It had been quite some time since yours truly last descended the steps into the hallowed Mandela Hall… almost exactly 18 months in fact. And, as I stood outside the chilly Sunday night air awaiting my photographer, I could not help but note the eclectic nature of the hundreds of …
Read More »And So I Watch You From Afar – Belfast, Mandela Hall, 20/06/2015
Summer is here and, as usual, Northern Ireland’s weather just doesn’t know what to do with itself, one minute it’s like being in the Bahamas, the next the Heaven’s open up. This weekend in particular was a special one, with both Father’s Day and the Summer Solstice happening where thousands …
Read More »Alestorm – Belfast, Mandela Hall, 17/10/2014
According to historical records, pirates (at least in their commonly perceived historical incarnation) may have sailed into many ports but they never quite ventured as far north as Britain – and certainly never as far as the shores of what, at that time, would have been Carrickfergus Bay. However, British …
Read More »Sisters Of Mercy – Mandela Hall, Belfast – 8/07/2014
Having had the support act cancel last minute, and with the doors opening a good 2 hours before the headliners were due to go on stage, there was a buzz in the air of the gathering audience, no-one knowing quite what to expect. Finally the pulsating beat of ‘More’ thumped …
Read More »The Defiled + Glamour Of The Kill – Mandela Hall, Belfast – Friday September 13, 2013
All ages gigs, when you get to a certain ‘vintage’, can be weird affairs at best and uncomfortable ones at worst. It’s OK if you’ve got your own sprog to keep an eye on, but when you’re there on your ownsome merely to observe the proceedings on stage, it can …
Read More »The Defiled/Glamour Of The Kill – Mandela Hall – 13-09-13
A selection of photographs from The Defiled\Glamour Of The Kill gig in Mandela Hal, Belfast Photographs by Paul Verner www.livei.co.uk
Read More »Enter Shikari – Mandela Hall, Belfast – April 30th 2013
A few weeks back, one of PM’s young buck recruits took it upon his fanboy self to pop along to the end of a pier somewhere on the English coast and review his favourite band, metalcore/dubstep crossover wunderkinds Enter Shikari (http://planetmosh.com/enter-shikari-grand-pier-weston-super-mare-10th-april-2013/). Nowt wrong with that, you might say – and …
Read More »Enter Shikari + Support – Photo Gallery – Belfast – 30th April 2013
A collection of photographs of Enter Shikari’s show in the Mandela Hall, Belfast. Support from Hacktivist and Wounds. http://www.entershikari.com/ http://hacktivist.uk.com/ http://www.woundsband.com/ Photographs by Marc Leach Photography – http://www.facebook.com/officialmarcleachphotography %%wppa%% %%cover=593%%
Read More »Asking Alexandria + While She Sleeps + Motionless In White @ Mandela Hall, Belfast – Wednesday January 16th 2013
Gigs like this make me feel decidedly old. As I stand on the balcony looking out over the basement venue, the floor below me is a seething mass of pre-pubescent bodies, each and every one of them, without exception, younger than my own daughter… behind me, the bar staff are …
Read More »Ministry – Mandela Hall, Belfast 17 July 2012
The irony was not lost on many present. It was two days short of being exactly four years since industrial metal titans Ministry had played what frontman Al Jourgensen had insisted would be the band’s “last ever” live show – just 100 miles down the road in the Irish capital …
Read More »Biff Byford audio interview
I was lucky enough to catch up with Biff Byford of metal titans Saxon just before they embarked on the second part of their “Call to Arms” world tour which sees them returning to the UK for a string of shows in December. Saxons UK Shows: Tuesday 13th of December – Oxford …
Read More »