• Gig of the week: Farriers, Anthony Toner & more @ Empire Music Hall

    April 7, 2014 - By 

    Headlined by alt-rock band The Farriers, our Gig of the Week for this is a special fundraising show for disaster relief in Syria at Belfast’s Empire Music Hall on Friday, April 11. Not merely totally laudable for the great cause – aiding the afflicted caught up on the Syrian crisis – the line-up has all the makings of one of those all-too-rare “I was there” shows, with Anthony Toner, Master & Dog and Seven Summits (pictured) also amongst the acts set to perform. Tickets are £5 and it’s £6 at the door. Go here for the show’s Facebook event page.

  • First Tennents Vital Show Announced

    March 26, 2014 - By 

    The Killers will be coming to Belfast to perform as part of the Tennents Vital series of gigs. The show will take place at the Boucher Road Playing Fields, Belfast on the 21st of August. And if the prospect of the American band doesn’t have you excited enough already, Bastille will also be playing on the night. Tickets for the show will cost €49.50 and will go on sale next Monday, March 31 at 9am.  

  • The Record #003: Empty Lungs

    January 14, 2014 - By 

    In the third installment of The Record, Liam Kielt tottered along to Belfast’s Start Together Studio to capture alt-punk band Empty Lungs laying down some new songs for a forthcoming release. Have a gander at those shots and Brian Coney’s interview with Kevin Jones from the band below. And once you’re finished, feel free to check out our in-studio pieces with the equally excellent Bouts and Jape! Hi Kev. Liam captured you guys recording at Start Together studio late last year. What were you guys recording and when can we expect to hear it? We were recording two new tracks…

  • Gremlins @ QFT Belfast

    November 25, 2013 - By 

    Belfast’s Queen’s Film Theatre will host a special one-off screening of Joe Dante’s classic 1984 horror comedy blockbuster Gremlins on Saturday, December 14. Presented by BBC Radio Ulster broadcaster Ralph McClean the screening is one of a select handful of Christmas movies being shown at the film theatre this year and will also include complimentary Jameson cocktails, music and prizes (including an original print by Peter Strain). Doors are at 9pm, the film starts at 10pm and tickets are available to purchase right here. http://www.queensfilmtheatre.com/films/jamesongremlins/

  • The National @ The Odyssey, Belfast

    November 15, 2013 - By 

    Restraint. A hard quality to achieve in one’s day to day life. Musically, however, it’s very difficult indeed. Amplified by speaker stacks and placed in the glare of spotlights, many bands affect emotion by stomping on a distortion pedal or guldering angst-ridden couplets. In stark contrast, the austere members of The National continually reign in such fits of childish pique. Take, for example, ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’, with its spiralling drum patterns, mournful horns and droning guitar. It’s a perfect storm albeit one that never breaks but pulses and throbs towards a climax which never quite arrives. It creates a thrilling tension,…

  • Before Machines announce split

    September 12, 2013 - By 

    Having released their superb debut album, Tundra, at the start of the year, Belfast indie-rock four-piece Before Machines have announced that they are to part was after a final Belfast show next month. The band released the following statement: “On October 2nd, Before Machines will play Limelight 2. This will be our last performance. A few weeks ago the two Dans (Dan Larkin, Dan Black) announced their intentions to leave the band, confirming what we had all been feeling in our hearts for some time – that Before Machines are over. The release of the Tundra album earlier this year was…

  • Radio K

    September 20, 2013 - By 

    The atomic symbol of potassium, the maligned protagonist in Franz Kafka’s The Castle and the unspecified superior feature of a certain breakfast cereal: the letter K denotes and relates to many things. Tentatively established back in 2006, Radio K has steadily established itself as Belfast’s go-to weekly alternative club, set in the suitably underground surroundings of the basement of Belfast’s oldest bar, McHughs at Custom House Square. Casting our eye back to its foundations and the years that have since passed, we catch up with the club’s main players to trace the supremely soundtracked trajectory of a Belfast social institution.…

  • Watch: Blue Whale – Was

    September 9, 2013 - By 

    Belfast jazz-punk quartet Blue Whale have released the video for ‘Was’, the lead single from their forthcoming self-titled EP. Crated by Stuart Sloan, the video splices footage of the band performing the track with an array of contorted, skittering, warped images. The band’s self-titled EP will be releaesd on 7″ vinyl on Friday, September 20 at Culture Night Belfast, when the band will be performing a “rooftop tour” in the City Centre from 4-8pm followed by their EP launch party in St. Anne’s Car Park at 10pm. Watch the video for ‘Was’ Below.

  • End of an Era: Sketchy Bids Farewell

    September 4, 2013 - By 

    After eight long years and hundreds of unforgettable – and, for many, forgetful – Thursday nights at the Stiff Kitten, legendary Belfast club night Sketchy comes to an end tomorrow night (Thursday, September 5). Touching on the colourful past, present and (potential) future of the club, we speak to its founder and resident DJ Rigsy about the end of a clubbing era. As the club’s final ever flyer says: one more time with feeling, eh? Hi Rigsy. The last ever Sketchy is before us. Firstly: why’s it coming to an end? Is there “why”? In short, because it had to end some time.…