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Showing posts from July, 2019

A Love Letter to Music Venues

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
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2019-07-28 Vodafone Comedy Festival

So, for a change, I headed to the Vodafone Comedy Festival on Sunday.  There's nothing like a good laugh to to wash those worries away and I most certainly laughed! The Vodafone Comedy Festival takes place over 4 days in the beautiful surrounds of the Iveagh Gardens , just off Harcourt Street. You could walk up and down that street and never know the park lies behind those beautiful Georgian buildings. Anyway, we were here for comedy, not architecture, and some of the finest comedic talent from Ireland and around the world was on display over the 4 days.  As I mentioned, I only wen on Sunday, but I still got to see some amazing performers and came home smiling! It's a great festival, a little expensive if you wanted to catch all the acts, but then, quality does cost that little bit more. Check out the photos below: Jarlath Regan Kemah Bob London Hughes Fahim Anwar Deirdre O'Kane David O'Doherty
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2019-07-27 Aleigh - Leeson Lounge Dublin

I've lost count of how many times I've seen Aleigh play over the last few years. Quite a few should cover it! Anyway, last Saturday night in the Leeson Lounge in Dublin, they launched their new single "Boys Not Right". There's not a lot to say really... As always, it was a good night of live music and the new single is a rather catchy tune, so you know, go buy a copy ! Oh yeah, that's the CD version there.  I do like the trend of making CDs look like vinyl. It reminds of those childhood days spent buying singles when I could afford them! You can check out the video on YouTube . Anyway, I thought I'd give the new camera a go at an indoor gig, now that was a challenge!  The photos are not quite what I was hoping for, but I'll get the hang of it some day, I hope... Strangely, having worked in the area in the mid '90s to mid '00s, I'd never been to the Leeson Lounge before, or maybe I had and I just didn't remember... Check
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2019-07-19 Knockanstockan Festival - Blessington Lakes

It's a long time since I was at Knockanstockan , a very long time.  I think I was at the first one, though I didn't stay very long if I'm being honest! Things have changed though, and I was back there last weekend to cover things for the #IrishMusicParty (Monday nights on Twitter from 9:00pm and 11:00pm).  Check it out if you get a chance. Knockanstockan is a 3 day Music Festival held on the shores of the Blessington Lakes and, as locations go, it couldn't be get more beautiful. It's been a while since I've done 3 days at a festival and I'm tired now, just physically drained.  I blame all the fresh mountain air and walking up hillsides. It's got absolutley nothing to do with the late nights!  Now, I could write a bit about every band or performer I saw... I could, but to be honest, I'd be making it all up on the spot.  What I will do is post photos of the bands and performers I saw and enjoyed.  If you're not on the list, that doesn'
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2019-07-12 Jack Lukeman - St. Davids Church Naas

Over the years, I've been to many, many gigs. More than I can remember if I'm being honest, but I do know that in all my time going to gigs, I'd never seen  Jack Lukeman  play live once!  Over the last year or so, I've had a few opportunities to go see him live, but for one reason or another (mainly clashing with other gigs), I never took any of those chances. This time though, Jack L was playing St. Davids Church in my hometown of Naas.  As per usual, there was a clash of gigs.  Emma Langford was playing her biggest headline gig to date in Limerick and I had a ticket.  I also had a very dodgy back and I knew if I drove to Limerick, I'd be in bits for the weekend, so it was a simple decision, I was going to see Jack L for the first time. St. Davids Church is a beautiful venue for a gig, like most churches, the sound is beautiful. Jack L has this huge, booming voice that resonated around the building.  It's deep and rich, treacle like if you will and just s
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Can we help musicians navigate a raging sea of cheese? | Mark Graham | T...

Mark Graham... Known to some as the front man and drummer of King Kong Company. To others he's known as a lecturer in WIT, and to others still, he was the guy who used to talk about weird and wonderful shite on Anton Savages show on Today FM. But, along with all that, he has a podcast called the Irish Music Industry podcast (you'll find it over there somewhere on this site). It feels with all things related to the music industry in Ireland. Mark recently did a TEDx talk in Limerick University recently, you can check it out below.  
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2019-07-06 Forever Young Festival - Palmerstown House Naas

They say if you remember the '80s, you weren't there...  Well, I don't.  Mind you, I don't remember much of the '90s or '00s either, so make of that what you will. Anyway, this weekend I went on a bit of a nostalgia trip.  The Forever Young Festival was taking place in Palmerstown House in Naas. So, off I went, raincoat in my back pocket (after all, it's summer in Ireland, who knows what the weather will be like from hour to hour!).  My festival experience didn't get off to a good start though... I went up to the entrance, I could see the Hot House Flowers playing, albeit they were tiny dots on a stage far far away, and I gave security my ticket. They couldn't let me in as their supervisor had fecked off with the wristbands. I had to wait over an hour for someone to come with wristbands. Now, I'm a patient guy, but this was seriously taking the piss. I eventually made it in and did manage to get to see about 10 minutes of Kim Wildes set,
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