Ruby Sessions 20-06-2006

Another memorable Ruby Session at Doyles last night. This time it was not empty, no, on the contrary, it was jam packed with girls! What is going on? Why the sudden interest in the sessions? Well, it sure wasn't for Conor Furlong. Brave of him to perform, but he has to learn some more chords. Up next was half the band Travega who gave away a very nice performance of their usual electric rocky sound. Solid tunes, great voice and some nice finger picking there. Well, not soon after, it became all clear to me. On stage now was Paulo Nutini who is a 19 year old shy scottish indie lad with great potential. This turned out to be shown earlier on the Jools Holland tv show. Eat your heart out James Blunt, goodbye Richard Ashcroft, here is Mr Nutini with a nice mix of emotional rock ballads mixed with some soul and a nice raw voice. And of course all the indie girls loved it. And, to be honest, so did I :)

myspace Paulo Nutini
website Conor Furlong
profile Travega

Duke Special in Whelans

Duke Special and his wonderful collection of support acts (Thomas Truax and also The Amazing Pilots) entertained us all night long at Whelans. Lots of creativity went by, from country music played on home made instruments to emotional piano ballads with washboard and whisk percussion. Duke made laugh and cry at the same time. A cover of Video killed the radio star gave the evening a happy ending so that we could go to bed with a big smile on our faces.

myspace Thomas Truax
myspace The Amazing Pilots
myspace Duke special

A warm hug for Cafe Gertrude

Time for a shameless plug.

By day, Cafe Gertrude serves excellent coffee and gorgeous bowls of soup, as well as a wide selection of sandwiches. By night the usual fare is pizza and pasta dishes (try the chicken fettucini). The setting is lovely and the service the kind that encourages you to stay for a while. It's a great place to take a breather from the hectic pace of Temple Bar.

3-4 Bedford Row
Temple Bar
Dublin

Glendalough

This majestic scenery can be found in the Wicklow mountains. It is a view down the valley of Glendalough. You can spot the upper lake and the smaller lower one. Near the lower one are the remains of a big monastry settlement and a graveyard. There is also a recreation area where families have fun with the BBQ's. Starting from down the lake are several hiking trails.