Couldn't write last night, I was flattened by the gig. In a good way.
He didn't talk at all during the first 5 or 6 songs. I got the distinct impression that he was exorcising some of the pain of the past in a gut-wrenchingly emotional and lonely opening half hour, or so.
"I Don't Want To Change You" ended the opening wave of catharsis and was a little less heavy and I think he said something like "I can talk now" after it (or maybe before it). Maybe it was something else, but that's what it sounded like to me. Before that, all I can remember him saying was a sort of awkward comment about people coughing a lot.
The end of "The Professor" lightened things a little further before "Cannonball" and "Colour Me In" cloaked the place in darkness again. The introduction to "Colour Me In" was interesting. He spoke about cleaning a pot after burning soup, starting scrubbing with hands, then with a brillo pad and then resorting to using a screwdriver before giving up. I had thought that there was hope in this song that “colour me in” was a call to someone to help add lightness & colour to life, but this intro would suggest otherwise. More of a “I’ve given up trying to find myself, or trying to find someone who won’t try to change me – so **** it, colour me in whatever way you want”. This is probably way off, but it’s an interpretation of a song that he himself gave up trying to explain just after he performed it. He said, “It’s not about making soup, it’s about….” pause “… ah, **** it….”. Or something like that!
The “three versions” of “I Remember” were fun, or at least the story about the first two were. He spoke about conceiving the song on the way back from a performance at a GAA club, then he mocked the way he played it when he got home – in an Irish ballad sort of way, before mocking a deep/darker/lower toned version that the band tried their hand at.
I thought that it was interesting that he didn’t play “Cold Water”, I had wondered in advance whether he’s ask a random member of the audience to sing Lisa’s part – as he has done elsewhere – and I’m kind of glad he didn’t. Respect!?
“Trusty and True” was a perfect way to end it. An acceptance of the past, a call for progress. It was deep. Brilliantly assisted by Ronan O Snodaigh and choir in a less lonely finale.
This gig did it for me guys. The venue was wonderful, the sound quality superb, the crowd was perfect - showing respect and appreciation in perfect balance and Rice was supreme, he gave it everything and the audience seemed to feel that. Those that I spoke to afterwards were pretty flattened too.
Roll on London.
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