So I wasn’t in the best of moods yesterday afternoon and I wasn’t really looking forward to the gig all that much. I was bumming around online figuring I had plenty of time. The venue was within walking distance. Of course it turned out I had read the ticket wrong..or more to the point I had not read it fully. The listed time of 7:30 was not in fact the doors, it was the show time. So I rushed a little.

In late 1999 a movie called This Year’s Love came out. Seemed like your standard chick flick and I had no interest in it at all. However the soundtrack contained a song of the same name by one David Gray and I quite liked it. New Year’s Eve 1999 and Dublin is partying like only Dublin can do. There is a massive free open-air concert in the centre of town. Headliners are The Divine Comedy, Afro-Celt Sound System and David Gray.

It was a great night and the Afro-Celts were the perfect band to ring in at midnight. The entire place was jumping and there was a wonderful buzz. It just rocked. Before them however had been David Gray. Absolutely stunning performance. Everything worked. The drummer was a complete nutcase and spent the night going at it like a mad thing. The music was amazing and there was a hell of a lot of power behind the performance. I bought the White Ladderalbum if not the next day, the day after.

As I have mentioned before I wasn’t all that impressed with the follow up album so I wasn’t all that hyped about the gig. Saying that while nothing really blew me away it all seemed to work live. Of course it was the big hits from White Ladder which got everyone going. And boy did it. From a great piano only version of This Year’s Love to teasing the crowd to the opening notes of Babylon to the stunning finale of Please Forgive Me. The latter being among the highlights of any live show I have seen. The song has a beat and can pass as a dance track but last night it was a dance track and nothing but. It was just a perfect ending and brought the entire crowd to their feet.

Thinking about going again tonight, there are still tickets available…but I can’t really afford it. Hmmm