IS ROCK N ROLL DEAD?

I went to see the fantastic Control on Thursday. The film is a biopic of Joy Divisions Ian Curtis. After seeing the film my curiousity had me revisit the book U2byU2. I was interested in reading about the late 70s and very early 80s, to see if the bands ever crossed parths.
In the book, the Edge claims the young band actually sat in on the recording session when Joy Division recorded 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', as the band were to work with Joy Divisons producer Martin Hannett on their first album Boy. It's interesting stuff. Hannetts involvement with U2 ended once Ian Curtis commited suicide. It's claimed he was too upset to work. The U2 song 'A Day Without Me' from Boy is supposedly a song about suicide and Ian Curtis.
I got the book U2byU2 last year, but never really made an effort to read it. I've been glued to it over the last couple of days. As a big fan of the band there is a tendency to think you've read it all, but the book gives a genuinely fascinating insight.
One of the main thing that stands out to me about U2 started off is the amount of hard work they put in. It has got me thinking.
On Thursday night I went to see The Live In Your Living Room/ Garageband gig in the Sugar Club. We went to see RoySeven in particular, but other good bands Borndays and Vesto Varro were also on the six band roster.
I got a sense that there wass something very diluted about the whole set up. It seems that if you are a band now, its pretty easy to get a gig, and release a CD. Gigs are so plentiful in Dublin especially where there are many nights and venues that just feature a string of bands and performers.
With so much music, so many bands, and record business effectively dead, how will an Irish band realistically expect to make an important impact again.
Reading the U2 book, I wonder are bands actually getting on the road and performing like yesteryear. Apart from the Ruby Sessions, Roisin Dubh, Sunday Roast fair, are bands doing the real graft. The real graft of performing in towns outside Dublin, Cork, Galway etc.
I'm not so sure.
Irish bands will have to make more of an effort if true success is to be achieved. That means thinking outide the box. And that does not mean endless internet promotion, horrific mass texting and boring lifeless performances in predictable venues.

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