Review of Hammersmith gig in the Evening Standard...

[Nine]

I really feel I couldn't have put it better - I think this is all really accurate, so I thought I'd share it with you and see what you guys reckon

"Damien's company is something to treasure
By David Smyth, Evening Standard 28.03.07

The artistic temperament, a prickly, potentially monstrous thing that values the art above all else, can make it hard for a musician to get along with his audience and even his bandmates.

Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice, who possesses this disposition to such a degree that one day he will probably finish a gig by slicing off an ear, has long been difficult in direct proportion to the loveliness of his balladry.

His media profile in recent years has deliberately been nil, and this was his first British gig in support of his second album 9 that came out in November.

Most worryingly, he appeared without a crucial member of his band, co-vocalist Lisa Hannigan, and never mentioned it, although a new post on his website states that their six-year professional relationship "has run its creative course".

When someone shouted "Where's Lisa?" and he gave a sharp "I dunno" after a tense pause, it was as if he had just finished disposing of her body.

Yet it was this kind of tension that made being in his presence so gripping.

Every extra second that he didn't flounce off seemed precious, and his restless wrestling with his own songs was a fascinating battle.

It was as if he had deliberately filled his two albums with fragile, pretty heartbreakers with the sole purpose of confounding the expectations of anyone who buys his concert tickets.

Volcano moved from a languid groove to a crashing crescendo as he experimented with multiple effects pedals.

The folky strum of Coconut Skins ended with Rice battering the body of his acoustic guitar while two drummers made as much noise as possible.

It is so rare, rather than watching yet another band churn out their hits just as they are on record, to see someone really making music right in front of you.

He sang in French, allowed cellist Vyvienne Long to perform a bizarre comic ditty entitled Random Man On The Motorway, and downed three glasses of red wine in quick succession to bring some realism to the drunkard's lament, Cheers Darlin'.

Searing rockers such as Me, My Yoke + I were exhausting to watch, but the reward was a final moment of genuine crowd-pleasing.

He performed Cannonball solo, unamplified, and the entire auditorium seemed to hold its breath at the simple sight of a small man singing out in the darkness.

You wouldn't want to work with him, but two hours in his company is something to treasure forever.

Damien Rice will play Wembley Arena on 6 October."

The second to last line in particular is, I think, spot on! That's not to say i'd pass up an oppertunity to join the band, hehe, but if I'm honest I think it sums it all up...

xx

[eamo_rice]

You're turning into a real Londoner now, buying the Evening Standard you'll not want to leave. were there any photos? at least that would justify the band been blocked off behind photographers for the first few songs...

[Nine]

uno:

[SilentNight]

good fair review

[Tommy]

"It is so rare, rather than watching yet another band churn out their hits just as they are on record, to see someone really making music right in front of you."

Yes

[Ewwa]

I dunno if I should start a new thread, but I think it might be easier to post all the reviews for one gig in one thread.
I found one on the Guardian's website:

"Damien Rice

Hammersmith Apollo, London

Betty Clarke
Thursday March 29, 2007
The Guardian

It's the question on everyone's lips, but it takes a brave soul to shout out: "Where's Lisa?" Damien Rice, mop-haired and unshaven, looks up from his guitar with a wry smile. "I don't know," he replies.
The news earlier this month that Rice's association with longtime backing singer Lisa Hannigan had "run its creative course" came as a surprise. Hannigan's fragile vocals alleviated the intensity of Rice's bitter songs of betrayal. While her absence on stage causes consternation, Rice soon reminds everyone that the spotlight belongs to him.

Following the success of his debut album, 2003's O, Dublin-born Rice was credited with rescuing the singer- songwriter genre from James Blunt's bed-wetting brigade. But last year's follow-up, 9, split opinion over whether the acoustic angry young man was for real.
Live, Rice's passion has never been in doubt. He and his four-piece band leap from the sparse soul-searching of The Blower's Daughter to funk, rock and grinding prog, never resting long enough to be pigeonholed. He has always taken more chances on stage than on record, and tonight, his heartbreak is more powerful, his rock more furious, than ever.

But the constant change in moods is disorientating, even for Rice. Having been possessed by the screaming spirit of Me, My Yoke and I, he starts, then stops, the lilting Dogs. "Sorry, I'm not in the mood for that one right now," he says.

It's one of the few times he communicates at all, and it's only after cellist Vyvienne Long's charming Random Man on the Motorway that Rice seems to relax, knocking back four glasses of red wine to play the inebriated Romeo of Cheers Darlin'. Suddenly sober and solo for Cannonball, he sings without a microphone - turned off to meet the venue's curfew - needing nothing and no one to prove how special he is."

4 out of 5 stars, no pictures

From http://music.guardian.co.uk/live/sto...044903,00.html

[Ewwa]

I just found a little gallery: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/galler...age/gallery.do and there are quite a few nice photos at flickr: http://flickr.com/search/?q=damien+r...ersmith&m=text

[verenita]

thanks so much to all of you! (again, such an unfair and tinny word!... i have this ilusion i could creat the perfect word for any situation... but -what can i say- i just haven´t, lol)