Fleetwood Mac (live in the O2, Dublin) Review Snapshot: A band that has been on the go for over 40 years, albeit with changes in personnel along the way. While the band may be deteriorating, the music stands the test of time, even without the absent Christine McVie. The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10 Full Review: Opening with 'Monday Morning' from the pre-Rumours days, it was 'The Chain' and 'Dreams' that got the O2 Arena in a frenzy from the start. "Dublin, you're beautiful, why don't we get this party started" shouted Nicks, before Buckingham and Nicks took it in turns to sing, giving us 'I Know I'm Not Wrong', 'Gypsy', 'Go Insane' and 'Rhiannon' in the early part of the show. Nicks spoke about forming a band in 1965, "a hard rock San Francisco Band" she proclaimed. "We learnt our trade supporting Jimi Hendrix and Janice Joplin. We want to put our experience back into a song, b... [Read on]

Oliver Cole, Escape Act & Others (live in Temple Bar, Dublin) Review Snapshot:  Day two of Hard Working Class Heroes involved quite a bit of venue shifting but was all the better for it.  The Cluas Verdict? 8.5 out of 10 Full Review: Thankfully, my leg felt a great deal better and so venue-hopping was not going to be as much of a problem as it was on Day One of Hard Working Class Heroes 2009.   Oliver Cole - The Button Factory Oliver Cole certainly knows how to write a tune.  Tonight, Cole's set consists of songs taken from his yet to be released debut solo LP such as Little Bad Dream, A Drug Song and, the title track, We Albatri.  His ear for melody is second to none and it would be impossible to watch an Oliver Cole gig without wanting to sing-a-long and tap your foot.  That being said,  it was such a shame that Cole was on so early as his stage presence and interaction with the crowd is much more suited to late... [Read on]

Villagers, The Ambience Affair & Others (live in Temple Bar, Dublin) Review Snapshot:   The Cluas Verdict? 8.5 out of 10 Full Review: While my intention had been to make my way between various venues during the first day of Hard Working Class Heroes 2009, a strained muscle (one week before my first marathon) meant that I was restricted in my endeavours.  It was clear early on that the place to be was Andrew's Lane which featured three of the four bands I really wanted to see tonight anyway.  While it was disappointing not to be able to see Dark Room Notes' set in The Button Factory, the intensity of Subplots and the raw talent of both The Ambience Affair and Villagers more than made up for it. Subplots There was quite a chatty crowd in place as Subplots took to the stage in Andrew's Lane.  The band's record, Nightcycles, is one of my favourites this year.  However, I was worried that their carefully crafted... [Read on]

Joshua Radin (live in The Academy, Dublin) Review Snapshot: It was always going to be interesting to see if Radin’s quiet yet absorbing melodies along with his whispery vocals could translate well to the stage. Unexpectedly but brilliantly, it transcended into an appreciated and intimate gig as you could hope to see, in a criminally underrated venue.  The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10 Full Review: Like many others, I discovered Joshua Radin’s music playing in the background of the more touching scenes in the TV show Scrubs. (Hey, good music can be found anywhere, right?) And good music is exactly what I found; some say the answer to Elliott Smith’s sad departure in 2003. But Radin is a breath of fresh air on his own with an addictive folk ethic on debut album “We Were Here” which is now improved by a pop-rock element on his more recent release “Simple Times”. It was quite a happy coincidence recently getting hooked on his music ... [Read on]

Review Snapshot: Cork's finest take to the stage in their home city and quite literally blow the pants off the punters and the roof off the venue...not sure if that's legal, but it's mighty craic! Full Review: Well, what a night! Murphy’s! Magic! The Mrank and Malters! Everything began with an M! Remember M for Michael later on! In a hothouse sauna renamed The Brog for the night, the Murphy’s Nice ‘n Nasty season continued with “Cork’s favourite sons” (© The Frank and Walters) allowing us to enter their world. Indeed, even in their 20th year, the Franks have never seemed as relevant to the masses who are force-fed Lady Gaga, Peter Andre and the Continuity Wolfe Tones (or whoever they are this week)! Take a string quartet, 2 original Franks, a new Frank and part-time Frank, lashings of free Murphy’s and music, sweat Fred West would have worked up. Mix it all together with a touch of madness. Ta-da! A nigh... [Read on]

Live in Kilkee, Co. Clare, 13th September 2009 Review Snapshot: Due to a tyre puncture on the way back from a surf session in neighbouring Doonbeg, yours truly was unavoidably delayed en route to the evening festivities in Kilkee, arriving in the Big Top just in time to see Stereo MCs walk on stage. Whew! The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10 Full Review: Stereo MCs: Looking around at the young wans who were waving their hands in the air to dance anthems such as ‘Black Gold’ and ‘Step it Up’ it was sobering to realise that a good proportion of them probably weren’t born when Stereo MCs released their first album. Once again the crisp, clean and loud sound mix that was a hallmark of this year’s festival proved a boon to the groovy tunes of a group who mix infectious beats with upfront, if stripped down, political statements. The only question was, why schedule them on the Sunday, when so many attendees were heading home for work on the Monday... [Read on]

Cois Fharraige Day Two (live in Kilkee, Co. Clare) Review Snapshot: There were thousands of people walking around Kilkee on Saturday sporting the latest in surf fashion but in the water at Lahinch, Spanish Point and Doonbeg you could count the surfers on two hands. Meanwhile back at the festival, The Hold Steady, Noah and The Whale and Newton Faulkner served up some savage musical entertainment The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10 Full Review: The Hold Steady Looking like the cast of Seinfeld decided to form a band, the anxious nerd rock of The Hold Steady proved the perfect antidote to the mellow sunlit vibes that have blessed the festival thus far, with ‘Stay Positive’ being a crowd highlight. The band’s hard chugging sound and neuroses laced lyrics were an unusual counterpoint to a festival that, thus far, has aimed for a balance between very serious rock and music that you can drink to. If you are the sort of person who curses the sunshine and stays ... [Read on]

Day One of Cois Fharraige (live in Kilkee, Co. Clare) Review Snapshot: A beautiful sunny day ended with a blistering set by epic rockers Doves, grooves from Laura Izibor and post punk larking around courtesy of The Blizzards). The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10 Full Review: Laura Izibor Presently touring with a crack American band, Izibor delivered a pumping set of beefed up versions of the highlights of her debut album. The live setting and the crisp, clear sound gave added power to crowd favourites, ‘From My heart To Yours’, ‘Carousel’ and ‘Yes, I’ll be Your Baby’, but it was a stonking version of ‘Shine’, transformed from a feel good summer tune to a grooving, funky anthem that best demonstrated Izibor’s ability to transfer her mellow, laid back soul into a live arena. The Blizzards Coming on stage bathed in purple light and accompanied by moody background music, the cheeky chappies of The Blizzards wast... [Read on]

Glasgowbury 2009, live in Derry Review snapshot: Two thousand five hundred music fans with a liking for mountainous flora and fauna descend upon Eagles Rock for another feast of ceol agus craic. Full review: Mud, sticky mud, deep mud, all very brown, and, well, everywhere. Well, it's Ireland, it's summertime, what you gonna do? Put the head down and stick two wet fingers up to it. Early Saturday, the sky's blue, the birds chirping, signs for a dry day were good. Fast forward a few hours, tents erected, first beer started and Zeus decided to fart on us. Well, macks and wellies packed, up yours Zeus As the festival site dried out on Sunday morning, the 2500 (the first sell out) weary troopers left Eagles Rock a bit battered and the worse for wear, but happy of heart. Glasgowbury 09, the tenth festival was again, an unmitigated success. Over 60 bands played throughout the Saturday on 4 stages. The best of the North’s burgeoning talent, along w... [Read on]

Grizzly Bear, Telepathe, Andrew Bird and Bill Callahan(live at la Route du Rock, St Malo, France) Review Snapshot: Telepathe's cracking NY electro gets lost in a large theatre; all hail Bill Callahan; neither Andrew Bird nor Grizzly Bear have a good game. The Cluas Verdict? 7 out of 10 Full Review: So far we've focused on the main festival venue at the old fort a few miles outside St Malo. But there's also a second site - a hall on the seafront back in town. We decide, then, to start day three of La Route du Rock by checking it out. This isn't just a whim or for the sake of variety; we want to see Telepathe. For the festival, the Palais du Grand Large has been rather crassly renamed after a well-known mobile phone manufacturer. It's a large, plush, modern theatre that has headphone sockets and volume knobs in the armrests. Telepathe's gear is set up compactly in the middle of the vast stage, like a small car parked on the Wembley pitch. Th... [Read on]