Live Report : Moncrieff captivates audience with jaw-dropping Windmill Live performance

Moncrieff provided a passionate and empowering display of what live music can achieve at the iconic Windmill Quarter yesterday evening.

The special Hot Press Windmill Live show came in the run-up to Moncrieff's major headline tour, which will take him to cities across Europe and the UK in November and December. The run of gigs culminates with a string of Irish dates, including the New Years Eve show in Dublin Castle – which should bring the year to a stirring end.

His Windmill Live appearance proved to be the perfect opportunity to catch this star in an extra special, intimate Irish setting - before he takes over the world.

It was a packed house, with fans lucky enough to get their hands on a coveted ticket queueing enthusiastically in expectation before the show.

Moncrieff at Windmill Live. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

The atmosphere was tangible, as the Hot Press logo bounced around the storied brick walls – much like Larry Mullan Jr’s unmistakable drum sound in Windmill Lane studios, all those years ago. Thus, the scene was set for what would turn out to be an incredibly special evening.

Hot Press' Stuart Clark initiated proceedings, his masterful MC work laying out the evening’s running order.

First up was the evening’s special guest - Toshín – led by the supremely talented, soul-stirring Tosin Bankole (yes, the spelling is different). The music draws inspiration from a variety of eras in black music, spanning from early Motown to more modern acts like Tank (aka Durrell Artaze Babbs), The Bangas and Anderson .Paak.

Tosin's personality was infectious from the get-go. She skipped and hopped onto the stage, blowing kisses and throwing roses to the audience - the crowd took a liking to her immediately.

While her confidence was evident in her swagger, Tosin wasn’t afraid to express her vulnerabilities. Introducing the song ‘She’, Tosin shared the struggles she's had, not feeling comfortable in her own skin. One day, she explained, looking at her reflection in a mirror she said “damn” – thus sparking a triumphant tale of self-love, ramping up the feel-good vibe of the evening.

Her music was as dynamic as it was soulful, aided by the polymathic musical skills of guitar player and keyboardist Eoin, who effortlessly ebbed between the shifting sounds of Toshín's catalogue – most notably the almost punk-rocky new single ‘Defence’.

Tosin’s performance indicated that she’s not only an amazing singer, but an inspirational personality, gleefully prancing around the stage and sharing powerful stories of faith and female empowerment.

She is set to play a particularly special show, ‘Toshín as Nina Simone’ in the Sugar Club on 1 December. If her jaw-dropping cameo last night is anything to go by, seeing her cover The High Priestess of Soul’s classics for one night only is sure to be an unmissable occasion.

Toshín at Windmill Live. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

The crowd well and truly warmed up, it was time for the much-anticipated main event – you could feel the bubble of excitement reach bursting point as Moncrieff was set to take the stage.

All of a sudden, he emerged with his band, diving head-first into the fast-paced pop anthem ‘What Am I Here For?’.

Moncrieff’s energy was infectious, swaying and jerking in perfect syncopation to each blasting beat on the bass drum. Better still, his vocals were immaculate from the get-go.

He poured his heart out, sharing a tale of how he simply just couldn’t live without his love interest – singing, “Baby, I've been driving all night/ Just to break down right outside your door/ Cause if I'm not here to love you/ What am I here for?”

Moncrieff kept the energy levels high, with another heart-string pulling number, ‘Ruin’ – a confessional song during which the Tramore native shared his feelings of self-doubt, and how loss has affected his life.

While the subject matter was heavy, the music provided an uplifting contrast, with infectious guitar hooks glistening throughout the choruses.

‘In My Room’ was up next, characterised by a beautiful descending chord progression on a tapered piano, melded with spaced-out reverb-ed guitars.

Moncrieff took us through a deep dive into the inner machinations of his mind during the Covid- pandemic – showcasing his buttery vocals over the slow-burning tune.

Moncrieff at Windmill Live. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

In between songs, he admitted that he was feeling nervous. You wouldn’t have thought it, with his high-octane, indomitable stage presence and charm.

He mentioned that the band had only two days of rehearsal before the show. This also came as a surprise, considering how tight they were – every riff, beat and lyric seemed planned to a tee.

Things kicked up a gear with ‘Like I Do’, its gritty and funky guitar line set over a booming head-bopping beat. A song targeted at an insolent Cork-onian who – allegedly! – stole Moncrieff’s girlfriend, it was an example of the singer’s talent for turning all sorts of emotions into powerful pop bangers.

The singer took a moment to share some deeply personal stories, telling us of the family members he lost at a young age, and most poignantly – in a month dedicated to all facets of men’s health – a friend of his who tragically took his own life.

You could hear a pin drop, as he shared the frustration, and the helplessness, he felt at not being there for someone when he sensed he could have been – going on to advocate for men in the audience to look after their friends, brothers and fathers.

It was a fitting lead-in to his next song, ‘Young Men’ – perhaps the emotional apex of the night. You could see the tears well in the eyes of audience members.

Moncrieff proved that he’s not only an exceptionally talented songwriter and performer, but also an extremely brave one – unafraid to write about vulnerabilities that other male artists often shy away from.

Moncrieff at Windmill Live. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

From that point on every single person in the room was eating out of his hand.

The crowd now firmly in his grip (in some cases quite literally as he stepped down from the stage and embraced the masses), spectators ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ back to Moncrieff for the rest of the evening.  This was particularly evident on the uber-catchy 'I’m With You’, during which the entire room returned his powerful lyrics of solidarity in love, with the fervour of a Djokovic backhand.

Flawlessly rattling through some of his most popular songs, including ‘Perfect’ and ‘Love Somebody’, even those at the back were singing along, as Moncrieff reached out to his adoring fans, old and new.

Set finished, he decided to skip the “musical peek-a-boo” as he called it, and went straight into the encore, beginning his goodbyes with the appropriately named ‘Dance’, hypnotising onlookers into swaying their hips and generally getting into the swing of a brilliantly catchy number.

As the evening drew to a close, the final song of choice was ‘Warm’, an apt way to begin to describe the crowd’s attitude towards Moncrieff. But it was more than that too. "And all these little memories," he sang, "They play me like a melody/ But I don't want this song to end/ It belongs to you and me." It was the perfect sentiment to cap off a fantastic performance, in what was a brilliant night at the Windmill Quarter.

• After this one-of-a-kind taster to Moncrieff’s unique live shows, don’t miss out on a mega-star in the making, as he traverses the UK, Europe and his native Ireland in the coming months.

For more information on the upcoming gigs, included dates and tickets, click here.