Downtown Dublin, Ireland(Click photo to enlarge)
On this day, Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts' are scheduled to play Malahaide Castle with Van Morrison opening. And the thrashers were all in.
First up, meeting our hosts of the day Mary and Dave Fallon for lunch at the appropriately named O'Neills Pub. Then off to some quick local Dublin sight seeing.
O'Neills Pub - Dublin, Ireland
w/ Mary and Dave Fallon
Main Post Office Building
Down by the River (Liffey River)
Spire of Dublin
(or the stiletto in the ghetto, the pin in the bin, the stiffy by the Liffey, the spire in the mire, or just the spike)
In one of the many synchronicities on our Irish adventures, while on the train to the concert, we managed to be sitting across from a guy wearing a 2013 Neil Young and Crazy Horse shirt. After exchanging greetings and pleasantries on the upcoming day, our new friend mentions that his buddy Gavin was featured on Thrasher's Wheat back in 2009.
Gavin's Family and Papa Joe - 2009
[editor: one the prime drivers of why this post has taken us so long to get completed was trying to re-connect on this subject. Gavin: Not sure if you made the Dublin concert but hopefully our message got passed along.]
Malahaide Castle
w/ Finland Friends
As the day waned and rain began to drizzle, Van Morrison arrived on stage with a full band, horn section and backup singers.
Van Morrison and his band played a mix of classics like "Into The Mystic" and a range of back catalog and newer songs.
Van was apparently in a pretty good for the day even smiling and cracking a joke while introducing the band. The set completed with an extended "Gloria" allowing everyone in the band a chance to solo and jam -- after Van left the stage.
After Van Morrison's set, the anticipation and wait for Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts begins to build. Likewise, the rain begins to get steady and pickup.
And Neil opens with "Be The Rain" -- appropriately so -- while dispensing with the what had been a standard concert opening acoustic number like "Sugar Mountain."
Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts
Neil & Chrome Hearts: Corey McCormick (bass) & Anthony LoGerfo (drums)
Micah Nelson
"Old Man"
In conclusion -- and our tour lesson - while we minimized our photo taking we somehow missed getting a shot during "Hurricane" of Micah going nuts on the flying keyboard while the rain drops flew. We missed shots of the big "Rockin' In The Free World" encore. And we entirely missed a shot with Neil's face recognizably visible under his hat.
But the lesson is that we were busy enjoying ourselves, the band, friends and the Dublin rain. And as it should be.
So the trouble on the long delay is that while we set out to bring back our Dublin Memories of Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts to our Thrasher's Wheat audience, we failed. We failed our readers because we focused on being present and in the moment. Not snapping away, taking notes and just about anything else distracting from the live, concert experience.
Why do we keep f*!#in' up?! Obviously, because it feels so good ...
love earth 2025 WORLD tour neil young and the chrome hearts
Labels: #KORITFW, band, chrome hearts, concert, fans, neil young, photos, presale, reviews, setlist, tickets, tour, videos
8 Comments:
First of all, and most importantly; being present and enjoying the actual experience is paramount to taking pictures. I feel that we have all spent way too much time snapping photos or shooting videos while at concerts. So…….. the fact that you missed certain moments is fantastic. As George Harrison once wrote “be here now”.
Second; it looks like you both had a wonderful trip, and I’m sure I speak for many here………..that’s all that matters!!
Thanks for sharing your experience with us………and keep living life in the present moment. It’s the only time that truly exists.
Peace🙏
Thanks Thrasher! Thanks Dan!
Great photos of the location and curiosities! I love the various names for the spike! Hahaha!
Ya, like Dan said, better to live in the moment. Challenging for me sometimes!
I might have pissed off old Neil with as many pics as I took back during Coastal White River Amp. I am elated to believe that I will catch 2 or 3 dates of the Love Earth tour.
Anyone got an extra ticket to Woodinville WA 9/4 (new date, no longer 9/5)?
Working OT to fund the lifestyle, as many of us do! I hope to scoop a cheap seat. But at Woodinville, There ain’t a cheap seat in the house this time.
Your Brother Alan in Seattle
You got to see Neil and you enjoyed yourselves. We got by in the meantime. Thanks for doing what you do, and we're always happy to hear from you.
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Malahide was superb, Hyde Park was extraordinary. So glad I made the effort to go solo to both these gigs, though as we all know, you are never solo at a NY gig. Hopefully roll on Euro tour 2026.
Thanks for the feedback everyone.
yeah, we were a bit harsh on ourselves on this review. But as Dan, Alan & others suggest, really no regrets.
When Dangerbird keyboard came floating down from the skies, almost on cue, the skies opened up as Hurricane cranked up.
Really, from that point on, we just tried to keep the rain from running down our neck while swaying to Hurricane. We've often mentioned that there's not too much that transports us fully into another space.
Somehow, the pouring rain, The Hearts and The Dubliners made it happen for us. In fact, hardly anyone budged once the rains came. If anything, it seemed to have inspired many to be in the spirit of Irish dampness and Neil's "Rain songs".
Truly, a magical evening with the Castle, the crowd singing along to Old Man and Harvest Moon, and the appropriate weather.
See you on Leg#2!
Thank you for sharing these great moments with us!
Nice update and photos - glad you enjoyed it and got to see Van too.
Shame about the rain - hope it didn't spoil the Guinness.
Talking about Danger Bird, have you checked out the live solo piano version on NYA yet? Worth a listen.
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