Imelda May, live at the O2

Things just keep on getting better and bigger for Imelda May. Last Christmas she packed out the Olympia for a couple of nights and rocked the Dame Street venue to its foundations. This weekend, almost 25,000 happy fans in a similarly festive mood, poured into the 02 Arena over two nights. An impressive feat by any measure but a particular triumph for the Liberties girl, who was virtually unknown a few short years ago.

As hometown gigs go, it doesn’t really get much better than this (and it looked like there were plenty of cameras on hand to capture the occasion, presumably for a future DVD release.) Oh and there was that pretty “special,” special-guest – but more of that later.

The visuals are, as always, a feast for the eyes, (If Imelda’s image isn’t a trademarked brand by now, it probably should be). From her quiff ‘n’ kiss curl, body-hugging sparkly dress, to the sharp-cut stage outfits of the lads in the band – not to mention those cherry red and mother-of-pearl Gretsch guitars, that are a work of art in themselves – it all looked fabulous. The stage set too was sumptuous – all Back To The Future retro stylings, with day-glo colours and video screens each side of the stage and a giant vintage TV set (black and white, of course) to capture the frantic action on stage.

And what action! The first part of the show saw her breeze through some of her best known favourites including ‘Johnny Got A Boom Boom’, ‘Road Runner’ and ‘Mayhem’. Other highlights included a raunchy, raucous version of ‘Spoonful’, a fine tribute to the recently deceased Hubert Sumlin, (Howlin' Wolf’s guitar player and sideman) while a duet with the ever-popular Mary Black on the lovely ‘Mountains To The Sea’ from Mary’s album is well-received, despite a glitch with a microphone. (Mary would return later for a rendition of ‘Silent Night’).

But when another Dubliner, this time a northsider who has done alright for himself, arrives out onstage, the roof nearly lifts off the place. Is that really Bono? It is! Phones are raised en masse to capture this one-off (as it proved to be). But what would the pair perform?

As it turned out it was a fiery, passionate version of ‘Desire’ complete with a nod to the song’s Bo Diddley beat origins in ‘Not Fade Away’ – the two voices duelling and sparring in a race to the finish. It was something special to behold and was followed by a thoroughly seasonal and highly appropriate version of the Phil Spector classic ‘Christmas, Baby Please Come Home.’

Home is right!