• The Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Academy, Dublin

    April 10, 2017 - By 

    Jim and William Reid seem to be getting on just fine these days. You can tell from the minimal interaction and eye contact onstage when the notoriously fractious brothers get The Jesus & Mary Chain tours off the ground. In 2014 the band played a warm-up show in Vicar Street – a kind of dress rehearsal of sorts for their then-imminent Psychocandy tour. It was a ramshackle event from start to finish – and all the more exciting for it – where it seemed the band may not have lasted to the end of the set never mind the beginning…

  • Stormzy w/ A2 @ The Olympia, Dublin

    March 31, 2017 - By 

    Every single owner of a pair of Adidas Superstars has started to form a queue outside the Olympia on this particular Wednesday evening on Dublin. As the crowd eyes up each other’s shades of Adidas, it’s clear there’s only one name on everyone’s lips – Stormzy. Stormzy, or Michael Omari to his mum, has been setting grime and pop audiences alight with his palatable take on Britain’s hottest genre of 2017. His critically lauded number one album, Gang Signs And Prayer has already been slated as one of the biggest successes of the year and the excitement is palpable amongst…

  • Russian Circles w/ Cloakroom @ Empire Music Hall, Belfast

    March 29, 2017 - By 

    Almost five years to the month since they played one of the shows of 2010 at the Speakeasy alongside a fast-rising Deafheaven, Russian Circles’ return to Belfast tonight doubles up as the first anniversary for local promoters and imprint Solid Choice Industries. If ever there was a performance to mirror the sense of occasion – and the spirit of independence and conviction – the Chicago instrumental trio’s appearance tonight ticked all the boxes. Providing this evening’s lone support is North Indian trio Cloakroom, a band who strike a keen – and subtly compelling – balance between their slowcore-tinged brand of post-hardcore with…

  • Warpaint w/ Æ MAK @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    March 28, 2017 - By 

    There comes a point where the visage of being inscrutable begins to wear off, even the most beguiling cool kids have runny shits some days and when your defining trait over ten years into your career remains a kind inscrutableness, the trick risks wearing thin. The backing music is very Cure-esque, the singing is soft, melodic, harmonious, channelling any number of 90’s female vocalists from Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval to Dolores O’Riordan. Seeing them live (and indoors) is a significant clip ahead of listening to them on record, that distant echo quality reverberates satisfyingly. It’s nice; lovely even, like being…

  • RTÉ Choice Music Prize 2017

    March 10, 2017 - By 

    The Choice Music Prize is a pivotal point in the Irish music industry calendar and a celebration of the best of the best of Irish music. Last year’s winner was Derry’s SOAK, who won for her debut, Before We Forgot How to Dream. This year’s awards at Vicar St. was the first time in its history being held in partnership with RTE, and was broadcast live in a special four-hour programme from 7-11pm on RTÉ 2FM, and will be broadcasted on March 18th on RTÉ2 as part of a special RTÉ Choice Music Prize programme.  This partnership is a focal point of host…

  • Atlantic Sessions 2016

    January 10, 2017 - By 

    In a slightly delayed review we take a look back at Atlantic Sessions 2016 and look forward to the next session. Words and Images by Chris Flack, additional images by Tim Swart courtesy of Atlantic Sessions. With waves crashing against the shoreline, a relentless Atlantic wind, a canopy of snow on the hills and a decidedly vicious chill in the air, Atlantic Sessions rolled into the North Coast in November for its 8th year. And what a year it was, a near-perfect way to see out the shitstorm that was 2016. Hosting over 50 artists in 20 venues across the…

  • Fairport Convention @ Black Box, Belfast

    February 6, 2017 - By 

    Who knows where the time goes? For Fairport Convention, celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in 2017, and for its legion of fans, Sandy Denny’s song and lyric from Fairport Convention’s 1969 album Unhalfbricking has never been more poignant, or indeed, more haunting. Where indeed? Fairport has played just about every town, city and village the length of breadth of mainland UK since its first concert in 1967, but jaunts to this part of the world have been fairly rare, with this being Fairport’s first Belfast gig since 2010. All the more reason then for celebration. Fittingly, this afternoon’s matinee gig and…

  • Glen Hansard @ Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy

    January 17, 2017 - By 

    “Imagining a hero On some muddy compound, His gift like a slingstone Whirled for the desperate.” Seamus Heaney – Exposure Having spent the last while in the eye of the Apollo House maelstrom and the ensuing bureaucracy that continues to surround it, the unassuming presence of Glen Hansard in Seamus Heaney HomePlace this evening is – before he even plays a note – testament to the character of a man and artist who doesn’t perceive a hierarchy between musician and listener; celebrity and fan; government and citizen. In much the same way one of his most potent influences in Heaney never entertained the…

  • Rusangano Family w/ Bantum @ Dolans Warehouse, Limerick

    December 29, 2016 - By 

    To label this piece as a concert or gig review would be a disservice. This was not a simple performance, but in fact a stunning political rally, challenging all conflicts and controversies that arose from the wretched 2016. It’s hypnotic to watch a crowd, lined wall to wall of Dolan’s Warehouse, chanting and raving to these ballads of change. But however mesmerising the sights of the crowd were,  taking place on stage was an even more enthralling show of shouting and a dance of rhythmic stumbling, begging you to question how their throats could withstand such passion, or their limbs…

  • Lisa Hannigan @ Empire Music Hall, Belfast

    December 21, 2016 - By 

    Whether it’s the respite from the heady daytime rush or simply the nature of taking stock of the twelve months just gone, there’s something about this time of year that resonates so strongly with the deeply reflective craft of Lisa Hannigan. Having played a brace of fondly-recalled Christmas shows in the city back in 2011 and 2009, that association goes that little bit further for many in Belfast’s packed-out Empire Music Hall tonight where, comfortably edging into the realm of dewy-eyed, quasi-festive tradition, fans – both seasoned and new-fangled – assemble to bear witness to an artist unquestionably at the peak…