damien dempsey

in the spirit of never say no to an invitation
combined with a curiosity about this performer
and a want to be part of the luminous festival
means that tonight it's a visit to the opera house
opening act the crooked string band set the scene
some rousing baltic-inspired string-based trad-tunes
then the main man is on stage alone and in the spotlight
that lovely dublin accent and humble attitude coming over
he comes armed with an acoustic guitar and heartfelt tunes
one tune in solo mode then the band is on stage and belting it
keyboards, electric guitar, drums and bass guitarist rocking it out
the volume cranked up with at least one person in front cowering
he may be the next christy moore, etc but phil lynott is in the mix
brought to mind with reference to the black irishman in the white house
the banter in-between tunes politically charged, informative and humorous
he holds his position centre front of the stage distanced from the band
one spotlight or another constantly on him - he's the star tonight
which is just fine for the audience of hard-core fans singing along
oh lord give me the strength to be strong and to be true
for the devil has got into my head and made me feel blue
one tune after another bringing shrieks of recognition
including some word for word accompaniment for colony
this song containing some spoken-word rap-style sermonising
400 years of anglo-saxon plundering the subject of this anthem
by which time i'm feeling decidedly exposed in my ignorance
but i quite easily get into the vibe and clap and sing along
he's only about 5 metres away from me as he urges us on
it all looks quite sincere and he is constantly praising us
he may be the man that takes ireland's music forward
but he's going to do it in a totally accessible way
rock – anthems – singalongs – love and respect
another tune had us all howling to love ourselves
very reminiscent of u2 stadium based anthems
no accident maybe with the edge being a big fan
so after 2 quick hours it's all over for the formalities
my ticket benefactor tonight securing entry to the party
so off to the the opera house's green room for some schmoozing
and lo and behold who should be there but festival curator brian eno
whoa – this is serious mum – i am in the presence of greatness
funny how a glass or 2 of red wine invokes self-confidence -
hello brian – just wanted to say thanks for all your music – hic
especially discreet music that i played recently at a friend's funeral – hic
and will you be in town on june 20 for some amazing improvised music – hic
how's the festival going by the way – are you enjoying it – hic
to his credit he also was very gracious and well - gentle
thanked me for my comments but no – heading to thailand on june 15
sorry guys – i tried to get him to the gig – i know he would have loved it
but anyway then a dash to the train for the mid-night journey
alas no trains tonight so onto the buses with the unruly mob
what a surreal night – opera house, brian eno, the hoi-polloi
pinched myself most of the way home i did
i just met brian eno – unbelievable
damien dempsey was good too
....a most enjoyable night