Review: Damien Rice

Oct 15 2007 by Tim Lewis, Western Mail

Cardiff International Arena

THIS was the last stop on Damien Rice’s UK tour having been on the road for more than a year.

With two critically acclaimed albums behind him, he is definitely one of the more accomplished artists of the singer/songwriter genre.

Although primarily a solo artist, Rice is backed up by a drummer and two guitarists, as well as a number of other musicians including some cello players.

It was one of the cello players in his backing band who started the gig with her own small band. A Bjork-style character, her simple yet witty tunes helped warm up the crowd inside the CIA and get everyone ready for Rice to come on.

When Rice appeared, a long progressive intro into his opening track let the crowd know this was not going to be simply one man and his guitar.

Between songs, Rice oozed charisma and Irish charm and got everyone laughing. While his choice of metaphors and stories may not be that conventional – he uses a story about going the toilet in the dark to explain how he once felt in a relationship – they certainly helped to make fans a little bit closer to the often-elusive Rice.

He moved seamlessly between guitar and piano for a number of songs and even finished the last two verses of one track in French, much to the delight and admiration of the crowd.

During the show there were a number of moments when the drums took centre stage and you could easily be forgiven for thinking you were in a rock concert.

These rock-style elements helped to make the solo acoustic moments all the more special.

Rice admitted he is not the biggest fan of such large arenas where the crowd is seated, so for the last half an hour of his show he invited everyone to leave their seats and join him down at the front of the stage.

Those who did join him at the front were treated to a fantastic acoustic performance of Cannonball and a magical encore which included the much-requested Blower’s Daughter.

He finished his two-and-a-quarter hour set with tear-jerking tribute to Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, which included a very moving video of the leader on the big screens next to the stage.

Tim Lewis