‘Everything Is Average Nowadays’ and ‘Heat Dies Down’ emerge as decent enough tracks that benefit greatly from Rick Wilson’s much-lauded onstage charisma.
The good vibes in the air at Lovebox were enough to get not just the concert security, but also the St. John’s Ambulance paramedics dancing. Yeah, there was something in the air alright.
Ghosts sprinkle a touch of originality – but little more. Their music makes for a pleasant listen, but the four piece from London don’t seem to be in the game of challenging.
Watching Battles onstage is an odd experience – each musician has his own dynamic, but then they collide together – and when they do the aural affect is frequently stunning.
Sinéad O’Connor's voice is still capable of enchanting you with its fragility and blowing you away with its power, but maybe we all expected that, because at first it’s the bravely mixed set-list that grabs your attention.
Never mind the Champions League, if it’s fierce competition you’re after look no further than the National Student Music Awards. Doing his third level best to pick the winner: Neil Brennan.
Watching an Enter Shikari show is like being stuck in the body of a hormonally challenged 15-year-old. It’s sweaty, loud, confusing and bloody impossible to get your hands on some alcohol.
Just Jack deserves better than to be dismissed as a one-hit wonder. Given the fickle nature of the pop charts these days, however, there’s a serious risk he might be remembered only for the novelty hit ‘Starz In Their Eyes’.
Apparently, Mika is playing this year’s Oxegen. If he’s to make an impact there, he’ll need to pick up some stage tips. Maybe he should stop listening to Queen and start watching them instead.
A rockumentary with an edge, The End Of Innocence unflinchingly tracks sun-kissed Dublin popsters The Thrills from early success to difficult second album syndrome.
Technology has changed the way in which prostitution works in Ireland – and both the Gardai and organisations like Ruhana are struggling to cope. Meanwhile, Irish sexual mores are also changing.
New comedy Dan And Becs casts a cruel but hilarious eye on south Dublin’s privileged brats. But don’t mistake the show's star, Holly White, for her shallow alter-ego.
The first voice heard on Wu-Tang Clan’s historic debut was Ghostface Killah’s, and listening to that album again it can seem blindingly obvious that among the Clan members he was the one who would produce consistently arresting solo work.
Naked Camera star PJ Gallagher is a young comedian in a hurry. A few weeks from now, he’ll be off to conquer the States – or at least his alter ego Jake Stevens will be. Before that, there’s the small matter of his biggest stand-up tour to date. Assuming, that is, he doesn’t suffer a last minute attack of nerves.
Ray LaMontagne could break your heart just by singing the alphabet. His voice, which sounds like it’s spent decades soaked in a vat of whiskey and tears, is a miraculous thing.
Stand-up comedy ace Joe Rooney hopes he won’t fall down when he stars in this year’s Christmas On Ice event. And let’s hope it won’t feature anyone dressed as an animal.
Nope, it’s not a Jim Morrison tribute; it’s an initiative which sees musicians such as The Blizzards, Neosupervital, Julie Feeney, Roesy and Brian Palm design a special set of doors.
The incredible visuals give each accompanying track a unique persona, and the number of mobile phones held high to capture the images onscreen are a testament to that.
‘Boy racer’ has been used as a catch-all term to explain the behaviour of teenage boys involved in a spate of recent road deaths. But that may be a simplistic view of the phenomenon.
Back in his native Dublin after another successful stint in the US, magician Keith Barry is a young mage in a hurry. But what’s this about being arrested for driving while blind-folded?
When ‘Theme From S’Express’ became a massive hit back in 1988, S’Express mastermind Mark Moore found himself surfing the crest of a rave wave. 18 years later, he’s still proud of it.
The gig is no mere nostalgia trip though. ‘Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos’, ‘He Got Game’ and ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’ explode out of the speakers, still bristling with the verve and attitude that made Public Enemy one of the pioneers of conscious hip-hop.
It might be the opening night of their first headlining tour, but Boy Kill Boy singer Chris Peck has already mastered every cheap trick in the book. He encourages the audience to clap along, reassures us several times that we’re “ace”, and seems to make eye contact with almost everyone in the enthusiastic crowd at least once.
Myslovitz, who take their name from the German spelling of their hometown, have sold millions across the world although they still record mainly in their native tongue.
Shooting a fancy pop promo is harder work than you might think, as hotpress discovers when we join hotly tipped newcomers Director on a sound-stage at the home of the Irish movie industry, Ardmore Studios.
Plans by St Conleth’s College’s to fund the conversion of the football pitch in Herbert Park, Ballsbridge, into an all-weather facility has raised fears of privatisation amongst locals.
Gary Cooke's Apres Match Eamon Dunphy impression is both his finest moment and an albatross around his neck. Not that he's complaining. He's got a World Cup to be getting on with.
He made his name with the excellent anti-establishment drama How To Cheat In The Leaving Cert. Now director Graham Jones is back with another challenging offering in Fudge 44
It’s hard to tell if the “handle with care” sticker on The Immediate’s keyboard is directed at the roadies or at the gaggle of groupies who hover close to the stage, eying up the four members of this latest bright young thing.
