Lisa Hannigan

Lisa Hannigan made her musical breakthrough with a successful collaboration with Irish singer/songwriter Damien Rice on his first two albums. The quality of her vocals have never been in question but since they parted ways Lisa has struck out on her own and she is in the process of establishing herself as gifted singer/songwriter in her own right. I first saw her play live at a Nick Drake tribute concert and I thought that she was the standout performer that night, so when I discovered that she was playing at Oran Mor I snapped up a ticket as quickly as possible. On the night of the concert I was tired and not in the mood for the support act so I arrived just to see Lisa and her band. While the roadies set up mics and fiddled with nobs I sipped on my pint of cider and watched a couple of doe-eyed lovebirds. The couple were closely entwined, his hands on her shapely hips, her hands clasped around his neck, lots of eye contact - they seemed really into each other. (Maybe I should write for Mills & Boon?) Gradually they were obscured by the swelling crowd so I then spent the next few minutes trying to catch the eye of a particulary attractive brunette. I perserved with this until I caught the steely-eyed, hostile glare of a shaven headed security guard and I looked at the floor, shamefaced, for the rest of the evening. When it comes to live concerts you cannot put the cart before the horse. It doesn't matter how well you perform if the songs you play are not good enough. Lisa has two albums worth of very solid material, so that is not a problem for her. On stage she was great, very expressive and with an unmistakably Celtic spirit that is very attractive. Her band were excellent. Some were multi-instrumentalists and this diversity added different dimensions to the songs. I liked the way Lisa and her band tried to make each song a bit different from the studio album version. It kept the concert fresh and interesting. Her onstage personality was very charming and natural, and she enjoyed the banter between herself and the audience. So, that was my third gig at Oran Mor and I have yet to be disappointed, despite the fact that I have consistently failed to pull a gorgeous girl. It's a really good venue and it seems to attract bands that are my cup of tea. I wonder what my next cup of tea at Oran Mor will taste like?