Guinness Arthur's Day 23 September 2010

[Studio54]

It looks like Duke is in the line-up for the Guinness Arthur's Day Celebrations (http://www.guinness.com/en-ie/arthursday/bands.html) No mention of what venue yet but hope it's Whelan's :D

Tix have been on sale here (http://www.guinness.com/en-ie/arthursday/listing.html) since last week

[xlaurax]

Aw cool! Cheers for the heads up!

[atkygal]

This looks very cool - anyone have any idea what city he'll be in? Perhaps a topic for dublinram in car? Have you also seen there is a band called - 'a band called wanda!'

[dukester]

It's gonna be Galway folks!

[runnerbean]

It's gonna be Galway folks!

Great, no ferry boats involved! :)

[runnerbean]

There are a few venues in Galway to choose from. Which one would it be?

[Dublinram]

This looks very cool - anyone have any idea what city he'll be in? Perhaps a topic for dublinram in car? Have you also seen there is a band called - 'a band called wanda!'

Sorry Atkygal had missed this, but we'd already done our car trip when you posted.

If it is going to be Galway then there it looks like there is only one venue? Folan Quay.

http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Arthurs-Day-2010-tickets/artist/998196

Unfortunately I am starting Paul Heaton tour so it looks like a no go.

[Studio54]

There are a few venues in Galway to choose from. Which one would it be?

Duke will play in Kelly's Bar (http://www.kellysbar.ie/)
Arthur's Day Listings (http://www.guinness.com/en-ie/arthursday/listing.html)

[Mrfizzy]

Duke will play in Kelly's Bar (http://www.kellysbar.ie/)
Arthur's Day Listings (http://www.guinness.com/en-ie/arthursday/listing.html)

Thanks for the update Studio54 - Whatever the Irish counterpart of "Anglophile" is - were're that! We'd love to see a bit of Galway but can't make this date :(

Look forward to the reports of those that can though :)

[sarahg]

Though I'm sure your arm could be twisted Dublinram!

[Dublinram]

Though I'm sure your arm could be twisted Dublinram!

All sorted, except for leave from work.

[treble99]

Tickets and leave from work sorted.Happy days

[mediumal]

I looked at all ways to get to Galway with the time off I have available, but couldn't quite manage it. Could get to Dublin and back so got tickets for SP at St James Gate as second best!!

One of the Arthurs Day blurbs on the web has Duke down as a pub artist, flamin cheek!!!

[sarahg]

Anyone know who the 'Very Special Guest' is?

[treble99]

Anyone know who the 'Very Special Guest' is?

Doesn't seem to be much on it yet,a lot of people seem to be speculating on Neil Hannon,a predictable guess...

[sarahg]

Neil is in Switzerland on the 22nd & France on the 24th, so would be very surprised if it was him! (Though never say never ;-)

[Jacqui]

Thanks for the update Studio54 - Whatever the Irish counterpart of "Anglophile" is

Hibernophile perhaps?

and for 'Norn Iron' Ulidophile! ;)

[Dublinram]

Sorry it has taken a while to post a review from Thursday night but I went straight off on a tour of Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham following Paul Heaton (ex frontman of The Beautiful South).

Met SarahG at Dublin Airport at 0910 and managed to catch the 0915 coach to Galway, at €15 absolute bargain. We stayed at Tara House, a B & B I have used before.

A tour of the town and music shops concluded with lunch : Irish stew. Quickly found Kelly's Bar :

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs640.snc4/60030_435755168860_554913860_5317261_3876045_n.jpg

and had a few drinks in the bar downstairs before going up to the venue upstairs.

Whilst waiting we speculated who the special guests might be, Sarah kept saying The Magic Numbers

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs323.ash2/60305_435755603860_554913860_5317286_1815588_n.jpg

...she was right. They played for an hour and were brilliant. Really looking forward to seeing them again in Amsterdam.

Whilst waiting for Duke we chatted to a couple of excited lads from Mayo who had seen Duke play in Oxygen.

Duke's set was a more traditional set (little Mother Courage/Hector Mann) and was well received by a fairly young crowd. This is the first time I have felt really old during a gig. Met up with Runnerbean and Alice afterwards and had a good old natter. We all went upstairs to have a few photos with Duke and Ben. Ben was very funny, commenting that we [boardies] weren't dedicated because we hadn't gone to Shangai. This led to a series of Guiness Book of Records ' dedication that's what you need' puns culminating with a quip on 'medication is what you need' based on Ben's recent bathroom issues.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs342.ash2/62198_435756083860_554913860_5317310_8248752_n.jpg

A great start to the weekend. A few more photos on fb:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=207654&id=554913860&l=13b5b20ed5

[alice]

Medication was definitely required on the Friday morning! I left out most of the letters in "Guinness" and decided to stick to that. Seemed like a good idea at the time - one lives and doesn't really learn.

Sympathise with your feeling old at Kelly's - but it was great to see a young crowd really enjoying the set which was made up of the many of the "old favourites". Duke, Ben and Chip really are a wonderful combination and Duke's voice was incredibly good.

It is amazing and to his credit that he is equally at home playing in a wee bar like Kelly's and being respectfully reviewed in the Kurt Weill Foundation's newsletter.

[Fizzy]

Great photos Dublinram :)
Looks like you all had a fab time!

[Mrfizzy]

Thanks for going to the effort to report back so comprehensively Dublinram - always a pleasure to see a few photos and hear what's happening. It seems that we all failed Ben's challenging commitment test! Much as Shanghai would have been amazing, I for one would rather see Duke & co. more often on "our doorstep" in Europe.

btw - as a "fan elder" I've alway found the young fans to be just as keen as I am to share enthusiasm for Duke and the band :)

[runnerbean]

I tried taking a few photos but Dublinram's are much better :)

It was a great evening. I passed on all your 'hellos' to Ben and Duke.

Didn't hug Ben too tightly! He is trimmer and was looking well. The threesome are magic together.

It definitely was a younger crowd but were very enthusiastic and seemed to be familiar with most of the songs.

The round trip was well worth it. Galway is a vibrant city.

[treble99]

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=677330818&aid=241372 some photo's from electric picnic and Galway.

[treble99]

Medication was definitely required on the Friday morning! I left out most of the letters in "Guinness" and decided to stick to that. Seemed like a good idea at the time - one lives and doesn't really learn.

Sympathise with your feeling old at Kelly's - but it was great to see a young crowd really enjoying the set which was made up of the many of the "old favourites". Duke, Ben and Chip really are a wonderful combination and Duke's voice was incredibly good.

It is amazing and to his credit that he is equally at home playing in a wee bar like Kelly's and being respectfully reviewed in the Kurt Weill Foundation's newsletter.

Agreed,Duke, Ben and Chip were unbelievable.Great performance,one of the highlights for me was blood and dance with chip giving it loads:)

[alice]

Chip usually does "give it loads" as you say :D.

A friend in the orchestra was totally amazed by what Chip can do with a frying pan or whatever it is on the famous chipstick. He commented that Chip was one of the best percussionists he had ever seen/heard and should be cloned if possible (a rather frightening thought).

Incredibly talented group of people - an honour to hear them.

[treble99]

Chip usually does "give it loads" as you say :D.

A friend in the orchestra was totally amazed by what Chip can do with a frying pan or whatever it is on the famous chipstick. He commented that Chip was one of the best percussionists he had ever seen/heard and should be cloned if possible (a rather frightening thought).

Incredibly talented group of people - an honour to hear them.

Chip is unbelievable,he's made the cheese grater famous:)
But the thought of him being cloned is frightening:D