• Irish Tour: Therapy?

    December 13, 2015 - By 

    With words from Conor Callanan at the former, Ste Murray and Liam Kielt capture the mighty Therapy? at The Button Factory, Dublin and Belfast’s Limelight 1 (AAA). The Button Factory, Dublin One of the main qualities of a band such as Therapy? is their pure and unadulterated unwillingness to compromise. During their 26 year career they’ve never shied away from sticking steadfastly to their guns when it comes to releasing what they’ve wanted. No matter what the response may be from fans or critics alike. With the release of 1994’s Troublegum it seemed like Therapy? were on the cusp of something…

  • Irish Tour: Paul Weller

    November 20, 2015 - By 

    Our photographers Alan Maguire and Brian Mulligan capture a brace of Irish dates from Paul Weller at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall and Dublin’s Olympia Theatre respectively. Waterfront Hall, Belfast Olympia Theatre, Dublin

  • Irish Tour: Everything Everything

    November 6, 2015 - By 

    Having released their third album, Get To Heaven, back in June,  Everything Everything played Belfast’s Mandela Hall and Dublin’s Academy this week with support from Mojo Fury. Photos by Colm Laverty and Isabel Thomas. The Academy, Dublin by Isabel Thomas Mandela Hall, Belfast by Colm Laverty

  • Irish Tour: Beach House

    October 27, 2015 - By 

    Having released two fantastic albums in the space of three months – Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars – Baltimore dream-pop band Beach House played Belfast’s Mandela Hall and Dublin’s Vicar street at the weekend. Words by Cathal McBride and Joe Madsen. Photos by Colm Laverty and Aaron Corr. Mandela Hall, Belfast Photos by Colm Laverty Kicking off their lengthy European tour tonight, Baltimore dream pop duo Beach House unusually have not one but two new albums to promote, having released Depression Cherry and last week’s surprise follow up Thank Your Lucky Stars (written later but recorded in the…

  • Irish Tour: Father John Misty

    October 27, 2015 - By 

    Father John Misty’s sold out show in Galway’s Roisín Dubh on Thursday the 22nd of October fell during the same week as the city’s Comedy Festival. This proved interesting for two reasons; the first of which being that none of the venue’s bigger, alternative buildings were available for the show, resulting in a perhaps uncharacteristically intimate gig for Josh Tillman’s self-defining moniker. Secondly, it made for a curious observation as to what people really get out of watching a performance of any kind. When watching a comedy show people obviously are out to laugh until their cheeks hurt, to be…

  • Irish Tour: Mutoid Man

    October 22, 2015 - By 

    Mutoid Man featuring members of Converge and Cave, set off on tour around Ireland taking in shows at Belfast, Dublin and Galway. Support each night came from label mates No Spill Blood, 7.5 Tonnes of Beard and Ilenkus. Photos by Liam Kielt, Vincent Hughes and Isabel Thomas. Roisin Dubh, Galway by Vincent Hughes Voodoo, Belfast by Liam Kielt The Grand Social, Dublin by Isabel Thomas

  • Irish Tour: Johnny Marr

    October 20, 2015 - By 

    Johnny Marr is a man in a rush right now. This past March’s sophomoric effort Playland arrived a little more than a year after his solo debut The Messenger and he’s already trying out new material live. “This is a new song, but don’t be afraid,” he says with a smile before launching into ‘Spiral Cites’ to the approval of the crowd. It seems architect of some of the indie pop’s best loved songs seems to be working at a pace we haven’t seen since the mid 80’s when classic songs were falling out of Rickenbacker back in his bedroom…

  • Irish Tour: 100 Onces & Stonemasons

    October 12, 2015 - By 

    “It feels like an attic in here.” This is the first thing a friend says to me when we walk into the upstairs room of the Roisín Dubh on a Saturday to catch one of the last shows of Los Angeles duo 100 Onces’ extensive tour which saw them travelling around the UK, Eastern Europe, Russia and back to Ireland. The feeling that we’re in an attic is largely owing to the lack of much light of any sort and the cluttering of three band’s worth of equipment in the corner. It’s not a bad feeling at all, and it…