Scene and Heard
David Bowie celebrated his 66th birthday earlier this week, and the elderly white duke marked the occasion with the release of his first single in 10 years, and news of an album to follow in March. The new tunes have been produced by Tony Visconti, the legendary studio whizz who also worked with Bowie on albums such as Heroes and Scary Monsters. Incidentally, Visconti has also worked with several Irish acts, most notably Thin Lizzy for the classic Live and Dangerous album. Unfortunately for another septuagenarian of the music biz, recent news hasn’t been so good. Bobby Womack, who came through surgery for colon cancer last year, has been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Meanwhile, Bono’s ailments are of a milder nature. His pal Julian Lennon has been spilling the beans about how brightness really bothers the U2 singer’s eyes — hence the 24-hour sunglasses — and apparently the condition is deteriorating. Johnny Depp and Gore Verbanski have another compilation of sea songs coming out in February, and one of the most interesting collaborations, Tom Waits and Keith Richards’ version of ‘Shenandoah’, surfaced online earlier this week. Other contributors on Son of Rogue’s Gallery include Shane MacGowan, Patti Smith and Iggy Pop. As well as that song, it’s been a high-profile week for Waits, as he also appeared as himself in a US broadcast of The Simpsons.
GIG WISE: First it had the cast of Tallafornia, now it has Ne-Yo — the Wright Venue certainly seems the place to be in Dublin. The well-muscled superstar (Ne-Yo) performs in the Swords venue tonight as part of a promotion for drinks brand Malibu. One would imagine that Ne-Yo will draw a slightly different crowd than that currently getting excited about the first solo visit of Keith Jarrett to Ireland in 30 years. The legendary pianist plays the National Concert Hall on Feb 21. Hip-hop afficianados will tell you how Kendrick Lamar’s 2012 album, Good Kid, M.a.a.d City, was one of the genre’s most exciting releases in years. You can catch the talented Comptonite at Vicar Street on Monday. At the Everyman in Cork, the return of Jack L is scheduled for Mar 30, while Aslan headline events at The Castle bar in Glanmire for the St Patrick’s weekend celebrations.
