Here's the review what I wroted for ATL of The Divine Comedy/Neil Hannon/genius extraordinaire in the Waterfront last night.
Hardly any surprise that An Evening With Neil Hannon is anything short of a wee bit special, and just generally brilliant. I can't be all that impartial or objective cos I do love him so, but I love him cos he's flipping great. And it really was a brilliant gig. Last time I saw him was also a solo show, in the Andytown Leisure Centre as part of the West Belfast Festival last year. It was a bit of an odd affair - it was like being in a huge school assembly hall, a lot of people were there for the craic rather than to actually listen (and therefore did not shut the flip up), and Mr Hannon himself seemed a little uneasy or nervous or something at first. He settled into things and it was a great show, but there was definitely something a bit odd about it.
Last night, however was faultless. Well, sort of. Anyone who's seen Hannon before - particularly doing solo shows - will know that he does mess stuff up a bit. He forgets his words (which, btw, I don't entirely understand, since he could easily have the words in front of him on the piano, but anyway), hits the odd bum note, ad libs and immediately regrets what he did, and the like. But I think by this point, most fans are aware of that and used to it. And his good humour about it all makes it not matter all that much. Somehow it makes him all the more endearing and charming. And there's something almost inspirational about such an incredibly talented and genius-like songwriter who doesn't always give the most perfect performances. And yeah, he made plenty of those slip ups last night. But it really didn't ruin anything for me.
He played tons of my favourites - Tonight We Fly, Our Mutual Friend and the stunning closer of the second(!) encore Sunrise, which never fails to bring a lump to my throat and goosebumps to my skin - he made favourites of other songs which I'd kinda not paid that much attention to before, and he was in fantastic form. The night was really a delight from the second that he stepped on stage until he left to the much-deserved standing ovation after Sunrise (seriously - if you're not familiar with that song, rectify that immediately. It should be the personal and collective anthem of every and any one who wants peace in Northern Ireland. Truly, it's one of the most moving songs I've ever heard, about anything, ever). I really wish I could go back again tonight to experience it all over again. Wonder if they'd notice the difference in date from my spare ticket from last night....
Anyway, to sum up - Neil Hannon is worship-worthy, and anyone who thinks different is a massive, massive pillock. FACT.
