THEATRE OF DREAMS

When The Point Depot opened in Dublin back in the 1980s, it seemed like a step into another dimension. Until then, there hadn’t been a venue designed for, or dedicated to, music in the capital city. For promoters and artists alike, the choice had been simple: it was the RDS or the RDS.

Alright, maybe not that simple: you could do the RDS Main Hall or the Simmonscourt extension, depending on potential ticket sales, the time of year and a plethora of other considerations. But neither was designed for rock’n’roll. And besides availability was always potentially a problem: there was no way you could do a show in the Main Hall, for example, on the weekend of the Ideal Homes Exhibition (whatever happened to that?).
When Harry Crosbie opened The Point in 1988, it was in a different league. True, it was a venue that some people were slow to fall in love with. If a band didn’t spend sufficient time there in advance, or if their crew weren’t up to the task, the sound could be problematic. But it was still a big venue, that enabled most of the major names – not to mention shows – to come to Ireland, and it was developed with music in mind. And if and when the heavens were in harmony, utterly memorable nights ensued. The list of leading lights that played there is almost endless – the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, REM, Prince, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Oasis, Rod Stewart and U2 among dozens of others – and for the most part the good times rolled. The fact that Springsteen recorded his last stint there for posterity on the wonderfully memorable Seeger Sessions tour, subsequently released on DVD, was apt tribute.
The right artist, an Irish audience, and an atmosphere of celebration – on occasion the combination was magical. But times had moved on. After twenty years on the go, the place, everyone was agreed, was in need of a lick of paint and a bit of an upgrade.

When the Live Nation crew, who run the venue, sat down to plan the changes, they gradually became more ambitious. And costly.
“We certainly started off thinking that we’d give it an upgrade,” says Mike Adamson, Live Nation Ireland CEO. “But once we got into planning it, and we began to look at the options, it took on a life of its own.”
Instead of spending a million or a million and a half, they ended up lavishing twenty times that on what became a hugely ambitious project. Rather than tinkering with what was in place, the goalposts moved. They wanted to construct the best venue of its type in Europe, possibly the world.
“We started out with the possibility of including sports elements and all of that,” Adamson says. “But then we asked ourselves why? Music is what we do. And when you bring those other elements into the equation, you have to make all sorts of compromises that work against the music.”
The venue’s general manager, Cormac Rennick, takes up the story.
“We looked at the great venues and the great designs and it kept going back to the same thing. We gradually realised that the Greeks were onto something with their amphitheatres.”
What followed was an extraordinary transformation. Inevitably, as the investment escalated, Live Nation became increasingly focussed on finding a partner, who would – in some shape or form – take up the naming rights. It was something that immediately appealed to O2, who were already involved in the London O2. The negotiations may have been tough – but there was only one likely outcome. When the venue opened it would be called The O2.
“We actually considered keeping the Point name either fully or in part,” Jonny Cahill, O2’s marketing manager explains. “But since the new venue doesn’t bear any resemblance to the old Point, it was decided to give it a new title. The trick is to be respectful to what has happened in the past: we’re very conscious of the fact that the old venue is remembered as a place where a lot of people had a good time – but we’re confident that the future experience will be even better.
“We’re really excited about it. So much thought and planning has gone into making the venue work, both for musicians and for fans. And it has been brilliant seeing it all come together. It really is going to be a special place.”
You might be concerned that this is just PR speak. But I’d already had the word from Peter Aiken, of Aiken Promotions, months previously.
“You’d want to see it,” he had enthused. “I think it’s going to be the best venue in Europe. It’s amazing.”

A hard hat tour organised by O2 confirms that this lofty ambition is indeed within the realms of the attainable. At first glance, it doesn’t look a whole lot different from the outside. The old Point Warehouse is a protected structure, so that much of the old building has been preserved. But the entrance has been shifted to the east wall and it is far more welcoming and dramatic. And everywhere you look, there is an emphasis on quality in the conception and the finish.
As Cormac Rennick leads a troupe of journalists and broadcasters around the site, he elaborates on the design philosophy.
“The original brickwork is beautiful,” he enthuses. “Sometimes all you have to do is strip something back and you highlight its best features. We’ve done that and developed on the themes that are there in the original structure. I think the results speak for themselves. We’re very proud of it.”
Crucially, they have shifted the orientation of the performance area. And they have also gone for tiered seating that runs almost to the roof. As the group of journalists enters the performance space for the first time, there is a chorus of wows. Pillars have been eliminated. The sight-lines are clear from every vantage point. The effect induces a ripple of excitement even as the builders hammer away furiously in the background. You can sense the magic that’s waiting to be unleashed when the Kings Of Leon hit the stage. You can imagine what it will be like when U2 or Madonna grace the arena. “Hello, hello. This is a place called Vertigo!” It’s going to be brilliant.
The audience is always in close proximity to the stage: in stark contrast to the old Point, despite the scale of the venue and the increase in capacity to 14,500, there’s a real feeling of intimacy and warmth.
What’s more, it is purpose built as a flexible structure that will allow for any number of different configurations. The front seating, for example, is built on structures that allow it to be rolled back and folded up, out of the way, to create standing room.
“You only need four men to move all of that,” Cormac Rennick says. And then he smiles mischievously and adds: “Hopefully.”
There’s a huge bay area for trucks to get gear in and out. The extent of humping and lumping has been reduced almost to nothing, offering a level of efficiency and economy that will be hugely appreciated by road crews. Similarly, the artist dressing rooms have been designed as chill-out areas.
“We want them to feel that they can come down early and hang out here in real comfort,” Cormac Rennick continues. The rooms are spacious. The catering facilities are impressive. It looks as good behind the scenes as it does out front.
“We think that once the word goes out everyone is going to want to play the venue,” avers Jonny Cahill.
Which they will. But the same level of detail has been lavished on the ancillary facilities. The bars are well appointed. The access is carefully planned. That old feeling of walking into a big, well, barn-like structure is gone. This is a state of the art modern venue.
All it needs is great music to fill it.
And with a bit of luck audiences will want to come from all over Europe to revel in the experience. It may have cost an arm and a leg, but Live Nation and O2 are almost certainly onto a winner.
“We know that Irish people are passionate about music,” Jonny Cahill concludes. “But while nothing is completely recession proof, the experience of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when things were arguably worse economically, is that people still flocked to concerts in large numbers. We’re confident that they’ll do that and that the O2 will be a huge success.”
Let the party begin...