Grant Lee Phillips

It’s hard to argue with the kind of adoration and unflinching devotion that was heaped on the LA based former Grant Lee Buffallo frontman at a standing-room-only Vicar St. Hard to argue maybe, but a tad mystifying all the same

Kicking off on a high-octane note with a bevy of tracks from his second solo release Mobilize, the denim-clad Phillips certainly acts the part. Looking like a classic slacker rock-star straight out of central casting Phillips seemed over-awed by attention he received (“No paparazzi please”). But despite the passion of the performance, the songs, with some notable Fuzzy era exceptions, are mediocre, samey and uninspiring.

Backed by a muscular rhythm section and dodgy-suited keyboard player the band played a major part in making this show the success it was. The addition of fiddle and mandolin lent it a Waterboys ‘Big Music’ texture while the reverb on the vocals made him sound like a slightly less bombastic Jim Kerr.

The highlight came in the encore with the solo rendition of ‘Happiness’ but that apart this seemed strangely lacking in substance. But then who am I to argue with the 850 or so smiling fans who thought different?