Music
21 Nov 14

Glen Hansard Unveils New Songs At Film Fundraiser

It was one of those special Dublin nights. The occasion was a fund-raiser for a new short film, entitled Descend, directed by Hedi Rose, and written by Irish-based Texan screenwriter Margaret Miller. The location was upstairs in The 51 Bar on Haddington Road.

First up to perform on the night was David Rooney [pictured right with Jonathan Ward and Glen Hansard] . He may be better known as an illustrator – his legendary work appears in Hot Press every fortnight – but Rooney is beginning to sound like a very serous proposition as a singer and songwriter. He has a natural warmth that makes it easy for an audience to engage; his voice is excellent; and, adept as he may be at covering the likes of Hank Williams, he is starting to put together an impressive repertoire of original songs. He’s been working recently with Declan O’Rourke and Gavin Glass among others, which is good company to be keeping.

David's performance was hugely impressive. He was joined onstage for the lovely ‘Buffalo’ and ‘I Lost Sight of Her Today' by Margaret Miller, who made a fine Emmylou to David’s Gram. But it was the final, Dylan-esque 'Port of Missing Men', inspired by a trip to Aberdeen, Washington where Kurt Cobain grew up, that I was humming afterwards. We’ll be hearing more from him…

It is a bit of a mystery as to why we haven’t already heard more from Jonathan Ward. His delivery has a busker’s power, but he too has some fine songs of his own, notably ‘You Belong To Me’ and the closing ‘Rivers’, a song of hope that channels early Springsteen and had people stomping and clapping along. There is no shortage of confidence in the way he goes about his business: he stands tall and projects well. On the night, he included an impressive version of U2’s ‘Every Breaking Wave’, an instant classic that will doubtless be sung at weddings and house parties for years to come. Overall, he was the perfect John The Baptist, setting things up nicely for the main man...

Glen Hansard knows how to work a room better than almost any other singer in Ireland. Here, he encouraged people to push up the front and sit in a circle, lending an added intimacy to proceedings.

He opened with the traditional English ballad ‘Spencer The Rover’, best known for John Martyn’s 1975 version. Along the way, he spoke about the script for the movie and offered a glowing endorsement of the ideas that Hedi Rose and Margaret Miller will be giving flesh to in ‘Descend’.

Inevitably, for Hansard watchers, the highlight of the night was the selection of new songs he unveiled. Glen has been recording his next album in France – upcoming early in 2015 hopefully – and, if the spring buds on show here are anything to go by, it’ll be a genuinely special record. There was the odd false start and forgotten lyric , but that only added to the sense of occasion and to the shared bonhomie between Glen and the audience, who pushed ever more determinedly to the front as his set developed.

Four new songs in all – 'Stay The Road (Tired Eyes)’, 'Winning Streak’, the beautiful 'Wedding Ring’ and 'Paying My Way’ – were unfurled and sounded like tracks that will grow into live staples. He also did stirring versions of 'Love Don't Leave Me Waiting’, 'Come Away To The Water', ‘Limerick’ ( "And if you ever go to Limerick town/ Where the river winds past the ridges down/ Will you seek the good friends there I found/ And will you tell them I was asking/ For them?”) and 'High Hope’, before going into covers mode, with the assembled cast joining him onstage for a lusty rendition of the Band classic, ’The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’.

To bring the set to a close, Glen launched into ’The Auld Triangle’ and was joined onstage by a procession of reprobates. I was even hauled up myself, spontaneously, to do a verse. It was only afterwards that I thought of the lyrics I should have sung: “Well, you’ve met Glen Hansard / He’s quite a man sir / And he plays the guitar / The one with the hole / And sings about the auld triangle / Going jingle jangle / All along the banks of the Royal Canal.”

It was a rambunctious end to a lovely night. Doubtless, Hansard the Rover will be back this way again soon. Don’t miss him...