the Jesus Lizard / Stratford Rise – European tour live at Button Factory Dublin 15.01.2025

The Jesus Lizard,

A band I have never listened to, nor even heard of, before last night. 2 sold out nights in a row down in Dublin’s Button Factory. 

A slightly chaotic night to be fair. 

Belfast lads, Stratford Rise opened up the show, and wow, they blew me away. The timing, the tuning, the casual suits, the movements. They were so in tune with each other. It seemed as though they knew each other’s every move and what one would do next. 

A sound that you really don’t get to hear that often. So far, Stratford Rise have shown me a sound that I have not yet heard on the Irish music scene, and I crave for more. 

the Jesus Lizard, AKA The Basilisk, AKA that lizard who can run on water, AKA “hey that lizard can run on water like Jesus”, came on stage to a powerful scream and cheer from the entire crowd. You could feel the anticipation. Even whilst queuing, I could hear people asking for spare tickets, and not even the usual scalpers looking to buy and sell, genuine TJL fans wanting to get in to see the show.

One fella even said, “I have a ticket for tomorrow already but I really want to get in for both”. Certainly a dedicated fan base and the venue was full of them! 

The Button Factory was spewing at the seems. It was hard to move. Good luck to the lad carrying 3 pints through the crowd. Not an easy job. 

David Yow made great use of the packed crowd though as he screamed FUCK TRUMP and then jumped right in and surfed from front to back of the venue. A chaotic performance indeed and dare I say, a few pints were had pre show, as it seemed mr Yow was finding it hard to stay upright on two legs. Almost smashing his head off the floor monitors at one point (photo below to prove it). 

If these lads are rocking this fucking hard at this age, you can image the power they had in their hay day and it just proves why they have such a devoted following. 

An enjoyable night for sure, and I certainly wouldn’t be skipping a track if one appeared on my playlist. 

Stratford Rise photos:

the Jesus Lizard photos & set-list:

Set-list:
Glamorous
Boilermaker
Puss
Seasick
Mouth Breather
Thumbscrews
My Own Urine
Grind
Nub
Hide & Seek
What If?
Chrome (Chrome cover)
Alexis Feels Sick
Gladiator
Then Comes Dudley
___________________________
Lord Godiva
Thumper
Fly on the Wall
Moto(R)
Monkey Trick
___________________________
Dunning Kruger
Armistice Day
Falling Down

Words & Photos Carl Foran – @carlforanphotography