Paul Simon RDS 13th July 2018

IspeakcozIcan

Standing set up the worst Ive ever seen. We actually left and went to the ticket office to upgrade to a seat. Cost the three of us a pretty penny, but at least we can flipping see...

BrianJD

Nope. Not much better there. Visibility is shocking for €106. Surely there is a better way of doing this.

AfterLife

hynesie08 wrote: »

Seriously Aiken???? €106 for this.......

That's hilarious in fairness.

hynesie08

AfterLife wrote: »

That's hilarious in fairness.

I actually admire the sheer lack of giving a **** it takes to sign off on this.......

AfterLife

hynesie08 wrote: »

I actually admire the sheer lack of giving a **** it takes to sign off on this.......

They're lucky its Paul Simon because if it was a younger crowd that wouldn't be still there when the gig starts.

aka accounts 2010

hynesie08 wrote: »

Seriously Aiken???? €106 for this.......

Disgraceful from Aiken.

There was a big screen in the middle of the pitch (attached to the back of the sound desk) for The Killers gig a couple of weeks ago which worked really well for those further back.

ghostdancer

it wouldn't be an Aiken gig if they didn't make a complete balls of something in fairness.

Mental Mickey

Was Bonnie Raitt any good?

Aglomerado

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Was Bonnie Raitt any good?

She was, and Paul Brady came on for the last song

Aglomerado

BrianJD wrote: »

Nope. Not much better there. Visibility is shocking for €106. Surely there is a better way of doing this.

Knock the stand! Who's with me??!?#notadvocatingviolence

Mrs Shuttleworth

Well! How did it pan out in the end?

davef1000

Mrs Shuttleworth wrote: »

Well! How did it pan out in the end?

View was atrocious from everywhere in the standing area, unless you got right up to the barrier. Sound was pretty good though, cos it was a quiet gig, and very little wind on the day. I really enjoyed the gig, but I'll never go to the RDS again.

justbored

This post has been deleted.

CWone

Jeez glad I didn't spend my money on this if it was bad! saw Simon and Garfunkel in RDS in 1982 absolutely brilliant gig was in the standing area on the pitch backing band was fab and so was the play list one of the best gigs I was ever at. Hope anyone who went tonight enjoyed it.

Mrs Shuttleworth

justbored wrote: »

The sound was brutal, never have I been at a concert where people were shushed at for talking during the intro for songs.
It was a shocking set up between the sound and t-shirt stand blocking the view.
The RSD is not a music venue.

Old habits die hard for the RDS it seems. The sound is so hit and miss in there. The bass tends to sound like an earthquake and drowns out the other frequencies. It was perfect for The Killers a few weeks back and the crowd were docile. But bad sound and a noisy crowd and the atmosphere evaporates. WTF were they thinking putting that merch stand in the middle. Apart from the view the sound would ricochet off as it travels.

I've been at some real howlers in there, Prince, Tina Turner, Bon Jovi. I recall Tina T afterwards in an interview referring to "that awful gig in Dublin".

Aglomerado

It was fine at the end. I stayed towards the back of the standing area for Paul Simon. People had space to dance if they wanted. He gave a great performance & his band were phenomenal. But I'll give the RDS a miss for any future events....

hynesie08

The last 45 minutes saved the gig from being a total disaster. Shocking set-up from Aiken, which of course they'll ignore. Lucky it wasn't sold out because the sides were packed. The sound desk at the RDS is always an issue but I've never seen it that far forward and then the gap between seating and standing was ridiculous. Volume was only an issue due to the large amount of *****, and the setlist was fairly self indulgent.

But those last 45 minutes.......

davef1000

hynesie08 wrote: »

The last 45 minutes saved the gig from being a total disaster. Shocking set-up from Aiken, which of course they'll ignore. Lucky it wasn't sold out because the sides were packed. The sound desk at the RDS is always an issue but I've never seen it that far forward and then the gap between seating and standing was ridiculous. Volume was only an issue due to the large amount of *****, and the setlist was fairly self indulgent.

But those last 45 minutes.......

I'll allow him all the self indulgence in the world if it means he plays Can't Run But, Spirit Voices, and that version of Bridge Over Troubled Water!

hynesie08

davef1000 wrote: »

I'll allow him all the self indulgence in the world if it means he plays Can't Run But, Spirit Voices, and that version of Bridge Over Troubled Water!

Agreed, plus it's his farewell tour, just at times the first half of the show didn't flow great, but maybe I'm just being picky.

That version of bridge was awesome though.

roadmaster

This may be a stupid question but why can the sound desk not be moved to back further instead of the middle. Surely with modern technology something could be done

pocketse

roadmaster wrote: »

This may be a stupid question but why can the sound desk not be moved to back further instead of the middle. Surely with modern technology something could be done

Because behind the desk is a person who is using their ears to mix a sound. Its like asking why can't the pilot sit at the back of the plane. Middle is the average of everyones position in the stadium. Best place to hear a gig is near the sound desk.

hynesie08

pocketse wrote: »

Because behind the desk is a person who is using their ears to mix a sound. Its like asking why can't the pilot sit at the back of the plane. Middle is the average of everyones position in the stadium. Best place to hear a gig is near the sound desk.

The welcome desk was nowhere near the middle, and they left a huge gap between the seating and standing areas, they knew they ****ed up, because about 2/3 of the way through there were lads with iPads going through the crowd testing sound levels, and then it mysteriously improved........

https://twitter.com/GorettiMalone/status/1017974674108698624

Zardoz

Mrs Shuttleworth wrote: »

Old habits die hard for the RDS it seems. The sound is so hit and miss in there. The bass tends to sound like an earthquake and drowns out the other frequencies.

It sounds like the sound mix in the Marquee .
Wouldnt surprise me if it was the same sound engineer ,probably a student knowing Aiken ,trying to cut costs .

delbertgrady

I'm sorry to hear horror stories from people who had bad experiences, either with low sound or restricted view. I was in the flat seats and had no issues, although being close to the stage probably meant that the sound was fine anyway.
I did think the distance between the last row of seats and the standing barrier was ridiculous. If you were in the seats, you'd to walk around them to get back in, so I saw what the vantage point from standing would have been like. Miles away. And restricted view.
My only complaint was a group of thirtysomethings sitting behind me who could not (and would not) stop talking. I've never endured anything as bad. Relentless chat, during songs and the spoken introductions. Are you even a fan at all?
Fortunately, a few of them left at one point to get food or booze and I was able to get a few songs without any distraction, including - thankfully - the great version of Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War.
I was biding my time until the inevitable move to the front, when I could escape them completely, so once people began to wander up the aisles, towards the stage, I moved too, ending up near the barrier, slightly off centre for the last forty five minutes, which was (obviously) a totally different (and much better) experience.
I thought Bonnie Raitt did a great job as an opener and James Taylor played a shrewd set of greatest hits, as well as being his usual funny self, so it was a very well matched bill. For a triple bill, it was exceptional stuff.

Aglomerado

delbertgrady wrote: »

I'm sorry to hear horror stories from people who had bad experiences, either with low sound or restricted view. I was in the flat seats and had no issues, although being close to the stage probably meant that the sound was fine anyway.
I did think the distance between the last row of seats and the standing barrier was ridiculous. If you were in the seats, you'd to walk around them to get back in, so I saw what the vantage point from standing would have been like. Miles away. And restricted view.
My only complaint was a group of thirtysomethings sitting behind me who could not (and would not) stop talking. I've never endured anything as bad. Relentless chat, during songs and the spoken introductions. Are you even a fan at all?
Fortunately, a few of them left at one point to get food or booze and I was able to get a few songs without any distraction, including - thankfully - the great version of Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War.
I was biding my time until the inevitable move to the front, when I could escape them completely, so once people began to wander up the aisles, towards the stage, I moved too, ending up standing more or less front and centre for the last ten songs, which was (obviously) a totally different (and much better) experience, and elevated the whole night.
I thought Bonnie Raitt did a great job as an opener and James Taylor played a shrewd set of greatest hits, as well as being his usual funny self, so it was a very well matched bill. For a triple bill, it was exceptional stuff.

The amount of chattering from gin soaked ' wans' near the barrier in the standing area during James Taylor was shocking. One of music's greatest troubadours on stage and they didn't have the decency to shut up and listen to him. I had to move several times to stand near people who looked like they were into music & not just being 'seen'.
Paul Simon was amazing though he is fantastic 😀

delbertgrady

A friend of a friend was demented with people talking at Simon and Garfunkel in 2004 and when he asked them to be quiet so he could hear the music, the response he got was, "If you wanted to hear music, you should have stayed home and listened to your CDs," so I tend to go to these large scale summer shows with a rueful understanding that such a mentality is always a possibility.

dasdog

I thought about walking down and blagging my way in or even sitting outside to hear some of the tunes everyone's dad played in the car. Sounds like it was very underwhelming and for the older people that might rarely go to a live event and those that travelled that would be disappointing.

They put Zoo TV in that place. Probably the greatest musical show on earth at the time and the RDS was chosen (although it was great).

TumblingDice1

justbored wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I have to agree. We were in Block N in the stand, as far as you can be from stage. Except for the last 45 mins there was no atmosphere, people were drinking and talking as if we were in a pub with background music. we were halfway up the stand and could hear people talking in the standing area! I think people just switched off because of the low volume.
First and last time at a gig in RDS

davef1000

Zardoz wrote: »

It sounds like the sound mix in the Marquee .
Wouldnt surprise me if it was the same sound engineer ,probably a student knowing Aiken ,trying to cut costs .

There's no way Paul Simon, or Taylor or Raitt, aren't bringing their own sound crew on tour with them.

stateofflux

I was in the seating section. brought my elderly Dad along as he loves Paul Simon. all round top class sound and performance. he was happy so im happy. apart from a load of twits yapping behind us--- thankfully we were able to stand in walkways between seating to get away from them.

But i can see how people in standing section would have issues ..it was way too far back from the stage. (half a football pitch) and the sound even up the front was not very loud at all.

Ireland still cant get food and drink & toilets sorted at outdoor events. massive cattlemart queues for everything. less than respectful conduct from some stewards especially given a more mature crowd. NOT acceptable.

also every road around RDS was shut down after . had to walk over 30 mins to get near an open road for a taxi---with no direction or announcements to help show people the best way out / home.

despite all this.. i had a good time and i saw a legend in top form playing some all time classic songs,