AC/DC Punchestown 28/06/09

AlekSmart

Furious-red said.....

We pretty much would have got in for free cause we got a lift in with the gardai but when we went to the barrier this women asked us for our tickets but we ended up talking to the female steward who was dead on (she even said when see was working at slane or her husband was , she said that there were about 10,000/15,000 people who didnt have tickets and got in and also 100 dublin buses didnt turn up that night to bring people back)had great craic with her. We also thought that there wasnt enough stewards around , there was about 10 each side of the walkway but only 5 or 6 on our side(which was the right hand side of the crowd. Also the stewards around the place were useless since none of them knew where the main entrance was which wasnt suprising .

I`d have to take issue with the Female Steward`s husbands account of the Dublin Bus problems at Slane....the company eventually utilised 300 vehicles on the Gig.
Granted it had to sail very close to the leglislative wind in relation to totally unrealistic Working Time administrative regulations,but it DID provide over and above what was required in vehicular terms.
However it may as well have been 3,000 or 30,000 vehicles...cos if they cant access the location then they ain`t worth a hill o` beans.

Punchestown 09 ? Heavens above we are still a race which is very reluctant to LEARN stuff....especially the SIMPLE stuff.
We can write poetry,sing songs and drink but when it comes to washing our own faces we always miss the bits behind our ears.

Some other local posters quite correctly point out the "Problems" asociated with accessing a venue via a network of minor roads and farm tracks...this "Problem" exascerbates rapidly when the vehicles are 11 metre long,2.55 metre wide double decks being forced to swerve about the place to avoid wobbly pedestrians...it just aint desireable !

However,I think Dublin Bus`s input to Pinchestown 09 went reasonably well,with only a few hiccups,again focusing on ACCESS...(Memo to Mr Dublin Bus...If we can`t drive a Bus to the venue in reasonable time,in reasonably safe conditions DON`T GO !!)

Organizers of such events really will have to decide as to what TYPE of Access they are going to run with.
There is NO room for the current trend to mix Private Car,Pedestrian,Bus & Coach and hope they`ll get along....THEY WON`T :eek:

Once again it reverts back to the Concert Promoter and the Planning Permission conditions which they sign up for.

The Punchestown Park & Ride system was,not for the first time,deeply flawed.

Without getting too specific,there appeared to be issues surrounding the Capacity of the "Ride" element of the Park & Ride at Goffs which were added to by the need for this to serve Naas town also.

These issues relate totally to the Promoter and the contracts put in place to serve the P & R site/s.
To the best of my knowledge the P&R Bus contracts did NOT involve Dublin Bus at all.
It may well be that the private operator/s involved were not sufficiently resourced to offer the service level/capacity demanded by a 7,000+ vehicle site.

As I understand it the resultant capacity problem at the end of the Gig was only solved by Dublin Bus management agreeing to allocate extra resources to clear the numbers left milling around for transport back to Goff`s.

This,it seems, was NOT part of the Dublin Bus event contract,but underlines how major public events such as Punchestown/Slane CANNOT be serviced on-the-cheap.

Once again the essence of the job is simple...ACCESS..ACCESS..ACCESS...provide the unimpeded,clearly marked and policed ACCESS and vast numbers can be moved with relative ease

Deny that ACCESS and you might as well just organize a mass sit-down along the N7.

Mind you...THE idea of the thread has to be sticking yer bicycle in the boot and pedalling along the Highway to Hell itself !!!!
There could be money in this for JC Decaux and their Dublin Bicycle Rental gig yet !!!! :P

hidinginthebush

partyguinness wrote: »

That is the point I was getting to...they are rougher around the edges..perhaps intentionally so?? and I think the audience/fan base have a lot to with it. Do the older bands even do non seating 70-80,000 venues anymore?

Are we really comparing like with like? ACDC are not pitching for middle class respectability in their old age. My last two concerts were Leonard Cohen and ACDC...two polar opposites and in term of the satisfaction value both were top class...(obviously the crowds were very different..lol)

The point being, the fans of Eric Clapton etc have grown up and have middle aged along with the band. They are respectable and more polished whereas ACDC are the complete opposite.

How were they not professional? I would say they were the most professional aspect of the whole evening...lol

I think you have a good point there, you're right that the rawness is what makes them pretty special. I think I was just expecting something more along the lines of the performances of the other old bands I've seen. Ah well, it was what it was, some people loved it, some (well, just the one from what I've read and heard) didn't. Either way I'm glad I went. Pain in the hole getting there all the same, but great craic.

DUBACC

Have to say - best gig i've been at in years. What a show! O logged on here to compliment the car park organisers but was surprised to read some comments on here. We left after the last song and walked the 20 mins or so to the Blue Car Park. Got into the car at about 12.00 and was home in Bray by 1.00. Or maybe we were just jammy!

kitfit

Excellent gig, AC/DC Rock! Pity about the rain. Pity that MCD exist.

Support were probably good, if you could hear them. They were definitely not using the full complement of speakers which were probably reserved for the headline act.

I fail to understand how the Gardai and MCD who are in this game for a very long time and have had months to plan and organise the event got it so wrong.

Inside the event was as good as could be expected, the only real queues were for beer, we went up twice which took 10-15 mins each time (Before AC/DC) and once for food (During AC/DC) which took 5-10 mins.

MCD need to put a lot more effort into on-the-day logistics and proper queue management post-gig. The Gardai need to WAKE UP and prioritise Buses which they did NOT do on the day.

How do companies like MCD get a licence for this sort of thing? Surely this should be only granted on a performance basis? If they failed to organise an 80,000 (Slane) event, how the hell are they allowed to repeat this the following week?

In my eyes, MCDs only saving grace is 'Oirishness' that has idiots rearranging and jumping barriers, and queues, and pedestrians deliberately walking in front of buses to hold them up.

Aren't MCD the same people organising Oxegen next weekend in the same venue? Maybe it'll be third time lucky. We'll know next week.

Declan30

What A day. Parked in Newhall park and Ride.Got there at 2pm 3 buses waiting.Got to the Venue and 3pm.Slight Delay.

Concert was Amazing Acdc wow was a show they put on.

The Answer could not even make them out .Taught they were rubbish.

Blizzards despite all the talk on here no one booed them or threw anything at them.
U could see them were nevrous at the Gig and gave it their best.They played very well and i was impressed by them.

And all u people who say u will never attend a gig outside Dublin again.Great make more Tickets for the rest of us:D

Stay at home if u can handle a bit delay.I was delayed as well for hrs but hey it is Ireland nothing runs right here from goverments to concert.Surprised at how shocked people are on how it is run.

80,000 + all leaving at the same time what do you expect .

And one last thing be great as a non drinker if Alcohol was banned at gigs.
So many Fcuking idioits drunk at 5pm and just being in the way.
People must have loads of money to spend 76.50 and never ever get to see the concert as they are too Drunk:rolleyes:

melekalikimaka

iRock wrote: »

Yeah? There was a girl beside me taking a panic attack. The steward would NOT open the barrier or call a Garda over when asked. I left the gig immediately after hearing AC/DC. I got the bus to Goffs park and ride.

There was hardly any traffic on the road to Longford heading home. I arrived home at 6.45 thismorning. The only time that I was left standing was while I was waiting for park & ride bus.

jasus i live in dublin and i finshed round 3.45, one by 5. not a car or bus in sight

DUBACC

Can't understand all this 'music snobbery' in this thread. Stop comparing them to other bands/acts like Neil Young etc. Completely different styles of act. AC/DC were just a straight-up, no-nonsense f**cking rock band! End of! :cool:

lordgoat

kitfit wrote: »

Excellent gig, AC/DC Rock! Pity about the rain. Pity that MCD exist.

Support were probably good, if you could hear them. They were definitely not using the full complement of speakers which were probably reserved for the headline act.

I fail to understand how the Gardai and MCD who are in this game for a very long time and have had months to plan and organise the event got it so wrong.

Inside the event was as good as could be expected, the only real queues were for beer, we went up twice which took 10-15 mins each time (Before AC/DC) and once for food (During AC/DC) which took 5-10 mins.

MCD need to put a lot more effort into on-the-day logistics and proper queue management post-gig. The Gardai need to WAKE UP and prioritise Buses which they did NOT do on the day.

How do companies like MCD get a licence for this sort of thing? Surely this should be only granted on a performance basis? If they failed to organise an 80,000 (Slane) event, how the hell are they allowed to repeat this the following week?

In my eyes, MCDs only saving grace is 'Oirishness' that has idiots rearranging and jumping barriers, and queues, and pedestrians deliberately walking in front of buses to hold them up.

Aren't MCD the same people organising Oxegen next weekend in the same venue? Maybe it'll be third time lucky. We'll know next week.

This is complete and utter shi-te.

The main problem with this gig was the poorly organised traffic plan, which would have very little or nothing to do with MCD. The blame for this lies at either the gardai or naas town council. Not Dublin bus or MCD.


Any more trolling of this nature and yes i called it trolling will get a ban. The fact that you mention 'MCD' seven times in your post leads me to believe that you're just trying so cause trouble.

If you wish to continue this further - PM me. Do not reply to this on thread.

Ash.J.Williams

DUBACC wrote: »

Have to say - best gig i've been at in years. What a show! O logged on here to compliment the car park organisers but was surprised to read some comments on here. We left after the last song and walked the 20 mins or so to the Blue Car Park. Got into the car at about 12.00 and was home in Bray by 1.00. Or maybe we were just jammy!

well you see you were bold and didn't do what you were told!! If you obeyed the masters you would not have brought your car and you would have parked in goffs, because the shuttle busses had priority over everyone and were going to be ushered in and out before all other traffic...
Normally i would drive and park like you did, but this time i listened to the advice on the web and parked in goffs....DISASTER!!

partyguinness

DUBACC wrote: »

Can't understand all this 'music snobbery' in this thread. Stop comparing them to other bands/acts like Neil Young etc. Completely different styles of act. AC/DC were just a straight-up, no-nonsense f**cking rock band! End of! :cool:

YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH BABY...

rossie1977

Bluefoam wrote: »

Anyone know how many people were there?

I've read in this thread that it was 80,000; 120,000... But my understanding was that Punchestown can only hold 70,000 and they were still adveryising tickets on the morning of the show?

there was nowhere near 120k there, punchestown holds between 70 and 80k so there was somewhere in that number, proabably closer to the 70k mark i would estimate

my experience, we left dublin at 4.30pm with dublin bus, once we reached goffs it was total gridlock, waited for about 20 mins and got off the bus at 6.20pm and started to walk (we were still about 2-3km from naas on the dublin side ), the number of people walking was insane, it seemed like everyone had abandoned their buses on the road (every dublin bus we passed was empty), started to rain as we turned down the lane for punchestown, a further 4-5km walk from there and we arrived at the venue at just before 8pm

gig finished at roughly 11.20pm, mad crush for dublin bus coming out, we had a bus but once the people broke through the barrier everything was just complete madness, waited and waited for ages until a steward told us to walk toward the road to get a bus, wouldn't you know it all the buses parked up waiting while the crowd was half a mile down the road waiting :mad:

garda held our buses up until 1.30am, back in dublin at 2.30am

overall great gig, terrible terrible organisation and i have been to punchestown before at sold out shows, never this amount of hassle

DUBACC

well you see you were bold and didn't do what you were told!! If you obeyed the masters you would not have brought your car and you would have parked in goffs, because the shuttle busses had priority over everyone and were going to be ushered in and out before all other traffic...
Normally i would drive and park like you did, but this time i listened to the advice on the web and parked in goffs....DISASTER!!



Yeah, i've read some of the reports - sounds like a nightmare. The car parks at the actual venue weren't too packed tbh.

I know we didn't do what we were told - feels so wrong yet feels so right!! :P

Pye

Aspro wrote: »

Seriously, I don't care about the weather, the traffic, even the 2 hour walk to the gig - it's the fact we could have had another Hillsborough on our hands. Is it going to take a death at a large scale event like this before we wake up?

And imagine the tabloid headlines then - Stampede Death at rock concert - drunken idiots rampage - Minister says all outdoor concerts to be banned...

Comments like this one make me seriously wonder how many other rock events you people have actually been to. When you actually do go to a slightly disastrous event what are you going to call it then, Hiroshima?

I was there and witnessed nothing I've never seen in England in all the times I've been to large outdoor gigs/festivals. Took us a bit long to get out but I expected that. My only real gripe would be that the only beer around was Hineiken but that's just me being a baby because I couldn't bring my Smithwicks in!

The gig was fantastic. Didn't even hear the Wizzards, took my mate's advice and went for some beer instead and watched two squares complain about the noise because two of our lot were dancing about (any of ye?) before returning to see The Answer who's sound was unfortunately quite low but I'll get over it, ACDC totally rocked. Ill remember this forever, Hillsborough my arse. Have some respect!

Heinrich wrote: »

If it had been any other group than AC/DC I would have been home by 9.30 p.m. The late start was an insult and the effing group should have been met with a stony silence followed by hissing and booing!

That comment made me LOL. Booing indeed (boo hoo more like).

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

well you see you were bold and didn't do what you were told!!

Like every good rocker!

I can honestly say, it rocked hard. I'm shocked to see that some people left before the end, what's up with that?

Anyway...

FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK, WE SALUTE YOU

bionic.laura

And one last thing be great as a non drinker if Alcohol was banned at gigs.
So many Fcuking idioits drunk at 5pm and just being in the way.

Well to use your own logic

but hey it is Ireland

what do you expect?

And I don't drink at gigs either.

NullZer0

hidinginthebush wrote: »

does anyone think that for a band that's been on the go for about 40 years they were a bit sloppy? i wasn't impressed by the gig at all. don't think it was worth €80 at all

Do you play guitar yourself?
What were you expecting? A human sacrifice live on stage or something?

You'll do well to find anyone that plays as good as that Live.

TheDemiurge

The crowd handled themselves very well given the atrocious conditions into which they were put - we all deserve a pat on the collective back

Still can't stop thinking about the gig. My poison of choice are the Stones or The Who - but my soul has never been rocked and shaken right to its core like last night -

In one moment I screamed out to a mate that it was like being f**ked by God - if such a thing is possible

I will never forget this gig as long as I live, and thankfully for the right reasons :cool:

Sorry for going OTT

hidinginthebush

iRock wrote: »

Do you play guitar yourself?
What were you expecting? A human sacrifice live on stage or something?

You'll do well to find anyone that plays as good as that Live.

...been playing 12 years buddy.

Ronan|Raven

Pye wrote: »

I can honestly say, it rocked hard. I'm shocked to see that some people left before the end, what's up with that?

Anyway...

I would say a lot of them were people who werent hardcore enough to stand in a crush for two odd hours to get a bus back to goffs.

Pye

hidinginthebush wrote: »

...been playing 12 years buddy.

Live?

NullZer0

hidinginthebush wrote: »

...been playing 12 years buddy.

Right, well then there is nothing more I can add. You obviously know your stuff and clearly AC/DC were sloppy.

partyguinness

TheDemiurge wrote: »

The crowd handled themselves very well given the atrocious conditions into which they were put - we all deserve a pat on the collective back

Still can't stop thinking about the gig. My poison of choice are the Stones or The Who - but my soul has never been rocked and shaken right to its core like last night -

In one moment I screamed out to a mate that it was like being f**ked by God - if such a thing is possible

I will never forget this gig as long as I live, and thankfully for the right reasons :cool:

Sorry for going OTT

LOL.:D:D:D:D:D

Whatever turns you one buddy....:)

But yeah thats a good a description as I've heard..

triv88

Declan30 wrote: »

And one last thing be great as a non drinker if Alcohol was banned at gigs.
So many Fcuking idioits drunk at 5pm and just being in the way.
People must have loads of money to spend 76.50 and never ever get to see the concert as they are too Drunk:rolleyes:

I understand where you are coming but alcohol is not the problem,its the minority that abuse it obnoxiously.

I don't think there would be half the same atmosphere if there was none involved at all?

hidinginthebush

Pye wrote: »

Live?

I've been known to play live from time to time yes

partyguinness

iRock wrote: »

Right, well then there is nothing more I can add. You obviously know your stuff and clearly AC/DC were sloppy.

Ah come on ladies...put down the handbags...I know we are all excited and high after this truly wonderful experience last night.

We are all a bit emotional and teary...but lets not spoil it...:)

rossie1977

bionic.laura wrote: »

Well to use your own logic

what do you expect?

And I don't drink at gigs either.

alcohol bans at gigs would be pointless, most of the people who drank at the gig were already drinking from early morning, on the train, on the buses out, in naas, the road from nash to punchestown was littered with cans, bottles etc, i saw mutiple people getting sick on the side of the road and we were still 2 miles from the venue

DUBACC

Re my previous post about music snobbery - who was the genius on here who claimed that the 'target audience' (what is this, a fkg marketing seminar??) was not middle class, etc?? The 6 lads in our van last night were made up of Solicitors and Accountants - that's the beauty of AC/DC. They have such a broad audience from all walks of life - doesn't matter where you're from or what you do, we (all 80,000 or so) were more than happy to wait hours in the rain, endure crap organisation, etc to rock with them!

For those about to rock......

hidinginthebush

partyguinness wrote: »

Ah come on ladies...put down the handbags...I know we are all excited and high after this truly wonderful experience last night.

We are all a bit emotional and teary...but lets not spoil it...:)

I'm with you here partyguinness. C'mon lads, let's hug it out :hug:

hillerbees

William72 wrote: »

there's something else at play here folks. have been to gigs in punchestown b4 and seen many many gig crowds pass through over the last few years with no hassle at all. Up until yesterday was thinking that it was one of the better venues. Yesterday was by far the worst I've seen there. With Oxegen I know people arrive over a few days so that makes it easier but even previous once off gigs there was never this kind of traffic chaos. The police presence yesterday seemed well down on previous years - don't the promotors pay for this? Are there not minimum numbers that have to police these events. No point in blaming dublin bus - traffic was just not moving and thats down to promotors/guards. So the question is - are we seeing less policing of these events now? Slane and now this? Is it down to penny pinching? Having to leave a gig before the end to make sure you get home is a disgrace and seems to be coming the accepted norm - we should not be accepting that!!!

You've hit the nail square on the head. There was damn all police presence about yesterday. At 5 in the afternoon I saw a lad openly making a bong out of a plastic drinks container to smoke his joint through. There was virtually no gardai at the venue and none overriding the traffic lights in Naas to ensure the traffic flowed onto the empty motorway. It is poxy management on the part of MCD and poor support from the Gardai. I'll bet there were dozens up at Croake Park and at that thingy with the President.

70,000 punters paid €82.50 each, total income of €5.8 million to split between band, promoters, ticket agents etc. surely there is enough included in the price to let people get to and from the gig properly. If they can't do it right they should avoid these fiascos in future...we can fly Ryanair to the UK and see any number of excellent stadium shows run well for little extra cost and a whole lot more enjoyment.

AC\DC rock;) - MCD suck:mad:

NullZer0

partyguinness wrote: »

Ah come on ladies...put down the handbags...I know we are all excited and high after this truly wonderful experience last night.

We are all a bit emotional and teary...but lets not spoil it...:)

I don't understand how anyone could say they were sloppy. Rather than beating round the bush : F*&ck*n .....

Thats that.

Unreal Live, have to say I really enjoyed the gig. Only hope Metallica are half as good Live (even though I've really gone off them).

grimm2005

Thought the gig itself was excellent, managed to get pit passes and an excellent spot but with that in mind was not as good as the o2 gig in april, the smaller crowd and the fact there were no problems getting out made it a perfect night. (some pics: http://tinyurl.com/m3d4yb and http://tinyurl.com/mzuzka )

Stayed till the bitter end last night, agree transport and queue situation was a mess and the most of the stewards wern't doing their jobs properly. Still consider myself lucky to be back in dublin by about 2am.

Didn't get that many decent photos from last night as opposed to the o2 but heres a couple:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39950529@N03/

Pye

hillerbees wrote: »

At 5 in the afternoon I saw a lad openly making a bong out of a plastic drinks container to smoke his joint through.

A guard arresting someone for smoking a joint would be a bit of a waste of their time though don't you think? What harm could he do anyway, hug everyone to death?

partyguinness

DUBACC wrote: »

Re my previous post about music snobbery - who was the genius on here who claimed that the 'target audience' (what is this, a fkg marketing seminar??) was not middle class, etc?? The 6 lads in our van last night were made up of Solicitors and Accountants - that's the beauty of AC/DC. They have such a broad audience from all walks of life - doesn't matter where you're from or what you do, we (all 80,000 or so) were more than happy to wait hours in the rain, endure crap organisation, etc to rock with them!

For those about to rock......

I said that...and in fairness you are making the same point I was making you have picked me up wrong. I was using that to highlight differnecs and that comparing with Eric Clpaton etc was not reasonable. AC/DC appeal to everyone..they are not highbrow, pretentious, politically motivated etc.

Our bus of 10 had:

1. Software Engineer
1. Solicitor
4. PhD Science graduates
3. Council Planners
1. Plumber (unemployed)

No pouncy analysis of the lyrics or technical ability of Angus afterwards...:D..just more beer cracked open.

triv88

grimm2005 wrote: »

Didn't get that many decent photos from last night as opposed to the o2 but heres a couple:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39950529@N03/

They arel great pics! thanks

DUBACC

Fair enough partyguinness - i must learn to read, but then again my ears are still ringing after last night!!!

You get my point though and i just laugh at a lot of posters on here - makes me wonder did they even get mammy's permission to come out. Oooh the nasty man is a bit drunk, its raining, etc!!

Anyway - i thought the gig was fkg great!!

DUBACC

Grimm - cracking photos mate. Was it just me or did anyone else have a sexdream last night in bed about rosie straddling the rock'n'roll train!!! :cool::eek:

Pye

iRock wrote: »

Unreal Live, have to say I really enjoyed the gig. Only hope Metallica are half as good Live (even though I've really gone off them).

Definitely! I hope so too about Metallica. Rock on!

Ash.J.Williams

hillerbees wrote: »

You've hit the nail square on the head. There was damn all police presence about yesterday. At 5 in the afternoon I saw a lad openly making a bong out of a plastic drinks container to smoke his joint through. There was virtually no gardai at the venue and none overriding the traffic lights in Naas to ensure the traffic flowed onto the empty motorway. It is poxy management on the part of MCD and poor support from the Gardai. I'll bet there were dozens up at Croake Park and at that thingy with the President.

70,000 punters paid €82.50 each, total income of €5.8 million to split between band, promoters, ticket agents etc. surely there is enough included in the price to let people get to and from the gig properly. If they can't do it right they should avoid these fiascos in future...we can fly Ryanair to the UK and see any number of excellent stadium shows run well for little extra cost and a whole lot more enjoyment.

AC\DC rock;) - MCD suck:mad:

Smoking a joint at a open air summer gig? the mad fecker!!

DUBACC

Pye - Metallica are brilliant live. Saw them last year in Marley Park and again this year in Manchester in March. Totally blasted everyone away - cracking stuff. Did a brilliant version of Whiskey in the Jar too!

Pye

DUBACC wrote: »

You get my point though and i just laugh at a lot of posters on here - makes me wonder did they even get mammy's permission to come out. Oooh the nasty man is a bit drunk, its raining, etc!!

+1

DUBACC wrote: »

Grimm - cracking photos mate. Was it just me or did anyone else have a sexdream last night in bed about rosie straddling the rock'n'roll train!!! :cool::eek:

No. :P

grimm2005

DUBACC wrote: »

Grimm - cracking photos mate. Was it just me or did anyone else have a sexdream last night in bed about rosie straddling the rock'n'roll train!!! :cool::eek:

Thanks, i got a lot more and a good few of the answer aswell but many of em turned out very blurry, i got much better ones in the o2. ill post again when i get them all uploaded

Pye

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

Smoking a joint at a open air summer gig? the mad fecker!!

I know right! :rolleyes:

DUBACC wrote: »

Pye - Metallica are brilliant live. Saw them last year in Marley Park and again this year in Manchester in March. Totally blasted everyone away - cracking stuff. Did a brilliant version of Whiskey in the Jar too!

Wicked!

Bluefoam

I saw Metallica a couple of years ago in the RDS & they were crap. Swore I'd never go to see them again. Which is a shame cos I've seen them do fantastic gigs, like Donington in '95...

Might go to Marley this year to see AIC though...

Clarehobo

Left the Dublin bus on the N7 and walked like everyone else - I don't think it made it for the start of ACDC. Saw tons of empty Dublin buses.
Should have been a one way system in place and turn off the lights in the town to allow it to move freely. Also should have been Gardai at every junction to direct traffic.
Dublin bus should have gone down the N81 and avoided all that mess on the N7.[/traffic rant]

Lots of idiots at the gig: but there always is at these big concerts. Thankfully most of them had gone so mad early on they were ready for bed two songs into ACDC's set:D[/idiot rant]

Queues for food weren't queues- just people milling in from all sides.[/food rant]

Queues for drink moved fast: only waited for 10 mins. The limit of two drinks was annoying - heineken only got €12 of my money because I couldn't face trekking back for more drink.

Pyramids were really funny. Good effort. We were surrounded by three at one stage so no matter who fell we were going to cop it. The old guys/skangers/fat guys nearest us were the most entertaining - they couldn't get past two layers until all the other pyramids around us joined in to help.

ACDC - wow! They are the definition of rock. Stage props were unreal - esp. Rosie. Sound was really good where we were standing. The guitar solo in the rain will never ever be forgotten! Those boys are hardcore.

Dublin bus - The queueing system was stupid. They should have barriers erected to stop people going onto the road so buses could get through(and to stop people cutting up along the road and skipping the queue).
The storming of the barriers was because one steward (Shrek as one guy christened him) kept opening the barrier to allow people out because they said they were "in the wrong queue". This happened a few times then some guys behind me rushed the barrier: should I stand there to be crushed as everyone ran over me to escape the queue - not a chance! Saw the cops get physical with a few guys.
There was one steward who went above and beyond when there was a crush onto the bus he got in the doorway to control the crowd and he was not a young fella - if you are reading, thanks for that!. All the rest were idiots.

But in all fairness MCD organised the car park. They had one lane out for buses which was being blocked by Dublin bus pickups - maybe I am oversimplifying but there should have been two lanes: left hand lane to allow Dublin bus to stop for passengers, right hand lane for all traffic and for Dublin bus to pull out into when they were full.

Common sense did not reign out there yesterday.

All that said - loved ACDC. I will definitely go to see them again. Will save a lot of money and get a helicopter next time or else go out foreign.

Sinderella

Pye wrote: »

A guard arresting someone for smoking a joint would be a bit of a waste of their time though don't you think? What harm could he do anyway, hug everyone to death?

grimm2005, excellent photos

Ah, it's hard to get a good pic or video when you can't stand still lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELiVmIAE34s

Quint

Clarehobo wrote: »

Queues for drink moved fast: only waited for 10 mins. The limit of two drinks was annoying - heineken only got €12 of my money because I couldn't face trekking back for more drink.

The bar to the left of the stage were handing out 4 drinks each!

deisedude

Absolutely fantastic gig. AC/DC put on a hell of a show both musically and with the spectacle part. Was in the third row of the pit so had a great view of the gig too.

I quite like the Blizzards and have seen them before but it seemed to me they wanted to get it over with as quick as they could probably recognising that this wasnt their crowd. The beat it riff was the highlight of their short soujorn on stage.

The Answer got the crowd going with their cheesy balls out rock. The lead guitarist was excellant but TBH i dont think the band could write a decent chorus to save their lives.

Trying to get on a Dublin bus was a nightmare. Organisation was abysmal. Nobody knew where to que and people ran up and down frantically pushing each other to get on a bus. A few signs or marks showing where buses were supposed to stop would have done the world of good. Of course there would still be pushing and shoving but it would have been organised chaos at least

Anyone think the rain put a dampener on the evening? (Pun intended)

WeleaseWoderick

Drove in from Bray yesterday, leaving at around 4 and eventually made it to the venue by around 7. Was expecting the traffic so wasn't too worked up bout that at all.

Didn't really pay too much attention to the Answer but, christ almighty, AC/DC were amazing. Having travelled over to New York last November to see them in MSG, I have to say that yesterday's show will stick in my mind as the much better gig. Great stage with the Rock N Roll train and big Rosie! As many others have said, my abiding memory will be Angus' endless solo in Let there be Rock. The image of him giving it his all on the elevated stage with the rain cascading down is a memory I will never forget.

We knew after going to Bon Jovi last year that there'd be a delay getting out of the car park but in fairness it seemed much better organised this time round and we were back in Bray by just after 1 o'clock.

All in all, twas a good day, a great gig and something to tell the grandkids about in the future!!!

Clarehobo

Quint wrote: »

The bar to the left of the stage were handing out 4 drinks each!

Aargh! Oh well! The queues for the toilets were too long anyway - if I had 4 pints I'd have had to have paid a visit: one time in them was plenty!
Plus my body is in bits without having a hangover:o

Ardent

Wow, looks like we dodged a few bullets transport-wise last night. So glad I ignored the official advice about Park & Ride and instead decided to drive to the venue. Our experience:

Left Dublin at 4 PM and took the N81 to Blessington. From there, followed the signs for the red car park and we got to the venue around 5 PM. Traffic was non-existent all the way bar a minor tailback going through Blessington where some agricultural festival looked to be going on.

Only gripe at the concert was the queues for beer prior to AC/DC coming on. The pyramids were great craic.

We left before the encore and drove straight out of the car park and back the way we came. Again, no traffic and back in Dublin in under an hour.

Seems like the N7 was a disaster yesterday - I read somewhere the official blame is being put on people ditching their buses and walking, further slowing traffic?

Cindoa

Seems like the private cars did a whole lot better than the bus passengers in terms of accessing and leaving the site. Only one lesson can be learned from this: No-one will trust Dublin Bus or other Bus operators at any future major gig, so everyone will use cars, which will cause chaos and total gridlock - again. In other words, unless you live within walking distance of the rural venue, don't bother going!