It has been almost eight years since the first – and only – time Guess List has seen U2 live. Then it was September 1, 2001 and an unprecedented second sell out night at Slane Castle. In a little over nine months time Fianna Fail would come within a handful of seats of winning an overall majority in a General Election which would act as a barometer of their Tiger-era popularity.

The Elevation tour, off the back of All That You Can’t Leave Behind, had come to the end of its European leg in the band’s native country, and between the two Saturday gigs the lead singer buried his father, leading to speculation as to whether the show would go on. A 68th-minute Jason McAteer goal against Holland, witnessed by the 80,000-strong crowd on the big screen, had virtually guaranteed Ireland’s place in the 2002 World Cup. As cliched as it sounds, there genuinely was a sense of magic in the air. Tickets were gold-dust and the atmosphere was just right for a special night, just over a week before the world changed forever.

Now, the conditions that surrounded U2′s homecoming for their 360° tour couldn’t have been more different. Since then the success of All That You Can’t Leave Behind increasingly seems to be a brilliant fluke rather than a genuine return to form, as confirmed by the so-so How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb and the sub-par No Line On The Horizon (read our thoughts here). Cynicism surrounding U2 in recession-era Ireland is unrelenting; the Dublin four piece are probably the only stadium act in the world to release €30 tickets for their shows in an economic downturn and have their motives questioned, rather than have the gesture applauded. The pre-Croke Park show buzz doesn’t centre on the speculated set-list but goes over unsold tickets, unhappy local residents, frictions within the group and the band’s tax arrangements. The knives are well and truly out.

It’s impossible to review U2′s 360° tour without mentioning the bloody great big elephant in the room; the claw. With its antenna poking above the height of the stadium’s stands the ambitious stage set up is a sight to behold. Imposing certainly, the the practicality of the monstrosity also works wonders in the lighting and sound; the acoustics coming from the speakers within the stage are pitch perfect and allay the fears of those who witnessed the reported sound problems that dogged the Vertigo tour in the same venue four years ago.

Coming on stage to Bowie’s Space Oddity, U2 pay lip service to the new album by opening up with four tracks from No Line On The Horizon. Opener Breathe sounds better live than on record, and the title track of the album is a solid track that warms up the crowd before even the die-hards only nod obligingly to the woeful Get On Your Boots – the performance was fine, it’s just the worst single the band have ever released. The best track on NLOTH Magnificent really sets the tone for the rest of the night, with The Edge’s wailing solos wildly received before Beautiful Day rips the lid off and crowd jumper Elevation follows. From here U2 are well and truly out of the traps.

The now standard ‘we can do it without the bells and whistles’ section of the set comes in after Elevation, with a stomping acoustic version of Desire riling the crowd and a beautiful, stripped back Stuck In A Moment a real high point. Bono works the crowd as always through each number, but keeps the gushing crowd interaction to a minimum. That said, about 80,000 people cringe when Bono says that ‘in the words of our good friends The Corrs, we are so young now.’ More lip service is paid in his platitudes for the ‘great’ local residents and one ecstatic fan at the barrier has her phone borrowed while he talks to the boyfriend or brother on the other end of the line. A rousing singsong of The Auld Triangle echoes around Croke Park in honour of Ronny Drew before the crowd check their watches as One, usually a closer, is played half way through the set.

Another pleasant surprise comes in the form of the brilliant Until The End Of The World from Achtung Baby, and The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights and Vertigo up the ante, with the nightfall bringing the best out of the dazzling visuals. Guess List is left scratching his head for a minute trying to recognise what song from Pop or Zooropa is played next before realising that it’s a ‘remixed’ version of new single I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight. While the experimental effort is admirable, even fun at the start, the novelty soon wears off and it goes on at least a minute too long.

From then on it’s the big hitters. A brilliant Sunday, Bloody Sunday is suitably followed up by Pride (In The Name Of Love) before MLK and Walk On warm up a spine-tingling Where The Streets Have No Name and a glorious merged version of Bad and 40 that leaves the crowd singing as the band leave the stage for their brief pre-encore break.

Ultra Violet (Light My Way) kicks off the encore, with Bono following a swinging circular mike that looks like a periscope and hangs, boxing announcer style, from the  claw above. The dry ice is put into overdrive to provide contrast for the dozens of pin point lazers that emanate from the seams of the lead singer’s jacket – the sort of U2 showmanship that cynics deride but is spectacular when witnessed first hand. With Or Without You predicably has hands thrust in the air as all in attendance match Bono’s howls. The finale is the ultimate sign of U2′s infectiousness live; Moment Of Surrender from NLOTH is belted out and supersedes the recorded version, engrossing all in attendance (even those of us who aren’t exactly enamoured by the song.)

Complexions, accents and even football jerseys from around the world spill out of Croker after the first night of what is a mini-industry for Dublin over the four days U2 are in town. Only the most begrudging critic would deny that the 360° tour is anything less than spectacular, and a timely reminder that as a band U2 are still capable of enthralling an audience better than most. In a culture where ‘stadium rock’ is a dirty word, double-speak for soul-less commercialism, U2 dust off the term and wear it as a badge of honour. It’s a shot in the arm to anyone who has been disappointed with their recent output and restores at least some of the faith in the group. It is a faith that will, based on the last two albums, be severely tested on the next LP.

Hope goes against this expectation however, but regardless of this live triumph, the knives will be out again.

Edit this setlist | More U2 setlists

Pictures are courtesy of www.u2gigs.com, where you can find setlists, pictures and videos from all the shows from the current tour.

Ronan over on Swear I’m Not Paul is hosting links to many U2 live bootlegs from down the years.

The full schedule for next weekend’s Indiependence Festival is now online – check the festival’s webpage for the full line up.

Now onto this week’s competition and this week’s question!

Which beer brand sponsors Indiependence?

Competition is now closed.

To win one of the two pairs of weekend camping tickets up for grabs this week email theguesslist[at]gmail[dot]com with ‘Indiependence Giveaway #4‘ (please note the number) as the subject line and be sure to include your answer, name and address.

This week’s competition closes at 9m tomorrow, Saturday July 25 and two winners will be drawn at random from all correct entries. The Competition is open to over-18’s only, judges’ decision is final and winners will be notified by email. Good luck!

Good news for organisers and punters alike – Indiependence has secured an on-location campsite for the duration of the festival this August bank holiday weekend.

This week the festival organisers announced that they will not charge any extra for the campsite. Anyone with a €59 weekend ticket purchased from ticketmaster, even where these tickets state “weekend non-camping” will be given access to the campsite. The site is adjacent to the festival arena and car parking facilities are less than 5 minutes walk away.

All €59 weekend tickets purchased from ticketmaster will allow access to the campsite. Any festival goers who bought €39 day or special offer early bird tickets will be able to access the campsite by paying a supplement on arrival at the site.

Now onto this week’s competition and this week’s question!

Which Indiependence headliners recently released the album ‘Dark Days/Light Years’?

Competition is now closed.

To win one of the two pairs of tickets up for grabs this week email theguesslist[at]gmail[dot]com with ‘Indiependence Giveaway 3‘ (please note the number) as the subject line and be sure to include your answer, name and address.

This week’s competition closes at 9am next Thursday, July 23 and two winners will be drawn at random from all correct entries. The Competition is open to over-18’s only, judges’ decision is final and winners will be notified by email. Good luck!

And remember, we still have 2 pairs of tickets to giveaway to followers of @guesslist on twitter. Watch out for your cue to win – we will give the first cue to win at some stage over the next 7 days…

First and foremost congratulations to our first week’s winners Joe and Fiona!

We’re giving away another two pairs of tickets this week, details are below.

As Indiependence does not have an official festival campsite itself, a number of private groups have stepped up to offer accommodation for punters over the August Bank Holiday Weekend.

TO Park is a privately run new camp site that will accommodate 300 festival goers over the August bank holiday weekend. The site encompasses some proper flushing toilets, breakfasts in the mornings and a free shuttle bus daily and at night to and from the festival site located just 4 miles away. The cost of weekend camping at TO Park is €20 per person with your festival ticket.

To book your camping place at TO Park, just contact Ballyhoura Development on O63 913OO or e-mail your details to info[at]ballyhoura[dot]org. All you need is the number on the back of your festival ticket and your credit card or laser details, your credit card and laser will just be used to hold your spot as you will pay on arrival at TO Park. The site will open at 6pm on Friday July 31st and close at 6pm on Monday August 3rd.

Meanwhile, the four star Charleville Park Hotel is located just 30 minutes from the Indiependance festival site and they are offering a special festival offer for the weekend. For just €90 per person sharing, you will get two nights Bed & Breakfast with access to the leisure centre and spa facilities. The hotel will also be providing a free bus service daily to and from the festival. Contact Charleville Park Hotel on O63 816OO for details or log onto charlevilleparkhotel.com – please quote your festival ticket number when booking.

Now onto this week’s competition and this week’s question!

“Which famous Cork venue has a stage named in its honour at Indiependence?”

To win one of the two pairs of tickets up for grabs this week email theguesslist[at]gmail[dot]com with ‘Indiependence Giveaway 2‘ (please note the number) as the subject line and be sure to include your answer, name and address.

This week’s competition closes at 9am next Thursday, July 16 and two winners will be drawn at random from all correct entries. The Competition is open to over-18’s only, judges’ decision is final and winners will be notified by email. Good luck!

And remember, we still have 2 pairs of tickets to giveaway to followers of @guesslist on twitter. Watch out for your cue to win…

* Competition is now closed and winners have being notified. Thanks to all our entrants! *

Summer’s well and truly here and that, of course means music festivals. While a plethora of events will be vying for you attention this year, few can claim to have as much bang for your buck as the Indiependence Festival taking place over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

From its humble origins as a free open air town event to an award winning showcase for the very best in emerging Irish talent, 2009 sees Indiependence take to a new green field site on the outskirts of Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, complete with three stages, the Bavaria Stage, the Cyprus Avenue Arena  and The Red Bull Village all packed to the brim with must-see acts including Super Furry Animals, Ocean Colour Scene, Fight Like Apes, Delorentos, The Blizzards, RSAG, Fred, The Frank & Walters, Villagers and many many more.

Mitchelstown will be the epicenter of a party on the August weekend, with all bars in the town granted a bar extension to keep the festivities rolling into the small hours.

The ethos of the festival has always been to promote good music and provide value for money for the punter. With this in mind two-day weekend tickets for Indiependence cost just €59, while day passes cost €39.

With thanks to Shane and the gang at Indiependence, Guesslist has 10 pairs of weekend tickets to give away between now and July 24. Starting today we will have weekly giveaways every Friday on the blog to win one of two pairs of tickets. Meanwhile, over on our twitter account (@guesslist) we will invite Twitter followers to stake their claim to one of two pairs sometime over the next four weeks.

To get things rolling here’s this week’s easy question:

In what town is Indiependence held every year?

To win one of the two pairs of tickets up for grabs this week email theguesslist@gmail.com with ‘Indiependence Giveaway‘ as the subject line and be sure to include your answer, name and address. This week’s competition closes at 9am next Thursday, July 9 and two winners will be drawn at random from all correct entries. The Competition is open to over-18′s only, judges’ decision is final and winners will be notified by email. Good luck!

More information on indiependencefestival.com | Event page on last.fm

A while back a piece in the Irish Independent revealed that music artists visiting this country on tour do not pay a tax on their income similar to other countries. This in turn led to speculation as to whether or not such a tax could have a positive impact on gig prices. (i.e. If an artist has to pay a certain percentage of their cut, they may be inclined to keep the fee lower, to ensure the ticket cost stays competitive – any high earnings they would recoup would be lost to the Government anyway so high prices would not be worth it.)

Anyway, I took the matter up with Sean Sherlock, one of my local TDs and he in turn has put the question to Minster for Finance, Brian Lenihan. Here’s the text.

DÁIL QUESTION

NO. 93

To ask the Minister for Finance if he plans to implement a double taxation treaty to allow for the taxing of visiting rock bands and performers in view of the fact that they are levied in every other country in the world and revenue is being lost as a result of the failure to implement this tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

- Seán Sherlock.

*    For WRITTEN answer on Thursday, 23rd April, 2009.

Ref No: 15967/09

REPLY

Minister for Finance ( Mr Lenihan) :

The question of introducing a withholding tax regime on income earned in Ireland by foreign artists was examined in the late 1980’s/ early 1990’s by my Department and the Revenue Commissioners. However, because of the small prospective yield at the time, the capacity of such a regime to discourage artists visiting Ireland and the administrative burden associated with collecting a relatively small yield, it was decided not to proceed. I have asked that the matter be reviewed given developments since the last review.

I understand that while many countries have arrangements for the taxation of foreign artists it is not universal. For example I am informed that Denmark and the Netherlands do not have such arrangements.

Along with that, here’s some info on the tax situation in the UK.

When Irish bands and performers play in the UK they are taxed by the UK Inland Revenue on their fees under Article 16 of the Ireland/UK Double Taxation Treaty 1976.
They can pay up to 25pc of their fees in the UK and under the treaty some of the tax may be repayable by the Irish Revenue, which means that Ireland loses and the UK benefits.
But because Ireland has not implemented the relevant legislation, foreign performers do not pay similar taxes here — and this can mean a double loss for the Irish exchequer.

Sean Sherlock’s take on the matter can be read here. So if we are to believe that up to a quarter of artist income from a gig in the UK goes on tax is it any wonder we pay higher prices here? The artists are only too happy to charge more here, as they know they’ll get all of it, compared to the UK where there is no point in putting the costs higher, as only the UK Exchequer would reap the reward and the ticket price would be pushed to an uncompetitive level.
While Mr Sherlock will, naturally, look at the bigger picture of revenue lost to the Government, is it not time for consumer watchdogs to look at how this can hit our pockets?

Top Irish bands cannot understand why they pay taxes when touring abroad but the Government does not levy taxes on international artists when they appear in Ireland. U2 Paul McGuinness said the retention tax was levied on touring artists in every other country and Louis Walsh manager of Boyzone and Westlife believes it has cost the Exchequer “hundreds of millions”. A spokesman for the Irish Department of Finance admitted last night they had not implemented a double taxation treaty on visiting artists that became law 33 years ago.

If this is the case why do we continue to pay exorbitant costs compared to countries who implement these tax charges?

Lets compare like with like. Tickets for Leonard Cohen’s concerts in The O2 this July go on sale next Tuesday morning, the cheapest tickets start at €90. Those shows take place on July 19 & 20. Less than a week beforehand he plays Liverpool’s Echo Arena. According to Ticketmaster, prices there start at £55, or €60.70 according to xe.com as of today, Friday April 3.

Bob Dylan’s worth a look too. He plays The O2 on May 6, tickets start at the general admission price of €49.80, but for London’s O2 they start at £37.50, or €41. Now, there is not that much of a price difference in this instance but yet again the crux of Sam Smyth’s piece must be remembered:

The Department of Finance have NOT been claiming the retention tax for visiting artists. Despite this, our concert ticket prices remain amongst the highest in Europe.

Which shifts the question to promoters who have cited high running costs in the past for the increased prices for Irish punters. Unfortunately the print media in this country, already suffering from the loss of revenue from ads for property, may not be willing to put that question to the companies who fill their entertainment supplements with ads and dish press passes to their reporters.

The natural progression from this revelation in the Indo is why exactly we pay more to see acts who are charged additional fees to appear in other countries? Unfortunatley there may not be anyone loud or influential enough who are willing to ask the questions.

Some of my favourite music of the year so far – a nice mellow(ish) collection of tunes. Hope you enjoy ‘em!

01 The Cloud Room – Melody, Like Snow (Dancing Around The Christmas Tree In New York)
02 Nina Hynes – Twinkle (Fixing Fairy Lights In Berlin)
03 Kill Krinkle Club – Songs Of Noel (Playing Twister In Dublin)
04 Bill Baird – Christmas In Jail (Throwing Snowballs In Austin)
05 Idaho – Santa Claus Is Weird (Leaving Cookies Out In Los Angeles)
06 Venice Is Sinking – The Grey Line (Putting Up Decorations In Athens, Georgia)
07 Normandy – Merry Christmas, Blogosphere! (Ice Skating In New York)
08 The Very Most – This Year, Christmas Came November 4th (Playing Santa In Boise)
09 Remington Super 60 – Here Comes Christmas (Wrapping Presents In Fredrikstad)
10 Jape & David Kitt – I Will Cry This Christmas (Sobering Granny Up In Dublin)
11 The Specimen – Wish It Would Snow (Listening To The Bells In Brooklyn)
12 Nonstop Everything – There Is No Santa, Little Boy (Pulling Crackers In Pittsburgh)
13 My Teenage Stride – Is It Christmastime Already? (Hanging Mistletoe In Brooklyn)
14 Dora Flood – Coastal Winter (Carving Turkey In San Francisco)
15 Loxsly – Santa Got The Spins (Feeling Stuffed In Austin)
16 Track A Tiger – Once In The Wine (Singing Carols In Chicago)
17 The Winks – Action Figures (Stoking The Yule Log In Montreal)

According to Jim the prize, won last year by Super Extra Bonus Party, will be awarded on March 4 at a live show in Vicar St. The shortlist of 10 albums will be announced on Wednesday January 14.

Poll after the jump.

[poll id="3"]

Your thoughts? No doubt we’ve forgotten someone!