Liam Gallagher with support from Richard Ashcroft at Malahide Castle in Dublin. Photos by Alan Maguire.
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Rolo Tomassi live at the Empire in Belfast with support from Hornets and No Great Loss. Photos by Liam Kielt
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Haim live at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin with support from Maggie Rogers. Photos by Sarah Ryan
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Gorillaz live at Malahide Castle with support from De La Soul and Little Sims. Photos by Peter O’Hanlon
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It’s a packed out, older than usual crowd that The Magic Numbers are faced with when they arrive at Cyprus Avenue. Despite the band’s relative obscurity in recent years, they’re met with an excitable, large audience and waste no time settling into riling that crowd up with their jangly, summery indie rock anthems. For the most part, the four piece settle comfortably into their set. They play with charismatic ease and it’s clear the act know their way around a live performance – combining banterous interjections with extremely tight, professional playing. However, the biggest issue facing The Magic Numbers seems…
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In this hyperbolic age, the phrase “gig of the year” gets tossed about far too flippantly. Every experience must be the best as anything less than perfection is worthless. The thing is though, most concerts couldn’t lay claim to that title. But very occasionally, there is a lineup that makes your jaw drop and forces you to question whether or not this could be the one. On 6 June 2018, Kilmainham played host to one of those shows: Patti Smith supporting Nick Cave. Either of these artists could have been the headliner and no one would be disappointed. They each…
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It is as if the drawn out, cloudless evenings knew that Ty Segall was coming to town. A gloriously heady concoction of 60’s proto-punk, garage rock, glam, psychedelia and heavy metal, Segall’s music is something that may seem at odds with a wonderfully sun drenched weather front, but one that makes perfect sense when listening to his back catalogue. Over the course of his ten solo LPs, numerous collaborative albums, and countless other releases, Segall has managed to prove he can effortlessly combine his love of melody with a raucous sound that can go off on a zig-zagged tangent at…
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In spite of the nation’s frequent protestations about our weather, you couldn’t really ask for a better day for an outdoor gig. It’s the Tuesday after bank holiday Monday. The crowds are spent from the long weekend. Surveying the grounds of Malahide Castle, punters are littered around soaking in as much of this wonderful Midsummer glow as they can before they lose their minds and soul. Tonight LCD Soundsystem are making a return to Dublin for what will be, in frontman James Murphy’s words, “the second longest show [they’ve] ever played”. When Murphy and Co. walk out, the sun is…
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The atmosphere of Sunday was considerably busier – and a little bit rowdier – than the previous day with a lot of teenagers flocking for dance favourites like DJ Seinfeld, Bicep, DJ Deece, Dennis Sulta. The day started on a slightly messy note, with both Ross from Friends and Earl Sweatshirt announcing last-minute cancellations. Anyone who decided to wander over to the Undergrowth stage for Bicep’s 9.30 set would have been equally as disappointed – the tent was sweaty and overspilling from Dennis Sulta’s set, with no chance of entry or exit; heat emitting from the tent was like someone…
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Now celebrating its 8th birthday, Forbidden Fruit has become a staple in the Irish music festival scene, and with it and last week’s LIFE festival, the summer festival season has officially begun. A celebrator of Irish acts, with a focus on dance, R&B, and hip-hop, this year’s line-up was especially anticipated, with headliners such as Glass Animals, Justice, Bonobo, and EDM favourites like Bicep, Dennis Sulta, and DJ Seinfeld all making appearances over the weekend. It’s never easy to be one of the first acts of the day at a festival, and especially on the first day but this didn’t…