Damien Rice in NYC

Four days after The Frames played the Bowery, the last date of Damien Rice’s US sojourn culminated with an equally raw and potent night of music.

The first part of the show, in front of a sold-out hall, was the canon of O, with Mr. Rice looking saintly under the mirror ball during ‘Eskimo’ and ‘Cannonball’. The juxtaposition of Lisa Hannigan’s angelic vocals with Damien’s ‘I Remember’, with all its shape-changing style, was another highlight.

The supposed encore featured a segue of ‘When Doves Cry’ into ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’ (sweeeet) as it became increasingly obvious that they were just here to have fun.
“Does anyone have to be up for work in the morning?” inquired Damien to a resounding ‘no’. “Well anyone who wants to stay and have the bollix, feel free.”

We were then treated to over an hour more of Damo attempting to balance a plastic cup of wine atop his guitar while playing a fantastic cello interpretation of ‘Purple Haze’, a few bad jokes and some much-deserved adulation from the house.

Bravo, what an incredible night of music.