Manchester gig on Friday

corkboyinexile · 03-29-2007, 05:20 PM

Just wondering how many eskimos will be making it to the Manchester gig tomorrow?
I can't fecking wait this will be my first Damo gig too

drew · 03-30-2007, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corkboyinexile

Just wondering how many eskimos will be making it to the Manchester gig tomorrow?
I can't fecking wait this will be my first Damo gig too

Me too corkboy..A few of us are travelling from Nottingham..Damien Disciples!! We saw him in Nottingham a couple of years ago and he blew us away..epic gig and hoping for the same again tonight..we'll be the lot in retro adidas gear.. ****in aving it..see you there corkboy

corkboyinexile · 03-30-2007, 02:58 PM

I'm now sitting in work staring at the clock willing it to just move the feck on to 6 so I can go

eamo_rice · 03-31-2007, 03:18 AM

Ok. so spent 4 and a half hours on the national express to manchester, but it was well worth it. This was the perfect end to the perfect three Damo gigs this week. each one so different from the other.

Setlist

musical atmospheric intro - vyv on piano, Joel on guitar, then rest of band walked on eventually and launched into
Woman Like A Man
Cannonball
The Professor/La fille danse (again with 3rd verse)
Older Chests
Story >>> Dogs
Story >>> Me, My Yoke and I
Accidental Babies - with extended outro
Delicate
Story >>> Never Leave You (Vyv solo0
Story>>> Coconut Skins >>> percussion jam >>> volcano (new piano intro and extended outro)
The Blower's Daughter
I Remember >>> jam >>> Bang Bang (Nancy Sinatra) >>> Bang Bang looping >>> I Remember looping

*************

9 Crimes (on piano with just Damo and Vyv)
Rootless Tree (guitar version)
Cheers Darlin' >>> massive jam, with solos by fionn regan on piano, and vyv on rhodes >>> Fool

brilliant gig. what can i say.
The opening was amazing - almost expected Damo to appear out of the floor the way it was built up and WLAM was an astounding heavy opener. but then he pulled it back for a few lighter songs.

the story he mentioned for Dogs was that, he usually writes in Ireland, indoors, where it rains all the time, Dogs was written on holiday.

MMYI story was just the usual about adolescence.

Accidental Babies was phenomenal - definitely one of the high points. the extended outro is so poignant.
Vyv's solo was hilarious! she's becoming a real star. she even told a story about her bad time-keeping and how she had been warned about it by the tour manager. lol

the coconut skins - Volcano jam is just fantastic. it really changes the whole vibe of Volcano - the first verse is slower and on piano and then kicks in for the second verse so that it feels like a different song. it was just great! another gig highlight

I Remember was 15 mins long. and was unbelievable. like Tommy said of it at last night's gig, i think he might have alienated/surprised a few people with it, i looked round during, and most people were stood stock-still. ah well, i enjoyed it and it was FANTASTIC!

he took a long while to come out for his encore, and there were quite a few boos to be heard. but all was well when he came out.

cheers darlin' was a brilliant ending to the gig. after another very bitter rendition he got the various members of the band to do solos - even telling Vyv to liven hers up a bit! it was another 15min track!

the crowd were larger well behaved - even keeping quiet during the slow numbers, mostly. was quite surprised.

couple of kn*b-ends kept m,aking stupid noises and shouting inappropriately at times, but generally all was well.

don't want to bang on about interpreting song lyrics BUT

As i suspected he did during I Remember on tues - he repeated the words "hear of youre gonna live without me".

in rootless tree, in the third chorus he just sang "f*ck you, f*ck you, (nothing)" no "love you"

and in accidental babies, for the line "for we are in love" he left out the last two words.

just summat to think about. im tired now.

one last thought - if he plays like that in Marley Park and Wembley Arena then he'll be doing alright. the heavier electric sound seems to be the way forward.

SilentNight · 03-31-2007, 03:33 AM

thank you for writing up a long detailed review before going to bed. it sounded really great

.

sleep well,

mario_d · 03-31-2007, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eamo_rice

As i suspected he did during I Remember on tues - he repeated the words "hear of youre gonna live without me".

in rootless tree, in the third chorus he just sang "f*ck you, f*ck you, (nothing)" no "love you"

Just for the record, these aren't really new occurrences. He's been messing around with that third verse of rootless for a while, and the "you're gonna live without me" has been done off and on for years

Lest people start drawing conclusions.

vyvrox · 03-31-2007, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eamo_rice

Vyv's solo was hilarious! she's becoming a real star. she even told a story about her bad time-keeping and how she had been warned about it by the tour manager. lol

I wonder if that story was the one Vyv was planning to tell at the Wolverhampton gig but didn't get the opportunity to as she didn't get her solo spot that night.

Moves-My-World · 03-31-2007, 11:49 AM

That was my first Damien gig ever. And can I tell you it will not be my last. It just took my breath away. I don't really have the sufficent vocabulary to describe it justly so I'll just try to do my best.

I got to the Apollo at about 6.15 and the queue was bigger than expected, but after time passed I realised I had a very good space as the line quadrupled by 7. The weather was not bad for waiting and we had the ticket touts to keep us company; every 5 seconds "madam would you like a ticket, wholesale price." The touts also remarked on something quite cultured, "I can't believe so many people are here for a bolloxy folk singer." Quite.

I was impressed by the speed which they took us through the 4 doors, and it was a bit of a maze to find your way to the main hall. Though I got in and jogged down to the front and was one person back. So I left my sister and her fiancé to look at the merchandise. Poor, to say the most. Two brown Heffa T-shirts (each £20) and then a similar one but only with a scrawled 9 on the front. Disappointed I went back to the hall.

My sisterhad now squeezed her way onto the barrier, suprising as she's the guts of 5 foot and built like a leaf. It was just awesome reflecting how long I had waited for thismoment and now I was right bang in the middle, at the front.

Fionn Regan came on at about 8 o'clock. He did penny in the slot on his own and then was joined by his band for a further 3 more songs. It was nice to see for his last one he listened to a guy in the crowd and played Snowy Atlas(?) for him. Fionn was alright. His second song was nice, but I was expecting more from the very positive reviews on this site. Though he got a warm reception by the crowd and left the stage happy I think.

There was quite a big wait between Fionn and Damo coming on. By this time I myself had managed to squeeze onto the barrier and was now the closest member of the crowd to Damien's mic. When he came on the crowd absolutely errupted. Vyv came on first and sat down beside the piano and did a very nice opening, she was then joined by Damien, who continued this tune and then rammed forcefully into Woman Like A Man. It was great.

The second song, Cannonball, which I recorded, made the hairs on my neck stand up literally. He introduced it saying it was about "walking into a room and getting a bit of energy from someone else that was in it." There was little singing along which was good but just wait until you see the video. Mind blowing.

The proffesor/ la fille dance was really nice and I could see the emotion more in his face than some of the other songs during this. He sang the third verse like all the other shows before.

Older chests was beautiful, it completely silenced the crowd. We seemed to have got a good bunch of people for this concert as everyone respected his brilliance and was mesmirized by it.

I again videoed the song/story of dogs. He told us of how he had wrote this on holiday, but most of his songs were written in Ireland as he just sits inside because it rains all the time and he has **** all else to do. He seemed in really good form with the crowd and this was a very nice rendition of the song.

He picked up his electric guitar, and again told the crowd subtily of how this was about masturbation. The lighting effects were great in this song and I captured it on video so will try and post it up when I get back home. One of the best moments, in my opinion.

Accidental babies was a highlight. He extended it, and played it in solely in the spotlight on the baby grand. It moved the crowd. It really was just pure silence, with every eye in the house fixed on him. If anyone has a video of this please post it up!!!!!!!

Delicate sounded perfect, very like the album version. I was disapointed because when he sang:

"If it means nothing to you
Why do you sing with me at all?"

Some loud mouth in the crowd shouted out "SHUT UP!" Though this was an isolated incident.

We got a real treat in one of Vyviens own creations, it was about time-keeping and she dedicated it to Alan, the tour manager, as she may not have another chance to. It really was just a white Irish woman rapping with a cello in her hand. It was a really nice break from Damien and it showed why she gets her solo spot.

I managed to capture the 13 minute long, moment of the night. It was unbelievable live, Coconut Skins - Percussion Jam - Volcano. He started off with telling us that Coconut Skins was about "when you look back, there was things you wanted to achieve in 10 years time and then you see if you have achieved them and realise Oh ****. It's really just about getting all these things together and lighting a match underneath and telling them to **** off" Wait until you see the video. I cannot describe it.

A bar after the above finished he went straight into The Blower's Daughter. Beautiful. Absolutely friggin beautiful.

There was another great mash of insturments, for I Remember. It's not something you can understand until you witness it live. I'm finding it hard to describe any more so I'm going to stop. But I will say that I couldnt stop speculating when he was singing "My baby shot me down" during the jam that maybe this was a message to a certain somebody.

There was quite a big wait for the Encore and the crowd did even resort to booing. But wen he came on he sat down beside the piano and him and Vyv did a beautiful version of 9 Crimes, which probably got the loudest cheer of the night.

Rootless tree was amazing as well. The pure emotion in the live version is infinity times better that the album. And I like the album version.

He then finished off with his story about Cheers Darlin'. I don't think he explained it as fully as he had done before in other gigsI'd seen on youtube. But the crowd understood and this was an absolute perfect way to end a perfect night.

When I get back home to Northern Ireland I'll get my videos and some pictures up. Though the guy besideme was recording every song, and it was in very high resolution. Hopefully he's a member of this site.

happy2bhere · 03-31-2007, 03:54 PM

Look forward to seeing your footage. Wasn't able to get any myself because of rubbish phone. I was also at the front, where were you?

songbirdrach · 03-31-2007, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moves-My-World

Rootless tree was amazing as well. The pure emotion in the live version is infinity times better that the album. And I like the album version.

.

Did he do the non piano version???????
i really wanna hear that live.

Gutted he didnt play Cheers Darlin' at the Wolvo gig.
This one sounds amazing and seemed like you guys had a decent crowd,unlike the wolvo one.

songbirdrach · 03-31-2007, 04:44 PM

And he played Fool?????
ahhhhhhhhhhhhh maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!

borneoman · 03-31-2007, 04:57 PM

Did he do Fool, or just the final instrumental part like in London??

happy2bhere · 03-31-2007, 09:23 PM

Just found Cheers darlin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb5rRCWbfR8 Enjoy!

SisterMidnight · 03-31-2007, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy2bhere

Just found Cheers darlin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb5rRCWbfR8 Enjoy!

that's hilarious, was he getting stoned onstage? that cigarette looked a bit suspicious to me

borneoman · 03-31-2007, 11:59 PM

One of these days Damien's gonna get himself arrested

Nine · 04-01-2007, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by borneoman

One of these days Damien's gonna get himself arrested

haha yeah, but will he care? Nope.

SisterMidnight · 04-01-2007, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by borneoman

One of these days Damien's gonna get himself arrested

don't say that! *gypsy spits/throws salt over left shoulder/knocks on wood*

by the way, nice reviews eamo_rice and moves-my-world, thanks for sharing

flyaway · 04-01-2007, 01:20 AM

Review/Rant of sorts.
First off alot of my patience was tried because the crowd were absolute f**kwits where I was stood. There were two people who were singing so loudly I couldn't hear Damien at all, and they were shouting along at really inappropriate quiet bits; I nearly had words with them because everyone around us was getting so pissed off. I had a bit of a faff on getting down from Boro/York, but alot of people came down for it too. (There was a train-carriage debate about the lack of Hannigan on the train home.) Found the venue no trouble, and no queues, we followed two people who we said 'Look like typical Damien Rice fans' and lo and behold they took us straight to the venue! I would certainly have had egg on my face if they were going somewhere completely different!
The gig wasn't really anything special, it was just standard Damien fare really - Still brilliant, but Nothing much to write home about! Fairplay to those who saw him for the first time though. I saw him last year in Ireland for the first time and even though the crowd were terrible there too, (I sense a recurring theme) it was much more atmospheric and really left me feeling like I was taking something special home with me. Last night: None of that; no tingles, or whatever. I don't know whether this was because I'm a die-hard Hannigan-Fannigan, but I do believe his set suffered a tiny bit without her. Especially since my girlfriend informed me they'd just played some of her missing parts over the P.A; I don't know if that's true because I nearly passed out at this point, and missed the end of BD and the start of I Remember because I went for an emergency water break.
The jam bit at the end was a bit of a piss-take I thought, I was going to leave until he started the Fool instrumental and it livened up a bit. The jam bit was distinctly un-Damien and I felt as though I could have just been watching any old band play the same bluesy loop over and over. Damien's "drunk" perfomance throughout Cheers Darlin' made him appear like an old Hollywood queen, it was completely laboured and though I'm sure he was on the wacky-tobacky it was clear he was just acting.
The set was lovely, and I loved Vyv's hilarious little anecdote, and her fairly unique brand of folk/hip-hop, It was good but it was lacking something and I've had more spine-tingling moments from bootlegs of other shows. The most atmospheric part was the very last chord of Nine Crimes, there was a second of pure silence (Which I can assure you is golden after listening to Mr and Mrs Loudmouth next to us for the best part of two hours) and everyone was in awe, it was breathtaking; then of course somebody shouted something crude...
I wished I could have seen him somewhere quieter, because in the end it appeared to be the most expensive kareoke I've ever been too. I'm completely kicking myself now for not going to his secret-set last year, especially since he invited me himself.
It was really quite an odd perfomance, but flawless none the less

'twas lovely!

eamo_rice · 04-01-2007, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by borneoman

Did he do Fool, or just the final instrumental part like in London??

no, just the final bit with the "yah dat dah dah" bit. was really good.

and Rootless Tree was on guitar.

Nine · 04-01-2007, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyaway

Review/Rant of sorts.
First off alot of my patience was tried because the crowd were absolute f**kwits where I was stood. There were two people who were singing so loudly I couldn't hear Damien at all, and they were shouting along at really inappropriate quiet bits; I nearly had words with them because everyone around us was getting so pissed off. I had a bit of a faff on getting down from Boro/York, but alot of people came down for it too. (There was a train-carriage debate about the lack of Hannigan on the train home.) Found the venue no trouble, and no queues, we followed two people who we said 'Look like typical Damien Rice fans' and lo and behold they took us straight to the venue! I would certainly have had egg on my face if they were going somewhere completely different!
The gig wasn't really anything special, it was just standard Damien fare really - Still brilliant, but Nothing much to write home about! Fairplay to those who saw him for the first time though. I saw him last year in Ireland for the first time and even though the crowd were terrible there too, (I sense a recurring theme) it was much more atmospheric and really left me feeling like I was taking something special home with me. Last night: None of that; no tingles, or whatever. I don't know whether this was because I'm a die-hard Hannigan-Fannigan, but I do believe his set suffered a tiny bit without her. Especially since my girlfriend informed me they'd just played some of her missing parts over the P.A; I don't know if that's true because I nearly passed out at this point, and missed the end of BD and the start of I Remember because I went for an emergency water break.
The jam bit at the end was a bit of a piss-take I thought, I was going to leave until he started the Fool instrumental and it livened up a bit. The jam bit was distinctly un-Damien and I felt as though I could have just been watching any old band play the same bluesy loop over and over. Damien's "drunk" perfomance throughout Cheers Darlin' made him appear like an old Hollywood queen, it was completely laboured and though I'm sure he was on the wacky-tobacky it was clear he was just acting.
The set was lovely, and I loved Vyv's hilarious little anecdote, and her fairly unique brand of folk/hip-hop, It was good but it was lacking something and I've had more spine-tingling moments from bootlegs of other shows. The most atmospheric part was the very last chord of Nine Crimes, there was a second of pure silence (Which I can assure you is golden after listening to Mr and Mrs Loudmouth next to us for the best part of two hours) and everyone was in awe, it was breathtaking; then of course somebody shouted something crude...
I wished I could have seen him somewhere quieter, because in the end it appeared to be the most expensive kareoke I've ever been too. I'm completely kicking myself now for not going to his secret-set last year, especially since he invited me himself.
It was really quite an odd perfomance, but flawless none the less

'twas lovely!

Thanks for the review flyaway - shame you were next to the loudmouths, there's always some aren't there? Hey ho, it's sorta hit and miss with Damien gigs really isn't it, because they're all so vastly different.
What was the secret set you mentioned?

I really should sleep.... I'm very tired...
Not that that's relevant... *shuts up*

eamo_rice · 04-01-2007, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyaway

Review/Rant of sorts.
but I do believe his set suffered a tiny bit without her. Especially since my girlfriend informed me they'd just played some of her missing parts over the P.A; I don't know if that's true because I nearly passed out at this point, and missed the end of BD and the start of I Remember because I went for an emergency water break.

no, i don't think so. Joel is now playing and/or singing most of Lisa's parts. he even did a few "volcanoes melt me down" (tantamount to sacrilege? lol).

and in WLAM on wed night, damo took lisa'a chorus lines and Tomo took Damo's.

so theyre just swapping it all around and seeing what works.

sorry you had an annoying crowd section

flyaway · 04-01-2007, 01:48 AM

Secret set was a late night unbilled set at Electric Picnic. I got chatting to him for a while, and said I was fairly annoyed by the vibe of his last set - he agreed and invited me and the missus along to his late-night one, promising a more intimate vibe. She got booze-aids though, so I stayed to look after her. I could have deserted her in the tent if I wanted, so I'm not blaming her!

Eamonn: Yeah I thought it was a man singing a bit falsetto, but I was pretty out of it by that time. It was a good night! It's a shame the crowd/illness/mood affected it, in the right frame of mind it would have been mindblowing I think!

happy2bhere · 04-01-2007, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyaway

Review/Rant of sorts.
First off alot of my patience was tried because the crowd were absolute f**kwits where I was stood. There were two people who were singing so loudly I couldn't hear Damien at all, and they were shouting along at really inappropriate quiet bits; I nearly had words with them because everyone around us was getting so pissed off. I had a bit of a faff on getting down from Boro/York, but alot of people came down for it too. (There was a train-carriage debate about the lack of Hannigan on the train home.) Found the venue no trouble, and no queues, we followed two people who we said 'Look like typical Damien Rice fans' and lo and behold they took us straight to the venue! I would certainly have had egg on my face if they were going somewhere completely different!
The gig wasn't really anything special, it was just standard Damien fare really - Still brilliant, but Nothing much to write home about! Fairplay to those who saw him for the first time though. I saw him last year in Ireland for the first time and even though the crowd were terrible there too, (I sense a recurring theme) it was much more atmospheric and really left me feeling like I was taking something special home with me. Last night: None of that; no tingles, or whatever. I don't know whether this was because I'm a die-hard Hannigan-Fannigan, but I do believe his set suffered a tiny bit without her. Especially since my girlfriend informed me they'd just played some of her missing parts over the P.A; I don't know if that's true because I nearly passed out at this point, and missed the end of BD and the start of I Remember because I went for an emergency water break.
The jam bit at the end was a bit of a piss-take I thought, I was going to leave until he started the Fool instrumental and it livened up a bit. The jam bit was distinctly un-Damien and I felt as though I could have just been watching any old band play the same bluesy loop over and over. Damien's "drunk" perfomance throughout Cheers Darlin' made him appear like an old Hollywood queen, it was completely laboured and though I'm sure he was on the wacky-tobacky it was clear he was just acting.
The set was lovely, and I loved Vyv's hilarious little anecdote, and her fairly unique brand of folk/hip-hop, It was good but it was lacking something and I've had more spine-tingling moments from bootlegs of other shows. The most atmospheric part was the very last chord of Nine Crimes, there was a second of pure silence (Which I can assure you is golden after listening to Mr and Mrs Loudmouth next to us for the best part of two hours) and everyone was in awe, it was breathtaking; then of course somebody shouted something crude...
I wished I could have seen him somewhere quieter, because in the end it appeared to be the most expensive kareoke I've ever been too. I'm completely kicking myself now for not going to his secret-set last year, especially since he invited me himself.
It was really quite an odd perfomance, but flawless none the less

'twas lovely!

I was sorry to read that you had some trouble with some member of audience. Could hear some shouting, but luckily i was too far away for it to become too annoying. The whole gig left me totally blown away, but i can see how others may feel differently because of lisa's absence. Felt that he had to work harder beacuse of this at times. Thanks for your review, nice to hear how others experinced the whole thing.

Moves-My-World · 04-02-2007, 09:52 PM

Cannonball

Dogs

Me, My Yoke & I

Youtube will not host the Coconut Skins - Percussion Jam - Volcano video so Ill make it available for download as it's too long. Ive also got some good pictures of the gig. And to whoever asked I was the young guy, very central at the front, bout 5ft 8, grey top, blonde spikey hair.

Moves-My-World · 04-06-2007, 12:35 PM

Gimme a shout if anybody would like pictures from this gig

stefferrelli · 04-06-2007, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moves-My-World

Gimme a shout if anybody would like pictures from this gig

I would love to see your pictures from this show.

Moves-My-World · 04-06-2007, 04:03 PM

Im bored so I'll just post a few of them up here:

(my personal favourite)

a millisecond away from a perfect photo

more can be found off my bebo: http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbum.jsp?P...mId=4023282118

stefferrelli · 04-06-2007, 08:25 PM

Thanks for posting those. They look awesome.

Gibbo · 04-06-2007, 09:35 PM

Hey, just wondering what you thought of the gig? I thought it was just brillant. My first time seeing him play live and was spellbound by the atmosphere, I havetickets for the MEN in October but worry that the venue is to big !!!

Moves-My-World · 04-07-2007, 12:04 PM

IT was my first gig and I was just absolutely mesmirised by it. I'm considering just going down to Dublin to see the Marlay Park gig on my own because of it (I can't get any of my friends to go)

03-29-2007, 05:20 PM	#1
corkboyinexile Irish Eskimo by birth Join Date: May 2005 Location: In the land of sleepy time tea Posts: 189	Manchester gig on Friday Just wondering how many eskimos will be making it to the Manchester gig tomorrow? I can't fecking wait this will be my first Damo gig too __________________ we are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams

03-30-2007, 02:58 PM	#3
corkboyinexile Irish Eskimo by birth Join Date: May 2005 Location: In the land of sleepy time tea Posts: 189	I'm now sitting in work staring at the clock willing it to just move the feck on to 6 so I can go __________________ we are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams

03-31-2007, 04:44 PM	#11
songbirdrach Eskimo Friend Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Brummyland! Posts: 80	And he played Fool????? ahhhhhhhhhhhhh maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! __________________ kosketa minua älä käsilläsi mutta sielussasi myspace.com/songbirdrachy Last edited by songbirdrach; 03-31-2007 at 04:59 PM.

03-31-2007, 09:23 PM	#13
happy2bhere Eskimo Regular Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Where the mountains meet the sea - Wales! Posts: 313	Just found Cheers darlin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb5rRCWbfR8 Enjoy! Last edited by happy2bhere; 03-31-2007 at 09:28 PM.

04-01-2007, 01:20 AM	#18
flyaway Eskimo Geek Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 530	Review/Rant of sorts. First off alot of my patience was tried because the crowd were absolute f**kwits where I was stood. There were two people who were singing so loudly I couldn't hear Damien at all, and they were shouting along at really inappropriate quiet bits; I nearly had words with them because everyone around us was getting so pissed off. I had a bit of a faff on getting down from Boro/York, but alot of people came down for it too. (There was a train-carriage debate about the lack of Hannigan on the train home.) Found the venue no trouble, and no queues, we followed two people who we said 'Look like typical Damien Rice fans' and lo and behold they took us straight to the venue! I would certainly have had egg on my face if they were going somewhere completely different! The gig wasn't really anything special, it was just standard Damien fare really - Still brilliant, but Nothing much to write home about! Fairplay to those who saw him for the first time though. I saw him last year in Ireland for the first time and even though the crowd were terrible there too, (I sense a recurring theme) it was much more atmospheric and really left me feeling like I was taking something special home with me. Last night: None of that; no tingles, or whatever. I don't know whether this was because I'm a die-hard Hannigan-Fannigan, but I do believe his set suffered a tiny bit without her. Especially since my girlfriend informed me they'd just played some of her missing parts over the P.A; I don't know if that's true because I nearly passed out at this point, and missed the end of BD and the start of I Remember because I went for an emergency water break. The jam bit at the end was a bit of a piss-take I thought, I was going to leave until he started the Fool instrumental and it livened up a bit. The jam bit was distinctly un-Damien and I felt as though I could have just been watching any old band play the same bluesy loop over and over. Damien's "drunk" perfomance throughout Cheers Darlin' made him appear like an old Hollywood queen, it was completely laboured and though I'm sure he was on the wacky-tobacky it was clear he was just acting. The set was lovely, and I loved Vyv's hilarious little anecdote, and her fairly unique brand of folk/hip-hop, It was good but it was lacking something and I've had more spine-tingling moments from bootlegs of other shows. The most atmospheric part was the very last chord of Nine Crimes, there was a second of pure silence (Which I can assure you is golden after listening to Mr and Mrs Loudmouth next to us for the best part of two hours) and everyone was in awe, it was breathtaking; then of course somebody shouted something crude... I wished I could have seen him somewhere quieter, because in the end it appeared to be the most expensive kareoke I've ever been too. I'm completely kicking myself now for not going to his secret-set last year, especially since he invited me himself. It was really quite an odd perfomance, but flawless none the less 'twas lovely! __________________ "I would love to hold you up, but my fingers just aren't strong enough"

03-31-2007, 03:18 AM	#4
eamo_rice meh Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: London :( Posts: 255	Ok. so spent 4 and a half hours on the national express to manchester, but it was well worth it. This was the perfect end to the perfect three Damo gigs this week. each one so different from the other. Setlist musical atmospheric intro - vyv on piano, Joel on guitar, then rest of band walked on eventually and launched into Woman Like A Man Cannonball The Professor/La fille danse (again with 3rd verse) Older Chests Story >>> Dogs Story >>> Me, My Yoke and I Accidental Babies - with extended outro Delicate Story >>> Never Leave You (Vyv solo0 Story>>> Coconut Skins >>> percussion jam >>> volcano (new piano intro and extended outro) The Blower's Daughter I Remember >>> jam >>> Bang Bang (Nancy Sinatra) >>> Bang Bang looping >>> I Remember looping ************* 9 Crimes (on piano with just Damo and Vyv) Rootless Tree (guitar version) Cheers Darlin' >>> massive jam, with solos by fionn regan on piano, and vyv on rhodes >>> Fool brilliant gig. what can i say. The opening was amazing - almost expected Damo to appear out of the floor the way it was built up and WLAM was an astounding heavy opener. but then he pulled it back for a few lighter songs. the story he mentioned for Dogs was that, he usually writes in Ireland, indoors, where it rains all the time, Dogs was written on holiday. MMYI story was just the usual about adolescence. Accidental Babies was phenomenal - definitely one of the high points. the extended outro is so poignant. Vyv's solo was hilarious! she's becoming a real star. she even told a story about her bad time-keeping and how she had been warned about it by the tour manager. lol the coconut skins - Volcano jam is just fantastic. it really changes the whole vibe of Volcano - the first verse is slower and on piano and then kicks in for the second verse so that it feels like a different song. it was just great! another gig highlight I Remember was 15 mins long. and was unbelievable. like Tommy said of it at last night's gig, i think he might have alienated/surprised a few people with it, i looked round during, and most people were stood stock-still. ah well, i enjoyed it and it was FANTASTIC! he took a long while to come out for his encore, and there were quite a few boos to be heard. but all was well when he came out. cheers darlin' was a brilliant ending to the gig. after another very bitter rendition he got the various members of the band to do solos - even telling Vyv to liven hers up a bit! it was another 15min track! the crowd were larger well behaved - even keeping quiet during the slow numbers, mostly. was quite surprised. couple of knb-ends kept m,aking stupid noises and shouting inappropriately at times, but generally all was well. don't want to bang on about interpreting song lyrics BUT As i suspected he did during I Remember on tues - he repeated the words "hear of youre gonna live without me". in rootless tree, in the third chorus he just sang "fck you, f*ck you, (nothing)" no "love you" and in accidental babies, for the line "for we are in love" he left out the last two words. just summat to think about. im tired now. one last thought - if he plays like that in Marley Park and Wembley Arena then he'll be doing alright. the heavier electric sound seems to be the way forward.

03-31-2007, 03:33 AM	#5
SilentNight Eskimo Regular Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 901	thank you for writing up a long detailed review before going to bed. it sounded really great . sleep well,

03-31-2007, 11:49 AM	#8
Moves-My-World Eskimo Regular Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Posts: 560	That was my first Damien gig ever. And can I tell you it will not be my last. It just took my breath away. I don't really have the sufficent vocabulary to describe it justly so I'll just try to do my best. I got to the Apollo at about 6.15 and the queue was bigger than expected, but after time passed I realised I had a very good space as the line quadrupled by 7. The weather was not bad for waiting and we had the ticket touts to keep us company; every 5 seconds "madam would you like a ticket, wholesale price." The touts also remarked on something quite cultured, "I can't believe so many people are here for a bolloxy folk singer." Quite. I was impressed by the speed which they took us through the 4 doors, and it was a bit of a maze to find your way to the main hall. Though I got in and jogged down to the front and was one person back. So I left my sister and her fiancé to look at the merchandise. Poor, to say the most. Two brown Heffa T-shirts (each £20) and then a similar one but only with a scrawled 9 on the front. Disappointed I went back to the hall. My sisterhad now squeezed her way onto the barrier, suprising as she's the guts of 5 foot and built like a leaf. It was just awesome reflecting how long I had waited for thismoment and now I was right bang in the middle, at the front. Fionn Regan came on at about 8 o'clock. He did penny in the slot on his own and then was joined by his band for a further 3 more songs. It was nice to see for his last one he listened to a guy in the crowd and played Snowy Atlas(?) for him. Fionn was alright. His second song was nice, but I was expecting more from the very positive reviews on this site. Though he got a warm reception by the crowd and left the stage happy I think. There was quite a big wait between Fionn and Damo coming on. By this time I myself had managed to squeeze onto the barrier and was now the closest member of the crowd to Damien's mic. When he came on the crowd absolutely errupted. Vyv came on first and sat down beside the piano and did a very nice opening, she was then joined by Damien, who continued this tune and then rammed forcefully into Woman Like A Man. It was great. The second song, Cannonball, which I recorded, made the hairs on my neck stand up literally. He introduced it saying it was about "walking into a room and getting a bit of energy from someone else that was in it." There was little singing along which was good but just wait until you see the video. Mind blowing. The proffesor/ la fille dance was really nice and I could see the emotion more in his face than some of the other songs during this. He sang the third verse like all the other shows before. Older chests was beautiful, it completely silenced the crowd. We seemed to have got a good bunch of people for this concert as everyone respected his brilliance and was mesmirized by it. I again videoed the song/story of dogs. He told us of how he had wrote this on holiday, but most of his songs were written in Ireland as he just sits inside because it rains all the time and he has ** all else to do. He seemed in really good form with the crowd and this was a very nice rendition of the song. He picked up his electric guitar, and again told the crowd subtily of how this was about masturbation. The lighting effects were great in this song and I captured it on video so will try and post it up when I get back home. One of the best moments, in my opinion. Accidental babies was a highlight. He extended it, and played it in solely in the spotlight on the baby grand. It moved the crowd. It really was just pure silence, with every eye in the house fixed on him. If anyone has a video of this please post it up!!!!!!! Delicate sounded perfect, very like the album version. I was disapointed because when he sang: "If it means nothing to you Why do you sing with me at all?" Some loud mouth in the crowd shouted out "SHUT UP!" Though this was an isolated incident. We got a real treat in one of Vyviens own creations, it was about time-keeping and she dedicated it to Alan, the tour manager, as she may not have another chance to. It really was just a white Irish woman rapping with a cello in her hand. It was a really nice break from Damien and it showed why she gets her solo spot. I managed to capture the 13 minute long, moment of the night. It was unbelievable live, Coconut Skins - Percussion Jam - Volcano. He started off with telling us that Coconut Skins was about "when you look back, there was things you wanted to achieve in 10 years time and then you see if you have achieved them and realise Oh . It's really just about getting all these things together and lighting a match underneath and telling them to ** off" Wait until you see the video. I cannot describe it. A bar after the above finished he went straight into The Blower's Daughter. Beautiful. Absolutely friggin beautiful. There was another great mash of insturments, for I Remember. It's not something you can understand until you witness it live. I'm finding it hard to describe any more so I'm going to stop. But I will say that I couldnt stop speculating when he was singing "My baby shot me down" during the jam that maybe this was a message to a certain somebody. There was quite a big wait for the Encore and the crowd did even resort to booing. But wen he came on he sat down beside the piano and him and Vyv did a beautiful version of 9 Crimes, which probably got the loudest cheer of the night. Rootless tree was amazing as well. The pure emotion in the live version is infinity times better that the album. And I like the album version. He then finished off with his story about Cheers Darlin'. I don't think he explained it as fully as he had done before in other gigsI'd seen on youtube. But the crowd understood and this was an absolute perfect way to end a perfect night. When I get back home to Northern Ireland I'll get my videos and some pictures up. Though the guy besideme was recording every song, and it was in very high resolution. Hopefully he's a member of this site.

03-31-2007, 03:54 PM	#9
happy2bhere Eskimo Regular Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Where the mountains meet the sea - Wales! Posts: 313	Look forward to seeing your footage. Wasn't able to get any myself because of rubbish phone. I was also at the front, where were you?

03-31-2007, 04:57 PM	#12
borneoman Insane Eskimo Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 6,151	Did he do Fool, or just the final instrumental part like in London??

03-31-2007, 11:59 PM	#15
borneoman Insane Eskimo Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 6,151	One of these days Damien's gonna get himself arrested

04-01-2007, 01:48 AM	#22
flyaway Eskimo Geek Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 530	Secret set was a late night unbilled set at Electric Picnic. I got chatting to him for a while, and said I was fairly annoyed by the vibe of his last set - he agreed and invited me and the missus along to his late-night one, promising a more intimate vibe. She got booze-aids though, so I stayed to look after her. I could have deserted her in the tent if I wanted, so I'm not blaming her! Eamonn: Yeah I thought it was a man singing a bit falsetto, but I was pretty out of it by that time. It was a good night! It's a shame the crowd/illness/mood affected it, in the right frame of mind it would have been mindblowing I think! __________________ "I would love to hold you up, but my fingers just aren't strong enough"

04-02-2007, 09:52 PM	#24
Moves-My-World Eskimo Regular Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Posts: 560	Cannonball Dogs Me, My Yoke & I Youtube will not host the Coconut Skins - Percussion Jam - Volcano video so Ill make it available for download as it's too long. Ive also got some good pictures of the gig. And to whoever asked I was the young guy, very central at the front, bout 5ft 8, grey top, blonde spikey hair. Last edited by Moves-My-World; 04-02-2007 at 09:58 PM.

04-06-2007, 12:35 PM	#25
Moves-My-World Eskimo Regular Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Posts: 560	Gimme a shout if anybody would like pictures from this gig

04-06-2007, 04:03 PM	#27
Moves-My-World Eskimo Regular Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Posts: 560	Im bored so I'll just post a few of them up here: (my personal favourite) a millisecond away from a perfect photo more can be found off my bebo: http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbum.jsp?P...mId=4023282118

04-06-2007, 08:25 PM	#28
stefferrelli Eskimo Friend Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 71	Thanks for posting those. They look awesome.

04-06-2007, 09:35 PM	#29
Gibbo Happy thoughts :-) Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 10	Manchester gig Hey, just wondering what you thought of the gig? I thought it was just brillant. My first time seeing him play live and was spellbound by the atmosphere, I havetickets for the MEN in October but worry that the venue is to big !!!

04-07-2007, 12:04 PM	#30
Moves-My-World Eskimo Regular Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Posts: 560	IT was my first gig and I was just absolutely mesmirised by it. I'm considering just going down to Dublin to see the Marlay Park gig on my own because of it (I can't get any of my friends to go)