Event Reviews

The major rock and metal festivals and events …reviewed

Alter Bridge. Olympia Theatre, Dublin. 20/6/2017

Tuesday night’s show at the Olympia Theatre was the very first show Alter Bridge have ever played in Ireland.  The fact this show sold out and the band announced a return in October proves how long awaited their arrival to these shores has been, and just how popular they’ve become. …

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Download 2017 – Sunday

Brutai had the job of opening the Dogtooth stage today.  Playing Download for the first time, they showed no sign of nerves and put in an excellent performance to get the day off to a great start.  They are always good live, but they’ve excelled themselves here at Download. It …

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Download 2017 – Saturday

Irish band Dead Label kicked off proceedings on the Dogtooth stage.  I last saw them at Bloodstock two years ago and was impressed by them then, and they’ve improved further in the last two years.  They look to be having a great time on stage and they’ve drawn a good …

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Download 2017 – Friday

After negotiating the queues and thorough security checks and finally making it into the arena, I headed straight over to stage 2, just in time to catch Blackwater Conspiracy.   I reviewed their new album recently and was blown away by how good it was, so I had high expectations for …

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Clutch – The Academy, Dublin. 15/6/2017.

After a days work, a bus that turned up late, an hour on the motorway and a sprint from the Quays I walked into The Academy literally two minutes before the funk of Chuck Brown’s ‘We Need Money’ heralded the arrival of Clutch onto stage.  The sold out crowd was in …

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Bearded Theory 2017 – Sunday

Goldblade are always fun to watch at Bearded Theory – their hyper-energetic frontman John Robb never stays on stage for long and predictably it’s not long before he jumps down and comes to the barrier to get up close with the fans as he sings.  He’s one of the best …

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Bearded Theory 2017 – Saturday

After enjoying Circus Insane yesterday I headed to the Convoy Cabaret tent early to catch their second show of the weekend.  Once again they packed the tent out.  As promised, this show was more insane and extreme than the previous day with highlights including a part of the act titled …

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Bearded Theory 2017 – Friday

Metal fans are familiar with Catton Hall, home to Bloodstock open air, but the site is also used for other events, the best of these being Bearded Theory festival at the end of May. The mix of bands is more diverse than most rock or metal festivals – it includes …

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KISS – O2 arena, London – 31st May 2017

First up tonight was The Dives, a New York band that includes Paul Stanley’s son. Knowing that, I didn’t have very high expectations, assuming cynically that they only got the slot due to the family connections, but in fact while the family connection almost certainly helped, the fact is that …

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The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal remains

From 13th May till 2nd October this year, the Victoria and Albert Museum (The V&A) will be running an exhibition dedicated to Pink Floyd.  The exhibition traces the history of the band from the beginning through their entire career up to the present. It’s a full multimedia experience so on …

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Metal 2 the Masses Bristol: Heats 5 and 6, 23/04/17

Awakening Hyperia. Ylem Darkul. MYST. Auraelis. Embodiment. Kikamora. Franklin Mint. Black Wasp. Above are the names of the eight bands who have successfully made the semi-finals of Bristol’s Metal 2 the Masses, the eventual winner going on to appear at Bloodstock Open Air Festival in August. Tonight sees the heats …

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Slaughter UK – Sound Control, Manchester: 14th April 2017

Easter is traditionally the Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. Easter 2017 saw the resurrection of Manchester band Slaughter UK for their launch gig at Sound Control, Manchester. Slaughter UK contains two original members of Slaughter and the Dogs and Edweena Banger (formerly Ed Garrity) who replaced frontman Wayne …

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