I'd woken periodically and gone back to sleep, and on one of these occasions, was just wondering whether to check the time and get up, when my decision was made for me by a horrendous, whooping alarm - like a fire alarm. So I leapt from bed, earplugs still in, trying to figure out where this was coming from. Just as I figured out it was coming from my room phone, it stopped. I checked the phone - no alarm function. So I figure what happened was that reception had set up an alarm call for a previous guest, and not disabled it. I'm seeing a pattern here - the day before, they'd called me to tell me the taxi I hadn't ordered was waiting for me. Get your records straight, guys!!
Well, I had pretty much slept enough, so I got ready. I was still starving though, continuing the starvation of the day before, and texted my friend that lives in Dublin to see where she thought we could have - for me, brunch, for her, lunch. She suggested Gallagher's, an Italian bistro where we'd eaten years before. Mind you, I had to look it up on Google Maps, it's been so long - anyway, I planned my 15-minute walk there, and she took the bus into town.
The breeze blowing down the quays was ferocious - I don't know when I last felt the like, and I was relieved to turn off onto a side street, eyes and nose streaming from the battering they'd just taken. I had just composed myself by the time I got to the bistro, and she followed shortly behind - handily, because my phone had just died. We asked for a table for two, and were led to one right beside the kitchen - it was quite busy with the lunchtime crowd. Turns out it's not really Italian any more, but hanged if I'd go any further, and there we ate - for me, a steak sandwich: for her, a chicken linguini. And I think we were both very satisfied - certainly, the steak sandwich was very tasty. When you could find it under all the greenery under which both dishes were buried. Two desserts were washed down with a decent amount of a nice Chardonnay, and my tummy didn't know it was born! Just as well we weren't in a hurry though - service was relaxed enough to be described as sporadic; both when the place was busy, and after everyone but us had left, we were kept waiting.. and waiting..
Well, we moseyed out to her place for an hour or so, then I headed back to the hotel, and over to the 3 Arena nice and early - I intended to get there in time for doors opening, in the hope of getting a venue-specific t-shirt! I saw some lovely sights on the way - the Christmas lights on Grafton Street, the full moon over the Samuel Beckett bridge - but sadly, my phone was back at the hotel, charging, so I'll have to try and reprise those photos at the weekend. I arrived shortly after the doors opened. Last night, there were more security checks - a fellow shone a torch into my bag (still missing the Mars Bar I'd secreted under my glasses case), and then scanned me with a handheld metal detector. None of that the night before - and I noticed on a newspaper headline today that undercover armed police are now patrolling the U2 concerts.
Well, what a difference it makes to arrive early! The corridors were practically deserted, and I was soon able to scooch over to the merchandising stand, where there was practically no queue. I actually couldn't believe it, standing at the counter, when the guy behind it came up to me almost straight away to ask what I wanted! Easy-peasy, I now have a Dublin 2015 t-shirt.. I also see they come in a variety of colours; yesterday, I saw one in vivid green, mine is red (which I prefer), and I saw another chap admiring one he'd obviously just bought, which was in a light grey. All with the same pattern - the outline image from the cover of the Boy album on the front, the Dublin dates on the back. By the looks of it, they were all sold out again when I was leaving..
With nothing else I wanted to do, I took my seat - there was practically nobody in the auditorium at this point. My row turned out to be a bit higher up, and I had a touch of vertigo (of course) as I passed the end of the railing, climbing up to it. Anyway, I made it, and noted the locations of the rear stairs - the ones with handrails - for coming down again. Some entertainment was provided during the long wait, watching the individual spotlight operators being hoisted into the rigging - especially when one of them got stuck, suspended in midair, for about 30 seconds.. there was no-one to help; I think the pulleys are self-controlled.
As the house filled, the tension grew - helped no end when they turned off the lights in the upper levels, for some reason. I came to know the people sitting beside me, a little - a couple, not young: she had never seen them before, he had, in McGonagle's, way back in '76/77. Well, it came to that moment; People Have the Power started, and I jumped up. And as happens, it went on a bit and there was no sign of anyone. Next thing I know, I'm being tapped on the shoulder. The guy behind me wanted to know if I wouldn't mind sitting down - he'd stand with me in a minute. Eh, ok - I'd hate to block your view of an empty stage. After a minute or so, there was some excitement on the floor, and I jumped up again.. only to have the guy behind me wanting me to sit again.. I was spoiling his view! I guessed he thought they'd come on via the i stage, and didn't want to miss their entrance.
Well, I hadn't been sitting for 10 seconds when Bono did appear, and I jumped up again, and this time was left standing - third time lucky, eh? Along with the whole house. I have to hand it to them, last night's crowd - with the obvious exception of the (insert expletive here) behind me - were the crowd of the tour so far! The guy at the end of the row, who'd seen them all those years ago, was particularly blown away, and plagued his poor wife with exclamations of how good the band were! He was greatly impressed when Bono seemed to spot someone in the crowd, near the stage, that he recognised. He turned to The Edge - "Hey, d'you remember that guy in McGonagle's, years ago, who heckled us with 'More punk than The Monkees'? That's him!!" Later, we discovered that the President was also in the house.. a good mix, then!
And so they took us through a blistering first four numbers, the poor guy at the end of my row thinking he'd have a break after the third, only to find himself on his feet again. Setlist:
SET 1
The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
Out Of Control
Vertigo
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song for Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Raised By Wolves
Until The End Of The World
Out Of Control
Vertigo
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song for Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Raised By Wolves
Until The End Of The World
SET 2
Invisible
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
Desire
Angel Of Harlem
Every Breaking Wave
October
Bullet The Blue Sky
Zooropa
Where The Streets Have No Name
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
With Or Without You
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
Desire
Angel Of Harlem
Every Breaking Wave
October
Bullet The Blue Sky
Zooropa
Where The Streets Have No Name
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
With Or Without You
ENCORE
I was doing pretty well for being allowed to stand, until the crowd in my section got tired of standing, during Raised by Wolves, for goodness' sake! And so a pattern developed that lasted for the rest of the concert, whereby my "friend" said nothing as long as people were standing in front of me, but as soon as they sat down - I'd get a tap-tap-tap on the shoulder. "Would I mind sitting?" (Do you want the honest answer to that?) Seriously, if you come to a U2 show, you don't have to stand, but you do have to expect that others might do so. Don't be so BOLSHY as to insist that they not block your view. Stay at home, save yourself the money, wait for the dvd, watch without obstruction. Although if he did, and I knew where he lived, I'd love to drop by and stand in front of his tv..
And so I was up again at the start of the next song, and down again in the middle of it, when the people in front of me got bored of standing - again - and I got a tap-tap-tap again. I see the shredded pages of poetry are back for that song, though - great, it's a terrific effect! Even if I couldn't stand to show my appreciation.
I was actually scared to stand during Invisible, since no-one in front of me was. Halleleuja, they decided that Even Better Than the Real Thing was worth the effort, and I got to my feet at last. And at least I was getting a rest. And so into Mysterious Ways, where a guy was brought onstage to dance with Bono - only the second time that's happened, that I know of! I'm not surprised - he was dressed just like Bono at the start of the concerts on the Popmart tour, as a boxer with large shades and a fake "torso" t-shirt. As Bono remarked, "You're not from around here, are you?" Nope, he was from Brazil..
Introducing Angel of Harlem, Bono revealed that the very first time it was played live was in '89, on this same spot, when it used to be the Point Depot..! Jeez, and I was there.. I was happy enough to sit for the next couple of numbers, along with the people around me. One man was moved to jump to his feet at the end of Every Breaking Wave, just briefly, to applaud, though - well, it is memorable. And then we all jumped up for Bullet the Blue Sky.. and then my section unbelievably got bored of standing halfway through it, and sure enough, tap-tap-tap..
Fortunately, that was the end of my woes. For the rest of the show, either I didn't feel like standing, or everyone did. So my nemesis had nothing to complain about. At the end of the second set, the guy on the end of the row - who'd been so enthusiastic all night - wanted some reassurance that they'd do one more. "Three!" said I.
I forgot to mention how they've included identifiable images of Dublin in the visuals for City of Blinding Lights, in these Dublin shows - well, last night they also included some of Paris, and Bono sang a snippet of a French song to finish. Beautiful Day saw flags being flung onstage - Bono finally chose a large Irish one to drape over the drum kit. And It was lovely to see his face in closeup on the big screen, because he was beaming.. he'd sensed what I sensed, that this crowd was (pretty much) at one. Concert of the year so far, for me. And as a reward - they didn't do three encores, they did four. Bad and 40, usually reserved for the last show in a city, got an outing last night. Well done, gentlemen!
Everybody made a fairly swift exit, so I got to speak neither to the guy who was so enthusiastic about them - which was a shame - nor to the tapper - which wasn't. And then, peering over, I saw that they didn't seem to be letting people down the back stairs! O hell - I had to navigate down the main steps, without a handrail. Bent practically double, using the seats as a handrest. At least it helped that there was such a crowd on the steps. And I made it down alive, not even being run over by the cycle rickshaws on the way back. A huge queue, again, for the rental bikes, though..
I got about four hours' sleep in the end. I'd checked the location of the bus stop - across the bridge, and second stop to the left, across the road. Not mentioned on Google Maps, mind - I had to go on the bus website. Just as well I didn't have to go far - it was pissing rain. And at that time of the morning - I caught the 5:30 - traffic was so light that we made it in 20 minutes, instead of the regular 40. I trekked through the interminable terminal, finally finding decent sustenance in the form of a meal deal from W. H. Smith - a sandwich, drink, and packet of crisps for less than the sandwich and drink would cost on their own. And yes, their festive chicken and stuffing sandwich is just as tasty as their regular chicken and stuffing sandwich. And after another trek, I found somewhere to sit and eat them. By this time, the flight was boarding, and after an unexplained delay, we were let on the plane - Ryanair still distinguishable by making its passengers climb steps to get onboard. I ended up having three seats to myself, and dozed most of the way back to London..
Where the Gatwick Express was cancelled again, and again I ended up on a regular train. Seems they've halved the off-peak (i.e. most of the day) service, to improve punctuality! Makes the Gatwick Express less and less worthwhile, if you ask me. And I got back in time for a nice, normal lunch - ah, the luxury of sitting down with food in front of me!
Bravely, I'm off again tonight - well, the Crick Crack Club is meeting in The Forge: a great venue for what is always a great evening! Tomorrow night, I'm heading with the London European Club to Allegri - Miserere Mei Deus, in St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Part of their Brandenburg Choral Festival. Friday, I'm back to Dublin for my final U2 concerts of the year, flying back on Sunday - I hope to get the keys to my new place that evening, so I'm not bothered about going out that night. On Monday though, I'm headed to The Homecoming by Harold Pinter, at Trafalgar Studios. Stars Gemma Chan, Gary Kemp, John Macmillan, and Jon Simm. And the good old London Dramatic Art group has tickets (well, one left now!) for cheaper than I can get them anywhere else! Premium, front row seats too. Excellent - and I'll be glad to meet them again, it's been months! Finally (for now), on Tuesday I'm joining the Kensington Classical Music group, who have the cheapest tickets I can find for a performance of the pianist, Lang Lang, with the Philharmonia, at the Royal Festival Hall. Features my two favourite classical composers - Mozart and Beethoven. Cool..
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