• Parquet Courts w/ Oh Boland, Cian Nugent & The Cosmos @ Roisin Dubh, Galway

    September 4, 2015 - By 

    From the offset of tonight’s festivities it is made plainly clear that no one will be leaving this room with ears as healthy as they were when they came in. Getting things going, local institution and ever-progressing garage maestros Oh Boland (below) break into their brand of screechy, uplifting and loud jams. Guitarist and vocalist Niall Murphy flaps about the stage like a moustachioed Crash Bandicoot while the rhythm section of Eanna MacDonnacha (bass) and Simon McDonagh (drums, backing vocals) provide equal measures of sweaty energy. The songs sound like taking a trip to the beach on a sunny day, except…

  • Fuzz w/ Exploding Eyes @ Whelan’s, Dublin

    September 4, 2015 - By 

    With garage and psych rock undergoing a serious resurgence over the last couple of years, most fans would agree that artists such as Thee Oh Sees, The Fresh & Only’s and Ty Segall have spearheaded its modern day rebirth. The latter name on that list – Ty Segall – in particular, would be viewed as being rather prolific due to the multitude of releases that he has put out since his self-titled 2008 debut. Since then he has collaborated on full length albums with White Fence, Mikal Cronin and most recently with tonight’s headliners Fuzz. As a result of it…

  • The Jimmy Cake @ Hangar, Dublin

    September 1, 2015 - By 

    It was a long time in coming, but when it was announced that Dublin’s The Jimmy Cake were returning to the recording studio, the news was met with a huge sigh of relief amongst their fans. With their last record Spectre & Crown, having garnered a lot of critical acclaim on its release back in 2008, the forefathers of Ireland’s instrumental scene, must’ve surely felt more than just a smidgen of pressure when going into record what would end up becoming their fourth full-length, Master. With Saturday night’s gig acting as Master’s official launch celebration, it was in no way…

  • The Stray Birds @ Black Box, Belfast

    August 25, 2015 - By 

    Perhaps it’s the current trend for all banjo, fiddle and beard-wielding Americana bands, or maybe its promotor Moving On Music’s reputation as a purveyor of musical excellence that’s pulled them in, but whatever the reason it’s a full house in the Black Box for Pennsylvanian bluegrass trio The Stray Birds. Maya de Virtry, Oliver Craven and Charlie Muench played this same room just over a year ago though tonight, judging by the paltry show of hands in response to Craven’s “who was here last time?” survey,  it seems like a new audience is here to catch one of the hottest…

  • Reverberation Psych Weekender @ The Grand Social, Dublin

    August 20, 2015 - By 

    With psych music these days now affording its current crop of disciples, a broader platform of sound experimentation to play with, it was in no way surprising to have looked at the diverse line up for last weekend’s Reverberation festival, and licked ones lips with fervent glee. Advertised as Dublin’s inaugural celebration of psych and drone music, The Grand Social played host to all things psychedelic with a dozen bands, various DJ’s and mind playing visuals, as well as cult films, all adding to the vibe of this 13th Floor Elevators’ inspired experience. Cork five piece Elastic Sleep, were tasked…

  • Sun Kil Moon @ Open House Festival, Bangor

    August 12, 2015 - By 

    “People love me. Some people hate me. A lot of people love me, but some people hate me. Some people anonymously go on to the internet and say cruel, hateful things about me. But that’s ok. That’s ok. That’s ok because it means you’re somebody when that happens to you. It means that you’ve arrived. It means that you can lie in bed at night with a warm, fuzzy feeling in your stomach. Some people hate me and some people love me. Some people come to my shows and write big, long essays about how much they love my music…

  • The Libertines w/ The Courteeners @ 3Arena, Dublin

    July 13, 2015 - By 

    A rose by any other name right? 3Arena may be the pre-eminent venue for the most popular acts visiting the city but it must be a logistical nightmare. The sound is far from perfect for The Courteeners breed of indie rock. The sound has been primed for stadium rock which the lads fill out admirably but it’s at the detriment of any musical subtlety. Instead each song is awash of boom-bah drum noise and the sometimes faltering vocals of Mr. Liam Fray. Luckily it’s not so muddy that they lose the sing along spine that give their most popular tracks…

  • Mastodon w/ Bad Breeding @ Ulster Hall, Belfast

    June 30, 2015 - By 

    Treating tonight more like a pilgrimage into the dark heart of sludge-laden, conceptual metal than your typical jaunt to a gig, we’re joined giddily by the sizeable crowd of Mastodon T-shirt wearing fans as we enter the baroque surroundings of the Ulster Hall.  The air, thick with beard and brew, seemingly creates its own atmospherics ahead of any performance so far, but, safe in the knowledge that we’ll be banging our heads soon we file in and stand our ground.  It’s not exactly filled to the brim, but it’s not nearly empty either and the consensus thus far is that…

  • Mastodon w/ Bad Breeding @ Olympia Theatre, Dublin

    June 29, 2015 - By 

    The night begins with a small clan of bemused faces. On the stage is Bad Breeding (frontman, Chris Dodd, below), throwing out fuzzy, mashed agro punk. Clever without being innovative it’s reminiscent of Black Flag, Crass and the noise-rock elements of bands like The Horrors. Not a bad thing, in and of itself, but elements of the crowd are as disinterested as the distortion is unrelenting. This simply seems to be a case of bad booking. So the majority of the crowd hole up in The Olympia’s wonderfully anachronistic bar. The black t-shirts are adorned with tonight’s headliner and the…

  • Fleetwood Mac @ 3Arena, Dublin

    June 23, 2015 - By 

    So I’m back / to the 3 arena / back to the band that I love… Ok, so I may be biased… no hang on, I AM biased because I believe Fleetwood Mac are the greatest living, breathing and touring band in existence. They’re a band who have never mired in talent, their songs are astronomically timeless with all present members accounted for and individually influential. It’s an absolute privilege to watch them perform together with a never-waning enthusiasm for songs you’d expect them to be tired of by now. Consider this: the band are all pushing 70. Stevie announced…