Obsessive Compulsive ticket consumer

Gig reviews, new music and more...

[the-octc]

WILD YOUTH//Bombay

[the-octc]

Wild Youth

All Good Things Are Wild And Free- By Wild Youth. Wild Youth are a band based currently in and around Guildford, ACM students and Intro: as the name suggests is an introduction; the E.P’s opening track. Immediately possible influences such as Daughter and tracks such as Jungle by Wankelmut and Emma Louise. The difference is a lack of vocals and it airs on the more ambient side of electronic- if you’re gonna wait to listen to the E.P; imagine the musical love child of Chvrches and Brian Eno…

Black Gold leads in with a very blossoms esque, scatty guitar riff and arpeggios (musical term for twiddly bits) before Martin Coe’s vocals cut in in a conversational style. The song sounds like a melodic conversation and in fact, you’ll hear a phone conversation in the background at points.

Bombay leads in with a synthy vocal hook, repeated throughout the song alongside guitar riffs in a bright tone compatible to those of The 1975 and Catfish And The Bottlemen.

In their promo shots their aesthetic is; denim jackets, dark jeans, white or black trainers, standing casually outside some garages with the look of ‘we ordered this pizza an hour ago, where is it?! this is worse than the U.S ellection..” on their collective faces. It’s not a bad thing, it’s fitting.

Live: You can find Wild Youth playing at The Star in Guildford on the 21st of March £3 entry.

[the-octc]

Friday Playlist!!

Every Friday I'm going to release a new Spotify playlist for you all of the music I think YOU need to hear!

[the-octc]

The great escape: The Zola's live

It’s come almost a year late but at last it’s here! I worked at the Great Escape, met one of my best friends and the one band I actively chose to see were The Zolas. Now picture this.

Two music students helping to run a venue, on their phones because the rush had died down and it was Saturday. The final day of the festival. We had two options, The Zolas or The Wholls. The answer to who we decided on should hopefully be obvious…

So at quarter past 11 we found our slightly disheveled selves in The Hope and Ruin. I was I.D’d every five minutes and my friend who’s already tall, standing on their tip toes trying to see when the band were coming on stage. The room was packed!

You couldn’t miss the moment they did. The crowd came to life, from their weary end of festival state to singing and dancing to the Zolas catchy tunes. ‘Molotov girls’ and 'invisible’ were definitely the best received with their catchy riffs and the wonderful vocal delivery from Zach.

The bands style varied song to song; songs taken from the album 'Ancient Mars’ had the quality of making you want to dance, cry about the memories triggered and then dance again. Their latest album 'Swooner’ is heavily influenced by pop music and is a pop album but with some depth. Lyrically they’re similar to Bastille in that the lyrics are stories.

The theatrics and hijinks that accompanied their set included stage diving, crowd surfing and crowd surfing with guitars.. If you’re aware of how health and safety conscious the U.K is, you’ll be aware that it’s to the point where sometimes people crave a bit of danger.. Thanks to out love of safety being outweighed by our lust for some fun!

Well you can imagine the crowds reaction; they went wild! I chose to use my friend as a human shield at that point as I’m not tall and I’ve had a bad experience in mosh pits before. Never the less it was amazing, I want to do it all again. Sadly I live in the U.K and seen as the Zolas are Canadian I doubt I’ll see them anytime soon, nevertheless their music is wonderful…. And you should definitely listen to them.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0BVWMc7JEHdh2Ku6xgKuYL

@thezolas

All rights to Image’s go to their respectful owner/owners Written by Cara Moulton

[the-octc]

Eurosonic: The bands to see

Black foxes are a rock band from Exeter, UK. Their track’s are full of energy which in songs like ‘HUSK' translates to it being upbeat throughout or for songs such as 'Whatever lets you cope’ is more reminiscent and slightly more mellow than the former; well as much as a rock band can be… Vocaly they sound like rockier version of MGMT and at times Borns. You can find Black Foxes playing FRI 13 JAN HUIZE MAAS, FRONT21:30 - 22:15

The Amazons- Another band from the UK. If I were to compare them to anyone in particular I’d call them the musical love child of 1st album The 1975 and Irish indie band The Academic. The Amazons have a sold out tour behind them already and an album which will be released in Spring. FRI 13 JANHUIZE MAAS, MAIN20:45 - 21:30

Bry is an Irish Indie-pop artist. His voice will certainly appeal to fans of The Coronas and Two Door Cinema club. Bry has already toured with the likes of Twenty-One Pilots and played all over the world. For fans of: Ed Sheeran and Two Door Cinema Club FRI 13 JANVRIJDAG 20:00 - 20:45

Holly Macve is a folk singer-songwriter from Brighton. I was lucky enough to see her playing a set at The Great Escape and her live set was amazing. Holly’s voice is similar to Lana Del Ray’s but it’s quirky in that its surrounded by folk influenced instruments rather than the dramatic vintage sound that Lana Del Ray has.

WED 11 JANGRAND THEATRE, MAIN20:00 - 20:45 THU 12 JANGRONINGER FORUM21:45 - 22:25

Aine Cahill, if you like old jazz and Adele you’ll love her! Aine Cahill is an Irish artist with a ridiculously huge voice. She’s played wit the likes of Gavin James and Kodaline and personally, I think we’ll be hearing a lot more of her in the next year. See Aine Cahill perform.. FRI 13 JAN DER AA-KERK20:45 - 21:30

[the-octc]

AJQJ Single Review: Sugar

What do I know? Not too much. What I do know however is this. If a band can grab you by one single, and after a month of trying to find it, with only a few lyrics to go off you persevere. It’s a good sign.

AJQJ are an 'Alt Rock band from the Lowestoft/Gorleston area of East Anglia’-Facebook Bio.  They first formed in December 2014 and have since played shows at The Waterfront venue in Norwich and other shows in East Anglia before rolling down to the south and playing a string of shows in London, Brighton then back to Norwich for another after their E.P Foundations and single ’Sugar’ revived airplay across BBC introducing and some indipendent radio stations across the UK.

The band’s latest release ‘Sugar’ is reminiscent of early You Me At Six with it’s catchy guitar riffs. Equally it has a feel of mid noughties brit pop at times in a very subtle way that it’s barely detectable and a descending guitar scale just before the chorus’s that will appeal to the indie kids and fans of bands like Viola beach. So there’s something for everyone if you listen carefully enough.

The production on ‘Sugar’ is stronger than their E.P ‘Foundations’ which was a strong debut but obviously a bedroom recording, it was good quality- you can watch the process on their youtube channel if it’s something you’re interested in. Maybe Sugar was recorded in the same process but in my opinion the outcome is at least twice as good. Maybe the guitar riffs are what does it, maybe its the slight tone or perhaps its the metronome that appears every now and then. Simply put its a great single! I haven’t yet seen AJQJ live so I can’t pass any judgment on that aspect of the band but my guess is they’re good, going off of recordings on youtube.

You can find the bands social media links here:

https://www.facebook.com/AJQJBand/ https://soundcloud.com/ajqjband https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN-10PjtuX663gyGCHbMeUg

Written By Cara Moulton

Copyright for the single artwork and logo goes to any and all rightful owners.

[the-octc]

The good from 2016

The 2016 effect. In the past 12 months the creative communities have lost a lot of people. David Bowie, Carrie Fisher, Prince, Gene Wilder, Lemmy and so many more…Now, as a realist I accept that this is life but it’s still sad. My idea of a nightmare is being left in a world of shallow music, whether that be music by boy bands or shallow-pop artists. The one true quote off of tumblr is ‘music is how emotions sound’ or at least in my opinion that’s how it should be. Music should evoke memories or make you feel. Before I ramble on any more, here’s a list of artists who should have an amazing 2017 if there’s any justice in the world!

1: PAVVLA- Pavvla is a Spanish singer-songwriter who I came across by accident as she used to be one of my friends housemates. I’ve since had her music on loop. Her biography has Daughter and James Blake down as her influences and she released her album 'Creatures’ in Autumn 2016. Her album features her singles 'Skin’ and 'Young’ which preceded it.

Skin has the rare quality of being balanced, assuming it was written after a break up. It places blame on neither the songwriter or the other person on the relationship but rather speaks from an honest place about how the situation felt emotionally, saying it as it was. It’s refreshing to hear such a young songwriter being able to express themselves in such an emotive and mature way which definitely translates well to the listener. It’s best listened to when you’re sat on the grass or a pebbly beach in the quite, in the mood for reminiscing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5Ogz7mhE2E

2: Morrissey&Marshall are a duo/band from Dublin. They’ve already played with Irish legends Damien Dempsey and Sinéad O'Connor. Their first albums 'So it Began’ features a range of influences from the Beatles to Simon and Garfunkel.  My favourite tracks are The Mantra which starts with a intro in Irish before going straight into a mid tempo track called ‘We are one’ which sets the scene for the rest of the song. Live their harmonies are spot on and they’re pretty damn good at keeping in sync on their guitars. I’ve yet to see them live with the band but as of now I can tell you 'Cold November Sunrise’ is a jam and a half! Their latest video release is ‘Love and be loved’ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAWi_gKqDsM

3: L.A- An indie alt rock band from Majorca. I’ve already reviewed them so I’ll leave a link to that but again, they’re amazing! 

http://the-octc.tumblr.com/post/139664281166/la-dualize-review

4: Overhead, The Albatross; from The Workman’s club to Vicar Street, they’ve had one hell of a year. After bassist Joe Panama left in the summer and they closed a stage at Electric Picnic- that may be chronologically incorrect but bear with me. Anyway after Electric picnic they’ve played a series of shows. In all honesty they’re the best live band I’ve seen. Their musicianship is amazing, as an instrumental band it’d be exceedingly obvious if they were average at best but they’re fantastic! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJmHGG9usTg

Written By Cara Moulton

[the-octc]

Live review: Overhead the Albatross

Traveling for music is something I’ve been doing a lot in recent years. Mainly to Ireland and around the U.K but because of my roots and music tastes generally being of Irish origin I always seem to end up back in Dublin. Ireland is home to a very lively music scene which is also very eclectic; from indie bands like The Academic to grunge rock bands like Otherkin and songwriters like Gavin James and Hozier. There’s always a gig to go to and refreshingly there’s seemingly no one defined genre that has to be popular at any given time.

So after a weekend in Dublin I’m writing this review of Overhead the Albatross who’re an instrumental band made up of a number of musicians from Dublin and it’s surrounding counties. On Saturday the 9th of April they played at The Workmans club in the Temple Bar district, this time without the interruption of a power-cut and it was glorious.

The gig was free/pay what you want- the money made is for their Canadian fund as they’ll go over the pond in May to play some shows. Just by chance I bumped into their keyboardist David Prendergast at another gig the night before and was advised to head down early as there would likely be a lot of people trying to get into the show and as it turned out he was right because there were over 200 people being turned away throughout the night; luckily however I managed to get in.

Overhead the Albatross’s two support acts were Versive and Yonen. Versive who’re an alternative rock band played a half hour long set, admittedly as soon as they started playing I immediately though of system of a down due to the level of rock leaning at times toward metal but thought the set the guitar changed tone and style so many times making it hard to pinpoint exactly which genre to put to their name- which is great as its hard to come across completely individual styles these days in a musical world which is currently saturated by bands trying to recreate sounds from the late 70’s and 80’s. By the time they'd consigned their set the room was starting to fill up and the crowd were buzzing.

The main support act Yonen were an instrumental band which seemed to make more sense as Overhead the albatross are also an instrumental sextet… Sorry I just had to use that word! Yonen are more rockier than overhead but share the cinematic feel, in Yonen’ case their sound is most fitting to a mystery or thriller film with some laid back scenes in shiny bars between investigations.

Now, after both support acts the room was full to capacity which was full of an expectant buzz. Me and my friend Lorna were sat on the top of a sofa against the wall near the front of the room so we could see the stage over the hordes of people coming back from the bar and toilets whilst the bands changed over their equipment and set up OTA’s.

When Overhead the Albatross appeared on stage there were many cheers and after a Daffy Duck esqe introduction, Joe Panama (Bass) introduced their song Telekinetic forest guard, a mellow instrumental song featuring strings and delicate keys, like many of the songs to come raising and lowering dynamics adding to the bands cinematic instrumental style. They played a mix of their songs including The big river man a song bordering on math rock is another of overhead the albatross’ instrumental songs. As soon as it began a sea of head bangers made the room come alive adding to the already cinematic air in the small crowded room which continued throughout the night. By the time they'd finished their set and left the stage after a good hour and a half the crowd started shouting 'one more song!' Which in anyone's book is the sign of a good gig, it truely was amazing!

Overhead the albatross’s debut album “Learning to Growl” will be out on May the 13th and is available for pre order here.

https://overheadthealbatross.bandcamp.com/album/learning-to-growl-2

[the-octc]

Record store day and ticket touts

Record store day is one day of the year where music and Vinyl fanatics all go bonkers, queueing overnight and storming the stores for the cause of exclusive or limited vinyl releases. Since the idea was conceived in 2007 to support and celebrate independent record stores in the U.S as well as elsewhere around the world. Last year was the first time i properly saw the scale of the day. In Kingston at Banquet records, people had queued overnight. There was tea being sold to the loyal fans who had queued over night and although it was cold everyone was happy. Due to the volume of people queuing and the size of the small store people were staggered coming into the store. Most came out with at least one record they had wanted in the end and so all in all it was a great day.

But there’s a darker side to the day. I looked on Ebay that evening for something completely unrelated to Record store day and curiosity got the better of me. So i search for ‘Music for cars’ by The 1975. I’d managed to get this E.P which surprised me as it was in such high demand but when i went on Ebay I was shocked. Not a pleasant shock either. The E.P that i’d bought at face value for £25 was being sold, starting on average at £50.

Now i have no problem at people selling vinyl on Ebay but the fact someone will buy the limited eddition vinyl to sell it on for a profit will forever irritate me. Along with ticket touts- which i’ll touch on in a bit. My main issues with reselling like this is that it’s ridiculously unfair on behalf of the people that genuinely wanted and missed out on the record thats being sold for twice the original price. Not everyone is in the position or is willing to pay £50 for a £25 LP on vinyl. Another reason I’m against the resale of vinyl is because as a music production graduate I realise the amount of work that goes into these records and the fact that producers, mastering engineers, mixing engineers, as well as many other people in the chain of people that help create an album. My point being that there’re a lot of people who worked their asses off creating a body of work for people to enjoy, maybe they deserve/need the extra money.

Ticket touting is a similar topic which angers me. A friend of mine wanted to see Adele but missed out on pre sale tickets and then general tickets as they were in such high demand. Minutes after the shows sold out the tickets were up on tout websites. The same issue arose with Catfish and the bottlemen, Hozier and The 1975- in short tours that have been highly anticipated for a while. Now, i’m by no means bashing the people who perhaps booked one ticket too many or had to cancel last minute, therefore reselling for either face value or a couple of pounds more. The people who buy huge quantities of tickets with the intention to sell them for twice the original price are the people that make me unbelievably angry. Not only is it unfair for fans who genuinely want to see their favourite band live who generally, if i’m going to generalise are teenagers living off of their parents or college/university students with a limited amount of money to spend on nights out. It’s unfair on the bands themselves because in theory a gig may be sold out of tickets but the room may not be full if nobody can afford the touted tickets which would result in a very gloomy gig.

If there was a way of taxing ticket touts that resell their tickets over face value prices so that a considerable portion of the profit goes back to the band maybe there would be some more equality in touting; for the bands at least… For the fans, tickets will always be a battle; for the hyped up popular bands at least and as for vinyl and ebay’d music collectables in general, be prepared to spend a stupid amount of money on the L.P you want if you’re desperate but maybe the best tactic is to boycott the extortionate sellers in the hope they’ll get the hint.

[the-octc]

L.A Dualize review

L.A are a band from Mallorca that I've recently discovered and regarding this album; I'm pretty late as it was released in 2013 however it's so good that I had to review it! L.A are an interesting mix musically. At time's they're reminiscent of The Fray, the mixture of anthemic guitar solos and acoustic piano in the song 'After all' which begins simply with vocals and a semi acoustic guitar that gradually builds into a louder ensemble including lead electric guitar, synths and a strong percussion section before ending in a mellow outro. Another great song is 'In the Meadow' which has a more jagged guitar rhythm yet is very retro and seductive making the song sound like a perfect soundtrack to the end of a romantic comedy or a TV series's based sometime in the 60's. In the best way possible. Songs like 'Rebel' and 'Under Radar' have a certain air about them that to my ears, sounds like a R.E.M song with elements of Elbow. The tin can vocal adds a distinct texture to a number of L.A' song's exaggerating the Motown esqe sound of their vocalists voice which is compatible to The Fratellis singer, Jon Fratelli. A great example of this is in L.A' song 'Outside' which is very much an indie rock song with its where The Fratellis' comparison will make the most sense. These songs can be found on the album "Dualize" on Spotify. Or better yet, go and buy it! Twitter: @ LAtheband ITunes: Dualize (Bonus Track Version) by L.A. https://itun.es/gb/twbLL

[the-octc]

Album review: Seafret-Tell me It's real

Seafret's debut album "Tell me it's real" released on the 29th of January 2016 has been one of the albums I couldn't wait to listen to. The Bridlington duo have been touring a lot over the past years and gaining attention from media through their song wildfire appearing in 2012 film The Last Ride. They've toured with Jake Bugg, Kodaline and Hozier to name a few as well as headlining their own shows and tours. Tell me it's real is a acoustic album that borders on folk at times and features a few ballads. Jack Sedmans powerful voice hitting each note with unfaltering precision in ever song all the while leaving the songs full of emotion. Accompanied by Harry Draper on acoustic guitar using hybrid picking or using a less technical term, twiddly guitar. The overall sound is one of acoustic ballads, often about lost love or love found alongside some observations. If you like Damien Rice or Rhodes there's a good chance you'll love Seafret. Personally my favourite tracks of the album are Breath, Atlantis and Wildfire. I particularly love Atlantis the most as it has some sort of subtle grandeur, partly down to the strings which lean more towards a cinematic sound rather than romantic. Debut album, Tell me it's real is a 10/10 Live: Seafret are one of the best live acts I've ever seen and you should definitely go and see them at a show if you can!

[the-octc]

Wyvern Lingo: Letter To Willow review

Wyvern Lingo are an Irish girl band. The trio have been touring with hozier over the past three years and singer Karen Cowley features on Hozier's song "In a Week". https://soundcloud.com/wyvernlingo/wyvern-lingo-letter-to-willow Wyvern Lingo's new single, 'Letter to Willow' has a range of influences, Jab's of electric guitar add a disco song whilst the keys and synths are reminiscent of Alt J and in the into, Robbie Williams' song Candy- although in a more refined subtle way which helps to build into the verse's. Caoide Barra provides the percussion as well as lead vocals; rhythmical I feel as if this song is heavily influenced by R&B as well as disco which is possibly why it's such a catchy tune. In contrast one of their first releases, 'Used' is an accapella song with a few bass notes from a organ in the background close to the end of the song. However one thing that hasn't changed is the flawless harmonies of this band. You can catch Wyvern Lingo live in March and April in Ireland in Dublin at The Button Factory, Cyprus Avenue in Cork and The Rosin Dubh in Galway.

[the-octc]

Live Music- can we make it more accessible

Was Glasgow’s Able2UK show a success…. Yes, yes it was. Hozier, Kodaline and Prides played to a crowed which accommodated a larger amount of people with disabilities due to larger raised platforms as well as other factors that improved accessibility to the show on a number of levels. A step in the right direction as usually, mainly in older venues the space for extra platforms and seating is very limited.

Having had a friend who was wheelchair bound for a number of years and who now struggles a bit with standing constantly for a long time I realise how important raising awareness for lovers of music who struggle at gigs.

However that being said the organisers of the Able2UK show have admitted that realistically having an accessible section as large as they had at the O2 Academy is unrealistic for everyone. As it was for charity the acts only received travel expenses and the venue didn’t take any money; however neither would’ve broken even if they had been payed. Due to platforms and other measures to make the show more assessable the capacity was reduced and tickets were priced higher than normal because of what I’m assuming was the law of ‘supply and demand’ perhaps…

Now this wasn’t a profit event but this does highlight what seems to be a catch 22. Give people with disabilities more accessibility to live shows at the cost of the band, venue, promotor etc… or keep it as it is with a limited amount of space and near constant situations of bands breaking even or profiting. Neither is ideal.

To me it seems that there needs to be an allotted percentage per venue (size dependent) of ticket sales that should be available first for those with disabilities. For example a 1000 capacity venue may have 100-200 tickets that’re released and only available at first to those with disabilities; then closer to the date of the show any remaining tickets become available for everyone. This way it would be possible to allocate a larger section of the seated or raised areas in venues to those who need to be there meaning that it’s a fairer system. Yes, everyone has the right to decide to sit BUT not everyone has the option of standing.

This article is mainly focussing on those who are physically disabled; wheelchair users, amputees etc…. However there’re also people who have learning disabilities, deafness or other non physical disabilities that struggle to go to gigs. Examples of this are people with HFA or Aspergers Syndrome which can cause sensory overload which can be caused by either too many people surrounding the person or too much noise both of which are common place at gigs. I personal have first hand experience of this as I have Aspergers and large crowds used to really overwhelm me to the point of having a meltdown, often having to leave due to too many different sounds becoming overwhelming. However I've managed to get over that problem by just getting used to it over time; sadly not everyone can though..... As well as Aspergers there’re conditions like SID and Chronic fatigue syndrome can cause physical and mental tiredness (CFS) and SID which can cause physical clumsiness as well as difficulties processing different senses.

So the measures venues are trying to make will benefit a lot of people. The simple pleasure of going to a gig should be a choice everyone can have the option of. However there’s still a lot of work needed so that gigs are assessable to everyone as well as working for the venues, promotors and bands on a monetary level.

Feel free to comment your thoughts about how venues could improve accessibility to those with dissidents and any thoughts on how to make it work for everyone

[the-octc]

Dublin: Ruby Sessions

The Ruby Sessions. Dublin's weekly acoustic night held in Doyles in the city centre since 1999. My first time visiting the Ruby Sessions was on the 15th December '15; the last one of the year. Warned by friends to go down early due to it being popular and a pay on the door event I headed into town at four as I was supposed to meet a friend. However they rang me as I got there to tell me they were sick so could no longer come. So I had a choice; go alone or go home. Believe me, I was delighted that I chose to go.

I was one of the last people to get in and it was packed out, possibly due to the events social media pages saying that there would be 'special guests' which was saying something as the sessions have already had acts such as Hozier, Ed Sheeran, Damien Rice and Glen Hansard play.

The first act on was Triona; a singer songwriter that has supported Van Morrison on tour. It was just her, her voice and an acoustic guitar and it was incredible. If you like singer songwriters like Orla Gartland and Hozier, who is one of her influences you're almost guaranteed to like her songs.

Next up was Little Hours, hailing from Co.Donegal they're a mixture of acoustic piano and guitar accompanied by flawless harmonies. Fresh off of the Kodaline U.K and Ireland tour they are the perfect soundtrack to sitting in front of a fire with a drink and your thoughts- in a good way!

Now before this turns into a extremely long review I'm going to get straight to my three highlights. Gavin James, Hudson Taylor and a few fractions of bands.

The core of Hudson Taylor is two brothers, Alfie and Harry, accompanied by Tadgh the bands violinist and Óisín on keys. Introduced by Conor, one of the events organisers as "the duo that won't leave us alone" okay, maybe that isn't what he said word for word but it's very close- Hudson Taylor played at the first night of the year they were also playing the final one too.

After playing a couple of their own songs they paused, talked to the crowd for a bit and invited up Gabrielle Aplin who's voice many will recognise from the 2012 John Lewis Christmas advert featuring her cover of 'The power of love'.

Together they covered a Joni Mitchell song combining all their vocal talents to create a truly amazing cover. A few songs later they finished and on came the second to last headliner Danny O'Riley; lead singer of the coronas and son of Irish singer Mary Black.

He started by talking to the crowd whilst tuning his guitar, he told the audience how nervous he was as it was the first time in a while he'd played on his own outside of The Coronas. His set went down exceptionally well, a newly married couple were telling him how they played one of his songs for their first dance which resulted in a lot of cheers and Danny dedicating the song in question.

Following this set up after the crowds reaction to Danny was no mean feat but was achieved by Gavin James who invited Mark Prendergast- Kodaline's guitarist and Tadgh, Hudson Taylor's violinist on stage to play a rendition of Kodaline's song 'All I Want' which had every member of the crowd singing along as loud as they possibly could. Gavin followed up with his song and debut album namesake, Bitter Pill. A bittersweet song about a forgotten love that is brought alive by Gavin's flawless falsetto.

Finally the show finished up with all the musicians joining Gavin on the tiny stage, almost falling off at times to play a bombastic version of the legendary Irish Christmas song 'Fairytale of New York'. In case you're wondering the crowd sang every word and could've fooled the bar below that there was a stadium upstairs.

Would I recommend The Ruby Sessions? Yes, at €6 on the door it's affordable and all profit goes to the Dublin Simon community so you're having a great night out enjoying yourself whilst helping people in need out. It's a win win.

Why? Because even if the lineup isn't as great as this one you're sure to find a musical gem due to there being so many acts. It's cheap, intimate and there's the odd special guest every now and then.

Any cons? The only con I can think of is having to queue to get in. But seriously, it's worth the wait. Seeing bands and artists play in such an intimate space is rare and an audience that's so attentive is also rare. It's all about the music, a muso's perfect night out!

http://www.rubysessions.com

https://www.facebook.com/therubysessions

[the-octc]

Kodaline review Manchester December 2015

Kodaline are a band that, over the past 3 years have been growing at a rapid, yet steady rate. Their most well known song "All I want" has featured in the hit U.S series greys anatomy as well as the vampire diaries which has only expanded their audience further. Currently they are touring the U.K and Ireland, after completing an huge U.S and Canadian tour in September/October. I have been lucky enough to see them a number of times and places on their Uk tour so far and as always, each city has its own uniqueness'. Their first show of their tour was in the main room at The O2 academy Birmingham; although not completely sold out the room was 98% full according to Singer Steve Garrigan who I met after the show. Back in the early days Kodaline, although hailing from Dublin and it's surrounding counties, were based in Birmingham. The crowd was constantly in battle with the volume of the band' P.A system and at times were louder, notably when Kodaline started to play 'High Hopes' and 'All I want' as well as catchy pop folk ballad 'Love like this' which has been given a musical facelift as it now has a slightly different transition from the song preceding it which is a song called 'the one' written for the bands sound engineer's wedding. This slight change is a fantastic addition to their set and is a nice change, as well as being appealing to anyone that's seen the band live before on Previous tours. Between their debut e.p-released in 2012 and their sophomore album "Coming up for air" kodaline's live setlist has changed minimally- constant songs include all I want, love like this and all comes down, as well as high hopes. Apart from those, songs have been filtered from all e.p's and both albums to create a live set of songs that represent Kodaline as the well rounded band they are. Lead guitarist Mark Prendergast has more room to play now; and no, I'm not just on about the growing size of the stages they play. The second album has a lot more material that contains guitar solos, notably the opening song 'Ready' and songs like 'lost' as well as the old favourites high hopes and all I want. It's great seeing this as the energy behind it is infectious which is where a lot of the bands charm comes from. Drummer Vinny May and Keyboard and Synth player Dave Prendergast who's also a member of Overhead the Albatross and Dublin Rap/Hip hop group Lethal Dialect are sadly more absorbed by their instruments to really do that much in terms of getting the crowd moving, although they're both brilliant instrumentalists. Bassist; Jason Boland is one of the main drivers behind persuading the crowd to join in with songs and has it down to a fine art; however like most frontmen Steve Garrigan is the biggest driver in this field, talking every now as then between songs and receiving huge cheers from the audience made up predominantly of teenage girls. However, that said they're also attracting a large amount of 23+ year olds which helps keep them out of the 'boyband' bracket; not that I think they fall into it, being a band of musicians and writers and the average age being 25/26 putting them a good six or Seven years outside the age you'd expect a boyband to collectively be. As a rating for their Birmingham show I'd give them a 9/10 for the overall show deducting one point over lighting being very harsh which could be problematic for some people- the same reason as I down rated the 1975. However I will say Manchester was a solid 10/10 because not only was the crowd spectacular but there're NEW LIGHTS! I'm not going to say too much in case I ruin the surprise but let's just say they're amazing! Overall Kodaline are a extremely well rounded live band and know how to put on a extremely well polished show.

[the-octc]

The 1975 Southampton Cc: Cara Moulton Please don't remove watermark and ask/credit if you want to repost either of them....

[strngeloves-deactivated20160211]

get to know me meme || [2/5] musicians/bands →  BØRNS

I also do like mystery, I’m kind of a private person in that regard, but I also like it when people have to figure it out – it gives the listener something a little more exciting. I really like that people are like ‘I don’t know if it’s a band, is it a guy, is it a girl?’ I think that’s cool.