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Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Stuart Grehan targets Irish Close history in Westport
County Louth golfer Stuart Grehan holds a narrow two-shot lead going into the final day of the AIG Irish Men's Amateur Close Championship, as he looks to make history in Westport. The reigning Flogas Irish Men's Amateur Open Champion will aim to become the first golfer since Peter O'Keeffe (Douglas) in 2021 to do the double. The Tullamore native shot a second round 73, to follow up his brilliant 65 on Friday, and he lies on eight-under, ahead of Benjamin Oberholzer (Clandeboye). Jack McDonnell (Royal Dublin) is one shot further in arrears with Mark Gazi (Tralee) rounding out the top four on four-under. Grehan made an eagle on the second and birdied the fifth but despite getting to 11-under early in his round on Saturday, he couldn't push on and dropped shots on the tenth and 12th. And while no golfer had done the Open and Close double since Padraig Harrington (1995), before O'Keeffe's success four years ago, Grehan will take it in his stride with 36 holes remaining tomorrow. 'It'd be cool,' said Grehan. 'I kind of set a goal at the start of the year to try to get two or three wins so it'd be nice to do that tomorrow. My game is good, I'm happy enough with everything. Two-shot lead, I would have taken that at the start of the week, go out tomorrow and give it a go. 'I played lovely the front nine (today), then the back nine, just hit one bad shot in on ten and from there I was fighting my game the whole way through. Not very happy to be honest but two-shot lead, so hopefully it comes out tomorrow. 'Just went through a bit of a lull, that always happens in every tournament so hopefully tomorrow, get a good night's sleep, and get after it. 'Tomorrow is going to be a long day, so I'll be ready.' Oberholzer held the clubhouse lead for much of the day, with back-to-back rounds of 70 helping him to a six-under total. McDonnell was one of the late finishers and he needed a birdie on the last to equal his Clandeboye counterpart, but had to settle for par. Aodhagan Brady (County Sligo) had the low round of the day with a brilliant 69 dragging him back into contention and away from the cut mark on one-under. Westport's Conor Stapleton made it through on level par. Fellow Mayo golfer Cormac Ó Muirithe (Belmullet) also made it safely through to Sunday. However, it will be Oberholzer who will be Grehan's biggest challenger early in the third round on Sunday morning. 'It was a pretty solid second round, a lot less stressful, only one bogey. Just kept it out of trouble and when the birdies came, they came,' said Oberholzer. 'This is the first time (playing Westport) but really liking it. Really like the back nine. The back nine is tougher but if you hit good shots there are birdie opportunities out there. 'Bogeyed the tenth but then got a few birdies after that, hit it close on 13, made birdie there, and then took a few birdies off. 'I had a good three-under yesterday, so just try to do the same thing and not chase the score as much. I'm probably going to hit some balls now, work on the driver a bit, stay calm out there, don't force it. 'If it's going to happen, it's going to happen but I've done all the practise beforehand so if it happens it's good. 'But if not, just keep practising.'
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Music Review: An unplugged Jason Isbell electrifies on new album, 'Foxes in the Snow'
Jason Isbell unplugged can still electrify. An excellent bandleader, guitarist and singer, Isbell is first and foremost a songwriter, and that skill takes center stage on his new album, 'Foxes in the Snow,' which will be released Friday. It's Isbell's first solo acoustic album, and his first album since 2013 without his band, the 400 Unit. Accompanied by only his 1940 Martin acoustic guitar, Isbell sorts through romantic relationships. He sounds like someone trying to find his bearings. There's blood on the tracks. That's not surprising given that the album is Isbell's first since his breakup with singer-songwriter Amanda Shires after more than a decade of marriage. Some of the material sounds powerfully autobiographical, and that's especially true on the chorus of 'Gravelweed." 'I was gravelweed and I needed you to raise me / You couldn't reach me once I felt like I was raised,' he sings. "And now that I live to see my melodies betray me / I'm sorry the love songs all mean different things today.' Yes, the 2013 fan favorite 'Cover Me Up," written for Shires, does sound different now. Isbell sings about dangerous memories, dreams forgotten, the value of persistence, and the tug of his Alabama roots. 'Ride to Robert's' pays tribute to one of downtown Nashville's best honky-tonks, while 'Open and Close' skewers a bar band for mangling Steely Dan. (That's something he knows a little something about; Isbell spent a formidable stretch in a Steely Dan cover band.) Rich, lean language and imaginative turns of phrase are Isbell's specialty. 'I hope they're grading on a curve,' he sings. "Forever is a dead man's joke.' And later, 'You thought the truth was just a rumor.' All three come from just one song, 'Eileen.' Isbell is a terrific acoustic guitarist, and his playing here is subtle and superb. A Doc Watson-style riff provides the foundation for the title cut, while nifty filigrees augment the waltz 'Open and Close' and the opener 'Bury Me,' which sounds like a cowboy song from the '50s. That's the 1950s, or 1850s. In a brave experiment, Isbell is touring solo, testing whether or not these sturdy but sober songs are enough to hold the attention of several thousand spectators. At the moment, he's not in the mood to stomp and holler. ___ For more AP reviews of recent music releases, visit: Steven Wine, The Associated Press
Associated Press
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Music Review: An unplugged Jason Isbell electrifies on new album, ‘Foxes in the Snow'
Jason Isbell unplugged can still electrify. An excellent bandleader, guitarist and singer, Isbell is first and foremost a songwriter, and that skill takes center stage on his new album, 'Foxes in the Snow,' which will be released Friday. It's Isbell's first solo acoustic album, and his first album since 2013 without his band, the 400 Unit. Accompanied by only his 1940 Martin acoustic guitar, Isbell sorts through romantic relationships. He sounds like someone trying to find his bearings. There's blood on the tracks. That's not surprising given that the album is Isbell's first since his breakup with singer-songwriter Amanda Shires after more than a decade of marriage. Some of the material sounds powerfully autobiographical, and that's especially true on the chorus of 'Gravelweed.' 'I was gravelweed and I needed you to raise me / You couldn't reach me once I felt like I was raised,' he sings. 'And now that I live to see my melodies betray me / I'm sorry the love songs all mean different things today.' Yes, the 2013 fan favorite 'Cover Me Up,' written for Shires, does sound different now. Isbell sings about dangerous memories, dreams forgotten, the value of persistence, and the tug of his Alabama roots. 'Ride to Robert's' pays tribute to one of downtown Nashville's best honky-tonks, while 'Open and Close' skewers a bar band for mangling Steely Dan. (That's something he knows a little something about; Isbell spent a formidable stretch in a Steely Dan cover band.) Rich, lean language and imaginative turns of phrase are Isbell's specialty. 'I hope they're grading on a curve,' he sings. 'Forever is a dead man's joke.' And later, 'You thought the truth was just a rumor.' All three come from just one song, 'Eileen.' Isbell is a terrific acoustic guitarist, and his playing here is subtle and superb. A Doc Watson-style riff provides the foundation for the title cut, while nifty filigrees augment the waltz 'Open and Close' and the opener 'Bury Me,' which sounds like a cowboy song from the '50s. That's the 1950s, or 1850s. In a brave experiment, Isbell is touring solo, testing whether or not these sturdy but sober songs are enough to hold the attention of several thousand spectators. At the moment, he's not in the mood to stomp and holler.
Chicago Tribune
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: In Jason Isbell's solo show at the Auditorium, debut songs and simple artistry
Leave it to Jason Isbell to raise the stakes at an event overflowing with promise Saturday at a sold-out Auditorium Theatre. In town for the North American launch of his six-week 'An Intimate Evening with Jason Isbell' tour and his first area solo appearance, the revered vocalist-guitarist doubled down by using the occasion to make the Stateside debut of six new songs and the public premiere of a seventh ('Open and Close'). Over the course of 85 remarkable minutes, he furthered the case for himself as the finest singer-songwriter of his generation. So much for worrying about bootlegging and phone-shot videos posting online before people get a chance to hear the studio album arriving in early March. Or fretting about muted reactions and restroom trips by fans unfamiliar with the songs. Such concerns have all but put a stop to major artists woodshedding fresh ideas or surprising listeners with unreleased music at shows. Then again, Isbell seldom adheres to popular convention. That characteristic extends to his capacity to fill a 3,875-seat venue, receive near dead-quiet audience cooperation and provide a spellbinding blend of sincerity, craftsmanship and virtuosity with only his voice and a few acoustic guitars at his disposal. Amid our age of attention deficits, Isbell's achievements carry significant weight, particularly in a time when expectations for lavish spectacles continue to grow and lyric prompters, pre-recorded vocals and backing tracks are increasingly commonplace. Isbell told everyone he considered the tour name 'gross' and pointed out that his intimacy with crowds at concerts started long before now. Seated for the duration, the affable Alabama native offered nothing in the way of bells or whistles. He didn't benefit from the presence of a single accompanist, let alone the volume and interplay of his customary band. Isbell shunned visual backdrops and projection screens, opting for basic lighting and a spartan setup. His indulgences? A guitar technician who occasionally walked onstage to trade instruments with him, a glass of water perched next to his chair. Though by modern standards, the bare-bones approach might be deemed anachronistic — a remnant from a bygone era — Isbell made it seem at once connective, contemporary and courageous. Chicago last saw Isbell pass through in September with his dependable 400 Unit band at Ravinia. That date followed on the heels of a pair of late-winter concerts at Salt Shed. Per usual, Isbell spent a majority of the remaining year on the road with a relentless schedule that included a lengthy European leg and, in what's become tradition, a prolonged run in October in his current home base of Nashville, Tennessee. That same month, Isbell retreated to New York City to record his first entirely solo LP, the forthcoming 'Foxes in the Snow,' on a mahogany 1940 Martin 0-17 acoustic guitar in just five days at Electric Lady Studios. Time will tell if that effort will add to Isbell's impressive awards resume that already counts six Grammys and a record-breaking three best albums from the Americana Music Honors. While not exactly a mainstream artist, the former Drive-By Truckers member continues to grow his faithful following. Another key if less obvious sign of Isbell's elevated status in the industry: Partnerships with two prominent guitar manufacturers that released models bearing his name. Cutting a dapper figure in a black suit and black dress shoes, Isbell repeatedly demonstrated why any reputable six-string purveyor would desire that affiliation. Resonant, pure and fluid, Isbell's deceivingly simple playing often gave the impression more than one guitar was responsible for the detailed lines, radiant harmonics and brilliant textures. He roamed country, blues, folk, jazz and roots landscapes, alternating between strummed chords and finger-picked patterns whose spidery architecture left plenty of space for words. Isbell channeled Southern-fried twang, melodic soul, rustic balladry, troubadour boogie and pick-and-grin bluegrass. With his left leg moving to an invisible beat, Isbell wielded his right hand akin to the second hand of a clock, keeping steady time and brushing against strings with varying degrees of force to shape the sound. He added minor accents to a handful of older tunes and adjusted solos on several others, yet resisted embellishment and excess. Operating with quiet confidence and thoughtful integrity and inserting brief banter and a few jokes into the set for balance, Isbell showed how much his singing was on par with his instrumental prowess. Freed from having to compete with amplified instruments in a group, his voice enjoyed the same priority as his guitar. Isbell harbored a host of strengths — pitch control, projection and phrasing, plus a warm drawl that cushioned sharp syllables with soft landings — that increased his flair for storytelling and communicating feelings ranging from heartbreak to empathy and anger with clarity and directness. He probed how meanings change as we age ('Gravelweed'); dispensed sage advice ('Outfit'); sifted through the detritus of fractured relationships ('Eileen'); chronicled different kinds of pain tied to familial love ('Cast Iron Skillet,' 'If We Were Vampires'); and contemplated the highs and lows of watching life from a safe distance via a John Prine classic ('Storm Windows'). Isbell seamlessly paired indignation with introspection ('True Believer'), and accountability with longing ('Alabama Pines'), functioning as the equivalent of a driver who granted listeners a passenger-seat view of scenery and specifics as they crystallized in his mind. Tonally registering as if carved from a medium-hard piece of oak, his transparent deliveries — mellow whispers, conversational assertions, longing moans, resolute cries — served as effective vessels for those character sketches and autobiographical reflections. Isbell's authoritative vocal performance also highlighted his savvy wordplay and observations, tools that reinforced his music's tight links with descriptive language and honest perspective. 'I don't say things that I don't mean,' Isbell sang on the fast-paced 'Ride to Robert's.' His conviction, and the conscientiousness he invested in every song, left no doubt. Bob Gendron is a freelance critic. Setlist from the Auditorium Theatre on Feb. 15: 'Bury Me' 'Outfit' (Drive-By Truckers cover) 'Foxes in the Snow' 'Gravelweed' 'Middle of the Morning' 'Eileen' 'Alabama Pines' 'Open and Close' 'Cover Me Up' 'Traveling Alone' 'Storm Windows' (John Prine cover) 'If We Were Vampires' 'Cast Iron Skillet' 'Relatively Easy' Encore 'Ride to Robert's' 'Beth/Rest' (Bon Iver cover) 'True Believer'
