Gigs of 2010 in review

the_doctor199

Top gigs for me were
Metallica's first night in the Odyssey Arena
Jay Z @ Oxegen
Gaslight Anthem in Ulster Hall
General Fiasco in Mandela Hall
Biffy Clyro @ Belsonic

Surprise of the year?
Tinie Tempah in Mandela Hall

Letdown of the year?
Iron Maiden in The O2

I'm sure there's gigs that I've missed out but those come to mind.

Tenks

I only went to two gigs in 2010 and loved them both.


Flight of the Conchords.
Waited in line for an hour and a half to be one of only eight people in St.Stephen's Green to get a ticket. Fantastic show from start to finish. David O'Doherty supported, and although I only really knew him from Nevermind the Buzzcocks I thought he was fantastic and almost worth the ticket price himself! Bret and Jermaine blew me away from start to finish. It was hard to believe what great musicians they really are behind the purposely cheesy and hilarious tunes that they've pumped out. The banter between songs, which most of was clearly improvised was ****ing great and they made the best out of some idiots in the crowd who shouted stuff like "Where's Murray?" every five minutes. Only downside is that they only really did songs from Series 1 of their TV show on the night I went, while they apparently mixed it up a bit more on the second night.

blink-182.
My favourite band ever. Two years ago I never thought I'd be able to see them live, then from the moment they reformed I practically checked MCD every day for any signs of a Dublin date. I also lined up for an hour and a half for this gig, although this one didn't quite sell out as quickly. The nightself was mindblowing and there was so much banter on the day waiting in line. Nearly fainting with the amount of sweaty people trying to survive the woefully generic Twin Atlantic but it was all worth it once the curtain dropped and the familiar sound of Dumpweed rang through the arena. Despite not being known for their live performances, I thought they were ridiculous. Youtube does not do the band justice and you really don't get the raw energy that Hoppus and Delonge create, especially in Tom's voice.

I admit, before the show I feared slightly that we would be seeing the same old fart jokes that the lads are known for but during the actual show I was so into it that I didn't care. I thought that they were hilarious and loved the bit where they explained how their last gig before the split was in the Point. Gave the song 'Stay Together for the Kids' a complete new meaning to me, as it symbolised the fact that when the trio were at eachother's throats, they had thousands of fans screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs, telling them to stay together for them.

Overall, the best show I've ever been to and I know that I can't afford to miss Oxegen this year to see not only them but the Foo Fighters.

rustyjames10

Bad year for gigs for me, I did catch 2 belters though.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in Dec. in The Academy. These guys are stunning live. Hold the stage, engage the crowd and some amazing freestyle:) Im a huge fan of their music and the (wall of) sound was 100%, crowd was enthralled. The layout of The Academy means its like the old days - once your in - your in! Sort of why it reminded me of gigs from days of yore in the sfx etc.

The Cast of Cheers in Oct in the Music Show, RDS. This was a condensed set but I'd never seen these guys before. Do not miss the chance to see them. They rock out. High energy, tight tunes, kind of like The Rapture meets Bloc Party. They had us mesmerised. Exciting band, will catch them again.

Looking forward to a more active 2011:)

tim_holsters

Kiss at the O2 for me, I didn't really know what to expect well I did it was Kiss after all, but I thought they excelled.

StaticAge11

These are the gigs I went to last year:

22 Jan - All Time Low, The Blackout, My Passion, Young Guns - The Academy Dublin
19 March - You Me At Six, Cantabury - The Olympia, Dublin
11 May - Metallica, High On Fire, Volbeat - Odyessy Belfast
12 May - Metallica, High On Fire, Volbeat - Odyessy Belfast
18 May - Lost Prophets, Jody Has A Hitlist - Academy Dublin
19 June - Green Day, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Frank Turner - Wembley Stadium, London
21 June - Green Day, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - SECC, Glasgow
23 June - Green Day, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Paramore - Marlay Park, Dublin
9-11 July - Oxegen Festival, saw Stereophonics, Coronas, Black Keys, Vampire Weekend, Eliza Dolittle, Biffy Clyro, Two Door Cinema Club, Florence and The Machine, The Specials, Kasabian, Muse, 30 Seconds to Mars, Eminem, The Prodigy, Mumford and Sons, D12, Temper Trap, Dizzee Rascall.
19 Aug - Feeder, Storyfold -Academy Dublin
31 Aug - Blink 182, Twin Atlantic - The O2 Dublin
22 Oct - Bowling For Soup, A, Forever The Sickest Kids - Academy Dublin
06 Nov - Paramore, Bob, Scuba Dice - O2 Dublin
08 Nov - Avenged Sevenfold, Xerosun - The Olympia Dublin
11 Dec - Kids In Glass Houses, Jody Has A Hitist - The Academy Dublin

Had tickets to 30 Seconds To Mars in the O2 in Feb and You Me At Six in December, but had to miss both due to exams and snow respectively.

I have to say the best gig was Avenged Sevenfold in the Olympia. It was just mindblowing.

Worst was definitly Paramore. They are just a terrible live band. Or I should say were a terrible live band . . .

For 2011 I dont have too much planned yet. Good Charlotte, Feeder and MCR (unfortunately) in Feb. All Time Low in March. Slane in May. Then potentially Download in June and Oxegen in July. Fingers crossed for another good year

delbertgrady

A very quiet year for me:

Flight of the Conchords, Olympia
Randy Newman, Grand Canal Theatre
Pearl Jam, O2
Pearl Jam, Odyssey
Crosby, Stills and Nash, O2
Tori Amos, Iveagh Gardens
Iron Maiden, O2
Wilko Johnson, Leeson Lounge
Porcupine Tree, Tripod
Steve Hogarth, Crawdaddy
Elton John with Ray Cooper, O2

CiaranK

delbertgrady wrote: »

A very quiet year for me:

Flight of the Conchords, Olympia
Randy Newman, Grand Canal Theatre
Pearl Jam, O2
Pearl Jam, Odyssey
Crosby, Stills and Nash, O2
Tori Amos, Iveagh Gardens
Iron Maiden, O2
Wilko Johnson, Leeson Lounge
Porcupine Tree, Tripod
Steve Hogarth, Crawdaddy
Elton John with Ray Cooper, O2

You have some Crackers in there. Steve Hogarth is the one gig I would have given anything to be at this year. Wasn't able to go. I really tried to make it happen but there was to much happening at the time. I'd say it was great!

delbertgrady

CiaranK wrote: »

You have some Crackers in there. Steve Hogarth is the one gig I would have given anything to be at this year. Wasn't able to go. I really tried to make it happen but there was to much happening at the time. I'd say it was great!

Yeah, it was great. The crowd were perfect as well. Pin-droppingly quiet when required, but fully responsive to his performance. Lots of chat, and some great cover versions. Marillion are rumoured to be coming back in July, so maybe you'll get to that. Not quite the same as h on his own, but it may compensate you somewhat.
I've just realised that four of my gigs in 2010 were one-person-and-a-piano: Randy Newman, Tori Amos, Steve Hogarth and Elton John (admittedly with Ray Cooper for the second half).

CiaranK

delbertgrady wrote: »

Yeah, it was great. The crowd were perfect as well. Pin-droppingly quiet when required, but fully responsive to his performance. Lots of chat, and some great cover versions. Marillion are rumoured to be coming back in July, so maybe you'll get to that. Not quite the same as h on his own, but it may compensate you somewhat.
I've just realised that four of my gigs in 2010 were one-person-and-a-piano: Randy Newman, Tori Amos, Steve Hogarth and Elton John (admittedly with Ray Cooper for the second half).

Cool. I'd seen them at the end of 09 in the Button Factory. It was so good. I'd love to see them doing an electric set. If they do come back I would be there like a light!

Het-Field

Best and Worst Gig : Guns N Roses @ 02 Arena.

My review as posted hours after the gig.

"The novelty factor aside, and DJ Ashba, this gig was wholly unsatisfactory. In fact, i would suggest that the Irish crowd acted in a rather restrained manner under the circumstances, not that I condone the assault of band members with missiles.

I knew something was up during the support act. They were hopelessly bad, and I expected their set to finish rapidly. However, they seemed to play on for an absolute age, using the same few chords over and over again. The lead singer kept pontificating about life and brownosing musical luminaries in a manner which could only be viewed as a stalling tactic given the band they were supporting. Their set went on for an hour and twenty minuites, which is beyond strange for a support act, which had little or none of it's fanbase in the arena.

Subsequently, we were left kicking our heels for over an hour after Danko Jones had left. It became clear that the crowd was becoming restless after a lighthearted mexican wave gave way to boos and whistles from the crowd. At 10.20pm it was anybody's guess whether GNR were going to show up. Contrary to reports the gig opened in a blistering fashion, evne though Axl looked slightly narked at the attempts of a rodie to rig him up. The eponomous track from their 2008 Album set the ball rolling, before launching into Welcome To The Jungle. However, just before the song could get underway, two separate missiles grazed Axl Rose. At that point he warned the crowd, which should have been the end of the matter. "It's so Easy" and "Mr Brownstone" followed, before the third missile was hurled, which prompted Axl's departure.

When the houselights went on twenty minuites after the band's premature departure, it seemed that it was over, and fans began edging towards the exits. However, after another ten minuites of waiting, the houselights went down. The band returned. In reality, the band returned, Rose went through the motions. He butchered "You Could Be Mine" on purpose, while songs like "Live and Let Die", "Sweet Child O Mine", and "Knockin on Heaven's Door" were a feigned attempt at interest at best, and a downright attempt at sabotage at worst. DJ Ashba, and Bumblefoot tried to entertain the crowd with little solos, but most of the crowd was too tired and had lost interest. I was blown away with how mundane a reaction Rose got to some GNR classics, and indeed some of the more useful new stuff. The crowd were fed up at that stage and wanted to go home.

The final song of the night was Paradise City, which was greeted with ticker-tape and fireworks, as had been the case in the comparitively successful concert in June 2006. Rose finished the song, and walked off. He didnt acknowledge the crowd once after he departed, and the band never lined up for a "curtain call".

As I have said, on the basis of novelty, the gig itself was worth attending. It was the stuff you only heard of in legends, and that Rose had almost left that stuff behind with Slash, Duff, and Matt in the mid 1990s. Unfortunatly, when you are in the shoes of an attendee, who is unfortunate enough to show up on a night that a fan wishes to act the cock, and Axl Rose has no interest in being there, then you are in for a late, frustrating, and sorry concert.

evillive

strange year as i technically didnt go to any gigs within the republic

Metallica Belfast
Bon Jovi Paris
Apocalyptica/Dir En Grey - Las Vegas

the first two were excellent as both bands back in smaller indoor arenas both had great stage shows

i suppose Apocalyptica didnt surprise really - Dir En Grey were mental - great stage presence from the band - this was in the House of Blues, Mandalay Bay - along with The Joint in the Hard Rock these are the best venues i've ever been in - great sound you are close to the band wherever you are

only pity was flying into Chicago the day after about 2 hours too late to catch Slash and Billy Idol
on the plus side was i home i would have gone to G 'n' R and probably left when the band walked off stage

Dr.Winston O'Boogie

Gigs...gigs..where to start for 2010:

Pete Doherty in the Academy January: Been waiting for him to play a solo acoustic show in Ireland for literally 6 years, didn't dissapoint, the bloke has enough charisma and tunes to carry a whole gig by himself with just a guitar.

Glen Hansard gig for Haiti Whelans January: I had a winner for gig of the year already at this stage, this was truely immense. Billed as Glen Hansard but he had Mundy supporting him, Damien Rice, Paddy Casey, Paul Brady, and Natalie Merchant in store as well. The whole night from start to finish was top notch, from Glens solo set at the start, to getting his cousin up on stage to do a sexual innuendo laden poem that had the place in fits of laughter with no musical backing while Glen fixed a broken string. Brilliant covers by the group as well, Hallelujah and The Auld Triangle. A real feeling of good will underlay the entire thing, and everyone was clearly having a great time. What a legend Glen Hansard is, no matter what the begrudgers say. Years of honing his craft busking on the streets then playing tiny gigs with The Frames initially have all led to him been able to hold a room in his hand and make it look effortless.

Ocean Colour Scene the Olympia March: Seen them a good few times now, the gig in the same venue in 2008 was better but OCS always put on a good gig with plenty of sing along moments.

FESTIVAL SEASON:
Indiependence August: First time going to this festival, well impressed. Saw great sets by Delorentos and White Lies, but what made the festival was the general craic about the place. And all for 100 euro. Definitely going to try make it again this year.

Leeds Festival August: Mainly went over for The Libertines reunion, which was typical chaotic and immense, nearly got trampled to death in the crowd but it was worth it. Ticked G&R off the list of bands I wanted to see as well. Axyl was half an hour late and then tried to get the crowd to riot basically against the promoter so more than ticked all the boxes. Great festival.

Went to a load of gigs from here on in, not sure I will be able to remember them all:

The Minutes. Forget the venue: Pretty intimate gig, a fan thing only run through their website. Really like these guys, nothing new about what they are doing but its good old fashioned rock and or roll.

The Foals Olympia November: Not really my type of music, don't even own any of their albums, but saw them at Leeds previously and was impressed. They were impressive yet again live, high intensity and even climbing the balcony of the Olympia mid song.

LCD Soundsystem POD November: What a gig, a cross between a rave and a indie gig, they had everyone moving from song 1. As a poster previously said, everyone was genuinely happy to be there and "good vibes" were all over the place. 2 encores, each one monumental, the gig had pretty much everything. Close contender for gig of the year personally.

Gaslight Anthem Olympia November: Pretty decent gig, not a massive fan as others appear to be but these guys write some pretty good songs and live they are 2nd to none, would go again definitely

Arcade Fire O2 December: You know what your getting with Arcade Fire at this point, but at the same time, you are always surprised at how good they are. Vampire Weekend were brilliant in support, got me listening to them again anyway

The Pogues Killarney: Not as good as the previous years gig in the Olympia, which was complete anarchy but the band were on amazing form and Shane was as sober as I have ever seen him. Just makes you realise the genius (of the entire group) behind the madness.

I think thats more or less the highlights, bar a few others not really worth mentioning. Haiti gig tops it for me anyway, and I think anyone that was there would feel the same.

edhead

evillive wrote: »

strange year as i technically didnt go to any gigs within the republic

Metallica Belfast
Bon Jovi Paris
Apocalyptica/Dir En Grey - Las Vegas

the first two were excellent as both bands back in smaller indoor arenas both had great stage shows

i suppose Apocalyptica didnt surprise really - Dir En Grey were mental - great stage presence from the band - this was in the House of Blues, Mandalay Bay - along with The Joint in the Hard Rock these are the best venues i've ever been in - great sound you are close to the band wherever you are

only pity was flying into Chicago the day after about 2 hours too late to catch Slash and Billy Idol
on the plus side was i home i would have gone to G 'n' R and probably left when the band walked off stage

House Of Blues is a superb venue, was there last year. Fillmore in SF is better again btw

edhead

Saw a good few shows this year, feel lucky as I was only disappointed by one and thoroughly enjoyed all the others for a whole lot of different reasons !

1) Fairport Convention - Pavillion Cork
2) Fionn Regan - Cork School Of Music
3) Willie Nelson - INEC, Killarney
4) Deep Purple - Marquee, Cork
5) Megadeth - Marquee, Cork
6) Pearl Jam - O2, Dublin
7) Sonar Festival - Barcelona.
8) Black Crowes - Best Buy Theater, NYC 2nd Nov
9) Black Crowes - Best Buy Theater, NYC 4th Nov
10) Black Crowes - Best Buy Theater, NYC 5th Nov
11) Black Crowes - Best Buy Theater, NYC 6th Nov
12) Drive By Truckers - Sheperds Bush Empire, London
13) Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses - Limelight, Belfast
14) Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses - Sugar Club, Dublin
15) The Pogues - INEC, Killarney