Kodaline live at the Telegraph Building, Belfast (16.8.2024)
This was on a whim. I was in Belfast for a few nights with a few mates for the big Stiff Little Fingers gig at Custom House Square. There were tickets available and after wandering the pubs during the day we thought this would be something to divert our attention from more and excessive ale.
I have seen Kodaline before – my wife loves ’em – and after catching half a set at Reading Festival in 2013 we saw them support Snow Patrol in Bournemouth in 2019. I get to ‘overhear’ CDs of course and radio plays but that is the extent of my experience though.
Four studio albums and a pop, maybe light rock, often folk, sound but no more albums since 2020 beyond a live one. This gig tonight is a warm-up gig for their Electric Picnic festival performance on the following day, in County Laois – not so far into the Irish countryside from their Dublin roots.
The venue tonight is a novel one. It is the shell of the former Belfast Telegraph newspaper offices and print room, and next door to the library that was used as the front of Police HQ in tv’s Line if Duty. Inside, it really is a shell. Temporary festival style toilets (dark and grim and they smell worse indoors!) and a bar put up out the back of the main room. A useful space overall though this venue, housing up to 1200 people with a very high ceiling and big and easily visible stage, even from the back. I did think there would be some seats but no. I parked up on a metal pipe out back for the support act so just listened and saw nothing – he sounded good but didn’t catch the name (can’t count him in the gig list eh).
The screams when Kodaline come on stage indicates the fan base. The screams are excitable rather than hysterical. Unavoidable exhalations maybe from the appreciative crowd. We note that we are just about the oldest people here – that’s not unusual for many gigs for newer bands I go to these days – and that there are not many chaps in tonight. But this is no boy band. They play instruments and front man Steve Garrigan leads with piano and acoustic guitar along with the vocals.
They are extremely easy listening and maybe a bit lighter than my usual tastes but they are good at what they do and this near full big room loves it.
The piano led songs give a change of pace and variety to help the set along.
One of my mates gets very animated when he hears ‘the Gogglebox’ music – Perfect World it’s called and yes they did play it and very popular it was to. News to me as a non-Gogglebox viewer.
This is just a brief passing note of my experience. I can’t offer much by way of detail or the material but always good to see a new venue and something different, when so proficient and enjoyed by an audience.
Gigs with Ivan 