Crowd charmed by Lisa Hannigan
I"ve never been averse to listening to Lisa Hannigan"s voice, but I was never an active fan of the singer best known until now as Damien Rice"s accompaniment until she and her band convinced me at a small gig in The Thatch in Rahan last Monday. Five musicians flitting from one instrument to another, Lisa Hannigan and her band were all squashed onto a little stage that had seemed full enough when support act Padraig Digan from Birr was on it by himself. But that was part of the charm. With fairy lights strewn all around the stage, Lisa and her band of four merry men including Gavin Glass switched throughout the gig though a variety of instruments including a stylophone, banjo, bottles, xylophone, double bass and some sort of a squeeze box. Obviously comfortable together, the band almost made me feel as if I just happened to be looking in on what they were doing naturally and effortlessly in their own little world, rather than them being paid to put on a performance. Meath-born Lisa Hannigan, who is probably best known for singing with Damien Rice and more recently Gary Lightbody, will soon be known for nothing other than her own music. Her voice is a pure talent, but she cleverly makes it just one ingredient in the recipe for each song that also includes a combination of other musical instruments. Often thought of as a female Damien Rice, Lisa Hannigan is sure to be more. There is no chance of getting bored during a gig. The band clearly enjoys playing each song, and no song failed to draw the crowd into loving it. In the middle of an Irish tour now, the singer is US-bound later this year to bring her brand of music to venues all across America. If you"re looking for a set list, you"re reading the wrong article. I went along to the gig in The Thatch in a personal capacity, and so didn"t even bring a notepad with me. I"m only writing this because the gig was so good. A lot of the lyrics even escaped me (though some I can remember along the lines of "I spoon you into my coffee cup, and spin you on a delicate cycle" were cleverly woven together), but again simply lyrics is not what Lisa Hannigan is about - it"s more a sum of many parts. And, though softly spoken, the singer with Bjork-like actions can interact with a crowd. 'I"m hoping that after the next song all of my sweat patches will join together, and I"ll just look like I"m wearing a slightly darker shirt,' she laughed at one point. At another, her friend at the back of the audience called to her between songs and signalled to her that the top button of her shirt was open. So she gasped, fixed it, and promptly put someone sitting in the front row of the audience on button duty, perchance it should misbehave again. Lisa Hannigan was supported in The Thatch by Birr musician Padraig Digan, who himself put in a good show prior to the main event. Though he sings a lot of sad songs, he"s 'not the worst man to go for a pint with' he told the crowd, before going on to sing a song called "Let You Down". Because he maintained he still hasn"t found a way to be entertaining while not singing songs, he pressed on doing just that with only a line between each song. Finishing up with "The Girl with the Broken Tooth", Padraig proved that he has something to offer. Lisa Hannigan is playing in Limerick tonight. She next teams up with Padraig Digan in Longford next Tuesday. She is due to release her debut album later this year.