As I mentioned, back in March we headed down to Melbourne to see Damien Rice. We had a great time hanging out with Jess and Jeremy while we were there, and in the end almost forgot we’d gone down for the gig. But not for long.

It was at the Palais Theatre, awesome venue, reminiscent of the Enmore but perhaps bigger. We went past during the day to grab our tickets, just to make sure we wouldn’t have to queue later on. We’d booked them over the phone, and a little late – after the Sydney gig had sold out, so we were prepared for average seats. As it turned out some crazy fool had cancelled and being the first folks to come and pick up tickets we got theirs – Row E, dead center – yeeha!

The main event started with Damien (we’re on first name terms) on his own on stage. Despite having two perfectly good mics he sang most of the first song into his guitar pickup, crouched in the foetal position on the floor. It was a strangely cool way to start – a nice buildup to the point at which he eventually stood up and sang through the mic proper.

It was a soft, loud, gentle, raucous, touching and scary performance. And it really was a performance, not a gig. You really felt that he was pouring out part of himself on stage, it was raw and right on the edge.

Apart from the mesmerising quality of music in general, other highlights were the interlude played by cellist Vyvienne Long, as well as the improv her and Damien did when singer Lisa Hannigan broke her earpiece.

To bring it full circle the finale was Damien by himself with his guitar, unmic’ed and standing on the front of the stage. The row E tickets really came in handy. It was one of those “wow this guy whos album I’ve listened to 500 times is standing right in front of me singing” moments – if you know what I mean.

It was a really really amazing concert, I’m so glad we went down to catch it. I’ve been to a bunch of concerts, and lots of really good ones, Damien Rice was definitely one of, if not the, best.

I shot a few photos, but didn’t want to be a phone-camera wanker so there’s not many, just a few to remember it by.

ps. The support was good, although I must admit I’ve forgotten the guy’s name – but check him out if you get a chance

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