Thursday, 31 July 2008
Following the informality and irreverence of the Malone's gig, the Royal Spa Hotel was a much more civilised setting for this, the last concert of the 'Summer Nights' Tour. The attendance was not much higher than in Malone's (about 130, I understand), but the Hotel venue is at least 4-5 times the size of the room in Malone's, with the chairs here set out in sedate rows with ample legroom, and a good-sized stage - which Luka had all to himself!
The mood was friendly and relaxed, with the audience giving Luka a warm, affectionate reception and their undivided attention and respect the whole evening – no interruptions or heckling tonight! Luka himself seemed in a mellow mood and chose to feature songs with connections to the local area: songs about places in Clare, especially the Burren, which reflect his attachment to the area, and songs he has written while visiting or staying in Clare over the years.
The introductions and stories were more or less the same ones he has been telling for these songs over some time, with possibly one notable addition: he related a funny anecdote about Mohamed (which had nothing at all to do with the song inspired by Mohamed's journey from Algeria to Galway, No Matter Where You Go, There You Are), about how he got to know Mohamed in Amsterdam and noticed that he didn't abstain from alcohol and the 'wacky baccy', so he asked him how that fit in with being Muslim. Mohamed's reply: "I'm an easy Muslim." Luka understood that immediately, having known a fair few 'easy Catholics' in his time – and perhaps counting himself amongst them!
SET LIST:Water Ballerina
Thank You For Bringing Me Here
Tribe
Eastbound Train
I Love The World I'm In
Make You Feel My Love
Diamond Mountain
City Of Chicago
No Matter Where You Go, There You Are
Peace On Earth
Lorelei
Te Adoro / Exploring The Blue / Te Adoro
I'm On Your Side
Monsoon
Every Man
When Your Love Comes
Ciara
Acoustic Motorbike
ENCORE:
Islands In The Stream
You Couldn't Have Come At A Better Time
Sunny Sailor Boy
I was especially moved by Lorelei, both tonight and the night before. The tenderness and subtlety of Luka's singing raised goosebumps on my arms. I wish I had asked him if this song is on the new album - it is such a beauty.
Likewise, When Your Love Comes sounds better every time I hear it, if that's possible. Or maybe my love for it just keeps growing. Tonight it was sung with lots of contrast in power and pitch, running the gamut from whisper to full cry. I confess that I wasn’t too keen on the humming accompaniment when he first started that as an experiment during the UK tour last spring, but I am completely won over now! When it works, as tonight it so definitely did, the song somehow conveys both the earthy and the sublime. Outstanding.
Another memorable rendition tonight was Te Adoro, used as bookends for Exploring The Blue: when he picked up Rudy, he started with a few bars of Te Adoro, then went into Exploring The Blue, and then segued smoothly back into Te Adoro to play it in its entirety. And tonight he played it especially well. For a man who 'still has no clue what he's doing', Luka is quite a virtuoso on guitar. At one point towards the end of Te Adoro, I thought fleetingly "now he's just showing off" (!) and just at that moment an odd inward smile appeared on Luka's face and stayed there as he played out the song. Was that a sort of 7-year-old boy "look Ma, no hands" moment? Or was it all in my head? :)
A moment's forgetfulness during Tribe nonetheless showcased Luka's professionalism. If he forgets a word or a line, he seamlessly throws in a kind of Irish scat singing, inventing sounds to replace missing words so quickly and smoothly that, unless you are paying strict attention, you might not even notice he's done it. And it sounds charmingly Irish and makes the rendition unique to the night, converting his memory lapse from mistake to unexpected bonus!
As ever, the audience was willing yet shy about singing along to Islands In The Stream. On about the third or fourth chorus, Luka stopped singing to let us take over and here, as at the Cobh gig, I got caught out. Everyone sang out the first note, then, realising Luka had stopped, nobody sang the second one – except for that not-very-alert American in the front row (blush) who was left "high, wide and lonesome"! Thankfully everyone else recovered quickly! Within a short time we were all at full throttle again.
Peace On Earth – more goosebumps.
We all loved Diamond Mountain, introduced as the "only good song" to come out of a week-long stay in a cottage in Clare in the early 1990s, just after Luka's first visit to Australia. Personally I think this song is one of his all-time best, which makes me wonder if the others he came up with that week were really all that bad...
Since this was the last night of the tour, I tried to savour every song and how he played and sang them tonight, but still found myself a bit sad and nostalgic when it was over. As was the case during the UK tour, it was very easy to make friends with others who love Luka's work, most of whom have seen him perform many times and hope to again soon. Tonight I met some Americans who were having dinner in Doolins Cafe three years ago when quite to their surprise a Dutch television crew locked the doors and turned on the cameras...! They bought the DVD set tonight.
So, another wonderful concert, more great memories. And a fitting end to Luka's little tour round Ireland. So nice of him to invite us to join him on his summer holidays! :)
(Originally published 2008 at http://www.rbergholz.net/lukabloom/review/fanreviews8.htm#310708)
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