Damien Rice

As a die hard fan of damien rice I was dying to see this show, I had seen him earlier in the year when he played the bord gais theatre in dublin which was more of an intimate venue and suited him better I think but to be fair to him for one man and a guitar he can create some noise and he certainly turned up the rock factor for the show in Galway even one stage playing the electric guitar, he played songs of his latest album as well as all the old classics like cannonball, the blowers daughter etc.
which still sound as beautiful as when I first heard them, there are moments where you listen to the lyrics and watch him singing them with his eyes shut,it's as if he's pouring out his heart in every song and singing to a certain someone,it brings back so much memories of falling in love with o and 9. As for the overall performance last night I thought he played every song perfectly, some might say he kinda raced through the show, I got the sense he didn't feel appreciated by the crowd and to be honest I can't blame him, during a song he actually had to stop and suggest to the people who were constantly talking throughout the show to leave to which he received some heckling and support from his loyal fans, myself as a loyal fan I felt angry and sad for him, there were crowds of people in constant conversation throughout his performance and you could see he just didn't want to be there after that, I was infuriated and saddened that the Galway(I'm a Galway man myself) crowd didn't show the respect that the most talented singer songwriter of his generation deserves, I have watched shows of him on youtube performing throughout the world where you couldn't hear a pin drop, like I mentioned I was at the bord gais show and the crowd were fabulous even shouting welcome home damien as that was his first big show in Ireland in over ten years, he was loved and respected at that show, but last night we let him down and I wouldn't be surprised if he takes another hiatus form playing in Ireland, vocally he was amazing but what I would have to praise most on last nights performance is his patience and his dedication to play out the show for the few loyal fans that attended.

The days of Damien Rice threatening to make some kind of mainstream breakthrough seem like a distant memory, now - the conspicuous placing of ‘Cannonball’ and ‘The Blower’s Daughter’ in just about every film, ever seemed to be a very real thing, for a while - but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t retained a significant cult fanbase in the intervening years. It’s impressive that he’s managed that, too, given that he’s hardly threatening The Beatles’ rate of return as far as records go; his last one, 9, dropped way back in 2006, and until last year, he’d kept a relatively low profile since. A rare appearance at Holland’s Best Kept Secret Festival last summer confirmed a few things; one, that Rice was still alive, two, that he’d been working on new music - with a new song, ‘The Box’, given an airing - and three, that his classic material still packed a serious emotional punch. Totally solo now that ex-girlfriend and frequent live collaborator Lisa Hannigan is off pursuing her own career, he switched back and forth between piano and guitar, but it was really that voice - capable of flitting between vulnerability and aggression so quickly - that reminded fans what they’d been missing; they can only hope his work ethic aligns itself with his obvious talent sooner than later.

Its been a long long wait to see the glourious Damien & as he said its good to be back , for you & us both Damien.
I hope I don't have to wait another 7/8 years to see the most hauntingly beautiful artist & lyricist around today.
From the painfully aching glory of Delicate , to the glory of the box , the beauty of cannonball & the blowers daughter ,Damien held centre stage , unlike on previous tours unaccompanied except for a brief appearance on long long way by support act Lucy Rose & her cellist.
My highlight was a fabulous rendition of the greatest bastard but nothing Damien does lets you down.
In reality Damien doesn't need accompaniment his lyrical masterpieces , his guitar playing his beautiful voice is enough to hold everyone's attention .This was aided by his use of twin microphones & various feedback techniques I'm not smart enough to understand that create a bigger sound that shines on I remember & Volcano.
The Albert Hall in Manchester is a great venue but the air conditioning drone did as Damien commented slightly interfere with the experience.
If Damien comes anywhere near you go & see him if you have any emotion in you he will find it , even if you haven't he still will.

An elusive performer and even more elusive recording artist, Damien Rice has a career that has spanned fourteen years yet in that time he has only released three albums. This sense of quality over quantity is transferred through to his live show as the songwriter makes every gig feel like an incredibly intimate and personable affair between him and the audience.

From the opening, delicate guitar picks of 'Elephant' the crowd watch in hushed quiet as to not disturb the artist who appears entranced in his own world and a loss of concentration could end in disaster. He runs through a mixture of tracks from all three of his albums, blending them well and only stopping to briefly thank his audience. '9 Crimes' sounds particularly breathtaking in this small venue, the opener to what many believe is Damien's best album thus far.

An obvious favourite of Rice's, 'The Blower's Daughter' makes for a poignant encore and proves to the audience that this musician need not rush between releases. 'Cannonball' the track that first put him on the radar and was subsequently used in every film trailer for the following years fades under the quiet accomplishment of this setlist.

After several years of traveling around the world and only very rarely playing in public, Damien Rice opened the first show of his 2014 tour at the Congregation Sherith Israel on 10/7/2014. He opened with an unplugged, non amplified song that showcased the excellent acoustical properties of the venue, then he launched into a two hour long set, plugged in. The key to this performance, aside from Damien's usual brilliance, was the outstanding cooperation from the crowd. They could be quiet when song volumes necessarily dropped for dramatic affect, and knew exactly when to chime in when singing along was encouraged. I think this venue was perfect for such a performance, but would probably not work as well with your average, noisy crowd. The temperature and humidity level in the balcony level was a bit uncomfortably hot and stuffy, but it didn't matter as Damien spun his magical web and completely captivated the entire audience. It was a great night. Welcome back Mr. Rice.

I love Rice’s music and his passion when singing.
That said, the show was a bit quirky.
Promising not to repeat any songs from the afternoon show, he admitted he had no set list. This led to very awkward moments before several songs.
The show started 20-25 minutes late and then he told us he had to end the show by 10:20 b/c that was the rule. Huh? BS. I’ve been to Town Hall many times.
The gimmick of inviting a woman on stage for Cheers, Darling (where we watched them finish a bottle of wine in 5 min) was too hokey for me.
He didn’t do any covers in this show (I love his covers of U2, Leonard Cohen, etc. He did Prince in the earlier show which I would have wanted to hear)
Despite these criticisms, his songs are great, his stories were cool. A couple of new songs (one is Astronaut) got me hoping for a new album soon - tho he didn’t say so.

He's always amazing. This is the 4th time I've seen him, which puts him in a pretty exclusive club in my books.
Every time it's a little different. The first time was still the best -- he had the crew from "O" with him, and was in Toronto's Convocation Hall. It was such a special experience that he mentioned it the next time he came through town, and so did his warm-up act, The Frames.
This time he was solo, as he was when he played the Danforth just before the release of "9."
He is such a master with the loop pedal that he can often make it sound like he has 10 guys up on that stage and be playing all by himself.
If I'm honest, it would have been nice at times to hear a female voice -- it doesn't have to be Lisa Hannigan, but he did seem to write a lot of parts for her. Most of the time, though, he did just fine on his own.

Overall, a great show and not to be missed. Played all his hits, and provided backstories for most of them which was quite enjoyable. He asks a lot from his audience as far as attention span goes, which I loved, but meant that at times the place got very loud as others seemed to get bored and talkative. He did a lot of looping as well, which was a little bit of a disappointment as this is not his strong suit, but it certainly wasn't bad. Again, overall a great show and I would strongly encourage anyone to see it!

I've seen Damien before, the previous concert at friedrichstadtpalast was good but this one at Tempodrom was a total blast, better sound, he tried more new things with old tunes and engaged into long conversations with the public. The lightning was also better than other times. The addition of an actual drum set instead of pre-recorded sounds was also very welcome. All in all it felt like one the best concerts of the year.

This concert was so much more than I'd expected. Damien appeared completely honest and deeply present throughout the whole show. His personal anecdotes between the songs gave the experience yet a deeper layer and humor. His performance was utterly professional and he really had the audience in the palm of his hand. I would love to see him on stage again and now his music is constantly playing in my ears