• Irish Tour: 100 Onces & Stonemasons

    “It feels like an attic in here.” This is the first thing a friend says to me when we walk into the upstairs room of the Roisín Dubh on a Saturday to catch one of the last shows of Los Angeles duo 100 Onces’ extensive tour which saw them travelling around the UK, Eastern Europe, Russia and back to Ireland. The feeling that we’re in an attic is largely owing to the lack of much light of any sort and the cluttering of three band’s worth of equipment in the corner. It’s not a bad feeling at all, and it…

  • Hard Working Class Heroes 2015 – Saturday

    ‘It’s better to burn out than to fade away,’ said the now sixty-nine year old Neil Young. So maybe it’s not such a bad thing that the HWCH schedule, on paper at least, looks like it wants to wind down rather than go out with a bang. But though it may not have the head whipping allure of the first two nights there’s still certainly enough to justify hitting those streets. Take Sinead White for example, surely a rising star, but even her to the point, uncluttered song writing cannot conjure a crowd out of thin air. It’s a problem…

  • Irish Tour: Weird Al Yankovic

    Vicar Street, Dublin Weird ‘Al’ Yankovic doesn’t really make sense. A parody artist, whose satirical swipes at popular culture have mostly revolved around food, who has somehow not only managed to survive over 30 years in the business and score a number 1 album on the billboard charts, but has also been a constant presence in a plethora of cultural touchstones. Although he is mostly a fringe player or is the butt of a joke. How has someone like Al managed to survived longer than probably 80% of the groups he has pastiched? If last night’s performance in Vicar Street…

  • Bell X1 @ The Opera House, Cork

    There’s an atmosphere of excitement through Cork Opera House when Dublin indie pop heroes Bell X1 take to the stage before a sold out Saturday night audience. Frontman Paul Noonan and his talented bandmates have always inspired a devoted fanbase with their accessible yet mildly obtuse indie rock and their crossover appeal is highly apparent in the eclectic set of gig-goers waiting on baited breath for the band. This is a particularly anticipated evening due to the acoustic nature of the show, a special chance to see one of Ireland’s most entertaining live acts completely stripped back. The show succeeds…