A couple of mine
Nirvana, back in 92 or so. The first gig I ever went to and it blew me away.
Sunstroke in 1994. This was a short-lived and ill-fated one-day rock festival in Dublin in the 90s. The first year Faith No More and the Chilli Peppers were meant to headline, but the Chillis pulled out. The following year it was gong to be the Chillis and Soundgarden, but Soundgarden pulled out. And Soundgarden finally played the third and final year. But the 95 one, with Therapy? and the Chillis headline was amazing. Therapy? played with such intensity that the crowd was exhausted after, and then Flea walked out on stage in an Irish jersey and sang a decent rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann. the crowd went wild, but was still so tired after Therapy? (Sadly Soundgarden weren't that good the last year, but it was the only time White Zombie played here, I'd never heard them before and became a fan on the spot)
Queen + Adam Lambert in 2018. I was humming and hawing about going to this. Queen are my favourite band and I was worried that this would basically be like a tribute act when they have a member of the original band with them. But I was asked to work the bar (a lot of the bar staff at the big open-air gigs in the UK and Ireland are volunteers donating their pay to causes they support), so I was able to see the gig for free, and it was amazing. Adam Lambert explicitly said he wasn't there to replace Freddie (I'm sure it's a well-rehearsed speech, but still a nice touch), the setlist was great, Brian and Roger both sang. My only complaints were that there was a lot of faffing - plenty of extended drum and guitar solos, and a whole bit where Brian took selfies with the crowd and put them up on the big screen; and they played a bit of You Take My Breath Away as an intro to another song with felt like teasing me with a favourite song. The only deep cut was I'm In Love With My Car.
Atari Teenage Riot in 2010. I was at the front of the crowd, Nic Endo screamed in my face at one point, CK KiDTRONiK gave me his mic to yell into during MIDIJunkies, and I got kicked in the head by Alec Empire while he crowdsurfed. Great time.
VNV Nation in 2005. This was the first time they'd played Dublin despite Ronan Harris being born here, and it felt like a homecoming. A bunch of people he knew from the Dublin Goth/Industrial scene were up front, giving support. And towards the end, I can't remember what song it was, but everyone was singing along and dancing and there was this look on his face like everything was worth it because he got to come home, play his songs and get all this love reflected back.
Ministry. Basically every time I've seen them, most recently 2018. I was actually at their "last-ever show", and have seen them twice more since then.
