Having become quite the fan of LOVR’S new EP ‘Surf’s Up’ since reviewing it earlier this month I was intrigued as to how the EP would translate through a live show as there is a lot of intricate parts weaved together to make this EP great and what better chance to find out than the EP launch on Thursday night in Whelan’s, Dublin.Forming together his 6 piece dream team, “The LOVRS” Megan Nic Ruairí on Keys/Backing vocals, Siún Ní Dhomhaill on Backing vocals, Oisin Leahy Furlong on Bass, Alan Dooley on Guitar, Rob Kennedy on Drums and Joey Gavin on Acoustic guitar, LOVR’S show was more memorable and blissfully sweet than I could have anticipated.
It takes a lot to perfect these luscious tunes but these guys put their all into this set and it paid off.The immaculate ‘Survive, Hold On, All You, Need Is, Time’ kicks off the show followed instantly and elegantly by ‘Movin’ To LA’ with heavenly harmonies sweet toned guitars and the most divine melodies coming to life through this kinetic live setting. The purity of these tracks alone will knock you for six, but when performed live they take you to a whole new heart stopping dimension of blissfulness and elated euphoria as the impeccable mellow toned guitars soothe and lament filling the room with a swayable instant rush of freeing tranquility and that is the glorious effect of LOVR’S tunes. It was a professional display as his band on the night knew their parts intimately like a well oiled machine divinely selected and hand picked to make the rich sounds more awe inspiring. The crowd bounce and sway joyously as the band allow the tunes speak for themselves. I love it when a band can perform without any fluff and have the entire audience in the palm of their hands mesmerised by the tunes and proficient musicianship and this was one of those special moments. The guitars, keys and drums were executed with gliding gentle strokes and graceful grand swoops. “Any girls in the house ? ….. Any fellas? This one is for all the girls and the fellas” McGlynn introduces the infectious, boppy, and clap along ready ‘Ode To The Women Of My Life’ off his first EP ‘Girls Girls Girls’ to the crowds whoops and whistles. Without much persuasion from McGlynn the crowd push 
to the front for the buoyant ‘Fallin’ ‘ to dance and bounce along before becoming completely consumed by an emotional rendition of Maria Kelly’s ‘Stitches’. It is here we really understand the scope of McGlynn’s exquisite passionate vocals.Iowa City singer songwriter Elizabeth Moen is called onstage for ‘Great Escape’ to join the band for a beautiful powerful duet. However, for me ‘Song Of The Sea’ was the pinnacle moment . Having heard and loved this track from the EP I was nervous as to how it would translate in a live setting, it would either be epic and surpass all my expectations or well ….not. This track is musically rich it has such amazing potential live and of course it was breathtaking. I’m sure it was a difficult task for each member of the band to maintain those glorious harmonies and intricate instrumental elements but it made this performance just so special and vibrant. I had goosebumps from the moment it began and the crowd lapped up those jubilant sounds. They swayed, bopped and some almost returned to their tribal instincts- one guy was dancing moving between a sort of monkey dance to wiggling bum shake I almost expected to see him beat his chest to the infectious jungle -esque beat. The concentration on stage was intense, all their faces fully focused while still enjoying every moment hopefully as much as we were. I couldn’t be more happy with the live performance of this track I’m one of those people who get attached to a song and grip onto the hope of a pristine hair raising performance of my treasured new find. I was blown away with that energetic vivid performance.
LOVR put on an intensely satisfying show. If you get a chance to see LOVR live I would highly recommend going you won’t be disappointed. His tunes are sublime and those melodies melt into your ears like butter on hot toast. I spent the rest of the night and next day singing the title track from the EP ‘Surf’s Up’.
Aimee O’ Brien
Switches Be Trippin’
beautifully and dynamically live. Front woman Rebecca Geary is a force to be reckoned with- i’ve never seen her have an off performance, every show is full throttle.She hops, sways,swishes her hair, sits on the drums and dances with immense energy and spirit, it’s mesmerising.
dance moves she is always wearing magnificent colourful outfits her spritz of colour was cleverly placed on her shoulder on Saturday night – a rainbow of beautiful pink, purple, blue and yellow hues. As ever their tunes just make everyday better and their smiling faces are a joy to see. The band make the most of the space they are given and put on a wonderful show. After banter about putting a hole in the wall to see if the Bowery will sink along with immaculate performances of ‘Wake Up’ and How? They give us an extra little treat, McMahon takes to the center of the stage to whack out a rendition of The Fugees ‘Ready or Not’ with a trumpet added in. This rendition is pretty amazing, proving these guys aren’t just funky, groovy and melodious as hell they have some cool swagger, rap ability and attitude too.
enthralling and diverse listen. ‘7am’ is a prime example of the finesse of this four piece as they juggle the emotional intense verses and brooding backdrop with the gritty heaviness masterfully and this translates to a sing along riff and mosh intensity that is difficult to match. Of course ‘Hunter Gatherer Blues’ and ‘Ms. Communication’ end their set giving Donnelly a chance to playfully interact as he dramatically stomps and jumps to his knees and nearly falls off the stage.
alight, beer is spilling everywhere, fights are breaking out as two individuals are staring each other off before calling it quits after a good 2-minutes threatening each other, and girls are falling flat on their faces from the moshing- it’s pretty special. It’s a no nonsense set, there’s no time wasted with banter, these guys are here to deliver and that’s what they do. “Dublin what’s up!” Hasma shouts before the crowd erupt for ‘A Little More Time’ . The atmosphere is electronic and fiery. Filippo is one slick guitarist who is pretty light on his feet gliding and jumping behind with graceful ferocity while Luca pulverises the drums with bloodthirsty stamina. Shifty, as expected plays the front-man role well, he engages with the crowd and swings the suspended monitors as he stands and squats- rarely moving from the front of the stage. A hopeful member of the audience buys Shifty a pint and presents it to him holding it like a golden prize- so dramatic I almost expected a golden light to form around it while a sudden sweet 
sound of angels sing “ahhhhh” the beautiful moment is broken by Shifty’s apologetic refusal as he explains the band don’t drink and they offer it back to the audience member, who gladly takes one for the team telling them “its lovely”. The singing along among the crowd is captivating as each track fills them with a confidence and attitude while the lyrics roll off their tongue as they gaze at Shifty in awe almost proud to have him witness their in-depth knowledge of the lyrics. “let me see your middle fingers” Shifty introduces the blustery ‘Born To Raise Hell’. The crowd once again below back the lyrics while waving their middle fingers in the air. ‘Decorated’ is announced to massive screams and whoops and ’Butterfly’ is considerably more fun than it ever was, Crazy Town don’t even have to sing once the chorus kicks in the crowd take over.
bassline while the biting sting on guitar slice through your ears in the most thrillingly sharp manner. McGregor is an intense performer giving it all he’s got while Seán Connelly and Tom Freeman stand cool and collected at either side, effortlessly gliding from slinky bass grooves and sultry guitar licks to crashing mosh ready tempos. They write tunes to get you fired up filling your veins with adrenaline ‘The Pills Keep Coming’ is the perfect example of this – its catchy, accelerated and one you won’t forget anytime soon. I loved the “song about dickheads” ‘Mr Tight T-Shirts’ it’s witty honest and to the point with the instrumental backing to make it pretty epic and sticky mosh pit ready.
frontman who exudes charm and composure while the swagger of guitarist, Daniel Connolly and bassist Michael Hanrahan is undeniable, they are pros at those guitar poses and rock and roll facial expressions. Older tracks such as ‘A Wise Man Said’ explode with tuneful enthusiasm. A recording of the Queen speaking (which goes on a litter longer than normal) and a sweet jazzy jam which Calum Landau on drums kick starts introduces ‘Queen’s English’ as Connolly deals with a guitar malfunction, they assure us “we are not royalists”. When the track does finally begin its worth the wait, but it’s the new tracks that peeked my attention. These guys are growing as artists and that is exciting to see. Honing in on their skills and making their sound
tighter and more intricately layered. ‘Rumour Mill’ (my favourite track of the night) with its rumbly rhythm and twinkling guitar to start teases the mammoth to come as they blast into the chorus. The steamy guitar whines contrast the rooted danceable rhythm superbly. There is a steady growth here as these guys are refining their sound without loosing the rough edgy rawness we love so much. That instrumental bridge is just magnificent. There is exciting things to come from this band they have not reached their full potential yet.
‘Easy Lover’ is my favourite track on their set list. It’s sultry desert western riff seeps and creeps while a luring rhythm lurks behind building in intensity up to the manic chorus. It all goes a bit crazy here Silvester mistreats a tambourine and begins whacking it around while dancing suggestively. Short for time, they speed into the next few tracks. They finish their set the best way possible .. with a Halloween song – anyone who knows me knows my love for Halloween (its better than Christmas) so, ‘Skeleton Dance’ was the perfect ending to their frantic highly entertaining set. They do a surprise encore once Jake Barnett sorts his rogue guitar out. Ending with Silvester and Kearns sprawled out on the stage on their backs.
and the first riff sing along of the night. From the get-go members of the crowd are crowd surfing. Practically everyone has a go, sometimes two or three at a time. From the melodic sweet mellow melodies to the hefty thumping rhythms the crowd know every pulse and waver in the tracks. One small command from Taran Plouzané and the crowd descend to their knees ready for the massive instrumental blow up that brings heavy, manic moshing and pushing. Bicurious’ set never feels repetitive, nor less than electrifying to watch. As an instrumental band they keep their audience engaged with intricate, luscious riffs and sweet melodies while packing in a thrilling heavy dose of mosh ready ferocity. Plouzané stomps about the stage while Purcell throws his drumsticks into the air and gestures to the crowd to go wild. The crowd began circle pit moshing as people were flung about the floor, it was a sweaty spectacle for sure. Their as of yet unnamed ‘New Song’ which went down a treat, showcased a slight shift in the duo’s sound. Sounding like an acid drenched dance rave it made the crowd go nuts. With the green lighting it was definitely a dizzying savage 
bombardment to the senses. ‘Sleep’ brings about another blitz of hair swishing, sweat flicking moshing which surprisingly brought a nice whiff of sweet smelling shampoo my way not exactly the smell you’d expect, but a welcome one. The band bring Mark Barry from Dicey up on stage for a monstrous cover of Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Bulls on Parade’. Experiencing a mic dilemma Barry belts out the track anyway with the crowd helping to amplify the vocal line. Naturally a Rage Against the Machine cover sparks total anarchy among the crowd making the faulty mic unnoticeable. Multiple crowd surfing, a torn down curtain and many spilt drinks later we come to the end of the duo’s magnificent set. Bicurious’ set was so furious and fast that their hour whizzed by in what seemed like 10 minutes. ‘Father’ closes their set resulting in the duo crowd surfing as the audience lift them high and proud, Purcell lays back fully horizontal, “like a boss” raised above the crowd. Plouzané joins him in what looks like a blissful state of ecstasy.
synchronized head movement between O’Hanlon and Ross Farrelly add a nice bit of humour and fun to what is a slick proficient set. Their stage personas are becoming larger than life and they seem at their best live, smiling and bantering with the crowd. They create a modest effect of frenzy among the crowd who are a wee bit tamer than the last show I saw the Strypes at. The girl frenzy is turned down a touch at the start but they scream when Farrelly slides down his glasses to look over them and they lose their sh*t when he strolls down to the front holding the mic out for them to sing along. Josh McClorey shows off his nimble steamy guitar skills and rock and roll guitar facial expressions as he adds some ornamentation throughout their set which is particularly impressive during ‘Angel Eyes’. They balance their set between a perfect mix of the beloved tracks from all albums
‘Black Shades Over Red Eyes ‘provoking a massive clap along while ’Get Into It‘ and ‘Freckle And Burn‘ cause a shimmy dance and mosh frenzy. All tracks go down well with the crowd. It’s a room full of youthful exuberance and good tunes. They are a charismatic, mesmerising quartet on stage, each member managing to hold your attention and leave you gob smacked at the swagger and finesse this young band possess.
triumphant brass blasts fill out their infectious sound with warmth, depth and might. The grooves are body moving and the guitar lines sharp, thrilling and vibrant. These guys brought their party tunes packed with a sound that coaxes you to the dance floor and commands you to dance entrapped and mesmerised. They have fun on stage, smiley faces galore as they let the good vibes lure the crowd to dance and groove. Murphy is an expressive frontwoman and exudes oodles of sass and swagger as she hops and boogies on stage. Though their songs have a light fun exterior they pack a hefty punch behind them with gritty guitar lines and mighty drums. ‘Wake Up’ their most recent single translates magnificently live. It’s one designed to get those feet tapping. A Jamiroquai cover of ‘Just Dance’ and a funkadelic 
rendition of Spice Girls ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ gets the crowd singing along and bopping while a fallen earring and a story about “Patrick The Snake” keeps the banter brief and sweet, so the tunes can grease up the crowds hips and get them limber for MUNKY.
floppily in time with the music. Donnelly and Russell playfully interact during the tracks as Donnelly, now well on his way to becoming a master showman hops, wiggles, falls to his knees and air drums dramatically. It’s a spectacle for sure and entertaining to watch. The tunes are massive and the crowd lap up every psychedelic distortion, hefty drum roll and elastic bass joggle. Zachary Stephenson pines, bellows and exclaims over the mic. Hair is everywhere both on stage and among the crowd as everyone throws themselves wholly into each magnifying track moshing frantically. Backing vocalists- the lovely trio Taylor Maslanka, Rebecca Geary and Edwina Van Kuyk wiggle and bop charmingly adding a bit off class to the chaotically fantastic mayhem on the floor. The crowd bellow back the lyrics adoringly almost proud of these four chaps on stage as they shred through our eardrums in the most fantastic assault to the senses. The band seem blown away by the crowd’s adoration and enthusiasm they didn’t appear to expect them to sing every word without fail. ‘7am’ has the moshers grooving to the slinky rhythm and singing along to the “do do do” lyrics. When the audience sing your guitar riffs and licks you know you are on to something good
and that’s exactly what happened last Friday night. They sang guitar melodies, basslines and air drummed along with Russell as well as bellowing out the lyrics as if they narrated the lives of everyone in the room. They cheer and whoop the band like heroes returning from war before the thrilling rumbling intro to ‘Jam and Banana‘. MUNKY blend sweet luscious melodies with heavy skull bashing tunes effortlessly and the crowd worship each and every track- singing along to the sweet ‘I Can’t Quit’ just as zealously and passionately as ‘Hunter Gatherer Blues’ which was so loud I don’t think I could even hear Stephenson’s vocals above the crowd singing along. ‘Ms. Communication’ closes their set after the rowdy crowd yell for “one more tune!” Stephenson obliges on the condition that the crowd help him sing. ‘Ms. Communication’ kicks off and Stephenson doesn’t even have to sing the chorus. The crowd take over vigorously bellowing out the “we don’t wanna talk about it we just wanna get F*cked” lyric merrily. It was spectacular. The perfect end to a show which displayed a band that are destined for big things. Their larger than life persona and infectious tunes teamed with masterful musicianship and hard work makes these guys ones to watch for sure.
your teeth?, let me see your teeth” he bellows while the crowd scream back and you could for sure feel the sound pounding through your body bashing your senses. It was a mighty frenetic set that was unforgettable. Cedric Bixler-Zaval is tireless he doesn’t stop moving from climbing onto the speakers and karate kicking to springing into the air frantically. He gets the audience riled up and pumped. The mass of spiraling interweaving guitars pulverising drums and screaming vocals grip the crowd into submission, At The Drive In are a force to be reckoned with.
into his frontman role and is taking it in his stride as he slickly blasts out those lusty beefy riffs. “I don’t believe this is happening to us tonight this place is huge” he admits before the explosive ‘Come On Over’. It’s a tireless set of moshing singing and hair everywhere. Ben Thatcher’s pulverising drumming is so powerful and mighty it sends the crowd into a frenzy of headbanging. With dashing backing singers introduced for ‘I Only Lie When I Love You’ these guys exude a new suaveness. They’ve learned a lot and for a two-piece filled the arena with their larger than life swagger. Track after track is announced to mammoth screams and whiplash causing headbanging. They pulled out all the stops from a dramatic clap along, shredding solos to a stick on fire hitting a gong. Royal Blood made sure they put on a show to remember. There was crowd surfing, pushing, fighting for the drum sticks Thatcher threw out followed by the “Olé, Olé, Olé” chant. The duo had the crowd in the palm of their hands. Though these guys have developed a rock and roll persona they haven’t left their humbleness behind “we feel very uncomfortable right now. Worst front man of all time. I’m a man and I’m at the front and that’s it.” Kerr admits before the knock out ‘Hole In Your Heart’ which sees Kerr relocate to the front of the stage to play keys. Kerr recalls their first time in Dublin where they got “so f**king drunk… I feel like we fit in here, I feel like we all drink the same”.
flight and a floatability to his jumps. From the instantly singable ‘Class Historian’ to the slick shaky ‘Señora Borealis’ these guys put on a swagger drenched flamboyant show that oozes suave and swagger. It’s difficult not to wiggle and bop to these tunes and BRONCHO let the music do all the talking with little to no banter between tracks except for the chanting of “Queens of the Stone Age” which the crowd were only too happy to join in. Their tunes are power pop smacks of delight, their sound is fresh and invigorating, ideal for hazy summer days and just what those early bird queuers needed to defrost.
distractions, it’s the five piece and the crowd and it is extraordinary. The charisma, swagger and just plain godliness has the crowd in awe. There is so much happening on stage as each member exudes fiery stamina. Like a tag team they keep everyone on their toes with their explosive vigour. ‘Monster in your Parasol’ ’My God Is The Sun’ three songs in and it’s total turmoil in the mosh pit. Limbs flailing everywhere, hair flicking into strangers faces and necks whipping while the five-piece stride back and forth on stage jumping and kicking. ‘Feet Don’t Fail Me’ whacks the crowd into another frenzy. This is the thing with a band like Queens of the Stone Age they have so many cracking tracks a live show is a constant thrilling battering to your body. Michael Shuman strides about the stage with a fierce, intense, sultry stage presence belting out lusty mammoth bass lines and haunting backing vocals. While Troy Van
Leeuwen suave and dobonair as always skips about the stage in a red suit. “We came to dance, drink and hopefully get everyone laid.. let’s get loose” Homme declares before introducing ‘The Way You Used To Do’ as Dean Fertita ventures from behind the keys to add some brawn on guitar. Members of the audience are already being lifted out of the pit all kerfuffled and distressed from the mania. It’s all crowd surfing, shoes in the face craziness. With so many guitarists on stage the band members at times crash into the free-standing strips of light while wandering and spinning around the stage. ‘No One Knows’ evokes screams as the crowd bellow out the riff and lyrics along with the band once again causing total anarchy among the crowd. Jon Theodore showcases his slick pummelling drumming skills for first of two drum solos while Homme lights up a cigarette and watches the crowd’s reaction smiling. The crowd erupt shouting “Olé, Olé, Olé” “that’s exactly why we are here…that, right there, that’s the f**king moment… tonight, it’s our night, your f**king night, our f**king night” Homme responds before the finale of ‘No One Knows’. Usually a drum solo is a brave move but it’s Jon Theodore for god sake it was legendary! Homme is effortlessly cool with his slicked back swagger and sensual guitar licks his presence commands the attention of the arena. We all subdue to his every wish. ‘I Sat By The Ocean’ ‘Smooth Sailing’ every track bashing out relentless stamina and maintaining the frenzy of the crowd. ‘Make It Wit Chu’ and ‘Villains Of Circumstance’ act as the breathers on the set list giving something to sway and sing along to while also allowing the body feel the pain of the moshing and battering from the previous tracks.
