“I fucking hate playing in Dublin,” Geldof joked at the start of this marathon show, which saw the city’s best-known ex-pat re-visit his entire career. “It’s fucking scary, my past is sitting out there in front of me.”
With an emphasis on Boomtown Rats classics, thanks to the newly-issued Greatest Hits collection, this was as much a celebration of the legacy of the often ignored Dublin legends as a solo show from the erstwhile King Rat. But, ever the joker, Geldof warned the audience not to call for any Rats songs until later in the show: “I’m not ready to become a human jukebox just yet,” he laughed.
Opening with the crowd pleasing ‘Great Song Of Indifference’, this was clearly a more energised and rejuvenated Geldof than the one who played here a year or so ago, and he seemed to relish the opportunity to showcase his live chops. Even songs from his recent solo album Sex Age & Death – not the easiest of listens – worked well, with ‘Pale White Girls’ and ‘One For Me’ being among the standouts (his superb band – including former Rat Pete Briquette – providing the perfect backdrop).
But inevitably it was Geldof’s back catalogue that drew the most response from the capacity crowd. And what a great little band the Rats were: ‘Rat Trap’ and ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ might have been the biggest hits, but great singles such as ‘There’s Always Someone Looking At You’, ‘Like Clockwork’ and ‘Diamond Smiles’ showcased Geldof’s late ’70s purple patch. He talked about working in the meat factory in Ballsbridge – the inspiration for ‘Joey’s On The Street Again’ – while he wondered aloud if the subject of ‘Mary of The Fourth Form’ who “works for Bertie” was in the audience (giggles from one section of the crowd suggested she just might’ve been).
Following a long introduction in which Geldof castigated the Irish state for its past sins, he concluded with the brilliant ‘Banana Republic’, leaving the audience more than satisfied. Brilliant!