Podcasts about Vicar Street

A live recording from The Big Romance about a 2008 Sub Pop-released classic album of the 2000s. Listen on Apple | Android | Patreon | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS Feed | Podlink Step into a world of misty melodies and cavernous echoes with Seattle band Fleet Foxes' landmark debut – a defining record of the late-2000s indie folk revival. Led by Robin Pecknold, the album blends the lush, pastoral harmonies of the 1960s with a haunting baroque-pop sensibility and lyrical themes rooted in nature, tradition, and introspection. Like the Bruegel painting on its cover, every track reveals a dense, beautiful world that evokes a timeless – almost mythic Americana sound. This podcast episode is a live recording from our listening party in The Big Romance in April, with guest journalist and Fleet Foxes fan Aoife Barry. Our next Listening Party is Smashing Pumpkins later this month and it's sold out. Listen Closely: Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (2008) A Nialler9 listening party, hosted by Niall Byrne with guest Aoife Barry. Before the album Niall: Hello everyone, how are you? Welcome to the Listen Closely album listening party. I'm Niall, and this is Aoife Barry. Aoife: Hello. Niall: We're here tonight because Aoife picked this album, as she has before. You picked Jeff Buckley last year. Aoife: Yeah, and we ended up doing three of them. Niall: We did, we went to Cork. We did two here and then we went to Cork to talk about Jeff Buckley. And you were at the My Bloody Valentine listening party last year as well, back in October. Aoife: It must have been October, yeah. Niall: Well, obviously we're here for a very different album tonight: Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes, from 2008. As you heard there, we played a bit of the Sun Giant EP by the band, which came out a few months before this album, because we want to give the album its full due. They're a little different, and we'll talk about that. But yeah, you picked the record. Aoife: I did. I obviously must like it. And it's such an incredible record. Is there anybody here who hasn't heard it? That's really exciting, if so. I'm excited for you to hear it. You got a sneak peek there of what the vibe is going to be. I picked it because I love this record, but I also had a funny story about how I first heard them. Back in 2008, when this record came out, I'd read about this band called Fleet Foxes in a music magazine. I don't even think I'd heard a song yet, this is back in the day. And I was on holidays in Berlin, and in the tiny little hostel we were staying in, they had a sign up on the wall: "Who's playing tonight? Fleet Foxes, Café Zapata." I said to my boyfriend, "I think that's a band I read about in the magazine, will we go see them?" And he was like, "Grand." So we went, and they were unbelievable. It was so good. Beach House were supporting them. So it was 2008 smacking you in the face. Niall: Come on. Aoife: And I took photos, which I found. I have photos. Artifacts. One is terrible, the other one's not so terrible, taken on one of those little Canon digital cameras. And I still have the ticket, I kept the ticket, I'm one of those hoarders who keeps all their gig tickets. But it was so good: the venue they played in had a dragon that breathed fire out every fifteen minutes. Niall: So they'd be playing and this dragon… Aoife: I'm not even exaggerating. Fire would just shoot out of this mechanical dragon. It was so Berlin. And Fleet Foxes were so stunning, and Beach House were so stunning. I love Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, I love all those harmony vibes, I wish I was born in the seventies, sadly I was not. So I fell in love with them immediately, and I've been a big fan ever since. Although I'll say I probably dipped a little bit around the Crack-Up era, their third album, but then I saw them when Shore came out, their most recent album, and fell right back in love with them. Niall: We're going to talk about all the albums that come afterwards, but we'll start with this one, because this is presumably your favourite, or one of them. Aoife: Shore is up there as well for me, but yeah. Niall: So what was it about Fleet Foxes at the time? For context: in 2008 there was quite a lot of this kind of music around. We previously did Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago as a listening party, and the funny thing, which I only found out when we did this, is that they have the same origin story in a way. Both songwriters went to a cabin in the woods to pour their heart out and write the songs. Aoife: I think Justin Vernon just got there first in terms of the marketing. Niall: So they must have pulled back on talking about it too much, because it's basically the same thing. They never really talked about Robin Pecknold's writing process in those terms. Aoife: For Emma was such a massive moment, everybody was obsessed with this guy who broke up with a girl and went to a cabin and wrote a record about it. It was the ur indie-folk album. Niall: What was really appealing about Fleet Foxes is that they were so young, between about twenty-two and twenty-seven, and Robin Pecknold was twenty-one when he wrote the record. Which is frankly offensive, you shouldn't be allowed to be so talented at twenty-one. Aoife: I know. And they were clearly these people from Seattle, which we associate with grunge, and then it becomes this place where they're bringing out all the pastoral, outdoorsy, mountain-and-sea vibes of the Washington area. They're obviously really influenced by the seventies too, by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, by Laurel Canyon, but also by Appalachian folk. There's a real purity to what they're doing. The harmonies are unbelievable, there's even a bit of a gospel feeling. So these young guys made this album that was being called an iconic American record on release. The Guardian called it a landmark American album, something like that. And that's special, because you don't get that many records immediately being called landmark. Niall: It was a very exciting time for music around then. I actually brought some records. We mentioned Beach House and Teen Dream earlier, that's a bit later, 2010. I wanted to do a listening party for that at some point, that'd be good craic. Around that time you had Animal Collective and Panda Bear, Person Pitch was right there, that was the apex for that very experimental scene. A few years later we had Sufjan, our very first listening party. And Bon Iver, of course. There's also stuff like Neutral Milk Hotel very much of that vibe. Aoife: I've noticed people covering Neutral Milk Hotel more now. Niall: I think when we got to it, it was on its second go-round, and now it's getting a third, which is great. It's a great record. So, the band were from Seattle, they had a bit of the scruffy flannel-shirt look, but obviously didn't sound like that. The album was written in the woods, in the cabin, brought to the band, and recorded with Phil Ek. Aoife: Who did a lot of stuff with Built to Spill. Niall: Yeah, and he worked with The Shins, and Modest Mouse, a really long history. Aoife: Are The Shins from Seattle as well? Niall: I think they might be. Band of Horses is another one. So they recorded it themselves with Phil Ek, paid for it all themselves, and then the local major independent label Sub Pop came calling. Obviously known for a lot of grunge traditionally, but they'd clearly been releasing this kind of music around then too, The Shins had been on the label for a few years, Band of Horses. When it came to it, they signed to Sub Pop. Apparently there was a bidding war. Aoife: They'd become quite popular on MySpace. Anybody remember MySpace? Every time I do one of these I feel older and older, mentioning the top eight, the randomers you'd put in your top eight. Word could spread quite quickly once you got popular on MySpace. Niall: What I thought was really interesting, that I discovered when I was researching, is that recording the album was actually a total pain for them. They didn't have much money, so they ended up recording a lot of it in their houses, or in Robin Pecknold's family home. And he re-did all the vocals right before they mastered the record, because he'd been sick during the initial sessions and his voice wasn't in great shape. They recorded it all in one go, scrapped that, did another version, and kept moving the running order around. I'm always fascinated by albums where the creation was a total pain and they had no idea it would even work out. Robin Pecknold actually said, "I hope nobody cares about this album, because I just want to move on to the next one." And then it becomes this iconic record. Aoife: Isn't every artist sick of their album by the time it's done? You're like, "my paintings." Yeah. Niall: 2008 was an interesting time for it to land. The album draws on the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Nick Drake, Simon & Garfunkel, Fairport Convention, Judee Sill, very much old-timey or sixties folk and pastoral stuff. And in 2008 there's a financial crash. The album was worked on before that, but it was released into that environment, and a lot of this music seemed to catch. When things go bad, we retreat, we dream, we listen to music that's maybe the opposite of what we're feeling. There was a gentleness, an unhurriedness to it that resonated. Aoife: Grizzly Bear is another band from that time. When Jay-Z and Beyoncé went to see Grizzly Bear in Brooklyn, that was kind of where all the indie music peaked. Niall: And the other part of it, which I was involved in, was the MP3 blogs, that's where you'd hear this music. Especially the American and Canadian stuff, no one was promoting it over here yet, so you'd be months ahead. You'd hear Fleet Foxes in these MP3 formats. That was a mad period, it showed how the internet could collapse geography, a song could spread really quickly on the blogs. And in an American context, this came out post-Bush, with the Obama era coming in, a more hopeful tone. You had the Lehman Brothers crash, these global pressures, and then these hopeful times too. It's interesting to wonder whether these albums are a reaction to it, or whether they appeal to us because we want nice, happy things. I feel like Fleet Foxes have so much emotional depth: there's yearning, sadness, hope, nostalgia. Aoife: I loved Yellow House by Grizzly Bear, their first record, a complex, complicated, almost jazzy thing that sounded beautiful but had a lot going on. We weren't going for simplistic music, but we wanted music that gave us depth and beauty. Is art a solution to the world collapsing? Niall: We could be answering that in 2026. We live in a cursed timeline, as I keep saying. That's all I'm going to say. But what else happened in 2008 in the wider circle of music? Portishead returned with Third. TV on the Radio released Dear Science. MGMT released Oracular Spectacular, 'Kids' and all that. Cut Copy released In Ghost Colours, Indie Sleaze night on Saturday, folks, come on. Kanye put out 808s & Heartbreak, that was November that year. Rihanna was at the peak of her powers. Aoife: Katy Perry appeared that year. And 'American Boy'. Niall: 'American Boy', still one of the best pop songs, fire. Iron & Wine was the other one I forgot to mention. So it was a really vibrant, varied year. As you heard, there's the Sun Giant EP too. Aoife: The thing about that is it came out before the album, but was recorded after. The album was done, in the bag. Niall: They decided to go into the studio and record Sun Giant, a collection of songs intended to sell on tour. It ended up being quite popular, and for a lot of people it was their first time discovering Fleet Foxes. Aoife: It wasn't like The Coronas' 'San Diego Song', their summer-holiday anthem, or anything like that. But it came out before the album, and then the album arrives. Niall: So what was the reaction at the time? Was it immediate? Aoife: Things happened really quickly. In January that year they got all the MySpace attention, and by June the album was coming out. Really, really quick. There was so much chatter about them, which is partly why I'd seen the name, and a music blog like yours would have seen it too, and known they were one of the big bands. In a way that's harder now. Niall: These days you see bands like Geese getting a lot of attention because they use companies that help them go viral. You didn't really have that then. Now you'd dress yourself up in some gimmick, polka dots, whatever, and go viral all over the internet for it. I couldn't imagine these lads doing that. Aoife: No. But maybe in a way they were cosplaying living in the forest, on the Puget Sound. Niall: Anyway, when the album came out, people loved them, and it really hit it off. Because they sound so seventies, your parents would love the records and you'd love the records. There's almost a lullaby quality to the folk stuff too. The music is applicable to anybody of any generation, and there's something lovely about nostalgic music that reminds you of a better time. To finish on that point: I think there's something very mysterious about Fleet Foxes, they feel out of time. They're these young, scruffy lads with the beards, but there's a mystery to them. They didn't come across as the hipster end of things, they weren't leaning into anything. They were presented as the kind of band that wouldn't have had phones, would have lived off-grid, which is funny because they were a MySpace band. They're the most un-MySpace band you can imagine. Surprise people, do something a bit different, don't be exactly what people want you to be, and they'll love you for it. And then your songs are unbelievable too, soaring and stunning. Can we talk for a second about the cover? It's an original painting from 1559 by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Netherlandish Proverbs. It depicts a densely populated Flemish village scene illustrating 126 folk proverbs. There's a lot there. Some on this side are cut off, but for example, this woman here, she's putting the blue cloak on her husband, meaning she deceives him. This guy is casting roses before swine, wasting effort on the unworthy. And right at the top there's a man running through a field with his arse on fire, chasing pigs, "he who eats fire craps sparks," do not be surprised at the outcome if you attempt a dangerous venture. There are 126 of those. Aoife: The interesting thing is that the band managed to get permission to use it. Really unusual to be allowed use it as commercial artwork. Niall: And apparently the museum that holds the artwork were delighted. A lot of stars aligned for them. It's an iconic cover because it's so different from what anybody else was doing, clearly of a particular period, and it has that Where's Wally quality. I have a quote about it. Robin said: "We were trying to figure out what we wanted to do, and my brother had been working some stuff out, when I saw this Bruegel painting in a book my girlfriend had. I liked that it had a really intriguing meaning, there's a story to each little scene, which felt fitting for the record. It was dense but unified, not a collage. It has a Where's Waldo quality, something you could look at for a long time on a vinyl sleeve and keep finding new little things. It was very easy to get the museum in Berlin that has it to say yes, they were super excited the band wanted to use it, and put it in their newsletter. When you open it up, on the inside there's a Paisley pattern traced from the back of a book that Skyler's mum got me. We wanted two very different feelings." So, what to look out for when we press play very shortly? Aoife: When I was going back to this, I had it in my head that every song was one of these big songs, because there are so many big moments. But actually there are two tracks that are pretty much acoustic, so it's interesting to notice how they go from the big sound to the small. And for me they're a real emotion-and-feeling band, so notice how you feel listening to it. I always feel this swell of emotion with Fleet Foxes, I was walking down the road listening to Shore and I was like, my God. So lean back and feel into the emotions they're bringing you. And listen to the lyrics if you can make them out, because they're so out of time, all about pack horses and this amazing imagery. Robin Pecknold said he didn't write about a lot of personal stuff because he didn't have enough life experience yet, so instead he wrote these beautifully poetic narratives about pastoral and rural life. So I'd say the lyrics and the feelings are the two things. Niall: Track two, 'White Winter Hymnal', is probably the biggest one, watch out for that. And a few other people thanked and cited as influences, for some extra context: Brian Wilson, Joanna Newsom, Bob Dylan, Noah Lennox and all the lads from Animal Collective, Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson of The Band, Blitzen Trapper, who they toured with at the time and who were bigger than them then. For some reason Joni Mitchell and Neil Young are listed together, which is fair enough. Marvin Gaye, Damien Jurado, Paul Simon and John Lennon listed together. Townes Van Zandt, a legend. Vashti Bunyan, and Van Morrison. There's a nice quote from Robin Pecknold I'll read afterwards. Let's just open it up and listen. I'll play it at full volume, it's about thirty-nine minutes, two sides. Close your eyes, whatever you want to do, vibe away in your own way. [The album plays: Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes, 39 minutes.] After the album Niall: It's quite an economical album, isn't it? It doesn't stick around long, thirty-nine minutes. Aoife: I like an economical album. It's also one of the first fairly short records we've done here. Niall: That's part of why I was thinking about Sun Giant in that context too. I'm going to read a bit from the liner notes, because for an album that's very much about feelings, with only a few direct songs, some of what's written here is interesting: "My first memory has always been of me and my mom on a cold grey day down at some beach in Washington, along the Puget Sound somewhere near Seattle. I would be around two or three years old, and we were with a friend of mine from the neighbourhood and his mom, walking among the driftwood looking for crabs. Even now I can remember the smell and temperature of the air, the feeling of the sand and the swaying tall grass. I can even remember looking over at my friend and how his face looked when he smiled back at me. Another memory I'll sometimes recall as my first is dressing up in the dead of summer as Jack London, with tennis rackets on my feet and wearing my dad's hiking pack, after seeing Disney's terrible version of White Fang. Or the memory of stealing my neighbour's Big Wheel and riding it halfway down the block before getting caught and having to turn around defeated. Or wearing a fireman's outfit while washing my parents' car, or eating an orange popsicle from the ice cream truck. These have always been some of my most distinct and persistent memories of childhood. So it came as a disappointment when, one day as a teenager, I opened up a photo album and found pictures of each and every one of these memories. I didn't have a single memory that didn't belong to, or somehow grow from, those pictures my parents had. I guess I've seen all these photographs at some point, forgotten they were just photographs, and over time made them into my most tangible memories. That's scary to me in a way. This leads me to something weird about the power music has: its transportability. Any time I hear a song or record that meant a lot to me at a certain moment, I'm instantly taken back to that place in full detail. Whenever I hear 'Feel Flows' by the Beach Boys, I'm taken straight to the back of my parents' car on the way to my grandparents' place, with Surf's Up in my Walkman and the Cascade Mountains going by in the window. Any song off Radiohead's Kid A brings back the airport near Seattle, from when we were on the way to Colorado for a wedding and Kid A was the only record I brought or wanted to bring. 'Crayon Angels' by Judee Sill is the whole winter of last year. And Brian Wilson's solo version of 'Surf's Up' takes me back to driving my parents' car around town alone at sixteen, windows down at night. I can't ascribe exact memories to songs by The Microphones, Joni Mitchell, Built to Spill, Dungen, Harry Nilsson and so many others, and it's a form of recall I can actually trust, there's no visual element to complicate things, no chance of a planted memory that wasn't actually supposed to be there. Maybe I should be concerned that I'm alone in almost all of these memories, but I guess I was just a private kid, and music was a private experience for me. Music activates a certain mental freedom in a way nothing else can, and that is so empowering. You can call it escapism if you like, but I see it as connecting to a deeper human feeling than the one found in the day-to-day world." Aoife: That's lovely. It's a nice addendum. And he was only twenty-one. Niall: For some reason it's signed "Warren Gamaliel Bancroft Winnipeg Harding," Warren G. Harding being the 29th president of the United States. I don't know why, he thought it was funny. Dated April 6th, 2008, Chicago, Illinois. So, any particular highlights, anything that stood out? Aoife: I was reminded how much I love 'Blue Ridge Mountains', the second-to-last song. I just love those four- and five-part harmonies so much. There's something that really gets me about beautiful harmonies stacked on each other that sound so natural. My dad was really into Neil Young and all of that era, my mum's really into Simon & Garfunkel, so I feel like I came out of the womb going, this is the music I love. Niall: There was another one I meant to mention. Aoife: I'm really bad at remembering song names, which isn't great for an arts journalist. They go in one ear and out the other. Niall: 'He Doesn't Know Why'. Aoife: That was it. I always forget the name of that one, and it's an absolute banger. It's quite a direct song, the last one on the first side. Niall: He mentions his brother Sean in 'Blue Ridge Mountains', which is interesting. And Oliver James is his younger brother, that's the last song. Aoife: His sister is Aja, after the Steely Dan album. The parents were really into them. Niall: It holds up so well. The harmonies and vocals sound incredible, there are those beautiful little flourishes, a flute on one of the tracks, the guitar is stunning, lovely little bass lines. I love the way Robin Pecknold and the band hear music. There's a really good Song Exploder episode with him talking about a song from Crack-Up, and the way he thinks about translating his thoughts and emotions into music is so illuminating. He has a beautiful melodic flow that's really similar to the flow of water and nature. There are so many nature references, it's almost parody there are so many. Aoife: You could do a Portlandia sketch about it. "Power of nature, man." "Come down from the mountain, you've been gone too long." Niall: In terms of the line-up: alongside Robin Pecknold on vocals there was Skyler Skjelset on lead guitar, his best friend from Nathan Hale High School, later joined by Casey Wescott, Christian Wargo on bass, and Nicholas Peterson on drums, who left after this album. Aoife: And who came in as the drummer? Niall: A man who's been a main character in one of these listening parties himself: Josh Tillman, Father John Misty, played drums with them. Aoife: For how long? Niall: Only a year or two, pretty short. As I said, main character, he was making his own record. Any Father John Misty fans? He writes really good songs and he's handsome, so we all love him, but he's also a bit of a pain, and he didn't get on very well with Robin Pecknold, which isn't surprising. When I was looking back at the Pitchfork interview they did in 2008, a few months after the album came out, it was a big joint interview with Robin and Josh Tillman, and Tillman is answering the questions at the start. That's confidence. Do you want to hear a quote from what Robin Pecknold said? I've written it in my little notebook, so old-school, that's the only way I remember these things. In a 2020 Reddit AMA, Pecknold said that on that tour, the Helplessness Blues tour, Tillman was supposed to bring out his own record, but his label said he could only release it after the tour. So he was on tour thinking, "I want to bring out my own record, I'm tired of Fleet Foxes." Pecknold said he "had to endure being around a lot of substance abuse, sabotaged shows, general ill treatment and shit-talking, all while paying him for songs he didn't have anything to do with. It sucked." And then Tillman left the band. Whereas in that Pitchfork interview he'd said, "I love playing in this band, these are all my friends, I'm having the best time, I'm sorry if that's a corny quote, but that's the best thing about this experience right now." Aoife: So he was lying through his teeth. I think he's the kind of person who really has to be a solo artist, too iconic a personality. You wouldn't want to wrangle him out of bed to get to the next show. Niall: Too big a price. You mentioned Pitchfork, the album was number one on their end-of-year list in 2008, and they listed Sun Giant alongside it, breaking the traditional conventions of end-of-year lists. What they said was: listing Fleet Foxes' debut album and EP together may be awkward, but it just feels right, they're two sides of a coin that equally express the band's mastery, "a catch-all Americana that takes a wide slice of our popular music spectrum and pulls it through a reverse prism to create a gorgeous and focused sound of the band's own. The threads of Brian Wilson's coastal pop, Appalachian folk, modern indie rock, Grateful Dead jams and other influences are masterfully synthesised in the band's harmonies." Robin Pecknold's sense of dynamics, they said, flows like a river, wild and free but logical, filling what needs to be filled and moving on. I swear I didn't rip that off Pitchfork, I came up with something similar on my own. Aoife: Very good. Niall: It was Uncut's album of the year too. But more than anything, and this is a strange accolade, the album was ranked number 36 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest stoner albums. Aoife: I don't think Robin Pecknold was a stoner. It doesn't really fit. He's a reader. Niall: So what came after? Helplessness Blues, which is really difficult to say, in 2011, then Crack-Up in 2017, then Shore in 2020. Big long gaps, some personnel changes. And Robin Pecknold, as we've established, is a very literary guy, he went to Columbia to do an undergrad in English literature, because he'd left high school early and gone to a community college, and he really wanted that college experience. So that was part of the break. He's also had difficult times, he's spoken about mental health issues and suicidal ideation, many tough experiences that contributed to the gaps too. They haven't released anything since 2020, and he does a lot of cover events. There are two live records. He's actually playing a gig tonight, I think, where he covers Judee Sill. Any Judee Sill fans? Aoife: Oh my gosh, she's amazing. Nobody ever knows Judee Sill. If you listen to anything, listen to Heart Food, it's iconic. He loves her, mentions her on this record. She's the one who does 'The Kiss', people might have seen her perform it on the Old Grey Whistle Test, it's on YouTube. She had a really tragic life. Niall: One of those I've been meaning to listen to properly for years. She only has two records, so it's easy to get into. There's a documentary about her as well, which I haven't seen. Aoife: She's one of those ill-fated seventies musicians, really religious imagery, did a lot of drugs, really interesting. Niall: Did you get to see them again after your first foray in Berlin? Aoife: I saw them when they toured, though it's really bad when you can't remember what you were doing in the 2010s. Niall: Did anybody see them at that Dublin gig, the outdoor one in 2022? Wasn't it amazing. They've played here a fair bit: Vicar Street in 2008, Electric Picnic 2009, The Marquee in Cork 2011, the Iveagh Gardens in 2017. I don't know if I've missed any, maybe you can tell me. So if you were to pick, is there any further listening or reading you'd suggest to somebody, not necessarily Fleet Foxes? Aoife: Some of it is obvious. As I said, I'd definitely check out Judee Sill, because if you really like Fleet Foxes you'd really vibe with her. And he mentions Harry Nilsson, also unbelievable, more well known than Judee Sill, did the cover of 'Everybody's Talkin''. I'd also mention a guy people would have known at one point but isn't very well known now: Richard Swift. He sadly passed away a couple of years ago. He was friends with Robin Pecknold, a hugely talented musician who struggled with addiction. He has an amazing double album from around 2005 or 2006 that's brilliant, and a record called The Hex, which is referenced on 'Sunblind' on Shore, that's the song where Robin name-checks a lot of musicians he loves, like Elliott Smith, David Berman and Richard Swift. It's such a beautiful record for finding new people to listen to, and it's lovely to hear a musician pay tribute to musicians he loves. The imagery is him talking about this beautiful day where he'll go for a swim and listen to all these beautiful bands, an ecstatic kind of song. So check out all of those records, but Richard Swift deserves more fans, and The Hex is really, really good. Niall: Good shout. What we'll do now is play a tune, and then maybe give Sun Giant another go if you want to stick around. Our next listening party is on the 27th of May, and it's an indie-rock album very close to my heart: Broken Social Scene's You Forgot It in People. I've been wanting to do this one on record for a long time. They're playing here later in the year, but I want to give this record its flowers, it's incredible. My niece has just turned seventeen and I bought her a copy, because it's an anthemic record for a seventeen-year-old. I can't believe that band are still going, which is kind of mad, but it's hard to underline what Broken Social Scene meant to a certain segment of indie. Aoife: And there's four hundred of them on stage. They're from Canada, and we were all like, my God, these people are the best. Niall: For me it's the MP3 times again, we'll talk about this next month. I heard about them through the music blogs, and then I got to see them in the Button Factory, which was the Temple Bar Music Centre at the time. It was one of the first things I ever wrote about, back in 2005. A transcendental experience. Aoife: They're so good live. Niall: I once DJ'd in Galway after one of their gigs, and one of the members of the band, I'll leave him nameless, came over and turned off the decks while I was DJing. Aoife: On purpose? Niall: He was that drunk. I can't remember what I was playing, but I was like, great, DJing after Broken Social Scene and then a band member ruins it. I don't think he liked it. No, I think he was just really drunk and thought it was funny. Thumbs down to him. In a way it's surprising a man like that has managed to persist in a band with so many members. Anyway, I digress. We'll talk about it next month, May 27th. Aoife: I cannot wait. I've been listening to it a lot lately again, it's fantastic. Niall: Thank you for being here. Let's play a bit of this and see what happens. Thanks for being here, appreciate it.

He's been everything from Uncle Fester to a Prince impersonator, a punk drummer to a Saturday Night Live veteran. Fred Armisen joins Oliver to chat about filming Wednesday in Ireland, music, comedy and bringing his brilliantly bizarre show to Vicar Street this Saturday.

In Part 2 of our special from Vicar Street on the Katie Taylor/Croker Park, it's a heavyweight special - fitting, given Muhammad Ali was the last fighter to headline there.‘No Carty, No Party' seems to be the case once again as Dublin heavyweight Thomas Carty takes on durable Doncaster puncher Dave Allen in a make-or-break fight for both men. Carty grew up dreaming of playing for Dublin at Croke Park. Allen, meanwhile, is barely aware of the place and, with respect, doesn't really care about its significance. We hear from both on why what happens between the ropes is all that matters.Katie's cousin, Molly ‘Meatball' McCann, a former UFC fighter, has secured a slot on the bill as she looks to add to her 4-0 boxing record in Dublin. We talk about the numbers game, the cold, hard currency of clicks, and why being kicked in the ring on her last visit to Ireland sent her career skyrocketing.Bobbi Flood, one of Ireland's brightest prospects, also tells us how his cheeky teenage prediction to Eddie Hearn almost - kinda, sorta - came true.And it wouldn't be a heavyweight special without Adam Olaniyan, the blessed Tallaght tower who's coming for them all. Everyone keeps saying this is once-in-a-lifetime stuff, that Croker will never happen again. All the while, Adam is planning his first world title defence there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Cantwell is an Irish comedian, writer and actor. Tony recently appeared in Prime Video's LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland, hosted by Graham Norton, alongside some of Ireland's biggest comedy stars. He also starred in the acclaimed feature film Apocalypse Clown, winner of Best Irish Film at the 2023 Galway Film Fleadh, and has appeared in Amy Huberman's comedy series Finding Joy. He is the creator and host of the hit podcast Tony Cantwell's Hit Show and co-hosts Young Hot Guys, two of Ireland's most popular comedy podcasts. He has sold out live shows across Ireland and the UK, including multiple performances at Dublin's iconic Vicar Street, while his online sketches have amassed millions of views .Tony Cantwell is our guest in episode 592 of My Time Capsule and he chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things he'd like to put in a time capsule; four he'd like to preserve and one he'd like to bury and never have to think about again .Buy tickets for Tony Cantwell's Edinburgh Festival show here - https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/tony-cantwell-you-cry-weird .Follow Tony Cantwell on Instagram: @tonyhorror .Visit our website! - https://mytimecapsulepodcast.com .Follow My Time Capsule on Instagram: @mytimecapsulepodcast & Twitter/X & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter/X: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by matthewboxall.com .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people .To support this podcast and get all episodes ad-free, please sign up here - https://mytimecapsule.supercast.com. All money goes straight into the making of the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Dishing It Out, Gary and Gareth welcome comedian Willa White to the studio for a chat that goes from belly laughs to brutally honest life stories and back again.Willa talks about how he first got in to stand-up, going from recovery meetings and prison to comedy workshops, Vicar Street, touring, and building a career without ever really planning to become a comedian. He opens up about his past, addiction, recovery, time in prison in Ireland and the UK, and how comedy became part of a very different life.Food-wise, there's plenty to get stuck into too. Willa chats about prison food, working as a butcher, growing up on simple dinners, his love of pork chops, offal and chowder (as long as it's not more than a tenner!)In this week's Nespresso Dish of the Week, Gareth guides you through how to properly pan-fry fish at home without fear. Then it's over to your Culinary Conundrums, where the lads explain mise en place and what it actually means for home cooks.Keep those questions coming to food@goloudnow.com .

The undercard for Katie Taylor's Croke Park fight on September 5th has been officially confirmed - not that she needed one, judging by how ticket sales are said to have gone.In Part 1 of our special from Vicar Street, we hear from Jamie Conlan on how some of these fights came together. He manages Tyrone McKenna, who is in tough against heavy-handed world title challenger Paddy Donovan.We hear from both men on their all-Irish battle and why, for one, it's the biggest fight of his life - while for the other, it's a chance to have fun, lead his people to hallowed turf, and give them a day in the sun.Also on the card, Irish Olympic boxer Emmet Brennan - who grew up in the shadow of Croker - faces a monster test against UK KO artist Taylor Bevan. Emmet talks about what it's been like spending 18 months out of the ring, his delight at landing a slot like this, and why he credits quitting alcohol with so much of his recent success. He also explains why he believes he can exploit weaknesses in Bevan and earn himself a bumper promotional deal.There's an all-Irish clash at middleweight too, as Paul Ryan takes on Paddy Gallagher - both of whom have been guests on the show to tell their stories in 2026. We check in with both as they come to terms with winning the golden ticket so many of their fellow boxers coveted: a backstage pass on Jones' Road and the chance to say, “I fought there.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a wide-ranging conversation the three-time Eurovision winner chats about family background, his early start in music business, Eurovision success, career trajectory and life abroad. He plays Vicar Street on Saturday August 22 (for copyright reasons the full tracks performed during this interview cannot be podcast)

Prank Comedian Simon Brodkin shares stories of his mischief ahead of his December 3rd show at Vicar Street.

Welcome back to Young Hot Guys! This week the guys are getting very misty eyed about the release of the 1926 census. We hear all about Tony's big Vicar Street show, Shane (almost) names and shane's a nightmare ex-colleague and Killian fills us in on Helmut's morning routine. Exclusively on Gabby Radio. To get extra bonus content and much more you can sign up at ⁠⁠https://headstuffpodcasts.com/membership/⁠⁠  Shane's Tickets: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/shanedanbyrne⁠⁠⁠ Killian's Tickets: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/killiansundermann⁠⁠⁠ Tony's Tickets: ⁠https://linktr.ee/tonyhorror⁠ Shane Daniel Byrne, Tony Cantwell, and Killian Sundermann are Young Hot Guys. This is a HeadStuff podcast produced by Hilary Barry. Artwork by Shane Kenna Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian, writer and actor Joe McGucken joins Ger Gilroy and Colm Boohig for this incredibly open edition of You Had To Be There. Joe talks about his upbringing as well as overcoming hard periods of his life and performing in sold out Vicar Street as well as having a very popular podcast called 'The Stall It Podcast' and an RTE Player original; Free Gaff. If you have been affected by any of the topics in this video, you can contact the Samaritans on this number: 116 123 Off The Ball Breakfast with Viagra Connect 50mg film-coated tablets. Contains sildenafil. For adult men with erectile dysfunction. Subject to suitability. Maximum dosage one 50mg tablet per day. Always read the label. Catch The Off The Ball Breakfast show LIVE weekday mornings from 7:30am or just search for Off The Ball Breakfast and get the podcast on the Off The Ball app. SUBSCRIBE at OffTheBall.com/join

Music Journalist John Meagher has the details

Irish/Portuguese Kraut/psych rock band pôt-pot released debut album Warsaw 480km in September 2025. It's nominated for Irish album of the year at the Choice Music Prize which takes place at Vicar Street tomorrow, Thursday March 5. In this episode of the TPOE podcast, Mark Waldron-Hyden, the brainchild of pôt-pot, talks about his journey from Cork to Lisbon, the creative process behind the band, and the personal stories that influence the music - and what it was like to get the news - and the recognition - of the Choice nomination. pôt-pot tour dates: May 21: The Workman's Club, Dublin (presented by Enthusiastic Eunach) May 22: Luca, Waterford May 23: The Kino, Cork (presented by DOSE) Buy Warsaw 480km: https://potpot.bandcamp.com/album/warsaw-480km

Oliver speaks to comedian Enya Martin, about her upcoming show ‘Acting the Divil' in Vicar Street on March 6th.

It's a crowded studio this week with both Eoin AND Ed being roped in to wrangle a recording out of the boys. Not only that but there's a random young fella in the corner which prompts Darren and Joe to get nostalgiac about their own youth with stories of Man Utd banners and accusations of pen knife theft.Joe has an absolutely disatrous run in with some 'dinosaurs' but cheers up when he gets to wax lyrical about his recent obsession with chess whilst Darren makes a shock confession about the serious lack of boardgames in his youth.Two listener warnings though: There is a truthful discussion of Santa and the willie mugs make a reapprearance.And don't forget to join us for our live show at Vicar Street on February 12th. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster now – it's a special show, to be performed for one night only. Send all your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

The lads are feeling a little out of place this week in their new studio and Joe soon storms out over the building rules about his (inappropriate) parking of his (surprisingly large) scooter. Joe asks what would be the one big thing that would give away that you're not Irish, and gives a fiery defence of why he can't get the bus or train when floods block his route to work. There's a debate on whether it's weird to see someone you know with no shoes on, or even worse, in their togs at the Aquatic Centre, and a listener send us in a Simpsons and Father Ted quiz that tests if the lads are the super fans they claim to be. And don't forget to join us for our live show at Vicar Street on February 12th. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster now – it's a special show, to be performed for one night only. Send all your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

We caught up with the Stall It podcast lads Darren and Joe ahead of their upcoming Vicar Street show, Marty called Oonagh out on something that happened at the radio station yesterday, and we have a meaty We Listen and We don't Judge message in from a listener that sparked a lot of judgement

we had a load of fun chatting to Darren and Joe ahead of their Vicar Street live podcast show in Dublin

Almost fifty years since the Sallins train robbery, one of those wrongfully convicted Osgur Breatnach is still campaigning for justice. His brother Cormac has organised a campaign benefit concert in Vicar Street at the end of March Campaign website: sallinsinquirynow.ie Concert tickets: vicarstreet.com

The lads are in mad mystical form this week as Joe has introduced Darren to the power of crystals and he's already seeing the benefits. Ed is not convinced.Darren describes a mind bending experience with Keith Barry which allows Joe to showcase his own brain hacking skills.They also get to reignite an ancient fued with Ryan Tubridy. And don't forget to join us for our live show at Vicar Street on February 12th. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster now – we promise you wont regret it.Send all your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

It's awards season and the lads are off to the Oscars AGAIN (in their heads) and they debate who to bring, who to burn in the speech and wetting themselves on the red carpet.Benjamin Franklin makes his fist appearance on the pod and they discuss how shite kite flying is and their ability to survive a bow and arrow attack.With Grok in the news we get to enjoy what image Joe would rustle up of Darren and fair warning...it's not pretty.Joe gets offered an acting role during the recording and they decide what team they are in the comedy Premier League. And don't forget to join us for our live show at Vicar Street on February 12th. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster now – we promise you wont regret it.Send all your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

Calvin's joined by Darren and Amy Conway for this week's bonus episode and somehow they managed to answer a few listener questions despite the many, many tangents.Darren talks about his 'mate' Paul Mescal, and Calvin tries to ban tuna from deli counters and in between it all they ask whether reading a book and listening to the audio version is the same thing? They wonder who can be trusted to control a speaker at a party and explore the impact of playing soccer on the life span of your runners.Darren's podcast Stall It is coming to the stage on 12th Feb in Vicar Street, you can buy your tickets now on Ticketmaster.You can also check out Darren and Amy's podcast, The Conways, all about life as a married couple.Send us your listener questions or cohost suggestions to TalkingBollox@GoLoudNow.com

'My movie phase hasn't arrived yet!'Dave chats to Dara all about his 250th gig in Vicar Street tomorrow night.

Darren Conway and his lovely wife Amy joined Calvin this week. Darren started a debate about couples in matching pyjamas and Amy tells us how she's overcoming her secret mushroom fear. There's a continuation of the great milk debate from last week's bonus and it sets them all on a trip down memory lane and tales of school dinners.Darren has a live show coming up with Stall It on 12th Feb in Vicar Street, you can buy tickets on Ticketmaster.You can also check out Darren and Amy's podcast, The Conways, all about life as a married couple.Send us your listener questions or cohost suggestions to TalkingBollox@GoLoudNow.com This episode was sponsored by Rightstyle Furniture - RIGHT PRICE, RIGHT STYLE, RIGHT NOW. Visit rightstyle.ie

Eoin is back in the house to try and put manners on the lads with middling success it must be said.He's noticed a change in Darren's attire recently and Joe's recent rants get the boss's assessment.Inspired by a very questionable 1970's social experiment, a thought experiment ensues and we get to hear what they'd do to drive eachother pure mad.Things get a bit Shakespearean when Joe gets outraged by Romeo & Juliet and poor darren gets freaked out by what happens to your head after it's been guillotened into a basket.And don't forget to join us for our live show at Vicar Street on February 12th. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster now – we promise you wont regret it.Send all your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

The boys are BACK for the first chat of 2026 and rundown of how their collective Christmas and New Years went. Joe does his his family dynamic no favours but going in on his mother in law's Christmas dinner offering whilst Darren impresses nobody with his fancy steak and half-zip combo.Joe's entrepreneurial spirit is on point as ever as they discuss setting up a sauna business with added smoking options and we get to experience the VERY weird way he sleeps. Darren went to see one of his favourite bands by accident but the reviews are in from Joe and safe to say, he has some strong opinions.And don't forget to join us for our live show at Vicar Street on February 12th. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster now – we promise you wont regret it.Send all your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the studio, nothing was stirring apart from Darren and Joe.Ahead of the arrival of the 26 fella, the boys take a whistful look back on some of their more memorable moments of the rolloercoaster that was 2025.From Joe's hottest takes/hardest facts involving Brazilian aliens and the infamous bean juice shout to Darren's stratospheric climb up the greasy pole of fame they bid a fond fist bump to the year that was.And don't forget to join us for our live show at Vicar Street on February 12th. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster now – we promise you wont regret it.Send all your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

Joe and Darren meet at a Christmas convention but more on that later...This week the boys bemoan the lack of options in Dublin for entertaining the kids and it seems bringing them to a graveyard isn't going to cut it and we're all in agreement that Christmas markets suck.The conversation naturally turns to which A.I assistant would be the soundest to hang out with and Grok comes out very badly.With it being the season we hear how Joe's Moira has made some 'interesting' choices whn it comes to the kids presents prompting joe to sweep down the chimney to save the day. With the darts underway at Ally Pally we needless to say get to hear from Joe how 'easy' darts is. He's as regular as a Luke Littler triple 20 that fella. PARENTAL EDVISORY WARNING: THERE IS MORE SANTA REAL TALK SO SMALL EARS ARE TO BE USHERED AWAY.And don't forget to join us for our live show at Vicar Street on February 12th. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster now – we promise you wont regret it.Send all your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

Darren is a bit under weather, but it can't hold us back for long. Joe has had a far more serious dose, and tells us how he had to make an emergency exit from a Saw Doctors gig.There is suspicion cast on Joe's latest tale of woe, and it's leading to big questions about the truth of his entire back catalogue of curious misfortune.We explore the world of forgotten school lunch sandwiches and hear about Joe's hugely boring tour of a national landmark.Darren is getting brave talking about his edgy dreams, and also preparing for his role as Santa's elf.And don't forget to join us for our live show at Vicar Street on February 12th. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster now – we promise you wont regret it.Send all your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

'There's a bit of bite in that dog'.Dave chats to Darren Conway and Joe McGucken about their upcoming gig in Vicar Street on February 12th.

Comedian Al Murray is coming to Vicar Street next year for his ‘All You Need is Guv' tour!He joins Jonathan Healy to chat ahead of the gigs…

In big news/a warning to road users Darren reveals the impressive results of his Driver Theory Test and in typical form, he managed to somehow wrangle a free eye test out of it. It's Christmas party season and a glimspe of Pat Kenny in the wild soon descends into imaginary conversations with the great man at the work do and naturally, Christopher Walken presenting the Toy Show.Joe has seen ANOTHER alien conspiracy theory documentary so prepare yourselves for some earth shattering revelations and the boys get into how A.I is going to essentially end the entertainment industry as we know it. WARNING TO ANYONE WITH SMALLIES: THIS EPISODE INCLUDES DISCSSIONS OF SANTA SO PARENTAL GUIDANCE IS ADVISED!!! We'll be bringing a brand new show to Vicar Street on Feb 12th, so get your tickets from Ticketmaster now and join us on the night!Send all of your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

It's pod award season and whilst the lads came away empty handed, Joe won gongs for 'Most Underdressed' and 'Worst Prepared For The Free Bar' so that's something.Joe's winning streak continues with a spectacular return on a Troy Parrott punt and he also gets to recount one of the great 'knew them before they were 'Ireland's national hero' stories in the process and poor Darren and reveals he was brutally trolled after attending the match. Darren is ITCHING to get a call-up for I'm A Celebrity bit how can he get in? They work through the possible paths to the jungle for him.DON'T FORGET! We'll be bringing a brand new show to Vicar Street on Feb 12th, so get your tickets from Ticketmaster now and join us on the night!Send all of your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

Joe and Darren are on high alert! A certain rival podcast duo are wandering around outside ON THEIR PATCH and the boys are keeping a VERY watchful eye throughout this week's episode.Speaking of keeping an eye out, Darren is parading a new pair of specs and he's delighted with himself. Although he is less delighted by the backhanded compliment Joe tries to pay him as a result. Hollywood heartthrob Glen Powell rears his gorgeous head and things get awkward when Darren reveal's he's Amy's not so secret crush.Joe recalls a recent press interview he had to do which isn't his finest moment behind the mic.DON'T FORGET! We'll be bringing a brand new show to Vicar Street on Feb 12th, so get your tickets from Ticketmaster now and join us on the night!Send all of your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

Darren isn't happy as he finds out he was left out of an invite only event that both Joe and Eoin attended. And it gets worse, as he finds out about some sneaking off between more friends of his. Overall he's feeling very left out, but it's OK because he has a new robot friend to keep him company now.We enter uncharted territory as Darren talks about seduction for the very first time, and Joe pitches an idea for a very adult themed documentary series hosted by Mr. Conway.There's some car talk, as Darren attempts some very bad wheeling and dealing over a new motor.Joe wonders why he's never seen an ad for some of the most popular types of crisps this country has even see, and we get a warning about the dangers of sourdough bread, plus some education on the realities of Irish prawns – a revelation that leaves us mildly stunned.We try to explain what exactly you can expect at a Stall It live show – and it proves hard, because it really is a strange thing, but one we know you'll enjoy. We'll be bringing a brand new show to Vicar Street on Feb 12th, so get your tickets from Ticketmaster now and join us on the night!Send all of your questions and comments to stallit@goloudnow.com

Welcome to the top 100 club, where nothing goes according to plan and apparently corruption is literally on the table.We get a singing introduction to this episode and we talk for the first time about our recently announced live show (Vicar Street, Feb 12th – stall it!).One listener question has us wondering who would be the good cop and who would be the bad cop in a Darren and Joe partnership. What emerges is that we'd actually get two very low standard and very corrupt cops.Joe is telling listeners to shut up, with love – even when they're complimenting him.And Darren introduces us to his wildly inaccurate little robot friend.Send all of your questions. comments and request for things to call out Joe on at the live show then please send them to stallit@goloudnow.com

Adam talks with Irish comedian David O'Doherty in front of a live audience at the 2018 Dublin podcast festival, in an episode rescued from Adam's shamefully disorganised, dusty pod vault. As well as delicious vintage waffle about email scams, cycling, music, comedy inspirations and puking on stage, David sings a couple of songs and is generally terrific company. Plus Adam shares some cultural recommendations.Conversation recorded live at Vicar Street, Dublin on 3 October 2018WATCH OUT! THIS EPISODE CONTAINS VERY STRONG LANGUAGEThanks to Séamus Murphy-Mitchell for production supportPodcast illustration by Helen GreenListen to Adam's album 'Buckle Up' Order Adam's book 'I Love You Byeee' Sign up for the newsletter on Adam's website (scroll down on homepage)RELATED LINKSDAVID O'DOHERTY WEBSITEDAVID ON CONAN SINGING ‘LIFE' - 2015 (YOUTUBE)THE MODEST ADVENTURES OF DAVID O'DOHERTY EP.1 - 2006 (YOUTUBE)TIME TRUMPET - DRAGON'S DEN SKETCH - 2006 (YOUTUBE)SOUPY NORMAN EP. 1 by Barry Murphy and Mark Doherty - 2007 (YOUTUBE)KEVIN McALEER ON FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE - 1987 (YOUTUBE)LADY GAGA VOMITS ON STAGE - 2012 (YOUTUBE)ADAM ON TALK 90s TO ME PODCAST WITH MIRANDA SAWYER - 2025 (YOUTUBE)THE RUNNING MAN (OFFICIAL TRAILER) - 2025 (YOUTUBE) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Harry McGee and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh to talk about today's news from the presidential campaign trail:A concert in support of Catherine Connolly's campaign brought top musical artists and thousands of young people together in Dublin's Vicar Street on Monday night. The event also brought together Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald, the Social Democrats' Holly Cairns, Paul Murphy of People Before Profit-Solidarity and Labour's Ivana Bacik, who were photographed hand-in-hand on stage. Could the left's new-found unity be an image of the political future?The panel also look at the ongoing fallout from 'the video' and ahead to tonight's RTÉ debate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

But are we the real monsters? While you're pondering that, we're welcoming the great Zac Stephenson of Sprints fame to the NO ENCORE studio! Zac has had a busy year, what with joining up with his Sprints bandmates in time for the recording and release of excellent sophomore effort All That Is Over. Speaking of his band, don't miss their headline show at Dublin's Vicar Street on Thursday 20 November. As for this show, it's a busy and unavoidably tonal whiplash-inducing affair, so let's get to it....ACT ONE: Catching up with Zac and everything Sprints. ACT TWO (23:31): D'Angelo RIP, the horrible story of Ian Watkins reaches its naturally grim conclusion, Rolling Stone unleash the 'best' 250 songs of the 21st century so far, Drake suffers another big loss, Julia Roberts weighs in on the 'art vs artist' thing, and David Draiman reaps what he sows - it's the week in music news. ACT THREE (1:11:50): Top 5 Songs About Monsters -Tickets for SPRINTS Dublin & Belfast shows Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1980s Dublin wasn't all emigration and recession. There was great music, mad nights out and a capital city bursting with homegrown talent. Irish rock icons Leslie Dowdall of In Tua Nua and Flo McSweeney of Toy With Rhythm and Moving Hearts were at the epicentre of it and now they have teamed up to present Natural Women, a collaboration which will see them covering songs by 1970s songwriting legends Carole King and Linda Ronstadt in Vicar Street. They came in to talk to host Roisin Ingle about their 1980s heyday, the scene in the Pink Elephant nightclub and why they wanted to make music together after all these years. They even give us a bit of a song. But first, Irish Times Opinion Editor Jennifer O'Connell is here to talk about some of the biggest stories of the week including the at home cervical screening that has arrived in the UK and the presidential chances of conservative Catholic Maria Steen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest this week is the King of Vicar Street. He's booked more bands than we've had hot dinners, and he's a bit of a musician himself. It's the wonderful Bren Berry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irish comedian Emma Doran embarked on her first ever stand-up gig while on maternity leave, that evening she won best act of the night and has been gigging non-stop since. Emma has garnered over 318k followers on social media for her stand up clips and sketches. In 2022 her debut nationwide Ireland stand up tour “Mad Isn't It” was a sell out with seven dates at Dublin's Vicar Street. In the same year Emma co-wrote and starred in sketch show “No Worries if Not” on RTE, the second series of which was released in January 2025. Other TV Credits include, Modern Love Amazon Prime, The Deirdre O'Kane Show SKY, Bridget and Eamon RTE, Callan Kicks RTE, Republic Of Telly RTE, Irelands Fittest Family RTE, Celebrity Gogglebox Virgin Media, Last One Laughing Amazon Prime and The Tommy Tiernan Show RTE. Emma currently co-hosts the podcast Keep It Tight with Deirdre O'Kane and her book Mad Isn't It was published by Gill Books in 2024 to critical acclaim, reaching number 4 on the bestseller list. It is a hilarious and moving memoir about family, friendship, (young) motherhood and taking risks. Emma has recently wrapped her biggest tour to date with Dilemma, which sold over 20,000 tickets across 60+ shows (including six sell-out nights at Vicar Street and two sell-out London Leicester Square Theatre dates) and was extended due to popular demand. Her highly anticipated latest stand-up show, Emmaculate, will be touring the UK and Ireland with Emma performing over 50 dates across Autumn 2025 and Spring 2026 .Emma Doran is our guest in episode 520 of My Time Capsule and chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things she'd like to put in a time capsule; four she'd like to preserve and one she'd like to bury and never have to think about again .For Emma's book and tour tickets, visit - https://www.emmadorancomedy.com .Follow Emma Doran on Instagram: @emmadorancomedian & Twitter/X: @EmmaLouDoran .Follow My Time Capsule on Instagram: @mytimecapsulepodcast & Twitter/X & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter/X: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by matthewboxall.com .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people .To support this podcast, get all episodes ad-free and a bonus episode every Wednesday of "My Time Capsule The Debrief', please sign up here - https://mytimecapsule.supercast.com. All money goes straight into the making of the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rory O'Neill and Emmet Kirwin join Brendan to talk about the show that began all the way back in 2016 ahead of its next run from the 17th to the 20th of July at Vicar Street in Dublin and you can get tickets at thisispopbaby.com

Chat and live music with the performers (and longtime friends) who are playing Vicar Street in September in 'Natural Women', singing the songs of Linda Ronstadt and Carole King (for copyright reasons the full tracks performed during this interview cannot be made available in the podcast)

Following on from a series of successful debut shows, the rock theatre production ‘moonlight: the Philip Lynott Enigma' will return to Vicar Street and joining the cast is renowned Irish singer songwriter Brian Kennedy. Brian known for his hit singles such as ‘you raise me up' and ‘crazy love' will be portraying literary icon Oscar Wilde joined Pat on the show this morning.

Dara Ó Briain returns with his latest live show. One of Ireland's greatest comedians will bring his new show, Re:Creation to the Marquee in Cork on the 29th of June, ahead of a run of shows at Vicar Street. To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Comedian, Dara O Briain. Photo(C): https://www.facebook.com/Liveatthemarqueecork/photos/-join-one-of-irelands-finest-ever-live-comedians-dara-%C3%B3-briain-with-his-new-show/647260671299585/?_rdr

We have a special bonus episode for you this week, with a lot of it recorded from the stage in Vicar Street as we prepared to begin our live show on Sunday.There's a lot of chaos around us as we try to answer a few listener questions, from superstitions to trademarked catchphrases and an unfortunate fall.We then bring some unreleased classics from the archives, including the options of supreme intelligence or global respect.Send all of your questions and comments to talkingbollox@goloudnow.com

Actor Peter M Smith, who has been playing Phil Lynott in ‘Moonlight: The Philip Lynott Enigma' in Vicar Street, joins Kieran for this week's Thursday Interview!

Peter Smith who stars as Philip Lynott in the Musical at Vicar Street joins Ray to tell us all about the show.

Des Bishop is a stand up comedian, podcaster, writer and author. His new comedy special, ‘Of All People' Is now out on 800 Pound Gorilla Media (links below) . Of All People is an hour of original stand-up and a culmination of years of experience on stage all over including in Queens, Ireland, and China. Bishop crafts high-energy stories and jokes, bringing the audience on a wildly entertaining ride through tales of his international travels and the gap between his looks and attitude. The openness and honesty of his presenting style combined with his restless imagination and perceptive observations make Des Bishop a must-see for fans of unique, insightful and provocative comedy. Now a massive star in Ireland, native New Yorker, Des moved from Queens to Ireland in his mid-teens in 1990. He first came to prominence with his extraordinary TV series The Des Bishop Work Experience (2004), where he lived on minimum wage in a series of different jobs in Ireland. Mixing this documentary footage with stand-up, the series became one of the most talked-about of the year, and propelled Des into national stardom. In 2006, he embarked on his second critically acclaimed TV series, Joy In The Hood, where he taught stand-up comedy in disadvantaged areas in four major Irish cities. Another hugely successful live tour followed including invitations to the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and the Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia. In 2007/8 Des embarked on his most ambitious and challenging TV programme to date: he decided to learn Irish from scratch and perform a 60 minute stand-up comedy routine in the Irish language. Over the course of 12 months, he lived with a family in the West Of Ireland honing his craft and in March 2008, the first episode of In The Name Of The Fada was broadcast. In The Name Of The Fada has prompted a radical re-think about how to teach Irish in schools and it unsurprisingly won the Irish Film and Television Award (IFTA) for Best Television Series later that year. In 2010, Des put together his most personal show to date called My Dad Was Nearly James Bond. Inspired by his father, Mike who was diagnosed with terminal cancer; Des documented the remarkable life of an actor and model who gave up the glamour for a steady job in a department store when his three sons were born. Des also wrote a memoir by the same name, which was short-listed for an Irish Book Of The Year Award. The My Dad Was Nearly James Bond live show previewed in Melbourne, before opening at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to widespread acclaim and five star reviews including Brian Logan of The Guardian who called it “a coup de théâtre…compelling…like diamonds, this show is forever”. The show toured extensively both nationally and internationally in 2010/11 including The Barrow Street Theatre in New York. In 2013 Des travelled to Beijing, China to learn Mandarin and he has been living there for the past 18 months. He is now fluent and the show, Breaking China was another major hit for broadcaster RTE in 2014 and he also made a half hour radio documentary about the rise of Stand Up in China for the BBC World Service called “Stand up for China”. His live show again opened at the Edinburgh Festival where he played to over 5,000 people and included an invitation to perform at the Soho Theatre in London and a return to Barrow Street in New York. Des has appeared on many live stand up shows including Edinburgh Comedy Festival Live (BBC), Live at the Comedy Store (Comedy Central) and Australian music themed quiz show Spicks and Specks (ABC). He was also the star of HBO's “A Comic's Climb” about his debut at the Aspen Comedy festival in 2005. In total, Des has released five bestselling stand-up DVDs: Des Bishop Live at Vicar Street (2004); Des Bishop Live (2005); Des Bishop – Fitting In (2006); Des Bishop – Tongues (2007); and Desfunctional (2009). His special, “Made in China” was released by Universal Pictures in November 2015. His special One Day You'll Understand was released in November 2018 on the RTE Player. The openness and honesty of his presenting style combined with his restless imagination and perceptive comic observations make Des Bishop a must-see for fans of unique, insightful and provocative comedy. We chat about his new comedy special, moving in his teens to boarding school in Ireland, grief and loss of his father, ‘crazy' reviews, imposter syndrome, becoming the parent to your parents, rehab, addiction in his teens, finding his voice, plus plenty more. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Des out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desbishop Website / tour dates: https://www.desbishop.net/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/desbishop Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Desbishopcomedy TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@desbishop5 Comedy special (newer one): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdlYHOmSpaM&t=675s&pp=ygUKZGVzIGJpc2hvcA%3D%3D ------------------------------------------- Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook https://www.instagram.com/funnyinfailure/ https://www.facebook.com/funnyinfailure/ and @Michael_Kahan on Insta & Twitter to keep up to date with the latest info. https://www.instagram.com/michael_kahan/ https://twitter.com/Michael_Kahan

With the announcement our next live show, we talk about the process of rehearsal and reveal some of the more stressful moments from the days and weeks leading up to the last show. There's a new Joe-proof system for rehearsals in place and Darren has concerns about the split on takings from a spice bag truck that has ended up embedded in a wall at Vicar Street.Darren and Joe are left proven drastically wrong as Joe defeats the odds and makes a roaring success of his spice bag truck. He even breaks the habit of a lifetime by giving away something for free – but he still can't get a tip, even from his own producer, or a curry sauce recipe from his co-host.He's already fearing disillusion with the food truck game, as multiple forces conspire to make the whole endeavour very tasty, but very stressful.Send all of your questions, comments and anything else to stallit@goloudnow.com