IrishMJ

So there I was, Thursday night, facing into the St. Patricks Holiday weekend, three days with no plans.  I figured I'd take it easy, sleep lots, eat crap food, maybe, just maybe go to the cinema. Then my phone buzzed and my plans changed immediately.  It was a message from Cat Dowling, 'Would I like a pass to the St. Patricks Festival on Saturday night?'  Obviously I replied YES! and then went to check out who was playing... The lineup on the Main Stage was: 18:30 Khakikid 19:20 Cat Dowling 20:15 Katie Kim 21:30 Pillow Queens As it turns out, there were a few other stages dotted around, but somehow I managed to totally miss them.  I'm not exactly sure how I did that, but I think the lesson to be learned is to read the website correctly! So, how was the festival?  Well, the venue itself, Collins Barracks, is excellent, and well served by public transport with the Luas stopping right outside.  There were plenty of food and drink options, a decent amount of benches too.

I can't remember the first time I heard of Wild Youth . They've been making waves here in Ireland for a few years now and have built up a very ardent and vocal fan base! Somehow I'd never managed to catch them live.  That was until last night when they played The Grand Social , which, as it happens, turned out to be their last Dublin show before heading off to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2023 . I'm pretty sure that I'm not the target audience for Wild Youth, I've a feeling it's more mid teens to mid twenties, someone a bit more energetic than me!  That didn't matter last night though, as the audience audience, primarily female, loved every minute of the show and let it be known!  They sang, screamed and cheered along all night and the band paid them back in kind. All in all, it was a very enjoyable night and hopefully the lads will do well in Liverpool in just a few weeks time. Just a side note, Wild Youth they seemed to be down a player last night w

I only heard of Driven Snow recently, which is strange as I follow one of the members on Twitter...  Not sure how I missed out on them till now! Anyway, Driven Snow are Kieran from Deleorentos and Emily from Republic of Loose and, when I heard they were playing the Workmans Cellar in Dublin, I thought I'd head along and see what the craic was. I didn't listen to any of their music beforehand, so I had no idea what to expect, but I figured it would be good, and I wasn't wrong. Whilst the music is not as fast as Delorentos or as funk driven as 'the Loose', it's certainly catchy and Emily has an incredible voice, just wonderful.  Hopefully there will be an album in the future.  It was well worth heading along to catch them live and I'd suggest that you try catch them also if they're playing a venue near you!  Check out their music over on  Spotify .   Strangely enough, I'd also never heard of  Abe Soare , the support act on the night.  Hailing from

It's no secret that I like burlesque shows.  I've been to shows in Las Vegas, San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Dublin and Cork... Different styles in different countries, but all absolutely wonderful. Tonight's show, The Peacock Parlour , is run by the wonderful Foxy P. Cox .  I've been to see the show a few times, both in Dublin and Cork and it's always fun, a heady mix of genders dancing, singing, cavorting away on the stage. What's not to love??? This Valentine's Night, I'm in The Grand Social in Dublin, a venue I am very familiar with, and performing on stage are: King Crimson Bella Curve Kat Moiselle Daria Décolleté Rod Fibula with Carmen Mon Oxide on hostess duties! We were treated to an exotic night of romance, desire, weddings and breakups and, well, the audience loved it.  They whooped and cheered along all night.  I would have too, but I seem to have lost my whooping voice... I've said it elsewhere, I am no fan of Valentine's Day, I disl