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Machine Gun Baby (MGB) – “For the one’s we knew” EP - review

So, Machine Gun Baby (MGB) are a new up & coming unsigned rock & roll band from Portmarnock, in Dublin’s North side. Formed in 2007 by brothers Stewart & Mark Keegan, Shane Ryan & Tony King, their debut EP “For the one’s we knew” is released Friday 04^th Feb. They are being compared to the likes of U2 (for obvious reasons) Snow Patrol, The Frames, Springsteen & Kings of Leon. Caleb Followill comes to mind on the repeat of “it’s rock & roll” on the lazily titled “Track 8”. MGB were even compared to Coldplay which is a little unfair as these lads have a bit more life to them, not as monotonous & distant. Like most bands’ debut release the first half of “For the one’s we knew” is a lot better than the second. “Judgment Day” & “Track 8” are quality tunes & certainly would not sound out of place on daytime radio. I like the inclusion of “On the fence” which is a live track with acoustic guitars drawing you into a heavy ending. Sign of a band comfortable with both their live sound & studio sound. The MGB sound is a lot more mature than you would expect for lads so young. Excellent stuff,  looking forward to seeing what the future brings.

Catch their EP launch in The Grand Social (formally Pravda), Lower Life Street, Dublin 1 at 8.30pm

Track listing:

1.       Judgment Day 3.45

2.       Track 8 3.54

3.       On the fence 2.58

4.       The Rescue 3.56

Verdict: 7/10

Kings of Leon O2 Dublin Sat 11th Dec 2010 - review

Kings of Leon

 The O2 Dublin, Sat 11^th Dec 2010  

 Quite possibly my gig of the 2010 – support on the night came from a little unheard-of band called The Whigs who surprised a lot. They were probably one of the best support bands seen in a while, plenty of energy, a very well tied-in 3 piece. Hailing from Athens, Georgia their sound was quite reminiscent to Monster days R.E.M, a band who are also from the same city. They have recently announced their own headline show at The Acadamy Dublin on 1st March 2011.

 Saw Kings of Leon in Oxegen some years back and I wasn't overly impressed, their sound wasn't the best, which maybe wasn't their own fault, it was quite washy - but on this pretty chilly & slushy Saturday night it was much improved, they fairly kicked ass and proved their worth as a stadium band. There was not much in the way of crowd interaction, no messing around, just the band belting out the tunes & enjoying every second. The setlist was very much concentrating on their Only By The Night album which is a little unfortunate since the new album  is stronger & much more complete. Perhaps they are messing around with their setlist at the moment, trying to get comfortable playing Come Around Sundown. They'll more than likely have it sorted for Slane.

LB, 8/10

Setlist:

Radioactive
Crawl
Mollys Chambers
Fans
Mary
Arizona
The Immortals
Notion
The End
No Money
Four Kicks
Pyro
On Call
Birthday
Back Down South
Manhattan
Knocked Up
Use Somebody

Encore:

Closer
Sex On Fire
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