A Year in Music – 2024 – Paul Page
by Killian Laher

How are you, what sort of year have you had?

I am good Killian, thanks. It’s been a good year for me personally – got to travel a bit, go to more gigs, and spend a bit more time doing stuff that I enjoy doing. But it is hard to feel anything but horror at what’s unfolding around the world – Gaza, Ukraine, climate change. We seem absolutely hellbent on the destruction of this planet. The people in power are the worst possible leaders to have at such a time of uncertainty. It is really worrying and would drive you to despair sometimes.

What are the albums you enjoyed most this year?

It’s been a good year for Irish music in particular. Great albums from Chequerboard, A Lazarus Soul, Kneecap, the Pillow Queens & Fontaines DC.

I was really taken with the Bedrooms album ‘Perfectly Still’. It’s a gorgeously crafted album, one of the best of the year.

From outside of Ireland, Adrianne Lenker, DIIV, Los Campesinos!, Max Richter, Jon Hopkins & The Cure all released fantastic records. But the Album of the Year for me was ‘Iechyd Da’ by Bill-Ryder Jones. One of my best discoveries of 2024 – a beautiful album, and I was lucky enough to see him play live recently in Vicar Street.  He is such a talented songwriter.

Is there any artist or album that defined the year for you?

I thought ‘Come and See’ by Gurriers was such an exciting, thrilling debut album. No matter how old I get, there is still nothing that beats the thrill of loud guitar music, and it is heartening to see a wave of Irish bands making such exhilarating music. The Gurriers album reminded me in a funny way of how it felt when Whipping Boy started out. They have a ferocity about them which  I love,  and they just remind me so much of the early days of our band. I think they are a band to watch – there is no limit to how far they can go.

Did you get to many gigs this year?

I probably got to more gigs this year than I have done in a long time. The gig of the year for me was Arcade Fire at Malahide Castle – really went along to see Echo and the Bunnymen but Arcade Fire blew me away. Such a fantastic show.  Really enjoyed the Arrivalists gig at Smock Alley Theatre. An intimate treat. Saw A Lazarus Soul twice, and they were brilliant on both occasions.

The most disappointing gig for me was Godspeed You! Black Emperor in the National Stadium.  I had wanted to see them live for a long time, and even though it was good, it didn’t live up to expectations. The venue didn’t help. Not one of my favourite venues in Dublin.

Do you think it will get to the stage where the ‘big concert’ is unaffordable for most of us?

I think over the last couple of years we have seen an attempt to slowly normalise obscene ticket prices, particularly for the bigger artists.

I remember reading a response from Bruce Springsteen’s manager where he was defending ticket prices from his last tour – he said a ‘modest’ number of tickets were in the $1,000 dollar bracket, but the average ticket price was in the more ‘affordable’ mid-$200 bracket. He claimed that was a “fair price to pay for someone universally regarded as among the greatest artists of his generation”.

So they are preparing the ground, making you feel that it is somehow value for money for such a privilege. And then you had the whole dynamic ticket pricing thing with Oasis – everyone blames Ticketmaster, but the artists, their management and the promoters also have to take responsibility. It is ripping off your fans, plain and simple – sadly, fans will pay the money, whatever it might be. And they will keep nudging the price up and up, as much as they can get away with. Personally, there is no artist in the world I will pay that kind of obscene ticket prices for, I don’t care who they are. It’s a con, and it is heading towards a situation where paying €200 plus for a big outdoor show will become the norm.

What’s your reaction if Stairway To Heaven comes on the radio?

I don’t listen to much radio – the fear of hearing that on the airwaves is one of the main reasons!

Anything interesting in the works yourself for 2025?

So I am writing that biog of Whipping Boy on Substack;  I am enjoying that, and others seem to enjoy it too. That will continue in 2025. I have also started writing & recording music again on a portable 8-track recorder. They are sketches really, but at least  I am playing again. Even if it is just for my own pleasure, I want to keep doing that next year. It has been interesting – I have started thinking like a musician again, which I hadn’t done in so long. I might get an idea in the middle of the day, and I will record it on my phone, until I get the portable recorder out. Only really started this in the last couple of months – so still learning. Or re-learning how to put a piece of music together. Lots of mistakes and retakes but I am enjoying it!