Christy highlight of post modern Lisdoon

ANYONE for the last of the summer outdoor rock concerts, now?

Around 24,000 people turned out in Dublin on Saturday for a trip down memory lane to capture the heady days of the fabled Lisdoonvarna.

Twenty years on from the last time Ireland's equivalent of Woodstock was staged, Lisdoonvarna 2003 was relocated to the more plush surroundings of the RDS in Ballsbridge.

However, the move was less a result of the desire of fans for creature comforts that the decision of Clare Co Council to add rock concerts to its list of undesirables in the Banner.

Any fans who remembered "Lisdoon" during the 70s and 80s were certain the concerts of the past never involved such chaotic queuing.

Sadly, one of the more noticeable features of Saturday was how irate concert-goers were forced to wait in badly organised lines that stretched the whole length of the paddock area of the RDS for food and drinks.

At around 8.30pm, several hundred people who had waited patiently in queues for over 30 minutes were told by security officials that the tent serving alcohol was closed.

The lengthy queues, which also restricted many fans from accessing the innovative comedy stage featuring Après Match star Barry Murphy and others, cast a sour note on an otherwise pleasant and good-humoured celebration of Irish music.

The famed Kilfenora Ceili Band, opening proceedings, provided more than a token nod to Lisdoonvarna 2003's geographical roots.

Other acts like Mundy, David Kitt and The Frames all confirmed their reputation as energetic live performers. However, the more intimate, under-canvas setting of Stage II provided some of the best highlights of the day, such as the ever towering performance by Dublin singer-songwriter, Damien Dempsey who was joined on stage by Sinead O'Connor.

Other artists like Mark Geary and Josh Ritter, the lone foreign interloper in an all-Irish cast, added to the feelgood factor by eschewing the VIP area and mixing freely with their fans.

Christy Moore, as headline act, was the constant thread linking the original Lisdoon with its post-modern version. Understandably, the loudest cheer was saved for the rendition of Lisdoonvarna, even if the great man inadvertently repeated one verse.

As for the possibility of Lisdoonvarna 2004, perhaps we could all, as the song suggests, jet off to Frijiliana so long as there are no queues.