• Gigs of the week: No Tomorrow, Marissa Nadler, David C Clements, Elastic Sleep

    With Electric Picnic been and gone in a flash, the habitual final chapter of the (occasionally) great Irish summer begins. Things are still a bit quiet on the gig front but, as ever, here’s our pick of shows well worth checking out over the next days. No Tomorrow: SlowPlaceLikeHome, Somadrone, Documenta DJs – Voodoo, Belfast; Saturday, September 6 The next installment of our monthly gig/club night at Belfast’s Voodoo, No Tomorrow returns on Saturday night with a tremendous triad of cosmically-inclined acts from across the country. Just back from playing the Body & Soul stage at Electric Picnic at the…

  • Gigs of the week: Slint, Blue Whale, The Charlatans, DJ Food, Squarehead, Deafheaven

    It’s somewhat of a dow-time for gigs these days, with Electric Picnic looming in just a few weeks, it seems that the smaller shows have dried up just a little bit. That’s not to say that there are not numerous shows taking place right across around the country this week, and we’ve picked out a few that are most definitely worth checking out. Slint, Girl Band – Limelight 2, Belfast; Monday, August 18 Louisville post-rock pioneers Slint make their Belfast debut on Monday, August 18 at Limelight 2. Hands down one of the most influential bands of all time, they will…

  • Gigs of the Week: The Jesus and Mary Chain, Indiependence, Oh Volcano, Forfey, Castlepalooza

    As much a blessing as it it is a curse (priorities, man), not one, not two but three of the country’s finest summer festivals take place this weekend. Speckled across the country, in some of the most scenic surroundings imaginable, Forfey, Indiependence and Castlepalooza all have something unique to offer, their respective aural and visual showcases, bolstered by goodwill and a light ale or two, certain to make the most of the abnormally glorious weather we’ve been enjoying right across Ireland lately. Here’s a brief rundown of the festivals in question, as well as a couple of unmissable standalone gigs for good measure. The…

  • Gigs of the Week: The National, Longitude, Arborist, Phosphorescent, Cat Power

    With the World Cup having concluded after four glorious (and already sadly-missed) weeks last night, it’s safe to say many of us are significantly more inclined to leave the house more often to indulge in some first-rate shows and summer festivals. From indie rock globetrotters to local songwriting masters, here’s our rundown of the some of the most must-see gigs happening across the country over the next few days. The National – Iveagh Gardens, Dublin; Friday, July 18 Ohio indie kings The National return to Ireland this week with a string of dates in Cork, Galway and Dublin. The group have been making outstanding dark, melancholic…

  • Gigs of the Week: The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Arctic Monkeys, Neil Young

    With Wimbledon reaching an exciting conclusion yesterday evening, and the World Cup edging towards its finale this week, the summer seems to be well and truly flying by. But never fear, friends: we at the Thin Air are here to guide you towards the finest gigs happening across the country over the next seven days. Arctic Monkeys – Marlay Park, Dublin; Saturday, July 12 Arctic Monkeys return to Ireland this Saturday to put on what’ll surely be a great show, but they’re not the only reason to head to Marlay Park this weekend. Jake Bugg, Miles Kane and Royal Blood make up the…

  • Gigs of the Week: The Bonnevilles, Darling, Light Colour Sound Festival

    As we enter the height of summer, with suspiciously good weather, there are, as always, numerous gigs to check out all over the country, whether they be outdoors blessing their good fortune, or safely indoors away from the sweltering heat. Here are just a few worth looking at. No Tomorrow: The Bonnevilles, Rhinos – Voodoo, Belfast; Saturday, July 5 The next installment of our new gig/club night No Tomorrow takes place at Belfast’s Voodoo on Saturday July 5. A garage rock duo double-header of sorts, much talked about twosome Rhinos will support one of the greatest double acts in all of the land, garage-blues…

  • Gigs of the Week: The Emerald Armada, Angel Olsen, Spectrum Festival

    For the first time in a few weeks, our three gigs of the week take place across Belfast over the next few days. Which once again has had us thinking: there was a time, not that long ago, when the phrase, “There’s nothing on in Belfast” was all-too regularly uttered by the best of us. While this was something of a myth, there can be no denying that there is an absolute abundance of shows, nights, clubs, happenings and events right under our noses, night in, night out. Never, ever hanker for “the good ol’ days”, eh? As far as we’re concerned,…

  • Gigs of the week: Robyn G Shiels, Croupier, The Dudley Corporation

    For some reason or other, this time of year is always heavy on the album and EP launch front. In Belfast, Derry, Dublin and Cork and throughout Ireland there’s a whole list of highly-anticipated releases from every shade and style of act. With that in mind, we look forward to the next week with one particularly long-awaited release topping our list of must-see shows… Robyn G Shiels, Jonny Black – Black Box, Belfast (Saturday, May 31) Having been something of an incubatory state from the last six years, the second studio album by Belfast-based singer-songwriter Robyn G Shiels (pictured) will be finally released…

  • Gig(s) of the week: La Dispute, Cloud Nothings, Hospitality

    With summer festival announcements dropping left, right and center, the proverbial purse strings are undoubtedly a little tighter than usual for most of us. That said, as ever, there’s just some one-off shows on the horizon that fall directly under the downright “unmissable” category. Here’s our picks of a handful of gigs happening across the country over the next few days that we think warrant popping along to. Cloud Nothings, Princess – The Button Factory, Dublin, May 24 With the April release of their third studio album, Here and Nowhere Else, Ohio indie rock three-piece Cloud Nothings  (pictured) all but confirmed their status as…

  • Gig(s) of the week: Le Galaxie, Ceephax Acid Crew, De La Soul

    With several new line-up announcements for Irish festivals being made over the last couple of days – Longitude, Sunflower Fest, Culture Tech – we are well and truly looking forward to the coming Irish summer here at the Thin Air towers (I say “towers”, I mean Caffe Nero on Donegall Square West, Belfast). Ahead of that cider-soaked maelstrom of mini-buses and crap tents however we have another installment of our Gig(s) of the week, featuring hopefully something for everyone, North and South, over the next seven days. Le Galaxie present Love System – The Academy, Dublin Friday, May 9 Our outright…