Gigs for 2025 - post your reviews here

Watching Stratford Rise perform at The Sound House is a really a lesson in pedal board engineering as the three guitars each battle with at least a dozen pedals and then some additional electronic devices. They performed brilliantly though, loving the directions they continue to pull their music to a growing and appreciative audience.
I thought they’d steal the show but I was equally impressed with headliners Silverglass. The Dublin trio - no vocalist - managed a raw sound that, once again, bore no relation to their music on Spotify.

Yeah. They were ok but didn’t really shake my bones.

Very much enjoyed Jolie Holland in Bello Bar tonight. Don't know much of her stuff, in with the brother who's a big fan, but love her voice and delivery. Sitting at the front which in Bello bar means you're pretty much on stage so lovely intimate set up, beautiful set, nice line in witty banter, great night altogether. Also enjoyed the support from NC Lawlor, never saw him before but loved the voice and the quirky guitar playing. Would see again.

Just herself and another guitarist, Mark Mckowski? I think? Anyway, great sound, she was deadly.

Cheers for that. He was very good anyway. All ties together nicely. I saw Oisín Leech at GM a few weeks ago and my only other gig in Bello bar was Howie.

Wandered into Whelan’s to see if I could pick up a spare ticket to see The Wedding Present but ended up at the Zooropa U2 tribute band in Opium instead.
Not sure if it was laid on to cater to all the Americans in town (€27.50 for a tribute act) or was planned anyway but they were good enough. It was organised by the owner of the U2 Ireland Fanclub.
Tribute acts love crowd feedback like any other band, you see their faces light up when they get the audience singing their songs. But they’re not their songs, they’ve nicked them!
Good luck to them, even though the singer was a Southsider. 🙄

Ha! I bet none of them were prods! I’ll ask them next time we meet.

Not a note played but still musically-related, Priscilla Presley was in the NCH last night being interviewed by Tony Clayton-Lea. No sign of a wrinkle or grey hair, not bad for 80.

Probably why she was touring/selling her biography.
Her son was there Navarone Garcia. Audience were going mad for him, he was even invited on stage to talk. Not sure why?

Nice cheap night out absorbing Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan. C64 SID chip very basic sawtooth and sinewave electro with some deep bass lines and the odd beats. Visuals were good retro 60's/70's film projection. Quite enjoyable although towards the end people at the bar in Whelans were yapping.

I actually preferred the support act Field Lines Cartographer - more attacking with some distorted acid at times.

Gig finished at 10:35pm and home by 11:00pm. Whelans, NCH and Iveagh Gardens are my so easy to get to venues (Orb are in Opium in 2 weeks also - I've never been there but I've seen them 5 times). Anyway I shouldn't be reviewing. Dreamweapon will probably do a much better job.