Lack of Irish Gigs

s8n

Folks -

Has anyone else noticed a worrying lack of Irish shows on major European tours in the last year or so.

For example - In the last year, we have had major indoor tours from

Them crooked Vultures
The Dead Weather
Arctic Monkeys
Smashing Pumpkins
The Black Keys

....To name but a few.

Is this what we are to expect now - less shows to be booked by promoters unless it's a guaranteed Olympia / Academy or O2 sellout (I would have thought all the bands listed would sellout)

Discuss.....

The Volt

Consistently, my favourite bands are playing a half dozen shows in the UK and don't play here. Alter Bridge are the main example.

I wonder if it's a cumulative thing with higher rents for venues and the ultimately smaller market over here.

Irritating all the same.

karaokeman

Don't forget Foo Fighters.

Promised a big Irish show last year at Oxegen and still haven't announced anything.

Furious-Red

karaokeman wrote: »

Don't forget Foo Fighters.

Promised a big Irish show last year at Oxegen and still haven't announced anything.

Yea but they havent announced a European/UK/Irish tour either , id be more worried if they had announced other shows bar Ireland . They def will be back and its looking like another outdoor show .

They might hold back announcing till R&L announce their line up (which they are strongly rumoured to play)

s8n

Furious-Red wrote: »

Yea but they havent announced a European/UK/Irish tour either , id be more worried if they had announced other shows bar Ireland . They def will be back and its looking like another outdoor show .

They might hold back announcing till R&L announce their line up (which they are strongly rumoured to play)

Yep - thats true, im referring more to acts which have in the last 12 months announced a large scale European tour (outside of the festival circuit) which seen them leave Ireland off the stopover list.

Toast

It has been in decline for the last couple of years. Last year was particularly bad though. The recession can be blamed I'm afraid which means we probably wont see any improvement soon.

It can't help sales when gigs are €50+ a ticket. If they were lower, (say €30) the band would make up the loss (and more probably) in merchandise.

Furious-Red

s8n wrote: »

Yep - thats true, im referring more to acts which have in the last 12 months announced a large scale European tour (outside of the festival circuit) which seen them leave Ireland off the stopover list.

Yea i do agree about a lot of bands not touring over here when they do the UK circuit. I suppose there are a few reasons .

1. The band might not feel it is worth their while popping over here because they might feel that they are not big enough to come over and play a gig and in the end might not even break even . They probably look at how their albums/singles have been doing (i know these days its hard to sell albums) or they can check out how many Irish people actually are friends on their FB page

2. The promoter could be in the same boat , Do they bring over an act that may not sell as well as they thought and in the end they lose money over the gig . And with the recession i think promoters might not want to take a chance on certain bands.

It is annoying when loads of bands announce European tour and there is no Irish date . I know people always say "just get on a plane and go see them in the UK" and its not as easy because if i did that i would be broke with the amount of gigs id wanna see and plus none of my friends would go with me :mad::mad:

indiewindy

the smashing pumpkins charges very high prices for their last European tour and you would have been looking at a price north pf €70 to see what is now effectively Billy Corgan and a couple of hired hands (all original members gone:() dont think there would have been enough demand to see them
The arctic monkeys are too big for olympia and wouldnt sell out the 02 so what to do with that?
The black would prob be the same, they are playing big venues in the U.K.

patwicklow

The country gone down the tubes thats why and it,l just get worse

EyesClosed

indiewindy wrote: »

the smashing pumpkins charges very high prices for their last European tour and you would have been looking at a price north pf €70 to see what is now effectively Billy Corgan and a couple of hired hands (all original members gone:() dont think there would have been enough demand to see them
The arctic monkeys are too big for olympia and wouldnt sell out the 02 so what to do with that?
The black would prob be the same, they are playing big venues in the U.K.

they could do two nights??

karaokeman

Good points made about the Black and Arctic Monkeys.

I think bands should still play the Olympia even if they're too big. Sure a couple fans would be disappointed over not getting a ticket but it would be worse knowing the band skipped us when they could have just as easily flown over from the UK.

There really are few better places you can have for a gig. Its also cool that given the small size of the venue there will be no problems with sound etc.

Noel Gallagher was far, far too big for the Olympia and he still played. Even if he played it with his 2010 Albert Hall shows before the album came out he still would have had no problem selling it out.

languagenerd

It's a few different things I think:

1) Smaller audiences (our rock scene is pretty awful, for example, and then tickets are so expensive)

2) Different currency than the UK (makes it awkward to play a gig here in the middle of a UK tour)

3) It's an island - harder to get to, costs a lot for transport and probably isn't worth it, esp as they may have to take a day off for travelling

4) Lack of medium-size venues: there's The Olympia (~1200), the RDS(~4000) and then nothing else between that and the O2 (14000).

It's really annoying, alright, especially when they seem to go everywhere else in Europe!

I only flew to the UK for a gig once, last November, only cost me €60 cause we booked ages in advance, went with Ryanair and slept on a table in the airport :P. I ended up meeting half of Rise Against , so it was well worth it. Couldn't afford to do that on a regular basis though!

s8n

Looks like we are really missing the Ambassador as the mid sized venue it provided in the mid - late noughties

Mickolution

s8n wrote: »

Looks like we are really missing the Ambassador as the mid sized venue it provided in the mid - late noughties

It was the same size as The Olympia, Vicar St & Tripod, give or take.

Furious-Red

The ambassador was a great layout better then the Olympia imo (but sound was never that great). Just because the bottom floor was totally open .

nxbyveromdwjpg

karaokeman wrote: »

I think bands should still play the Olympia even if they're too big. Sure a couple fans would be disappointed over not getting a ticket but it would be worse knowing the band skipped us when they could have just as easily flown over from the UK.

Whos point of view is that? The bands promoters/tour managers dont care about Irish fans feeling skipped, they are looking at the bottom line margin they can make.

karaokeman wrote: »

Noel Gallagher was far, far too big for the Olympia and he still played. Even if he played it with his 2010 Albert Hall shows before the album came out he still would have had no problem selling it out.

He was testing the water with that short stint of tours. All the UK dates were small venues too. They were essentially warm-ups and now proven he'll probably never do shows that size again.

indiewindy wrote: »

The arctic monkeys are too big for olympia and wouldnt sell out the 02 so what to do with that?

They probably would sell out the o2 though, and also the promoter wouldnt need to sell it out completely to make a profit anyway. I think the only reason there was a few left last time was that it was the night before Kasabian.
Was waiting for that gig to be announced last year.. annoying

darryn wrote: »

they could do two nights??

Double the cost of venue rental, staff, security, wages, hotels and whatever other associated costs of running a show in Ireland are.

KnowYourEnemy

The Academy needs to be torched

Hate the place

homerun_homer

languagenerd wrote: »

It's a few different things I think:

1) Smaller audiences (our rock scene is pretty awful, for example, and then tickets are so expensive)

Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian did well with their respective O2 gigs, Kasabian even recording their first O2 gig for DVD. Can't say there is no interest in rock gigs. Then Noel G sells out in minutes for his show.

2) Different currency than the UK (makes it awkward to play a gig here in the middle of a UK tour)

Bullcrap, they play European tours, I do believe they use the Euro.

3) It's an island - harder to get to, costs a lot for transport and probably isn't worth it, esp as they may have to take a day off for travelling

Look up the tour dates of most bands in a music magazine and many that play Ireland don't take a day off to come and go to our merry island.

4) Lack of medium-size venues: there's The Olympia (~1200), the RDS(~4000) and then nothing else between that and the O2 (14000).

Desperately needed.

Sugarlumps

I've seen tons of bands in the Academy and the sound has always been spot on, that and Vicar St are the only two decent venues. The rest are focking awful.

languagenerd

homerun_homer wrote: »

Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian did well with their respective O2 gigs, Kasabian even recording their first O2 gig for DVD. Can't say there is no interest in rock gigs. Then Noel G sells out in minutes for his show.

I didn't say there was no interest, I just meant that, in comparison to other countries, there is far less interest in general. I also made the grave error of using the term "rock" to encompass all subgenres (punk, ska, metal. etc. inclusive). A lot of bands that fill 3000+ venues in smaller cities in the UK can only just about fill the Academy in Dublin.

Bullcrap, they play European tours, I do believe they use the Euro.

There's a difference between a UK tour and a European tour. There are bands who will play a 10-date run in the UK and then come to Ireland at the end or at the beginning, but for some, it's just not worth it.

Look up the tour dates of most bands in a music magazine and many that play Ireland don't take a day off to come and go to our merry island.

And the other half of them do! Just depends how lucky they are with ferry/plane schedules, really.

Desperately needed.

Agreed. I wish they had put removable seating on the ground floor of the Grand Canal theatre actually, to allow for standing gigs. That'd still be too small, but I don't like the ground floor of the Olympia...

Furious-Red

Yea as people have said if we had a Medium sized venue e.g. RDS size (but with better sound etc) Then we would def see more bands coming over

karaokeman

nm wrote: »

Whos point of view is that? The bands promoters/tour managers dont care about Irish fans feeling skipped, they are looking at the bottom line margin they can make.

Its my POV, I'm just saying for example if the Arctic Monkeys played the Olympia (unlikely) it would be better than them risking playing the O2 if it wouldn't sell out. I know promoters don't care about Irish fans feeling ignored, I'm just saying I would prefer if bands like Arctic Monkeys would play the Olympia/RDS if they couldn't do the O2.

nm wrote: »

He was testing the water with that short stint of tours. All the UK dates were small venues too. They were essentially warm-ups and now proven he'll probably never do shows that size again.

I know Noel was testing the waters but I'm saying it was a great example of what I would like to see more massive bands doing. Playing smaller venues even though they can easily sell it out. He would have sold it out regardless even if it was just after Oasis split, Noel is the most successful British songwriter since the Beatles after all.

edgecutter

Heard this from someone else that insurance prices in Ireland are a lot higher than the uk to stage a concert. This could be one of the reasons as to why many gigs just don't happen as artists don't get a big chunk of the ticket sales.

Mickolution

KnowYourEnemy wrote: »

The Academy needs to be torched

Hate the place

Why? I think it's one of the best around. The Academy 2 is awful, but the few times I've been in the main venue it's been really good.

Sugarlumps wrote: »

I've seen tons of bands in the Academy and the sound has always been spot on, that and Vicar St are the only two decent venues. The rest are focking awful.

For me, Tripod's got the best sound around. That or The Button Factory (which I believe has the same set-up?). Problem with Tripod is how full it is when sold out, but other than that I think it's the best in Dublin by a stretch.

Technocentral

Sugarlumps wrote: »

I've seen tons of bands in the Academy and the sound has always been spot on, that and Vicar St are the only two decent venues. The rest are focking awful.

Sound and atmos are great in Tripod and Button Factory, was in Button Fac. last Saturday, was excellent, crisp and clear sonics.

Technocentral

Furious-Red wrote: »

The ambassador was a great layout better then the Olympia imo (but sound was never that great). Just because the bottom floor was totally open .

Sound in Ambassador was awful, really muddy, bass heavy and indistinct,no loss as a venue.

languagenerd

Actually, I love the Academy. Not as a club (*shudder*) but as a gig venue, it's great. Sound is perfect, and you're always within a few metres of the stage.


As for Academy 2 - sound not so good, but it amuses me that the band have to walk through the crowd to get to the stage :P it's a little bit like old punk clubs (only not as dirty :pac:)

ArtOfEscape

languagenerd wrote: »

I only flew to the UK for a gig once, last November, only cost me €60 cause we booked ages in advance, went with Ryanair and slept on a table in the airport :P. I ended up meeting half of Rise Against , so it was well worth it. Couldn't afford to do that on a regular basis though!

I did this for Stevie Nicks at Hyde Park last summer - got to meet her at a signing too, well worth it!

I've noticed that bands who would have previously played Dublin and Belfast on their European tours seem to only play Dublin now, if they come to Ireland at all.

NIBBS

There's no lack of gigs here - no idea what you people are talking about, there's tonnes of gigs on - and in the last couple of years I've seen bands playing here that I never thought I'd see on this Isle......
Maybe certain bands are skipping Ireland over the last couple of years because they've done us to death - it's healthy sales wise for bands to skip locations every now and then for a Tour and come back on the next one.....if they just played the same few places it would be bad for everyone.....


We have been in desperate need of a mid size venue for 20 odd years and Denis Desmond has been promising one for nearly as long, every couple of years a story surfaces in the papers that he's accquiring a venue of the right size and it's going to be a 5k + seated/standing venue and then nothing else gets heard, I would have thought now wouldn't be a bad time for them to get somewhere at a much better value to do this.....

Sugarlumps

NIBBS wrote: »

There's no lack of gigs here - no idea what you people are talking about, there's tonnes of gigs on - and in the last couple of years I've seen bands playing here that I never thought I'd see on this Isle......
Maybe certain bands are skipping Ireland over the last couple of years because they've done us to death - it's healthy sales wise for bands to skip locations every now and then for a Tour and come back on the next one.....if they just played the same few places it would be bad for everyone.....


We have been in desperate need of a mid size venue for 20 odd years and Denis Desmond has been promising one for nearly as long, every couple of years a story surfaces in the papers that he's accquiring a venue of the right size and it's going to be a 5k + seated/standing venue and then nothing else gets heard, I would have thought now wouldn't be a bad time for them to get somewhere at a much better value to do this.....

It depends what you go for? I like rock, metal and some indie stuff and last year was focking diabolical for gigs.

The years previous I couldn’t keep up with the flow of bands coming to these shores, I was broke from buying tickets. Last year I went to a handful, I’ve a feeling this year will fair no better.

NIBBS

Sugarlumps wrote: »

It depends what you go for? I like rock, metal and some indie stuff and last year was focking diabolical for gigs.

The years previous I couldn’t keep up with the flow of bands coming to these shores, I was broke from buying tickets. Last year I went to a handful, I’ve a feeling this year will fair no better.

I suppose it depends on the size gigs you are looking at aswell - I'm into Rock/Metal mainly but I do go to a lot of different types of stuff - I hit 29 gigs last year and a couple of Festivals across the water, and I've already got 19/20 booked in for this year, mind you I go to a lot of smaller shows, but 4 or 5 in the O2 - which is about normal, if memory serves me correctly 2010 was above average for bigger bands hitting here ......

maybe we have been a bit spoilt and now expect everyone to come here every year - this is only mid Jan so I'm sure there's plenty of stuff to get announced for the rest of it.......

KnowYourEnemy

I would say it's a lack of good bands/new bands/touring bands as opposed to bands deciding not to include Ireland when touring.

Let's be honest. Music is in a serious rut, but it IS cyclical, so that gives me hope

Technocentral

KnowYourEnemy wrote: »

I would say it's a lack of good bands/new bands/touring bands as opposed to bands deciding not to include Ireland when touring.

Let's be honest. Music is in a serious rut, but it IS cyclical, so that gives me hope

Don't agree at all, loads of brilliant new and existing bands and solo artists making great albums and touring (inc in Ireland), I've been a huge music fan since the 1980s and this is as good a time, or better , as any decade or years since then.