@irishmj

We're all very aware of what's going on in Ukraine and many feel powerless to help. Around the country, people are putting on benefit nights in various shapes and forms to raise money for the charities doing work aiding the refugees from Ukraine. On Wednesday night, in the Moat Theatre , the first of two 'Stop The War' benefit gigs, in aid of The Irish Red Cross , took place and featured performances by  Tony Kirwan , Charlie McGettigan , Willie Headon (the organiser of tonight's benefit), Freddie White , Pete Kavanagh and Eleanor Shanley . It was, as most benefits are, an enjoyable night, tinged with sadness that such a benefit had to take place in the first place.  One day, probably not in my lifetime, the world might actually be at peace, one day... Until then, the next benefit gig takes place on May 26th and tickets can be bought here . Now for some photos: Tony Kirwan Charlie McGettigan Willie Headon Freddie White Pete Kavanagh Eleanor Shanley

Two years ago, I saw a tweet saying that 3 times Grammy Award Nominated  JoJo Levesque was going to be playing the Academy  in Dublin as part of her UK & Ireland Tour . Now, her style of music wouldn't ordinarily be my scene, but she is a Grammy Nominee and has an incredible voice, so I thought 'why the hell not' and I booked a ticket. That show was to take place on August 31st of 2020, but we all know what happened... Due to Covid restrictions, the show was rescheduled until October 6th 2021.  Well, as luck would have it, Covid did not disappear and so rather than reschedule again, the show was cancelled and refunds were issued. Sometime in October 2021, the show was announced again with a new date in May 2022, but still in the Academy, so I bought another ticket, hoping it would go ahead.  As you can see from the title of this post, it most certainly did! So, the gig, how was it?  Well, it was excellent.  JoJo has an incredible voice and her band were superb.  Not b

There were precious few gigs on anywhere in Ireland during the pandemic , but one of the artists that made it to Naas was Jerry Fish , and what a night of music that was ! Jerry was back in town for a restrictions free gig in McAuley Place this week and I headed along to catch his show. I've previously described Jerry as a Ringmaster of sorts, but tonight, he was more like a Conductor.  He conducted and instructed the crowd through the night, cajoling them in to clapping, singing and, at one point, slow dancing in the aisles. Your typical Jerry Fish gig, brightening your night up for a few hours!  I can't recommend his shows enough. Support on the night was from local singer, Pete Kavanagh.  I know Pete well, we worked together on the music video for his track Mercy (released Sept '21), and I'm also a fan, so for me, it was a great night out! Now for some photos.  First up, Jerry Fish. And now for Pete Kavanagh.

The las time I saw  Ciarán play was way back in April 2019 when he played the, now defunct, Underground, in Dublin, so I was due a visit to see him live! I like Ciarán, I like his live shows, he's a good, honest, hardworking performer who wears his heart on his sleeve.  If you were in Whelan's on Friday night, you'd have noticed, fairly quickly,  that his fanbase is mainly Dubliners and they are very, very vocal in their support! Fantastic gig, really enjoyed it and you can see why the guys in Aslan like to have him support them! Speaking of support, Hawk the Band and Niall McNamee played support for Ciarán.  Both were excellent, really enjoyed their sets and wouldn't mind seeing them live again. Now for some photos.  First up Ciarán: Now for Hawk the Band: Finally, Niall McNamee:

I'd been trying to see Keeley live for a while now, but between lockdowns and scheduling problems, it just never happened, until tonight! I'd listened to ' Brave Warrior ', over lockdown and really enjoyed it, so when the chance popped up to see them live in The Grand Social , I jumped at it. Also playing were One Morning in August , who I'd previously seen in Whelan's back in February. Anyway, between meeting old friends and Twitter friends, making new friends and the great music, a fantastic night was had! Definitely worth checking out Keeley live when you get a chance! Now for some photos. First up are Keeley. Now for some One Morning in August.

Back at the start of March '21, I got a message from through Instagram from and old friend, that a guy called  Chuck Ragan  was going to play Whelans in April '22 and that I should buy a ticket! Although the gig was 13 months away and I'd no idea who Chuck was, this friend would rarely steer me wrong when it came to music, so I trusted him and I bought the ticket that day. Fast forward 13 months and the gig finally came around this week, so off I set to Whelan's of Wexford Street to meet up friends and and enjoy the gig.   Now, because I was meeting up with friends, I decided I'd leave the old DSLR at home. It's big, it's a tad bulky and, well, you never know what's going to happen or where you'll end up when you meet up with old friends!  Not liking to leave home without a camera, I took my small, pocket friendly, Sony DSC HX60 with me.  In hindsight, that was a bad idea! Anyway... The gig was superb.  I knew nothing about the guy or his music, ap

I'd been waiting a while to see Klubber Lang play live.  I stumbled on to them during lockdown and thought they sounded incredible. Last week, I finally got to see them perform live and I wasn't disappointed.  I don't really review gigs here, it's not my forte, so there's not a lot more to say about it other than it was just damn good, loud, gig and everyone seemed into it!.   Side note here, the gig was in The Workman's Club new downstairs venue, The Cellar, which opened towards the end of the pandemic.  It's an absolutely beautiful new venue, I really like it. Also on the line-up, playing support, were First Class and Coach .   Again, another band I stumbled across during lockdown and, like Klubber Lang above, they also play really loud rock music!  They put on a great show and would highly recommend them. So, if you like loud, angry rock music, you should really check out both these bands on Bandcamp  an then go catch them live! Now for some photos.  Fi