In celebration of the venue’s 15th birthday, favourite son Mundy was pencilled in for five nights of mellow acoustic pleasantries.
Declan O’Rourke opened the evening’s proceedings, then we all nodded and smiled at the pre-show background music – a sort of cartoonish cowboy theme song that called to mind the Offaly man’s Americana-influenced repertoire, and that damn hat – not so much Cormac McCarthy as Desperate Dan.
Mundy belted into his routine with gusto – a considerably better effort than his Vicar St. performance at the beginning of the summer, where sound problems evoked tantrums and gnashing of teeth. Either he’s tidied up his act or he’s just better suited to an intimate venue.
For their money, the fans got all the usual treats like ‘10,000 Miles Away From Harm’, ‘Mexico’ and ‘By Her Side’, knocked out in just the right order to maintain a good dynamic and let the set breathe where it had to.
The only real issue I’d have is with the lyrics, which can be adolescent at times. It’s particularly annoying to hear people singing about getting out of the town that stifles them, when they fetch up a mere 70 or so miles later, but credit where it’s due, the more tender-hearted love songs about “sleeping back to back” and whatnot, were delivered with disarming sincerity.
Charmingly sweet and relaxed, when Mundy did get to ‘July’, it was as a third-class pupil running through the Hail Mary before class starts. Even playing around with vocals and muttering the lyrics of ‘Feelin’ Groovy’ over it didn’t stop it sounding like he’s sick and tired of it. Ah well, how bad? Won’t Madonna, in her grown-up-wife-mother-and-writer incarnation be forever after haunted by ‘Like A Virgin’?