I used to be a scrubber.

My very first job, as a teenager, was washing dishes in a hotel kitchen. It was not glamourous work. In fact you could describe it with whatever adjective is the opposite of glamourous. Fetid? Sordid? Some word like that. Working in a boiling kitchen, in the height of the summer, with low-paid, stressed out colleagues was character building. Continue reading Hotel memories →

After the gruelling toil of single-handedly making a Christmas dinner for eight people (three of whom are vegetarian), I felt like I deserved a break. Honey-glazing an uncooked ham, roasting a turkey, kneading a potato stuffing, boiling vegetables, making gravy, mashing spuds, creating pastry for mince pies can take it out of you. Continue reading Pitch Perfect: The 3 pubs of Limerick →

Every evening I arrive in town, after my trek from the wastelands. I alight at O’Connell Street – the nation’s main thoroughfare – which is suddenly looking lovely, after the removal of the tram works and the festive decorations bedazzling the street. When the weather is mild I will take a left on North Earl Street and wander down Talbot Street on my way home. The denizens of Talbot Street are an eclectic mix – from tourist, to shopper, to office worker, to street entrepreneur. The main trade done by the latter, is the buying, selling and consumption of illegal substances – blueys and yellows in the main. These fine ladies and gentleman of industry are not the focus of today’s blog however. That dubious honour goes to the beggar-woman of North Earl Street. Continue reading The beggar-woman of North Earl Street, and my dilemma →

As the end of the year approaches, I am getting a touch obsessive compulsive, and making lot of lists. No practical lists involving gifts, or household appliances, or ingredients for extravagant dishes that I will daydream about making, before buying the ready made version. Those lists are scary. My lists involve more pleasant subjects. Books that I have read in 2017. Plays that I have attended. Concerts that I have been to.

I will post about the others soon. But for today’s blog, my focus shall be on the live music I have witnessed this year.

Why bother you may ask? Well why not? These are memories that will inevitably fade over time. If I have made a written record of the experiences then it creates a stamp of reality for them.

So avid readers of this blog (my audience may be a select number but all are choice cuts of human loveliness); in chronological order here is my live music record for 2017.

1. Panti – March 25th, Ballymaloe Grain Store, Cork. Not exactly a concert – more a one man, stand up show. For the purposes of this blog I am including it in this post. My take on it is HERE. )

2. Lindsey Stirling – April 5th, Vicar Street, Dublin. My atheist awakening at a free concert (See HERE.)

3. ‘A night in the key of 8’ – April 23rd, Olympia Theatre, Dublin. A benefit gig to raise funds for the campaign to repeal the 8th amendment to the Irish constitution, which bans abortion. Interesting line-up HERE.

4. The Cranberries – May 18th, Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin. A spot of hometown glory and nostalgia with my old school friends. Hope they return again – my story is HERE

5. Fleet Foxes – July 13th, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin. The start of my summer holidays and a most wonderful weekend (as told HERE. )

6. Limerick Pride – July 14th, Dolans’ Warehouse, Limerick. Not a gig per se. But as live music was involved I am including it. A glorious experience detailed HERE.

7. Hothouse Flowers – August 12th, Ballymaloe Grainstore, Cork. No account has been written of this gig. That’s not like me. Enjoyed it very much though.

8. Manchester Pride – August 26th, a car park, Manchester. Not exactly a gig – more of a weekend away, Melanie C of the Spice Girls played a ninety minute set however, so that counts as a concert – despite not having bought a ticket specifically for it. Read about it HERE

9. Pet Shop Boys – September 6th, Bord Gais Energy Theatre. A most wonderful show – described HERE. )

10. Red Hot Chili Peppers – September 21st, The 3 Arena, Dublin. Despite the years’ long wait between ticket purchase and event, and the subsequent expectation, this was a disappointment. Read all about it HERE

11. Alison Moyet – October 28th, Olympia Theatre, Dublin. The concert of the year. Absolutely loved this gig. Adore the venue. My account of it is HERE

12. Kathy Griffin – November 8th, Vicar Street, Dublin. Stand up show by the fainting American – read all about it HERE. )

13. Steps – November 13th, 3 Arena, Dublin. While Alison Moyet gave my favourite concert of the year, I engaged in a touch of gay hyperbole by declaring THIS show, ‘the most electrifying night in the history of showbusiness.’ Continue reading Live Nation →