2022-04-22 Chuck Ragan - Whelan's Dublin

Back at the start of March '21, I got a message from through Instagram from and old friend, that a guy called Chuck Ragan was going to play Whelans in April '22 and that I should buy a ticket!

Although the gig was 13 months away and I'd no idea who Chuck was, this friend would rarely steer me wrong when it came to music, so I trusted him and I bought the ticket that day.

Fast forward 13 months and the gig finally came around this week, so off I set to Whelan's of Wexford Street to meet up friends and and enjoy the gig.

Now, because I was meeting up with friends, I decided I'd leave the old DSLR at home. It's big, it's a tad bulky and, well, you never know what's going to happen or where you'll end up when you meet up with old friends! Not liking to leave home without a camera, I took my small, pocket friendly, Sony DSC HX60 with me. In hindsight, that was a bad idea!

Anyway...

The gig was superb. I knew nothing about the guy or his music, apart from he was / is in a punk band called Hot Water Music, but this looked like it was going to be an acoustic gig, so I was confused!

It was neither, Chuck came with a full band, but punk, at least in style, was off the menu. It was more Americana, Country Rock and it was fantastic. The years of singing punk has given Chuck a very distinctive voice, but it adds so much to the songs. It turns what could just be run of the mill Americana into something raw and beautiful.

Would I recommend going to see him live? Oh hell yes, and I'm looking forward to catching him live again also!

As I mentioned, in hindsight, I should have taken the DSLR, but sure, we all make mistakes. Anyway, there are some photos, and even a brief video clip!

Interview with King Kong Company

Originally published 10/09/2013 on Chunk.ie So, there I was, wandering around the Electric Picnic wondering who I was going to watch next. One of the lads said he had heard good things about King Kong Company and that we should check them out, so off we headed to the Body and Soul Arena to do just that. As I mentioned in my review of the Electric Picnic, the gig was epic. I figured we just had to interview them here on CHUNK.ie, and here it is! First things first, congratulations on a storming gig at the Electric Picnic. It completely blew me away. Was this your first Picnic experience? We’ve been to many Electric Picnics over the years but just as punters, and it’s always been a great festival, so it was a fantastic experience to play at its 10 year anniversary. King Kong Company is a rather interesting name for a band, where or how did you come up with it? The name is taken from the film Taxi Driver. If you look closely, Travis Bickle is wearing a badge which says King

2022-03-26 Buskers on Grafton Street, Dublin

I took a walk around Dublin today, thought I'd check out the buskers on Grafton Street. There's a fine history of busking in Dublin, acts like Hothouse Flowers , The Frames , Rodrigo y Gabriela , Damien Rice , Paddy Casey , Kodaline and a host of others all cut their teeth on and around Grafton Street. It stands to reason that some of those busking today will be successful in the future! So, who did I get to see today? Well, check out the photos below: Zoe Clarke Allie Sherlock Paul Jenkinson

2022-11-04 Mairead Carroll - Moat Theatre, Naas

Every now and then I have a choice of gigs to go to... This night, I could have driven into Dublin to see Meryl Streek in the Workmans Club , or I could stay local and go see Mairead Carroll in the Moat Theatre in Naas. Well, it was a no brainer. The weather was terrible and, well, I felt terrible too, so I figured I'd stay local. Mairead has played the Moat Theatre before, but always as support, never as the main attraction. Tonight, would be her debut headline performance and she didn't let anyone down! I'm not quite sure how to describe here music. It's not folk, it's not trad, it's not country or rock... It's. well, it's very light and soft and calming. Mairead is a poet who, only relatively recently, has started putting her words to music. It's a very relaxing affair! Her songs are very personal, and, at first listen, you might think them melancholy, but then you hear the joy and the love in them, and you start to see them for what they

IrishMJ

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