Category — Reviews

The reviews are pouring in. Here’s what’s being said in the press about ‘Gavin Friday and Friends’:

Jon Pareles of the New York Times:
“Mr. Friday has built a latter-day career as an eclectic, cabaret-tinged songwriter who hasn’t forgotten rock. The songs testify to romance and disillusion, while taking unexpected harmonic twists. They can be mournful and yearning, but more frequently turn bitterly cynical. They are haunted by death, wounded by love and often disgusted by daily life.”

“True to Mr. Friday’s repertory, the concert juxtaposed delicacy and brute force, intimacy and irony. It had tender moments, like Mr. Friday’s opening “Apologia”; duets with Antony Hegarty (of Antony and the Johnsons) on “He Got What He Wanted” and “Angel”; and Mr. Friday’s desolate “You Take Away the Sun,” with the shimmering backup of Bill Frisell on guitar, Hank Roberts on cello and Mr. Seezer on piano.”

“But the concert’s peak came early, with the reconstituted Virgin Prunes, including J. G. Thirwell on additional guitar and vocals, along with Mr. Evans and the singer Guggi from the old band. It bore down on two of its old songs — “Sweet Home Under White Clouds” and “Caucasian Walk” — as insistent, unstoppable drones and imprecations. Even at Carnegie Hall, sung behind music stands by men well past their teens, the menace came through.”

David Fricke of Rolling Stone:
“The silent star of the evening was composer Maurice Seezer, Friday’s longtime songwriting partner. He finally took a bow at the very end. But Friday, who always thought he belonged in Carnegie Hall, sang and acted out his lyrics as if he owned the place, swaggering across the boards, gesturing at the stars and jabbing his forefinger at the front rows with a panache that was part opera star, part Dublin punk. “Do we really need these pop stars?/There’s not enough of me!” he crowed in “Caruso,” a dynamic pairing with singer Eric Mingus. It was a song about the power and pleasures of transformation, sung by a man who took on every role in reach tonight — friend, lover, heathen, glitter boy, Irish poet — and was indisputably himself and in control in every one.”

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Londonist reviews the 4-hour Rogue’s Gallery show in London on July 28th, 2008

Other fixtures were Ed Harcourt and Gavin Friday. Harcourt’s heartbreaking “Farewell Nancy” sounded less mournful with the Langley Sisters leading the vocals. Friday gave an inspired performance of “Baltimore Whores,” perhaps the first truly exciting performance of the evening. The pair shared vocal duties on “Boney Was A Warrior” with a visibly unsteady Shane McGowan on harmonica and were joined by Baby Gramps in backing Sandy Dillon on “Bully In The Alley,” which was all too perfectly suited to Dillon’s cat-scratch vocals.

As Wilner said, you couldn’t get through an evening of sea chanteys without the obligatory rendition of “What Do We Do With A Drunken Sailor.” In the hands of David Thomas, Keith Moline, the still-shaky McGowan, and Gavin Friday, it took on an apocalyptic nature. Despite a light-hearted reference to the accordion on his knee, Thomas succeeded only in making perhaps the best known of sea songs borderline terrifying. However, if a song has been covered to death then it might as well scare you near to death.

Read the full review.

JournalOnline.co.uk reviews Rogue’s Gallery in Gateshead:

“A smattering of highlights (there were too many to mention) would be the aforementioned Oscar winner, Mr Robbins taking the lead mic for My Son John, Sandy Dillon (whose voice suggests a Macy Gray/Steve Tyler parentage) pleading Leave Her Johnny and Gavin Friday giving the Baltimore Whores food for thought.”

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From the Irish Independent, dated Tuesday 17 June:
“Actress Elizabeth P Moynihan’s reading of Molly’s soliloquy went down a storm, while Gavin Friday’s Nighttown song, accompanied on the kazoo, was the highlight for many. “Beautiful, sinister, melodic, whispering”, enthused Senator David Norris.”

Review of the June 6, 2003 Interference concert at Vicar Street, by Peter Murphy:
Interference were always on the outside of the in-crowd, a peculiar hybrid of muso chops and stoner rock distinguished by soaring vocals and virtuoso violin. Tonight, roughly 15 years after their inception, was a sort of Last Waltz extravaganza organised by allies of Fergus O’ Farrell determined that he should reap the glory of the live stage before the deterioration wrought by muscular dystrophy makes such events an impossibility.
It was often emotional stuff of course, but if this was O’ Farrell operating on one third of his lung power and tired after two days of intensive rehearsal, then most of the vocalists on the scene could be thankful for their egos he wasn’t on full throttle. The first set, basically a reprise of the recent Other Voices set, was actually superior to the electric finale that closed the show – a subtle performance full of intuitive playing and, above all, intensive listening.
But the second act was truly extraordinary, starting from ‘Not Beholden’, a co-write with Maria Doyle Kennedy, O’ Farrell’s neo-classical modulations offset by MDK’s red blooded vocal, somewhat akin to Michael Nyman backing Bessie Smith. There followed the arrival onstage of Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer, not men to do things by halves. The pair’s contribution was a full-blown operetta entitled ‘Here In Your Dreams’, effectively a polyphonic dialogue between deceased and bereaved. Chills abounded, and continued to resonate through a string-driven version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Who By Fire’.
From the trauma of death to the trauma of birth: Mannix Flynn performed the first movement of James X, enacting the childbearing process as a state of emergency. Mannix’s wordplay could wake Finnegan, and his delivery, timing and vocal range were exemplary.
As I said, the subsequent electric set needed pruning, the flow disrupted by pesky tuning delays and so forth, but given what had gone before, only the churlish could complain, especially when Iarla O’ Lionaird offered a perfectly pitched closing sean nos lullaby.
Quite a night.

Gavin and Guggi started their DJ set in Lillie’s Bordello on April 30, 2003 with an Aidan Walsh tune and some classy 30’s/40’s music. Raising some 10000 Euro for charity, they ended up DJ’ng for most of the night, playing tracks like the start of Also sprach Zarathustra (from 2001 — A Space Odyssey), Prince’s Sexy MF, The Smashing Pumpkins 1979, some Madonna, Take That’s Back For Good, and they dedicated Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful to “Alison Stewart”. Gavin and Guggi ended their set with Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U. The two DJs took to the dancefloor, waltzing together while the crowd looked on in awe.
Sunday Mirror, May 4, 2003, Sunday
THERE was much wailing and gnashing of teeth at Lillies Bordello on Wednesday night after the raffle for the exclusive painting by Guggi and Gavin Friday.
The two lads were holding a Celebrity DJ night to raise money for the After Schools Education & Support Project at Sheriff Street and as part of the event they raffled off a painting by Guggi and Gavin with each ticket costing EUR10 a go.
Not a bad bargain, considering Guggi’s paintings sell for around EUR20,000 a time so everyone at the event was desperate to get their hands on the coveted prize, art lovers or not. But it was a little more than luck that led to Mairead Egan, wife of Lillies owner Dave, winning the painting.
Our perfectly placed source told us: “Mairead was delighted when she won the painting – it features The Child Of Prague which is a favourite symbol of hers.
“And although her luck was in when she won the painting, she had actually bought around EUR400 of tickets – probably more than anyone else who was at the event.”
Irish Footballers Shay Given, Ian Harte, Robbie Keane, Robbie Keane, Ray Houghton, Frank Stapleton and Colm Healy came along to show their support for the fundraising night after their 1-0 win over Norway.
Although the boys were attracting many admiring glances from the ladies in Lillies, they were intent on having a lads night out, shunning female advances to stick to having a few drinks with their mates.
Bono’s wife Ali was in fine fettle on the dance floor, strutting her stuff to some of Guggi and Gavin’s original tune selection with the Edge’s wife Morleigh.
But the award for dance divas of the evening was definitely held by Hothouse Flowers man Fiachna O’Braonain and Lorraine Keane’s new brother-in-law Colin Devlin who proved that they have fascinating rhythm by the bucketload.
24/7 had a wonderful time hanging out in what became known as the Other Voices corner for the evening where the lovely Paddy Casey and band member Declan, Jerry Fish and Mundy were holding court.
Jerry Fish – whose real name is Ger Whelan – revealed that it was the second time he’d been hanging out in Lillies in a few days.
The swampadelic singer, who releases his new single Upside Down on Friday, found himself hanging out in the exclusive club with none other than grand dame Danny LaRue after his show at the Ambassador last Friday … well that’s what he told us anyway.
Also at the bash were artist Jim Fitzpatrick, film director Neil Jordan and his wife Brenda and Popstars judge Bill Hughes.
And the end result was that Gavin, Guggi and the gang managed to raise over EUR5500 for the Sheriff Street project.
Top marks all round.

In the Evening Herald on June21st, Senator David Norris wrote the following on Gavin’s 2002 Bloomsday appearance:
“Gavin Friday produced a real gem, having discovered a 1928 recording of a previously undiscovered song which had a direct bearing on the text of Ulysses. It gave me great pride in Joyce and his city to see Gavin and his pal Adam Clayton of U2 mingling unselfconciously with the crowd of revellers.”