Before forging brightly into 2014, a note on the wondrous musical meanders I took last year…

The Olympia:

Lianne la Havas: Stunning set, gorgeous person, magical night…

Laura Mvula: Beautiful voice, terrifying carry-on, ordering first to shut up, then to dance, far too much of a diva for my delicate sensibilities…

Electric Picnic, 10th birthday:

Walking on Cars: Front row due to physical presence of younger cousin, belter of a gig, beautiful harmonies, hilarious deshabille allure…

Fatboy Slim: Eat Sleep Rave Repeat. Yes sir.

Jerry Fish and his Electric Sideshow: Wonderfully eccentric, highlight of the weekend, featuring beautiful sets by Cathy Davey and Mick Flannery (more on Mick later).

Arctic Monkeys: WOW. Starting with the stonkingly good Do I Wanna Know, achieved dizzying heights of coolness.

Franz Ferdinand: Massive comeback, have been unable to address my pal Mike without including “you’re dancing like a beautiful dance whore” ever since.

Josephine: Beautiful sweet voice, reprised her Other Voices 2012 magical presence.

Mo: Love. Simple really. Just adore.

The 1975: Had everybody dancing to Chocolate. Sweet like chocolate boy.

Chvrches: New favourite band, merging The XX and Ms Mr style grooves, The Mother we Share is a top notch tune.

Kodaline: Another Other Voices 2012 alumnus, played In a Perfect World on a perfect day in Stradbally, perfection all round.

Ellie Goulding: Owned it. Main Stage. She. OWNED. it.

Various:

Passenger: Beautiful gig, seriously dedicated fans, no talking for fear of lynching. Super acoustic set though..

Declan O’ Rourke: Great set in Coughlan’s, massive night afterwards in the Crane Lane with Hassey, Ian Doyle (the man whom), and Darren, Declan’s sound engineer, great men!

Walking on Cars: Great set in the New Bar in UCC, not as wild a crowd as usual, made for a lovely laidback atmosphere..

The National: Massive gig in the Marquee, die-hard fans all around, one to remember.

Macklemore: A definite diversion from my usual gig-going here, but a wonderfully amusing and enjoyable night in the Point. Spent a wonderful hour on the shoulders of young men, “searching for my friends”. Who needs friends when you have Thrift Shop?

Other Voices 2013, Dingle.

Hozier: Oh my, what a sweetheart, and what a voice. More on Hozier later also…

David Gray: Glorious new tunes, deep and interesting personality, a joy.

Willis Earl Beal: Soul singer of unnerving depths and intellect, willing and eager to discuss democracy, capitalism, homophobia, racism, hurling, Hozier and Hermitage Green. One of my more enlightening and unusual encounters of the year.

Lisa O’ Neill: Still can’t understand the appeal of her voice, but her lyrics and personality achieve commendable levels of quirk.

Agnes Obel: Enchanting set from the pianist and singer. Stunning.

Mick Flannery and Casey Black: I had the pleasure of seeing these two play twice this year, once in McCarthy’s of Dingle, and once in Coughlan’s (of Cork, of course). As a Mick afficionado, I can honestly say I think they showcased the best and worst of Mick gigs. While both benefited from the intimacy which suits his music and personality, the crowds and atmospheres varied enormously. I’ll have to take Mick’s advice and steer clear of beardy faux-intellectual killjoys when choosing my seat the next time! Casey was an absolute joy to discover, and another wonderfully deep and diverse character, a friend.

The Pavilion, December 2013.

Little Green Cars: Stunning a capella, some great new tunes, excited to hear more in 2014.

Hozier: Oh wow. Just wow. The power in his voice was immense, drowning out even the loudest gobshites who had gathered purely to hear Take Me to Church. Presence galore, and probably the sweetest tweeter of 2013. *sigh*.

Hermitage Green: In an unprecedented run for me, this was my fourth time appreciating the Hermitage Green powerhouse this year. An early set in Electric Picnic left us wanting more, which they ably provided in Cypress Avenue over the jazz weekend, another early gig. A spot on the Music Trail at Other Voices gave me my third taster, but it proved a tease, with only half an hour to show their wares. Thus it was that I turned up at the last gig of the year, despite being stood up by an unreliable soul, with Mike (the beautiful dance whore) on my arm. Wow. What a show. We stood front and centre, ready to lap up the folky goodness and hunky delivery of the Limerick (and one Clare) men… They didn’t disappoint. Moved to tears by the beautiful Song for Paul and Sun Never Rose, dancing and hollering to Golden Rule, and appreciating the harmonic genius of Teardrops. All topped off by a night of boogying to Stone Fox in Crane Lane, this was certainly a night to remember.

To 2014, and all of the musical delights ahead…