Tinlicker – National Stadium, Dublin (Paddy’s Eve; 16/3/26) – Zone Magazine Issue 052 –

Paddy’s Eve in the National Stadium. A strange one personally, I lived around the corner for the guts of ten years and never once set foot inside it. Always saw gigs on, never went. So there was something slightly full-circle about walking in the door that night.

Words & Pics By Nitetales

Al Gibbs opened things up the right way. No forcing it, just let the room come to him. Helsloot followed and you could feel the shift; a bit more intent, a bit more connection with the crowd. By the time Tinlicker came on, the place was properly filled out and ready.

They run a live show more than a DJ set, and that comes through straight away. It’s structured, deliberate and paced in a way that you don’t really get with most club DJs. There’s a clear arc to it. You can almost feel where they want you to be at each point, emotionally and energy-wise.

A lot of the set leaned on the newer material, mostly from the last two albums, but it didn’t feel like they were forcing new music on people. It all sits within their sound, so the transitions feel natural. No real jarring moments, which is probably the point.

There’s a section in the middle where they’re completely in control of it. Surrender, Tell Me, Choosing Life into Melancholia and Glow. That run felt like the core of what they do; melodic, emotional, but still with enough weight to carry the room. You could see it in the crowd as well, people properly locked in rather than just reacting to drops.

Blowfish stood out for me. It always has. There’s something about that track that leans back into an older sound, you could easily hear it on Vandit in a different era. It’s got that balance of drive and feeling without overdoing either. In a set that can lean quite polished, that track has a bit more bite to it.

The live vocal element adds more than I expected. Hero Baldwin in particular gives it a bit of presence and unpredictability. It stops it from feeling too clean or too rehearsed, which it could easily slip into given how tight everything else is.

Towards the end, they lean into the bigger, more familiar moments. The Find U remix in the encore turned into a proper singalong, one of those moments where the crowd takes over a bit. Then Reborn to close it out, which is exactly what you want at that point. Big, euphoric, no ambiguity about the finish.

I’ve been to a lot of Paddy’s Eve gigs over the years; Godskitchen when things were a bit wilder, Dixon more recently where it’s all about control and depth. This sat somewhere else again. It’s not trying to surprise you or challenge you. It’s about delivering a very clear, very polished version of their sound.

And to be fair, they do that well. The room was full, the crowd were in it from early enough and everything landed the way it was meant to. They’ve been announced for Beyond the Pale again this year. Makes sense. It’s the kind of set that works for a wide crowd without losing its identity.