The Village, Dublin	Bernie Commins
Iris Magazine	17 April 2003

The second act of the night was a great surprise for me. I’ve long been a fan of Paddy Casey’s music but had yet to see him live, so when he walked on stage accompanied with a band I was like a little girl who had been allowed to stay up past bedtime. It was clear that Paddy was promoting his forthcoming album and brand new single, ‘Family Tree’ because although the material was new, there was something else very different about his music. His début album Amen…So Be It was a beautiful collection of personal ballads, but it wouldn’t have you jumping around in hysterics. The music he was making on that stage in the Village that night was funky and lively. It was shoulder swaying and hip-hopping music. The live sound really brought the best out in his music, especially when he played some of his classics like, ‘Whatever Gets You True’ and ‘Fear’. The three-guitar layer added a heaviness that you just can’t hear on the album. Paddy’s rendition of the Blackstreet classic No Diggity, went down really well with the crowd, but that was the case with all of his set including the final and very fitting track ‘It’s all over now’. It was for the launch night, but it is only the beginning for this state of the art venue. Tom Dunne said that he hoped in two years time we could look back on all the great performers and artists that will have graced the stage in the Village and still think of it as an amazing venue. Somehow I don’t think that will be a problem.