• Oh Sees w/ The Dreads @ Limelight 1, Belfast

    May 22, 2019 - By 

    In the lead-up to their return to Belfast tonight, Oh Sees attracted many familiar (read: suitably towering) platitudes: the greatest live band on the planet; the best rock n’ roll band in existence; deliverers of the most thrilling show you’ll likely see this year. In almost any other instance, it would not only be wise but important to treat such high-flung flattery with a healthy dose of suspicion. But in this instance — and bearing in mind Motörhead are sadly no longer in rerum natura — the tall talk flirts with cold, hard, incontrovertible truth. Having supported them at the Black Box…

  • Louis Cole w/ Cidot @ The Sugar Club, Dublin

    May 20, 2019 - By 

    As The Sugar Club fills with a homogenous mix of stereotypical Music nerds and the types you can imagine spend many an evening on Reddit, the cosy red room is cloaked in a warm ambiance that is characteristic of the venue. Although the show is running slightly behind, the crowd seems to be in high spirits, with audience members nestling into their plush red seats with cocktails and pizza in hand. As the crowd gets comfortable, support act Cidot take to the stage. A two-piece Jazz infused electronic act made up of Cian Hanley on drums and Cathal McKenna manning…

  • Naoise Roo & Special Guests @ Project Arts Centre, Dublin

    May 6, 2019 - By 

    In a small room known as The Cube within Temple Bar’s Project Art Centre, a small, excited audience has gathered for a live preview of a new EP from singer-songwriter Naoise Roo. Having taken a break from performing, this is the first performance the Dublin native has given in quite some time. There is no grand entrance, no spectacle, Roo and co. simply and quite humbly walk on stage. There is a round of applause, copious whoops, hollers and howls before the crowd settles and Roo begins the show with a short introduction. Even during this introduction, Roo’s charisma shines.…

  • Jason Lytle w/ Malojian @ 1st Presbyterian Church, Belfast

    May 5, 2019 - By 

    Kudos to Malojian (below) for amassing such a considerable array of achievements in a relatively short period of time: touring all over the shop, winning over a legion of fans and recording four albums of hushed reverie – most notably, with big kahuna producer Steve Albini, whose sparse recoding style is fitting for Malojian’s meticulously thought out arrangements. Then, as we are told, there is the forthcoming record with Jason Lytle on which he has been working this past week. The omens and the muses are both very good, it seems. It is easy to see why. Malojian writes clever, engaging…

  • John Cooper Clarke @ Ulster Hall, Belfast

    May 1, 2019 - By 

    “It’s let’s see who’s still alive in Belfast night”, the fifty-something-year-old man said, entering the foyer of the Ulster Hall. For the city’s former punks any gig by the movement’s old guard is reason to turn out, even it if is for a poetry night. John Cooper Clarke, to be fair, is no ordinary poet. Since the 1970s, Salford’s punk-poet extraordinaire has surfed the highs and lows of an unfashionable business, rhyming and riffing on everything from sperm tests and inner-city poverty to the crumbling NHS, metrosexuals and Bono’s stolen trousers. At seventy, this great satirist is perhaps more relevant…

  • Junior Brother and PowPig @ The Grand Social, Dublin

    April 19, 2019 - By 

    The outside of Dublin’s Grand Social is littered with both local and foreign football fans, the downstairs bar is a flood of jerseys and half-spilled pints, but upstairs in the smoking area of the bar, a semi-orderly queue is forming. A few strays weasel their way to the front and mutter something about spare tickets, but to no avail. The rest, stand patiently, smoking, drinking and chatting, waiting to enter the venue. One guy bursts in red as a baboon’s hole and takes three maybe four puffs from an inhaler before joining the line. All of these people are here…

  • Turning Pirate’s Mixtape @ Lost Lane, Dublin

    April 16, 2019 - By 

    Lost Lane, Dublin’s newest venue, opened its doors this weekend on the site of what used to be the relatively infamous Lillie’s Bordello. While the truism about difficult second albums doesn’t quite translate to a live venue, word about the success of the launch night does put some pressure on tonight’s Turning Pirate Lost Lane Mix Tape to deliver. The bill is promising in itself, we know we can expect to see Barq, Cathy Davey and Niamh Farell of HamsandwicH fame but we are also promised VERY special guests. They even used caps lock. Compere Bryan Quinn introduces Barq (Half…

  • Nealo w/ Alex Gough @ Whelans, Dublin

    March 31, 2019 - By 

    From the smoking area of Whelans, dull rhythmic thuds can be heard from within the venue’s upstairs stage. Alex Gough has just begun his very first live set and for the few that have gathered to watch, it is apparent that he is no ordinary hip-hop act. Clad in what could be described as 1960s beach-wear, the 19-year-old Waterford-born prodigy is not only the on-duty MC, but also the resident drummer. Gough effortlessly juggles J-Dilla inspired beats with flows that are as smooth in delivery as they are sticky with funk. Although stiff at first, Gough (below) and his band…

  • Sharon Van Etten w/ The Golden Filter @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    March 24, 2019 - By 

    Over the past 12 years, New Jersey native Sharon Van Etten has steadily made a name for herself as one of indie music’s most reliable and consistent artists. Since 2009’s debut Because I Was In Love, her melancholic, mature songwriting has gone from strength to strength with her recent album Remind Me Tomorrow being the most experimental and accomplished of all. It’s been quite some time since Van Etten’s last outing to Dublin however before she takes to the stage the audience is treated to support act The Golden Filter. The synth-pop duo (below) is the perfect companion to Van…

  • Anderson .Paak w/ Tayla Parx @ The Olympia, Dublin

    March 20, 2019 - By 

    The Olympia is at about half capacity and there’s a gentle chitter-chatter in the air as support act Tayla Parx takes to the stage. For those not in the know, PARC is better known for her behind the scenes work, having recently collaborated with Ariana Grande and Panic! at the disco. If you look at the songwriting credits for the big pop hits of 2018, you’re bound to find her name on a few of them. Parx’ energy on stage is like that of an excited child, in the best possible way. She is giddy, charismatic and bubbly as hell,…