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2024-12-02 Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - The Academy, Dublin

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,...

2018-07-07 Bare in the Woods - Borris House Carlow


I’m a big fan of Bare in the Woods.  It’s a fantastic festival.  After taking a break last year, Bare in the Woods changed venue this year and moved to Borris House in Carlow.  It’s a beautiful venue, with incredible views.  Best of all, it’s only 40 minutes from my house!

The festival seems to attract some of my favourite Irish acts. From this years lineup, I really wanted to see Peco, Wolff, My Tribe Your Tribe and MINDRIOTmt.  After that, anything else was a bonus.
Unfortunately for me, the My Tribe Your Tribe set clashed with Wolff, so something had to give and I missed their set, sorry guys. Along with the others mentioned above, I did manage to catch great sets by Under Starling, The Pale and God is an Astronaut.

I first saw Peco a few years back, but I'd never seen him with the full band before. Great set to open the day with. Wolff never fails to deliver. A set full of dirty guitar driven rock. Loved it!

My favourites on the day we're MINDRIOTmt and not just because we spent the day hanging out. I've been trying to get to see these guys for the last 3 years, but something always got in the way.  This time though, the stars aligned and they blew me away. What a great set.

Under Starling were new to me and they are loud, brash and they rock, I enjoyed their set.  The Pale, look, if you're can't have a good time at a Pale gig, you're more than likely dead. As for God is an Astronaut, well they don't say much, but they make one hell of a noise, and not in a bad way.  They were the surprise of the festival for me.

You might not hear a lot of local acts on Irish radio, but don’t be fooled in to thinking the local scene is dead.  Far from it, the bands mentioned above are worthy competitors to anything the US or UK can throw at  us.  Go see them live, support them, buy their music.

Check out the photos below:

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