Sunday – May 16th 1999
This was our first
attempt at an Emerald event and looking back we went in pretty blind. This came
about basically because there was a severe lack of any international live
events in Ireland concerning Metal for quite a while. This had been the basis
of many, drunken and sober, rants from various corners for number of years and
eventually, myself and Adrian decided it was time to have a go and see if we
could start something.
We had the luxury of a
sold out Entombed show in March to let the masses know that this event was
indeed happening and so the built up began…responses were initially mixed…with
‘What £10.50!!!!’ coming up at one point….imagine our shock at these people who
will gladly pay £25 to see Slayer, yet complain when a band as established as
Cathedral will leave them with no change from a ten pound note.
Come gig day set aside
our nerves and began with the task of making the Cathedral boys feel at home.
This included setting up the rider as much as possibly could in Eamon
Dorans…’limited’ backstage room and, of course, scouring the streets for
cigarettes to keep ‘em happy.
The show went well
though, very well. We had about 210 people in a 300 capacity venue and things
looked very respectable indeed. Support bands went well, and Cathedral were
more than pleasing to those who had waited and also, I believe, to those who
were there out of curiosity.
It all helped that the
band and the crew were extremely pleasant people…they seemed happy, we were
happy and all in all, Emerald got off to a good start.
Eamon Dorans, Dublin
Sunday – Sept. 12th 1999
Moving on from the
success of Cathedral, we decided that our next step should be Anathema. These
guys have always had a very strong following here and indeed had been to Dublin
twice before…understand, it is very unusual for a band of Anathema stature to
make return trips to Dublin and for this to be their 3rd visits
deserves to be acknowledged as something unusual. Also, the fact that I had
brought Anathema to Dublin in my pre-Emerald days, so for me it was nice to
repeat the event with the Emerald banner and the boss as my new mentor. He was
on crutches at the time, by the way.
Supports went down very
well, as they had in Belfast the night previous and by the time Anathema were
due to take to the stage, there were just over 300 paying customers rammed into
Dorans….yes, the atmosphere was goddamn electric.
As mentioned, Anathema
have a stronger fanbase here than most bands of their ilk and as such, there
was a lot of anticipation in the air. Perhaps their set drew too heavily on
post-Pentecost III material for some, but these guys are a pretty different
kettle of fish these days and, I think, even those in doubt were soon won over
by the soulful and dramatic sounds from the PA.
After 75 sweaty minutes
and a truly electric gig, Anathema left the stage and…we feel…a lot of happy
people left the venue, en route to that Metal watering hole, Bruxcelles. Being
the gracious hosts that we are, the emerald crew took Anathema to that same
watering hole and watched as they were mobbed. To their delight, it must be
said.
The night ended and a
very emotional, tipsy and spent Anathema bid farewell and told us that if we
did not take them back over soon…they’d be back for our hubcaps.
Temple Bar Music Centre
Wednesday – December 8th 1999
This show was billed as
the return of Death Metals ‘All time kings’, and with it being almost 8 years
to the day that Morbid Angel had last been to Dublin, there was a lot of
anticipation.
Again, we had to thank
MCD for providing another big show for us to use as our main promotion
tool…this time, Fear Factory. Thank you MCD.
This was an unfortunate
night for the support bands…hired gear and a late start meant that the Morbid
soundcheck spilled over into showtime. Ouch, still…we all knew who they were
here to see and nothing was going to get in their way.
New album, new front man,
new guitarist since their last trip here…to McGonagles in December 1991 and
they had certainly come out of the woodwork for this. 460 people stood, moshed,
headbanged and even danced as we were bludgeoned with classic after
classic…even the virtual snubbing of Domination went pretty much unnoticed.
Still the best.
Temple Bar Music Centre
Wednesday – April 5th 2000
We knew this was going to
be a good day when Bobby Binetti, the super-roadie stepped off the Cannibal bus
(he was with Morbid Angel also) and indeed it was. After the ulcer inducing
build up to the Morbid show, this was a walk in the park. We left them to their
thing and they did it…to perfection.
In the meantime we walked
the bands around the city and brought them to that all-important Heavy Metal
tourist point, the Soundcellar. At this point it must be said, Cannibal Corpse
are possibly the coolest people in the business…very amicable, very friendly,
genuine and a pleasure to deal with. It was good to see them pounce of the
catalogue of stuff that is available in the Soundcellar….for Pat O’Brien,
Macabre and for Mr. Webster, well…Racer X!!!….mmm….a bassists prerogative?????.
The gig itself was
stunning. Vomitory surprised everyone with their brutal, catchy and heavy as
hell Death Metal, very reminiscent of the early 90’s ‘Stockholm sound’, they
were awesome.
Mystic Circle kept those
in Cradle and Dimmu shirts happy. They played for one of the first times, we
believe, with a drum machine.
Next was Cannibal
Corpse…last time they played here, was 4 days after two very high profile
Cradle of Filth shows. They were unfortunately overshadowed by this. However, 2
years later with a stronger bill and a stronger build up…this was nothing short
of an event…opening with a lethal one two of
‘Staring…’ and ‘Stripped…’, the sight from the balcony was awesome.
Literally, it was a sea of bodies and it got violent. We like.
They were brilliant,
perhaps not a breathtaking as 1998, but that show had something very special
about it that happens only once in a while. However, Cannibal Corpse are a band
that are extremely dedicated to their craft and they are a pleasure to have
over. They will be back…possibly, probably, hopefully.
Eamon Dorans, Dublin
Sunday – April 16th 2000
Wind, rain, oceans…they
were all intent on making this show NOT happen. But thanks to the endurance of
Mike (Lacuna Coils tour manager), they made it over…not all together, but they
made it.
Karnayna opened and were
a pleasure to watch tonight…gig by gig shaking off the trappings that hampered
them previously.
Lacuna Coil, somehow
managed to make it to the stage and by this time there was 110 people there
awaiting to see what the fuss was about.
To be honest, this show
was nothing too special….Lacuna are a band trying to establish themselves, they
look good, they sound good…but they are not yet anything stunning or
groundbreaking, and as a result of this the atmosphere tonight never got above
lukewarm. Still, they did get a good Chinese after the show.