Christmas came early this year for me. Never did I think that Me First and the Gimme Gimmes would be playing Dublin, and never did I ever think I'd get to shoot one of their shows! Well, that all changed last week when they played the Academy in Dublin on a cold, damp, Monday night! I've been a fan since 1997, when one of the lads I worked with, brought in a copy of Have a Ball . It was love at first listen! I did manage to catch them live back in 2019 when they played the O2 Forum in Kentish Town , London, and it was every bit as good as I'd hoped, but it paled in comparison to Monday night in Dublin. So, how did it come about? Well, back in 2013, I interviewed the band for a now defunct Irish website called Chunk.ie . Over the years, I've stayed on their PR roster, so I took a chance and emailed my contact there. Lo and behold, a few emails later and all was sorted, I was down to photograph the show. How was it? Brilliant, amazing, fantastic,...
I'm not sure who followed who first, on what platform and just when, but what I do know, it's been quite a few years by this stage! For those that don't know, Chris Kabs is a recording artist and a prolific producer in the Irish hip hop scene, working with artists like JYellowL , Jafaris , Craig Cooney , Hxney and many more. Definitely worth checking out. Recently, late one night, I got a message from Chris inviting me along to his EP Listening Experience for his forthcoming release, Feelings Matter, sponsored by Jameson . I obviously said yes. The Jamesons venue is a beautiful, private venue, hidden in plain view and it's the perfect party spot! Anyway, on to the Listening Party. Hosted by Shannon Keenan , Chris treated us to live versions of tracks from Feelings Matter and had the crowd bouncing along. Later, Chris sat down with Shannon for a one on one interview where we got an insight into the process of creating the EP. So, did I like the EP, I most ...