Did you know that tomorrow is Handel’s Day? Nope, me neither. So it’s a nice surprise to hear that there are some free events taking place to mark the anniversary of the day Handel’s Messiah was premiered in the Musick Hall in Fishamble Street in Dublin in 1742.
Temple Bar Cultural Trust have put on a day of events to give you the opportunity to find out about Mr George Frideric Handel and his associations with Temple Bar and Dublin.
I was probably the only person in the country not to have seen The Saw Doctors live, so on Saturday April 2nd, I headed to The Olympia Theatre in Dublin to check them out.
Threading the boards first though, were Keith Mullins and his band. I had prior knowledge of Keith’s music and he appeared on Culture Cafe but had never seen him with a full band.
Playing tracks from his album ‘Across The Ocean’ and a couple from what Keith described as ‘hopefully album number 2’, Mullins and Co warmed up the audience with their brand of country folk. The full band sound definitely adds a different dimensions to Keith’s Americana sound.
As I waited for The Saw Doctors to come on stage it felt like this was almost a rite of passage, something that you must do as part of Rick O’Shea’s Irish Citizenship Test. Everyone else had already passed, I was about to take the test. (more…)
I had heard the name ‘Cloud Control‘ floating around the internet for a while and I was delighted to see them when they opened for The Naked and Famous in Dublin a few weeks ago. I found their psychedelic harmonious pop songs to be a breath of fresh air. I had the opportunity to chat with front man Alister, to find out about the Australian Music Prize and moving to the UK.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget there are time differences, I call Alister just before lunchtime, all bright and breezy. So where is Alister?
I’m in the Blue Mountains at my parents house. We got back from the U.S. yesterday and it’s like.. I’m actually in bed (laughs) It’s 12.04 a.m.
I feel quite guilty, jet lag tiredness isn’t nice but Alister tells me he has a few interviews to do and is happy to do them. So we begin. (more…)
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from The Wombats. I knew some of their singles but after that I’d be at a loss, so March 20th in The Academy was going to be a little adventure.
The Minutes had the job to open for The Wombats, when I heard this, I was a little surprised, I would have presumed they would be a much heavier band. They opened with their new single ‘Black Keys’ and within minutes the Dublin three piece has stamped their authority on the stage. Big, brash, bold, contemporary with nod at old school garage rock.
Lead singer, Mark Austin says that he hopes the audience all went to Mass because ‘it’s Sunday’. Throughout the show he lets his wit shine with occasional little quirks but you can see he’s not up for bull$hit and is happier playing music. (more…)