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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,...

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!





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