Foy Vance, Waterfront Studios, Saturday 21st July

All of the summer festivals seem to have 'New Music' stages cluttered with artists who are anything but new - journeymen who have paid their dues playing small venues in any town just to be heard.

Foy Vance is such an artist. He has been plugging away for years, honing his act and growing as a songwriter. His growth has seen him go from Van Morrison sound-a-like to an artist in his own right, gaining true recognition within the industry. His songs have even been used in the hit US TV series Greys Anatomy, a show which seems to have a love of Irish acts judging by the inclusions of Iain Archer and Snow Patrol on scenes in the show. He is an artist on the up, a fact that may be indicated by the amount of Foy impersonators and bald men making up the crowd tonight.

Tonight's support act is a spoken word act called Polar Bear Poet, a self confessed 'rhymer' who breathes new life into the cliché Brummie accent, using it to paint pictures in your head at two hundred words per second. On first impression his prescence here seems out of place, but he wins over the crowd with ease and has people hanging on his every word like any Irish storyteller. High recommendation indeed.

Foy rolls onto stage tonight beaming having recently enjoyed success next door supporting Duke Special in the BBC's Orchestral Maneuvres show, and with the release of his debut album 'Hope'. The show consists mainly of the tracks from this, played by Foy, wife Joanne, and regular Keys man Jules Maxwell.

Although only three, the sound is maximised fully by Foys clever use of his trusty loop pedal, a tool so frustrating in the hands of a novice is employed masterfully here to provide the illusion of a soul choir singing backup, an entire percussion section and a full backing band.

The new songs are fantastic - ranging from the slower 'Gabriel And The Vagabond', 'Doesn't Take A Whole Day' and 'Indiscriminate Act Of Kindness' to the blues-ey opener 'Be With Me' which acts as the perfect vehicle for Foy's room-filling cry. 'First of July' is a cracking ballad which reminds us all of a time when we've been left broken hearted by another.

Vance's delivery is a cross between Irish singer-songwriter and the passionate calls of a Southern Preacher, a fact that he himself lampoons on the final song of the encore. He passionately calls Halleluiah, and warbles into the night, walking the fine line between performance and Mariah Carey-style self indulgence impeccably well.
He looks at home on the stage, showing complete control over any heckles from the crowd, retorting with a dry wit and sense of humour missing from many of his current singer-songwriter contemporaries.

This is employed well on the cover versions on display tonight - Michael Jackson's Billie Jean is rolled out here complete with 'Cha-Mones!', crotch-grabbing and moonwalking, but Foy's strength is that he can combine this with a sensitive approach to the song, telling a story of the brokenness of deceitful lovers, which pulls at the heartstrings before he changes the mood midway through the song.

The recurring theme of Hope is evident on all of these songs, and indeed in the eyes of Vance himself, who really seems to believe in the concept of a new day, a clean slate, and a second chance no matter what has passed. This is an admirable quality in any journeyman, and one which could see him go far.

With this attitude backing up the undeniable talent on show tonight, Foy Vance's Hoping could turn into something very special indeed.

Four stars ****.

Richardsons Aren't The Only Ones To Get Results

Sweaty palms, heavy heart beats and the shakes. I've been refreshing this page all morning. All week in fact, and still there is no change.

I’m waiting for my final semesters results, and indeed my degree classification. The climax of five years of my life is at stake here..

It doesn’t help that I'm at work right now, constantly looking over my shoulder lest someone should see what I'm actually looking up, and start asking me questions about it. If I have failed, or even fallen short of the mark, I probably want to be able to save face for at least a while until I've come to terms with the result in my own head.. But everyone will find out sooner or later.

[REFRESH]

Still nothing. I can vaguely remember sitting the exams.

[REFRESH]

I had worked myself into a relatively strong position after Februarys exams - I was sitting on my target of a decent 2.1, with the chance of getting a first only really available by an Act of God.
But I can remember not really trying at all in the second semester. In fact, I am currently entertaining thoughts that I don't really even deserve my target grade. Maybe I haven't done enough. Maybe my project is going to bring me down. Maybe I've failed something.

Maybe seems to be the word which defines this situation pretty well. Maybe, but Maybe Not.

My stomach is twisted into a couple of well formed knots- it feels like it could reject the toast and orange juice which I force fed myself an hour and a half ago.

[REFRESH]

Still nothing.. well wait.. it didn't quite look like this the last time That button wasn’t there.. in fact there is more stuff here.. More numbers. Not as many as I was expecting, but this is it. The moment of truth.. And there it is, right at the top of the page, 2.1. All of sudden I've got a smile across my face which would make Dwight Yorke jealous. What was all that worrying for?!

Perspective time. Looking back on the other morning, I can see that that grade, whilst a good reward for five years of hard slog doesn’t matter.

If I hadn’t got it, I probably would have been gutted because I have put so much into the last year of my life, but whatever those two little numbers are, you can't take away the journey I’ve had.

You can’t take away the people I’ve met. You can’t take away the things that I’ve done, and the things that have been done to me. Those two little numbers are going to serve me very well on a CV for the future, but I would swap this for anything.

Its been emotional..

Love Is A Four Letter Word

My language leads a lot to be desired. Its just something I've never been truly able to get a hold of since I became a Christian, and now those ugly four letter words, so good at emphasizing a joke, tend to slip into my everyday vocabulary too easily.

For me, the thing about four letter words is that as soon as they’ve been said, I instantly regret them. And you can’t take them back.

The dictionary will probably disagree, but I think that ‘swearing’ is whenever you use a word outside of its actual meaning. The problem with this is when a word is misused with any great frequency, it just becomes filler in a sentence – it loses all meaning, and it’s the meaning that’s important.

It not just ‘cuss’ words we do this with either - there are other important examples, and one I want to talk about is the L word.

L-O-V-E.

Love. One syllable encapsulating a concept worthy of the redemption of the human race. In 1 Corinthians 13 it says..

Love (Agape) is patient, love (Agape) is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love (Agape) does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

The above description doesn’t really answer the question of what love is, however it tells me that love is something that isn’t generally found in our nature.

All of the negative attributes listed.. envy, pride, selfishness, grudges are the default for us as human beings, and so I think that Love is when we care about a person so much that we try to become more. We override self to draw close to someone, sacrificing ourselves for their benefit.

I believe that this four letter word is one that has been sullied by too many episodes of soaps, and misused by too many American school girls (stereotyping I know...) to be of any real use...

The real meaning has been lost in the ether, in the static of 21^st century people trying to reconcile what love actually is with the distorted world views pushed upon them.

I think that its time for a change. A revamp and a facelift on the whole concept.

In the bible Love is translated in many places from a Greek word ‘Agape’, which defines a specific type of love which we need to aspire to. Matthew 22:37-41 would read:

‘Agape the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Agape your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

We need to reclaim the positive nature of this statement, to ‘Agape’ all of those around us.

That way at least one word in my vocabulary will be right and true.

The Frames, Vicar Street - Sunday 28th May

"And the price of fame
Is that they love you when you're gone"

I saw The Frames the other night in Dublin. This was the third time Ive seen them, and on a return to their Fair City from lengthy touring and movie promotions I was expecting this to be a show to remember.

Glen was on form with his usual Irish schtick a charm offensive which would win over even the staunchest critic, however heckling and general loutishness in the crowd did spoil some of the more sensitive moments of the night.

The atmosphere in the venue resembled a football match at times, with many members of the crowd more interested in Damien Duff's right sock hanging over the balcony above than the band in front of them. Pearls before swine may sound a bit harsh, but possibly fair in this case.

To their credit, the band didnt seem to let it bother them, and played through the hits, along

with a large majority of recent Long Player 'The Cost'. Opening with 'Fitzcarraldo' was a statement of intent which showed a confidence in their back catalogue. This allows skip tracks (for me anyway) such as 'Stars Are Underground' a new lease of life in a live show which lasted nearly two hours.

The Frames truely are masters of their art. The guitar and violin combine to paint soundscapes which build and build around songs of hope and love. Their rythym section is flawless, and Glen combines the innate ability of the Irish to tell a story, with a voice that sings heartbreak and screams passion in a single phrase.

With the mutted critical response to The Cost however, recognition of this bands art may be a long way off.

On sad songs Glen sings:
"And the price of fame
Is that they love you when you're gone"

For me this laments the fact to and be remembered as a good band is probably not to be remembered at all.

Time will tell whether they make the grade in a very exclusive club, but on tonights showing this is a band which deserves to endure.

Four Stars ****.

Wisdom in Books Indeed.

Imagine your standing in a library. One of those really old libraries with really high ceilings and the individual lights over each desk.

There are so many books here that they have one of those little ladders with wheels on hand to reach those which are too high.

The air is thick with a musty smell that is only ever a combination of dried paper and aged leather bound volumes, and on the otherside of the room there is even a little old lady called Agnes who helps you find whatever you require.

WISDOM IN BOOKS is about living in this library. Its about understanding the world around us by interrpreting all sources which are available, delving below the surface of everything to find the truth, and investigating that truth to see how it applies to life.

Ordering My CD collection.

Having just finished my final tangle of examinations, (I'm not sure what the correct collective term is exams, so I have improvised here..) I have found myself with a lot of time on my hands.

It hilarious that when I was studying there was a million and one things that I wanted to do but couldn't, and now that I can do anything at all, fun ideas seem to have evaporated completely.

The most interesting thing which I have managed to do today is to reorganise my CD collection. (This was a more detailled process than it sounds, requiring an entire Saturday afternoon to check that everything is in the right place, clean and replace broken cases, and fully organise everything.)

I did think of storing everything autobiographically in a Rob-Fleming-High-Fidelity style haze, however on reflection, I'm much too half assed for such things, and instead decided to plump for the standard althabetical approach.





Through the afternoon, I have drawn a few conclusions. Here they are..

I own CDs which I should be **ASHAMED** of, but strangely am not.
(Two S-Club7 albums, B*Witched's debut and Aqua's Aquarium to name a few..)

• I own one album by a band whose name begins with 'Z'.
• The most common name first letter is 'S'.
• Hardly no-ones band begins with 'H', 'Q', or 'X'.
• I have too much money, and I spend too much money on CDs..

It has been on my mind recently that we are all a patchwork quilt of the things that we love.. We define ourselves in terms of the things that we are interested in and the activities that we do.

This definition bleeds into every facet of our lives - the friends that we choose, the clothes that we wear, and the places that we go.

When I accepted Jesus, I knew that I was crucified with Christ - I am now made new. Jesus living inside of me, and the Holy Spirit working through me. So why so I want to hold onto these earth things, which have no real value in the end?

I am also very conscious that we sometimes use these worldly things as a barrier to the protect us from other people. In the end sometimes I think that we are all just trying to "out cool" each other.

I guess I should try to start thinking of myself as defined in Christ, and not Companct Discs..

"I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me."
(Galatians 2:20).

Songs That Make Me Press Rewind..

You know when you're listening to a cd for the first time and you come across one of those songs..

A tune that makes the hairs on your neck stand up.. One of such beauty, that you hit rewind straight away to hear it again..

Here my top 12 in no order..

1. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism
2. Wilco - At Least Thats What You Said
3. Ryan Adams - Nuclear
   
4. Regina Spektor - Samson
   
5. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
   
6. Arcade Fire - Rebellion
7. Bloc Party - Little Thoughts
   
8. Bright Eyes - Light Pollution
9. Duke Special - No Cover Up
10. Fast Emperors - It Should Be Always Like This
    
11. The Go! Team - Huddle Formation
    
12. Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
    

This just came to me. Now think of your 12, and go listen to them..