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I've played in bands for over 20 years now and can't really see myself stopping. We don't get to meet up and jam as much as we used to in any of my bands but we're all seasoned enough now to keep working away and get a few shows a year. It's always a great laugh when we do meet up and we fall back into the swing of it in a few mins. Would be nice to get more music released but these things always take time and people have family and work taking up so much of their time.

As for not loving some of the aspects, I've learned to try and enjoy the gigs even if they aren't always the best show of your life. Sure long drives and bad crowds can be a bit of a slog. I just treat them as a night out with mates and I pretty much always have a great time. As for equipment lugging around, just get the new light stuff. No real need to be dragging around mad heavy tube heads and massive cabs if you don't want to. You can get super lightweight tiny heads and light weight cabs that will get you through any gig and sound great. I barley ever take out my big amps now. It's nice to have them but they aren't a requirement like they used to be.

Anyway I plan to keep going until I can't, wouldn't know what to do if I didn't have some gigs or jamming to look forward to!

Had a great time on Friday. Sallys was hopping and there was a great buzz in the Roisin aswell. Was only around for the night but looks like the rest of the weekend went well also.Great to see Galway doing well and hope to catch it again next year.

Had a great time at this, the crowd was going pretty crazy for the bands which you love to see. Seems like a thriving community for the heavy stuff in there. I was playing with Trenchknife, which was a blast, the PA nearly got taken out from moshing at one stage but it was all good! Was in from the first band until Congenital Abnormalities but we had to hit to the road then. I'd seen Fraught and Ancient Malice in the last few weeks but would have liked to stick around if I could have.

This should be a fun one. Playing with Trenchknife but looking forward to catching the other bands aswell, tidy lineup.

I've always been a bigger fan of adding strings rather than just downtuning. I like to be able to play in standard and have the option of lower notes too. I've been playing 7's for so long it doesn't really feel weird. It was tricky to get used to the 8 string at first when I went that route. I always found it trickier playing the middle strings and getting hung up rather than losing what I was doing on the lower extra strings.

I actually find it harder doing things on long baritone necks now as big chord stretches feel rotten on the lower frets. A 7 string with a normal enough scale length is nice and I don't think you really need the extra length for the low strings if you use the right gauge string.

Currently I have a V30 loaded Kitty Hawk 4x12 that I run a modded Jet City JCA22h head into. Other rig is an Orange CR120 head that runs through a Barefaced Radical 2x12 (also with V30's). I recently purchased a Radial Bigshot ABY to run the two amps together for gigs (one guitar in the band). I'm hoping this will fatten my overall sound by blending the amps. Any tips from any of ye for doing this? Cheers.

I know a few people that do this. You did a good step by getting the ABY so you can get rid of ground hum or phase problems, loads of guys don't and end up having problems at gigs even if they don't in the jam room. I would aim to have a good idea of what you are trying to achieve with the 2 amps, as in going cleaner with one for clarity and good distortion for heaviness in the other or having one for a mid heavy sound. Are you looking for a stereo spread? Will you be using just one amp at times and bringing the 2nd in for impact for example? Just throwing 2 amps on stage on it's own won't sound bigger by default you need to have goals for a sound and learn steps towards achieving them.

Saw them in Dolans the other night. It was an enjoyable show, great energy and playing from the band. I thought it would have been a little busier (not that there was a bad crowd) but I'd imagine a lot of their crowd went to electric picnic.

I was toying with the idea of going. Would have enjoyed it, especially with the Rory tunes. It's just too awkward to get to Cork and back on the same night on public transport. Don't know any mates that were doing the drive.

Some of the screen stuff had that AI sheen to it, you know when everything is a bit too glossy. Also some of it looked like that AI turn a picture into a video thing with slight movement added. Not sure if was AI or just Steve Harris having awful taste. The idea is decent but you could tell there was more money/effort gone into some of the songs screens than others.

Enjoyed the gig. Really fantastic setlist which I'd managed to stay away from having spoiled for me so it was great seeing what they played. Loved the idea of the new visual backgrounds. Sound was a bit iffy, not much clarity at times but I guess you have to deal with that outdoors and in a big venue.

Felt like the band weren't on top form. Lots of mistakes and a few were very noticeable. Surprised to see Adrian smith having a few as he's usually very solid. Felt a bit like Bruce's voice was a bit strained at times but not bad for his age and he was still tearing around the stage for the 2 hours.

Had never been to Malahide for a gig before. I liked the vibe of a big outdoor gig but there was a few things that could have been improved. The jacks only being at the back was stupid, you had to walk all the way back through the crowd to use the toilets. The queues were bad at times too like right before Maiden were starting. More toilets or even urinals at the front aswell would have helped. It was a bit slow getting in and out due to traffic but I'd heard it was bad beforehand so was expecting it.

Also what's the story with them not playing Always look on the Bright side of Life after the gig? Love walking away after seeing them with everyone singing and whistling along.

Should be good fun. Looking forward to it, been a while since I was at a good metal show in pharmacia. Great line-up this year. It's such a busy weekend though, I know a good few mates who won't be able to make it this year.
Also looks like tickets are €20, it's not on the poster which is kind of annoying. Pet peeve of mine when that kind of thing is left off the posters.

They had a keys player offstage for years

Can't really decide if I'll go or not. I like the atmosphere of a big gig and the supports are great, also the cheaper tickets aren't outrageous for 2 days. However, I'm just not the biggest Metallica fan and have seen them live before though not in nearly 20 years. Also this will be chock full of gobshites. Loads of my mates will end up going so the session will be mighty but I'd hate to go and be bored after spending all that money.

Had a great time as usual at the Siege. Was great to catch up with so many heads but still didn't get to chat with half the people I spotted through the day! It was a long aul one but I managed to stick it out for the day.
Really enjoyed the Limerick bands early, WCIP, Sweets and 50 ft woman, but I'd be biased having friends in them. Thought the Death metal bands on the warehouse were deadly, Inhuman Nature, Vacuous especially. I Enjoyed Coscradh and Incessant though I get a bit worn out from the relentlessness of the more full on sonic blackened/DM stuff after a few songs. Stereo Nasty was a nice break from the heavier stuff and were a great band to have towards the end of the night, glad to see them back.
There was a few acts I caught that did nothing for me but the crowds for them were really big and people were enjoying them so it's more of a preference thing.
I would say that was up there for one of the busier Siege's. Was slow getting through those crowds with the amount of people there and anytime I went near the upstairs or Kasbah it was rammed. I think the staff did a stellar job. Didn't see any issues with security and I was never waiting long for a drink.

I think set times and door times should be posted in advance of the gig. Hate not knowing when to land into a gig if there's no times posted. I don't want to land in and find out no bands are on for another hour and a half or find out I've missed the first 2 bands.

Also having the ticket price clearly on the poster or posted along with the gig announcements. I've noticed inconsistencies in this these days, sometimes you have to really look around online or start buying the ticket online to get the price.

I also kind of like having somewhere to go sit for a bit at a longer gig. I don't mean every venue needs tables (too many tables can ruin a gig) or whatever but a few stools by the bar or at the walls is nice so you can take a minute off between bands. Not always an option if space is a premium.

I think there should be earplugs provided at gigs. I always bring my own but have had mates leave gigs that were too loud before since they had none. I understand you have to be a bit stingy with them as I've also seen people grab handfuls when there are free ones but it should be an option I think. I know a lot of bars keep some in stock but it couldn't hurt for the promoter to have some on hand.

This wouldn't be an issue for any half decent promoters but some places/bands that book shows kind of take the piss with the lineups being basically the same over and over. I get some bands are friends and whatnot but I've seen bills for gigs weeks apart that were pretty much the same gig in the same venue.


I actually like smoke machines at gigs, turns the lights into looking like a real show and not some amateur setup in the corner of a bar. The good ones don't really smell bad and the smoke tends to dissipate quickly enough so as long as they aren't abusing it then there shouldn't be an issue.

People were also talking about crowd talk. Again I want it to feel like a show to a crowd, not some lad chatting to his mate in front of him. A quick shoutout isn't too bad but a lot of back and forth is awful altogether and does nothing for me. Feels like a mistake bands make in their first shows when they don't know how to address an crowd properly.