Dublin Academy, Sunday 23rd May 2010, Deborah and Karen on the road

We landed with a bit of a ‘bounce’ at Dublin airport on a warm and sunny afternoon which did nothing for those of a nervous flying disposition. Deborah, having consulted our Manchester travel agent (cheers Paul ), knew exactly which bus we should be getting, so after a journey of 30 mins or so, during which we discovered a kindred spirit in a chap who follows his own favourite bands around Europe and ‘understood’, we found ourselves in roughly the right vicinity for our hotel and the venue.

Now to find them....We walked past them both but eventually found ourselves unpacking in a great little city centre hotel. Deborah filled the wardrobe and dressing table with stuff whilst Karen was allocated the bed in the corner (again). Alas Deborah’s hair straighteners had died in transit and for a brief mad moment she contemplated using the trousers press.....how we would have explained burnt facial features and a flat head at casualty doesn’t bear thinking about....

A quick explore of Middle Abbey Street led us to the Gin Palace on the corner of our block, where we feasted, whilst contemplating the huge variety of gin on offer, but sensibly settled for two pints of water and a cup of tea whilst waxing lyrical to the bar staff about Steve Harley and the extent of our intended travels on this tour. We were later to find out that word spreads like wildfire in this city and we had become famous or was it infamous (Thanks Dave and Finbar) Even had to autograph Dave’s ticket later! We took a stroll on the boardwalk by the Liffey before retiring to try and get a few hours kip. OMG we had our first ever domestic row! A combination of tiredness, Deborah being woken from a her snoring slumber , Karen’s frustration with the wireless technology and a very stupid difference of opinion as to how long it takes to get ready, saw tetchiness and a lot of huffing and puffing that mercifully dissipated once we’d met up with Mike J in the bar below our hotel and strolled a few doors down to the gig.

Ooops we totally missed the support act!- sorry! Promise we won’t miss the Lartey’s.... The Academy is like an older, darker version of the Indigo2 in Greenwich; think big spacious floor, metal railings, a balcony, bar to the rear and, after a humid day of travel, wonderful air-conditioning.We wait in the darkness greeting old friends and new. Brendan, Mike and Karen’s best Facebook pal clearly thinks they have both had a change of identity and we laugh with him and meet his partner Susie. Jim P is there, Ruud and Bea (from Belgium), and Lars and his partner all the way from Denmark, the lovely people from Nottingham too - please forgive us, anyone we’ve left out and forgotten names of.

The stage is deep and we spy a whole host of guitars on both sides and a veritable wakemanesque pile of keyboards, just waiting to be brought to life. It being the first night of the tour, an extra special level of anticipation hangs in the air. What will they open with..... Mike J was taking bets, needless to say he won; it was from the wonderful Stranger Comes To Town album but this early on in the tour, we’ve decided that it just wouldn’t be fair to tell you which tracks he played but suffice to say there were some wonderful surprises all the way through, with some revisiting of old favourites from the first five albums plus six from Stranger.

The venue had a Sunday night curfew, so Steve and the band treat us to one delicious non-stop set peppered with moments of sheer joy and raw emotion. More than a few members of the audience had tears streaming down their faces as the meaning of the new lyrics shines forth in live rendition. Subtle nuances, new instruments, the moog with all its capabilities and even a pair of neon pink drumsticks, and an insight to live rehearsal to boot – we were there! Steve has the room in stitches one moment and transfixed the next. Stranger tracks brought gasps and wild applause, and this was just from Steve, gobsmacked at how the words of an album of less than 2 weeks on release, can have imprinted themselves on the brains of the fans but perhaps not yet on that of the writer!

Ok here’s the nearest you’re going to get to the set list (which undoubtedly will change throughout the tour). In as cryptical a style as we can muster, in the wee small hours of the morning and referencing the albums from whence they came, the songs played go something like this......
Mike J won the bet (a track taken from the new album); Had a ball being taken back to that second album; then a vista from the third; something without an album of its own; then brought bang up-to-date and with some particularly adept keyboard work from James reminiscent of elements of days of the third album, moog synthesizer and all; see if you can get this one Karen’s shorthand for jotting down the set list – TLWFYITE – new but not new ( "WTF is that?" Deb enquires "You started learning welsh or what?"); a track drawn from the fourth album takes us, Karen in particular, on a Timeless Flight; New song that spans a generation with gorgeous bass-work; back to the fourth album and another lovely surprise appetizer; a trip to the third or was it Singapore; particularly arrogant woman delivers a bright forecast (fifth); the Hemmingway staccato, a tragic bravado (brand new); Yes you can see Steve Harley’s light; New song better than a poke in eye with a sharp stick; next was mint, polished to perfection; Us and them; A number one hit; then another number one hit.

There are people attending their first Harley gig, strangers in town, strangers in their own town – you should have seen the looks of joy and the comments they made – no word of a lie, he blew that room apart. They all left no longer strangers to the music of Steve Harley, overwhelmed by the poetry, joyful in the live performance. Well done Steve, Barry, James, Stuart, Lincoln and Robbie; what a great start to what we just know is going to be a great tour.....more tomorrow when we move on to Belfast but first there’s the small matter of finding the promised WiFi connection at breakfast and posting this on the website....

Sneaky edit: if you scroll down far enough you might find what you're looking for....
Did you get the cryptic stuff.... No? Well for anyone who didn't:

Faith and Virtue
Psychomodo
Panorama
Judy Teen
No Bleeding Hearts
True love will find you in the end
Nothing Is sacred
This old man
All the men are hungry
Mr Raffles
Here comes the sun
Baby shoes never worn
The lighthouse
Blinded with tears
Mr Soft
Stranger comes to town
Sebastian
Make me smile