“Ladies and Gentlemen, for the second time in 27 years, please welcome the biggest band in Rock ‘n’ Roll… The Boomtown Rats”…
And with that, Sir Bob and Co. were welcomed home by a sold out Vicar Street for the second night in a row.
Owning the stage in a flamboyant, snakeskin suit, frontman and Irish legend, Bob Geldof ran the stage like he was back in 1975. Erupting straight into ‘Eva Braun’, quickly followed and topped by the upbeat, well-received ‘Like Clockwork’, The Rats had a packed Vicar Street alive and screaming lyrics back at them.
Beneath the evident 62 year old body, remained a similar fire and performance ethic that was lighting under 30 years ago. Following a lighthearted story about his suit, which “came back to haunt him after 25 years”, the band moved on to play the energetic ‘She’s Gonna Do You In’ with Geldof himself excelling his passion on the mouth organ.
Showcasing clear experience as a band, the six (four original, two new additions) expressed comfort in their stage presence and interaction. As Bob went on to explain the comeback of the band, he admitted “we could have written these songs yesterday, ’cause nothing has changed”- yes, nothing, including the same atrocious, yet infectious dance moves.
One of the stand-out tracks of the night was, without a doubt, ‘Someone’s Looking At You’, which was elegantly/borderline cheesily led into by Bob urging the crowd to take out their phones and cameras while the band prepared to have their photo taken by almost 2,000 people. Pouring every ounce of energy into each performance laid upon that stage, it’s no wonder Bob refuses to hang up his Rock ‘n’ Roll hat just yet.
When it was time for ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’- the absolute Rats’ classic- the entire venue re-lit a spark and moved along to what was sang note perfect. The fact that it was played a little too early-on in the set list can be forgiven, only for the pure strength and intricacy that was pressed on the song from beginning to end.
Wrapping up the night with ‘Rat Trap’ as a “finish”, the band brought a sax player on stage to join Bob, Simon, Pete and Garry, along with the two newbies. As if anyone believed they would leave it there, back they came for ‘Never Bite The Hand That Feeds’ and ‘Diamond Smiles’, which impressively still encaptured the same mass of energy which was present in the very first song.
Doubting that the fans had had enough excitement, they once again reappeared wanting even more, with a second encore, to really conclude their comeback with one mighty bang. Throwing themselves into what can only be described as a chanting, almost heavy cheerleading-like anthem, creatively entitled ‘The Boomtown Rats’, the show ended here. Show, singular- there will be more.
Quite clearly demonstrated on the Vicar Street stage, and according to the man, Bob Geldof himself- “The Boomtown Rats are back in town”
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