2026
Index
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The Rockers, Dublin
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RTE Concert Orchestra, Dublin
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Darren Wharton's Renegade, Dublin
Dedication
There have been events celebrating his life annually around this anniversary of Phil Lynott’s death. There had already been an event at a smaller local venue the night before this special event at the 3Arena. 4 January 2026 was 40 years to the day since his tragic passing.
This was a multi artist event, including one of the original Thin Lizzy members and various others, many who had been part of various incarnations of Thin Lizzy, both during the life of Phil, and following his death.
Grand Slam had been formed by Lynott after he had announced the break-up of Thin Lizzy. Laurence Archer was the only remaining member who had played during the Lynott era.
The Rockers were pulled together to include various artists who had associations with Thin Lizzy both old and new, such as Ricky Warwick and Marco Mendoza. Richard Fortus of Guns 'N Roses had also flown over from the States to appear.
We also had the RTE Concert Orchestra putting its own angle into may Thin Lizzy classics, helped by some of the other vocalists appearing during the evening.
Darren Wharton had played keyboards the last time I had seen Thin Lizzy in 1983. Today he was fronting Darren Wharton’s Renegade, which is essentially a Thin Lizzy tribute act, and a very good one at that. We did have one original member joining them in guitarist Eric Bell.
Grand Slam
3Arena, Dublin
4 January 2026
The Rockers
3Arena, Dublin
4 January 2026
The RTE Concert Orchestra
3Arena, Dublin
4 January 2026
Darren Wharton's Renegade
3Arena, Dublin
4 January 2026
The Tumbling Paddies
The National Opera House, Wexford
30 January 2026
A new music venue for me, but I had been to see a Brian Cox event in what is the closest live music venue (beyond local pubs and the like) to my home. The Tumbling Paddies describe themselves as having trad roots and modern energy. And despite their name that energy does not extend to acrobatics. A very good show from an excellent Irish band.
Hot Press 50
Hot Press is a monthly music and politics magazine established in Dublin in the 1970s. Of course it also now has an online presence.
A multi-artist event had been arranged at the 3Arena to celebrate 50 years of Hot Press. The website summarised the event as "Irish music legends and innovative new stars unite at Dublin’s 3Arena for one extraordinary night of music, poetry, comedy and more". It was certainly an opportunity to see some familiar acts along with some that I had never seen live before. First up was one of those bands, Clannad an Irish traditional/folk group that had formed in County Donegal in 1970.
Clannad
3Arena, Dublin
6 February 2026
We then had a poetry reading from former Irish president Michael D. Higgins, followed by Irish Women of Harmony, "a collective of Irish female artists who have come together to support one another - both creatively and practically - in pursuit of their artistic goals. In the broader community the collective aims to raise public consciousness for women and children living in crisis".
Irish Women of Harmony
3Arena, Dublin
6 February 2026
Gavin James
3Arena, Dublin
6 February 2026
Van Morrison
3Arena, Dublin
6 February 2026
Denise Chalia
3Arena, Dublin
6 February 2026
Picture This
3Arena, Dublin
6 February 2026
Damien Dempsey
3Arena, Dublin
6 February 2026
The Frames
3Arena, Dublin
6 February 2026
Imelda May
3Arena, Dublin
6 February 2026
Dermot Kennedy
3Arena, Dublin
6 February 2026
The Boomtown Rats
3Arena, Dublin
6 February 2026
Queen Orchestral
3Arena, Dublin
4 February 2026
Postponed from November, this would be my first gig following getting my second knee replacement just over 11 weeks ago.
This would be a different take on Queen’s songs with a full orchestra and choir supporting 2 different “Freddies” and a “Brian May”. Having witnessed the full “original” version of the band, the “We Will Rock You” stage show, “Queen Extravaganza” and the modern version of May, Taylor and Adam Lambert, I would put this “performance” the better of the tributes and only behind the Mercury and Lambert versions. I do have another tribute to see later in the year. The only criticism I would have is I think “Brian” could have done with some 6 inch platform shoes…..
The orchestral concept had originated in Dublin a couple of years earlier and had received rave reviews. The original performance at the 3Arena had been a sell-out, although I do not know if they had opened up the top section of seats. Tonight there were plenty of unsold tickets for both standing and seated sections and the top section was curtained off.
Having been initially directed to entrance one, it turned out that was only available to VIP ticket holders and Box Office collection. All others entered through entrance two, which had very long queues when I joined one a few minutes before the 7pm opening time. I was very surprised when I entered about 20 minutes later to discover only a handful of people in the standing section and space right in the middle of the barrier. I knew that the ability to hold onto the barrier would help alleviate any issues with the knee.
Paul Simon
3Arena, Dublin
21May 2026
Straight in at No. 1 in the Zimmerframe Rock section at 84 years and 219 days, how long will Paul Simon be able to hold onto that?
He has problems with his voice emanating from hearing issues, but at that age I think we should be grateful to see him perform at all. And he had many excellent musicians to support his performance. He's one of those artists it was great to see for the first time. Not sure if he'll be back again but who knows how long some of these guys can keep going. And he was on stage for well over 2 hours which is much more than you will get for many who are a fraction of his age.
Night Rain
My first opportunity to test out the new knee with a ticket for standing. It rained as we were waiting for the doors to open, but not enough to turn any of the pieces of metal I now walk around with rusty.
I knew there was an early entry VIP option, so I was unsurprised to discover no spaces at the barrier and I had to make do with a place 2 back from the front.
Alas I found it increasingly uncomfortable and with nothing to lean on I did feel quite unsteady on occasion. My new knee was not too bad, but the foot on the other side did play up possibly because I had been favoring the other leg. As for the Slash gigs 2 years previously, Wolfgang Van Halen and his band Mammoth provided support. Once again I was quite impressed with his performance.
I expected Guns N’ Roses to take the stage at 8pm, with a show lasting over 2 and a half hours. I did not think I would be able to last in my initial position and after just over an hour I felt the need to retreat to the back of the arena for some respite. Thereafter there would be no decent photos, but I am more than happy with the ones I managed to get in that first hour.
I took the opportunity to peruse the merchandise stand but was never going to pay the €55 or more for a t-shirt, or €120 for a hoodie. I know I can get my own made up with some of my own photos printed on them for less than half that amount.
In the end I decided to head off home early. The show was decent enough, but I did not feel positive enough to stick through the whole show given the state of my legs. I’m not sure how well I will be able to a number of outdoor gigs lined up over the summer.
Mammoth
3Arena, Dublin
10 June 2026
Guns N' Roses
3Arena, Dublin
10 June 2026
A bit of dry ice and plenty of wet rain
Having struggled with my new knee for the previous gig at the 3Arena, I decided to take up a position against a barrier around one of 8 “satellite” sections around the Aviva stadium which had seating for premium ticket holders and hosting screens high up in the tower relaying video footage to those high in the stands. That put me perhaps 10 metres or so from the nearest part of the circular stage which was in the centre of the football and rugby pitch. More fans had paid premium prices for the pit in the centre of the stage. Having a barrier to lean on seemed to make a big difference and I felt much more comfortable than I had been for the Guns N’ Roses gig.
Throughout both support acts dry ice was billowing between where I had placed myself and the stage. We had a couple of downpours before the first support, Avatar, and more rain during the second support, Pantera. We also had lighter showers throughout the show, but I had prepared myself with a decent raincoat.
The show itself was fine. I had not seen Metallica before and they did put on a good show. They also had a couple of well-known support acts. Metallica where due back at the Aviva 2 days later with two different support acts and a completely different setlist. Inevitably that meant we were not getting anything like a “greatest hits” show, but they clearly have a pretty good back catalogue to do a couple of completely different 2 hour plus shows. For much of the time they were on other parts of the stage, but I managed to get some decent photos as they moved around the circular stage and in particular when they spent some time on the part of the stage I was at. And there was less dry ice to get in the way of my views.
Avatar
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
19 June 2026
Pantera
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
19 June 2026
Metallica
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
19 June 2026
Knocked Loose
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
21 June 2026
Gojira
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
21 June 2026
Metallica
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
21 June 2026
Like a Bat out of Hell
My first road trip since getting the new knee. On the ferry over I was reading Meatloaf’s autobiography, marveling at his 17+ concussions and other anecdotes that did seem a bit far-fetched, but I suspect were put in to add interest to the story. Anyway I think I suffered a couple of concussions that were worse than any he had listed in the book.
Originally plans had been to have a 3-night stint in Cardiff with the highlight being night two and Metallica. I had though managed to see them twice in Dublin and had sold that ticket on, as I had done for one other gig. That left Airbourne at the Tramshed.
I got there early enough to get a place against the barrier, albeit at one end of it. I wanted to avoid having to stand with nothing to lean on.
As the time for support act approached, Bat out of Hell was played. I had never heard of Mother Vulture before and assumed they were a run of the mill support. How wrong was I about that. Their energy was incredible. It reminded me of old footage of the Who with a bit of Angus Young mixed in. The bass player was certainly more active than John Entwistle ever was, but that was countered by a relatively placid (well relative to Keith Moon anyway) drummer. And they did take care not to wreck any of their equipment!
I thought the singer of Knocked Loose (supporting Metallica the previous Monday) was screaming for the sake of it. The lead vocalist of Mother Vulture could certainly scream, but I felt it was much more measured and constructive to the music. All-in-all a fabulous performance by a band that I will look out for in the future.
I had seen Airbourne supporting Iron Maiden in Belfast in 2022. I had really enjoyed their set and performance that time and considered them a good fit for the end of that stint in Cardiff before heading off to our holiday home in Cornwall and then on to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.
Airbourne put on another great performance. There is more than a little bit of AC/DC in them and the way they perform, but they do it a bit differently and stick to their own songs.
It was 4am by the time I arrived at our place in Cornwall, and it was pretty much straight to bed when I got there. When I got up I discovered a couple of bats had found their way onto our carpet. And I decided to free them rather than consign them to bat-hell….
Mother Vulture
The Tramshed, Cardiff
29 June 2026
Airbourne
The Tramshed, Cardiff
29 June 2026
Live at the Breakwater
The Breakwater is a temporary “Big Top” which hosts music events in Wexford during late summer and into the autumn.
This was my first trip to the Breakwater which sits on the banks of the River Slaney. I had driven past it on numerous occasions and tonight was to be the opening event for 2026 featuring Qween and the Dublin Gospel Choir, unsurprisingly a tribute to Queen (as an aside, 2 days later would be the 40th anniversary of the last Queen gig with Freddie Mercury at Knebworth).
I did not know if there was a support, but as I approached the tent ABBA songs where being played live, clearly as a warm-up. If I had checked my e-mails I would have realized that the self-styled “Ireland’s number one tribute show ever!”, ABBAesque, would be supporting another Irish tribute band.
It was a rare event where I would recognize all the songs of both support act and headliner. I was never a particular fan of ABBA but their music is timeless and ABBAesque did a great job, but were put in the shade by the headliner. Without doubt Qween put on the best tribute show I have ever witnessed. I had seen something implying the lead singer was the same as one of those performing with the Queen Orchestral show in Dublin earlier this year, but it was someone different. There was only one Brian May though…
ABBAesque
The Breakwater, Wexford
7 August 2026
Qween & The Dublin Gospel Choir
The Breakwater, Wexford
7 August 2026
Bon Jovi
Croke Park
30 August 2026
My 3rd and final big outdoor gig of the year was at Croke Park with Bon Jovi headlining. I had not seen him before, and despite being younger than me there were reports of his voice having deteriorated over recent years. In fact he sounded absolutely fine, probably helped significantly by backing singers and modern technology.
First up was a band I had seen once in the eighties then not at all for 40 years, but this was the 3rd time in less than a year I had seen Mr. Geldof and his Rats. Not a full set as they were the support, but it arguably improved the quality and Geldof once again put everything into it. I actually preferred their show to the headliners but the overall “package” was excellent.
The Boomtown Rats
Bon Jovi
Joe Jackson
Cork City Hall
24 September 2026
A new venue, but and old artist. I say old, but he is a relatively young feature in the Zimmer frame Rock section. He also goes back to the top of the Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes section, superseding Dave Hill and Slade at 16,132 days (over 44 years).
There seems to be roadworks all over Cork, but I was there early enough to park up on a meter after charging ended at 6:30, and was in the venue shortly after 7, with and expected start time of 8pm.
While waiting I spent a bit of time chatting with Gemini about this website. The Google AI bot was quite complimentary but did manage to get my name wrong. This time it was Steve. Last time it was Chris. I pointed out the error, but Gemini seemed adamant it was Steve and I must have been “speaking” to “something” else last time. Once I had highlighted the Copyright section with my name spelt out to them they accepted the error of their ways.
Although the gig was sold as having a support, the Ticketmaster timing e-mail stated there was no support and Jackson appeared on stage at around ten minutes past 8.
I had managed to get a front row seat with Jackson sat right in front of me at his keyboard (where he remained seated throughout the show). This was the first show of the European Leg of his tour, having finished the North American leg in July. He was having problems with his voice, and I was having problems with my hearing caused by about one and a half earfuls of wax!
At one stage his microphone stopped working, but despite a few of us trying to get his attention he continued to the end of the number (probably a couple of minutes later) when a roadie had a word in his ear about it. Jackson said he had his earpiece turned up to the maximum due to the echo in the room. He had sensed something was wrong but did not realise the extent of the problem until the roadie told him and he sang again the end of the number. I suspect the acoustics were contributing to my own hearing issues. However when it came to the encore he did a mean David Bowie voice singing “Scary Monsters and Super Creeps”
Despite the acoustics I really enjoyed the show. He seems to always make an effort to do things a bit differently between tours and is one who may manage to retain and/or regain first place on the Changes page.
Traffic remained chaotic even approaching 10pm as I walked back to my own car, although I managed to find a couple of detours to get me back on the main road to Wexford, getting home by around 12:30 in the morning.
The Final Spider
The Academy, Dublin, was hosting a band that was more than a tribute to Bowie. Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17 was on vocals – he sang alongside Bowie on the original Band Aid single in 1984. On bass guitar was Tony Visconti who had worked extensively with Bowie as producer and on bass. On drums we had Woody Woodmansey – an original and final surviving Spider from Mars. I had already seen guitarist Paul Cuddeford 3 times in the past year as he was a touring member of the Boomtown Rats.
I was chatting with the guy next to me. He had some pretty impressive stories to relay. He had been at that final Spiders from Mars gig at the Hammersmith Odeon in London in 1972. He had also been involved in the music business and was in his native Germany when Bowie was in Berlin, having had encounters with him in studios he was working in. On the other side of me was a Swiss national so I introduced the two of them so they could have a chat in their native language.
Glenn Gregory relayed an anecdote involving Bowie. 2 days before his death Bowie turned 68. On that day Holy Holy were playing in New York, where Bowie was living. During the concert Tony Visconti called Bowie and had the concert audience sing happy birthday to him over the mobile phone. Visconti knew Bowie was very ill, but none of the other members of the band had any idea of his state of health, so were all very shocked when the news broke 2 days later.
The show itself was excellent. As I have alluded to several times and Irish audience tends to bring the best out of artists with enthusiastically joining in, and on this occasion Visconti, Woodmansey and Gregory remarked that this had been their best audience certainly on this tour, but perhaps also across their 12 years of touring. It was a relatively small venue and this was the first of 2 nights there. They were hoping for a similar reaction the following night.
This was advertised as their last tour, but Woodmansey had remarked at their gig in Birmingham a few days earlier that he was looking forward to returning to play in the city. Visconti is 82, and I would not be surprised if it’s the last tour for him, but I am sure the others would be capable of carrying this on for a while.
Holy Holy: The Final Tour
A Celebration of Bowie
The Academy, Dublin
28 September 2026
