Sipping on the crispest cider we’ve ever had, Connected joined an almost empty venue in the Olympia just as the warm up act took to the stage.
Support came from the sharply dressed Dublin outfit The Chakras, who showcased some raspy indie lifted from their forthcoming album. It was received well enough to pull the masses out of the bar and in front of the stage. Result. Throughout the set, the theatrical front man gained confidence as the band finished up with their album title track ‘Build me a Swan’.
After a quick stage shuffle, the lights dimmed and the crowd started chanting in anticipation. Iannoooo! Ianonooo! Iannooo! Iannooo! After a short while, swaggering on stage in shades came the aforementioned Iannooo who promptly launched into ‘Love Like a Fountain’. Mayhem.
Sparring and shaking his tambourine, using every inch of the stage, Brown charmed the crowd up with favourites ‘All Ablaze’, ‘Longsight M13’ and ‘Keep What You Got’. Although Brown is often criticised for the ‘weakness’ of his vocals, he is undoubtedly a first class performer and his live band are tight and versatile. After easing us in with the favourites, Brown and band then worked through tracks from his sixth solo album. ‘Stellify’, ‘Just Like You’ and ‘Own Brain’ made appearances, accompanied by himself on harmonica.
Audience banter was short and sweet, but he did say (to a predominantly male crowd) that the best thing about Dublin was the ladies. Before quickly adding the men aren’t bad either. Good save.
It was back to the classics as Brown broke into ‘Sister Rose’, although accompanying strings were courtesy of a laptop, which wasn’t ideal. A bongo solo followed by the mysterious and moustachioed man in the turban, before ‘Marathon Man’ and of course, ‘F.E.A.R’ which closed the set.
The pause before the encore fuelled speculation. What could he pull out of the bag? He’d all ready used up ‘F.E.A.R.’ He wouldn’t…. Would he? Sauntering back on stage, the famous bass line and beat that heralded ‘Fools Gold’ saw the place erupt. The pit was heaving. This was how it’s meant to be. Cider, dancing and ‘Fools Gold’. We felt young again.
The crowd celebrated afterwards by collectively singing ‘Ole Ole Ole’ on the way out and invaded Brogans en masse. Happy days.
www.connected.ie
No comments:
Post a Comment