• Lykke Li @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    November 24, 2014 - By 

    In April 2011 Lykke Li made an unlikely appearance at the old Tower Records for Record Store Day. With several hundred happy punters crammed in amongst the vinyl, she performed material from her (at the time) recently released second album and international breakthrough ‘Wounded Rhymes’, and absolutely blew the rest of the line up out of the water. It took all of three minutes to identify Li’s stand out live asset, one that an album and a significant step up in stage size has done little to change: honeyed soprano vocals applied to poetic emotional trauma. We were hooked. There’s an obvious hole to…

  • Luke Abbott, Somerville, Subplots @ Pepper Canister Church, Dublin

    November 20, 2014 - By 

    Arriving at the Pepper Canister church on Dublin’s Mount Street last Saturday evening one was met with seemingly incongruous signage screaming Hidden Agenda. Truly esoteric, casual bystanders might have suspected a hijacking, an unsubtle protest at the church in modern Ireland. The fact of the matter was something less overtly political, yet just as exciting. The Dublin venture whose name adorned these signs was putting on a thrilling concert in this venue, an evening of music grounded in folk that gazed ever skyward.Stepping inside, the mood was one of quiet wonder, as smoke softly drifted through air and rich, thick…

  • Hozier @ Irving Plaza, New York City

    November 10, 2014 - By 

    Hozier played the second night of his two date stint in Irving Plaza, in midtown Manhattan on Friday night, as the incredible and seemingly unstoppable rise of the Bray singer continues apace. Playing to new-found, but diehard fans and a thronged enclosure of New York’s finest, chattering VIPs, is evidence that Hozier is the man of the moment, as he rounded off his 2014 US tour in a venue that will soon not be fit to hold his ever-growing followers. Support act James Bay, accompanied by just a piano/percussionist player had a tough job getting his message out across a venue…

  • Black Stone Cherry w/ Theory of a Dead Man @ The Academy, Dublin

    October 28, 2014 - By 

    Who said Ireland wouldn’t welcome the sound of American southern rock this side of the seas?  Hosting a roaring avalanche of sound from the Kentucky boys of Black Stone Cherry, Dublin’s Academy exploded with an onslaught of American heavy metal Thursday evening, continuing record-label Roadrunner’s long tradition of importing this genre of American rock into European audiences. Fresh off a tour warming up for Lynard Skynard, Black Stone Cherry’s electrifying performance proved yet again that they too are a headlining bastion of hard rock. Roused by a titillating set from Canadian rock group Theory of a Dead Man, the sold-out…

  • Girl Band @ Triskel Arts Centre

    October 21, 2014 - By 

    Since when is a Cork based live event sold out? Since Girl Band are in town. The Dublin based four-piece are making a long-awaited appearance tonight courtesy of Aisling and Caoilian at Southern Hospitality (formerly of the Pavilion, Cork) and it’s very sold out. Many casually stroll up to the door of the Triskel Arts Centre assuming business as usual only to be turned away. Many a disappointed fan is spotted with their heads in their hands. Sure, Girl Band have a reputation for turning out an incredible live show but a reception of this magnitude wasn’t expected. To put…

  • The Amazing Snakeheads w/ New Valley Wolves @ The Grand Social

    October 21, 2014 - By 

    As the venue starts to fill slowly with a colourful smorgasboard of leopard print, docs and leather, it’s evident that this Glaswegian punk three-piece have captivated not only music-lovers and hipsters alike, but they have also lured the original punks out of the woodwork. Opening the night’s abrasive proceedings are Dublin duo New Valley Wolves (below). Whilst following on in similar vein to fellow duos Royal Blood and Death From Above 1979, their blend of rock/ metal airs more on the Metallica side of proceedings. Stepping up from the one hundred and twenty capacity venue upstairs at Whelan’s in April this…

  • Israel Galvan @ The MAC, Belfast

    October 20, 2014 - By 

    La Edad de Oro (The Golden Age), the title of flamenco dancer Israel Galván’s programme suggests an evening of nostalgia. Certainly, there’s a human tendency to idiolize the past and this is true also of music. The Golden Age of Jazz is a much used term to refer to the period between the 1920s and 1940s, despite the racial discrimination against black jazz musicians. Flamenco purists too, point to the times when a singer, guitarist and dancer defined the art form, despite the fact that flamenco in its earliest incarnation was just a singer accompanied by rudimentary rhythm.  Memories can…

  • Jozef Van Wissem @ Whelan’s

    October 3, 2014 - By 

    The last time we encountered the tall, black-clothed figure of Jozef Van Wissem it was at a holiday camp in the southeast of England. The lone lute player delivered a unique set at the final ATP festival in December of last year. On that occasion he had just provided the soundtrack for Domingo García-Huidobro’s film Partir To Live, which premiered at the festival, but his collaborations with another director have garnered more attention in recent times. Jozef met Jim Jarmusch in New York and gave him a CD of his work. Both have a history in New Wave and noise…

  • Mano Le Tough, Special Request, Chez Damier @ Limelight

    October 3, 2014 - By 

    Cultural arbiters and part time energy drink company Red Bull have seen fit to spend some of their considerable savings throwing a weekend-long event in Belfast, with a huge array of talks, workshops and film screenings every day, and big name producers and DJs like The Juan MacLean, Greg Wilson and Space Dimension Controller playing every night. Friday night was set to be the biggest event on the bill, with Dubstep-pioneer-turned-Disco-peddler Skream headlining, alongside Paul Woolford under his Special Request alias, house legend Chez Damier and Belfast stalwart Jordan. I was curious to hear for myself what a Skream DJ…

  • Alt-J @ 3Arena

    October 1, 2014 - By 

    The cliched and indeed meteoric rise of Alt-J has at times dazzled with its intrigue. Having spent years tucked away in student bedrooms, perfecting a necessarily minimalist style yet reticent to unveil it, the Leeds act equally seemed uninspired by the fame that eventually came their way. The wonderfully portentous Mac-only reference of their name, early refusal to feature their own faces in promo shots and distinctive vocals made it clear they were going to do things on their own terms. Terms, in a leftfield twist, that didn’t turn out to include bassist and founder Gwil Sainsbury. It’s been an…