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Showing posts from December, 2021

2021 - A Very Quick Roundup!

I think everyone would agree that 2021 was a bit of a shit show, but there were some highlights... Well, at least for me there were! So, sit back, relax and enjoy my 2021 in 75 seconds!

2021-12-28 Paddy Casey - Whelan's, Dublin

I thought Covid had the last laugh, I though Covid had killed off any chance I had of going to another gig in 2021... But I was wrong! Somehow Paddy Casey and Whelan's in Dublin managed to put on an early gig that passed all the current Covid restrictions. So, 3 days after Christmas, I headed up to Dublin for a 6:00pm gig. I've seen Paddy on many occasions, a lot of them during the Christmas season, so to continue on with this tradition, even in a pandemic, was a great Christmas present. As I said, the gig kicked off at 6:00pm and was done by 7:40pm.  A short gig by Paddy's standards, but everyone had to be out of the venue by 8:00pm so there was no messing around. The gig was great, all the fan favourites were played, a few from his new double album ' Turn This Ship Around '.  Saoirse Casey also played a couple of songs mid set and, as always, was great! Anyway, that's it, that's all there was to it.  By 8:00pm I was in my car and heading for home.  By 9

2021 MJs

It was another tough year for the Irish Music Industry.  Covid Restrictions meant there was no live music scene until July, and even then, capacity at gigs was severely limited and gigs were an all-seated affair.  Over the following months restrictions were relaxed, but unfortunately, with the immergence of the Omicron variant, the live music scene was once again under severe restrictions with gigs limited to 50% capacity.  In reality, this meant most gigs were cancelled as it made the shows financially unviable. Elsewhere, artists seemed to be finding a rich vein of form in the studio.  There were so many great records released in 2021 by Irish artists, I did my best to buy them all, but still managed to miss out on a few! So, now all that is out of the way, lets get on to the 2021MJs! First up is Podcast of the Year . I've really enjoyed listening to the Keith Walsh Podcast .  It's a lighthearted take on life, but deals with a lot of serious issues.  Well worth checking out.

2021-12-03 Tolka Hot Club - Sin É Dublin

So, it turns out that this gig, The Tolka Hot Club at  Sin É in Dublin, might well be my last gig of the year.  The Govt. brought in new Covid restrictions limiting gigs to 50% capacity and most, if not all artists are rescheduling their shows for next year. Anyway, back to the gig.  I'd never seen THC play live before, but I had seen their accordion player Ken perform with Emma Langton on many occasions and, when offered the chance to go shoot them, I jumped at it. I was unfamiliar with their music, but it was fantastic to see live and the crowd loved it! I'm not sure how to describe their music, but maybe a dash of swing, a bit of jazz, maybe some French cabaret and a dash of the Balkans thrown in would it justice! I'd definitely recommend going to see them live when you can. Needless to say, I really enjoyed it and if this does indeed turn out to be my last gig of 2021, then I went out on a high! I won't lie though, it wasn't the easiest shoot ever!  It's a