Ben Lee live at the Temple Bar Music Centre, Dublin

Don't worry! If Ben Lee has one message then it's not to be troubled by anxiety. For over an hour at the Temple Bar Music Centre, the prodigious Australian took us on a journey through his life affirming and spiritually fertile world. All a bit hippy dippy you might think, but then Lee would argue that the gamble is worth it. And the 26-year-old's world yields sine curious off-beat observations and slacker musings on life and love not unlike those of Ben Folds and the great Evan Dando. Lee has grown as a performer. A previous support slot to Dando in Whelan's some five years ago saw a fragile and shy 21-year-old struggle to make himself heard. In Temple Bar, he's very much in control, working the audience. 1998's Breathing Tornadoes and 2003's Hey You Yes You are largely eschewed, with the emphasis very much on last year's Awake Is The New Sleep LP.
'Begin' and 'Gamble Everything For Love' are early highlights, as Lee unveils his manifesto. "Whatever it is just do it/Just do it" he sings on the superb 'Whatever It Is'. 'Close I've Come' showcases his knack with melody, while 'Ache For You' is boosted by audience participation on the chorus refrain. Homour is key to Lee, and throughout he pokes fun at rock star credentials, and delivers his songs as though playing in your front room. It all climaxes with a majestic rendition of the anthemic 'We're All In This Together'. Here he unplugs his guitar, leaves his microphone aside and sings and plays out the sparkling tune unaccompanied from the edge of the stage. Exceptional stuff.