Pilot music festival earns its wings from 3,500 fans
THE Pilot Music Festival at Dublin’s Royal Hospital Kilmainham yesterday was the most confident signal yet that the virus is finally on the retreat.
The sound of rap, pop, folk and rock and roll in the open air was something we might have despaired of ever hearing again, but 3,500 music fans got to do just that.
Sunscreen, shades and multicoloured wellies might have been optional but a negative antigen test, face masks and a willingness to stay in designated pods of six were non-negotiable.
Before entry to the show featuring Gavin James, Sharon Shannon, Denise Chaila, Wild Youth, Lyra and Wyvern Lingo, the allimportant antigen test had to be endured offsite at Collins Barracks.
Clodagh Quinn, a student doctor at UCD, administered mine. Not having had one previously, it did, as the Mater-based trainee physician predicted, feel like someone tickling the base of my brain. If I felt a bit uncomfortable, 15 minutes later my negative test told me I was good to go.
Emma Davis from Bray confessed ‘my eyes are watering a bit’ after hers but she and friends Julia Pinka, Eleanor Lematti and Aisling Meganetty said it was a small sacrifice to get to a proper gig again. ‘My nose feels very clear now!’ Julia told me as they left for the venue, a 20-minute walk away.
‘With the testing, it gave us peace of mind’
Aisling Christian missed going to gigs but was one of the lucky ones who snapped up a ticket within minutes of them going on sale last week. She and her friends Julie McCall, Ciara and Catriona Kenny had driven up from Leixlip in the early afternoon. ‘We wanted to come because, with the testing, it gave us peace of mind,’ Aisling told the Irish Mail on Sunday. ‘It was very efficient and the staff were really nice.’
Tom Giffney of Code Blue told me his company recruited the staff who had the capacity to test 4,000 on the day. It has all ‘just worked so well, without a hitch’, he said. Full Health Medical CEO Paul McCarthy said he and his staff installed ‘the software under the bonnet to make it all work’. ‘We’ve been up here working at this all week,’ he added.
Annmarie O’Gorman said having the negative antigen tests gave her and her friends ‘peace of mind’. She and pals Gillian O’Keefe and Aoife Howard set off on a minibus from Cahir at about nine that morning. ‘We’re looking forward to seeing Wild Youth and The 2 Johnnies. Good Tipperary ones like us,’ Gillian said.
The internet sensations were the comperes for the day. ‘Are ye all having a good time?’ one or other of the Johnnies roared into the greenfield site that can comfortably accommodate 18,000 at what we can now call the old normal gigs. Green Day, Blur and the Forbidden Fruit festival have all rocked the Dublin 8 venue on previous occasions.
Wyvern Lingo had the privilege of opening the show, but had to play in front of small numbers. They brought on Limerick hip-hop star Denise Chaila to rap on one song.
This year’s Choice Music Prize winner returned just before 6pm for her own set, with Wyvern Lingo in tow again as the bars at the venue opened.
Each area’s pods had a bar with pints of Heineken at €6 a pop. If we dipped our toes at the 500 capacity James Vincent McMorrow show in the Iveagh Gardens a few weeks ago, this was like 3,500 babies being lowered in at the shallow end.
Sunshine with intermittent showers and hungry midges descending at dusk made it feel like music is back. But hopefully pods, antigen tests and safety first will be a quaint memory at events such as this before long.