Ukulele Tuesdays at the Stag’s Head in Temple Bar have developed a reputation as a great night out in Dublin. Eimear Dodd went to see what it’s all about.
Tag: Music
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Marching to the beat of their own drum
From indie-rock to electronica, the Dublin music scene has been thriving in recent years. To explore why, Gary Ibbotson talks to the musicians behind the revival.
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Preview: Dublin’s NYE festival
By Jack Popeley
Flickr -Daniel Dudek The Dublin New Year’s Festival is back this year with a huge range of events. Now in its third year, the Fáilte Ireland initiative will run for three days from the 30th December to the 1st of January with amazing events across the city. We have picked an event everyday that is not to be missed.
December 30th
The festival kicks off on December 30th with spoken word events, street performances and a main event; the spectacle that is Luminosity. Dublin’s famous Custom House will be turned into a digital canvas with a 3D image mapping performance. The festival’s website says, “You’ll be awed by the optical illusions, the ultra-bright crisp and the richly coloured images. During this incredible visual experience, you’ll be completely immersed in a fresco of light.” Definitely an event not to be missed!
New Year’s Eve – December 31st
On New Year’s Eve, the 3 Countdown Concert will take place at St. Stephen’s Green headlined by Dublin natives Little Green Cars. The Blizzards and up and coming talent Little Hours and Brian Deady will also be taking part, making sure you end the year listening to great Irish acts in the heart of Dublin’s city centre.
New Year’s Day – January 1st
January 1st is the final day of the festival, with what looks like a day packed with family fun! The Dublin Gospel Choir will be performing amongst others at the New Year’s Day concert and Luminosity is back, so don’t worry if you can’t make it to town on the 30th. And for those of you with sore heads, we suggest a trip down to Meeting House Square where you can watch Inside Out from 4.30pm.
For more information or to book tickets, head over to www.nyfdublin.com.
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Justin Bieber’s Purpose World Tour Wows Dublin
By Kieva McLaughlin
Justin Bieber brought his Purpose World Tour to the 3 Arena on the 1st and 2nd of November. It was his first time touring since 2012-2013 with his Believe Tour. Both dates sold out within minutes with overwhelming demand from fans across Ireland.
Source – Wikimedia The tour has previously made headlines when the ‘What Do You Mean’ singer was perceived as being bratty and stroppy. During his Manchester gig he stormed off stage after his fans wouldn’t stop screaming while he was talking.
Justin began his Dublin concert while donning an Irish flag on the front of his t-shirt, with ‘Dublin’ written on the back. He appeared in a glass box with a very energetic, heavily choreographed ‘Where Are U Now’.
Over the course of the concert Justin began to lose some energy, which can be forgiven because of his elaborate dances that would be sure to take it out of anyone. Justin’s back up dancers were superb and gave it their all throughout the whole show. Lasers, lights, and pyrotechnics accompanied almost every song.
Justin showcased his natural ability to sing when he took to stage, with just himself a couch and a guitar. He sat down with the effects stripped back and played ‘Cold Water’ and ‘Love Yourself’. The 22- year old singer was apparently eager to show off his instrumental skills, and later in the show he played a surprisingly good solo on the drums.
Source – Wikipedia Justin began most of his songs with a quick-witted intro. For his song ‘Company’, the singer began by telling his fans, “Imagine being on the road for a year, away from friends, away from family.” He then thanked his fans for being there to keep him company through it all, during this, a platform trampoline came out of nowhere and hung from the ceiling. Justin and his dancers ran up the stairs to it to start the song.
A standout song on the night was ‘Children.’ A competition had previously been run to find skilled Irish child dancers to take part. They absolutely nailed it and after the song they were all smitten, as Justin addressed them all individually.
Justin closed his show with the highlight of the night, “Sorry.” A long black blow up was put on stage and the Canadian singer and his dancers performed while rain lashed down on them. Everybody left the concert feeling elated and wanting more.
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You Me At Six does not disappoint at The Academy
By Rachel D’Arcy
It’s tough to break the ‘emo’ mould, but Surrey quintet You Me At Six managed to unleash a brand new, gritty edge at their first Dublin show in three years.
(Source: Rachel D’Arcy) If you’ve never heard of You Me At Six, I wouldn’t blame you. Despite never having particularly hit the mainstream in Ireland, they achieved top ten status with their last two albums at home in the UK, as well as embarking on a sold-out arena tour early last year. Having locked themselves away for a bit to write their newest effort, ‘Night People,’ the five lads embarked on their smallest tour in five years, taking in a night at The Academy last Monday.
You Me At Six haven’t played Dublin since a sold out Olympia Theatre show just over three years ago, so anticipation was at a stratospheric high. Despite it being an 18+ gig, queues formed along the cold, dark street of Middle Abbey Street over an hour before doors at 7pm. With under 18’s and those without ID turned away, those lucky 500 that made it through the doors were treated to what was definitely You Me At Six’s best Irish show yet.
While the ‘Stay With Me’ hit-makers kept true to the classics, sticking to what they knew best, front man Josh Franceschi’s almost guttural vocals brought a new dish to the table. Even ‘Underdog’ and ‘Reckless’, two of the more pop-infused tracks of their back catalogue, were given a darker, more adult revision.
An impressive lighting rig only added to the already impressive show, with blues, reds and strobes brightening the faces of Franceschi (and most importantly, Franceschi’s fantastic two-step during ‘Safer To Hate Her’), bassist Matt Barnes, guitarists Chris Miller and Max Hayler, and drummer Dan Flint. Drum beats were illuminated, riffs electrified and vocals emphasised all by the impressive light show, only adding to YMAS’s talent as performers.
For someone who frequents gigs at The Academy, I’d never seen an audience more in unison than at this gig. The lyrics were screamed along to by all the twenty-somethings reliving their teen years, and by those who are impatiently anticipating the upcoming album. Strangers threw their arms around one another, while friends sat on each other’s shoulders. It was a sight to see, only amplified by the energetic display put on by the band themselves.
With Franceschi teasing a return to Dublin in early 2017, it won’t be one that fans of the band – past or present – will want to miss out on.
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Years and Years bring their infectious sound to the Olympia
At first glance, Years and Years don’t seem like the kind of band that will capture the hearts and minds of teenage girls. Their synth pop style is rooted in 90s R&B and they cite their influences as artists like Aaliyah and Blu Cantrell – a far cry from the cheesy pop sounds of the likes of One Direction.
Yet no one mentioned this to the thousands of screaming teenage girls at Years and Years’ gig in the Olympia who began chants of “Olly, Olly, Olly”, calling for the band’s lead singer at various intervals before the band came on stage. And it is Olly (Alexander, the vocalist) who they came to see.
Despite Y&Y being a three-piece group, Olly is the star. Bouncing and flailing around the stage as he croons through the band’s freshman album, Communion, he is seemingly boneless and much skinnier than the teen heart throbs of my youth. But he is also charming and talented so I can, to a point, see the appeal he holds for his fans.
Years and Years’ songs all mostly sound the same, but when their sound is as infectious and boppy as it is, it’s difficult to mind. The only low point of the evening were the ballads, without the synth beats, the band’s lyrics aren’t strong enough to stand on their own.
The highlights of the evening were Desire, and of course King, their debut single that everyone has had stuck in their head since the beginning of this year.
Years and Years were supported by Nimmo, a London band, who were a wonderful surprise. With a slightly heavier dance style than Y&Y they were the perfect warm up act.
Photo Credit: Siofra Dempsey
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Dublin is alive with the sound of vinyl
In today’s world convenience is paramount. From handheld computers down to travel chess on a long train journey, people are constantly looking for handier and more portable ways of doing things.
Compare today’s pocket-friendly TV screens to those of even ten to fifteen years ago, and you’ll have an idea of how everything around us has been rigorously streamlined to match our modern on-the-go culture.
Music hasn’t been left out in this obsessive race for convenience either, undergoing huge changes in how we release and consume our favourite sounds over the past couple of decades.
From vinyl to the cassette, compact discs all the way up to today’s revolutionary and tech-savvy mp3 files, music formats have increasingly became more sophisticated and compact reflecting technological advancements and social demands over the years. People want music wherever they go: walking to work, in the gym, studying in the library, everywhere. People want convenience – and they want it pocket-sized.
Despite this, an annual sales report by Neilsen Company and Billboard showed that in 2014 vinyl record sales in the US reached over 9 million sales for the first time in 20 years – a 53% increase from the 6.06 million sales in 2013.
US vinyl album sales between January and March of 2015 were 53% higher than the same period last year. The stats indicate a trend that is going from strength to strength with overall sales having increased by 220% since the start of the decade.
So with the endless possibilities that digital music bring us, we need to ask the question, why are people reverting to vinyl?
“It gives music value. Someone felt strongly enough about that music to put it onto vinyl, and between that music being made and going to vinyl, many other people were involved in the processing and manufacturing of that vinyl, and therefore the music better be worth the work put in,” explains Earwiggle Records founder, Sunil Sharpe.
He argues that vinyl’s production boundaries are a form of quality control when compared to the internet with its virtually endless avenues for self-publishing that can lend itself to mediocrity.
Sunil’s format of choice when releasing music is vinyl as he believes there is a “greater statement of intent than releasing on mp3/CD” due to the long production process. This has a strong influence, generally speaking, on the standard of music released.
Digital and analogue mediums of music can exist simultaneously for different purposes, however the accessibility of internet piracy poses the biggest challenge to vinyl as a music format. Looking for the easiest and most cost efficient option is a condition of our modern society, but not everyone thinks this way.
“I think vinyl is still relevant because not everyone needs or wants convenience when it comes to music,” explained Dave Hargadon. Dave is one half of Dublin based electronic outfit, Slowburn, and a long-time record collector.
“Some people like the whole art form that goes with making/playing/collecting vinyl and they want to keep it alive,” he said.
Having released music through record labels like Berlin’s Uzuri and Dublin’s Lunar Disko, vinyl is Hargadon’s preferred music format. He established his own label, Lime Street Music, which will see its first release this year from Marvis Dee. He says he prefers “having a physical copy and not something that exists [only] on a hard drive”.
So it seems the writing is still not on the wall for the future of vinyl as a music medium. It is proving itself once again as a viable format for our favourite sounds, a means to support the music industry directly and to own something physical for ourselves.
It may not be for everyone but it is there for those who want it.
Dublin has plenty of good spots to pick up vinyls: Spindizzy records in Georges Street Arcade, All City Records, the Temple Bar graffiti and record store, and The Record Spot (pictured) situated in the basement of Fade Street’s second hand video game store The Rage.
Words and pictures by Sean Whitty.
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Top three for free
Feel like the world is constantly asking you for something? We sure do and this is why we’ve put together this new feature of exciting things to do and see in our fair city. A breath of fresh air in the age of commidification of almost everything. Enjoy!
Music
For the musically inclined, All City Records and First Second Label celebrate a new EP from Dublin based electronic outfit, Minos with a party in The Bernard Shaw. Expect scattered rhythms and improvised electronics throughout the evening as a live audio visual performance is in store.Also on the bill is Irish artist Hubie Davison, known for putting out dreamy, ambient and ethereal house music on labels like Berlin’s Leisure System. Davison will share the music duties with First Second Label’s boss man Daire Carolan in a back to back fashion.
Guaranteed to be an interesting night of music and free of charge as per usual for The Bernard Shaw. Need some fresh air? You can also check out the outdoor area around the back for a more laid-back atmosphere, play a game of pool, or get yourself a handmade pizza on The Big Blue Bus, but that’ll cost you!
Check out their EP out now on First Second Label, streaming via Soundcloud.
Art
This week the free art tip goes to the annual Sculpture in Context exhibition which returns to The National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. The exhibition is celebrated as the largest and most prestigious outdoor sculpture exhibition in the country.A great idea for a day trip, with the delicate landscapes of the Botanic Gardens, along with the unusually warm weather that some would call our ‘Indian Summer’, it’s certainly an opportunity to enjoy some of Dublin’s nature before winter has us fully in its grasps.
If you’re there on a good day you may find some of the artists of the selected works meandering around the grounds, who are, from my own experience, friendly, happy to talk and full of extra insight about the discourse of their work.
The exhibition takes place both indoors and outdoors, running from September 3rd until October 16th. The gardens are open to the public on weekdays until 5pm and 6pm on weekends.
Activity and discussion
Want to further your Irish history knowledge? With 2016 marking the 100 year anniversary of The Easter Rising, now may be the time to impress your friends and to brush up on your knowledge by joining historian Fearghall McGarry on the launch of his essay The Abbey Theatre and Easter 1916 and subsequent discussion of the theater’s involvement in the rising of 1916.The launch and discussion take place in The Abbey Theater on Tuesday October 6th at 1pm.
Tickets are free but must be booked in advance, you can do so here..
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Dublin DJ unites Hozier and Noel Gallagher for charity
Hozier, Noel Gallagher and Florence Welsh, have weighed in to raise much needed funds for breast cancer research.
Irish DJ Greg McQuaid who works on a popular morning radio show KFOG FM, in San Francisco, came up with the idea of a charity single with his co-host Mike Nelson.
The project began last January when Mike’s son wrote parts of a song regarding his mother’s ongoing battle with cancer.
Mike and Greg jumped on board the project and asked everyone who came through the studio to lend their voice and musical talents to the track to bring the young boy’s idea to life.
“The idea was that the show would ask all musical guests that visited the station in 2015 to help get the lyrics out of the kid’s head and make a proper song,” McQuaid told The City.
“Most of the people were at the radio station anyway to perform or promote something so all that was needed was the guts to actually ask them to sing a song about boobs,” he added.
Even though some of these acts were extremely busy, once Greg and Mike went to them directly they were happy to lend their voices to the project.
Wicklow native Hozier didn’t have time to go to their studio, but recorded his part of the song in the Masonic music venue in California while he was touring in the States.
“We went to a venue Hozier was playing at. He learned his part listening to an MP3 of the song we’d sent to his record label. It took about 10 minutes to record,” said McQuaid.
The two radio hosts have been posting clips of the recording process online, and already have over nine thousand views online.
The finished single and accompanying video have been officially released today to coincide with October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, and can be downloaded through iTunes.
Any money raised from the single will go directly towards the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Photo: @Hozier/ Instagram
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Peace at Whelan’s, that’s where Happy People were.
Peace @ Whelan’s – Photo By Defné Cetin
Peace @ Whelan’s – Photo By Defné CetinWhat is it about the Whelan’s? How comes all the cool Indie bands are playing in this venue? No one knows, but once more, here I am standing in the queue. A queue? Here in Dublin for a small Indie band? It was quite surprising.
Happy People is the second album released by the band from Birmingham. They have been on their UK tour, been to Belfast and took some time to come down to Dublin. It is not that often that small or mid-famous bands are coming to Ireland’s capital city.
Anyway, they were here and I was queuing. Let’s analyse what is to be found as part of Peace’s audience. First of all, I am glad to see that the gig is a strictly over 18’s. It means that young groupies won’t be around the stage, screaming and throwing their bras on stage. Good point. Very good point. That’s probably a concept that I should export to Paris.
It is even more a good point since Peace is one of those cool British bands that is very popular amongst the “cool kids”. You know, those “I’m-just-being-cool-so-what-if-I-get-drunk-I’m-already-15-Mom” kind of people. Thank God they are not the only ones to like Peace.
Time to get in. Some girls were stopped at the entrance. It’s strictly over 18’s and the bouncers aren’t making any exceptions. Is that a smile on my face? Maybe.
But the smile did not stay for long. As we entered the venue with my friend, we saw what we feared. The first rows were occupied by really young women. I forgot that over 18’s meant that 18 and 19 years old were allowed to be in here. Damn it.
Some of them have already started to scream things at anyone who crosses the stage and they are taking a ridiculous amount of selfies, dropping their phone from time to time as a result of the one and only drink that they ordered. Someone please help us.
And that’s when Princess arrived. Princess is the name of the supporting band, they’re from Dublin and I must admit that they did a good job. Generally speaking, supporting bands aren’t anything special. They are doing a kind of “musique d’ascenseur” – the music which is played in some fancy elevators, it’s not bad, but no one gives a damn.
Surprisingly, it was not like this for Princess. They had catchy tunes, and even if some giggles were heard from time to time, most of the audience were captivated by the band. The sound of the drums was again too loud, but that’s part of the Whelan’s way of doing things, I guess. Nonetheless, they managed to entertain the crowd. It was a very pleasant introduction to the second part of the evening.
As they finished their set, I turned around. Teenage girls everywhere. Yes, I’m kind of obsessed by their presence. They freak me out.
I decided that I would stay a bit in the front to wait for the band, take a few pictures and then… retreat. Hurry! Before they push you against the stage. They might appear like tiny creatures, but they do have strength.
Peace’s members started to arrive on stage, I took few photos and escaped, leaving my friend on the first row alone. I found shelter in the back of the room, where I noticed that the venue was separated in two. Young girls in the front, women and men in the back. Clever adults.
Peace started their set with ‘Bloodshake’ ( From their 2012 EP – Delicious ), one of the songs that made them famous. The effect is immediate. When you’re listening to ‘Bloodshake’, you could easily imagine yourself on a Caribbean beach, with some traditional music, drinking a cocktail made out of several exotic fruit.
Unfortunately, the band encountered several sound problems. The drums were too loud, the guitar wasn’t well adjusted and the mic wasn’t working properly. The guys seemed quite pissed off, but kept on playing their setlist. In a different order than the one that was initially planned.
As a matter of fact, what was supposed to be a setlist aimed at reaching a musical intensity pick was a bit ruined by the sound problems. ‘California Daze’ (From their 2013 debut album – In Love), one of their softest and dreamiest tracks came in too early. I don’t deny that the song is brilliant, but the timing was not good. I won’t put the blame on them, they had to play it so that the adjustments could be made for ‘Money’ ( From their 2015 second album – Happy People).
As soon as they started ‘Money’, the audience started to jump up and down. The problems encountered by the band did not seem to have any effect on half of the audience. Good for them.
They kept on going with ‘Lovesick’ and ‘Wraith’ ( Both from In Love ), and people looked rather happy. Girls were screaming things that no one could really understand. One was pointing at the bassist, screaming that he was the one doing the show. “You’re THE boy tonight, go for it!”
Then it was the encore time, where they decided to end up with ‘World Pleasure’ (From their last album). This was a good choice, the song lasts for about 6 minutes and is pretty catchy. A young girl climbed on the side stage, pretending to rap and showing off her rapper dance moves. She was soon asked to get off the stage by a staff member, went down … and climbed up again. I told you that teenagers are strong. And strong-willed. A bouncer eventually came to bring her down and the show ended. How glad I was to be in the back of the room.
I turned to my neighbour, a friendly man all suited up and asked him what he was doing here, since I thought that this kind of band was only praised by teenager girls. He chuckled. “Oh, my friend had a spare ticket, so it was either being alone at home on a Friday night, or being here at Whelan’s. And I must say that I quite enjoyed the gig.”
If I had to sum up, I’d say that :
- The concert was pleasant, but nothing amazing happened.
- Peace managed to play despite the fact that a lot of technical problems occurred, so I salute them for that.
- I had a good time.
- Damn teenagers.
By Defne Cetin
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