The Goo 1
MAR '25 remembered it. And even all these years l
ater the band sounded like they haven’t aged a day, with Tim’s vocals and screams sounding crisper than ever and the rhythm of the guitar, bass and drum maintaining the punk loudness they started with 25 odd years ago. After a roaring encore the Chicago boys jumped back on stage and finished the set off with what is considered their most popular song, Savior, creating a melodic breakdown of the song before they departed from the 3Olympia stage. They apologised for the long absence in performing here and they promised to come back soon, to which I hope they stay true to their word as the night was one to never forget, with shivers still present days after the electric concert. Glasshouse Ensemble Perform Ryuichi Sakamoto – NCH - Des Traynor Having conquered the Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire, with multiple sold out dates, Glasshouse brought their new arrangements of work by the recently deceased Japanese musical legend Ryuichi Sakamoto to the Earlsfort Terrace venue. Wisely, they chose mostly Sakamoto’s more well-known instrumental and soundtrack compositions for the first part of their set. Because Sakamoto himself often rearranged his electronic pieces for classical contexts, his practice accords well with the Glasshouse model. But the performance steadily transitions from this slower, more thoughtful mood, to the sometimes anarchic synth-driven experimentalism of Sakamoto’s formative years with the Yellow Magic Orchestra, culminating in the raucous encore of ‘Thousand Knives/Rydee’. Arranger Aran O’Grady has done a marvellous job with the quieter elements of the show, while the entire ensemble – consisting of musical director Naoise Dack on viola, pianist Gillian Daly, Lucia McPartlin and Andrew Sheeran on violins, cello from Caitriona Finnegan, Luke Howard on keys and synths, a rhythm section of Dara Abdurahman on bass and Brendan Doherty on drums, and singer Dan McAuley, mesh as one unit when tackling the more complex tunes, such as ‘Solari’, ‘Germination – Technopolis’, ‘Tong Poo’, ‘Kimi Ni Mune Kyun’, ‘Andata’, ‘Behind the Mask’ and ‘Forbidden Colours’, some of which feature vocals. Don’t miss Glasshouse when they bring their take on the music of The Velvet Underground to The Sugar Club on March 23rd. The Next Big Thing - Workman’s Cellar - Lili Karrenberg For its latest edition, The Next Big Thing put on a smashing showcase for up-and-coming Irish artists, with Wednesday night being especially electric and fun. The downstairs venue presented a dreamy but loud evening of authentic shoegaze. Out of the haze of blue stage lights emerged the beautifully haunting vocals of Skyless singer Sophia, taking on the stage with an essence of brutal innocence, the softness of her voice a stark contrast against the background of wailing guitar sounds à la Cocteau Twins. Following up were established shoegazers DREAM BOY, who left the crowd swaying, eyes closed, fully immersed in the mystical soundscape of their songs. Front woman Allie Ryan’s emotional performance of the band’s latest single ‘bleed’ stood out especially among their noisy repertoire. Upstairs in the mainroom, and he, the fool brought on an entirely different vibe; The groovy seven-piece got everyone’s hips swinging in unison, with their funky cover of ‘Blue Monday’ being a highlight of their set. Closing the night with their big emotional anthems were Still Blue, the self-described ‘stupid sexy indie- pop’ four-piece. Songs like ‘Lace’ and ‘Fuzzy’ held the crowd in awe, whilst the band were all smiles on stage with lead singer Nicole Lyons jumping around, belting out their catchy lyrics seemingly effortlessly. An incredible last act for the evening, that found people dancing out of the venue into the night. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - The Olympia - David Carr It’s now 30 years since their 1995 debut album Methodone and with a near constant touring schedule and a library of 20 albums and 14 Ep’s you could certainly call them ubiquitous. The Brian Jonestown Massacre are a storied band. Their famed documentary Dig! Celebrates its 20th anniversary, though frontman Anton Newcombe won’t be joining in the festivities having always distanced himself from the release. They’ve survived numerous line-up changes, on stage brawls and in the case of Newcombe a recent heart scare. Confidently they open with a single B-side in 2023’s ‘Maybe Make It Right’ which perfectly demonstrates their swirling psych-dipped motorik rock. The band are a throwback in every sense. A series of rock haircuts and sunglasses, tambourines and maracas, Newcombe’s wide brimmed cowboy hat and duster and in this day and age an impractical number (seven) on stage…but what a sound. Given they toured the excellent The Future Is Your Past (2023), this show amounts to a greatest hits of sorts. Drawing from their full catalogue it means banger after banger ‘Vacuum Boots’, That Girl Suicide’, obviously the immense ‘Anenome’, (you get the idea) and refreshingly the latest entries ‘Do Rainbows Have Ends’ & ‘Fudge’ absolutely hold their own. Regrettably, the extended tuning sessions between tracks began to grate. Cleverly Newcombe eventually broached the subject, “Brian Jonestown Massacre, it’s like Guinness, you have to wait”. However, in a sold out venue an enthralled crowd lapped up every moment until the last embers of ‘Super - Sonic’ exited the speakers. 29