CLUAS Gig Reviews

Duke Special (live in Portlaoise)

editor@cluas.com — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

A review of Duke Special (live in Kavanagh’s, Portlaoise)

Review Snapshot: While there’s no room in tonight's small venue for his piano, Duke Special still managed to put all his energy, enjoyment, and drama into a gig which enthralled us for over two hours. The Duke managed to silence us with his fascinating stories and history lessons, bringing a different perspective to what can be achieved when you mix music and art.

The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10

The Hold Steady (live in Dublin)

editor@cluas.com — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The Hold Steady (live in The Academy, Dublin)

Review Snapshot: Playing to audience of 30 something men, The Hold Steady deliver a set much appreciated by the many converted in the audeience. A band however lacking the urgency and depth to ever become a major force in rock music.

The Cluas Verdict? 6 out of 10

Full Review: The first thing that is noticeable upon entering The Academy tonight is the clientele. Without exaggeration, the crowd is made up of 90% men. The Hold Steady’s combination of classic and geek rock appealing, based on those in attendance tonight, more to the male 30 something demographic than any other, The band, who have forged a career by releasing consistently decent albums, struck up a genuine bond between band and audience from the off in The Academy.

Even so, front man Craig Finn looked somewhat out of place. Reminiscent of a young Elvis Costello, his on-stage dancing borders on embarrassing-uncle-at-a-60th territory whilst sipping his can of Diet Coke. But it is this carefree spirit that seems to endear Finn to the reasonably sizeable crowd in attendance. His voice is an acquired taste, mixing Springsteen-esqe moments with the occasional spoken word. Finn sings about his home town of Minnesota; obviously holding a strong connection with the place of his upbringing, and there is an unquestionable autobiographical theme running through many of the songs tonight.

The band play songs from all of their studio albums and early gig standouts include the melodic ‘Ask for her Adderall’ and ‘Hurricane J’. The band do not rely on their singles to power their live performance and after ‘Sequestered in Memphis’, follows the highlight of the gig: a trio of heavier tunes (Stevie Nix, Smidge, Southtown) with dual guitars reminiscent of Thin Lizzy in their prime. The wonderful mid-section break in ‘Southtown’ ends too fast and shows another, groovier, dynamic of the band.

By this stage, the vast majority of the crowd are won over. The band return for a strong encore consisting of ‘Stay Positive’ and ‘Slapped Actress’ (both from 2008’s ‘Stay Positive’ album) and a birthday wish to a fan’s girlfriend who had contacted the band directly by email – a testimony to the Hold Steady’s lack of pretentiousness and rock star ego.

The Hold Steady strike me as an ideal act to see on the main stage at a summer festival before the sun sets. For me, they are a little middle of the road’, lacking the urgency and depth to ever become a major force in rock music. This gig was one my parents would have enjoyed - rarely a healthy sign.

The Hold Steady might not be the most contemporary, or vital for that matter, band to visit Ireland in 2011, but they deserve their place in the industry. In many respects they represent a welcome juxtaposition to some other self-aware and media conscious acts of present.

Colin White

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Imelda May (live in Dublin)

editor@cluas.com — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Imelda May (live in The Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Ireland)

Review Snapshot: For such a small woman, Imelda May has a huge presence, controlling not only the stage but the crowds sense of control as well, with everyone losing control alongside her. The queen of Rockabilly has returned to her home town and no sense of grandeur following her rise to the top is going to pull this girl from her roots.

The Cluas Verdict? 8.5 out of 10

Full Review: Coming back to Dublin after a year of commercial success with critical praise and international stardom, one could fear that Imelda May could have lost sight of where it all began. She hasn’t.

Catching the first of four end of the year shows in the Olympia Theatre, a venue I have called once before a place of faded grandeur, where better to let your hair down and revel in your success.

May comes out on the stage showing off what she’s known best for, her style, charisma, an insurmountable surge of talent and that jaw dropping quiff. May’s got a look of determination on her face as she takes the stage setting out to prove that success doesn’t make you lazy.

Almost every song that was played has this unparalleled potential to take the charts by storm from the very sultry ‘Big Bad Handsome Man’ to the incredulous strains of ‘Psycho’. Not giving the crowd a break from their singing and dancing to catch a breath before moving into the rigorous ‘Sneaky Freak’ and then pulling it all back with her on stylised version of Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’ May proves she knows how to keep the crowd coming back for more.

Frantic bass lines and the trickiest of hooks and solos, May’s band know their place on the stage, holding back and letting her take the full stage for what it’s worth, letting the crowd see what they have truly paid to see: a spectacle of true musical talent.

The jubilant mood only increases throughout the night as May aims to entertain not only the crowd but also her parents, who she only noticed watching her from the balcony part way through the show.

The set ended in the only way one could expect. An all out true Rockabilly performance of ‘Johnny Got a Boom Boom’. But this couldn’t be the end could it? Of course not. Returning to the stage with a seasonal Santa style dress, May treats the crowd to an encore of Christmas songs to get them ready for the coming holiday. You haven’t heard Christmas until you’ve heard ‘Holy Night’ Rockabilly, and ‘I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas’ in true Rockabilly style with a barrage of billowing fake plastic snow.

A fantastic end to a fantastic year for this queen of Rockabilly who can only expect better more to come in the New Year.

Greg Synnott

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The Pogues (live in Sheffield)

editor@cluas.com — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The Pogues (live in The O2 Academy, Sheffield)

Review Snapshot: 'They sang us songs from times long-gone / though we knew that we’d be seeing them again' – a fiddled lyrical quote from The Pogues romping rendition of Sally MacLennane. One that highlights the cloud of uncertainty over the authenticity of this year’s fantastic farewell performance by Shane MacGowan and his merry men.

The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10

Full Review: Fabled festive farewell or not, this was a grand performance from The Pogues in a season which they dominate. The agonising wait until they take to the floor is warmed by choruses of Body of an American recited by the eager crowd.

When the doddery Shane MacGowan finally blunders onto stage he’s greeted with a hero’s reception and passionate chants of ‘Shano’ despite appearing as if he has been unceremoniously awoken or directed away from the backstage bar. Is that a sloshing pint of vodka or water accompanying his constantly lit cigarette? For most of this evening’s gig MacGowan mutters unintelligible snippets to the crowd which tin whistle player Spider Stacy on our right translates as song introductions.

First up is Streams of Whiskey, aptly appreciated by the average beer-fuelled, bald nut at the front, followed soon after by the jumpy 'If I Should Fall from Grace with God'. Thereafter the tempo of the set oscillates perfectly with the terrific two-paced 'The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn' inciting a riotous response while 'And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda' provides respite and swaying material.

The Anglo-Irish outfit also sandwich in the brass instrumental 'Metropolis', the beautiful accordion-led 'London Girl' and the much anticipated, energetic 'The Irish Rover'. Not even a minor wire-slip/blown amp sound explosion can dampen the celebratory carnival atmosphere created by the loyal gathering packed inside the often soulless Academy. This is further fuelled when MacGowan dons the band’s green and white scarf which is hurled onstage later on.

And so The Pogues return for their encore (Shano’s fifth) which culminates in a classic rendition of 'Fairytale of New York' which sees him grapple his female compatriot in an awkward arm-in-arm waltz under a sea of confetti. They finish with 'Fiesta' and the baking tray head-bashing antics of Spider Stacy which, although many are too-spent to sustain their bouncing for, has the balcony viewers swinging and leaves us with a special something to hum and whistle along to into the freezing Sheffield night.

This one will live long in the memory – or at least until another farewell concert this time next year...

Jamie Kendrick

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Two Door Cinema Club (live in Dublin)

editor@cluas.com — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Two Door Cinema Club (live in The Tripod, Dublin)

Review Snapshot: Having finally gained access to The Tripod after being refused entrance at 17 with a fake ID you could forgive Alex Trimble for looking a little nervous on stage, this time facing a sold out headline show with a 1400 strong crowd. With just one album under their belt one wondered whether this band could live up to standard everyone else seems to have set them.

The Cluas Verdict? 7.5 out of 10

Full Review: As it turns out, you don’t need more than one strong album's worth of material to pull off a headline show. Not when you have two equally strong opening acts and the right kind of music playing in between to keep the crowds energy pumping.

Opening the doors at 7:30, you could tell the small crowd standing outside were glad to be out of the cold. It wasn’t long before we were faced with the dazzling flash of strobe lights staring blindingly at a trio that can only be described as Belfast’s best party band. Sadly for Not Squares, emerging as the opening act they were met with a miniscule crowd who were too cold to move to their dancey uplifting blend of electronica and post-punk.

Taking the stage shortly afterwards were what I could only describe as one of the best bands emerging out of Ireland at the moment: The Cast of Cheers, who arrived fully formed at the start of this year with their (free to download) debut Chariots. Having only come on the scene this year, you would not expect this band to play as tightly as they did, with edgy vocals and a guitarist not afraid to throw himself around the stage manically between lead duties. One wonders where they thought up the idea of using a sampler loop pedal to have a mysterious guitar play from somewhere unseen whilst they thrash about onstage.

Having little knowledge of this band apart from hearing their name thrown about once or twice I was amazed to see the number of people in the crowd singing and dancing along, leading me to wonder, why they’re still singing “is there any f**ing love in here?”

The clocks struck 9:30 and Two Door Cinema Club were greeted with a full room of high octane energy, something that works well when you’re music is vibrant punchy electro pop. Having finally put the drum machine away, for touring purposes at least, they've brought with them an actual living drummer who can now let their full sound be known.

Herein lies the failing in their debut album ‘Tourist History’, it just doesn’t live up to their live show. Two Door Cinema Club are something of an anomaly, when playing live they possess this profound surge of energy, that no matter how experienced or inexperienced a band may be, it just can’t be replicated on record.

The band played solidly through their first album, treating the crowd to a new track, a teaser of positive things to come. Suffice to say I was never one to question whether any act was worthy of headlining their own show but tonight made me realise, the support act can and will upstage you in more ways than one if they are good enough, as is proof with The Cast of Cheers.

If you have the opportunity to go see Two Door Cinema Club, it’s certainly worth the money, if for no other reason than they’re really fun to bop around to with a crowd particularly in a small venue such as Tripod. But tonight was a fine example on the importance of keeping your eyes on the opening bands, considering they could be headlining even larger shows in the coming years and you can say you saw them when they upstaged everybody.

Greg Synnott

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Caribou 'The Button Factory'

editor@cluas.com — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Caribou (live in The Button Factory, Dublin)

Review Snapshot: Studio whizzkid with a strong live reputation brings his album of the year - Swim contender to the slushy streets of Dublin.

The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10

Full Review: Dublin is getting back on its feet (literally) after as severe a bout of cold weather as this gig-goer can ever remember enduring, Grafton Street is a slushy muddy hive of after work Christmas drinkers and shoppers. We beat a path down through the shopping thoroughfare, across Temple Bar and over a beggar strewn Halfpenny Bridge before settling into the Grand Social (Formally Pravda) on Liffey Street.

The Grand Social is a very welcome addition to the Dublin indie pub scene, Gil Scott Heron's ‘Lady Day and John Coltrane‘ is playing on the stereo which for me denotes bar staff with rather excellent taste in music. They also have Leffe beer on tap which they serve by the pint - fantastic.

We trotted back across the Halfpenny Bridge and up through the cobblestones to The Button Factory buried right in the Heart of Temple Bar.

Caribou is essentially a recording moniker for Dan Snaith, a prodigious mathematician by account who on relocation to London fell in with electronica genius Kieran Hebden of Four Tet. Initially as Manitoba and then as Caribou he released two of my favourite albums in recent years, songs such as Sundialling of Andorra and Leave House of album of 2010 contender Swim have featured on more than a couple of this reviewer's mix tapes. Having read strong live reviews of previous visits to this shore I was interested to see how the records were going to translate in a live environment.

Given the nature of his music it comes as no surprise to see that percussion instruments are to the fore, strings and keys somewhat to the back. Four guys take to the stage and they start into 'Kalli' from Swim. This song feels like a tease, Snaith stands jabbing at a keyboard while the other three musicians on stage fidget about and look a bit uncomfortable. They look as though they will break into a full dance freak out mode but they somehow hold back.

The set is well paced and it’s probably just as well because I don’t think I am fit enough for an hour and twenty minute freak out, certainly not in snow worthy boots. 'Melody day' is dropped quite early in the set and is as fantastic as this reviewer imagined it could be. 'Hannibal' sounds as if it has been tweaked by the good guys at DFA. Swim's closing track - 'Jamelia' - kicks off like an R'n'B classic and the lyrics find Snaith at his most open, honest and bare. Odessa is a piece of pure majesty. These three songs are highlights which, as a sample, show how diverse and dexterous the sound Snaid has created truly is.

Elsewhere there are moments that deliver the promised freak outs. As moments, they pass and as you attempt to digest what you have just witnessed you are already being challenged by something else. Every now and again Snaith looks up and flashes a grin as if the studio driven vision is being brought to fruition. I cannot argue with that.

They encore with Sun which feels like a perfect climax. Nothing is left on stage at the end, not even Snaith himself as he is dragged from the stage and is passed around the fervent crowd before carving his way back to the stage and off into the night.

Phil Gill

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The Frames (live in Dublin)

editor@cluas.com — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Frames (live in The Olympia, Dublin)

Review Snapshot: The Frames haven’t played a small venue in Ireland in a while but Glen Hansard has proven that no matter how long he’ll stay away from his roots he’ll always return with a bang. From ‘Santa Maria’ and ‘Revelate’ to his minute covers in the middle of songs (tonight it was the turn of ‘Kashmir’ and ‘Lilac Wine’). He showed it wasn’t all serious as he delivered over-served fans with his wit the now expected quips and anecdotes between songs.

The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10

Full Review: “I want my life to make more sense… I want my country to make some f**king sense!” he quips halfway through the show proving that Glen Hansard isn’t as removed from the everyman as his fame would have you believe. Sell-out tours with The Swell Season and getting his hands on an Oscar has not removed this busker from his roots.

Coming back to Ireland fully formed and playing as furiously as ever The Frames are one of those bands that split opinions like no other, especially when at home. Love them or hate them no one can deny that seeing them live is somewhat of a spectacle. From the minimalist stage you have nothing to focus on but the sheer brilliance of a band celebrating what is now their 20th anniversary.

This performance mirrored their entire career in many ways, with a slow lulling start (‘Headlong’) before picking up gear about halfway through and creating a bond with the crowd, something that seems to be rather underestimated by many bands these days. There is something special in a front man that can both conduct his band and ultimately conduct his entire audience, leaving them longing for so much more.

Proving that Irish devotion to music isn’t dead, The Frames relationship with the crowd is intense. Like long term partners, members of the audience could be heard discussing the very first and last time they had seen The Frames play, even fondly recalling that one time they had run into Glen Hansard busking on a street in Dublin.

Everything from a classic Frames show are present, incoherent rambling song openings, crowds singing along, snippets from others songs (yes he treated everyone to his usual rendition from Willy Wonka) but the crowd doesn’t fully catch up until they play ‘Lay Me Down’ speeding it up halfway through in what seemed to be homage to The Sex Pistols.

The final leg of the gig is an exciting run through of crowd favourites from ‘Revelate’ to ‘Santa Maria’, with ‘Fake’ having the crowd gleefully singing along, It ended on a monumental rendition of The Auld Triangle with dedications to Damien Dempsey.

This is the point when nobody expects the gig to be over, it played like it would never have stopped, and felt like it should have never ended. But, alas, the band left the stage and the lights came up leaving the audience in take in The Olympia in its faded sense of grandeur.

Greg Synnott

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Local Natives (live in Dublin)

editor@cluas.com — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Local Natives (live in, The Village, Dublin)

Review Snapshot: LA Hipsters Local Natives roll into town to play a work unfriendly Monday night at The Village in Dublin, the reviewer can't help but be reminded of sunnier times the previous July.

The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10

Full Review: Ado decided to drive in so I sat in the house watching Australian Masterchef waiting for the lad to pull up outside the door in his ridiculous PlayStation-like BMW. The phone rings. It's himself, too lazy to get out of the car and knock on the door and, to be honest, when it is this cold I don't blame the buck one bit.

Local Natives all the way from California playing The Village on a Monday night. I got into them during the summer in my uncle's vacant house on the Aran Islands, my girlfriend from Montreal was playing albums on her iPod for myself and two friends while we drank wine in the long grass and watched the sun set out over the west coast of Mayo. Happy memories that seem so far away as we spin down the N11 into Donnybrook on a bitterly cold November night.

We made our way past the group of shivering, nicotine-addled hipsters with enough time to grab a bottle of O'Hara's stout and pick a position in front of the awful overhang which is the curse of the Village as a venue. The trick is to get far enough forward so you can't hear the chattering from the peeps who shelled out 20 odd quid to talk at the bar.

The band walk on reflecting a straw poll of the audience themselves: comical tashes, low cut oversized tees and skinny jeans-a-gogo. They launch into the percussion-driven 'Camera Talk' (scroll below to listen to it). The first thing that hits you is how loud they are playing. Having not seen them before this was unexpected. The second thing that hits you is that these guys really can sing. And not just one of them. They all seem fit to hold a note, with the exception of the enormous bass player.

Next up is 'World News' which starts off as a thumping footstomper, immersed in vocal and strung-up hooks that evolves into another shout-out loud vocal singalong. A Talking Heads cover followed by a string of songs from their debut album Gorrilla Manor. After 3 or 4 songs I would imagine it would be impossible not to be completely taken in by these guys. They are impressively tight, something which comes from two years or so on the road. The hooks are plentiful and the boys can more than just hold a note. Kudos must also go to the crowd for this gig. Sun Hands in particular involved a 'sing along' which required the lead to sing a bit louder to be heard over the Monday night hardcore indie element.

We left The Village as far awaty as ever from a summer's evening on Inis Mor but very happy nonetheless.

Phil Gill

Camera Talk by Local Natives

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Lady Gaga (live in Dublin)

editor@cluas.com — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Lady Gaga (live in The O2, Dublin)

Review Snapshot: The Madonna comparisons are obvious. They both write and sing, the choreography is similar in parts, Alejandro is the new La Isla Bonita but I’ve never seen Madonna play the piano the way Gaga can. She’s here for the long haul and I’ve no doubt, on tonight’s performance we’re watching the artist of this decade.

The Cluas Verdict? 9.5 out of 10

Full Review: The world’s current most famous pop star returned to Dublin for the first of 3 nights at the o2 for a two-hour show split into four acts culminating with her Monster Ball. Act 1 was set around a New York City backdrop for the opening numbers ‘Dance In The Dark’ and ‘Glitter And Grease’ as her green car breaks down in the Big Apple, but fear not, under the bonnet is a piano which she plays during ‘Just Dance’.

There’s a constant changing of costumes throughout ‘Beautiful Dirty Rich’ and ‘The Fame’, and there’s certainly a Michael Jackson influence. Besides the Thriller album playing over the house speakers before the gig, she’s also stolen the catapulting of dancers up out of the ground from his This Is It film.

With the car breaking down, they’ve no option but to take the subway to the ball and during ‘Love Game’ she beings to read some of the many posters that the Irish fans have written for her. It’s a lovely part of the show but as she struggles to read some of them at a distance she comments “Lady Gaga plays the o2 in Dublin and she can’t even read”.

The numbers continue with ‘Boys Boys Boys’, ‘Money Honey’, and ‘Telephone which has her on the walkway down the front close to her “little monsters”. On numerous occasions thoughout the concert she gives out positive vibes. It’s obvious she was bullied as a child in school and was told she’d never achieve anything but she gets the message across that we’re all equal and can achieve anything we want.

The highlight of the show musically is her unaccompanied version of ‘Speechless’. She sits at the piano and sings it completely stripped down. There’s no whistles of bells on this number and it shows how talented this woman really is when the masks and make-up are taken away.

She stays at the piano because she wants to give the fans something new. “I know when my little monsters are ready to hear something new, so this is a track from my new album Born This Way” she states. During‘You And I’ she discusses her long term relationship with her boyfriend and dedicates it to her irish fans, before telling them about her love for Jameson Whiskey. She even introduces an Irish harp into the set before performing ‘So Happy I Could Die’.

For the next Act, the scenery changes to a forestry. ‘Monster’, ‘Teeth’ and ‘Alejandro’ are performed between footage depicting anything from blood and guts to Monsters, while ‘Poker Face’ has the audience eating out of her hand. By now the o2 is rockin, everyone is on their feet and the atmosphere is just fantastic.

The final act concludes with the Monster Ball. A huge monster appears to attack Gaga while she sings ‘Paparazzi, and the encore is ‘Bad Romance’ a song that is celebrating its first anniversary tonight. “I wrote this little song a year ago today” she added.

I brought my 9-year old daughter but came away from this gig a bigger fan that she probably is.

Mick Lynch

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Paul McCartney (live in Dublin)

editor@cluas.com — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Paul McCartney (live in the RDS, Dublin)

Review Snapshot: 165 minutes, of 36 songs ranging from The Beatles, Wings, The Fireman and McCartney's solo material, throw in a fireworks display to rival Sydney Bridge on New Years Day and you’ve only a taster of Paul’s RDS gig in the summer sunshine.

The Cluas Verdict? 10 out of 10

Full Review: sung That seven year itch for a McCartney gig at Dublin’s RDS came back around last night, and in the summer sunshine he put on a stomping rocking show for nearly 3 hours, that would leave fellow musicians half his age speechless.

The fact that his beloved England had a World Cup match at the same time meant that the gig was delayed in starting until half-time in the game. Was it worth the wait?

At 8:30pm the band walked on stage to huge applause, and began with Venus And Mars / Rockshow and Jet before McCartney tried a bit of the local tongue. “Failte Romhat Go Leir”. “Is Mise Paul McCartney in case you didn’t know that” he joked.

After All My Loving and Got To Get You Into My Life he got tongue tied. “It’s good to back, be, Dublin in. That was a new one, this is an old one” he continued to contradict himself by introducing Letting Go.

Highway and Let Me Roll It were next as he paid tribute to Jimi Hendrix with the foxy lady ending (telling us that “Jimi was a very humble man. "'Do you think they’ll like me?' Jimi used to ask).

Over he went to the piano for The Long And Winding Road, Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five and Let 'Em In.

He spoke about recent gigs in Mexico where they got their cigarette lighters out and click in time to the music. “It was amazing, it’s the only place they do that, but then they are all smokers” he added. He stayed at the Piano for My Love.

Before I’m Looking Through You he had a bit of a false start, before getting it right. “I thought we were going to do another song, which we are now” he joked. “It proves this is live” he added.

He told us that he brought that song back into the set during a gig in the Kiev, and thinking that the crowd were cheering on the mention of Ukraine, he soon discovered that the Irish had started a verse of “Happy Birthday To You” which (his 68th birthday was just days away at the time of the gig)”.

While the rest of the band took a break, Paul stood alone on stage and gave us Blackbird, his tribute to John (Here Today) and had the ukulele for Dance Tonight’ which had everyone singing along.

“There’s a guy who’s been holding up a sign here at the front of the stage, so this one is for you – Simon” was his intro to Mrs. Vandebilt. He continued to comment on the sign after Eleanor Rigby. “When you’re up here on stage and you’re trying to read all the posters but you’re trying to remember the lyrics, the chords and basically everything you’re suppose to, but you still try to read them, and there’s one guy up here at the front who has a sign saying AFTER THE SHOW I’M GOING TO BANG THIS CHICK, so I had to read that one” he laughed.

Something, Sing The Changes, and Band On the Run followed, before he spoke again. “There’s a bit in the middle of this next song that you can join in if you want, if not……(as we lip read the other two words) for the intro of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. Back In The U.S.S.R. and I’ve Got A Feeling were next.

“You’re probably wondering why we keep changing guitars? We’re just showing off. We have them so we might as well use them. This is the actual guitar that was used on this next 60s song” was his intro to Paperback Writer.

A Day In The Life and the segway into Give Peace A Chance was one of the night's many highlights. By now he had moved into top gear, and continued with ‘Let It Be’ and the pyrotechnic Live And Let Die with its special effects lifted right out of a James Bond movie.

During Hey Jude the rain started to fall lightly, but it didn’t dampen the spirits as Paul got both the men and women separately singing the chorus before the band left the stage for the first time. The encore consisted of Daytripper, Lady Madonna and Get Back but just when the fans thought it was over, there was a second encore.

Yesterday was beautifully sung, and then a rocking version of Helter Skelter with the rollercoaster backdrop to make us all dizzy. “There comes a time when we have to go home” he said (which brought consistent boos from the crowd). “It’s around the same time that you’ve got to go home” he promptly added. He thanked his band and crew and fittingly finished with Sgt Peppers Reprise and The End.

Two hours and 45 minutes after walking on stage, Macca had once again proved his love for the Irish fans with a spell-binding show that proved that, fast approaching his 68th birthday next week, he’s showing no sign of easing up.

Tonight he certainly gave something back to the Irish.

Mick Lynch

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