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Damien Rice - Wolverhampton Civic Hall 29/03/07
Damien Rice writes intimate, heart-wrenching, passionate music which, over the past 5 years, has established him as an artist more-then-likely to stand the test of time. He has risen from being an unknown member of Irish rockers, Juniper, to being a unit-shifting solo artist selling out venues worldwide. This, however, is not all good news...
The first time I saw Damien Rice play live it was in a small room above a cafe in Cardiff. We sat around on the floor in total silence and soaked up the intimate atmosphere while Damien poured his heart out in front of us. The gig was, quite simply, incredible.
With mainstream success comes the need to play ever-larger, and less intimate, venues, and these venues don't always suit the kind of music Damien Rice is known for. At a Brixton Academy show, Mr Rice famously got upset with the amount of people chatting away at the bars, drowning out the delicate songs from his debut album "O". Later this year, he will headline festivals before returning to the Midlands for a huge show at the NIA in Birmingham.
On top of that, Damien has recently parted ways with backing singer, Lisa Hannigan. Unlike many backing singers, Lisa's voice was a major part of Damien's music. It's difficult to imagine songs such as "I Remember" or "Volcano" without Lisa's gentle vocals and at tonight's Wolverhampton gig her presence is very much missed. Damien fills in her parts as best he can but it's all too obvious that the songs suffer from her absense.
It's not all bad news by any means though. Tonight Damien leaves the interaction with his audience to a bare minimum, prefering to let the music express everything he has to say, and even without Miss Hannigan, the music is superb. With just 2 albums and a few brilliant b-sides to choose from, the set is packed full of emotional songs which take on a life of their own in a live setting. It's the songs from "O" which receive the warmest welcome, with "The Blowers Daughter" in particular inspiring a massive, if appallingly cringeworthy, singalong.
It's not just Lisa that's missing tonight though. That magical spark which I've witnessed more than once at a Damien Rice gig just doesn't seem to be there tonight and it's easy to think that Mr Rice is going through the motions somewhat. But even a poor Damien Rice concert would eclipse most other performers of his ilk, and, as the chattering at the bar dies down, the 3000-strong crowd heads home more than satisfied.
Damien Rice plays Birmingham NIA Academy on October 2nd 2007.
Words and pictures: Steve Gerrard www.rock-photo.com
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John Waters
Once crowned 'The Pope of Trash' by William Burroughs for his
no-budget gross out movies such as 'Pink Flamingos' and
'Female Trouble' John Waters is now hailed as the genius behind
Hairspray, which is now a hot Broadway musical. He tells us more
…
Motorhead (Lemmy)
Best known for their 1980 hit The Ace of Spades Motorhead are
still rocking along today. We get up close and personal with
Motorhead lead man Lemmy to find out about the new album.
MONO
MONO NUMBER ONE :PHUNK STUDIO, A DECADE OF DECADENCE
Trying to remember a decade's worth of random work and forgotten
memories
Porn titles
Ever since Fused saw Edward Penis Hands and Shaving Ryan's
Privates on VHS a few years back we've been obsessed with the
strange names that porn producers come up with for their
err..art.
Razorlight
The hottest young rock'n'roll band in the UK today have been
stealing headlines, breaking hearts and carving out their own niche
in three minute guitar melodies. We shared a drink and a chat with
frontman Johnny Borrel and guitarist Bjorn Agren.
Richard Pryor
You couldn't write a more vivid or eventful life story if you
tried. Pryor was the son of a prostitute, raised in a brothel and
became a sex addict (with no less than 5 ex-wives).
The Killers
Fused talks to the Las Vegas rock band whose debut album is
released this month.
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