Belfast people go to Dublin gigs shocker

There’s a feeling that hits a day or two after a really good concert. The adrenaline has died down, the half-ecstatic delirium of singing along full-throated to stunningly rendered tracks has all faded and the after-glow of the lights has disappeared; even that pleasant buzzing in your ears has gone.

After Iron Maiden’s monstrous outing at The Point, Dublin on Wednesday 20th December those feelings came too quickly – while struggling through fog bound roads back to Belfast.

What made the pleasant feelings recede so quickly was mainly due to the acclamation of Lauren Harris and Trivium about how good the Dublin crowd was… It’s understandable that they wouldn’t know how many metalheads had travelled down from Northern Ireland; but it was even more galling to hear Tivium announce dates in Dublin and no Belfast dates. [And no Belfast dates on their web pages yet!]

Anyone with common sense will acknowledge that Belfast’s rock and metal community can’t support a show as extensive as Maiden’s sublimely over-the-top set; hell, we all remember how few came out to see Judas Priest and Scorpions. It just isn’t economically viable for the largest rock and metal acts to play Belfast.

But it remains a must play city for emerging and developing bands. Witness the loyalty of Dragonforce, 36 Crizyfists et al to the city's rock and metal fans.

So, Trivium change one of the dates listed for the Ambassador in Dublin to another Ulster hall show in Belfast. And to all the other acts that leave Belfast off their gig listings; yeah we’ll journey down to Dublin to be ripped off by car parking, hotels and over-priced beer, but for fuck sake remember that there are a helluva lot of people who made the journey from Northern Ireland.

[Editor’s note: We of course do not apply this sanction to Bruce as “Scream for Me, Ireland, north and south!” just won’t work and he really is a mega metal star, so we’ll settle for “Scream for Me Dublin!”