Hot Press, 50 years in the making: The Concert3Arena, Dublin★★★★☆
It’s 10 minutes to midnight, well past the 3Arena’s bedtime, when Niall Stokes of Hot Press announces: “You won’t get jokes out of me, I am not Tommy Tiernan.”
However, when he first set up the influential Irish music magazine, it did seem as something closer to a joke, having been told by an editor in RTÉ: “I give you five issues.”
Fifty years later, and with a crowd of 13,000 in attendance, few people were laughing at Hot Press on Friday night even with comedians Tiernan, Tony Cantwell, Rachel Galvo and Emma Doran among those taking the stage as the magazine celebrated a half century in business.
The comedians provided the insulation between a stacked line-up of Irish musical talent that included The Boomtown Rats, Van Morrison, The Frames, Imelda May and Damien Dempsey.
Michael D Higgins speaking at the Hot Press 50th Anniversay gig in the 3Arena. Photograph: Bryan Meade
After opening with a speech by former Hot Press columnist and president of Ireland Michael D Higgins, the gig showcases a cavalcade of talent, with a performance by Clannad followed by Irish Women in Harmony and Gavin James.
The writer Emmet Kirwan bleeds into electric dance duo Belters Only before the mantle is taken up by rapper Denise Chaila, who dedicates Black is the Colour, a song previously performed by Hot Press alums Sinéad O’Connor and Christy Moore, to the people of Minnesota and Palestine.
Her harp-accompanied tribute is not the only nod to the politics of music; Dempsey dedicates his song Colony to Venezuela, Minnesota, Palestine and Greenland.
Damien Dempsey performing at the Hot Press 50th Anniversay gig in the 3Arena. Photograph: Bryan Meade
Morrison performs the kind of red-hot blues one would expect to hear in a New Orleans bar that serves the drinks ice cold. Gloria is a particular highlight, a song often covered but that seldom hits the heights of the original 1964 recording by Them.
The Frames ignite the arena with Revelate off of their second studio album Fitzcarraldo, with Glen Hansard delivering a rip-roaring set. He reveres Hot Press, describing Irish acts in the UK as being received by “NME, more like the enemy”.
While there’s plenty of established talent, the night shows the future of Irish music is in safe hands with Bray’s Florence Road dealing a James Bond intro track and a pop hit in their three-song set.
The substantial torch that is the legacy of Irish music is carried by Noel and Mike Hogan of The Cranberries, who are joined by Dermot Kennedy for modern takes on Zombie, Linger and Dreams.
May delivers an energetic set before joining The Boomtown’s Rats for an homage to Thin Lizzy, with Phil Lynott celebrated with a performance of The Boys are Back in Town.
There’s an agape to Hot Press’ love of music: a profound sacrificial love that transcends all genres and styles where indie rock is held to the bosom with the same affection as electronic and hip hop.
There’s an intoxication to the evening, where for a brief dazzling moment the answer to the question of whether music can save your soul is glaringly obvious, because of course, 50 years of Irish music would say it can.