Paolo Nutini at Marlay Park: The Verdict!

Brendan Ryan was stationed front and centre to catch all the action from the day - check out the photo gallery right here. Meanwhile, the crew were out and about; check who they met here.
My taxi driver from Marlay Park is a self-confessed musical philistine. “Paolo Nutini?” he asks. “Who’s he?”
And, honestly, I’m stumped.
Perhaps because the parting shot - a solo rendition of ‘Last Request’ - is still ringing in my ears, I choose to describe him as a Scottish singer-songwriter, but in truth we’d seen far more than that. A Motown revivalist, a ska party-starter, and R&B crooner and a tender balladeer; say what you want, but don’t put him in a box.
The Rathfarnham venue might be packed with fans and bathed in evening sun, but from opener ‘Scream’ it seems as though a smoky jazz club is the order of the day. A few tracks later, and ‘Alloway Grove’ sounds not terribly unlike his fellow Scots Belle & Sebastian. Old favourites ‘Jenny Don’t Be Hasty’ and ‘New Shoes’ are crammed together in one snarling rock cum New Order-esque four minute blast. It’s nothing if not varied.
To his credit, it’s all deployed with aplomb; you won’t find too many performers who can segue from the infectious effervescence of ‘Pencil Full Of Lead’ to a bum-squeezing song (his words, not mine) like ‘No Other Way’ without losing a step. There aren’t many who could pass off a keyboard glitch by playfully posturing to the crowd, either.
Inviting support Imelda May back on stage for a rendition of ‘Stand By Me’ is a nice touch, but make no mistake; it’s Paolo’s night. He recently told Hot Press he was overwhelmed at last year’s Electric Picnic, there’s no sign here. Giving his backing band The Vipers an early night so he could finish solo is a neat summary; for an artist clearly happy to stand out from the crowd, it’s an Independence Day to remember.