• Bill Callahan @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    October 2, 2019 - By 

    I found myself in the smoothest taxi ride I’ve ever fell upon, gliding from leafy Portobello to its friendly neighbour Mr. Vicar Street on a light mellow Sunday evening to witness my first ever Bill Callahan show, having been a long time fan of his work. It was pleasant from the off as I took the role of reviewer and made immediate conversation with fans of all kinds outside, soaking up all their knowledge like a musical magnetic sponge. There was Ben all the way from the USA who raved about the crazy support band Dallas Acid, whom he enthusiastically described as “……

  • Nealo w/ C.o.B and Jeorge II @ The Grand Social, Dublin

    October 2, 2019 - By 

    In the crowded smoking area of The Grand Social, fans and members of Ireland’s Hip Hop scene have congregated for a triple threat from some of the community’s heavy hitters. Tickets are presented at the door, wrists are stamped and drink is confiscated from a few younger attendees. Starting off the evening is Cork native C.o.B. Blasting the audience with a blend of old school horrorcore and contemporary trap beats, C.o.B parades the stage thrashing about whilst illuminated by glaring red visuals. While it may not be everybody’s cup of tea, a select few audience members at the base of…

  • Billy Corgan @ Olympia Theatre, Dublin

    June 23, 2019 - By 

    Billy Corgan (or William Patrick Corgan as he formally likes to be known as these days) has taken an unprecedented opportunity to perform a short tour of Europe alone, airing out new work and well trodden, decades old tunes. It’s a brief sojourn from the Smashing Pumpkins who are in the middle of a somewhat renaissance tour with three of the four original members which he’ll return to in a couple of weeks. Tonight we’re dispensed with a rare intimate show from the magmatic frontman and anticipation as to what facet of his personality we’ll be presented with is palpable.…

  • Manic Street Preachers @ Olympia Theatre, Dublin

    May 14, 2019 - By 

    It’s been a little over twenty years since Manic Street Preachers’ landmark fifth record, This is my Truth, Tell me Yours, solidified a somewhat stratospheric ‘second act’; a manic metamorphosis from a politically punctuated punk four piece into the enduring ruminative band we know today. Back then, the Manics were just about coping with the tragic disappearance of their guitarist Richey Edwards in 1995, and fresh from the meteoric success of the sweepingly superabundant sounds of their following album, Everything Must Go. Despite being the first to be recorded timidly without him, half of it contained his lyrics. The viscerally…