Sometimes I wish Glen Hansard’s guitar would explode, or that half way through a terrible rendition of ‘Pavement Tune’ the band would lose their way and let the song fall apart. A mistake of some sort would be nice, if only to prove that The Frames are mortal when it comes to playing live.
Going to see The Frames perform is as predictable as watching It’s A Wonderful Life on Christmas Day. You know it’s going to be magical. You couldn’t not enjoy it even if you tried. The first of four nights at the Olympia was no different. Like any other Frames show it was emotionally charged, full of brilliance, and most of all, full of fun. Whether it’s clowning around on stage or talking randomly, Glen Hansard always engages with the audience and creates an atmosphere to suggest that what is happening tonight is for those present and those present only.
Early on though it looked as though things may go awry. Arriving on stage to reserved applause, they quickly began running through material from their recently released Burn The Maps. There was a hushed, almost bored atmosphere in the air, and although the songs were impeccably performed, the group looked to be going through the motions. It was with the opening chords of ‘Seven Day Mile’ that the show finally erupted. ‘Lay Me Down’ followed and the huge singalong prompted Hansard to break into one of his trademark grins. The roof was about to be lifted. ‘Finally’, ‘Fake’, ‘Your Face’ and ‘Revelate’ followed in quick succession, maintaining the pace throughout the middle of the set – a period when most other groups tend to slack off.
As always, ‘Star Star’ stole the show, Joe Doyle’s vocal intermission a particular highlight. Two encores followed but failed to satiate the appetite for more. In other words, proceedings ended as normal. The band didn’t really want to leave the stage, and the audience didn’t want to go home.
And that is the key to the group’s success in Ireland; their ability to connect with the front of stage faithful. 2005 will see The Frames embark on their most ambitious world tour to date. If they can repeat the same level of performance abroad, this may finally be the year when they break onto the world stage.