Tonight was a very special occasion from a number of different perspectives. We saw the long-awaited return of Kathleen Edwards to a Dublin stage and her support slot was received with great enthusiasm by a packed venue. Craig Finn also brought his superbly crafted story songs and narratives in stripped down form and the solo performance of his images and words was all the more poignant in the delivery.
It’s been over ten years since Edwards performed in Dublin, where her beautifully crafted songs have always seen her elevated to the status of ‘favourite daughter.’ In fact she speaks of “feeling like I’m back home” with reference to her natural red hair and Irish forename. Her stage presence has always exuded an easy confidence, despite her admission to feeling nervous tonight. Perhaps the start of a European tour brings a certain apprehension but her performance is superb throughout, laced with real quality and lapped up by an ardent audience that was completely in her corner. Her guitar skills were perfectly highlighted in such an intimate setting, and her sweetly seductive vocal tone has never sounded as strong.
Her all-too-short set comprised of old favourites such as Six O’Clock News and Hockey Skates, both taken from the 2002 debut FAILER. She also featured Asking For Flowers and Hard On Everyone, both of which capture relationship challenges, and In State closes the set, taken from the 2005 album BACK TO ME. In between, we were given a cover of the Paul Westerberg song Only Lie Worth Telling and a new song Algorithm that perfectly captures her view of the current state of the music business “Playing from the heart onstage with your friends will never be replaced by an algorithm.” Right on, Kathleen!
Craig Finn has released six solo albums since 2012, in between recording regularly with his band The Hold Steady. His stage presence is engaging and warm, the witty conversation between songs tonight both funny and keenly observant. There is great humour and empathy in his songs about how we all try to fit together and make sense of the world. His vocal style is a mix of spoken word and singing, with both the delivery and his energetic guitar strum wrapped in an impressive cocktail of honest technique and integrity. The set list of fourteen songs was taken from five albums, with three songs featured from the 2022 A LEGACY OF RENTALS. There is a performance of the Hold Steady track Certain Songs and the refrain resonates ‘Certain songs, they get so scratched into our souls.’
Preludes is a very autobiographical song about redefining yourself and Newmyer’s Roof captures the horror of 9/11 and the deep spiral of despair that followed in its wake. The Amarillo Kid tells of a drug cartel rip off that gives insights into a life on the run ‘When the Devil starts to show up in your dreams, Then it's hard to get your dreams back.’ The prolific songwriting talent of Finn is very much evidenced by the fact that six of the songs performed tonight have yet to feature in any of his recorded output to date. If he is road testing them for the next album then we are certainly in line for another cracker and the slice-of-life vignettes are all worthy of the highest praise as they hit the bullseye time and again.
On Shamrock he reflects that ‘the apple sometimes rolls right down the hill’ as opposed to the time- honoured saying that “the apple never falls far from the tree.” A brilliantly conceived juxtaposition. Another new song Crumbs captures the results of a hard life and the struggle to endure ‘The years they put the yellow in her hair, and teeth and skin.’ Both eloquent and heartbreaking. So, quite a night and right up there as one of the gigs of the year. Time stood still for a few hours and then it was back to the reality of a bustling city nightlife, insulated with a warm glow of contentment.
Review by Paul McGee Photos by Paul McGee (Finn) and Declan Culliton (Edwards)