Morrissey 3Arena ★★★★★ “This is not an hallucination,” Morrissey tells us, in case we were wondering, and yet tonight does seem strangely chimeric. In modern music, Morrissey remains something of an anomaly, perhaps because he remains so firmly himself; “in my own strange way, I’ve always been true to you” he sings on the brilliant … Read more
Tyler, the Creator 3Arena, Dublin ★★★★☆ Long before Kneecap were drawing the wrath of the British establishment, Tyler, the Creator had a claim to the title of most controversial name in rap. Lyrics strewn with apparently homophobic and misogynistic remarks earned him a ban from the UK government in 2015 on the grounds that he … Read more
Bryan Adams 3Arena, Dublin ★★★★☆ The band drops out and Keith Scott, Bryan Adams’s guitar man since 1976, plays that four-chord riff at the centre of Run To You, instantly transporting the majority of his audience back to stonewashed denim, school dances and early amorous fumbles. Reckless, the album Adams released in 1984 on his … Read more
Tate McRae 3Arena, Dublin ★★★★☆ The popular phrase “the girls, gays and theys” may not be one that appears in The Irish Times all that often, but it is essential when writing about the audience at the first of two nights of Tate McRae’s 3Arena shows. Even if you haven’t heard of this Canadian singer-songwriter … Read more
David Gray 3Arena ★★★★☆ The first time that David Gray played this building in 1999 – then known as the Point Theatre – he was riding the crest of a tsunami that the wondrous White Ladder had generated; a slow submergence of Irish shores that soon became a tidal wave of success globally. Dublin gigs … Read more
Ricky Gervais 3Arena, Dublin ★★☆☆☆ Mortality, Ricky Gervais says, is his most honest and confessional show to date. It suggests a step in a new direction, but this is a set that fits neatly into the comic’s growing catalogue of highly profitable, easily criticisable Netflix specials. As support act Sean McLoughlin acknowledges early in the … Read more
Comedian and broadcaster Mario Rosenstock. Photo: Gerry Mooney There are many things about Irish life that annoy Mario Rosenstock, but among his pet peeves is the wave of property and cooking shows that litter the TV schedules. The impressionist finds it “extraordinary” that RTÉ gives so much time to such shows, considering the current mood, … Read more
Paul Heaton 3Arena, Dublin ★★★★☆ “This is a song that makes me equally nervous and proud because I don’t want to sing it incorrectly,” Paul Heaton says about halfway into his 3Arena set, before easing into I’ll Sail This Ship Alone. His diffidence, 35 years on from the song’s release, is understandable but misplaced. The … Read more
She has performed for the Pope, but her proudest achievement is her five-year-old Ógie Soprano Sharon Lyons is juggling her many singing groups with performing and musical direction. Photo: Don MacMonagle In 2018, to the surprise of her loved ones – and even herself – soprano Sharon Lyons put her Dublin apartment up for sale, … Read more
Gracie Abrams 3Arena, Dublin ★★★★☆ Despite descending from Hollywood greatness, Gracie Abrams – daughter of the film-maker JJ Abrams – achieves a level of relatability and emotional candour with her lyrics that would convince even the grumpiest of cynics of her girl-next-door appeal. “Welcome to my bedroom,” the beaming 25-year-old tells the gaggle of young … Read more