Joanna Newsom, Live At Grand Canal Theatre

Taking to the splendid Grand Canal Theatre stage, it is clear that Joanna Newsom has lost her voice. Luckily for all concerned, she has replaced it with an even better one. Owing to her recovery from vocal nodules last year, her previous strangled saxophone wail now dips deliciously into Kate Bush and Bjork territory as she opens the show alone with new song ‘Jack Rabbits’. It is a night for new material – ‘Monkey & Bear’ aside, all but the encore is drawn from this year’s Have One On Me.
All changed from her last appearance on Irish shores then, a trip which ended with Newsom forced to dine next to a group witlessly and loudly eviscerating her performance (in a Hard Rock Café, no less). Tonight, she jokingly apologies to them, mischievously adding, “I tried my best.” 
She couldn’t be met with a warmer reception. She even engages in some good-natured banter with the crowd during a nails-and-harp malfunction. As it turns out, everyone in an Irish audience is a comedian.
She’s already one up before arrival, as her support choice of Roy Harper goes down a treat. Clearly glad to be back in the spotlight, he dedicates ‘Another Day’ to Newsom.
For her part, Newsom has grown into a confident performer. She alternates between harp and piano, showcasing accomplished new work. Her voice still skewers the syllables and emotion of her lyrics, her wide facial expressions matching her songs’ rhythmic shifts – abrupt and beguiling. Her playing is hypnotic – hands tumble over strings like sign language of the gods. She’s more at home behind her man-sized harp, but nevertheless some of her piano-led songs are standouts. ‘Easy’, in particular, comes over like avante garde Carole King.
Her band add a dash of texture. They are incidental in the best possible sense (incidentally they are fantastic players). Newsom’s attentions seem chiefly focused on drummer Neal Morgan, whose energetic display is the only thing challenging the focus on her.
She carries the rhythm while Morgan deals in dramatic interjections, alerting like a rap on your door, or heart. Constantly staring, they guide each other through the songs. By the end, she is singing of being “right here at the top of my game”. No one could disagree as we depart out into the docklands. As for those Hard Rock diners? Fools.