It’s a bit of a murky and wet Monday evening – so three cheers for tonight’s support act Cary Brothers, who is doing his best to bring some sunshine into the packed venue. At one point he even wades into the crowd to deliver a song mic-less and as god intended (if god in this case happened to be Chuck Ragan obviously). Elsewhere the likes of ‘Blue Eyes’ warm us up nicely for the main act.
Currently charming critics and fans alike with her third album Flags, tonight is New Zealand native Brooke Fraser’s first visit, and she opts to mark this milestone by greeting us with a, “Hello there, Belfast” in an accent which is intended to sound like the natives of the city, but comes out kinda Scottish instead. Not to worry: what she lacks in impersonation skills, she more than makes up for in the songwriting department as she treats us to material from all of her records while telling us some quirky anecdotes along the way.
Opening with a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bookends’, Brooke focuses mainly on her current release. The likes of ‘Betty’, a canny concoction of Norah Jones and Liz Phair, gets new life breathed into it when she performs the song live. ‘Sailboats’ is another highlight: after she introduces the track by telling the crowd it was written about her husband (greeted with some affectionate, if slightly predictable boos) she mesmerises everyone with a simple but effective acoustic guitar part and a melody that soars to the stars.
‘Something In The Water’ on the other hand, proves she’s got more than one string to her bow and can rival the likes of Feist when it comes to crafting infectious alt. anthems, and ‘Coachella’ provides that all-important lighter/mobile phone in the air moment. A new pop star is born...