By Jacqueline Hlavenka
With the subdued grace of 2003’s “O” and its whisper-quiet follow-up disc, “9”, released in 2006, it was almost difficult to imagine singer-songwriter Damien Rice playing a gig as massive as Madison Square Garden. However, backed with a full band-including drums, cello, lead guitar and bass-there was nothing silent about Rice’s performance.
Following the commercial success of “The Blower’s Daughter” featured in 2004’s romance-drama “Closer”, Rice was lifted out of the underground indie-folk scene and became a critical darling-touring the world as the music industry’s new romantic.
In a flurry of gray, red and blue lights, Rice began with an unreleased track during which he could have passed for Peter Frampton’s angsty little brother-altering his voice with wah-wah pedals, pounding on driving, heavy guitars and tremulous drums.
Minus his female counterpart, Lisa Hannigan (vocals), Rice sang the two-part harmony of the haunting and seductive “Volcano” by himself, backed by guitar, bongos and the chilling richness of the cello.
Following 2006’s “9 Crimes,” Rice sat under a single blue light solo, leaving the audience at the nearly sold-out show speechless as he played the piano.
For all its heaviness, Rice maintains a certain humor about himself that translates on-stage, as well in his music.
“This song reminds me of feeding a dog and having him bite your hand off,” Rice said with a chuckle, before playing the post-breakup song “Rootless Tree”. “This song is like a relationship where you try to help the other person and it only makes it worse.”
Quite obviously, the Irish troubadour has had his share of heartache, heartbreaks and scathing love affairs-but he manages to make light of his passions on the dirty, humorous “The Professor” and “Woman Like A Man”.
Afterward, Rice called for some audience participation. “Name me an emotion,” he said.
The audience screamed, “Happy!”
He proceeded to improvise a song using the words “happy”, “green” and “Joe” using chords B and A minor on guitar. Ironically, the song turned out depressing.
“Even when I try to write a song with ‘happy’ in it, the song turns out sad,” Rice said, laughing.
Closing with an elongated version of the emotional hurly-burly of “I Remember”, Rice received a standing ovation and encored with “The Blower’s Daughter”-ending the same way he began-raw, restless and hauntingly lovely.
