• From An Abandoned Work @ Happy Days Beckett Festival

    September 13, 2017 - By 

    For all the grim reality associated with much of Samuel Beckett’s work there is also, frequently enough, a silver lining of humour. This duality is perfectly illustrated in From an Abandoned Work, a prose piece from 1954/5 intended as part of novel that never materialized – hence the title. It took new life as a ‘meditation for radio’ and was first broadcast by the BBC in 1957. Here, it is presented in a secret location as a staged reading, something of an experiment by Director Netia Jones, whose production of Stirrings Still featuring Ian McElhinney proved to be one of…

  • Eh Joe @ Samuel Beckett Happy Days Festival

    September 7, 2017 - By 

    One of the most satisfying aspects of the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival has been its embrace of Beckett in all his diversity – from his emblematic plays to short dramatic works, poetry, and performances written specifically for radio and television. Eh Joe, Beckett’s first play for television, was written for Jack MacGowaran in 1965, though the version on the big screen in Enniskillen’s Ardhowen Theatre comes from a 1986 adaptation by Director Alan Gilsenan, starring Tom Hickey and Siobhan McKenna (as the Woman’s voice). The stark opening scene sees Joe, a middle-aged man in worn, soiled clothes, sat…

  • Aislinn Logan w/ Mark Loughrey @ Town Square, Belfast

    August 1, 2017 - By 

    Playing a stripped-back show in a limited capacity space on what is payday for some (presumably very thirsty) people is often a recipe for disaster. Usually it’s nothing personal: you could be Paul Simon or Joni Mitchell playing a pop-up show to a room full of dyed-in-the-wool aficionados and yet – due to some strange phenomenon that has somewhat corrupted live performance in public spaces since the dawn of time – people will often put loudly catching up above bearing witness to the artist they’ve parted money to be in the company of. Like, say, the Nazca Geoglyphs, the Bermuda Triangle and the…

  • King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Murder of the Universe

    June 23, 2017 - By 

    To describe King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard as prolific would be an understatement. They’re the sort of band who write, record and release 6 EPs, 2 double LPs and 36 singles in the time it takes you to read this sentence. Having already released one full-length in February of this year, they’re evidently proponents of a more is more philosophy. That belief permeates to every part of the outfit. From their roster of members to the songs themselves which oscillate between folk, free form jazz, psychedelia and good old fashioned 1970s prog rock epics. So how does their second…

  • Palehound – A Place I’ll Always Go

    June 19, 2017 - By 

    Difficult experiences can be a source of great inspiration and a catalyst behind profound art. Palehound’s sophomore release, A Place I’ll Always Go is testament to just that as vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Ellen Kempner adds to the band’s repertoire with a host of touching songs informed by her experience dealing with the unexpected loss of a close friend. The resulting songwriting is deeply honest and personal; trading the guitar hooks of 2015’s Dry Food for more meaningful lyrical content. Although still drawing on the stylings of bands like Pavement and Modest Mouse, Palehound’s sound developes on this album into…

  • Fleet Foxes – Crack Up

    June 16, 2017 - By 

    A six-year break is a fairly large gulf for album releases. Fleet Foxes released their last LP, Helplessness Blues, on May 3rd, 2011. At that point in time, Spotify had barely eked its way into the American market, Mitt Romney was a viable presidential opponent and Osama Bin Laden was dead for less than 24 hours. To say certain seismic shifts have occurred since the group’s previous outing is an understatement. The world in which Helplessness Blues and the self-titled record is long gone, so how does their latest, Crack-Up, fare in this new musical landscape? Not well. This a…

  • Bob Dylan @ 3Arena, Dublin

    May 16, 2017 - By 

    Some things never change. There are still people streaming towards the exits long before the end of a Bob Dylan show and tonight is no different. Despite the availability of decades of set lists and live reviews online, the expectation of an acoustic-driven evening of hits prevails among many of the audience sprawled around the cavernous 3 Arena. Here is a Nobel Laureate who can perform at the White House without saying a word to the President of the United States, yet people are disappointed that he fails to acknowledge the audience or the occasion with as much as a…

  • 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…

  • Football As Never Before @ The Strand Arts Centre, Belfast

    November 8, 2016 - By 

    A ninety-minute avant garde documentary about George Best, set to live music and performed in an art deco cinema, might sound like something from the 1970s alternative arts scene, particularly when only one of the footballing superstar’s goals is featured.  But this is Belfast in 2016 and the catalyst for this future-retro Best tribute is Dublin composer/musician Matthew Nolan, who specializes in putting music to silent/avant-garde films. The film in question is “Football Like Never Before”, shot by German film-maker Helmuth Costard in 1970 and released the following year. Eight 16mm cameras tracked Best for the full ninety minutes of…