Damien Rice / Fionn Regan

A solitary man by the name of Fionn Regan walked bravely onto the Wulfrun Hall’s large stage, beginning with “Put a Penny in the Slot”, just him and his guitar, which, judging from the initials “FR” taped to it goes by the same name. Surprisingly the little man on the big stage did not reflect his relative size in his music and filled the hall, captivating most of the audience. Regan’s voice was strong and clear so that every syllable of his reflective lyrics could be heard and pondered upon.

By the second song a double bass player and drummer had joined Fionn Regan and added a much needed depth to the sound. The communication from this point on was very effective as the dynamics changed dramatically to throw emphasis on certain lines of singing and than take it away again. A female vocalist sheepishly joined in on some numbers but unfortunately went unheard and unnoticed.

After finishing up with the appropriately named “The End of History”, the title track from his debut, Fionn Regan left the stage with applause to rival that of some main acts. In hindsight, however, just like his noticeably small band on the noticeably big stage, his live act on this night will fade to obscurity when compared with Damien Rice’s gigantic presence.



My initial thoughts, when the stage turned black and the heartbeat drums delayed Damien Rice’s entrance, were that, though it did well in building tension, the song to follow would be anticlimactic. If Damien Rice’s albums are anything the go by then I should have been right. The truth is I couldn’t have been more wrong and when the intriguing improvised introduction, in which Damien wailed emotionally down his distorted microphone, had run its course 'Me, My Yoke and I' didn’t just fill the hall, it stuffed it full of a rich layered sound that just demanded attention. When the song matured into its distorted finale it was hard to believe it was Damien Rice who was making me feel the most enthused I have been at a gig in a long while.

The audience, it seems, shared my view and were mesmerized by the beautiful falsetto. The only peep they made, in fact, (apart from furious applause) was to bellow the lyrics of classics like 'The Blowers Daughter' back at the stage with boundless enthusiasm. The set list was very well chosen, giving the fans the favorite 'Cannon Ball' followed by the equally popular 'Volcano' which then spiralled off into an eight minute jam, landing into an extremely emotional '9 Crimes. A relentless barrage of great songs was made so much more enjoyable by the extensions and improvisations which remained interesting throughout, a rare achievement as usually if a band stray too far from their album tracks they quickly run out of ideas and lose interest.



Emotional is not usually a word I associate with concerts but, as I mentioned above, the piano driven '9 Crimes', as well as the closing track 'Accidental Babies' truly tugged at the heart strings and I wouldn’t be surprised if their were tears among fans. The lighting really added to this and was perfectly implemented for the desired effect. For instance most of the more emotional songs were backed by low lighting (the most powerful of which had Damien singing symbolically out into complete darkness) with perhaps a spot light or two highlighting the main members of the band, letting the rich brick red of the back drop add to the mood as well as exposing the frail light of candles placed around the stage. The more experimental songs of the night were doused in blue, which showed up the candles in a brilliant white and with a peppering of strobe for the intense moments made an impressive psychedelic spectacle.

The concert was a huge surprise to say the least. A massively enthralling show which renders Damien Rice’s albums as merely the handbook for the sonic labyrinth that is his live act.

FUTURE GIGS

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