The Greenland Whalefishers

[PADDYgoesDUTCH]

See you in Brum.

hopefully so, and in Amsterdam ?? and Münster ??

[bergenpaddy]

The Greenland Whalefishers planning Uk tour?

Bit of possible news (and this is going to be of interest to just a few of you) is that GWF are planning to return to England this summer for just a handful of gigs...
There are no dates as yet but it's expected to be June or July and they have expressed an interest in playing Birmingham and Manchester specifically.
Some of the gigs were badly attended last tour so let's try and make up for it this year and give 'em a great reception!!!

Greenland Whalefishers will be playing England 12th, 13th & the 14th of August 2010!

August 12th - "The Gaff" LONDON
August 13th - "Old Wharf" BIRMINGHAM
August 14th - "Farmer Phil's Festival" SHREWSBURY SHROPSHIRE

More info, music ande videos of the band at Greenland Whalefishers official website http://www.g-w-f.com

[PADDYgoesDUTCH]

@ villajohn: if ye're at the GWF gig in Brum, please make yerself known,
so we can meet and talk over a pint, fine with me if ye get down earlyish,
at soundcheck or so, for some peace and quiet
if not allowed in, ask for me, DutchIrishBastard

[Villajohn]

Paddy comes to Brum,hi there,what can i say next Friday at the OLD WHARF it has to be done,is there a guest list?Don't suppose it will cost the earth,but hopefully i will see you there,i will ask for you by name and see what happens.Enjoy yourself. Villajohn

[PADDYgoesDUTCH]

Paddy comes to Brum,hi there,what can i say next Friday at the OLD WHARF it has to be done,is there a guest list?Don't suppose it will cost the earth,but hopefully i will see you there,i will ask for you by name and see what happens.Enjoy yourself. Villajohn

looking forward mate, think GWF will be mightily impressed by your track record of having attended 200 Pogues gigs !!

[Villajohn]

PaddygoesDutch,its me again,i just discovered that The Old Wharf is a bluenose pub,the Blues aka Birmingham Shitty and me being a VILLA fan probably means i will be at the GWF gig undercover! Do you know roughly what time the gig starts?

[PADDYgoesDUTCH]

Haven't a clue mate, my guess would be we get there late afternoon/early evening, dunno bout the rest. Well, better not sing yer fav football songs that night then, I suppose. Good or bad idea for me to wear me Celtic shirt on the night ??
If ye care to PM me yer cell phone number, I'll text ye as soon as I know (will be online less coming days).
Sorry we didn't meet in Münster or Amsterdam, as to the latest: some friends of mine preferred the other Irish place on that square.
But it's bound to work out in Brum, fingers crossed.

[Villajohn]

The Old Wharf is in Digbeth,a well known venue for punk bands,apparently footie shirts are banned in there,which i find a bit strange.Doors usually open at 7,hopefully i 'll see you there.

[PADDYgoesDUTCH]

Hey VillaJohn, was nice meeting and talking in Brum 'back in the day',
chewed a bit on that punch-line for a song you unknowingly offered me,
it looks like it's gonna be a bit like this, with a cheerful up-tempo melody to go with it:


Back in the day

Back in the day, I went unnoticed by the girls
Oh man they drove me mad, their laughter and their curls
But when I asked them for a date, they'd say I was a bore
And danced with another boy, never to talk to me no more

Back in the day, that was, back in the day
Back in the day, when all just went astray
Back in the day, that was, back in the day
But from today, I'm gonna have it all my way

So I bought me this flash car, man it made me feel so proud
The girls gave me the looks, all assured me a night out
Man it got me so excited, to be in now for some luck
That I spinned the car around, smashing it against a truck

chorus

I started buying fancy clothes, had my hair cut up to date
Studied manners in the movies, of man I thought were great
Today my dad came up to me, said "son, time now to awaken
You'd just better be yourself, cause anyone else is taken"

chorus

chorus

[bergenpaddy]

July 16th – Jorddunst Festivalen – Norway
July 29th – Kvarteret – Bergen – Norway
July 30th - XII Festiwal Piosenki Żeglarskiej CYPEL 2011 – Poland
August 6th – Grüner Salon – Berlin – Germany
August 9th – Chemiefabrik – Dresden – Germany
August 10th – Rock Cafe – Prague – Czeck Republic
August 12th – Domazlice - Chodske slavnosti – Czeck Republic

More info at Greenland Whalefishers Official Website http://www.g-w-f.com

[Villajohn]

A belated message to ''Paddy goes Dutch'',nice lyrics man!not bad for someone who supports Feyenoord! Were you at the Pogues Melkweg gig on July 9?

[Zuzana]

Songs from the Bunker

The Greenland Whalefishers @ Rock Café, Praha, 10.8.2011

Prague’s Rock Café club does resemble a bunker – a small bare concrete hall deep under the earth’s surface. The fact that the sound engineer’s place is iron-plated with dense grey grating also suggests that an enemy attack is anticipated any moment. So it’s in a way fitting that this venue hosted a band which named their last album Songs from the Bunker – a bunch of Norwegians going by the name of the Greenland Whalefishers.



When the Czech support band (a folk-punk family gang of a father and three sons, all dressed in kilts and doing their best to butcher such notoriously well-known numbers as Jesse James and Auld Lang Syne as well as their own compositions) reluctantly left the stage, the Whalefishers launched into their set, kicking off with another notoriously well-known (but in their case not butchered) number – the Irish traditional Whiskey You’re the Devil.

Surprisingly, the club remained more than half empty (not even a stalwart optimist would have been able to call it half-full); maybe due to the late hour in the middle of a working week, maybe due to insufficient promotion of the gig. There was a "hard core" directly in front of the stage, a gang of "tough punks"... of about 13 or 14 years of age. One of them even sported a prize mohawk, which his friends kept carefully smoothing and straightening with their helpful hands. Several girls engaged in a happy dancing in front of the stage with blissful expressions on their faces.

The Whalefishers plunged into one song after another, without pauses, without delays, without wasting any time with idle chatter. Arvid, the frontman, who sounds like a clone of Shane MacGowan and yet not a cheap imitator, proved to be a real showman – constantly jumping up and down like a rubber toy, crouching, waving his arms in the air like a windmill. Hugging the leg of his bandmate while continuing to sing. Crawling on the back of another bandmate. Other musicians did their best not to lag behind.

The set was a colourful mix of traditionals (Irish Rover, South Australia), the Whalefishers’ own, irresistibly catchy songs (from old albums as well as their latest release) and even one Pogues number – If I Should Fall From Grace With God. Uptempo numbers, slower (but still pretty quick and vigorous) songs and even a breath of balladic slowness when the whistler Agnes took the mic for Johnny Lee Roth and sang the intro to the song before it picked up a breakneck speed. The mix of noisy percussions, guitars and sweet-sounding whistle and fiddle sounded as good live as on any album.

If I Should Fall From Grace With God turned almost into a theatre performace – Arvid and Agnes (and her whistle) sharing one microphone, always coming closer and closer to each other, mouth to mouth as if going to kiss, and then in the last moment distancing each other again. Finally, Arvid jumped into the woman’s arms she confidently held him as if he did not weigh more than a child. A proof that a tin whistle is good for your muscles?



The band’s interaction with the audience was perfect – they kept shaking hands with fans during songs, handing them bottles, taking offered drinks. During Wild Rover, Arvid gave a mic to the audience for every chorus, letting people sing – or rather shout – the catchy "no, nay, never!". Twice he pulled a fan on stage, letting him dance and jump around and thoroughly enjoy his 15 minutes – or rather seconds – of fame.



During the whole gig, stage-diving took place, but let’s call it a "soft" version. Don’t imagine a fan furiously running on stage, darting among the band members and then taking a mighty leap on the heads of the – welcoming or unwelcoming – audience. (Like it happened for example during the Pogues gig in Amsterdam earlier this summer.) Picture a well-behaved young punk climbing on the edge of the stage, careful not to interrupt the performace, patiently waiting until enough people come under him and then slowly lowering himself to their raised hands. That’s what one can call an exquisitely polite and civilized punk spirit.

Finally, Arvid did the same and let the fans carry him around on their eager hands.

In just slightly over an hour, it was over – but it was an hour of joy, fun and superb music. Here is hoping for the next "whalefishery" in Czech waters.



The setlist (without encore):



More photos I took at the gig are HERE.

[DzM]

Songs from the Bunker

The Greenland Whalefishers @ Rock Café, Praha, 10.8.2011 [...]

Zuzana? In the Rock Reviews business? I didn't realize you had taken up drinking!

[philipchevron]

Well, this is all very well, but what on earth are these people wearing?

[ManniGee]

Well, this is all very well, but what on earth are these people wearing?

Compared to your always very classy fine linen(is that good english?) they chose some more revolutionary clothes I guess