• Beauty Sleep – Be Kind Album Launch @ The MAC, Belfast

    July 2, 2019 - By 

    A burst of unseasonable warm weather (for June) grips Belfast, spending an evening in the MAC’s windowless theatre space to listen to Beauty Sleep officially launch the launch of their album ‘Be Kind’ feels a touch counter-intuitive. We’ve seen precious little of the big yellow ball in the sky of late and perversely fate has decided place two of the summeriest things to happen to the city all year in direct competition. Pathetic fallacy is all well and good when it’s pissing down outside but on days like this it’s just annoying. In spite of the glorious showing outside a…

  • Emma Langford w/ Nathan O’Regan @ The Duncairn, Belfast

    June 26, 2019 - By 

    It’s almost a little too warm this evening in the Duncairn Centre’s beautiful theatre space. It’s also possible everyone is a little hot under the collar from rushing to the venue, some seasonal marching to the north of Belfast has made getting here on time a challenging proposition and people are still arriving as our host welcomes the crowd and introduces the evening’s support, Nathan O’Regan. Once the Cork-born singer-songwriter takes to the stage it becomes clear his songs are a lesson in measured restraint; it’s obvious he could push his voice harder, that he is more than capable of…

  • Scullion @ Lost Lane, Dublin

    June 20, 2019 - By 

    The pre-show murmur before the second of Scullion’s sequence of three “Down in the City” shows at Lost Lane is somewhat muted but polite and convivial. Critically it is dry. Just prior to doors opening the heavens did the same and most of our audience seem to have been caught in the deluge at some point en route to the venue. The mild drenching seems to have brought out an “us-against-the-world” attitude in the attendees, which always makes conversation a little easier and it’s clear everyone is very happy to be safely ensconced in Lost Lane’s cozy space. Scullion are…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…