I was in Dublin city centre this morning for the first time in 12 months. The last time I was there was to see Jane Willow perform in the Cobblestone Pub on February 29th 2020. I never, not for a moment, thought things would turn out as they did. I was looking forward to a year full of gigs and excitement. I think we all know how that turned out. After doing what I had to workwise, I took a spin around Dublin before I headed home. I drove by the aforementioned Cobblestone Pub , the Voodoo Lounge , The Grand Social , The Workmans Club , The Sugar Club and ended up outside Whelans . I've had great nights out in each of those venues and in many more around the country! Dolans of Limerick, Crane Lane Theatre and Kino in Cork, Odd Mollies in Drogheda, the Moat Theatre in Naas, the Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge, the Solstice Arts Centre in Navan, Visual in Carlow... The list goes on and on. 2017 and Helmet played Whelans. There I am partying with them after the s
Somehow I’d never managed to make it to Waterford for Daytripper before. It’s not like I was unaware of it, it’s not like I wasn’t invited, I just never seemed to get there! This year though, this year I made it my business to be there as both King Kong Company and Basement Jaxx were heading up the Saturday night! The festival takes place in a large carpark right in the city centre. Lots of seating at the back, a few bars and a few food trucks with the odd clothing stall and that’s it! It’s not what you would call over commercialised! Strangely enough, I enjoyed that side of it. Anyway, the first act I saw was RTE 2FM DJ Jenny Greene . It's not exactly my scene to be honest, but the crowd seemed to enjoy it. She certainly got them up dancing! Next up were festival favourites, and If I'm being honest, the main reason I was there, King Kong Company. I’ve nothing left to say about these guys, I've said it all before, just do yourself a favour and go see them.