• 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…

  • Wastefellow @ The Grand Social, Dublin

    October 27, 2018 - By 

    Wastefellow is an up-and-coming coming electronic producer hailing from the streets of Dublin. With a brand new EP, Post Human Potential, under his belt and recent performances at Hard Working Class Heroes and some of Ireland’s biggest festivals this summer, his current position as an artist is on the verge of a major breakthrough. It’s clear from the packed out Grand Social midweek audience that he takes to the stage for that this is a musician surrounded by a hell of a lot of hype and promise. His show makes good on that hype with ease. Donning his signature silver…

  • The Magic Numbers @ Cyprus Avenue, Cork

    June 11, 2018 - By 

    It’s a packed out, older than usual crowd that The Magic Numbers are faced with when they arrive at Cyprus Avenue. Despite the band’s relative obscurity in recent years, they’re met with an excitable, large audience and waste no time settling into riling that crowd up with their jangly, summery indie rock anthems. For the most part, the four piece settle comfortably into their set. They play with charismatic ease and it’s clear the act know their way around a live performance – combining banterous interjections with extremely tight, professional playing. However, the biggest issue facing The Magic Numbers seems…

  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds w/ Patti Smith @ Royal Hospital, Kilmainham

    June 8, 2018 - By 

    In this hyperbolic age, the phrase “gig of the year” gets tossed about far too flippantly. Every experience must be the best as anything less than perfection is worthless. The thing is though, most concerts couldn’t lay claim to that title. But very occasionally, there is a lineup that makes your jaw drop and forces you to question whether or not this could be the one. On 6 June 2018, Kilmainham played host to one of those shows: Patti Smith supporting Nick Cave. Either of these artists could have been the headliner and no one would be disappointed. They each…

  • Ty Segall @ Tivoli Theatre, Dublin

    June 7, 2018 - By 

    It is as if the drawn out, cloudless evenings knew that Ty Segall was coming to town. A gloriously heady concoction of 60’s proto-punk, garage rock, glam, psychedelia and heavy metal,  Segall’s music is something that may seem at odds with a wonderfully sun drenched weather front, but one that makes perfect sense when listening to his back catalogue. Over the course of his ten solo LPs, numerous collaborative albums, and countless other releases, Segall has managed to prove he can effortlessly combine his love of melody with a raucous sound that can go off on a zig-zagged tangent at…