• FLAWS – Harsh Words Through Tangled Wires

    June 19, 2014 - By 

    On Wednesday, June 25, The Menagerie, Belfast, plays host to the new project of ex-Mojo Fury member Thomas Camblin, FLAWS. The three piece from Belfast are releasing their new EP Harsh Words Through Tangled Wires through Thomas’ new label OLD FANG which has given us the EP from Little Rivers amongst other singles. Their new record deals with “the rawness of human relationships, from broken friendships to loss and regret – peeling back appearances to show the cracks underneath”. They’ll also be supported by Michael Mormecha of Mojo Fury who will be playing his new solo material on the night. Entry…

  • No Tomorrow: The Bonnevilles & Rhinos @ Voodoo

    June 16, 2014 - By 

    Presented by yours truly, The Thin Air, the next installment of our monthly gig/club night No Tomorrow at Voodoo Belfast on Saturday, July 5 will see two of the country’s finest garage-rock duos lay masterful waste to eardrums, limbs and everything in between. Headlined by garage-blues twosome The Bonnevilles – a duo (pictured) with an incredible live reputation, bursting with energy and sweaty zeal – the show will also feature the Paul Currie-fronted Rhinos, a new fangled Belfast garage-noise duo who have had tongues wagging and ears rattling from the get go. Back-to-back, it’s safe to say that we’re very…

  • Gigs Of The Week: Rock Against Racism, Leaders Of Men, Sleep Thieves

    June 16, 2014 - By 

    Summertime is well and truly upon us now, and with the start of festival season it can be very easy to miss some of the many outstanding indoor shows that continue to take place, oftentimes going unnoticed. Here are just a handful of shows that are worth checking out in Belfast and Dublin. Rock Against Racism: And So I Watch You From Afar, The Answer and more – Limelight 1, Belfast; Friday, June 20 Some of Northern Ireland’s finest musical talent will assemble at Belfast’s Limelight 1 on Friday night for a special Rock Against Racism fundraiser. Headlined by North…

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

    June 5, 2014 - By 

    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

    May 27, 2014 - By 

    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…

  • Cirque De Soleil – Dralion @ The 02

    May 26, 2014 - By 

    Dralion, the groundbreaking show from legendary production company Cique De Soleil, celebrates its fifteenth anniversary and will stop off at Dublin’s 02 from Wednesday, May 28 to Sunday, June 1 Fusing the 3000 year-old tradition of Chinese acrobatic arts with the multidisciplinary approach of Cirque du Soleil, Dralion (pronounced “Dra-lee-on”) draws its inspiration from Eastern philosophy and its never-ending quest for harmony between humans and nature. The show’s name is derived from its two emblematic creatures: the dragon, symbolizing the East, and the lion, symbolizing the West. Dralion tickets for the general public are on sale now via Ticketmaster priced from…

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

    May 21, 2014 - By 

    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…

  • David O’Doherty @ Mandela Hall

    May 7, 2014 - By 

    Irish comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright David O’Doherty returns to Belfast on Friday, May 9 with a follow-up performance of his new show, Will Try To Fix Everything. We were considered coming up with our main blurb but O’Doherty’s own words more than suffice: “David O’Doherty, the Ryanair James Bond, the Kevin McCloud of the tiny keyboard, former Miss Ireland, the offspring of Shannon/Pete Doherty, his new look is ‘Jaws era Steven Spielberg’, recipient of the 2008 Edinburgh Comedy Award and inventor of the last remaining swimming stroke ‘the squid’ (on back, feet first), has written a new comedy show with…

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

    May 7, 2014 - By 

    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…

  • The Thin Air/CQAF Hüsker Dü night @ Voodoo

    May 5, 2014 - By 

    As part of this year’s The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, we’re very happy to present a special celebration of boundlessly influential U.S. three-piece Hüsker Dü at Voodoo Belfast on Monday, May 5. As well as hosting a one-off screening of Every Everything: The Life, Times and Music of Grant Hart, Hüsker Dü drummer, songwriter and visionary, Belfast-based punk and rock n’ roll bands, No Matter, The Groundlings (headliners) and alt-rock three-piece, Abandcalledboy will play three sets balanced between original material and their very own takes on classic Hüsker Dü material. In Every Everything, The Life, Times and Music of Grant Hart,…