A Thursday night summer outdoor show is an opportunity for a good time, contingent on a number of factors. There’s the setting (impeccable), the weather (hanging in there), the performer (mostly excellent back catalogue spanning two decades) and (perhaps most importantly) the will of the artist to indulge the gathered masses with their set selection. […]
It’s a festival bill, but not as we know it. Longitude has always attracted young people from all over the country but over the last couple of years it’s definitely become a festival for the less weary of bone – the first two days peppered with the grade-A of Grime Stormzy and Skepta and some […]
Shortly after the release of 2010 debut Tourist History, you could barely move for the blasting of Two Door Cinema Club. The Bangor trio’s debut album made little sense on many levels: full of almost flippantly fast pop-rock singles, it was perfect quick-fire advertising fodder, released on a label based in France that had dedicated […]
Centre stage on the Trinity Sports grounds tonight, in every sense of the expression, stands James Vincent McMorrow. The man of the spine-chilling falsetto, the golden thread that winds down through each song and weaves in and out of genres with absolute ease. The five piece band kick off the set with a scintillating ‘Red […]
“We just want to thank everyone for being here”. Yadda yadda. Chris Martin is sat at his piano in the middle of Croke Park, offering what seems to be the usual platitudes to some 80,000 people. Sure he’s reminiscing about Coldplay coming here in their early days and playing to virtually nobody, but it’s the […]
When Sadie Dupuis released Slugger last year, it was a continuation of a productive creative period, through two Speedy Ortiz records (Major Arcana into Foil Deer) and the creation of an outlet for a slight tweak musically, with a focus on a pop aesthetic, made manifest by a greater dependence on keyboards and synths over […]
It’s not everyday a performer with Kamasi Washington’s presence breezes into town. Since the release of his debut album two short years ago, he has toured far and wide, wowing audiences with his stellar live act. Almost a year ago to the day I was lucky enough to catch Kamasi playing to a whopping 6000 […]
“Ya’ll don’t sound like a Sunday night crowd,” Caleb Followill announces in his Southern drawl about half way through the second of his band’s three nights at the 3 Arena. The man has a point. The atmosphere inside the venue is as boozy and loose limbed as any Nashville dive bar or honky-tonk in the […]
Having been around for nigh-on thirty years now, Green Day have completely mastered the art of crowd-pleasing. They arrive onstage to chorus of deafening explosions and pyrotechnics which shatter the veil of serenity normally found among the RHK surroundings. Billie Joe Armstrong is hyper and boyish as ever as he welcomes us all to join […]
Music festivals at their core, are usually quite chaotic things when you really stop and think about it. You bring together a group of people, some young, some old and put together a line-up consisting of everything from hardcore trap rappers to seasoned DJs playing retro deep house for hours on end. Now, this isn’t […]
Phil Collins’ self-imposed exile has ended and despite what a great many wisened heads will tell you, he has a lot to offer. Once a figure of sustained ridicule over everything from his tax affairs to his fabled divorce fax, the flow of ire quickly bled into his musical output but you can take that […]
It’s a dark, dreary evening in Cork and the long road leading to the Marquee is covered in sullen looking parents and teenagers scrambling to avoid the rain. Once inside the tent, the support arrives en-queue with our arrival. Having escaped the gloominess outside, we’re eager to hear something to lift the spirits. Not so lucky […]
We’ve arrived at the Marquee and there’s only a handful of people stage side. The lead singer of the support band is timidly introducing their second song. The tracks are surprising, never really revealing themselves immediately; changing form – from slow melodic introductions, interlaced with dream-pop vibes – into grunge-rock crescendos. As the set continues, […]
Late review – The Avalanches were incredible at the 2001 Witnness Festival. Swapping instruments on every song, beating the crap out of each other and sounding absolutely nothing like they did on record, the six piece’s performance still ranks as one of the most memorable I’ve seen at any Irish festival. A lot of water […]