Sunday dawned bright and breezy. We packed our bags - not sorry to be leaving this hotel - and headed for Bewleys just up the road and next to The RDS Arena.
We stopped off at a little deli just near the river and bought a very expensive but delicious cheese and ham baguette each. They were so good we didn’t mind paying through the nose. Stopped by the river a while munching and taking a few photos. We were in no hurry as we couldn’t check in to Bewleys until 2.00pm.
As soon as I set foot in Bewleys I knew I would like this hotel better. OK so it’s part of a chain and therefore a bit lacking in character, a bit boring even but I quite like the fact that you know what you are getting with these types of places - nothing flashy but with everything you need. Mike and I don’t do a lot of travelling but when we do we always seem to get a room at the back of the hotel. Nine times out of ten we get the room at the end of the corridor and if there is an annex you can guarantee our room will be in it. Having said that the end of the corridor is sometimes no bad thing. Although it’s a long trek to reception it’s usually handy for the fire escape and there are no passing noisy oiks slamming doors and shouting at 3.00am.
Despite dawdling we got to Bewleys far too early. The desk clerk let us register and leave our bags. I suppose we could have headed off into Dublin then but instead we decided to hang around. Mike found a comfortable vantage point in reception to check out the other punters and I headed off to find the pit queue.
Now as I have mentioned before we are sitters so the pit queue was a new phenomenon to me. There were more people milling around than I expected - I assumed one queue but there were folks everywhere. Finding Tony and Maria wasn’t going to be easy, or so I thought, but there they were, sitting on a patch of grass waiting for a roll call. I wasn’t really au fait with the whole roll call system but Maria explained it to me and she was off to get in the queue for the 1 o clock call.
We killed a bit more time wandering around the arena to find our entrance gate for later and getting something to eat. This turned out to be crisps and chocolate - our trip to Dublin wasn’t the most nutritious holiday we had ever had although we did have a bit of the Irish Stew in the hotel for our tea. Not a wildly exciting day but if you are anything like me you are all geared up for the gig and it’s hard to get your head around anything but Bruce on a concert day.
Mike was dozing in our hotel room, right at the back of the hotel at the end of a corridor, when I heard faint strains of music. Didn’t think of the sound check at first. I heard a couple of notes to start with and the sound kept fading in and out. I recognised the tune but I couldn’t just put my finger on what it was. I opened the window as wide as possible and stuck my ear to the gap. Finally it dawned on me - ‘American Skin (41 shots)’!
So this time we were sat about halfway back in the Grandstand. It had started to rain before the start of the show and once again there was an announcement about brollys.
Oooh - ‘No Surrender’ again followed by ‘Badlands‘ which is guaranteed to get me up and dancing. I love’ Hungry Heart’. The last time I heard this was only our second gig (back in 1999) and at that time I had no idea that the audience were going to sing the first verse. This time I could join in - with gusto of course. By the way you don’t ever want to be near me at a gig because I sing loudly and I am reliably informed that my singing is awful.
‘Darkness’ another in my top twenty and the subject of one of my favourite misheard lyrics - there’s apartments on the edge of town. ’Trapped’ - we seem to hear this a lot too - but I love it. ‘American Skin’ had to be special. I love ‘Prove It All Night‘ and I have a soft spot for ‘Sherry Darling’. I’d forgotten Bruce seemed to get a bit annoyed before this but I’m listening to our boot at the moment and he definitely says ’somebody earn your pay’ before he starts to play. Clarence’s sax is a bit dodgy but by the end Bruce’s mood has lifted and he’s laughing.
All in all I preferred this set list to night one but it was a sad night for us too as we had no more gigs to look forward to.
We were staying in Dublin another day. The Glasgow tickets had gone on sale after we had booked our Dublin trip and we decided not to change our plans. It was a difficult decision made even worse when Mike got a text from his mate (Bushman Hat Productions!), as we were walking in to Dublin, offering us his tickets because he couldn’t go.
Anyway we spent a very soggy but enjoyable day in Dublin. It peed it down most of the day. We had the obligatory Guinness and -yes- it does taste better. Mike’s love of diners took us to Eddie Rocket’s on our way back to the hotel - we could have been in our own kitchen!
Often before gigs the folks on Greasy Lake make very loose arrangements to meet at a particular pub before or after a show. Nothing is ever set in stone but it’s good to know where you will find some like minded people if you want company.
Before the Dublin gigs one of the ‘lakers’ went a step further and asked for phone numbers so she could contact them to possibly arrange to meet up.
I passed my number on. This is very unusual. The number of people who know my phone number is probably less than ten. I am not the most sociable person especially when it comes to the phone and the thought of someone ringing out of the blue for a chat when, say, I am sat on the bus is just horrendous. In any case my ring tone is ‘Born To Run’ and I love listening to it so much I forget to actually answer the phone! Top and bottom of it is I barely use my phone.
So it’s Monday in Dublin. We are back in the hotel drying out. Mike has a bad head and isn’t feeling too well so we are planning a quiet night. I get a text message - I still have that message and the ones that followed. Here’s how it goes :-
Sinead -18.48 Hi Guys - didn’t get to call went 2 o’donohues fri nite and spent sat and sun in pit q. Got front row both nites. Glasgow 2moro. Hope u guys had a blast. Sinead
Me -18.55 Hi Sinead we had a great time. We booked to stay in Dublin an extra night so no Glasgow for us
Sinead -19.21 R u still at Bewleys?
Me -19.21 Yes
Sinead -19.25 If u r around later I am here again 2nite - just goin out 4 dinner with Ceinwen and her husband. My husband went home 2 mind th kids
Me -19.28 Mike not feeling too good so we might be in bed early. I will text later if we are around
Me -21.36 We r in the bar now off to bed in half an hour or so.
Sinead -21.42 on our way down - whr are you?
By the time I had typed my reply Sinead, Ceinwen and Hywel had found us sitting in a very quiet bar at Bewleys.
It would have been just as easy for Sinead not to have sent that first text. She hadn’t made any definite plans with anyone. I needn’t have replied and so on and so on - you get the picture - but we made the effort to meet.
We only spent perhaps half an hour chatting - no more.
Who knew that such a brief meeting would set off a chain of events that I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams.
Set List
No Surrender
Badlands
Night
My Lucky Day
Outlaw Pete
Hungry Heart
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Youngstown
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Spirit in the Night
Sherry Darling
Proud Mary
Prove It All Night
Trapped
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Radio Nowhere
American Skin (41 Shots)
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born to Run
Jungleland
American Land
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
Twist and Shout
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