laughing and cavorting and pausing between throws to hike up their jeans, which keep falling down around their asses. So when I came back home I decided it was time to tell my story, purge my demons, and get on with my life. What happened was…
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Bandwidth + Go Wolf!
Presenting the first ever Bandwidth gig – with the amazing Go Wolf! at the Belfast Barge Galley Café.
It’s open to the public and the entire event will be covered by our dutiful Bandwidth cameras. Best of all.. it’s absolutely FREE.
It’s an early show, with doors at 5.30 – Go Wolf take to the stage at 6.30, and there’ll be bar facilities so you can stay on and drink or go out afterwards.
So come along on FRIDAY 23RD MARCH, 5.30pm.
RSVP here on Facebook.
This will be the first of a few Bandwidth early shows we have planned over the summer – so keep checking the site, and our facebook and twitter for more.
This week, I was delighted to attend a screening of John T Davis’s film ‘The Uncle Jack’ at the QFT in Belfast. The man himself was there to introduce the film and talk a little about his career, and it was a great excuse for me to revisit this Belfast director’s work and rewatch some of his classics. ‘Route 66′ was his breakthrough, an emotive & nostalgic road/mindtrip through America’s heartland. But ‘Shellshock Rock’ is what started it all: a roadtrip through Belfast’s clubs and bars of Troubles-laden Belfast.
In the lates mid 1970′s, when the world saw Belfast through the heavily mediated telescopic lens of news organisations and war reporters looking out of their hotel windows, John T Davis captured life from the beating heart of what Joe Strummer called the ‘real’ punk rock city. Quite simply, Shellshock Rock is a masterpiece that, whatever your musical, political or artistic tastes, must be seen to be believed.
Rae Morris
Recorded live upstairs at Big Bang! Record/Clothes shop in Belfast, during a night of live music hosted by Communion Belfast, the amazing Rae Morris performs 2 tracks for Bandwidth.
For You
[Download Video]
Day One
[Download Video]
Silences 
The Lost Brothers 
Ash 
Delorentos 
I’ve Been Taken 
This Ain’t A Hold Up 
The Dark Knight Rises, But Then So Does Hot Air. 
I Don’t Know 
