No Rock And Roll Fun

THE PLACES YOU GET SPACES: Another email, from Aaron Scullion, suggests that the nme's report of empty spaces at radiohead's belfast dates might not be quite as unusual as the paper would have us believe:
As someone who was brought up just outside Belfast, the stuff in the NME about Radiohead not selling out Belfast made me smile. Big gigs by big alternative bands never, ever, sell out in Belfast.

Not sure why, as the alternative community, if small, is quite excitable, and Belfast has many more cool alt club nights and venues than comparable cities have, but just doesn't go for big gigs. Indeed, when Blur did their 'greatest hits' tour a couple of years ago, long after the mainland gigs sold out, I remember being able to buy tickets at the box office just a couple of days before the show.

Plus, the Waterfront Hall, where Radiohead played, is a terrible, terrible venue for gigs, and everyone in Belfast interested in good alternative music knows it.

Anyway, point is, it wasn't Radiohead's fault. And, as I had tickets for the Shepherd's Bush show on Sunday (which was absolutely fantastic), I can tell you, the touts were out in abundance.

On the other hand, maybe it was Radiohead's fault - the Waterfront Hall is a pretty big venue by Belfast standards. Had they played a smaller venue, like the Limelight or the Belfast Empire, then they would have been playing a small show. As it was, they were playing the equivalent of an arena gig.
Must stop rambling..