We’ve Only Just Begun 2024

Gloomtastic!

https://www.whelanslive.com/event/weve-only-just-begun-2024/

The last festival I went to was either Lisdoonvarna or Castlebar when I was 17 or 18, and at this stage of my life, the thought of using a plastic toilet for the weekend fills me with absolute dread so I have avoided them.

However, a 3 day festival that’s a 20 minute bus ride from home, where all the bands are just starting off and the tickets cost €15 was music to my ears.

Anyone else going?

Starting this thread to garner interest and hopefully provide a diary of the bands playing.

Bring it on!

Stillill42

Yep, looks great, fantastic value. Might dive in myself.

RangerToby

Deffo check out Shark School and Thanks Mom.

Caught Shark School at BTP in June - Promising bit of grungy punk

Thanks Mom where at Forest Fest and equally a promising rock angst and cracking female vocals but the Drummer makes this band with brilliant fill and beat variations in all their tracks

Gloomtastic!

And we’re off! An 8pm start. 12:30 finish I believe.

Decarteret

5-piece from Cork, late-teens, funk/r&b, very proficient. Very confident lead singer, lovely voice. 

Great start……

Gloomtastic!

Maria Kelly

As soon as she said she sings sad songs, the whole audience just moved forward. 🤯

We’ll see……

Gloomtastic!

Despite being so laid back, she has the audience in the palm of her hand. Folksy/blues.

1st toilet break: 4 minutes there and back

Gloomtastic!

Why don’t older people go to small gigs?

Gloomtastic!

Quick (that took ages) dash upstairs to see….

Emma Noodles

Hmmmmm.

Back downstairs quick….

Stillill42

Heroic reportage, Gloomtastic. Keep it going!

Gloomtastic!

Amy Michelle

Such a clean sound. Singer/lead guitar, second guitar and a bloke squatting on the floor playing a box. To come across this effortless takes talent. Lead singer’s voice is amazing despite her saying she was losing it. My favourite so far. 

Gloomtastic!

Quicker dash back upstairs cos I think I know where I’m going now. Only caught the last number from

Ezra Williams

Gloomtastic!

Niamh Bury

Country/folk/trad singer who writes some really good tunes with some nice original riffs. 

Gloomtastic!

Downstairs finished about 11:15. Home to bed, work in the morning…..

CoffeeImpala

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122481573#Comment_122481573

This was a very stripped back set-up from when I've seen her before and as you've said she was very good as a result. I wasn't sure if it was the act I'd seen before until she switched from the acoustic to the lilac electric.

I also don't seem to have a note of having seen her at EP22 despite clearly remembering having a conversation with Mucker while watching the performance. I had to go find the post to be sure I wasn't losing it. Now that the track and other commercial pop bits have been dropped she sounds much more like what I was expecting back then. I doubt tonight's set-up is their usual one.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119588726/#Comment_119588726

To fill in the gaps for upstairs:

Dream Boy - These were very good. Let's call it indie rock of some description. I was little distracted making arrangements for next weekend but would definitely catch again.

Emma Noodles - Not quite there yet but maybe has potential. I wouldn't be paying to see them just yet.

Ezra Williams - There was a lot of chat between songs that took a while to die down once the song started. Wasn't as good as I would have expected given the potential evident in the Smoothboi Ezra days. Playing with a bigger band in Fishtown on Friday at 7.

Violet - Vocals, Drums, and keys/synth. Reasonably entertaining pop with a strong vocal.

Gloomtastic!

Great night’s sleep. Did it rain? It may have done…..😋

Gloomtastic!

8pm start, on the button.

Dose

Hmmm. The keyboard player had an interesting voice.

Forgot to take pic. It’s Friday! 😎

Next…….

Gloomtastic!

Rachel Mae Hannon

They should lower the instruments so her voice can shine. They’re drowning her.

Gloomtastic!

Yep, still happening…..

Gloomtastic!

€10 in Whelan’s for two bottles of 0.0 lager.

Bands are on and off in 15 minutes. Exactly as a concert should be. House controls all the sound system/engineers and drums. Bands just bring their instruments.

Gloomtastic!

set list

Gloomtastic!

Cela …….

Just getting better and better, killer guitar playing. 

Gloomtastic!

That was worth the €15 alone. Lead was fantastic and totally owned it but the guitarist was fantasticer, those sounds!

Electric Nitwit

Loving the reviews Gloomy, they'll inform my commute soundtrack next week

Did you catch Shark School? I like what I've heard so far

Gloomtastic!

Cruel Sister

At last a bit of Noise! 

CoffeeImpala

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122485391#Comment_122485391

That'd be Sara from Pillow Queens playing keys/synth in front of an audience for the first time because the usual musician was on honeymoon. I arrived a little late as they were starting a slow song which didn't really sit well with me. Thankfully for the rest of the set Lizzie's "Bitch Falcon" vocal really shone through. Significantly improved on the last time I saw them.

Rachel Mae Hannon seems to be going for a different interpretation of her music every time I've seen her perform. Tonight's lounge singer style was not for me.

Thanks Mom, Shark School, and Cruel Sister were all really good.

Celaviedmai was quite energetic but I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention. I arrived down halfway through their set because I watched Stella and the Dreaming, who's music was (as described by someone behind me) "so beautiful", until the end. I then left quite quickly to get back upstairs for Shark School.

Spooklet to finish . I'd previously seen her perform at another multi stage event and left very quickly to catch anything else. With no other options I sat down and let the bassy track wash over me. Probably not an act I'd choose to see again but I was enjoying the music by the end.

Granite Head

Thanks for the reviews Gloomtastic!. What were the crowd numbers like? Hopefully it is a success for all involved.

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486233#Comment_122486233

Downstairs was quiet on Thursday but nicely packed last night. Upstairs was packed on Thursday so imagine it was even busier last night but I stayed downstairs all night.

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122485812#Comment_122485812

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4c61VuJuumv26ISGZ4VzcO?si=8eaoJubfS-KwkRc1zKwgGQ

Thanks. Here you go for starters. You can’t make out that guitarist from the tracks but he was amazing live.
Shark School were upstairs so missed them.

bodhrandude

Strange name for a festival sounds like it was taken from Slade's Xmas hit. 😀

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486803#Comment_122486803

I think it’s a great name, even though some of them have been going for years.

Just realised this morning when watching a promo for it on YouTube that all the leads are female/non-binary. 🤯

Gloomtastic!

Kick-off in 4 minutes

Gloomtastic!

Somebody keeps farting nearby. Once was bad, two is getting towards unforgettable. 🤢

Gloomtastic!

Qbanaa

Latino with a dub accent. Really good.

So it’s a festival organised by women for female/non-binary bands. Lady called Shona has been mentioned several times.
Really well run.

I was organising a School Battle of the Bands as a fundraiser a while ago and I budgeted for 20mins on/off between bands. Didn’t happen in the end, health & safety nonsense. I wasn’t far off though.

Electric Nitwit

I love the fact they didn't make a big deal about it being female/non-binary in advance, feels like a much more genuine way of simply promoting the talent. The fact you were there a couple of days before noticing is (I think) pretty cool

Gloomtastic!

They’re running out of order and because there’s no MC, no idea who’s on now.

I don’t do MOTR but crowd loved them.

Gloomtastic!

The Cliffords 

The bass player also does trumpet - Legend!

Gloomtastic!

Cabl 

Yes! More noise.

Gillman1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122413768#Comment_122413768

totally agree re Shark School, saw them last weekend at All Together Now and I thought they were really impressive

Gloomtastic!

^ Really catchy riff in their second to last song.

Whelan’s is packed. Not sure if they all paid in to the festival and looks like most of the them just want to drink.

Anyways, great three nights of live music for €15.00. They learnt their instruments, wrote the songs and then performed them in front of strangers. Well done everybody!

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122489217#Comment_122489217

Yeah, I agree.

But it’s a format that would work with a good few genres. Would definitely do that again.

CoffeeImpala

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122489234#Comment_122489234

I think in this case the sound desk was given the wrong bit of paper. The acts played in the order given on the email sent out. Although the second and third acts started 15 minutes late.

Given that the Cliffords seem to have started on time I assume the late start was somewhat planned to avoid a big gap later on. I certainly hope Lucy Blue's guitarist didn't actually need the 15 minutes he seemed to take tuning two guitars. Her sad pop was not as good as when I'd previously seen her. It might just be that the track was too loud and drowned out the vocal a bit.

I went upstairs before the end to catch most of Martina and the Moons. These are very good. My notes from previous gigs say they start out at the light end of indie rock and build to a heavier sound through the set. Tonight seemed to be just all heavy.

Given the late running downstairs I think I made it back before Annie Dog started. These were good but I suspect there were issues with the sound mix in the early songs. I left before the end to catch what turned out to be a last minute replacement upstairs.

She said she would be playing Artlot on Friday. Looking at the acts on the poster and the cadence I think she said her name is Kyla Belle. Just her and a guitarist on stage with no track. She did a cover of "What Was I Made For?" and a lot of the set sounded like the down beat end of Billie's catalogue. I'd go to again.

Cliffords and CABL both very good as Gloomtastic! said. Theo I'll hold off commenting on but she has potential.

TenPicnics

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122486803#Comment_122486803

Or the title of a Carpenters song.