Thirty-eight years ago, and it seems like it was just yesterday... that's when I first saw the Hothouse Flowers live. If my memory is right, it was a pretty decent day in Dublin, and me and 15,000 people were packed into the RDS to see the Hothouse Flowers, Tracy Chapman, Deacon Blue and Aswad. If you were there, you know how good a day that was.
Over the years, I've seen the band live on numerous occasions, but none as intimate as tonight in Clane GAA as part of the Playing Fields Gigs. Maybe 400 people seated in a transformed GAA hall.
The team behind the show created a fantastic setting. A decent stage, fantastic lighting and sound to match. You'd never believe that there had been indoor training there earlier in the week!
It doesn't matter how good a venue is if the band can't rock it. There was no fear of that tonight as the Hothouse Flowers hit the ground running and played a set of what could only be called crowd pleasers, and the crowd were, most definitely, pleased.
When photographing a band you really like, sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy the show for a while, relax and take it all in. As luck would have it, there was a spare seat in the front row, so that is exactly what I did, and it brought me back to September 1988, standing with thousands of others, watching, listening, in awe.
Look, I could waffle on here for hours about the band, but I won't. What I will say is that they still are an absolutely incredible live band, fantastic musicians, weaving a blend of trad, folk and good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll into something that, well, it plays with your heart, and, for a while, makes everything okay.
Next up for the Playing Fields Gigs are the amazing Qween in November. They will absolutely blow the roof off the place! Buy a ticket before they're all gone.
Right, now for some photos.
