The Goo 1
Editors Note JAN-FEB 23 JOHN BRERETON Contributor
s: Ethan Golding Norma Burke Paul McDermott Garry Baylon Cliodhna Ryan Niall McGuirk Oran O’Beirne Dan Hegarty Mick Herrity Nikki Raymond Lorna Brown Norma Burke Fearghal Curtis Greg Whelan Conor Farrell Craig McComish Ian Saul Paul Fitzpatrick Andrew Lambert Design & Layout: foxandmouse.ie Photography: Norma Burke Billy Cahill Alex Curran Illustration: Glenn Brown Editorial: John Brereton jb@hkm.ie Listings Editor: Christine O’Growney Listings: thegoolistings@gmail.com Sales: Stefan Hellenious sh@hkm.ie - 087 3271732 Kevin Gibbons kg@hkm.ie - 085 8697078 Published by: HKM Media, 73 Leeson St Lower, Dublin 2 Welcome to 2023 and it’s already shaping up to be an extremely busy year for gigs, festivals and clubs, in fact there are more listings in this issue than there were in December. The well established showcase for new and emerging acts in Whelans, Ones To Watch, which took place on the first weekend of the new year, had its busiest ever turn out, a fantastic achievement and a great buzz for all those young acts to play in front of packed rooms so early in their musical journeys. There’s no such thing as a quiet January any more! In this issue we feature The Murder Capital, a band who continue to go from strength to strength and have just released their superb second album Gigi’s Recovery. James McGovern’s voice is becoming a fine instrument as he digs deeper into what he can extract from what lies beneath (Im hearing echoes of the late, great Cathal Coughlan in his tones and delivery) and the initial concerns that the band were riding on the crest of the wave that swept Idles, Fontaines DC etc into public consciousness are now proving unfounded as they mature and settle into their own groove. Their homecoming gig in Vicar Street on February 26th should be quite the occasion. Clannad play their rescheduled Dublin farewell show in the 3Arena on the 18th of February and it’s sure to be a very emotional night. Following the death in October of founding member and guitarist, Noel Duggan, the band have decided to call it a day so we were delighted to catch up with them recently where they talked openly about Noel, their cultural legacy and the Irish language. The band have smashed through plenty of glass ceilings over their career and deserve the greatest respect for all they have achieved. Another artist who is pushing against his own boundaries is Joe Chester. The alazurus soul guitarist/producer taught himself how to play classical guitar over lockdown and has now emerged with a superb new instrumental album, Lucia, which ‘tells’ the tragic story of James Joyce’s daughter and the acts of vandalism and misogyny that followed on after her death. It’s a fascinating story and Joe’s music beautifully captures the fear, frustration, anger and hopelessness of her life and times. An action packed Temple Bar CLANNAD IN 1988. SIBLINGS CIARÁN, PÓL, AND MOYA BRENNAN WITH THEIR TWIN UNCLES, NOEL AND PÁDRAIG DUGGAN (BOTH DECEASED). INTERVIEW ON PAGE. 12. Tradfest returns in earnest after two years of pandemic interruption and it’s a beauty. Over 100 artists play over 85 events in 22 venues citywide and there’s something for everyone included in its packed program. We have picked out some of the highlights so get yer skates on and get out into the Festival buzz and see where it takes you. Enjoy! PAGE 3