The best gig ever to take place in Ireland ever (4 Viewers)

[nuke terrorist]

was anyone here at Public Enemy at McGonagles circa 1987/88 ?
must have been great.

 

[Jim Daniels]

Wasn't that Nick Cave gig in the SFX 91, Henry's Dream. Unless he played before that, before my time. I didn't see him until Let Love In, that was in London. Brilliant gig.

That's the one yeah. For some reason I had The Good Son in mind. But it was great stuff. He's always great actually. Saw him do a solo love song piano gig in the Gaiety around the late 90s I think.That was brilliant too.

 

[Jim Daniels]

First time I saw Jonathan Richman play a solo seated gig in Whelans. Fantastic. He was in very humorous form - lots of banter and mid song chat. Big Boston accent and trademark t shirt. Hugely enjoyable. On way home we bumped into a mate who was at Tori Amos that night. We grinned but nodded soberly in a "wrong choice dude " manner. Although I'm sure she was great.

Next time I saw Jonathan, he wasn't in good form. Annoying hecklers kept shouting at him to stop talking and just sing. So he sang about 4 songs in a row...all in Spanish. Lol.

 

[Jim Daniels]

First time I saw Yo LaTengo. Late 90s I think in The Mean Fiddler or whatever it was called at that stage - next to Whelans. Hugely electric atmosphere from audience. Ira shredding his guitar throughout,and ptobably his back too with all the lunging. They apologised for taking so long to play here and opened the floor to requests at the end. I remember Georgia singing a very sweet solo "What Can I Say" and us all joining in. Bought a load of merch afterwards. The t-shirt was too skinny but a Hari Krishna dude complimented it a few weeks later on Wicklow Street.

 

[Jim Daniels]

Pretty much every Spiritualised gig. Best seen from a height..... given I'm such a short arse. You can say what you like about Jason, but he puts on a he'll of a show.

Think he's to blame for my tinnitus though.

 

[rettucs]

Well the Music Tapes are an odd band at the best of times, all musical saws and weird instruments. Their live show includes extended storytelling segments and at one point they turn on a tv they have on stage and it "sings" the next song. It'd be irritating if it was in any way an affectation but the lead fella clearly believes very strongly in what he's doing.

Anyway, about halfway through the gig he walks to the front of the stage with some bird cages and calls for some volunteers. He gives 3 birdcages to the volunteers and then to the rest of the crowd starts handing out something (i've actually forgotten what, @scutter?) that you had to balance on your palm. He announces that the people with the birdcages are "on" and they have to catch all the other people who have to keep balancing this yoke in their palm or else they're out. If you got caught you give them the thing (was it a light maybe?) and they put it in their birdcage.

So you ended up with 100 eejits running around the room playing chasing. At the end the last person left standing not caught and person with the birdcage with the most amount of lights won t-shirts or vinylS I think.

they were little glow-lights. Like electric candles.

I remember thinking, when Neutral Milk Hotel were coming to play here, how someone clearly as nuts as Koster, and someone so serious as Jeff Mangum, could be in the same band. Then I saw Scott Spillane, a whole other level of nuts!

 

[hugh]

was anyone here at Public Enemy at McGonagles circa 1987/88 ?
must have been great.

Almost but not quite. They did an afternoon thing in TCD on the same day that I was at, but I didn't make it to the Mcgonagles show. What a spa I am.

I was at that Nick Cave gig in the SFX though. 91 sounds about right. It was fantastic. I didn't expect the full-on preacher-man showman vibe. Expected something much more introverted. Brilliant, powerful stuff. Though, I have to say, the Olympia gigs for the No More Shall We Part tour, when both Blixa and Warren Ellis were in the band are probably more memorable for me (possibly because they weren't so long ago and I was probably less wasted). I still get the shivers when I hear that spiralling violin part in Fifteen Feet Of...

 

[rettucs]

The Quietus | News | MBV Drummer Says Gigs Not Loud Enough

 

[Cormcolash]

The Quietus | News | MBV Drummer Says Gigs Not Loud Enough

Hahaha, if ever there was a person who should fucking well know that there is no sound system in the 3Arena and the touring band brings their own PA in.
Also he's full of shit, Black Sabbath was just the right volume, not too quiet and not stupidly break your ears and distort all the music anyway loud. Fucking drummer.

 

[bogmanfan]

Best gig ever in Dublin was the Boredoms in the Village in 2007. I was at the Boadrum77 thing in NYC earlier that year, and the Village show was even better. Shame they've not come back since.
Honourable mentions to At The Drive-In in TBMC in 2000, Battles first show in Whelan's in I think 2006, Portico Quartet in Whelans in 2007 and Joanna Newsom's first show in the Olympia in 2008 maybe. I actually was at her legendary gig in the Sugar Club, and it was great. But every gig since has been better.

 

[pavlos]

Also he's full of shit, Black Sabbath was just the right volume, not too quiet and not stupidly break your ears and distort all the music anyway loud.

I thought exactly the same thing when I read his comments. He's probably half deaf at this stage anyway!

 

[therealjohnny]

but he puts on a he'll of a show.

the apostrophe..what the fuck man?

 

[Jim Daniels]

the apostrophe..what the fuck man?

Lol. The only side effect of my chemo - proof reading abilities

 

[nooleen]

nice one johnny, you absolute bastard

 

[therealjohnny]

these things must be observed

 

[nooleen]

*thing's

 

[bogmanfan]

Forgot about Dan Deacon in Crawdaddy in 2007. That was fantastic!

 

[irishrockorg]

I emigrated a long time ago so the gigs I went to (mostly in the '80s) are distant memories. I've been to a few shows on visits home over the years, but I think the best gig I ever attended in Dublin was without a shadow of a doubt The Prisoners in the Buttery in Trinity around 1984. I saw them twice in that period ('83-'84), once in the Project, and once in Trinity, the latter supported by the Golden Horde (who were great but too loud), and I preferred this second gig probably because I was more familiar with their material by then. They were absolutely devastating. I remember standing outside waiting for the doors to open as the band was soundchecking with 'Hush' which sounded unbelieveably good to me. I was completely primed for the garage rock sound. The high profile indie gigs I remember from that time were things like The Smiths or New Order in the SFX, both of which left me cold. At one point during the gig, the bass player announced "this next song is called... Anarchy For The UK" and the rent-a-punks up the front went apeshit, at which point he said something sarcastic and scornful... there was no Sex Pistols cover.
No-one chose this gig for the book (and no Echo & The Bunnymen either?! Or did I flick through it too quickly?!) but as it's for a good cause, it's worth picking up.

 

[hermie]

they were little glow-lights. Like electric candles.

I remember thinking, when Neutral Milk Hotel were coming to play here, how someone clearly as nuts as Koster, and someone so serious as Jeff Mangum, could be in the same band. Then I saw Scott Spillane, a whole other level of nuts!

We supported them that night. It was really fun. Koster is a lovely bloke, really reminds me of Ray or Dave Davies.

 

[hermie]

Best gig ever in Dublin was the Boredoms in the Village in 2007. I was at the Boadrum77 thing in NYC earlier that year, and the Village show was even better. Shame they've not come back since.
Honourable mentions to At The Drive-In in TBMC in 2000, Battles first show in Whelan's in I think 2006, Portico Quartet in Whelans in 2007 and Joanna Newsom's first show in the Olympia in 2008 maybe. I actually was at her legendary gig in the Sugar Club, and it was great. But every gig since has been better.

Yeah that first Battles show and Joanna in the Olympia were definite stonkers.

Les Savy Fav in Crawdaddy was one of my favs. Think it was a Halloween show and he arrived for the first tune hanging upside down from the balcony like a bat.

Probably my fondest memory if I had a gun to my head would be the last Fugazi show in the Red Box with Connectfour. People who had seen them on earlier tours will probably speak more highly of them but I never remember seeing a band as good before or since really. I also loved the old Red Box. Saw some great shows in there