Cork’s own God Alone kicked off the night with an explosive, high-octane set that immediately set a fiercely high bar for the evening. Blending the dizzying technicality of math-rock and heavy post-metal with undeniably infectious, dance-floor-ready grooves, the five-piece proved exactly why their recent album The Beep Test is making such massive waves. Their sheer kinetic energy was impossible to ignore, driven largely by a frontman who spent the entire performance bounding relentlessly across the stage. Seamlessly shifting from jagged noise rock to heavy, disco-tinged breakdowns, they transformed their genre-bending sound into a brilliantly chaotic and wildly fun live spectacle.
When Hot Mulligan took the stage, the atmosphere in The Academy instantly shifted into pure, sweat-drenched catharsis. Touring on the back of their latest release, The Sound a Body Makes When It’s Still, the band delivered a blisteringly tight performance that balanced the frantic energy of new tracks like “Stickers of Brian” with the heart-on-sleeve vulnerability of established fan favorites. Tades Sanville’s vocals were as raw and commanding as ever, navigating the sharp tonal shifts between melodic pop-punk and throat-shredding emo intensity with ease.
Every jagged riff and percussion-heavy breakdown was mirrored by a Dublin crowd that didn’t miss a single chance to scream back lyrics to anthems like “Drink Milk and Run” and “Shhhh! Golf Is On.” The momentum never faltered, peaking during a massive encore of “BCKYRD” and the inevitable, high-energy closer “Equip Sunglasses.” Hot Mulligan’s ability to channel deep-seated anxiety into such an uplifting, communal experience proved exactly why they are currently dominating the scene, leaving the room in a state of absolute, ringing adrenaline.
God Alone photos:
Hot Mulligan photos & set-list:
Set-list:
Moving to Bed Bug Island
And a Big Load
It Smells Like Fudge Axe in Here
Island in the Sun
Bon Jonah
This Makes Me Yummy -taped
Monica Lewinskibidi
How Do You Know It’s Not Armadillo Shells?
Fly Move (The Whole Time)
And I Smoke
Cream of Wheat of Feet Naw Cream of (feat.)
Prototheme
John “The Rock” Cena, Can You Smell What the Undertaker
Featuring Mark Hoppus
I Don’t Think It’s the Right Time for Emojis
Drink Milk and Run
Shhhh! Golf Is On
Feal Like Crab
Gans Media Retro Games
Stickers of Brian
Let Me See Your Mounts
Slumdog Scungillionaire
This Makes Me Yucky – taped
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BCKYRD
Equip Sunglasses
Photos & words – Zoltán Szabó @mrzoltanphoto