• Pulp at St. Annes Park, Dublin

    Is this the way they say the future’s meant to feel? Or just 20,000 people standing in a field? Well, it was both on Friday night as, nearly thirty years after the practically perfect Different Class was released, that future became the present for the thousands of people in St Anne’s Park in Dublin. And this time round we really understood what the feeling was – utter joy that Jarvis Cocker hasn’t changed at all and Pulp with their ‘This is What We Do for an Encore’ tour, delivered exactly what we wanted. Full of promise from the minute it’s…

  • Sugababes at Botanic Gardens, Belfast

    Almost a year after their return as one of the unexpected hits at Glastonbury, when such a crowd turned up that entry to the Avalon gig had to be shut to any more fans, Sugababes brought their summer festivities to Belfast on Friday night, as part of the Live at Botanic Gardens series of concerts. While I never had the joy of seeing them the first time around (my hero then was Morrissey as opposed to fun pop girl bands, but sure, we live and learn) I can’t imagine that this original line-up, known for some years by the altogether less…

  • Review: ABBA Voyage – “It has changed live music and performance forever”

    Belfast-based Abba stan Shauna McLaughlin makes the pilgrimage to London to review the dazzling and groundbreaking virtual concert Traditionally reviews are written the day after the event. That didn’t happen with this review of ABBA Voyage because that day was spent hanging around outside the Arena in the hope of getting tickets to see it again immediately. Which is an impressive review in itself. The other point I want to make is that you’re better going in knowing nothing about what to expect. I may as well just stop writing here really. ABBA’s virtual concert residency, running since May 2022, with seven…