• Love and War: An Interview with Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe

    October 14, 2016 - By 

    As their average fan will happily tell you, Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe isn’t as much outspoken as he is nail-on-head, uncannily on-the-money about pretty much everything he cares to discuss or pass comment on. To say, then, that he “gives a good interview” – no matter how brief – would be a fairly towering understatement. With two eyes on the horizon, Newcombe talks to Robert Higgins ahead of the release of BJM’s fifteenth album, Third World Pyramid, touching on creativity, sobriety and imminent war. You’ve always been a prolific songwriter, but the past year has been busy even by your standards. What do…

  • Neil Young @ 3Arena, Dublin

    June 9, 2016 - By 

    Going to see the greats in the twilight of their career can be a tricky business. Often you find the artist behind some of your records to be a shadow of their former selves, churning out the hits one last time or looking for one final payday to straighten out their accounts. Neil Young and the Promise of the Real’s Rebel Content tour is the antithesis of these concerts. Somehow managing to occupy both the roles of career retrospective and showcase for newer songs, this is a show that will have even the most casual Young fan going home a believer. Excitement has…

  • Happy Mondays @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    December 18, 2015 - By 

    As soon as you step into Vicar St tonight, it is clear Dublin is in the mood for a party. Shaun Ryder and his merry gang of oddball Mancs are here to celebrate the anniversary of their seminal Pills ‘N’ Thrills and Bellyachesø album reaching the quarter century mark and they’re ringing it in in the only way they know how. Those in attendance might be a little older than the last time our unlikely heroes rolled into town but the baggy shirts and fisher hats are still present and accounted for. The atmosphere inside is warm with loose endorphins floating…

  • Interview: Wyvern Lingo

    October 2, 2015 - By 

    Having just released their stellar new single, ‘Subside’, Wyvern Lingo are really riding the crest of a wave at the minute. Touching on their formation, their creative process, touring with Hozier and their plans for the future, the Wicklow threesome chat to Robert Higgins. Hi guys. First off, how did the three of you originally meet? We met just before the start of secondary school. We all grew up quite close to each other in Bray. #brayisclass Who were some of your earliest influences? Were there any Irish acts that inspired you? It was a mixture of classic rock bands…

  • Leon Bridges @ Olympia, Dublin

    September 29, 2015 - By 

    Texan soul man Leon Bridges trades in the sort of classic soul you might expect to hear over the hiss and crackle of an AM radio as well as the sweet blend of rhythm and blues with pop sensibilities that put Berry Gordy’s Motown Records on the map back in the early ‘60s. Despite the fact that he is still only 26, Bridges sounds like he’s been around for a long time. The show marks the second time that the singer-songwriter has performed on Irish shores this year following his performance at Longitude back in July. On that occasion, he…