Dead School

Ever the groupie I recently headed to Dead School's gig in The Bowery Cork as the play support to The Minutes. Dead School are James McDonald (guitar/vocals), Cathal Maher (guitar/keys), Dominic Kelly (guitar) and Derek Kelly (drums). Theirs is a sound of intense passion and daring energy, a sound that takes hold of the crowd but more importantly lingers in your mind and ears long after their tour van departs. A fierce frenzy of energy and rhythm that makes your bones scream and your limbs flail in time to their heavy sound.


Dead School have announced an Academy 2 show for July 14th. Tickets are priced at €8.00 incl. Booking fee on sale from Ticketmaster or you can try your chances at winning tickets over at Oxygen.ie!

Laura Marling

Last night a saw the talented Laura Marling play The Pavillion. This lady of folk melodies and stark poetic lyricism provided a powerful and compelling performance peppered with playful humour and disquieting sensitivity. She also wore beautiful red loafers.Her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim and her second album I Speak Because I Can were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2008 and 2010 respectively where she won Best Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards.

Blau x

Hot Press Jägermeister Freezer Sessions

Dead School.

One of the freshest bands on the Irish scene, Cork based Dead School are a four piece alternative rock band that is creating a stir on the local scene. Dead School was formed in August and comprises of Donal McDonald (vocals/percussion), James McDonald (guitar/drums /vocals), Cathal Maher (guitar/drums /keys) and Ruairi Dale (bass). Having spent an intense few months holed up in various flats and practice rooms writing songs and honing their sound they are proving themselves as genuine talent. Speaking about the night Donal McDonald had the following words to say "heaviosity reigned,  Jägermeister flowed, the crowd sweated."

Bipolar Empire and The Shoos.
 Bipolar Empire;Their stylistic folk infused rock’n’roll, delivered with genuine raw passion and boundless energy, began to draw the attention of young music connoisseurs and as the live shows developed into a tighter, more intense experience, so the Bipolar Empire fanbase began to blossom.


The Shoos;“I had a solo thing going on but my guitar-playing was terrible so I asked Barry to come and do a gig with me,” explains Texas, The Shoos’ lead singer who’s blessed with a full-bodied blues growl redolent of both Joe Cocker and John Fogarty in his Creedence Clearwater Revival prime. "Then another friend of ours, Steve, joined in on bass, which made his brother Scott feel left out so in order to be in the band he learned the drums! People assume there was a masterplan, but it was just pure luck that we got together and realised, ‘hey, something special’s going on here!"Collective identity settled on – “Scott has a bit of a stiletto fetish and we also liked the fact that ‘shoo’ is another way of saying ‘clear off’”, adds Texas.

Fight Like Apes.
 The great misfit band Fight Like Apes tore The Pavillion  to pieces with their energetic and feisty performance. MayKay is one of two of the more gregarious members of the band, the other being Jamie “Pockets” Fox. Their set was punctuated with battles and crowd surfing and the stage decorated with a mannequin presented to the band earlier that day by Galway man Richard Russell.

Blau x

Photography by Blau von T

Slane '11

6.30am wake-up call. 8am drive from Cork to Slane. 80,000 people. The Whigs. Mona. White Lies. Thin Lizzy. Elbow. Kings of Leon. Wellies. Noodles. Beer. Fireworks. Friends.

Blau x

Ghostpoet at Stag and Dagger, London

Enthrawlling the crowd at 93 Feet East was the highly tipped musical contender for 2011; Ghostpoet. Obaro 'Ghostpoet' Ejimiwe a self-dubbed 'lad with a lisp with some stories to tell' provides sharp streams of consciousness with a catch-me-if-you-can rhythms and provoking percussion. This rising prince of experimental hip hop proved to the audience that his showmanship is equal to his wordcraft. If you havn't checked him out yet, do it now!

Blau x

Ticket Stubs.

Looking through my box of ticket stubs and trying to recall what bands I've seen live...(same against my will)

Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Foo Fighters. The Who. Queens of The Stone Age. Kaiser Chiefs. Maximo Park. Placebo. Director. Patti Smith. PJ Harvey. The Strokes. Editors. Franz Ferdinand. James Brown. Kraftwerk. Grizzly Bear. Midlake. Camera Obscura. Manu Chao. Paolo Nutini. Bic Runga. Regina Specktor. Rodrigo y Gabriela. Brian Wilson. Jay-Z. Kanye West. Lady Gaga. BellX1. Villagers. Cathy Davey. One Day International. Frank and Walters. Sultans of Ping. The 5678s. Finley Quaye. James Taylor. Spiritulaized. Crystal Castles. Fleet Foxes. Babyshambles. Dirty Pretty Things. Fight Like Apes. Fun Loving Criminals. Chris Cunningham. MGMT. Madness. Beardyman. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. Florence and the Machine. Soulwax. Dark Room Notes. Box Cutter. 2 Many DJs. Four Tet. Basement Jaxx. LCD Soundsystem. Simian Mobile Disco. Backstreet Boys. E17.  OTT. The Carter Twins. Gary Numan. Air Traffic. Dead School. Echogram. The Coronas. The Republic of Loose. The Blizzards. Sandi Thom. The Marshalls. Aiden Grimshaw. The Revs. Rulers of The Planet. Hells Bells.

Blau x

Dead School

My attempt at gig photography; Dead School

 Click here to see what I wore to the gig,

Blau x

When Blau Met Aiden Grimshaw

I shall begin by coming out of my X-Factor closet and admit that I have been a fan of Aiden Grimshaw right from his first audition. I may even have thrown a little tantrum when he was voted out and I did yes boycott the show in protest for a few weeks but I missed Rebecca Fergusonand returned to the couch for Saturday night viewing. So Cork Student News were only delighted to send me along and review his Cork gig, perks of the job. When the man himself took to stage well I can begin to understand what Beatlemania felt like. A sea of excited ladies screamed to place down as the Ace Ventura flicked fellow stood before us mic in hand. We were treated to a collection of Aiden’s favourite songs and those he sand on the Xfactor. He sang live and he sang with his eyes as seemed almost transfixed by his own emotions. I got to meet Aiden after the show, complete with a peck on the cheek, and he told me that of the four Irish dates he had just played in Ireland that had been by far the best. I really hope Aiden’s fame lasts for more then fifteen minutes as he really is a magnificent artist and not at all as intense as they judges made out. In short, that Aiden Grimshaws's a lovely boy and if anyones interested he was wearing robot boxers.

Blau x