@irishmj

I've been trying to see Vulpynes live for a few years, but bad scheduling on my behalf and then COVID made sure that wasn't to happen! Earlier this week, I noticed they were playing in The Grand Social in Dublin on Friday night, so I bought a ticket straight away. It would be great way to start the Bank Holiday weekend! I stopped off pre-gig and had some Korea BBQ and a couple of Cokes to wash it all down, then headed on to the the Grand Social.  Unfortunately, by this stage, I missed the opening act of the night, The Thrash Blues, but as things were running a little late, I managed to catch nearly all of The Lee Harveys rowdy set. On to Vulpynes.  Wow, they sounded awesome!  In case you've never seen or heard of them before, they consist of just two members, Molly on vocals/guitar and Kaz on drums.  They make some beautifully loud punk rock music.  I honestly didn't take many pictures, I just stood there in awe watching them. Remember I mentioned Korean BBQ earlier?

After 30 months of a pandemic, I finally got COVID, 11 days before  Forever Young Festival , where I was due to shoot!  So, after COVID kicked my ass, I had to isolate for another few days, my first day of freedom being the first full day of the the festival! Should I have went?  In hindsight, probably not.  I was no longer infectious, so that wasn't an issue, but I was drained, had no energy and hadn't eaten properly in 10 days.  Add on to that the heatwave Ireland was experiencing and I think we can all agree, it was stupid of me to go. In my (albeit weak) defence, it was the first time I'd got a Media Pass for that festival and I didn't want to run the risk of not getting another.  Plus the lineup was superb!  Artists such as Nik Kershaw , the Undertones , Tiffany , Bananarama , Paul Young , Nick Heyward and many, many more were set to play, it was going to be a trues 80s music feast! Anyway... There were so many highlights from the weekend, a most of the performers

I've been waiting a long time to see Fontaines DC live again after last seeing them back in May 2019 at Forbidden Fruit.  Originally scheduled for July 2020, everyone's friend, COVID, got in the way and mae sure that didn't happen.  To make maters worse, the rescheduled date in 2021 didn't happen either, for the exact same reason! Fear not though, it is 2022 and not even COVID was going to stop this gig happening!  I packed my bag and headed off to the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin, for what promised to be one of the highlights of the year! So, was it worth waiting for?  Oh hell yeah! Others in the media will tell you more about it, but all you need to know is that it was a hit filled, fantastic gig by a band at the top of their game.  Oh and the rain stayed away! Setlist (courtesy of  Setlist.FM ) is as follows: In ár gCroíthe go deo A Lucid Dream Sha Sha Sha Roman Holiday How Cold Love Is I Don't Belong You Said The Couple Across the Way Televised Mind Big Shot Hurri