Greetings. Yes, it’s that time again folks. 3am, my eyes are leaking all over my keyboard and my internet dongle is about to melt. Oh, you thought I meant the other time again; Christmassy- end of year, talk about what has gone and what is yet to come-time. Yip, we’re rounding that corner right about now too.

L.E.G sent  a round robin type survey out and plenty of y’all sent it back. Cheers birdies, the results are in.

Limerick-centric as we are we asked what your local Live Gig of 2009 was and although some shows emerged as frontrunners, your divergent opinions were energising. From Eagles of Death Metal in Dolan’s Warehouse to Hypnotic Brass Ensemble in Trinity Rooms via Lisa Hannigan’s enchanting set in Daghdha by way of Walter Mitty & The Realists frenetic album launch in Baker Place, momentous times were had at live shows across town all year. Sunken Foal’s performance in St Munchin’s Church during Tweak got serious props for electro-acoustic loveliness while Micronite’s party with Berlin trio Jahcoozi was voted number one for straight up freaky joy. I’m gonna engage in some shameless eightball-aggrandising and say Akil the MC’s appearance at the Belltable was as a standout night for me, one that extends beyond the boundaries of 2009. A hero and a gent. L.E.G is going to drop the WMFU live broadcast from Vivamusic Studios in the Live Gig box and rate it off the scale, Limerick represented in awesome style and blasted from Shannon-to-Stateside. Wuuurd. On the other side of the musical tracks the work of Bad Reputation Ireland in giving metal music and fans a new home in Baker Place warrants special mention as does their Seige of Limerick day long festival. SpeakeasyJazz’ monthly night in Shannon Rowing Club brought something special to town in ’09, right when we needed a little shimmy shimmy shoom boom.

Dj’s abound in this town, alongside producers, vinyl diggers and beloved anoraks so  before we toast the visitors, L.E.G would like to give well deserved praise to the local spinner’s who power our parties week in week out and the merry crowd of revellers who come along and dance to their selections. A family that raves together stays together. A point that came up in many responses is that this family is perhaps a little too small to sustain the level of activity around the town, 2010 should be about bringing new peeps to the parties.

Promoters like Strutt, What the F&ck is Tech House? Micronite, Kerrynini, Cheebah, Roots Factory and the Nu Killa Kru have brought guests galore to town making choosing your party a tortuous task. This glut of great nights out has meant some worthy shows have been left without the crowd they deserve but one thing is certain, our dj ambassadors have spoilt us rotten. Not enough people went, but it seems that all who did voted Kerrynini’s night with Andy Votel’s set in the Shannon Rowing Club as their favorite Dj Show of 2009. Cold consolation for mynameisjOhn of Kerryninni who enjoyed, “some of the best music he’d never heard before.” Jazzanova’s Alex Barck’s set at The Release Party pleased and pissed people off in equal measure, ironically for the same reason – everyone expected a Jazzanova set and instead we got a bricolage of house hued sounds, which went down beautifully or bombed depending on your perspective. Code and Bee’s Electronique night in Bentley’s quickly became a favorite fixture in the monthly calendar with DJ Scotch Egg’s set in Bakers hitting the right notes for whacked out and wonky wizardry while Marcus Intalex brought a beautiful selection of music to The Underground and mixed it seamlessly.  B+ a.k.a Brian Cross’s film screening and ensuing Dj set in Mickey’s lane was a wheelbarrow load of fun for a weekday while Deadmau5’ return to Trinity Rooms demonstrated in sweaty style that big dance parties live on.

We have a Live/ DJ crossover gig to salute; The Big Chillum in Dolan’s back in June. Horace Andy, Intinn, and Dom from Blood and Fire bringing an all day and well into the night rub a dub session powered by great vibes and the prowess of local selectors with Calibre lashing out the luxury drum n’ bass. Superb.

Now to the rooms where all this revellry goes down. Three categories: Best Pub, Best Club and Best Live Venue which ye all chose to construe differently. Nice one guys, L.E.G does like a good debate, so let’s get to it. Mickey Martin’s emerged as your pub of 2009 with the new Ardhú on the Ennis road getting lots of praise for it’s local pub feel and lush smoking area. Other favorites include Nancy’s and Tom’s for the Beamish and the craic. Points to note, we need more pubs!  What the F&ck is Tech House? and Micronite’s parties throughout the year got votes in the Best Club category for “flying the club flag in style” in the words of Cheebah’s Paul Tarpey, wherever they are boom bleeping it out. The Release Party at Au Bars was voted in the same box, for straightup get down goodness every Friday and  Bentley’s got more than a few nods of appreciation this year. All in all Trinity Rooms still looms largest in the Club Category for Limerick because of the diversity of acts and Courtyard antics. Best Live Venue when viewed straight on is pretty much a three way between Bakers, Dolans and Daghdha. I’ve got to add that any night I’ve been to in Shannon Rowing  Club has been immense fun, it’s a great room for the right show.

Last but not least, neither pub nor club nor live venue in the strictest sense, The Spirit Store was for the six weeks it was open something that existed outside categorisation, simply put a very special space where amazing things went down. Without a doubt the best thing to happen to Limerick this year as it infused the participants, audience and wider community with a infectious sense of hope and openess. I don’t believe the full effects of The Spiritstore have been felt yet, let’s hope they ripple on into 2010.

That’s all we have room for here folks, thanks for your input, for taking the time to read this piece and for making the effort to get out and get into it.

2009 in Music Downloads

Free music that won’t get ya kicked off eircom broadband | Andy Connolly

The mighty Dublab continues to fling music our way at an alarming rate recently publishing mixes and live sets from Flying Lotus, Animal Collective, Gaslamp Killer, Andy Votel, Daedelus, Clutchy Hopkins, Nosaj Thing, the list is exhausting but never less than exhilarating. Find of the year has to be Lithuanian site Monday Jazz, brightening up many a grim start to the week with a free mix each and every Monday. From obscure European DJs and producers to heavyweights in the beat scene, the quality rarely drops below fantastic. LA based club night Low End Theory ups a new podcast on the first of every month, satiating our appetite for demented hiphop and futuristic beats. Meatskull is one of the many bloggers compiling these myriad mixes from all over, making it a one stop shop for your free music needs. J - Rocc (best DJ in the world? Ever? Discuss….) keeps his Stoney Jackson blog ticking along nicely with mixes from himself and his assorted posse of beat junkies. Closer to home, Colz’s Smoke/Less/Fuels blog focuses on d’n'b, dubstep, ragga and general electronic mayhem. Alphabet Set’s T-Wok has also been pushing some great music, his esoteric Flutes n Vibes mixes a particular highlight. The online radio scene continues to grow with the shadow of original freeform radio station WFMU still looming large. Boasting an amazing array of shows of infinite variety 24 hours a day, the New Jersey based station is a truly inspiring resource well worth tuning into at any time of the day or night. Also worth a look are nOtheen.org, a European co-operative of Creative Commons licensed music, also broadcasting 24 hours a day. Both sites also feature extensive archives, so no worries if ya missed that show on Uzbeki highland folk.

Some linkage

www.dublab.com |             www.mondayjazz.com | www.lowendtheoryclub.com

www.meatskull.worpress.com |  www.stoneyjackson.blogspot.com

www.smokelessfuels.blogspot.com |             www.alphabetset.net

www.wfmu.org |             www.notheen.org