Dockland makeover Points to busy future indoors for live music
Jim Carroll
A prediction for 2009? Expect to see less and less single-artist outdoor shows on the summer gigging schedule.
While you might think this has something to do with the weather or the recession (or both), the real reason for this change will be down to The 02, the new name for the Point in Dublin.
Since that venue closed last summer and got the builders in, Irish promoters have had to find other venues for their bigger shows.
These replacement venues have been both imaginative (last winter’s erection of large marquees in Dublin 8 by MCD, Aiken Promotions and POD Concerts) and horrific (the RDS indoor arena is a shed better suited to showcasing new agricultural equipment than live music).
It’s safe to say, then, that the arrival of a venue such as The 02 in Dublin will be warmly welcomed by the Big Three promoters.
For a start, it means that there will finally be another Irish venue on a par with Belfast’s excellent Odyssey, which will allow arena acts to play more than one Irish show on their tour.
But many shows which are currently held outdoors may also end up in Dublin’s docklands.
While there will always be acts such as Bruce Springsteen, where demand warrants an outdoor venue (as well as the likes of Metallica who will be touring with a full outdoor production set-up), there are also many shows which promoters will be happy to see going indoors.
The availability of a venue with a capacity of up to 13,000 means promoters will be able to avail of reduced venue and production costs when it comes to these shows.
With The 02, there will be no need to rent a few acres of land and build a stage every time Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz or Leonard Cohen comes to town.
The venue will also ensure plenty of repeat visits from acts who would normally only get to fit in an Irish show every few years. Of course, depending on the act, this might not be such a good thing.
The RDS is a pigsty. I still can’t believe people continue to put up with it. And as for the outdoor gigs in Dublin and Kildare? They’re about as organised as an Amy Winehouse setlist.
Thank goodness the Point is coming back.
I do think it’s a good thing myself. Who wants to put up with travelling to Malahide, Rathfarnam, The Phoenix Park or Punchestown when a simple trip into the city will suffice and you don’t have to worry about bad weather knocking the power!
Admittedly it’s handier for me living so close to the city centre so I am a happy camper.
Jim, do you know if the new Point can host 2 gigs on the same night? I.e one big main show and a smaller act in a Vicar St type size room. I’m sure I read somewhere before that this was in the plans.
sinead – people put up with the RDS because it’s the only venue with that sort of capacity in the city (especially when the Point is closed). I dont think I have ever seen a gig there which I remember with anything other than irritation. Like I said, it’s great for exhibiting tractors or new farm machinery but not live shows.
sean d – i think there are/were plans for a Vicar St 2 at the Point – i dont think both venues are part of the one complex though. And dont forget the Grand Canal Square Theatre also due on stream in the next year or two. Sure, we’ll have big venues coming out our ears.
If you believe everything you read in the papers (the ‘R word and all that) we’ll have big empty venues coming out our ears!
For the most part indoor gigs are better- Most acts sound gets lost in the air. There are only a few artists who can pull off an outdoor gig…For example Bruce, U2, Daft Punk…
ehhh….Belfast’s “excellent” Odyssey…?
That must be a different Odyssey to the one I’m familiar with. The one that’s an ice-hockey stadium, a large shed (not unlike the RDS) where I experienced the worst sound ever at the one gig (Bob Dylan) I was at there.
Ok, in fairness maybe it was just Dylan’s fault. The girlfriend tells me Kylie was amazing there last week
and about time too.
On a slightly different subject Jim, is it just me or are promoters putting on bigger acts on their own gigs these days, as appose to throwing them in on the Oxegen/ Electric Picnic bill? I’m thinking Muse not playing Oxegen this year opting for Marley, and Morrissey playing Kilmainham and not Electric Picnic. Do you reckon the acts push for this or is it the promoters? I presume the promoters make a lot more money this way – or am I missing something I wonder. Would say the Goo Goo dolls command a bigger fee playing 2 sold out Ambassador shows than a middle slot on the main stage at Oxegen?
Just my random musings for today…