Gigs of the month or A Tale of Two Gigs...

While we're waiting to get our own exclusive live gigging channel live on air, here are a few live gems from one of our Cornerstones...with more unique events and concerts to be added over time.

If you've read our tale of two films page then you may have already have noticed links to these gigs on their MySpace page but we've added a little extra to our 'tale of two Frames gigs' in the form of a couple of Declan O'Rourke songs as our 'supporting act' in this Fabchannel playlist. Why?..well, ex - Jam founder and solo artist, Paul Webber, when asked 'which songs he thought were so good that he wished he had written them himself' actualy nominated Declans song Galileo as a current favourite. Pauls answer totaly baffled us as our answer would have been Declans other song on the playlist called 'Sarah' so we just had to add them both to let you decide. Declans and the Frames were both playing (on seperate nights) live in Amsterdam for this first of two Frames gigs ...............(click the Frames poster to the left).

Staying with the high kings of Dublins busking and musical community, including an exclusive new album release and it's domino effect on our editors brain here's the low down as quoted from the big ape himself...

  "If anyones clued in to the goings on of The Frames, Glen Hansard and the Swell Season then they'll probably be aware that fiddler Colm MacConIomaire has just released his own solo album called the Hares Corner which is about... well, read the story from Colm at the link and you'll see...pretty inspirational stuff.

  The music however , makes Nigel Kennedy look like an old fart ( a title Nigel is personaly quite proud of using himself) and after just a few of Colm's notes on the track 'Time Will Tell' this ruddy great Hare darted up my leg, through my oriface , caused absolute mayhem in my brain and made me instantly regurgitate the following before climbing out of my nose, thwaking me round the head with his ruddy great feet ,and dissappearing in a sweet smelling haze of quiet reflection...

Time Will Tell (of You)

Time will tell if we will get to cross the fords

Time will tell if we will be remembered

Time will tell if we have been loved

And Time will dance with joy if we loved right to the end

Time will stand up and sing

of all the hopes and dreams

That danced and turned and twisted

Among wide open winding streams

Time will stand up

Cry out

open and lay bare

Every hope and secret

you never thought he knew was there

Though time will listen to our troubles

and time may weary with our trials

Time will listen and remember

To all thats said and done

And time will love you with it's every second

And love you till you're gone

Time will take you on in gentle streams

And out in leaps and bounds

Ever constant in it's changing

of it's constant sights and sounds

Time will take you close and hold you

and go dancing with your soul

From the second you are born

till the day that you grow old

And time will have hidden in the world

all moments of the past

But still He'll dance with joy

If we loved to the last.

copyright Mairtin O'Riain 5th August 08 (with special liscence priveledges for Colm MacConIomaire as it was his pet bloody Hare in the first place!)"

To hear the music it was made/inpired for go to

 Our second Frames gig was filmed in Sidneys Metro Theatre when the band were taking 'a day off' from their busy touring schedule alongside Bob Dylan in August 2007. Watch the reactions of the crowd (most of whom had probably never seen or heard the Frames before...) as they are slowly disarmed, placed at ease and totaly won over by the band by the end of the night.Well, what more can we say... but, if you're in an indie band then 'that's the way to do it!' In case you couldn't find this one on their MySpace profile this one is provided by Australias MoshCam(accessed by the Frames poster on the right).If you are desperate to see Glen and Mar on their Swell Season tour for 2008 ,well... new autumn dates have just been announced (with new Frames dates to follow soon also).You can check for available dates by browsing the blue link button to our new TicketMaster widget for specific Swell Season dates in your area:

A DVD is now also available here of a candlelit Swell Season performance at the Good Shepherd Center Chappel in Seattle :

You can also download and view live dates from The Swell Season Tour on Playedlastnight.com

  Breaking off temporarily at a slight tangent, though still very much connected to gigs and The Swell Season....one particular gig proved not only to be a 'gig of the month' but a 'gig of the century' for one hard working busker once unexpectedly invited to take centre stage at a recent Swell Season stadium sellout.

  Stephen Bacon had spent the last few years busking his way from the icy wastelands of Alaska to the (not that much warmer when the wind kicks in) streets of New York and Boston. On September 19th '08 Stephen spent the day busking outside the Boston Agganis Arena while, just like many buskers, he dreamed of one day playing inside, in the warm, to a packed house ...a little like Glen Hansard once did when playing outside Dublin Castle in the eighties. After six hours of wearing his fingers to the bone and singing himself hoarse he opened his eyes to find his audience consisted of the beaming faces of Glen and Marketa who were just on their way inside to prepare for their gig that night.

  After a brief chat (...if thats actualy possible with Glen) they parted company having truly made Stephens day. But when Stephen went to watch The Swell Season concert later that night he found himself fulfilling every buskers dream when Glen suddenly called him up to the stage and asked to perform to a full house...

  As a busker , Stephen Bacon is a multi talented award winner in his own right with three well crafted albums already tucked in behind him (two of which are exceptional)..but that night at the Boston Agganis a very real dream came true in a most astounding way and the audio from the night will surely send shivers up any musicians or songwriters spine and the overwhelming crowd response may well even cause the odd tear too....

Stephens music is suitable for all ages but Glens enthusiasm for Stephens performance does involve language that some may find offensive...twice! So it's a green triangle for Stephen but a red for Glen and were telling his mother too. The full story, links to buy previous albums and the astounding audio are available at his following MySpace and .com links...