Slane 2017

afkasurfjunkie

Left home round 10 and stopped off in athlone for some brekky. Traffic no issue reallly. Was held up maybe 15 mins on trim side of navan but was expecting worse. Parked up in red car park round 1.30. Rain was lashing it so sat in car and listened to tunes until 3.30 or so. No mad queues at security or anything.
Caught end of otherkin. Wasn't impressed with mark lanegan at all. Had listened to some of his stuff beforehand and liked it but he just ran through the music. No interaction with the crowd at all. Not even a 'hello slane'.
Royal blood were fine. My husband is more into them than I am. Didn't realise it was just two of them so thought they did pretty well.
We were down the left of the stage beside speaker. Bar and toilets and food nearby an there was loads of space so we stayed there mostly. Made our way back up the hill just before slash did godfather theme solo. Hung there until end of patience and then headed straight for red exit.

Car wasn't too far down the field thankfully so got out handy enough considering the stories I'm hearing now. Changed out of wellies and had a stash of snacks stored in the boot for the traffic jams. Was back at car just as fireworks ended. Definitely beat the traffic though because I didn't get stuck behind too many cars. Were were sent on some back road route back to navan and I thought I was lost because there were no cars in front of me and it was a damn dark night on those bendy roads. Pretty much had the road to myself from trim to kinnegad too. Was in bed before 2.

Thought gnr were fantastic. Ya axl has aged, but his voice held up well. Liked black hole sun too.

Age profile was definitely 30 plus so I was bit surprised at the amount of drunkenness. It's an expensive and long day to get blackout drunk. And I saw more penises than I expected to. Haha!

Would I go again? Yes, but only if the supporting line up was really strong with a good headline act.

Saw a lot of people completely out of it but we were in a good spot and there was no messing about. We were taking it in turns to put out little brother on our shoulders so he could see and all the people around us went out of their way to look out for him. At one stage a large drunk lad was smashing into everyone around him and one of the girls in front of us shoved him back before he knocked one of us over.

People really looked out for one another there and it was evident in the way that stewards were walking over people passed out and ignoring people who were covered in blood while concert goers were checking everyone was okay. The lack of care shown by the stewards was shocking at times, they could not care and nor could the guards there. Saw people approaching stewards for help only to be pushed away and told fcuk off.

XsApollo

First time at Slane, I don't get all the hatred for it, I think the venue is savage.
Camped last night.
Few mins walk to the red car park , few mins walk to slane.
Didn't take long to get in or out.
Good views of the stage in all areas.

And Guns rocked the sh*t out of the place.
Nightrain was class and standout for me.
And The videos on YouTube since they got back together don't do these guys justice.

It's was bloody brilliant.

Joeseph Balls

Anyone notice the sound volume go up and down? One minute it sounded like they were right beside you then the opposite?
Loved the gig, we camped and had an amazing couple of days. Great to see the young kids on their daddy's shoulders belting out the songs. Experienced no trouble really except someone projectile ****ting the wall in the urinal area surprised at how good axl was. Duff and slash amazing too.

Neyite

We didn't queue for more than 20 mins for beer or toilets at any point. I've been queueing longer in pubs on a regular night out.

MuffinTop86

That was brilliant.

We left Galway via concerbus at 9am. Well no, he satcthere til around 9.25. Then after a stop in Athlone loads of people bought booze and kept begging the drver to stop for a toilet break, which he did twice. Wouldn't be using them again. Why they would use a bus with no toilets for concert goers is beyond me.

Anyway, I unfortunately got a bit too drunk! Though a grazed knee will heal.

D.Q

Couldnt believe the amount of people walking in pitch black into traffic on a narrow road afterwards.

borderlinemeath

Joeseph Balls wrote: »

Anyone notice the sound volume go up and down? One minute it sounded like they were right beside you then the opposite?
Loved the gig, we camped and had an amazing couple of days. Great to see the young kids on their daddy's shoulders belting out the songs. Experienced no trouble really except someone projectile ****ting the wall in the urinal area surprised at how good axl was. Duff and slash amazing too.

I'd put some of the sound anomalies down to the wind. Even on stage when Axl stood out at the front what's left of his hair was lifted off his neck.

I sold my tickets as I'm heavily pregnant, and now I'm gutted I didn't just brave the elements, the gig looked amazing from the clips I'm seeing.

I think you might have regretted it unless you had VIP tickets with a guaranteed seat and not too much walking. I went to see Fleetwood Mac with about 6 weeks to go and was in bits after it. Wouldn't do it again if I was in the later stages of pregnancy unless I knew I had a seat.

Paleblood

COH wrote: »

I just don't get the moaning to be honest. Its a rock concert, there will be people peeing, there will be drunk people, the odd aggressive prick, its a big f*ck off field in the middle of nowhere in a country where it rains a lot so yeah its going to take a while to get in/out for some. Too many people stressing far too much over things beyond their control :rolleyes:

Anyone that is unduly offended by drunk people, queues, walking or rows of men pissing against a wall really ought to avoid open air festivals/concerts. So I agree with about the moaning, but only up to a point. Part of the reason so many men (and woman) piss in the open air is because the queues to the toilets are so bad, or because the toilets are so far away, etc.

Ultimately it comes down to a lack of sanitary facilities, which is a notorious problem for Irish and British event organisers. I don't want this to turn into an Irish-bashing thing, but European festivals don't have that problem, certainly not to the same extent.

The woman behind me on the hill yesterday, in the middle of the crowd, that hunched down and pissed on the ground right beside where people were sitting, she was a pure and utter tramp and no amount of festival organising could stop her loathsome behaviour.

But the lad that walks halfway across the arena to piss against a railing is a different matter. He wants to use the facilities but they're just not there. It brings to mind Witnness back in the day. One year the toilets were so crowded, and were in such poor condition, that you had the odd sight of rows of drunk men queuing obediently to piss against an adjacent railing. Bizarre.

Anyway, I'm not moaning. I had a fantastic day.

Rex Manning

Was pretty drunk going in bit had one look at the queues for the bar and bogs and said f**k that. Was sober by the end of it and enjoyed it. The rest of the lads were missing 2amd 3 songs each time they went for beer/a piss. Being a lazy fecker paid off yesterday!

jamesbere

Watched 11 gardai trying to arrest one naked fella last night also. He was a big strong fella to be fair. It was innocent enough at first the 3 gardai approached him and tried to usher him out.

They were laughing away with him but out of nowhere just grabbed the ban garda by the neck, I'd say she got a fright he was 3 times her size. A couple of stewards along with the gardai tackled him to the ground then it was just a matter of all pile on the naked fella

Conor Bourke

Denisoftus wrote: »

Am I only one who missed "Don't cry"? I was hopping for it all along.

I was hoping to hear it but all in all the rest of the gig was more than enough to compensate for its absence. I was so very impressed by the entire band, they sounded superb.

I'm another who doesn't get all the hate for Slane as a venue and wondering if I was at the same gig at all. I was a bit later getting there than I'd have liked. Got one of the Dublin Buses but on the plus side it had stopped raining by the time I got there. Fairly painless getting there though. Missed Mark Lanegan but caught Royal Blood and thought they were better than I expected them to be.

I was right down beside the gold circle so at the end, there was a huge crowd leaving ahead of me. There was a bit of a bottleneck at the green gate but no biggie. All we needed was just a little patience The crowd around me was buzzing. I'd gotten separated from my friends but never felt worried or intimidated, it was a very jolly walk back making new friends! Saw one girl lying on the road receiving attention from The Order of Malta, the guards were doing an excellent job of managing the area around her and clearing space for equipment to be brought in etc.

Once I got up to the Dublin Bus area I had to wait maybe 2 or 3 minutes to get onboard, and once I was on we were moving in no time, we flew back to town. Good atmosphere on the bus, everyone friendly and chatty.

Town was insane when I got back though. Couldn't get a taxi for love nor money, had to walk from O'Connell St. to the far end of Camden St. to nab one coming back in but sure that's not Slane or GnR's fault and as far as I'm concerned they were worth it :cool:

Stone Deaf 4evr

Came up on the Friday night and had a savage evening of camping and beers with the lads at Slane farm, woke at 9am Saturday morning and had a mega lie in until 1:30 with the soothing sound of the rain on the tent. Cooked some breakfast / lunch , a few more beers, then a leisurely stroll into the grounds when the rain stopped at half 4.

Plenty people drunk. But no more than you'd see and any other outdoor festival, thought the concert was truly a special one, at nearly 3 hours long it was epic. Sound quality was great from about halfway up the hill. Bit of a slow plod getting out the infamous red exit, but we were back at the campsite with the bbq going within an hour.

My first time camping, but not my first time at slane, but can say with certainty that camping is the way to go in future.

Ol' Donie

threein99 wrote: »

This is the red exit....

That was absolutely hilarious

PTH2009

surprised RTE didnt have a camera there to show on the news yesterday ?

Glad it went well. Crowd looked massive, from the pictures i saw. Dont think ill ever go too slane feel i would not enjoy it. Cant wait for London

I wonder what the future holds for the concert venue ??? will there be anymore shows, Id say u2 or Bruce Springsteen might play there again, surly our nations darling Ed Sheeran will play there

D.Q

The crowd layout was really weird. We were just under the main speaker, down the bottom of the hill near the barrier. Great view, royal blood watched the gig from just in front of us. But there was so much space. I could move around freely. Then as it went back, it got way busier. Strange for that to be the case.

threein99

D.Q wrote: »

The crowd layout was really weird. We were just under the main speaker, down the bottom of the hill near the barrier. Great view, royal blood watched the gig from just in front of us. But there was so much space. I could move around freely. Then as it went back, it got way busier. Strange for that to be the case.

I've always found with Slane there's always more room down the front than it seems from up on the hill. Maybe people stay further back so it's easier make it out for buses and car parks

Outlaw Pete

Big Nasty wrote: »

How was Axl's voice? Seemed a bit short of breath in any vids I've seen.

His voice was superb I thought... most other rock singers at his age with that kind of tone have well lost it... Meat Loaf for example. In fact I actually thought he was miming during It's So Easy, first song, given he sounded so good. So fair play to him on that score... it's the costume changes, warbling and a few other things that get to me. Nobody is impressed by suddenly changing into a skeleton leather jacker ffs. That's what I meant about him seeming to be of a different mindset to the rest when it comes to what GnR is.. but again, not saying anything that people don't know. Slash and Duff's interactions on the other all seems so organic.

Not my real name wrote: »

Left Dublin at 5pm, decided to go through Drogheda. Was parked in Pink car park by 5.40. Same coming home, half an hour walk from the castle, into the car and straight home. A few guards around but traffic flowed and very little stopping. I have to say €20 to park in a field of cow **** is just pure greed.

I went via Drogheda too and it's without doubt the way to go.... I parked there though and got the return coach which was €15. Wish I had watched the last songs from the top I could have been on the first coach and avoided the cattle mart walk along that neverending road.

What's the point in getting tickets for these gigs when you are unconscious in the corner for most of it? (God I sound like my mother!!) there will be a few sore heads today for sure.

Yeah, there were three muppets (two lads and a girl) at the side of the stage (Gold A entrance) that were wrestling in the mud all night... wtf but sure ask me about 1992 and I haven't an notion what I did. Got burnt to a crisp and got off with some girl for two hours (would have been longer only her boyfriend turned up). Mirror shades were all the rage back then.

73Cat wrote: »

Slash is a legend! Mad to think it was 25 yrs since I last saw them there as a young one and the songs still sound so good today

Don't remember one song from that day, in fact I don't think I even looked at the stage. Same with Aerosmith in '91. Could have been a tribute act for all I know. Ah sure I'll see them on June 14, I knew they'd come back

D.Q wrote: »

Couldnt believe the amount of people walking in pitch black into traffic on a narrow road afterwards.

Seen some poor old guy (must have been at least five years older than me (yikes ) slip a disk or something as he went down backwards and his family looked very worried. Ten minutes later paramedics try running through the cattle mart with a stretcher to him. Nightmare.

Deleted User wrote: »

Saw.. a lad literally just in the middle of a packed crowd with his schlong out pissing around everywhere :O

SLANE LAD!!

Richard Hillman

Great gig. Terrible venue. A Reformed Guns n Roses was the only act that would get me there and will never go back again.

Incredibly mean spirited of Lord Whatever his name is and MCD to have such a once in a lifetime type concert there.

MadYaker

Glad to hear most people had a good time, apart from the usual nightmare of getting out of the place. I'm delighted to hear all the love for Royal Blood too, I thought that stage might be too big for them but I'm looking forward to seeing them at Glastonbury now.

D.Q

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Great gig. Terrible venue. A Reformed Guns n Roses was the only act that would get me there and will never go back again.

Incredibly mean spirited of Lord Whatever his name is and MCD to have such a once in a lifetime type concert there.

I don't really get the hate for the venue. It was no worse ran than any other outdoor gig. The sound was great and so was the view. Plenty of space to move around etc got served drink quickly except for just before guns n roses came on but that's too be expected.

It was my first time at slane, and I had heard horror stories. There was a bit of a queue on the way out. That's also to be expected.

somesoldiers

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

SLANE LAD!!

Slane Lad's lad

Wrongway1985

Quality day out, was last at Slane 10 years ago so had my reservations prior to it actually didn't buy a ticket till about 2 months ago when tickets to the "sold out" show magically appeared back on TM.

Getting into the venue from the bus park(for around time Mark Lanegan was on) was pretty much a breeze 2 mile walk or whatever was grand people all buzzin' for the days headline act.

Lanegan wasn't bad but well lost in open air, Royal Blood don't get the fuss about them being perfectly honest but for 2 lads they played their material solidly and looked more at home up there than Lanegan.

Putting this event on for years and one toilet bank in main area and 3 bar areas overall for the many there is baffling how they persist with that.

GnR were excellent had a great spot in middle of hill where view was acceptable and sound couldn't be faulted, setlist great Estranged,There was a Time and Black Hole Sun (didn't they do that justice!) are just a snapshot of the excellent set. On a minor note only due to the instrumentation did I know they were playing Double Talkin' Jive.

Had braced myself for the mare of leaving moving at classic Zombie pace took over an hour to reach the buspark. Was 5:30am before back in bed but thoroughly worth it. Knowing what to expect and getting on with it was key I think that after previously ruling out returning after this experience I would be inclined to go again given the right act.

The Nal

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Great gig. Terrible venue. A Reformed Guns n Roses was the only act that would get me there and will never go back again.

Incredibly mean spirited of Lord Whatever his name is and MCD to have such a once in a lifetime type concert there.

Its been the same since day one. Take the money, provide 1980s type facilities and when the gig is over don't pay any overtime.

Smell the glove

Joeseph Balls wrote: »

Anyone notice the sound volume go up and down? One minute it sounded like they were right beside you then the opposite?
.

That's the wind.

Itssoeasy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUEQOPb1s-k

:D

starWave

so how many people walked the 6 or 7 miles from Navan, because the shuttle buses were stuck in traffic? When we finally got there at 8, everyone was just standing at the green entrance where you couldn't even see the stage, instead of moving down the hill where there was loads of room.

hbhook

It's organised really poorly. It just is. End of. Good for the small minority who got lucky or left early but that shouldn't have to be. I didn't go because of this and I love Gn'R. I'm genuinely happy for the people who braved it and had a great time and that the band sounded great. I'll catch them when they do Dublin.

Keyzer

I've been to Slane a couple of times and, on a sunny day with a great act, its one of the best venues in the world. For the duration of the gig. Getting in and, more so, out is a nightmare and the location is simply not designed or equipped to deal with 80-90K people.

Ally Dick

Well done to the lazy cops on treble time in and around Slane village, and in Navan. Not a sign of a cop in Navan, when the whole artery to Slane was blocked at the Round O pub. Mr Keenan had his usual bands set up in the car park of the pub. But that meant that Slane minibuses were parked up on the roadside outside the pub, on the Kingscourt and Slane Roads, and there were drunk people staggering around with beer in their hands. One cretin had his car parked half on the road and on the path AND HAD HIS DRIVER'S DOOR open chatting away, blocking off cars and buses headed for Slane. The result was a huge tailback into Navan stretching out the Dublin and Kells Road. Mr Keenan should be stopped from blocking off his car park in future. Guards should have been on duty around the pub and at the Round O roundabout (which was a ghastly free for all, given the understandable frustration of drivers). Guards should have been cracking craniums and stopping mini buses from blocking the major arteries. Once the buses passed that blockage, they flew all the way into Kilberry! And oh yeah, last night at midnight, there were three cops standing on the Slane Road, at the Round O roundabout, "managing the traffic" coming from Slane. The lazy useless f@ckers were no good to anybody at that time. They were eight hours late!!!