giveamanakick | final show
Dolan’s Warehouse
Friday December 18 2009

Always a sad day when a band calls time, especially when that band kicks ass. giveamanakick gave one hell of a farewell gig in Dolan’s Warehouse on December 18th. Their farewell tour saw them play to full houses in Galway, Cork, Dublin, Mullingar and Waterford but their final ever gig was in their hometown of Limerick. Steve and Keith were bursting with punk rock energy as always, in fact it was seeping from every pore, which in turn ignited a raw energy from the crowd.

GAMAK played a variety of favourites from their three albums: ‘Say No to Sports’ from ‘Is It Ok to Be Loud, Jesus?’ to ‘Let God Touch Your Children’ from ‘We Are The Way Forward’.  They even treated us to ‘Darko Filopovic’, an old song which they don’t usually play live. It was a night of mayhem, punk rock, sentimentality, and a few tears I’d imagine-the big hug the guys gave each other at the end of the gig brought a lump to my throat anyway. For the grand finale, GAMAK went out on a cover of ‘We Built this City on Rock and Roll’. GAMAK- rock and roll won’t be the same without you.
- Ciara Peters

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The Night After Christmas
An empty factory on the border
Saturday December 26 2009

Photo: Emma Ryan

“Rave Review:Paralegal sage sparks Rave”
Like any good underground event getting there proved to be a mission
and an opportunity to cement relationships that would prove to be
hilarious. The secret location wasn’t kept so for long, the mayhem that was  the
buses soon forced revelers to make their own way. As rumors of the
whereabouts of the undisclosed locations filtered through from texts and taxi drivers we made our way by foot and fare. Dressed for a party in my best luminous attire, glow-stick in hand, I was not prepared for the sub zero march out a country road. Warmed only by Buckfast and anticipation, I  wrangled a lift with two young tracksuited gents who were more than generous with their conversation and party favorites. These weren’t the type of locals I would usually choose to spend a Saturday night with but if a party like this is
about anything its about leaving your  prejudices safely at the coat check and never coming back for them. What a sight to behold and a sound that I haven’t experienced since 1995.The gut churning wobble and the
outstanding graffiti worked in poetic tandem with the tripped out bug eyed mass . And who can’t remember how sweet those bass drops sounded when rushing on your second 2CB. If the reunion on the 13th in Dolans is even a tenth of this, it’s gonna be fierce.
- Rapid Tackies

The Night After Christmas Reunion Rave kicks off in Dolan’s Warehouse on Saturday February 13th with Dan Sykes, Tokin’ Whiteboy, Ruan Flood & Dj Deadly Buzz. Doors @ 9pm, entry only €6, with a free beer for early arrivers.

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Choke Comedy Improv & Freeform Foundation
Thursday January 28th
Belltable Arts Centre & Shannon Rowing Club

The Belltable Unfringed Festival signals an exit from he post New Year’s doldrums falling as it does at January’s end. 2010 saw a lighter programme running over five days, but the Belltable haven’t eschewed quality to work within the boundaries of these tighter times, showcasing a wealth of local talent in a line-up that includes some fittingly fringe elements. Limerick’s Choke Comedy have been drawing great crowds to the Belltable for their monthly unhinged Improv nights and their popularity was emphasised when they filled the Belltable and then some for their Unfringed piece, Pure Sketchy. This 90 minute or so show sketch show took the group out of their comfort zone, as they built up a panorama of Limerick city moving the action from the People’s Park, to a local community centre, to a middle class dinner party via the hang-out of a mixed bag of local criminals. Choke’s Improv nights are built on the interaction between the audience and the players, without this hook it fell to the Choke team to maintain the pace which had some ebbs and flows, but Unfringed asks for risks to be taken and Choke did that. With some sketches landing better than others, in all Choke  attempted to climb a slippery comedy mountain and succeeded.

Photo: Emma Ryan

Moving swiftly from the packed Belltable to the equally busy Shannon Rowing Club I caught the long and beautifully winding second half of a rare show by Limerick’s Freeform Foundation who were guests of Speakeasyjazz. Billed as a funk, groove, and jazz inspired improv group, they did not disappoint. Meandering but never loosing the hook, wandering without becoming self-indulgent with the riffs, raising the tempo without ever running off without the musical cart they played to a hugely appreciative crowd until well past my bedtime. Excellent stuff.
- Sarah

-Choke Comedy Improv return to the Belltable Interim Space on Cecil Street on Thursday February 18th @ 8pm.

-Speakeasyjazz welcomes The Sunshine Cab Company followed by Dj Jeff Ree to the Shannon Rowing Club on Thursday February 11th.