“Is this the general trend for 2008? Bankable, established stars guaranteed to pull a crowd?”

Cop On Lads, It’s Bob Fuckin Dylan.

Am I missing something here?!14,000 capacity venue? By definition to play the O2 I’d assume you’d have to be bankable and well established, am I wrong!?

Ah sure you’d never know your luck, 6 years ago Dylan gave up playing live guitar to play piano, maybe for this tour he’ll give up the piano and arrive onstage with a few laptops.

Niall, I’d like to know what you’re on about my friend?!

Bob Dylan is the most influential and important figure in the history of popular music, and that all you (representing your magazine/website) had to say about him was he’s just another bankable and established star to play the O2 pissed me off just a bit. I’ve seen the old git 5 times in the last 7 years and when all is said and done they’ll rank as some of the best gigs I’ll ever see.

It should be seen as welcome opportunity for anyone who doesn’t want to see Kaiser Chiefs, Kings Of Leon or Snow Patrol or the countless (other) pop acts that are on at the O2 to experience what (hopefully) will be an amazing venue and the gig of a lifetime.

I could understand you saying it if there was more nights for Chris Brown or Kings of Leon announced but Bob Dylan, this is what the real music fans of Ireland have been waiting to see in the O2.

I have read countless times on blogs over the past few months about bands being announced for the O2 and everytime there is a barrage of people whinging that there are only mainstream bands playing tHe O2 and I just can’t figure out who else these people expect to play there.
The O2 is huge fuckin room, nothin more, nothing less. a promotor is only gonna book a band if they are very sure it’ll be a sell out.
It’s a fact of life that it’s a mainstream venue for mainstrean bands and the majority of gigs will be shit (2 nights of Lionel Richie anyone?)
Bob Dylan won’t.

over and out
Andrew O’Donnell
Newbridge
Co. Kildare

That’s fair enough Niall, Just call Bob Dylan deadly and we’ll call it a truce!! and I sincerly hope all these gigs aren’t at the expense of the small or medium sized acts either.
But unfortunately with the way things are goin with money the majority of people are probably gonna pick the big name they are familiar with over the smaller name they may have seen already that year, as with Bon Iver playing 3 times.
And you can be guaranteed that this will be the trend for as long as the big promoters can get away with it. These lads couln’t care less about nurtuting smaller acts. They’re in the business of making a few bob. The plan for the O2 is that the venue will be open 150 nights a year, so by my estimation thats 2 to 3 new gigs going on sale for there every week, and with the O2 holding 14,000 at ATLEAST 50 euro (156.50 for Tina Turner, 4 nights sold out) a ticket and with most shows selling out really fast it doesn’t take a Trinity student to tell you that’s a lot of money gone out of people’s ticket allowances. Add to that the fact that smaller venues by all accounts are bleeding money, promoters are gonna be looking very closely at their books and are gonna think twice about who they bring in and how long they’ll subsidise the smaller ones with the profits from the big names.
Maybe I’m wrong. I hope I’m wrong. At least the recession can’t harm guerilla gigs!
Maybe a solution to this would be to take a leaf out of the FAI’s book… If Ireland are playing 3 friendly games, one against Brazil, one against Yemen and one against The Ivory Coast obviously the Brazil tickets are gonna sell out in no time and the others are gonna struggle to sell so they only sell tickets in 3 game sets.
Maybe when people buy a couple of Il Divo tickets in the O2 we should make them buy 2 for crawdaddy, and 2 for whelans aswell?!
Problem solved. Maybe Not.

wait what does dylan have to do with bon iver?

we’re talking apples and oranges here, andrew

dylan playing a sold out crowd at the o2 for €60 a ticket won’t prevent you from seeing your indie flavour of the month

heading to the o2 next wednesday to see bob dylan cant wait.. anybody know of any bands backing hm up let me know asap xx