Over the past few years Castlepalooza has proven itself a worthy addition to the Irish festival season. Situated in the wonderful surroundings of Charleville Castle, its relative small size means you’re never too far from anything and it also provides a chance for so many homegrown acts to perform. This year’s festival was no different; friendly staff, decent food (for it’s limited size especially) and even if you ‘can’t’ bring beer in with you, what was on offer was reasonable.

Friday had an air of ‘the calm before the storm’ to it, the lineup was a bit lightweight too. However, this and the threat of rain did little to dampen people’s spirits. Friday night’s highlight was undoubtedly Scroobious Pip. Backed with a live band his furiously frenetic rap/rock combo exploded the festival into life and his lyrical deliver was equally impressive. An inspired and extremely enjoyable performance which did more than enough to warrant checking out his debut solo album from last year, Distraction Pieces.

If Friday was somewhat underwhelming Saturday was the opposite and littered with many great moments. The first of which was Dublin band The Statics, their slick performance on the main stage was the highlight of the weekend. There was no bullshit bravado, just solid tunes in the vein of The La’s, John Power and The Coral, played with an assured sense of style. The show was an absolute joy, they certainly have a knack for decent tunes that seems to come effortlessly, hopefully we get to hear a release very soon.

Up next were two chance encounters, first was Rob Steenson at the Deezer Stage. A rapper from Dublin’s North Inner City he was accompanied by drums, accoustic guitar and two vocalists, this boy can certainly rap and worth following up. As the sun began to shine it was back to the Main Stage something completely different, The North Strand Kontra Band, who really brought the party buzz to Castlepalooza. Their fusion of traditional Balkan sounds with a sort of two-tone ska underbelly whipped people into a dance-filled-frenzy. So much fun, it was a real shame their set was cut short.

After a breather it was back to the Deezer Stage for The Violet Roadkills. The Dublin 4-piece produced one hell of a show. A powerful mix of heavy riffs and driving synths, channeled into a haze of Electronica and Krautrock, the kind of thing you would expect from Death In Vegas. Next, Monto, SertOne and REID. How often will you get the chance to see three of the most impressive new faces from Ireland’s burgeoning electronic scene in a row? Monto just keeps getting better and better, the new material sounds even meatier than before while SertOne’s DJ set was superb and it was attacked with real aggression. Both of them had the Courtyard Stage pumping. Then it was back to the Deezer Stage where REID’s deep atmospheric electronics and chunky beats had the place flying.

That was that, Sunday was not meant to be after being woken early, 6.30am in fact, by torrential rain. It wad quickly obvious my tent wasn’t designed for this sort of weather. With a tent full of water, wet and weary I headed for home, a pity really but Saturday was one of the most enjoyable days at a festival I’ve had in a long, long time.

 

Now in its sixth year, Castlepalooza Music and Arts Festival returned to Charleville Castle Tullamore, Co. Offaly over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Castlepalooza is the best small festival in Ireland (that I have been to) with friendly staff and idyllic surroundings of Charleville Castle and it’s forests adding to the relaxed vibe. Their willingness to showcase homegrown acts must be commended too, as should the addition of the Courtyard Stage where I had the pleasure of enjoying a few sets by Two Charming Men. Small festivals certainly have their place on the Irish circuit.

Here’s a very a quick round-up of the weekend’s action along with some videos.

Saturday witnessed Moths’ first live performance and it was a glorious success. If there were any first gig nerves they were well hidden as his chilled electronica, which has a surprisingly bigger thump live, really captivated the sizable crowd inside the Big Top Stage. If we didn’t already know, this guy has a got a really bright future ahead of him. The new find of the weekend was Lasertom & The Blast Crew. A great set meshing an array of beats and trumpets with touches of disco, funk, electro-punk and gospel. Think Alamabama 3 crossed with LCD Soundsytem, definitely going to follow them up.

It was great to catch The Minutes once again who were superb, doing what they do best, massive sounding sleazy rock n roll. Finally getting the opportunity to see Django Django too, who brought their unique genre hopping sound to life on the Mainstage. I hope they don’t leave it too long before returning.

Kid Karate kicked the festival into life on Sunday morning, drawing a big crowd for such an early slot. Each time they play it is hard to believe two guys can make such a racket. It was yet another great set of gritty riff-laden rock n roll, including the ever amazing ‘HEART’ and ‘Black + Beige’. It was all brought to a conclusion with Kevin Breen finishing the set among a surprised crowd (Ciaran Dwyer-esque). There was no let up in the intensity as Jogging followed next, launching into a set of furiously raw punk riffage. 

A change from the abrasive with We Are Losers who wooed the crowd with their fuzzed-up lo-fi indie. These guys are something rather special, they just keep getting better each time I see them. By the end the Big Top Stage was bursting with feel-good-vibes.

Castlepalooza is a worthy and much-needed addition to the festival calendar – friendly security and staff and a good atmosphere from the 2000 or so punters.

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Now in its sixth year, Castlepalooza Music and Arts Festival returns to Charleville Castle Tullamore, County Offaly this Bank Holiday weekend from Friday July 29th to 31st.

Last years festival really won me over; some great music and a really nice and relaxed setting. They are also to be commended for their willingness to showcase homegrown acts, not to mention 3 Newbridge acts on this years bill (We Are Losers, Moths and Two Charming Men). As always your suggestions are welcome but here are my personal 6 acts not to be missed this years.

Moths (Saturday: Big Top Stage 17:15)

Moths (aka Jack Colleran) has created quite a fuss since releasing a number of tracks on the internet yet this will be a first chance to see him perform live. It has been a big year so far for Moths who’s beautiful chilled out electronica not only got many of us hot under the collar, but also Interpol who asked him to remix a track on their new EP – all while studying for the dreaded Leaving Cert. I’m very excited about this one!

 Download: Moths – Summer

Django Django (Saturday: Main Stage 22:30)

Selected as ones to watch in 2011, Django Django are near impossible to place within a single genre, bringing everything from old rockabilly artists to Devo, The Beatles and the Beta Band to the mix. It is inventive and catchy as hell danceable indie – it’s hard to do it justice with words, a band so good they named it twice. 

 Django Django – WOR via The Bonjour Branch

Hudson Mohawke (Saturday: Big Top Tent 23:45)

I’ve only recently discovered Hudson Mohawke through the Glaswegian’s new EP, Satin Panthers, which is sooooo good! The big bass drops of ‘Thunder Bay’ alone will be immense but I will bow to other people’s superior knowledge as I’ve only just got his 2009 album Butter. Looking forward to this one and familiarizing myself better with his material afterwards.

 Hudson Mohawke – Thunder Bay

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