I was in Dublin city centre this morning for the first time in 12 months. The last time I was there was to see Jane Willow perform in the Cobblestone Pub on February 29th 2020. I never, not for a moment, thought things would turn out as they did. I was looking forward to a year full of gigs and excitement. I think we all know how that turned out. After doing what I had to workwise, I took a spin around Dublin before I headed home. I drove by the aforementioned Cobblestone Pub , the Voodoo Lounge , The Grand Social , The Workmans Club , The Sugar Club and ended up outside Whelans . I've had great nights out in each of those venues and in many more around the country! Dolans of Limerick, Crane Lane Theatre and Kino in Cork, Odd Mollies in Drogheda, the Moat Theatre in Naas, the Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge, the Solstice Arts Centre in Navan, Visual in Carlow... The list goes on and on. 2017 and Helmet played Whelans. There I am partying with them after the s
Ever since I missed out on seeing James Brown at Oxegen, I decided that anytime I have a chance to catch a legend playing, I'll take it. This means I've seen the likes of Lionel Richie, Jimmy Somerville, Christina Aguilera, The Sugarhill Gang and many others. Not exactly my normal taste in music, but all were great gigs. Anyway, this time it was the turn of Midge Ure and he was definitely my style of music! Earlier in the summer, he'd annouced he was playing the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, so I obviously booked a ticket! On the night, he played tracks from his Visage, Ultravox and his solo careers. All sounded brilliant live. Oh and in a class move, he started the night with a nod to Phil Lynott cover, Yellow Pearl. You may or may not be aware, but he played with Thin Lizzy for a short spell! Check out the set list below. Yellow Pearl Visage Blocks on Blocks The Dancer In The Year 2525 Mind of a Toy Glorious Fade to Grey Astradyne New Europeans Priv