Music / Reviews
Review: Damien Rice, Colston Hall
Damien Rice’s return to the live arena after an eight year gap between albums has been rather stunted. No full tours, no major UK festivals, but instead a sporadic sprinkling of shows in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and, so quietly announced that it was missed by many, a night at the Colston Hall.
One positive from the careful pick-and-choose method Rice has taken with his UK shows to promote last year’s My Favourite Faded Fantasy is that the Dubliner is clearly fully devoted to every gig he plays on this run.
Rice has lost his band for this tour, but showmanship hasn’t been compromised by this, and elements of the show were anything but quiet and reserved. After thrusting himself into the show head first by opening with his biggest hit Cannonball, Rice then dipped into the new album, performing The Box and Colour Me In, after giving both lengthy introductions and being more interactive and chatty than ever. Topics of conversation ranged from death to guilt to self-loathing, but Rice promised the crowd that, despite this, his new album is by far his happiest.
is needed now More than ever
Variety and a move away from simply Rice and an acoustic guitar came in the form of a gorgeous rendition of new album track Trusty And True on a harmonium in the corner of the stage, showcasing his booming voice that hasn’t lessened in power in his near-decade away.
Renditions of older tracks 9 Crimes and Elephant were boosted by a loop pedal, thundering synthetic drums and electrifying his acoustic guitar, taking a folk show and turning it into a rock show with strobe lights in mere seconds, with both guises being received rapturously.
The ad-lib feel of the show continued with Rice asking for requests towards the end of the main set, then immediately regretting the decision and placing his fingers in his ears when his entire discography was yelled at him within five seconds of the question being asked. One old and one new track eventually came from the requests section – Older Chests and The Greatest Bastard – before the inclusive, celebratory nature of the show reached its peak with a three-part audience harmony orchestrated by Rice at the end of Volcano.
The inevitable encore perfectly showcased both sides of Rice’s repertoire, with The Blower’s Daughter so serene and gorgeous, before ten-minute closer It Takes A Lot To Know A Man incorporated drums, electric guitar, flute and all manner of effects pedals, with Rice leaving the stage to a cacophony of noise. It was only Damien Rice on stage, but his engagement with the audience and use of a world of instruments made the show so much more than that.
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