A Great Day for Music

Elton John had a busy day yesterday. First he performed a couple of songs at the Live 8 concert in London, then he hopped on a plane and flew over to Dublin to perform at the RDS arena. When I mentioned to some of my colleagues that I was going to see his concert I got a mixed response... but the word 'cool' wasn't mentioned once. I got the impression they were impressed that I admitted I wanted to go. Strange. I mean, you gotta admire the man - he's been around for as long as I can remember and his music is still great. The crowd was really enthusiastic, and Sir Elton sounded fantastic - not many artists have the ability to sound as good live as they do on a CD. And he's really handy with a piano, too (which he demonstrated in the longest, most drawn-out version of "Rocket Man" I've ever heard..!)
Of course, being summer in Ireland, we had a few showers, but there's something really special about doing the Crocodile Rock in the rain with a few thousand other folks all singing & dancing like loonies.
The audience was a real mix of people. Plenty of Golden Oldies came along to enjoy the, er, golden oldies; there were also loads of youngsters who seemed to be enjoying the ageing rocker more than I would have expected (ecstasy, anyone?!). And then there was the small group of women in the stands wearing fake antlers on their heads, which was very confusing at first but then we saw they had a banner with them saying 'Elton John Stag Night'. Still a bit confusing cos I thought stag nights were a guy thing but we'll just let that one go, will we?

Anyway, that wasn't the only musical thing happening yesterday. You'd have to be deaf, blind or living alone on an iceberg in Antarctica to have missed the Live 8 concerts across the globe. We watched it on TV before & after the Elton John concert. Wasn't it just great?! Seriously, it's not often you'll get to see so many of the great singers & bands of our time play in one concert.
Hopefully those at the G8 thingy will take notice & realise that the people are trying to tell them something. A lot of people are really cynical about this but I think it was a great way to bring attention to the issue.

But enough soap-boxing from me.
I'd love to post some stunning photos from the concert we went to, but I was having a bit of a blonde day so forgot the camera at home. The best I can do is show you what we took with hubby's camera phone.
If you look very carefully you should be able to see a splotch in the middle that was the stage. Elton John was on it, I swear!

Dublin hit by Vertigo!

U2 played at Croke Park in Dublin last night and WE WERE THERE!!!

For those of you who don’t get what the big deal is, perhaps I should explain:
Dublin is U2’s hometown.
U2 is the most Irish of bands, possibly the biggest band in the world.
Croke Park is the very heart of all things Irish. Situated in the middle of Dublin it is sacred ground, used exclusively for GAA (Gaelic football & Hurling – no English sports like Rugby and Soccer allowed, thank you very much!)
The last time U2 played Croke Park was 18 years ago, so this was their homecoming… the Irish pride was tangible to the point of almost being suffocating – Dubliners are terribly proprietal (is that a word?) about this foursome.

And WE WERE THERE!!!

It was a perfect, long summer evening – the stadium was bathed in sunlight until it eventually grew dark some time after 10pm, after which it was lit up by stage effects and, at one point, the glowing of 80,000 celphones when Bono gave out his number so that everyone could send a text message in support of his “Make Poverty History” campaign. Yup, that’s right – this Dubliner is going to single-handedly save the world, starting with Africa (in between playing a few songs on their global Vertigo tour, of course).

What more can be said? They started with the tour’s theme song and the stadium was immediately swept in a frenzy of singing and jumping in time to Vertigo. As an opening song I have to say it’s ranks right up there with Robbie Williams’ “Let Me Entertain You” – high praise indeed, as those of you who know me will know.
The strong beat and wailing, trilling guitar that makes U2’s music unique makes for a great live concert, and the sound of 80,000 voices singing such greats as “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” was enough to raise the hair on my arms.
I could have done with a little less of his political musings and appeals but maybe that’s just me – my Irish colleagues didn’t seem to mind.

And all in all the concert was all I could have wished for – great music, a great band, and a chance to sing at the top of my lungs in a crowd without anyone actually hearing me!


Fans poured into the stadium from about 8:30pm


View from our seats


U2 appeared on stage with very little fuss... but the crowd went beserk!


As daylight faded, the stage effects kicked in & the stadium rocked!


See the South African flag? Bono cares about us!


Moody green lights briefly illuminate the crowd

Summer arrives in Ireland

But only briefly. Normally it's on a Tuesday... but this year we were lucky and the mercury broke the 20degree barrier at least 3 times in the last week. Woo hoo! Cause for celebration. For once I was the one emailing about the gorgeous weather while my poor friends & family back home are dying of cold in the clutches of the harsh South African winter (?!). News flash for all of you who have never experienced 8 months of continuous cold, grey, dreary Dublin winter - 16 degrees is Not That Cold! I know I've acclimatised because I found myself going out to work the other day with a smile on my face because it was warm enough to wear short sleeves. It was 13 degrees outside.

But enough rambling about the weather (sorry, the locals do it so much it's rubbed off on me). We took advantage of this glorious sunshine to go into town & look at the ships that were docked on the Liffey for the annual Maritime festival.


Before the ships arrived: Dublin's newest footbridge (ugly, isn't it?) with just a little bit of construction going on in the Docklands area...


One of Ireland's 2 warships


A pretty tallship!


Andrew & Dave contemplating a life as pirates


Another pretty tallship..!

But most important of all... check out the SUNSHINE folks!!!!
:-)

Where we live

Ireland can be a cold, miserable place but occasionally it is really beautiful. So here are some pictures of where we live.


Murky sunrise over the Marina


A glorious Winter morning


Full Moon


Pretty Autumn colours on the Malahide Road


A bit of gentle snow...


... Or if you prefer, a blizzard can be provided!


Sunset over the Liffey River in Dublin City. Unfortunately I can't take the credit for this photo - it was taken by someone who works with me... Thanks Kevin!