LIVE REPORT: GLEN HANSARD

The older sister to Radio City Music Hall, New York City's Beacon Theatre is the scene of the final night of Glen Hansard's ‘Didn't He Ramble’ US tour. Having bussed his way from coast to coast, nobody's disputing the veracity of the title.

Opening tonight is the magnificent August Wells. Some will remember Ken Griffin from his previous life with Rollerskate Skinny, one of Ireland's more original and exciting acts in the 90s.

August Wells sees Griffin and his band of far-from-merry men in total control of their craft. Often performing in some of the Lower East Side’s venues as a duo with piano player John Rauchenberger, tonight the band features brass, strings, drum and bass. At times sounding like a darker, funnier Cohen, Griffin is a remarkable writer. The songs are simultaneously grand and polished; broken and sad.

The main act has certainly put in his hours and miles over the years with consistency, conviction and sincerity, making tonight feel like a homecoming of sorts. However, when a voice from the darkness shouts, "Welcome home", Hansard is quick to offer the prescient retort: “We’re all just visitors in this town."

Tonight's gig is fired by tunes from his excellent new album, and a canon of classics from The Frames, The Swell Season and earlier solo work. Typically, whether a small room or this stunning environment, Hansard nails it (tonight with a 9-piece band) and pulls the audience out of what he jocularly refers to as their "comfortable seats", and right into the moment. He has that rare ability to make everyone in the room feel like he is singing just for them.

Highlights include ‘Lowly Deserter', ‘My Little Ruin’, ‘Say it To Me Now’ and a sublime version of Nick Drake's ‘Northern Sky’, melded into Mic Christopher's ‘Hey Day’. In a fitting tribute to the band and the crew after a lengthy tour, all share the stage for an extended a cappella version of ‘The Auld Triangle'.

A trimphant performance earns a standing ovation from the sell-out crowd. It's been worth the ramble.

Photo Credit: Patrick Glennon.