From Mickies to Ibiza via One Amazing Venue
IN what was a music event like none other Limerick has ever seen, the Arthur’s Day celebrations last Thursday brought big international and Irish acts to play live at The Big Top in The Milk Market. The Big Top served as the main studio venue for some of the biggest acts to take part in the Guinness celebrations nationwide.
The Feeling, Sharon Shannon, Royseven, Calvin Harris, and Fight Like Apes all played the Big Top with local act Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters also guesting as regional winners of the Guinness sponsored ‘Play on the Day’ band competition.
A handful of bars in the city which were also ticketed venues last Thursday hosted special performances by the big name acts. The small but perfectly formed Mickie Martin’s bar was one of those venues. It was here that 40 lucky punters got to witness one of the world’s biggest DJs, Calvin Harris amble through the door to play a DJ set that included some of his biggest hits. Harris, who has had huge chart success and production credits since ‘Acceptable in the 80s’ was released in 2007, looked gingerly around what was possibly the smallest venue he has played in years, saying, “I hope you like dance music in here”, before launching into his recent hit ‘Bounce’.
Within minutes he got his answer as the bar erupted to tunes such as ‘You are Not Alone’ Sidney Samson’s ‘Riverside’ mashed with Cee-Lo Green’s F*ck You and finishing with ‘Feel so Close’. Afterwards it was onto The Big Top where Calvin Harris played a storming set before getting on a private plane to headline the Cream closing party in Ibiza’s mega-club Amnesia a few hours later.
In Flannery’s Bar, promising Dublin band Maud in Cahoots raised a glass to Arthur with their folk-tinged, hard-edged dance-pop before special guest Sharon Shannon took the stage. In Dolan’s Warehouse and Nancy Blakes, Little Green Cars impressed with great harmonies and well defined material. The current release ‘Down to The River’ being a case in point. Watch this band!
On Wednesday at the Big Top, Villagers played their last Irish gig for, “a long time” according to Conor J O’Brien as he prepares the follow up album to the Mercury nominated ‘Becoming a Jackal’. Throughout the show, O’Brien and band played every note, re-created every subtly and brought the music of Villagers to new levels. An astounding performance to sign off on two years of touring in support of ‘Becoming a Jackal’.
On Friday evening, The Stunning packed the Big Top for the perfect event to wind down the few days’ proceedings. The Galway band played all the hits and covered Lovin’ Spoonful’s ‘Summer in the City’.
No doubt the unique ‘Big Top’ city centre venue was instrumental in getting these big shows to Limerick over the last week and promoter Mick Dolan agrees, “It was a huge week for Limerick, this is the first time we have ran shows in the Big Top for consecutive nights. It was great to see the city buzzing with an atmosphere we don’t see often enough.”
The Big Top venue is now firmly established as a premium venue for visiting acts. With the quality food on offer and the boutique craft and clothes shops open for business throughout the performances, one visitor to the city put it best when he was overheard commenting, “it’s like someone plucked one of the tents from Electric Picnic and dropped it in the middle of Limerick City, it’s an amazing venue.”
