Rose Tattoo and Girlschool
Voodoo Lounge, Dublin
8th September, 2018
Review by Graham Horne
I arrived at the venue just before doors opened and there was already a queue of old rockers (I actually didn’t feel like the oldest one there for a change) starting to stretch its way down the road. I’ve not been to the Voodoo Lounge before and was surprised at how small and narrow it was. It was quite a nice bar (5 euros a pint, not bad for Dublin) and a seating area at the back, then a long narrow area to the stage. The stage is very small and there is no rear exit from the stage so all the artists and equipment have to somehow squeeze pass the punters, which seemed a bit of a nightmare for stage crew during change over.
Anyway, onto the bands. Up first were Girlschool who I have seen a few times since the heady days of ‘79. The band were on fire, kicking things off with ‘Demolition’, mixing the old classics, (and with a nod to Dio and Lemmy ) tracks from Legacy and Guilty As Sin. The years just rolled away for me and I felt like a teenager again. Listening to them playing most of their classic songs, ‘Hit And Run’, ‘Yeah Right’, ‘Race With The Devil etc, it’s hard to believe that the girls have been doing this for almost 40 years and they still look like they are enjoying it!
Now I have seen Rose Tattoo before (at Wacken) and thought they were good then, but in a small, tightly packed, sweaty pub they were amazing. This band are meant to be heard live. Starting off with ‘One Of The Boys, they played a good mix of classics such as ‘Rock n Roll Outlaw’, Assault And Battery’, ‘Butcher And Fast Eddie’, ‘Scarred For Life’, ‘Rock And Roll Is King’, and later tracks ‘1845’ and ‘Man About Town’, only pausing for Mr Anderson (swigging from a bottle of Stones Ginger Wine) to preach to the converted in between songs and deal with the odd heckler in the only way he can. By the time they got to ‘Astra Wally’ the crowd and band were sweating like a dingo’s dangly bits. It was hot in there I can tell you. They finished things off with ‘Nice Boys’, and then they were gone and everyone filed out with big grins on their faces, knowing they had seen a special gig.
Rose Tattoo Setlist
One Of The Boys
Juice On The Loose
Man About Town
Assault And Battery
Tramp
Rock n Roll Outlaw
Butcher And Fast Eddie
Once In A Lifetime
Branded
1854
Rock n Roll Is King
Bad Boy For Love
Remedy
Scarred For Life
Astra Wally
We Can’t Be Beaten
Nice Boys
LINKS:
Girlschool:
Rose Tattoo:
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