Gigs and Cons

  • Gigs and Cons

    Tegan and Sara live in Dublin 2017

    So this was a concert I decided on just because I could. I’ve known Tegan and Sara for a while at that time, but I hadn’t really listened to them. But then I got fascinated by their studio album Love You to Death and when I saw that they were coming to Dublin, I couldn’t miss them. It’s been four years since the concert, but certain moments just stuck in my head. Trump was elected President of the United States a few months earlier, and the girls commented on that (they are Canadian and against Trump and his ideologies) in a rather funny and hopeful way. At the same time,…

  • Gigs and Cons

    Live: How Anastacia changed my concerts' standards

    This time it is a real throwback, because Anastacia’s concert took place in May 2016. I decided to share with this old experience, because those photos have never seen the light and I now have a non-existent concert life boohoo me. If you cannot portrait me as a fan of Anastasia, you’re more or less right. In the days of her greatest glory, sometime at the beginning of the new millennium, I could not stand her. Not because of her character, but I couldn’t stand her voice and all her singles played on the radio 24/7 not to mention that she was simply driving me up the wall. So why…

  • Gigs and Cons

    Live: Marina shone in the Olympia Theatre

    British pop diva Marina visited Dublin last year as part of the Love + Fear tour. After all, as with her every tour (Ellie Goulding who?). Of course, I couldn’t miss the show, especially when I was so excited about her last record. I remember Marina sometime from 2010 (?) with the hit Primadonna Girl. But I never followed her career until last year, when I bumped onto the pilot single Handmade Heaven for the upcoming record on Spotify. The song was a completely different experience. I don’t even know why I pressed the play button, but the song immediately interested me. Pop elements gone, ballad, exaltation. Beauty. No wonder…

  • Gigs and Cons

    Live: Dermot Kennedy in pre-Christmas Dublin

    I had a very special Christmas last year – a day before Christmas Eve me and my mum went to a concert of an Irish singer songwriter Dermot Kennedy. I’ve been keeping an eye on Dermot for over two years since Moments Passed started playing on the radio. It was quite a production on the Irish music scene back at that time. I wanted to see him in May, but he only played at the Olympia Theater and even though it was three evenings in a row, he sold out all three of them. In the end I was glad, because it was also a Eurovision time and the year…

  • Gigs and Cons

    Live: Sigrid got the 3 arena moving

    The Norwegian pop princess has been on my concert bucket list since Strangers single. Sigrid has played in Ireland several times, but it was either in the middle of nowhere or in a sold out club. I have to admit that I bought the ticket for her 3 Arena concert sometime in the summer – long after this stop was announced. Well, I’m not going to bore you with the details, however before I melt over the gig, I just want to remind you that Sigrid released Sucker Punch in March and it’s pretty good. I think everyone can find something to relate to on that record. Oh and the…

  • Gigs and Cons

    How Wallis Bird's strong voice took over Vicar Street

    Hearing Wallis Bird name probably doesn’t ring any bells, however, that doesn’t change the fact that you should give her a chance. Wallis is an Irish singer-songwriter currently living in Berlin. She has released a new studio album Woman this year and to my delight announced an Irish leg of tour. Originally I was thinking about Dublin and Cork but then Sigrid announced a Dublin gig so I only went to Dublin. Wallis is an extraordinary artist from a small town Enniscorthy in County Wexford (southeast of Ireland). What is interesting about Wallis apart from her pop folk style is a fact that she is a left handed but she…

  • Gigs and Cons

    My first Irish music festival

    The first weekend in August I attended my first eco-friendly music festival. It was quite a new music festival in our County and I went as a Waterford Walls volunteer. All Together Now festival took a place for a first time last year in August and not only it was immediately sold out but it was such a success that the festival sold out this year too. Within minutes. That’s quite normal for Ireland to be honest (I don’t mind this when it comes to festivals but Adele 2016 ..). Anyways, thanks to my volunteering with Waterford Walls (technically, with The Walls Project which runs WW but I won’t get…

  • Alice Merton Dublin
    Gigs and Cons

    Alice Merton live in Dublin

    A gig I was looking forward to since the moment it was announced. Alice Merton is definitely not one hit wonder and this is my subjective rant about how wonderful she is (also Alice thirteen times differently, you’re welcome). Alice has British-German roots and she tingled our ears with a hit No Roots back in 2017. Apart from continental Europe (*cough*What Ireland?? *cough*) she managed to be heard in USA too. Good for her. My personal history with Alice started on 11th February 2017 (yup, my damn brain remembers shit like that) in a Berlin’s cute mini club called BiNuu where she was supporting my favorite German band I Heart…

  • Hayley Kiyoko Dublin
    Gigs and Cons

    Hayley Kiyoko live – twice in Dublin + photos

    To most of you Hayley Kiyoko won’t ring a bell, although she’s not a musician only. She appeared in Wizards of Waverly Place and Lemonade Mouth in the past. Despite her exotic name and appearance Hayley actually comes from California (yup, she got Japanese roots). Musically, you could’ve started to hear about her around 2017 when the first singles from her debut album Expectations have emerged. That’s when I started to listen to her music too. Last Autumn she toured around Europe but skipped Ireland during that time so I went to see her alongside with V. in Berlin. I have no shots from that gig ’cause LiveNation and mostly…

  • Jessie J Dublin
    Gigs and Cons

    Jessie J concert in Dublin (including photos)

    If anyone would have told me seven years ago, during Price Tag and Do It Like A Dude era that I will attend Jessie J gig, will have a total blast and all because of V., I wouldn’t have believed them a single word. Just so you understand – I didn’t consider myself a huge fan of Jessie J (I knew seven out of seventeen setlist songs .. also use of a past tense since the only videos I watch on YouTube these days is Jessie ..) plus V. wasn’t listening to radio seven years ago – you’d probably find her sitting somewhere with earphones in and blasting Die Happy…