This summer’s been a bit of a Blur

ANOTHER cracking gig on the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, last week proved what a fantastic music venue this Southside amenity has become.

On Thursday night last it was the turn of Brit pop legends, Blur, to take the stage in a location that has already played host to a bewildering variety of musical talent this summer.

The Brit Award winners, considered one of the most influential and creative bands of the last 20 years, chose to play their only gig in the UK and Ireland this year in Dublin.

The

‘Song 2’ hitmakers have been in fine form since reuniting in 2008 with a series of amazing concerts and the release of several retrospective singles.

With support from Bat for Lashes and The Strypes it was another massive success for the venue that has become increasingly popular as a top place to listen to live music in the heart of the city.

An exhibition entitled

‘BLUR 21’ featuring over 70 images of the iconic band was also on show in the Great Hall at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in the Royal Hospital to celebrate their 21-year career.

Earlier this summer the Forbidden Fruit Music & Arts Festival made a welcome return to Kilmainham over the June Bank Holiday weekend, having been staged there for the last three years.

This time around, the organisers including Bulmers and POD, nailed it with four stages of great music boasting the likes of Kasabian and Primal Scream, who headlined, and Everything Everything, Fight Like Apes, Le Galaxie, James Blake and Crystal Castles who all played a blinder.

However, one of the highlights of the festival, and indeed of the summer, has to have been Chic’s set, who blew the top off the dance tent.

As well as the music there was comedy with household names such as Kevin McAleer, David Savage and the Nualas providing the laughs.

An interesting dynamic that has developed at Kilmainham is the eclectic range of music that the Dublin 8 venue has played host to over the summer.

Just days before Blur’s

‘Song 2’ and

‘Coffee and TV’ had the 20,000 sold-out crowd jumping for joy, the legendary Italian music composer, Ennio Morricone, staged a mesmerising show that thrilled a more mature audience.

Morricone, who is famous for his music scores including the

‘Spaghetti Western’ classics such as the

‘Good, Bad and the Ugly’ and

‘For a Few Dollars More’ performed a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle with a triumphant 97-piece orchestra and 100-strong Dublin Gospel Choir.

Judging from the excited tweets from choir members this was certainly one of the highlights of their musical careers that they were not going to forget in a hurry.

One of the most memorable moments on the Sunday night occurred when the 84-year-old walked out on stage to a rapturous reception and gestured at the rain that had until that moment proved depressingly persistent during the afternoon.

Then, with a dismissive wave of one manicured hand, the rain abruptly stopped, prompting some astonished fans to wonder if the maestro’s timing really was that good.

At the end of the summer, a former Kilmainham performer, Leonard Cohan, takes his eclectic art to the O2 on September 11 and 12 following previous outings at the Southside venue.