Boston Show

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"Heartthrob Rice doesn't generate much heat
By James Reed, Globe Staff | December 13, 2006

Damien Rice would be so nice to come home to. A scruffy Irishman clad in a brown corduroy jacket with a clutch of sensitive songs, he's the Dom Perignon of male singer-songwriters who moonlight as heartthrobs. Definitely a notch or two above James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" pandering.

So why, then, was Monday night's show at the Orpheum Theatre so oddly uncompelling?

The elements were in place, starting with an enthusiastic crowd composed of couples canoodling as if they were at a "Sleepless in Seattle" screening.

With longtime singing sidekick Lisa Hannigan backing him up (especially well on "The Professor"), Rice sang and played his guitar beautifully, putting the softest lilt at the end of his notes and knowing exactly when to pause for effect. When he got behind a piano to sing "Accidental Babies," from his new album, "9," it was a marvel of intimacy, enough so that you could almost forgive him for lyrics such as, "And is he dark enough?/ Enough to see your light?"

But several songs dragged on to insufferable lengths. "Amie," a ballad flush with strings on the album "O," morphed into a 10-minute prog-rock jam that spiraled into a spasm of bombast. (Who knew you'd need earplugs at a Damien Rice show?) It was a nice thought to mix it up, but Rice's songs aren't substantive enough to be deconstructed in such a belabored manner. He rebounded with a segue into "Eskimo," as delightful live as on record. If only he could have trimmed the fat from more of his songs.

Rice's one truly inspired moment was to play "The Blower's Daughter," beloved as the tender ballad in the film "Closer," as a death-metal version replete with distorted guitars and feedback. The guys in the audience loved it. The ladies? Not so much. "Play it for real!" came the plaintive cry from a female in the back. He did not. Uh-oh. There went his heartthrob cred."

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/liv...ate_much_heat/