Playing the guest slot at this week’s Limerick Songwriters night in Foley’s Bar on Sarsfield St. If you’re around Limerick, drop in and hear some of my music. I don’t think I’ve ever done a gig in Limerick before, so it’ll be a first for me.
Galway folk, I’m playing the Citóg night this Friday in De Burgo’s supporting Music For Dead Birds and Niall Murphy, which will be a wonderful night. As usual there will be a donation box at the door supporting St. Vincent De Paul.
Dublin is proving to have many little hidden gems at the moment. When I played the Saucy Sundays sessions in January, I was blown away by the venue upstairs in the Grand Social. Wonderful place to play, and the audience were fantastic. I had a similar experience with the very intimate Matchbox Theatre, which is downstairs in Le Café des Irlandais on Georges St (where Café Bar Deli used to be).
This beautifully intimate café theatre hosts the 50 Cent Sessions every Wednesday at the moment, and is the perfect venue for this kind of an evening. Last wednesday I was playing a wee set there, and it was wonderful to get to hear such a variety of other acts.
I had the odd experience of following another pianist (it’s not often you run into piano-based songwriters at nights like this, for some reason. Lots of guitars, not so much piano), so we decided to share the same set-up, to save time and hassle on the night. So, I was playing an unfamiliar digital piano, which just felt all kinds of wrong. And I was sitting down. I realised that I’ve never actually done a solo gig sitting down at the piano. I seem to play standing up when I’m performing pretty much always. It really is more constricting to be sitting, and I ended up contorting and piano-bench humping and understanding just why someone like Tori Amos ends up writing around on the piano bench while performing. It’s not in me to sit still while playing.
Watch me being all awkward with a strange piano. But it was the night before Paddy’s Day, so I sang one of my Irish language songs.
Nevertheless, it renewed my love for my own gear, as I really do love the digital Roland I’ve had for the last 8 years or so. It’s heavy as hell, and a pain in the ass to move between gigs sometimes, especially since my case has now lost all handles and broken both wheels, but I really noticed the difference it makes when I was without it last Wednesday. Needless to say, next time I’ll forgo using someone else’s, even if it is less hassle, as I’m just more comfortable with something that feels closer to a real piano.
From September 16th, Thursdays and Saturdays in the top floor of Dignity West will be taken over by my club night: IQ [IndieQueer], a club night aimed at playing music that you don’t get to hear in the usual gay clubs here in Galway.
Keep up to date on the facebook page, or twitter.
Facebook: IQgalway [IndieQueer]
Twitter: IQgalway [IndieQueer]
Rock – Indie – Jazz
Electro – Metal – Funk – Soul
Retro Classics – Punk – Alternative Pop
Nice little blurb in the local Drogheda paper promoting the gig tonight.
Sessions get under way in Punt Bar
FANTASTIC LINE-UP OF ACTS
Wednesday January 20 2010THE Purple Sessions kick off 2010 with a great lineup this coming Friday, January 22nd, upstairs in the Punt Bar, Drogheda.
This month the sessions are bringing to Drogheda a fine selection of artists to entertain the purple sessions audience the line up includes
[…]
Mister Ebby is a piano playing songwriter from Galway who writes quirky indie pop songs. He grew up in a very musical household – two of his brothers are musicians too: Kevin Brett, and Izzy Plastic and The Manicans. He has also played together with Anna Lee under the name Husband/Wife, as well as with The Molls and with Jazz singer Alex Hahn.
via Sessions get under way in Punt Bar – News, frontpage – Drogheda-Independent.ie.
I’ll be playing the Purple Sessions in Drogheda’s The Punt Bar on January 22nd along with Hugh Patrick, Stephen J Smith, Heirs To Nothing and Bobby Noonan. Have a whole bunch of new songs that I’ve not had a chance to play live yet, so when the offer came through my MySpace I thought why not? Where better to try out a few new songs than at nice acoustic sessions night somewhere I don’t live?
If you’re in the general area, it’s a free admissions gig, and sounds like a wonderful monthly showcase of Irish songwriting talent.