• Bob Dylan @ 3Arena, Dublin

    May 16, 2017 - By 

    Some things never change. There are still people streaming towards the exits long before the end of a Bob Dylan show and tonight is no different. Despite the availability of decades of set lists and live reviews online, the expectation of an acoustic-driven evening of hits prevails among many of the audience sprawled around the cavernous 3 Arena. Here is a Nobel Laureate who can perform at the White House without saying a word to the President of the United States, yet people are disappointed that he fails to acknowledge the audience or the occasion with as much as a…

  • Neil Young @ 3Arena, Dublin

    June 9, 2016 - By 

    Going to see the greats in the twilight of their career can be a tricky business. Often you find the artist behind some of your records to be a shadow of their former selves, churning out the hits one last time or looking for one final payday to straighten out their accounts. Neil Young and the Promise of the Real’s Rebel Content tour is the antithesis of these concerts. Somehow managing to occupy both the roles of career retrospective and showcase for newer songs, this is a show that will have even the most casual Young fan going home a believer. Excitement has…

  • Jeff Lynne’s ELO @ 3Arena, Dublin

    May 11, 2016 - By 

    While Jeff Lynne sure knows how to make a bold statement by suggesting he is Alone in the Universe, tonight’s show and the previous string of dates in the UK that sold out in minutes certainly suggest otherwise. Apart from long time keyboardist and collaborator Richard Tandy, Lynne has an ensemble of relatively new but seasoned musicians to recreate and reinstate his cosmic vision of Electric Light Orchestra for his first tour in over 30 years. This particular gig at Dublin’s 3Arena was originally scheduled for the previous weekend but due to illness Jeff had to postpone and apologised fervently…

  • Foals w/ Everything Everything @ 3Arena, Dublin

    February 12, 2016 - By 

    Coming off the sound of their excellent 2015 record Get to Heaven Everything Everything take the stage packing all their reverb-y epic-ness into the 3Arena’s panoramic sound. They kick in with a metallic, eighties edge and the vocals have a sharp bite that more than make up for Jonathan Higgs contained but usually irreducible, athletic range. ‘Regrets’ lives up to its anthemic potential and ‘Cough Cough’s frenetic rhythms make way for the best pop-post-rock soup on any mainstream menu. In ten minutes the Manchester locals have already played a stormer. By the time they unleash a bouncy, tricky version of…