Shane and The Mighty Stef

[MacRua]

Shane has recorded a track with The Mighty Stef, a Dublin singer managed by Frank Murray. Also Cait has recorded a duet with Stef for the same CD.
The CD title is "100 Midnights". It's Stef's second studio album and due to be released in Feb 2009.

BTW The Mighty Stef is to play a special end of year show at Whelans on 30 Dec.

[dublinrambler]

Mighty!

[MacRua]

So: “100 midnights” is out in a week. Both mentioned collaborations are on it:
with Shane - 'Waitin' round to die'
with Cait O’Riordan - 'Safe At Home'.
There is a review of the album in the latest issue of Hot Press (Franz Ferdinand cover). Haven't seen it yet though.

Till Feb 14th The Mighty Stef is touring Ireland. Since Feb 19th (and till mid March) he is in America.

[dublinrambler]

So: “100 midnights” is out in a week. Both mentioned collaborations are on it:
with Shane - 'Waitin' round to die'
with Cait O’Riordan - 'Safe At Home'.
There is a review of the album in the latest issue of Hot Press (Franz Ferdinand cover). Haven't seen it yet though.

Till Feb 14th The Mighty Stef is touring Ireland. Since Feb 19th (and till mid March) he is in America.

Hmmmmm.....i wonder is "Waitin' round to die" a cover of the great Townes Van Zant tune?!

[Cdn Steve]

The Mighty Stef is in New York at The Mercury Lounge, 217 E Houston St - on March 12. Looks like it's a good place for live music. Any New Yorkers with a review of the venue? Do they allow the band to play into the wee hours?
The East Village is a long way from The Roseland, however - could be a stretch to catch the show after The Pogues have worn us out that night.

[dublinrambler]

The Mighty Stef is in New York at The Mercury Lounge, 217 E Houston St - on March 12. Looks like it's a good place for live music. Any New Yorkers with a review of the venue? Do they allow the band to play into the wee hours?
The East Village is a long way from The Roseland, however - could be a stretch to catch the show after The Pogues have worn us out that night.

The Mercury Lounge is a grand spot, they can operate 2 shows a night, an early one( 7pm ish) and a late one (10pm ish), so depending on when The Mighty Stef takes to the stage its possible. Its a small ,dark bar, about halfway back theres a door leading into the small room where the gigs are on.

[Zuzana]

Hmmmmm.....i wonder is "Waitin' round to die" a cover of the great Townes Van Zant tune?!

Obviously it is:

MacGowan sings Townes
By MichaelCorcoran Saturday, February 7, 2009
austin360.com
Full URL

In one of the most chilling covers heard in awhile, hard-living songwriter Shane MacGowan, who’s back with the Pogues, sings Townes Van Zandt’s “Waitin’ Round To Die” as a guest on The Mighty Stef’s new album “100 Midnights.”
Led by Stefan Murphy (who’s been pegged sort of a Dublin garage rock version of Nick Cave, though new single “Downtown” sounds nothing like that), the Mighty Stef plays Stubb’s Feb. 28 with Flogging Molly. To sample some of Stef’s music, though, sadly not the Van Zandt cover nor the duet with the late, great Ronnie Drew on “The Mero,” go here.
The Mighty Stef will also be playing SXSW next month.

[dublinrambler]

Hmmmmm.....i wonder is "Waitin' round to die" a cover of the great Townes Van Zant tune?!

Obviously it is:

MacGowan sings Townes
By MichaelCorcoran Saturday, February 7, 2009
austin360.com
Full URL

In one of the most chilling covers heard in awhile, hard-living songwriter Shane MacGowan, who’s back with the Pogues, sings Townes Van Zandt’s “Waitin’ Round To Die” as a guest on The Mighty Stef’s new album “100 Midnights.”
Led by Stefan Murphy (who’s been pegged sort of a Dublin garage rock version of Nick Cave, though new single “Downtown” sounds nothing like that), the Mighty Stef plays Stubb’s Feb. 28 with Flogging Molly. To sample some of Stef’s music, though, sadly not the Van Zandt cover nor the duet with the late, great Ronnie Drew on “The Mero,” go here.
The Mighty Stef will also be playing SXSW next month.

well good golly, miss molly....looking forward to hearing this. Townes Van Zandt is totally fantastic

[The Duke of Ingmar]

well good golly, miss molly....looking forward to hearing this. Townes Van Zandt is totally fantastic

Well, talking about (musical) dreams come true ... have to get the CD as soon as it comes out.

I hope this will finally help giving TvZ´s songs the recognition they deserve.

WAITIN' AROUND TO DIE
Townes Van Zandt

Sometimes I don't know where
this dirty road is taking me
sometimes I can't even see the reason why
I guess I keep a-gamblin'
lots of booze and lots of ramblin'
it's easier than just waitin' around to die

One time, friends, I had a ma
I even had a pa
he beat her a belt once 'cause she cried
She told him to take care of me
headed down to Tennessee
it's easier than just waitin' around to die

I came of age and I found a girl
in a Tuscaloosa bar
She cleaned me out and hit in on the sly
I tried to kill the pain, bought some wine
and hopped a train
seemed easier than just waitin' around to die

A friend said he knew
where some easy money was
we robbed a man, and brother did we fly
the posse caught up with me
and drug me back to Muskogee
it's two long years I've been waitin' around to die

Now I'm out of prison
I got me a friend at last
he don't drink or steal or cheat or lie
His name's Codeine
he's the nicest thing I've seen
together we're gonna wait around and die
together we're gonna wait around and die

[Low D]

I hope this will finally help giving TvZ´s songs the recognition they deserve.

Not disagreeing with you, as i love Townes' songs, but i think Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard, Jimmy Dale Gilmour, Nancy Griffith, Guy Clark, The Cowboy Junkies, Norah Jones, Robert Earle Keen, Lyle Lovett, John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Mudhoney (?!) and many others have all done their bit.

http://www.lonestarwebstation.com/tvzbyothers_m.html

[dublinrambler]

I hope this will finally help giving TvZ´s songs the recognition they deserve.

Not disagreeing with you, as i love Townes' songs, but i think Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard, Jimmy Dale Gilmour, Nancy Griffith, Guy Clark, The Cowboy Junkies, Norah Jones, Robert Earle Keen, Lyle Lovett, John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Mudhoney (?!) and many others have all done their bit.

http://www.lonestarwebstation.com/tvzbyothers_m.html

Absolutely....and you can add Justin TOWNES Earle to that list too- Steve Jnr. and a brilliant artist in his own right.

[MacRua]

Review: The Mighty Stef - 100 Midnights
Firstborn Is Dead Recordings
By Dave Donnelly
on Monday, 9 February 2009
State Magazine
Full URL

Nick Cave is obsessed by it. Shane MacGowan appears immune to it. Johnny Cash’s fascination with death and mortality came to define his legend and followed him, fittingly, all the way to the grave. Death, too, is a lingering theme through 100 Midnights, the second full-length record from Dubliner the Mighty Stef (né Stefan Murphy).

Keeping with a macabre theme, 100 Midnights follows the release last May of the Death Threats EP, a mostly acoustic effort. That EP marked the last ever recorded performance of Ronnie Drew, on a cover of Pete St. John’s lesser-known classic ‘The Mero,’ before he too succumbed to the allure of the grave. The Irish folk tradition is not as pronounced here as on the EP, with the full-band arrangements tending to take it closer to his Cash and proto-punk influences than anything, but Stef’s meaty Dublin brogue is unmistakable. Like an Irish Iggy Pop, he is: loud, brash but ultimately far more subtle than you’ll ever realise.

Opening track ‘Downtown’ is an obvious choice for a lead single, an energetic rocker in the Springsteen mould, but it’s merely a springboard for the rest of the album. ‘Safe At Home’ is a duet with former Pogues bassist Cait O’Riordan and wears the influence of that band proudly, shifting seamlessly between a sparse, mournful verse (sung by O’Riordan) and Stef’s thunderous, organ-assisted garage rock chorus. The title track and ‘I Swear I Have No Feelings For That Girl,’ sea shanties both, see Stef adopt a smoky tone that’s eerily reminiscent of the late Drew, while ‘Golden Gloves’ is the most unlikely love song imaginable, as Stef howls out blue lines on top of fuzzy 12-bar riffs and boogie woogie piano: “come rain down fire on me baby / hit me with your golden gloves.”

‘Sunshine Serenade’ is a deceptive title for a cautionary tale about drug-taking and child mortality, and the upbeat, Memphis-country arrangement is just as misleading, but it turns out to be the most moving track on the album, hinging on the chorus line: “you will not leave this hospital until you give me your word: don’t let it steal the sunshine from your eyes.” ‘Russian Roulette’ is a dreamy tribute to Johnny Ace, the original rock n’ roll suicide case, but the duet with Shane MacGowan, a cover of Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Waiting Round To Die,’ is just downright discomforting considering the parallels between the lives of MacGowan and its authors. Well, nobody said it would be easy to digest.

[The Duke of Ingmar]

Not disagreeing with you, as i love Townes' songs, but i think Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard, Jimmy Dale Gilmour, Nancy Griffith, Guy Clark, The Cowboy Junkies, Norah Jones, Robert Earle Keen, Lyle Lovett, John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Mudhoney (?!) and many others have all done their bit.

http://www.lonestarwebstation.com/tvzbyothers_m.html

True, and there´s some great covers amongst them. Unfortunately he´s not particularly well known in Germany. OK, it´s not very like to change with a record from The Mighty Stef (whom I had never heard of before), but maybe it will at least spread amongst Shane/Pogues fans.

By the way, Steve Earle is just about to record (or already is recording) a whole album of TvZ songs to be released later in the year.

[MacRua]

The Mighty Stef - 100 Midnights
(First Born Recordings)
Roisin Dwyer
Hotpress
03 Feb 2009

“Nine to five has eaten us alive,” rues Stefan Murphy in his anthemic riposte to the daily grind, ‘Downtown’. Spector-like in its grandeur, replete with Arcade Fire-esque harmonies, this sweeping composition is a compelling opener.

100 Midnights is the second confection from the Dubliner, which follows on from the lauded Sins Of Sainte Catherine. It’s a dramatic collection of multigenre songs, impressively arranged and luxuriantly crafted.

From the country swagger of ‘Sunshine Serenade’ to the Klezmer stylings of ‘I Swear I Have No Feeling For That Girl’ via the hearty sea shanty ‘Nelligan’s Guts’, each is moulded with the versatility of a learned composer.

Elsewhere more wistful territory is explored in ‘Russian Roulette’ with its melancholic canter, downbeat vocals and sombre harmonies.

A variety of influences are also alluded to; ‘Golden Gloves’ brings to mind a ’50s rockabilly prototype Nick Cave, with its swinging melody and gritty vocals, and the title track conjures the ghost of Jacques Brel with its playful accordion and waltz-like time signature.

Lyrical prowess shines in the first of two duets ‘Safe At Home’, which deals with a troubled mother-son relationship. Their difficulties are also mirrored in the incongruous vocal styles, Cait O’Riordain’s sweet tender pleas contrasting sharply with Murphy’s terse, powerful retorts.

The second, a heartfelt reworking of ‘Waiting Around To Die’, featuring an in-form Shane MacGowan, is a tribute to the genius of its author, Townes Van Zandt.

There’s a fearlessness on 100 Midnights, both in the vocal delivery and the territory explored. It’s testament to the skill of the songwriter that so many different styles can be incorporated yet a sense of cohesion still be maintained.

The closing ‘A Pretend Sailor’s Goodbye’ is a delightfully quirky, sentimental ditty with a rousing singalong chorus and a smattering of handclaps for good measure – a perfect ending.

Key Track: ‘Downtown’

[Noel Kenny]

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/todaywithpatkenny/

The Mighty Stef was on Today with Myles Dungan this morning. Pat Kenny is on holidays. The interview started about 1h 30m into the show. It should be online later today. Click on Tuesday in the "Shows from the past week" section. Shane and Ronnie got a brief mention and he sang two songs