Damien Rice @ The Usher Hall

Having recently parted company with long time partner in whine Lisa Hannigan, this gig is Rice's chance to hog all of the glory offered to his two records, once and for all. It was never going to be the most cheery of Saturday evenings and Rice's easy on the ears / heavy on the tears style is unflinching, to his own acknowledgment. There are of course renditions of his "classics," performed reflectively on an appropriately silhouette filled set, below visually stunning lights. Crowd interaction, initially minimal but stepping up gradually, proves at times to be a desired punctuation, although it does lapse into the cringe-inducing. Perhaps the most welcome aspect of the show is the expansion of Rice's sound in the live arena. The added dimension of a quality band puts meat on the bones of some of the more anorexic tracks. Fans are left delighted, skeptics not converted, but perhaps kept at bay by the fuller sound on show tonight. [Finbarr Bermingham]