Gilbert O'Sullivan at the Olympia 10/03/2011

corbomite1

Was anyone at the above gig in the Olympia last night? I'm a big Gilbert fan and watched him put on a great show in the Grand Canal Theatre last year, but I have to say last night's gig was disappointing.

Gilbert made a great start but after about 5 or 6 songs it became apparent that he felt something was wrong. He said there was a technical problem and that he didn't feel he was giving his best, so himself and the band dissappeared from the stage. We waited for about 15 minutes while they tried to sort out the monitor mix and eventually the band returned. However it was clear that Gilbert was not happy, his body language was just awful. You could see the set list had gone out the window and that he was just limping from song to song. He eventually gained some momentum again (the interval was dispensed with) and the finale of Matrimony, Get Down and Alone Again made up somewhat for the earlier hiatus.

However my real disappointment was this: I had brought my 10-year-old son along as a surprise - he loves Gilbert as I am always playing him in the car. There was a notice at the merchandise stand saying that Gilbert would be signing autographs after the show, however when we arrived there was no sign of Gilbert. I told one of the security men that there was a young fan here who would be very disappointed if he went home without his Gilbert autograph. We were told to wait for 10 minutes, but eventually the security man returned and said that Gilbert would not be coming down as the problem with the sound had given him a bad headache.

It was a subdued drive home from the Olypmia last night

EyesClosed

corbomite1 wrote: »

Was anyone at the above gig in the Olympia last night? I'm a big Gilbert fan and watched him put on a great show in the Grand Canal Theatre last year, but I have to say last night's gig was disappointing.

Gilbert made a great start but after about 5 or 6 songs it became apparent that he felt something was wrong. He said there was a technical problem and that he didn't feel he was giving his best, so himself and the band dissappeared from the stage. We waited for about 15 minutes while they tried to sort out the monitor mix and eventually the band returned. However it was clear that Gilbert was not happy, his body language was just awful. You could see the set list had gone out the window and that he was just limping from song to song. He eventually gained some momentum again (the interval was dispensed with) and the finale of Matrimony, Get Down and Alone Again made up somewhat for the earlier hiatus.

However my real disappointment was this: I had brought my 10-year-old son along as a surprise - he loves Gilbert as I am always playing him in the car. There was a notice at the merchandise stand saying that Gilbert would be signing autographs after the show, however when we arrived there was no sign of Gilbert. I told one of the security men that there was a young fan here who would be very disappointed if he went home without his Gilbert autograph. We were told to wait for 10 minutes, but eventually the security man returned and said that Gilbert would not be coming down as the problem with the sound had given him a bad headache.

It was a subdued drive home from the Olypmia last night

My parents were at the gig, they had seen him before ad really enjoyed the show, but where left disappointed they said the audience kept him going and the fact he didn't even do an encore was a joke, if there was trouble with the sound then he at least should have made up for that by trying to play a few more songs or at least giving the fans some thank yous at the end.

stinkle

aw your poor son! I think I might have seen you guys in the lobby after - there weren't many 10 year olds! I was at the Grand Canal show last year which was brilliant, and at the Olympia last time he played there. You're right, there was definitely something "not right" about Gilbert last night, and while I enjoyed it, and the crowd were excellent he was very out of sorts. We were told he was going to sign things at the end too, luckily most of my group had met him before, but my younger sis and her boyfriend who is a massive fan (both 17) were a little disappointed.

I understand he's a super perfectionist and the phrase "frustrated genius" came to mind last night watching him. I can totally understand why any performer would be annoyed at having to give the audience less than 100%, even if the crowd wouldn't notice or be bothered. A lot of people were annoyed at his attitude last night though, I even saw people filling out complaints forms, which was a little OTT in my opinion. The general consensus was that fans wouldn't go see him again, and this was compounded by his failure to do a signing, for whatever reason. It's a shame if it affects future Irish gigs

mog24

Hi. I was at the gig last night and felt very let down by the whole event. My daughter had bought me the tickets as a Christmas present and I was really looking forward to seeing him again. What a let down! The majority of people there had no problem with the sound, only the trained ear would have noticed, however it wasn't about us, it was about him which I found really selfish. All the audience were enjoying it and the only thing spoiling the show was Gilbert himself constantly complaining......... He just could not wait to get the evening over with and it showed. Only played for about 1hr 45mins in total.
We too wanted an autograph but unlike some, we did not make a prior purchase in anticipation, thank God. I feel like he did not deserve any more revenue from the audience. The let down factor was very obvious and what would have been a great night was spoiled by nothing more than a SULK! I would definitly be reluctant to go to another show and would like the chance to tell him so. I cannot find anywhere to post a message for him. The website does not seem to allow this. Anyone know a way to let him know how dissapointed we all were????

corbomite1

I agree with all the foregoing and thanks for the replies. It's certain that Gilbert was his own worst enemy last night - he got off to a good start and the audience were loving it, but the man just wasn't happy on the night!

He's booked for another night in the Olympia on June 23rd, but not really sure if I want to go now

@mog24 The only contact address I have seen for Gilbert is c/o ByGum records, his record company - the address is given on www.gosullivan.com (also info@bygumrecords.com):

Mr. Gilbert O'Sullivan
Bygum Records Ltd
PO Box 1035
Wootton Bassett
SN4 0EZ
UK