Shouting at Planes glide into Café Sessions

Jenny McGovern

When Joe Keenan, organiser of Café Sessions announced that 'Shouting at Planes’ would be making their long overdue debut at Chapter One’s bi-monthly music night, there was an audible buzz of excitement among the gathered crowd. Arguably one of Cavan’s most promising bands, the reputation of the fivesome from Baileborough/Knockbride preceeds them. Forming in 2010, the indie/bluegrass/boogie-rock band quickly rose to national acclaim with their singles 'Hospice’ and 'Surrender’. In 2010, after only three months together, they won a national competition to secure a slot at Glastonbury- where they played to a packed out Queen’s Head Stage at the iconic festival.
The Celt spoke to drummer Brian O’Reilly about their upcoming stint in the Café. He says: “It’s been on our radar to do for quite some time but the timing has been difficult for us. Kevin, our guitarist, is based down in Limerick, myself, Liam and Aodhán are in Dublin and Gareth’s in Cavan. So, it’s hard to pin a time down but thankfully we’re all free this Thursday.”
The lads have known each other for years, all growing up within miles of one another so it was only natural for them to form a band. Unlike many bands, however, their success came quickly as they fended off competition from over 100 bands to land a spot at Glastonbury 2010. Brian tells us: “When we first got together the diary got a bit mental, we played Glastonbury, Electric Picnic, a lot of the big Irish festivals, so I suppose the focus went away from writing to the live shows. We just decided at the beginning of last year that the objective for us as a band was to get an album together. We have several different instruments in the band, Kevin the lead guitarist also plays trumpet and Liam the singer plays the saxophone, so it’s been tough for us to hone our sound and make it cohesive. It’s unusual for a band, which has been together for almost four years, to be without an album- but we just really want to get it right.”
Brian tells the Celt that their EP, titled 'St Jude’, which he jokes is 'the patron Saint of lost causes’, is finally finished and will be released over the next couple of weeks. “It’s a stepping stone towards the album - so it’s got us amped up for the next phase.”
'Shouting at Planes’ will be appearing at the Café Sessions this Thursday, February 27. Support from John Kelly (Poetry).
Admission is free but there is a suggested donation of €5 for the waged and €3 for the unwaged. Café Sessions is assisted by The Anglo-Celt and Cavan County Council Arts Awards.