Two Door Cinema Club (live in The Tripod, Dublin) Review Snapshot: Having finally gained access to The Tripod after being refused entrance at 17 with a fake ID you could forgive Alex Trimble for looking a little nervous on stage, this time facing a sold out headline show with a 1400 strong crowd. With just one album under their belt one wondered whether this band could live up to standard everyone else seems to have set them.  The Cluas Verdict? 7.5 out of 10 Full Review: As it turns out, you don’t need more than one strong album's worth of material to pull off a headline show. Not when you have two equally strong opening acts and the right kind of music playing in between to keep the crowds energy pumping. Opening the doors at 7:30, you could tell the small crowd standing outside were glad to be out of the cold. It wasn’t long before we were faced with the dazzling flash of strobe lights staring blindingly at a trio that can only be ... [Read on]

Aimee Mann (live in Tripod, Dublin) Review Snapshot: An occasionally shambolic but enjoyable night, culminating with a great set from one of the best American songwriters in the world today. The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10 Full Review: The evening started off with Los Angeles husband and wife team The Submarines, who I knew nothing about before tonight but proved to be a pleasant discovery. It wasn’t hard to see why Aimee Mann picked them to support her on her current tour, as their music is precisely the same kind of catchy melodic rock that the likes of Crowded House, Squeeze and Aimee Mann do so well. The couple, with a drummer filling out their sound, powered through a hook-laden set that impressed me enough to pick up one of their albums at the merchandise box afterwards. Next up was Sharon Shannon’s Big Band, who lived up to their name with ten of them cramming on to Tripod’s stage. Not being a great fan of Irish trad I had planned on skipping ... [Read on]

Neon Neon (live in Tripod, Dublin) Review Snapshot: Side-projects are so hot right now, but these guys are just cool. Neon Neon is a conglomerate of decidedly super-ferrite animals, and they transported the Tripod crowd through an audio-visual interpretation of John DeLorean’s life with the same frenzy in which he lived it. DeLorean’s car was the pièce de résistance in Back To The Future trilogy, and over 20 years on Neon Neon are still making the DeLorean past seem like the future. The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10 Full Review: I think the term juxtaposition applies here: Neon Neon is a collaborative project from producer Boom Bip and Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys - amongst others - entirely devoted to Detroit-born engineer and entrepreneur John DeLorean and the “dream” car he produced near Belfast primarily for the American market. Hmmm.... Whilst The Good, The Bad and The Queen had their Dickensian, urbane merits... [Read on]

Bon Iver (live in Tripod, Dublin) Review Snapshot: Bon Iver played a short, but sublime set in Tripod. They took the record 'For Emma, Forever Ago', to another level, adding layers and new sounds to it, whilst retaining the beauty that has made it the great album it is. The Cluas Verdict? 8.5 out of 10 Full Review: Over the winter of 2006-7 Justin Vernon retreated to a remote cabin in Wisconsin. It was in this isolated sanctuary that he recorded nearly all of what was to become ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’. The record is a quiet masterpiece and there was a massive air of anticipation before this gig. This Sound Track gig was due to take place next door at Crawdaddy, but it was moved to Tripod at the last minute for a seated gig. Support came from James McMorrow and Get Well Soon. McMorrow is a local lad. His performance was decent, if a bit too influenced by Ray Lamontagne. Get Well Soon is a 7 piece with members from Germany and Ireland. With a h... [Read on]

Spiritualized (live in Tripod, Dublin) Review Snapshot: Saints or stoners  - you decide- a rejuvinated Spiritualized storm the Tripod with a set of old, rather obscure, favourites and tasters from their new album. With Jason Pierce looking merely heavily tubercular rather than close to death, the band in its current state is working a minor storm and its back catologue gets better and better with time. The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10 Full Review: A Wednesday in early May and I’m talking to a neighbour. "I’m going to a gig." "Who?" "Spiritualized – Jason Pierce, the singer, has nearly died, like loads of times, he never made a penny from any of his records but he’s a genius, he does this atonal drone thing, there’s feedback, and one minute he’s all gospel, the next he’s a screaming junkie, you should see him, he looks like death warmed up. Like, literally." "Great-... [Read on]

Gemma Hayes (live in Tripod, Dublin) Review Snapshot: Despite the distraction of events elsewhere, Hayes and her band of merry men were able to put on a really impressive gig that showcased the Tipperary native as one of Ireland's brightest talents. The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10 Full Review: Anyone who reads my Key Notes Blog will know that I wasn't too sure about reviewing this gig.  After all, a certain European Cup semi-final was taking place at the same time and was pulling at my heartstrings.  However, despite missing out on Manchester United's victory, I made the right call by attending tonight's gig. Initially I was worried that the gig might not be well attended as the crowd - most of whom decided to forgo Ann Scott's performance for the action at Old Trafford - were late getting in.  More fool them.  Scott is a competent performer with a haunting voice that was particularly impre... [Read on]

Lupe Fiasco (live in Tripod, Dublin) Review Snapshot: On the tails of his hotly received second album 'The Cool', Chicago's Lupe Fiasco hits Dublin to energetically deliver a repertoire of songs that have seen Jay Z describe him as a "breath of fresh air". The Cluas Verdict? 6.5 out of 10 Full Review: “I'll tell you what you should do, Dumb it down” - that's a line belted out by Lupe Fiasco from his song 'Dumb it Down' during his visit to Dublin's Tripod on Saturday night. And he's a man of his word, with a no-fuss stage set up of him, a microphone and a DJ providing backing tracks. Given the extravagant stage shows endorsed by his contemporaries Kanye West and Pharrell Williams – with whom Fiasco founded supergroup Rebel Child Soldier – the stripped down stage presence was disappointing at first sight. Having previously witnessed Kanye West's mixture of groundbreaking ... [Read on]

Broken Social Scene Presents... Kevin Drew (live in Tripod, Dublin) Review Snapshot: With a blistering new album and a back catalogue of modest repute to boot, Kevin Drew must find it hard not impressing audiences. Here with BSS aficionados Brendan Canning, Justin Peroff, plus members of American Analogue Set and Treble Charger, the capacity Tripod is gradually stirred from any ideas of a relaxing Sunday evening. The Cluas Verdict? 8.8 out of 10 Full Review: Starting off slowly with an acoustic rendition of Gangbang Suicide, Drew gave a slow greeting until the drums kicked in with a controlled ferocity by Peroff. Things gradually picked up as Drew knocked the complementary booze back. Introducing the audience to his so-called solo work with Tbtf, F--ked Up Kids, Lucky Ones, Frightening Lives and the quite magnificent single Backed out on the…, it’s hard to find any defined distinction in the general sound from Broken Social Scene. That is of cour... [Read on]

Feist (live in Tripod, Dublin) Review Snapshot: After months of anticipation Miss Leslie Feist finally arrives to an overheated and cramped, but extremely expectant audience. Was it worth the wait? Only if Canadians make consistently bad music... (that's a yes). The Cluas Verdict? 8.5 out of 10 Full Review: Showing magnificent control over her wonderfully dry vocals, Feist hits Dublin with a bang and a banjo on a viciously cold Tuesday night. Unfortunately the sold out crowd turn Tripod into a sauna of sorts. I get the feeling that if this was a London show the guest list would be populated with names more suited to gossip pages. With a natural confidence and a gifted band that are three quarters siblings, she glides through the set with banter and audience choral experiments. After giving excuses as to why this is her first Irish gig, she belts through a set consisting mainly of Let it Die and the superior The Reminder. Of the many highlights of the evening the t... [Read on]

Battles (live in the Tripod, Dublin) Review Snapshot: New York avant-garde tech-metallers Battles touch down in Ireland for the second time this year. Dublin rock-venue/sauna Tripod is jammed with Battles devotees. I'm yet to be convinced. The Cluas Verdict? 6 out of 10 Full Review: Is it possible to be overawed at the musical skills of a band while still remaining curiously unmoved? It's an odd conundrum I grapple with throughout Battles' math-rock experimentalism in an oven-hot Tripod. About half of the time, I simply marvel at the musical dexterity on display from the New York quartet. Former Helmet drummer John Stanier's frighteningly precise drumming is something to behold. He looks as if he is doing a particularly strenuous workout session rather than keeping time on his kit. A strange looking kit, it must be noted- a no-frills, minimalist set-up- and only Stanier knows why he has a single, standalone cymbal standing about four feet abo... [Read on]