An amazing line up for a night in Marlay park was my first impressions when seeing the ads for the gig a couple of months ago, Considering no Oxegen and not the best Picnic headliners in my own opinion this Marlay Park gig was the best gig of the summer with all the festival vibe and you don't even have to stay in a tent! Tickets were immediately bought and a cheap hotel booked.
It wasn't a bad afternoon in the capital just the odd misting showers and the ground/grass was holding its own, all in all a grand evening for an outdoor gig. The security in Marlay Park was very tight. We had double searches entering the gig area including metal detectors and all our pockets had to be emptied into clear plastic bags. It was all very airport/prison security stuff of coarse all measures hyped up due to the mess that happened at a gig earlier in the year in the phoenix park. Not great fun going through these checks and a kind of a dampener when heading into a gig but in hindsight it makes complete sense. It was very reassuring to see so many security staff and Gardaà around the grounds. It should really be like this all the time.
I missed Maverick Sabre due to pre-gig pints but doubt I missed too much. The Cribs were in mid set walking in, This is one band I never really got into and I don't think after several listens I ever will. Not that I don't think they aren't good musicians as they are clearly good and what they do, and it is also clear watching the pit dwellers jumping around singing back to the band that they have a good following. I can't seem to warm to the music , it all seems a bit too out there and shouty but who knows one day they might surprise me.
More pints and burgers and it was time for Noel Gallagher to grace the festival stage, Last time I saw Noel live was back in 2009 headlining the mighty Slane. Little did I know that the band would be no more only a couple of month later. That was one hell of a gig and strangely enough the first time I had witnessed Kasabian live. Tonight saw the roles reversed as Noel became the support artist.
Noel launched straight into an Oasis number '(It’s Good) To Be Free' however two minutes into the song the sound went, the band looking to the side of the stage with puzzlement. Off they went and fifteen minutes later after several 'sorry bla bla announcements' Noel came back on to great applause and cracked into another Oasis number 'Mucky Fingers' yet again the song was interrupted by a power failure of some sort. It was getting all a bit ridiculous at this stage and it was clear the band were close to breaking point. Another fifteen minutes passed and in fairness to Noel they came back out and soldiered on and played a blinder of a set with no annoying interruptions. As Noel said after the first uninterrupted song 'sorry about that fucking nonsense' and later quip 'They had to put 50p in the Metre'
The set included a nice mix of classic Oasis and stuff from the High Flying Birds debut album. Its was great to hear '
Half the World Away' a real favourite of mine. The Oasis numbers didn't even need Noel signing at times as the crowd were nearly drowning him out, It's always a pleasure to see such a genius at work. The final track 'Don’t Look Back in Anger' was the biggest sing along with the crowd and it was clear the band were enjoying it just as much. The power problem might have been too much for him though as he ended the night by saying it would be his last Dublin gig for a long time which was met with boos and he said 'Hey, It's a big world'. This might also be due to the fact he has played a string of Irish gigs over the last year. Either way the gig was great, looking forward to hearing more from the birds.
Setlist:
(It’s Good) To Be Free
Mucky Fingers
Everybody’s on the Run
Dream On
If I Had a Gun…
Supersonic
(I Wanna Live in a Dream in My) Record Machine
AKA… What a Life!
Talk Tonight
AKA… Broken Arrow
Half the World Away
(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach
Whatever
Don’t Look Back in Anger
A Guy on youtube has nearly the whole set recorded (Here )
Kasabian arrived on stage just as the dusk had set in, the stage lighting now in its element as the tribal velociraptor symbol was adorning the back drop. The band bounded on stage and cracked straight into their new single 'Days Are Forgotten'. The gig was one mass sing along, everyone just jumped around and had a ball. The band were flawless and at times seemed so good it sounded recorded.
Now having four albums in their discography they are clearly and awesome live band. Having hit after hit in their arsenal it was hard to keep your breath from belting out the fan favourites.
For me the album that sealed this was 2009s 'West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum' , its one hell of an album and boosts a serious amount of non fillers, this is then backed up with another stomper in the form of 2011s 'Velociraptor!'.
The set was amazingly good and the crowd were top notch , The seamlessly integrated covers adding to the greatness in the form of 'Praise You' by Fatboy Slim and Serge's cover of 'Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime' by The Korgis. Lead singer Tom Meighan spoke to the crowd of his Irish green blood and his proud Irish heritage and throughout the night gave us a serious passionate performance. Tom also treated us at the end of the night to an A-Capella version of the Beatles' 'She Loves You'
The video below showing a snippet of the final song 'Fire' tells all really. You know you were at the great gig when leaving the grounds your hoarse and your legs are crazy tired.
Cheers for a great night and I think I was right when seeing the billing , Gig of the year!
Setlist:
Days Are Forgotten
Shoot the Runner
Velociraptor!
Underdog
Where Did All the Love Go?
Swarfiga
Let’s Roll Just Like We Used To (E.T Theme trumpet intro)
I.D.
Take Aim (Clockwork Orange Theme Intro)
Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime (The Korgis cover)
Club Foot
Re‐Wired
Empire
Praise You (Fatboy Slim cover)
L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)
Encore:
Switchblade Smiles
Vlad the Impaler
Fire
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