Villagers 16.02.13
Photo By Sam Saunders
I might have been the only person in the sold-out venue with no previous interest in the work of Conor O'Brien and his band. His recordings are good, but they suffer more than most from a lack of physical presence. The perfection of the albums do no justice, it seemed to me, to O'Brien's electrifying impact as an artist. His intimate, finely detailed vocal style and the extravagantly erotic/romantic poetry work so well on a stage because, in person, he so obviously means it all and makes such an effort to make sure each word and every nuance is clearly heard and emotionally absorbed. In "On A Sunlit Stage" at the beginning of the set he made this perfectly clear: "…every hidden part will be on display in a Carnival on a sunlit stage" he sang, with the t of "part" elaborately tongued and ostentatiously revealed. "Pay close attention", he seemed to be saying. "pay close attention, because I really mean all this ." That's when he got me.
His two albums should not be enough to support 90 minutes of such intensity. But there was no padding at all. Every song had its opportunity to shine. There were no duds. The band were fearsomely perfect. From the addition of a single harmony vocal on O'Brien's solo opening to a huge band roar for the finale and encore section they shaped a huge space and left the voice, delicate, enticing and fragile as clear as a bell.
Outstanding songs included "In Newfoundland Land You Are Free", "My Lighthouse" and "The Meaning Of the Ritual", but the huge achievement of tonight's show was the fierce unity of artists, audience and art. Trinity at its very best.
Support trio Stealing Sheep's distinctive harmonies and instrumentation were well received by the big crowd.
By Sam Saunders
