Live Review
Blink 182 – The O2, Dublin
“We love Jedward,” Blink 182 announce to a chorus of boos, “you would too if you’d ever had them sit on your face and slowly spread their ass cheeks…” Clearly, after all these years, if there’s one thing you can still expect from Blink 182, it’s downright immaturity. They might have taken a slight right...READ »
Fight Like Apes bring Midnight Mass to Tower Records
With their second album The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner… garnering widespread critical acclaim in advance of its nationwide release, it is safe to say that there was a strong air of anticipation surrounding this special album launch. A limited number of wristbands were available in Tower Records from 9am...READ »
Beirut – Tripod, Dublin
The last time Zach Condon and friends played Dublin city in June 2007, it wasn’t exactly as triumphant as one would have hoped. For many in attendance, it was the first opportunity to see the band. It was their first headline slot also, having supported Calexico in the Olympia Theatre back in November 2006....READ »
Jónsi, Vega, Copenhagen
There aren’t many tours that come with their own trailer and there aren’t many tours which take in relatively small venues that employ a theatrical production company to help build it. The plan for Jónsi’s first solo album tour is a cross between film, art, theatre with animation and, of course, the live music...READ »
Feeder – The Academy, Dublin
In late summer 2002, State watched an emotional and triumphant Feeder emerge from the devastating ashes of the suicide of drummer John Lee, taking Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms by storm in what still stands as one of the most moving and epic nights of music we’ve ever experienced. Performing to no more than 500 people,...READ »
Telepathe – Whelan’s, Dublin
Last time Brooklyn duo Telepathe played in Ireland they had the misfortune of being pushed to one of the peripheral stages at Oxegen, which led to them being greeted by an audience of about 20 people. It was harsh on an act who had just released the excellent Dance Mother…, a captivating, hypnotic...READ »
Jakob Dylan – Crawdaddy, Dublin
Without any effort, Crawdaddy, for one night only, is transformed into a dive bar in Nashville. Fomer Wallflowers frontman, Jakob Dylan, shuffles on-stage with band members that wouldn’t look out of place on father Bob’s Rolling Thunder Revue… tour of ’75. The audience is inevitably split into three strands: a) Bob Dylan fanatics, a.k.a...READ »
The Polecats – The Mercantile, Dublin
The one guarantee of the night at a rockabilly gig is a good lookin’ crowd. Quiffs, perfectly pressed turned-up denim and endless trails of eyeliner shouldn’t lend themselves to a sweaty, heaving crowd but they do when the Polecats visit Dublin. For the first gig in the new room at the Mercantile it’s all...READ »
The Cast Of Cheers – Whelan’s, Dublin
Black cats and rabbits’ feet may be de rigueur elsewhere on this Friday the 13th, but everyone in Whelan’s on Wexford Street is feeling particularly lucky tonight. Arriving a tad late, State has just watched the last few numbers by Enemies, darlings of the Richter Collective cult, who intersperse their careful thrashing and bashing...READ »
State Vs Popical Island report: So Cow, Tieranniesaur & Biggus Diccus
Round five in the State Vs…… series and this month saw us up against label-du-jour, 2010’s newcomers, Popical Island. The Mercantile on Dame Street has recently undergone a facelift and we had the pleasure of moving into a freshly renovated gig-space, The Polecats were the first to play there just the night before. Opening...READ »
Liars – Whelan’s, Dublin
“We are the army you see through the red haze of Blood, blood, blood, blood!”… When Liars played Primavera a couple of years back they took to the ATP stage and thanked Neil Young for opening for them. Unfortunately festival fatigue had set in to such an extent that the only option was to...READ »
Wu-Tang Clan – Brixton Academy, London
The Clan are an hour late and DJ Mathematics is playing the fucking Fugees. This is some shameless shit right here, to quote Method Man’s Cheese character in the Wire. Maybe the boos are too harsh, but he’s bound to know when he keeps shouting, “Wu-Tang’s ready” he’s causing a false alarm – a...READ »
One Summer’s Eve – Meeting House Square, Dublin
At €12.50 including a free pint from the sponsors Bulmer’s Berry, there can’t be many better value gigs taking place in Dublin this year than the first of the ‘One Summer’s Eve’ shows, which combine a mini-festival feel in Temple Bar’s heart with an American headliner that – through sheer hard work – has...READ »
2 Many DJs – The Olympia, Dublin
A DJ set on a Monday night of the bank holiday is not usually an attractive proposition but it didn’t deter the crowd going to see 2 Many DJs in the Olympia. The Dewaele brothers are currently on their ‘Under the Covers Tour 2010’ putting on a full audio visual set. The mash-up specialists...READ »
