How it’s New York: A the Tarrytown Music Hall
How it’s Irish: Irish Singer/Songwriter Glen Hansard
What do you do when the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on 5th Avenue is on, and the 5 boroughs fill with the sounds of bagpipes and young folks full of beer and song from 11:00am? You head out of town to the blissful hamlet of Tarrytown up the Hudson River and see a sublime show at the Town Hall.
Glen Hansard is on tour promoting his 5th studio album All That Was East is West of Me Now. He brought all his wonderful songs to a packed house of die-hard fans who were right with him and the band all the way. Joining him for this show were his longtime bass player from the Frames, Joe Doyle, Jim White on drums and Thomas “Doveman” Bartlett on piano.
Opening the night was the delightful Jenna Nicholls, who was joined by John Ladeau on guitar and vocals. If you haven’t seen Jenna yet, I highly recommend you check her out at Jenna Nicholls.com She played a delightful set, showcasing her multi-instrumental skills and comedic and poignant songwriting. There were cowboy songs and a fun song about going on a Sunday drive with her husband. She has such great delivery and every time I hear her I just want to hear more! You’ll be seeing a lot more of her soon for sure!
The glow of the small table lamps littering the stage made the venue feel like stepping into Glen’s living room and we were treated to an excellent show that meandered through the breadth of his career. The soaring When Your Mind’s Made Up, and Falling Slowly from “Once”, a number of songs from the new record including The Feast of St. John and Sure as the Rain, and Her Mercy and My Little Ruin from Didn’t He Ramble. He was also trying out a few songs for the tribute concert on Wednesday March 20th at Carnegie Hall for Shane MacGowan and Sinead O’Connor. There was a solid and searing version of the traditional ballad Jock Stewart (or I’m a Man You Don’t Meet Every Day), depending on whom you talk to. And a blinding delivery of the racehorse paced Pogues classic Bottle of Smoke.
There were also a few brand new songs, written on a recent trip to visit his Swell Season songwriting partner Marketa Irglova in Iceland. Always the great storyteller, he treated us to the inception of one of the songs, while watching the glow from the volcanos in the distance and you could feel the warmth of it in the songs. One of the songs the band hadn’t even heard before, and yet, they were able to jump in and accompany him perfectly. The most delightful bit of artistry of the evening was the pianist Thomas Barlett playing the strings inside the piano with the grace of a harpist, something I’ve rarely seen done before.
If you want to know where to find Glen next, you can see his current tour dates here and he will be opening for Pearl Jam on their upcoming tour this summer! And there will also be some shows surrounding the Pearl Jam tour that go on sale this Friday, March 22nd, and one of them is the Beacon, so get your tickets now!!
