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Damien Rice @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, 23.04.2003

DAMIEN RICE

On a wing and a prayer James Berry whispers an ever so slightly embarrased hallelujah for the arrival of another fragile talent. Crud gets out the tissues for Damien Rice.

13/04/2002

As the venue lights dip to nothing – save for 12 small candles dotted unassumingly to offer a frail, flickering illumination – his fingers begin the slow dance of a broken man healing, up and down the neck of his acoustic guitar. He croaks the opening of ‘Cold Water’ in a high half-confessional tone, only partially outweighing the status of a whisper, asking “Lord, can you hear me now?”.

His band (like the candles, unassuming) gradually pick up the task of carrying him with a sober folk shuffle from the safety of the shadows, as if they’re pushing him step by step, bit by bit, up this lonely ethereal staircase. And then with little warning, save for the stirring of a few gentle roaming blue lights, and like an unstoppable flood shredding the tissue of darkness that previously protected them, an intense detonation of white light bright-washes the entire room, capturing Damien’s now frenzied, distorted attack on his guitar in sharp focus. It is the first time your scribe almost cries tonight.

Because it’s not just this man’s beautifully structured songwriting that makes him. Nor his inter-song storytelling – an open-book of open-hearted and occasionally humourous laments – his vigorously fragile voice nor his utter softness and approachability. Though all those things may put him an airy indoor space ahead of his peers, whoever you consider them to be. We realise that now, though the majority of that is plainly demonstrated already on last year’s breathtaking debut ‘O’.

Live, in the flesh, it’s almost as if he’s second guessing your emotions, because you’re there, in the flesh, and he can. Or has to. Playing to and benignly toying with you, and then hoisting you out of your languid sedation and turning you right on your head. He has a genuine falsetto to die for at full throttle. And a warmth so credible, convincing and of such depth you’d probably kill for him if asked. And all the while you’re under his spell you can’t help but feel this just isn’t something you can learn or practice or fine tune. Are you even listening, David Gray, Turin Brakes, Starsailor?

As if his influences weren’t plain enough (and it’s no let down that someone of such lone greatness should have traceable influences), they are paid homage tonight with covers worked into his own songs, Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’ abridging the aforementioned ‘Cold Water’ and a perfect furious insert of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ into the otherwise blissfully quiet ‘The Blower’s Daughter’. And then there’s Kylie’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ hooked onto ‘I Remember’. Which may be no influence as such, but it’s a magnificently executed and welcome homage to a genius and versatile song either way.

His own ‘Hallelujah’, the soaring, bleeding ‘Delicate’ (“Why’d you sing Hallelujah, if it means nothing to you..?”), starts the set as if we’ve interrupted a private thought. The comparatively frantic last single, ‘Woman Like A Man’, like a part-drunk/stoned tirade opens him up further, and if it’s a bold step onwards on record it’s got its boots on live. But what caps the evening is the fact that although he carries songs like the amazing ‘The Professor’ stunningly on his own he’s not the only star on that stage. Lisa Hannigan, backing and co-vocalist, is a revelation, with a Theramin-esque range to bridge the largest, craggiest ravine. And then some. She comes into her own taking the lead on a touching tribute to Nina Simone with the late singer’s rumbling, percussive ‘Be My Husband’.

He returns for the encore, kneels at the lip of the stage in a respectful silence, utterly unplugged, without amplification of any sort, and picks his way out of the seclusion with the naked splendour of ‘Cannonball’. His words hang strong in the still air, mixing organically with the melodies fluttering like independent sprites from his guitar. Crud once saw Fran Healy do the same thing at a Travis gig at Hammersmith Apollo, but on that occasion it was nothing more than a pleasant gesture. Words cannot really express how precious this man is. Fuck Jeff Buckley*. He’s dead. Damien Rice is most certainly alive, and in so many ways.

Relevant sites:
www.damienrice.com

* Though obviously, get ‘Grace’ first…



James Berry for Crud Magazine© 2003


05/03 BBC6 Music Lamacq Live in the City tour - Northampton Soundhaus
05/03 Bluetones Interview - Coordinates
05/03 British Sea Power - Live - London Garage
05/03 British Sea Power Interview
05/03 Damien Rice - Live - Shpeherd's Bush Empire, London
05/03 Emily Eavis - Glastonbury Interview
05/03 Hidden Cameras - Live ICA London
05/03 Medium 21 - Interview - Coordinates
05/03 Mull Historical Society - Am I Wrong?
05/03 Nada Surf - Live - Soundhaus Northampton
05/03 Radiohead - Live - Shepherd's Bush , London
05/03 Stellastarr - Live Camden Monrach, London
07/03 Bell1 - Live - Northampton Soundhaus
7/03 British Sea Power - On The Rocks London
7/03 Electric Six - Live - Roadmender, Northampton
7/03 Moco Interview - Coordinates
7/03 Oceansize - Bull and Gate, Kentish Town, London
7/03 Warlocks Interview - Coordinates
8/03 Alan Parker - Interview
8/03 Elbow Interview - Coordinates
8/03 Hope of the States - Live - ULU London
8/03 Jet Interview
8/03 Carling Weekend Festival Leeds 2003
8/03 Mogwai London Astoria
8/03 Mohair - Live - Northampton Soundhaus
8/03 Mojave 3 - Live - Camden Lock, London
8/03 OKGO - Live - Northampton Soundhaus
8/03 Pole - Tour Dates
8/03 Reading Festival 2003
8/03 Spiritualized - Live - Northampton Roadmender

03/03 Hot Hot Heat Interview - Coordinates
03/03 Hot Hot Heat - Live - Camden Barfly, London
03/03 Ian McCulloch Interview
03/03 Jetplane Landing Interview
03/03 Medium 21 - Live - London Cargo
03/03 NME Tour - Dats suns - Polyphonic Spree - Interpol - London Astoria
03/03 Non-Point Interview
03/03 White Light Motorcade - Interview
03/03 White Stripes Live - Brixton Academy, London

January 2001
July - August 2001
September - October 2001
November - December 2001
January - March 2002
April - July 2002
August - December 2002
January - March 2003
May - August 2003
November 2003


 
 
 

 

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