SIMPLE MINDS/OMD
Dublin O2
9/12/2009
One of the most anticipated gigs of year finally reached Dublin last night as OMD and Simple Minds returned to Ireland for a stomping gig at the o2 Arena. OMD, making their third visit to Dublin in as many years opened the 3 hour show with 'Messages' while Andy shouted 'we're OMD and this must be Dublin, because everyone is still in the bar'.
The 7:45pm start had caught many by surprise, but by the time they sang 'Electricity' most people had found their way into the venue. 'We've no time for art' declared Andy, as they were confined to an hour and raced through the hits.
Paul took lead on 'Forever Live And Die, while Andy put back on the guitar for 'She's Leaving'. 'Here are three songs from Architecture & Morality' he announced, before they gave us 'Souvenir', 'Joan of Arc' and 'Maid Of Orleans'.
'I need a rest' he added so he sat down at the front of the stage and sang 'Talking Loud And Clear' but was back on his feet immediately for 'Sailing On The Seven Seas'. 'I'm a Liverpool fan' said Andy, 'but we're already out of Europe. Paul is a Man United fan' he added before cranking things up to a rockin' finish with 'walking On The Milky Way', 'Locomotion' and 'Enola Gay'.
30 minutes later and the strains of 'Theme From Great Cities' announced the arrival of Simple Minds. Jim kicked straight into 'Sanctify Yourself' and actually took some popcorn from a fan at the front and proceeded to eat it during this number. 'I Travel' and 'Waterfront' followed after which Kerr shouted 'I'm knackered already'.
To be fair he didn't show it, and proceeded to jump around the stage through several classics including 'See The Lights', 'Sons of Fascination' and 'Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)' mixed in with a selection of songs from the recent Graffiti Soul album. 'It's not a good idea to have a Christmas party in Dublin before a gig' he joked.
'Once Upon A Time', 'One Step Closer' and 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' followed, after which Kerr spoke at length about Ireland's exclusion from next years World Cup. 'We sang this song in South Africa recently, and Ireland should be singing there next year'. He added 'you hear about rock stars throwing televisions out of windows, well now they're throwing referees out of windows. Ireland is the default winners of the World Cup' he concluded.
Next we got 'Promised You A Miracle' as Burchill on guitar, showing no signs of ageing covered both sides of the stage. For the Kraftwerk cover 'Neon Lights' there was the re-emergence of Andy & Paul from OMD. Kerr, now wearing shades reminiscent of Bono, shared the vocals with McCluskey, and even Mel Gaynor relinquished his seat behind the drums to sign a verse also.
As it appeared that this was the finale, and the crowd shouted for more, Kerr proclaimed 'of course we want to play more' and continued with 'Alive And Kicking', as backing singer Sarah was dominant on vocals throughout. The next song was 'Chelsea Girl'. Kerr announced 'the last time we played this, Charlie was in short trousers. Last night' he jokingly added before finishing with 'Ghostdancing'.
'We love playing Ireland' he shouted. 'The SFX, the Phoenix Park, we were very good that day' he added, with a clenched fist of achievement. As the die-hard fans at the front started singing Van Morrison's 'Gloria', Kerr's intro to this final number included a listing of several of Ireland's greatest musicians. 'Van Morrison, Christy Moore, Phil Lynette, Sinead O Connor, U2 and the Hot House Flowers' he name checked before pausing to think of more. 'G-L-O-R-I-A' he shouts and then continues to name others (included the recently deceased Liam Clancy). 'The Clancy Brothers, The Chieftains, The Dubliners, Horslips, Rory Gallagher, and Paul Brady and of course Shane [McGowan] counts' ha laughed. 'See you next time when we're through the rocky road to Dublin' he concluded as the band left the stage after over two hours of energetic entertainment.
OMD may have gone in at half-time leading one-nil, but with a striking partnership of Kerr and Burchill up front for Simple Minds, they turned it around in the second-half, and ran out comfortable winners on the away goals rule, but there were no losers here tonight. A brilliant performance from both sides.
The 7:45pm start had caught many by surprise, but by the time they sang 'Electricity' most people had found their way into the venue. 'We've no time for art' declared Andy, as they were confined to an hour and raced through the hits.
Paul took lead on 'Forever Live And Die, while Andy put back on the guitar for 'She's Leaving'. 'Here are three songs from Architecture & Morality' he announced, before they gave us 'Souvenir', 'Joan of Arc' and 'Maid Of Orleans'.
'I need a rest' he added so he sat down at the front of the stage and sang 'Talking Loud And Clear' but was back on his feet immediately for 'Sailing On The Seven Seas'. 'I'm a Liverpool fan' said Andy, 'but we're already out of Europe. Paul is a Man United fan' he added before cranking things up to a rockin' finish with 'walking On The Milky Way', 'Locomotion' and 'Enola Gay'.
30 minutes later and the strains of 'Theme From Great Cities' announced the arrival of Simple Minds. Jim kicked straight into 'Sanctify Yourself' and actually took some popcorn from a fan at the front and proceeded to eat it during this number. 'I Travel' and 'Waterfront' followed after which Kerr shouted 'I'm knackered already'.
To be fair he didn't show it, and proceeded to jump around the stage through several classics including 'See The Lights', 'Sons of Fascination' and 'Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)' mixed in with a selection of songs from the recent Graffiti Soul album. 'It's not a good idea to have a Christmas party in Dublin before a gig' he joked.
'Once Upon A Time', 'One Step Closer' and 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' followed, after which Kerr spoke at length about Ireland's exclusion from next years World Cup. 'We sang this song in South Africa recently, and Ireland should be singing there next year'. He added 'you hear about rock stars throwing televisions out of windows, well now they're throwing referees out of windows. Ireland is the default winners of the World Cup' he concluded.
Next we got 'Promised You A Miracle' as Burchill on guitar, showing no signs of ageing covered both sides of the stage. For the Kraftwerk cover 'Neon Lights' there was the re-emergence of Andy & Paul from OMD. Kerr, now wearing shades reminiscent of Bono, shared the vocals with McCluskey, and even Mel Gaynor relinquished his seat behind the drums to sign a verse also.
As it appeared that this was the finale, and the crowd shouted for more, Kerr proclaimed 'of course we want to play more' and continued with 'Alive And Kicking', as backing singer Sarah was dominant on vocals throughout. The next song was 'Chelsea Girl'. Kerr announced 'the last time we played this, Charlie was in short trousers. Last night' he jokingly added before finishing with 'Ghostdancing'.
'We love playing Ireland' he shouted. 'The SFX, the Phoenix Park, we were very good that day' he added, with a clenched fist of achievement. As the die-hard fans at the front started singing Van Morrison's 'Gloria', Kerr's intro to this final number included a listing of several of Ireland's greatest musicians. 'Van Morrison, Christy Moore, Phil Lynette, Sinead O Connor, U2 and the Hot House Flowers' he name checked before pausing to think of more. 'G-L-O-R-I-A' he shouts and then continues to name others (included the recently deceased Liam Clancy). 'The Clancy Brothers, The Chieftains, The Dubliners, Horslips, Rory Gallagher, and Paul Brady and of course Shane [McGowan] counts' ha laughed. 'See you next time when we're through the rocky road to Dublin' he concluded as the band left the stage after over two hours of energetic entertainment.
OMD may have gone in at half-time leading one-nil, but with a striking partnership of Kerr and Burchill up front for Simple Minds, they turned it around in the second-half, and ran out comfortable winners on the away goals rule, but there were no losers here tonight. A brilliant performance from both sides.
Support RememberTheEighties.com and Buy Online At
