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Biografía
Prior to forming Villagers, O’Brien had been in the avant-garde rock quartet The Immediate, before their disbandment in 2007. With only two rehearsals under their belt and set list composed entirely by O’Brein, Villagers’ debut performance arrived in 2008 with a show alongside The Chapters at Dublin Wheelan’s. The band’s debut release, the EP “Hollow Kind”, was issued in February 2009 and drew comparisons to Johnny Flynn, Eugene McGuinness, and Conor Oberst. The EP’s four tracks were all composed and recorded by O‘Brien and was supported by opening for Neil Young and Tracy Chapman.
With a growing appeal and a need to fill huge spaces with sound, O’Brien enlisted the help of Tommy Mclaughlin, Danny Snow, James Byrne and Cormac Curran. On top of Villagers touring with Neil Young and Tracy Chapman the group made appearances at a number of festivals in 2009 including Latitude, Oxegen, Indie-pendence, and Electric Picnic.
O’Brien’s debut album “Becoming a Jackal” was issued by Domino Records in 2010 to across the board critical acclaim. The record earned a nomination for the 2010 Mercury Music Prize, and the titled track won O’Brien the coveted Ivor Novello Best Song Musically and Lyrically award in 2011. After the release Villagers embarked on an extensive tour including dates in the U.S., an appearance on “Later… with Jools Holland, and shows at Meltdown, London, Electric Picnic, and Reading and Leeds Festivals.
In 2011 the group released the 12” vinyl “Live at the Workman’s Club”, which features O’Brien playing acoustically with minor piano accoutrements. Following a tour in support of Grizzly Bear at the tail-end of 2012, Villagers released their sophomore album “{Awayland}” in January 2013. Led by the single “The Waves”, “{Awayland}” reached No. 1 in the Irish Albums chart and No. 16 in the UK Albums chart, and was supported by a headlining tour.
Críticas en vivo
Irish folk rock outfit Villagers really do perform to their maximum potential when placed in a venue of intimate proportions. The critically acclaimed musicians are only two albums into their career yet they have amassed huge support from both the growing fanbase and a number of esteemed British and Irish publications. They found themselves performing to larger crowds following a Mercury Prize nomination for {Awayland} yet the group manages to maintain a sense of personality and sincerity to their performance.
The audience watches on in hushed awe as the whole room stands deadly still whilst the quintet onstage goes around recreating the ethereal, often ghostly folk songs. The somber mentality of 'Nothing Arrived' appears even more emotive when performed live as you see the guys really emphasising with the lyrics onstage. There is no doubt the band are passionate as they run through their first two albums in their near entirety. Keeping stage chatter to a minimum, Conor O'Brien thanks the audience profusely for the fantastic reactions they have been supplying all evening before finishing on a high of 'Twenty-Seven Strangers' from 'Becoming a Jackal'.
sean-ward
First and foremost, there's an obvious elephant in the room with the paradox of Villagers playing the Glee Club. Yeah - intense and deep Villagers strutting their stuff at the light, fluffy and irreverent central Brum comedy venue.
In the end though, it didn't matter where we were because they filled the venue with their semi-epic swirling laments and celebrations of life and everything else so that it didn't need any mother-in-law gags.
Villagers played a perfect 90 minutes of mostly newer material, front-man Conor O'Brien keeping the demographically challenged sit-down audience transfixed ably supported by the other four Villagers. It's O'Brien who you can't take your eyes off though.
A must-see for those who dig ragged pop, eerie folk and heartfelt, emotional songs and sounds.
The Glee Club will never quite feel the same again.
jim-nsno-thompson
I've been lucky enough to see Villagers play a few times, from small intimate shows at Village Underground to afternoon festival slots.
While he is ably assisted by his bandmates the main focus of a Villagers show are the intense vocals of Conor O'Brien. In the live setting the power of his delivery really comes across. You can almost feel every syllable he utters.
themire
A sublime evening- Villagers are at the top of their game. Every song was delivered with passion and commitment. The Komedia was the ideal venue to see their current set which involves reworked versions of their last 3 albums which feature on their "Where have you been all my life?"January 2016 release. All that and Glen Campbell's Wichita Lineman during the encore.
JonBarr
This was my third time seeing Villagers live. And they impress me each and every time. They sound like the record but rock harder on stage.
The event venue (Paradiso) topped off this show even more. The vibe of this venue gave the gig something special. I loved it!
Definitely recommend visiting one of their gigs if you could.
mellow-yellow-jello
Really great concert! Great craic from Conor throughout the show. Many songs were renditions of the original with great new takes on some of the classics. Truly amazing. The Olympia was a great venue for it too. Would recommend you go see Villagers if you can.
cian-dowd
What a wonderful gig. The Villagers were a revalation - having never seen the band live before - and the venue enhanced the music and the brilliant atmosphere. To anyone in any way undecided about seeing this band - GET A TICKET- YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT
rictay16
Third time seeing the villagers play and each time it's a unique experience. Songs are re-arranged and rethought to match the venue size. Having previously seen them play at Longitude and at the Olympia. The song which varies the most is "The waves".
stephencrowley
The gig was really good. I attended the Roundhouse venue by Chalk Farm tube station in London and the venue wasn't over packed. The band live is great. Really weird support act but the Villagers' act was great. good vibe overall.
darenyaluri
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