It’s Business Time - an evening with Flight of the Conchords

Guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk music fans were treated to a fantastic night’s entertainment this week as Flight of the Conchords took to the stage at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. Of course, a gig wouldn’t be a truly good gig unless there was a story to tell, so Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokul, kindly stepped up to the plate and once more spread a plume of volcanic ash into the sky, resulting in Irish airspace being closed. This did not deter the Conchords though; they made it to Dublin on a bus. Troopers. Our very own David O’Doherty, who had just returned from Australia, supported Flight of the Conchords. O’Doherty combined dryly sarcastic comments about the every day and the mundane with tunes played on his miniature keyboard. He well and truly warmed the audience up with his self-deprecating comments about his French trousers and his observations about the rage levels of passengers who … There’s more

Competition Closed: Powderfinger’s last gig in Ireland

*** Competition Closed *** *** Congratulations to Ruth O’Riordan and Laetitia Hyver *** *** Thank you to all those who emailed in *** This is a bit of a special one for music fans. Powderfinger, the legendary Australian band, are playing their farewell tour this year and are stopping in to Dublin’s Vicar St on Monday, May 31st (tickets here). They’ve been together for 21 years and released a total of seven studio albums, the last of which, ‘Golden Rule’, debuted at Number 1 in the ARIA chart. The band have been involved in a number of philanthropic efforts throughout their career including a 2005 concert in Sydney, to help raise funds for areas affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. We’ve got a pair of tickets for the gig on the 31st. All you have to do to win is tell us which year the band formed. Email that … There’s more

Review: Doves - The Places Between

Doves have sold over two million records worldwide and have reached the top of the British album charts on two occasions but you could be forgiven for not knowing too much about them. In an industry where subtle seems to be a dirty word Jim Goodwin, Jez Williams and Andy Williams have been happy to do things their own way, accepting success when it comes but not letting it change what they do or how they work. Doves first emerged in 1998 with the release of the Cedar EP. Two further EPs followed before they signed to the London based label Heavenly Records. Debut album, Lost Souls, was released in 2000 and was subsequently nominated for the Mercury Prize. In 2002 they released their second album, The Last Broadcast, which reached number one in the U.K. album charts. Some Cities repeated this success in 2005. Their fourth album, Kingdom of … There’s more