Christmas came early this year for me. Never did I think that Me First and the Gimme Gimmes would be playing Dublin, and never did I ever think I'd get to shoot one of their shows! Well, that all changed last week when they played the Academy in Dublin on a cold, damp, Monday night! I've been a fan since 1997, when one of the lads I worked with, brought in a copy of Have a Ball . It was love at first listen! I did manage to catch them live back in 2019 when they played the O2 Forum in Kentish Town , London, and it was every bit as good as I'd hoped, but it paled in comparison to Monday night in Dublin. So, how did it come about? Well, back in 2013, I interviewed the band for a now defunct Irish website called Chunk.ie . Over the years, I've stayed on their PR roster, so I took a chance and emailed my contact there. Lo and behold, a few emails later and all was sorted, I was down to photograph the show. How was it? Brilliant, amazing, fantastic,...
It was 10 years since I last saw Therapy? live... Oxegen 2009. Now that was a great Oxegen, some amazing acts, apart from Therapy?, played that weekend.
Nick Cave, Nine Inch Nails, Janes Addiction, Eagles of Death Metal, Manic Street Preachers, The Killers, Elbow, James... Ahh the list just goes on and on. Was it the best Oxegen? Yeah, probably!
Anyway, lets get back on track. So, I heard Therapy? were doing an Irish tour and for some reason, when I saw they were playing Dolans in Limerick, I figured that was the gig for me!
I hit the road after work on Friday night and made it to Limerick to catch The Wood Burning Savages. Wow, these guys, who hail from Derry, seriously rock. Really enjoyed their set and I bought their album Stability on the way out!
Finally it was time for Therapy to come and play their set, and what a set it was. If memory serves me correct, I counted 30 tracks on the sound engineers set list. Along the way, they also added in a couple more covers. The set lasted over 2 hours, 2 hours of non stop, high intensity, had rock. It was incredible!
Friday also happened to be the birthday of Therapy? drummer, Neil Cooper. So there was a rousing performance of Happy Birthday and Neil Neil, Drum Like a Motherfucker.
As it turned out, Saturday happened to be Michael McKeegans birthday also. I can only imagine the amount of partying that went on...
Anyway, that was it, that was Therapy? in Dolans. What a gig, well worth the long journey there and back. Therapy? are one of the great Irish bands who actually managed to break free of Ireland and make a name for themselves around the world. If you get the chance to see them on this tour, you really should just go.
Setlist:
Nick Cave, Nine Inch Nails, Janes Addiction, Eagles of Death Metal, Manic Street Preachers, The Killers, Elbow, James... Ahh the list just goes on and on. Was it the best Oxegen? Yeah, probably!
Anyway, lets get back on track. So, I heard Therapy? were doing an Irish tour and for some reason, when I saw they were playing Dolans in Limerick, I figured that was the gig for me!
I hit the road after work on Friday night and made it to Limerick to catch The Wood Burning Savages. Wow, these guys, who hail from Derry, seriously rock. Really enjoyed their set and I bought their album Stability on the way out!
Finally it was time for Therapy to come and play their set, and what a set it was. If memory serves me correct, I counted 30 tracks on the sound engineers set list. Along the way, they also added in a couple more covers. The set lasted over 2 hours, 2 hours of non stop, high intensity, had rock. It was incredible!
Friday also happened to be the birthday of Therapy? drummer, Neil Cooper. So there was a rousing performance of Happy Birthday and Neil Neil, Drum Like a Motherfucker.
As it turned out, Saturday happened to be Michael McKeegans birthday also. I can only imagine the amount of partying that went on...
Anyway, that was it, that was Therapy? in Dolans. What a gig, well worth the long journey there and back. Therapy? are one of the great Irish bands who actually managed to break free of Ireland and make a name for themselves around the world. If you get the chance to see them on this tour, you really should just go.
Setlist:
- Wreck it Like Beckett
- Expelled
- Die Laughing
- Nausea
- Lonely, Cryin', Only
- Kakistocracy
- Turn
- Callow
- Fantasy Bag
- Isolation (Joy Division cover)
- Opal Mantra
- A Moment of Clarity
- Diane (Hüsker Dü cover)
- Trigger Inside
- I Stand Alone
- Screamager
- Teethgrinder
- Potato Junkie
- Stop It You're Killing Me
- Meat Abstract
- No Sunshine
- Unbeliever
- Misery
- Crutch
- Stories
- Nowhere
- Knives
- Success? Success Is Survival