Live Review

Cold Addiction – The Cobblestone, Dublin

• 3rd Mar 2009

Depending on the route you take to the Cobblestone, you may end up taking your life in your hands.

I arrived via a circuitous route involving Bolton Street, North King Street and downtown Helsinki and was livid to find I could have just popped across Smithfield Plaza. The Cobblestone is a bit out-of-keeping with the sharp architecture and best-of-the-Celtic-Tiger vibe of the Plaza, but at least you can grab a bite in Fresh and sit looking out at the streets if you skipped dinner before heading out.

Inside, the Cobblestone is a bit like something from another age – small, cozy and with bare bricks and a vague suggestion that The Commitments might have rehearsed or played here.

The Awfully Big Adventure opened for Cold Addiction, with their characteristic unique blend of vocals from Tony Benn and Rebecca Massey setting the tone for a slightly genre-bending evening.

Cold Addiction specialise in merging funk, soul, blues, jazz and metal with a more traditional rock sound. It’s fitting, given the venue, that Cold Addiction opened with Mustang Sally, alternating original songs and covers that sound like a stronger rock version of the Blues Brothers.

Their upbeat opening engaged the audience and set up a good atmosphere for the rest of the gig. They are as comfortable with slower melodies on tracks like ‘What Am I To You?’ and ‘Steve’ as they are with rock, and are definitely worth seeing for a good night out.