Escaping a night of bitter cold to relish the warm environs of Tripod, punters were no doubt thanking their lucky stars that tonight’s gig was moved from its original venue, a marquee in the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham.
Having frozen feet would definitely hinder our toe-tapping as Sharon Shannon and her eight-piece Big Band take the stage with jigs, reels, blues and even a bit of soul. The atmosphere is that of a seisiúin among friends, with the combo exchanging smiles and everyone getting up for a song, including a gravel-voiced roadie – who treats us to an inspired rendition of ‘Dancing In The Moonlight’ – and the least surprising surprise guest ever, Mundy, who gets up for the ubiquitous ‘Galway Girl’.
There's a shift of gear for Aimee Mann, who begins by being pleasant, if not engaging, with little chit-chat and two tracks from her summer release, @#%&*! Smilers. Older favourites follow, including a pair of songs made famous by their appearance on the soundtrack to Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia – ‘Save Me’ and ‘Wise Up’. The quality of these lifts the mood of the crowd, and we’re gradually won over as Aimee opens up the floor to requests, conceding to play ‘Little Bombs’ from 2005’s The Forgotten Arm, and the opener from her 1993 debut, ‘I Should’ve Known’. More songs from the new album follow – the radio-friendly ‘Freeway’ and wurlitzer-tastic ‘Borrowing Time’ – but it’s her encore that gets us.
‘Deathly’, one of the tracks which inspired Magnolia (in fact the lyrics are written into the film’s screenplay) is everything a great closer should be – beautiful, inspiring, and catchy enough to stick in our heads on the cold walk home.