• Ash @ Limelight 1, Belfast

    June 10, 2015 - By 

    “How many of you have never seen us play before?” Very few hands are raised. It’s probably fair to assume that the majority of this Belfast crowd have, in some shape or form, grown up with Ash. Having been upgraded, due to demand, to the larger room in The Limelight complex, it speaks for the enduring appeal of the home grown band who are currently touring to mark the release of Kablammo!; their seventh album. For a band sporting a back catalogue as well regarded as Ash, you would forgive the temptation to forge a set list of favourites. It…

  • Patti Smith, Spiritualized & Ariel Pink @ Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin

    June 3, 2015 - By 

    The last remnants of the Forbidden Fruit stages are being taken down. A few straggling food tents and vans are dotted around the edges of the field beside the obligatory Bulmers festival stands. And the rain is pouring down. It’s only through an organisational miracle that this gig is going ahead at all, really. What was originally meant to be an outdoors affair has instead been forced into two big tops, meaning that those who were lucky enough to secure tickets are tightly squeezed in. However, the lack of space in no way impacts on the energy at tonight’s triumvirate…

  • Mr Scruff @ Black Box, Belfast

    June 1, 2015 - By 

    You might already be aware of this but Mr. Scruff AKA Andy Carthy is a bonafide hero.  Why shouldn’t he be?  The man has one of the most eclectic musical palettes around and the production/DJing skills to back it up – and then some.  That’s the reason (and always has been) why Carthy is such a huge draw for music lovers of all styles.  His last appearance in Belfast back in January was immense, and this time around, our expectations were obviously high.  It’s a treat, too, that he’s come back to play The Black Box for this visit.  Not…

  • Slane 2015

    June 1, 2015 - By 

    County Meath holds one of the most beautiful areas of land in all of Ireland, and the worldwide famous landmark of Slane Castle hosts one of the biggest rock bands in the world today. There seems to be no better fit. The Irish music fans seem to be some of the best, recognised worldwide, and the statement made by the overwhelming crowd, surpassing the 70,000 mark, who came to see the Foo Fighters despite a number of other events on the same day, including Forbidden Fruit Festival not too far down the road, was an incredible sight to see. And…

  • Swans w/ Okkyung Lee @ Button Factory, Dublin

    May 27, 2015 - By 

    Despite being a Monday after the weekend before there’s a sense of excitement for those milling around waiting for the show to start. They’re all ages, a physical embodiment of the decades long span of Swans career and the age defying loyalty they inspire. But before that there’s something of a gatekeeper in the image of Okkyung Lee (below). Her face spookily serene, she weighs taste on her rapidly moving bow as she makes her cello gurgle, spit, shout and scream. In fact everything except sing. So is this deranged arthouse fun? There is something of the performance about it,…

  • The Cribs w/ September Girls @ Limelight 2, Belfast

    May 26, 2015 - By 

    With their reverb-soaked garage-rock sound, September Girls (below) take to the stage at Belfast’s Limelight 2 tonight an hour after the doors open. The long wait for the opening act doesn’t make much difference as the capacity in dark room is barely touched, and with a mere thirty-odd people watching them on, the band start their set. With The Cribs gear arranged behind them, the Dublin band seem to make the stage appear even smaller than what it usually is. Swaying about for most of the set, they focus on a clean and crisp live sound, translating almost identically from their recorded material. As…

  • Swans w/ Okkyung Lee @ Mandela Hall, Belfast

    May 25, 2015 - By 

    Writing about Swans is a curious, almost impossible thing. With their three-decade long pursuit of summoning fleeting encounters with ecstasy, induced by masterfully orchestrated swathes of crushing noise, incantation and repetition, they are the living, breathing definition of a band whose seismic might and majesty can only truly be heeded live. A year to the month on from the release of their critically-devoured thirteenth studio opus, To Be Kind, Michael Gira and co. roll into Belfast tonight a towering and potent force to be reckoned with. Expectations simply couldn’t be higher. Immediately silencing the room with a flicker of the…

  • Tandem Felix w/ Jawbone @ The Workman’s Club, Dublin

    May 18, 2015 - By 

    Does life imitate art or the other way round? A fundamental question for aesthetes answered simply enough when, prompted by the seated musicians on stage, the audience follow cue and inhabit the dark, seated parameters of the Workman’s Club. Despite the resulting floor space having the inhospitable air of a school disco (circa 1999, god knows what they’re like now) the atmosphere’s closer to a dim lit jazz club. Fitting, perhaps, for the clever work of Jawbone; a folk/blues collective who stray into honky-tonk, swing and delta for good measure. More a showcase than a straight set, the members pay…

  • little xs for eyes w/ Paddy Hanna @ Whelan’s, Dublin

    May 6, 2015 - By 

    Kicking things off nicely is Paddy Hanna with his introspective, delicate folk. His greatest, and most striking strength is his voice, reminiscent of BBC’s Jack Steadman, Alt-J’s Joe Newman and even our own Conor O’Brien. His mellow, gossamer guitar playing may be lost on the early crowd who are yet to break from their tight circles and shadowy corners. But in Paddy, though no stage master, there’s clearly something to like for lovers of the genre. The crowd begins to grow. Mid week gigs are all the thing it seems. But then again, who wouldn’t want to get out of…

  • San Fermin @ Whelan’s, Dublin

    May 1, 2015 - By 

    Fresh off the release of sophomore album Jackrabbit, Brooklyn-based San Fermin returns to Dublin exactly one year after their debut performance in Ireland. Largely the brainchild of composer and lyricist Ellis Ludwig-Leone, a composition major from Yale University, San Fermin’s style plays to a variety of influence ranging folk, jazz, and pop, with an element of high refinement in each musical mannerism. The eight-piece ensemble, including two men on brass and an electric violinist, excites in a way that is hard to categorize. Ellis’ lyrics mystify the abstract while painting a visceral picture of emotion, yet the robust vocals of…