TED HAWKINS (Whelan’s, Dublin)

AFTER YEARS of obscurity, not helped by his incarceration in prison, this former Venice beach busker must have been hugely gratified to discover that there is still a solid, devoted audience for his particular brand of soulful blues. Whelan’s was stuffed to the sweaty rafters for this one-off show.

Dressed all in black and looking slim and fit, Ted Hawkins didn’t disappoint – the only complaint might have been the shortness of the set, related to the stiff £8 entrance fee.

The first thing to be said about Hawkins is that he has a truly extraordinary vocal ability and an astonishingly soulful voice which is occasionally frightening in its intensity. Blending the heartache and tension of Otis Redding with the melodic grace of Sam Cooke, he almost brings tears to the eyes as he wrenches every last drop of emotion from his original numbers and covers of soul standards.

Hawkins is a fine songwriter too as evident on ‘Bring It Home Daddy’, ‘Watch Your Step’ and ‘If You Love Me’. His rendition of Otis’ ‘Dock Of The Bay’ almost eclipses the original and at times he seems even too emotionally over-wrought for his own good.

While his voice may be truly inspired, his guitar playing is functional at best. Using open tuning and wearing a black leather glove doused in baby powder (no kidding!), his strumming becomes a little wearing after a while.

This was alleviated when he was joined by another more able guitarist for the first encore which was John Fogerty’s ‘As Long As I Can See The Light’. It was stunning and he should have wrapped it up at that point.

As it happened the final number was a letdown – a singalonga run through John Denver’s ‘Country Road’ which was a travesty of his considerable talent and best forgotten in a hurry.

Gig of the year – almost.

• Colm O’Hare