Damien Rice @ The Usher Hall
Easy on the ears, heavy on the tears.
| 11 May 2007
Sometimes impartiality is difficult to come by. Sometimes it's too easy to get caught up in a genuine atmosphere of reverence generated by zealous devotees of a performer, thus unquestionably tainting any opinion formed. But, alas, every coin has two sides. Tonight in the Usher Hall the sentiment is turned on its head with the emotions of the fans expressed in bursts of mistimed handclapping and sporadic yelps of "Go on Damo!" or "Giz the classics!" A tough request to digest indeed, given Rice's none too prolific back catalogue. In such fan club-esque surroundings it is hard to judge a performer by, well, his performance, which incidentally, proves to be rather good.
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, is at times 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 delighted, skeptics not quite converted, but perhaps kept at bay by the fuller sound on show. [Finbarr Bermingham]
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, is at times 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 delighted, skeptics not quite converted, but perhaps kept at bay by the fuller sound on show. [Finbarr Bermingham]