Back in the game & The Lion continues to roar!

After a week and a half I’ve finally got a new charger for my Powerbook and a whole new backlog of work. As I’ve said before, it’s not that I break these things intentionally, they just seem to quickly get exhausted from over-use. This is my third (and hopefully last) charger for my Powerbook, and already it’s being put to the test.

First up, my shots from The Lions Mane‘ spectacular return to Cleere’s Theatre with KilkennyMusic.com on the October bank holiday weekend. As I mentioned in my previous post, this gig will go down as one of the best gigs I have ever been to.

A huge crowd that ranged from teenage metallers to near old age pensioners packed themselves in to the backroom in Cleere’s. Outside was a small group of under-agers that had made several failed attempts to sneak into the gig, it was unfortunate, they weren’t there to drink. Situations and varied crowds like this are not your normal thing at a gig in Kilkenny. A lot of the time the only people at a gig are friends of the band. It’s well-known that it’s tough to pull a crowd to a gig in Kilkenny unless you’re into the “keyboards and scarves” scene or you’re still feeling nostalgic about Kerbdog as they play yet another “this is our last ever gig” gig.

This was to be The Lions Mane’ third gig, one that showed that the lion is only beginning to roar, yet another awesome display of musical ability by young Kilkenny musicians that are only beginning to come into their own. The gathered crowd were here to enjoy and encourage this because the result is something truly positive and unlike somewhat naive bands in this town that preach positivity in an effort to be profound The Lions Mane mean what they say. What’s the point of that finger being itchy if you’re too pussy to pull the trigger!? A lesson the almighty himself, king of the scene-to-be-seen, could have learned if he had manged to take a few small steps away from flexing at the bar outside into the backroom for the gig. Members of Atrax Mantis, Blue Meryl, Chemical Addiction, Teratoria and more managed that long walk.

The gig kicked off late, but I don’t think anybody minded too much, the previously unheard of Ethanol Mines were first up on the bill. An Anagram for The Lions Mane, Ethanol Mines was the perfect way to unveil new tracks from debut offering ‘Strands’, known as the DNA tracks, they’re the songs between the songs but no less awesome. People were confused to see members of The Lions Mane take to the stage joined by Gary McGuire on the bodhran. It quickly became unimportant who Ethanol Mines were, the songs; a mixture of acoustic guitars, various percussion from drums, jembi and the bodhran with melodies and harmonies are in a different direction from previously heard tracks but as I’ve said “no less awesome”. I spent the set at the front of the stage playing around with different flash bursts and testing slow shutter settings. Trying not to let the flash kill the awesome atmosphere at the gig.

Ethanol Mines left the crowd well and truly hungry for more, which was sure to follow after a short break. Next up were Tame, newly added to the bill I hadn’t seen them in about two years and was looking forward to their set but not before a trip to the bar, which turned into several conversations and by the time I waded through the crowd to the front of the stage again, Tame were in their final throws, the lads were diving around the stage, people had lost clothing and I had clearly missed an awesome set. Hopefully I’ll get to see them soon.

The Lions Mane returned to the stage, this time minus Gary McGuire but joined by new guitarist Thomas O’Donoghue. Taking it from where they left it with Ethanol Mines, but kicking up the energy, The Lions Mane are clearly capable of pulling the trigger. I spent the beginning of the set squashed at the front of the stage trying to shoot against the direct light which changed colour to the beat, meaning with slow shutter it was very easy to get complete burnt out areas, but using different flash bursts I got what I wanted. By half way through their set I found myself quite frequently putting my camera on the stage so I could join the mosh pit or sing-along. By the end of the set I had to get onto the front of the stage to avoid the constant moshing so I could take any shots. Throughout the gig the energy and warmth in the room was quite visible, the short breaks between songs were filled with interaction between the band who were clearly enjoying themselves and the audience who were clearly enjoying themselves. There was no preaching, just music for music’s sake, and when people shouted slogans like “be your own hero” the room filled with laughter because everyone was in on the joke.

The gig went on well after closing time and as the house light’s finally came on, a polite sign to “get the hell out”, The Lions Mane erupted into a brand new song, ‘New Exact Math’. I don’t think they could have picked a better title, the song is an incredible blast of chunky riffs and changing time signatures that left even the most dedicated moshers struggling to figure out how to throw themselves around to the breakdowns, leaving most of the audience standing stunned as The Lions Mane all finished pummelling their instruments in unison. Unfortunately the song doesn’t appear on ‘Strands‘, it was written after the recording process. But like this gig; the song is a clear indication that this is only the beginning, there’s plenty more to come from The Lions Mane.

You can see all my shots from the gig here on my flickr, knowing I’ll be shooting The Lions Mane several times in the future means I can play around and test new styles. I did make a road-trip with the lads to Dublin for their gig in the Boom Boom Room on Halloween night, but only to watch the gig. Unfortunately we had to cancel our studio shoot last weekend, everything’s a bit hectic, but it will go ahead in the next few weeks. I’ve also got to begin editing the ‘Smegma‘ music video, having shot all the footage when the lads were in the studio recording I’m still trying to sort myself out with an editing suite (more on that soon).

Aside from The Lions Mane, the Devious Theatre production of ‘The War Of The Worlds‘ on KCLR96fm was a big success, I’m not sure if we will get reviewed but there’s still more to come from ‘The War Of The Worlds’ (more on that soon).

Episode 3 of Mycrofilms web-based sitcom ‘Vultures‘, ‘The Mystery Of The Night Time Refuse’ goes online and will be FREE TO WATCH on www.vulturespi.com this Sunday, following a cast & crew screening in Ryan’s on Saturday night. It’s surely going to be an awesome night, that’s if I survive my graduation this Friday, I can’t wait to see everyone again but I’m actually nervous about how crazy it will get.

Filming has already begun on Vultures episode 4, my first venture into the world of directing (more on this soon), it’s already proving an awesome experience and I’ll have plenty of behind-the-scenes shots and videos very soon…