First published on www.thedivinecomedy.com (official website of The Divine Comedy), November 2004.
Neil looks around the packed auditorium at the Forum, Waterford, cocking a quizzical eyebrow. “I never expected such a rarefied atmosphere in Waterford,” he tells us. “This is more like New York!”
I have to say, when I first entered the auditorium before the gig, a similar thought crossed my mind – wow, these people are quiet and well-behaved! The mostly seated audience chatted quietly and sipped their drinks as they waited for the gig to start. And thanks to Ireland’s new smoking ban, there was not a puff of atmospheric jazz-club smoke in sight. The last time I saw DC live, in La Laiterie, Strasbourg, a few years ago, we were crammed in there too, but at an all-standing gig, getting a free hit from the fog of spliff smoke that hung over the very young crowd, and people waved plastic beer glasses along with the music.
But Neil needn’t have worried about the Waterford crowd. After he strolled on stage and began picking out the opening notes of ‘Bath’, any reserve there was was forgotten as people began cheering, clapping, whooping, and singing along to song after song.
That such a big, full sound can come from a trio is astounding. This is a testament both to the skill of the musicians (besides Neil on keyboard and guitar, a double-bass player (Simon) and accordion player (sorry, didn’t catch the name)) and to Neil’s amazing control and focus – he sang, played keyboard and guitar, directed the other musicians, and was also very much aware of the overall sound, as evidenced by a polite (sung!) instruction to the sound engineer at one point. He kept up his trademark dry wit throughout (commenting on the gargoyle-like masks adorning the walls: “Are these what’s left of former bands who didn’t go down very well?”; “This song is from the same album as the last song. [No reaction from crowd] That’s very interesting – to me”). And that voice – it resonates and booms out, huge and incongruous coming from this small, thin man, almost operatic in its range and power.
Over the course of the evening, we were treated to a selection of songs from the whole DC oeuvre. It’s usually a pretty impossible task to pick out highlights from a DC gig, but numbers that have particularly stuck in my memory from last night are ‘The Happy Goth’, ‘The Summerhouse’, ‘A Drinking Song’ (accompanied by Student Prince-style swaying from the crowd), ‘Alfie’, ‘Charmed Life’, ‘Absent Friends’ … OK, it really is impossible. Everything was perfectly performed (the few stumbles only adding to the magic), inspiring, and infused with Neil’s visible passion for the music and for performance.
A DC gig leaves you with conflicting emotions – you’re floating on a cloud after a magic evening, but sad because it has come to end. Thanks for coming to Waterford, Neil, and please put us on the next tour list – we’ll be waiting.
(c) Orla Shanaghy 2007
