Look out for Lisa Hannigan, She really is the next big thing!!!

I was at a gig last Friday and it was one of the highlights of my life, musically. We three (two friends and I), had managed to get our hands on tickets to one of two concerts Lisa Hannigan was playing in Galway's Róisín Dubh. The venue is notoriously small and we were packed in like sardines with 150 to 200 others, all of us anticipating a good show and nothing more. What we got however was a spiritual and emotional experience that will be difficult to top.

Lisa Hannigan, for the uninitiated is an Irish singer songwriter, she got her career break as a backing singer and member of Damien Rice's band (she can be heard on a number of Damien Rice tracks including the haunting 'Blowers Daughter'). The two split both personally and professionally in a rather acrimonious fashion and Lisa made the jump to solo artist. All i can say having seen her perform on Friday night is thank the Gods (all of them!!) that she did. To see this woman and her band perform is more than a treat. She seems a quiet and shy character when she first comes onstage, but this develops into a quirky and fun person as the show progresses and as she and the audience feed off each other and off the energy her music generates.

Her repertoire consists mainly of songs from her awesome debut album 'Sea Sew', but she has also added some newer material (which bodes well for the second album) and some covers, including a performance of Dylan's 'Tom Thumb Blues' that would make the hair stand up on the back of your neck and send tingles through your body. In the sweaty confines of the Róisín Dubh nobody moved from where they stood, so entranced were we. Her voice, like that of the sirens in the Odyssey or the Pied Pipers tune drew us in and held us spellbound throughout. Each song was received with raucous applause and we cheered her and the band back to the stage for not one but 3 encores. Such was the energy in the room even she and her band (all of whom play multiple instruments) found it hard to break the spell they had created.

When the gig ended i found it hard to speak. It was an intensely moving experience and i was glowing with happiness at having witnessed it. So many artists go through the motions onstage these days, but for this girl it was different. She was having real fun and enjoying the experience as much as the crowd were. The intimacy of the surroundings contributed most definitely, but the music and the performance were mesmerising. If you get the opportunity to see her perform please go, i doubt you will be disappointed.

Some youtube links to Lisa Hannigan tracks from both her solo career and her collaborations with Damien Rice and the 'Cake Sale' project
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSaPbVjcrp4&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YXVMCHG-Nk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyXmp-FiPJo&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S55BlxoGFsM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te84U9YOALU&feature=related