Passenger, live at Vicar St., Dublin

There was a time when all these inebriated 19-year-olds, roaring at each other and losing their shirts, would have been getting lairy in a field to Oasis.

Tonight, instead, they’re staring at a sensitive soul pouring his heart out over an acoustic. Passenger, aka Mike Rosenberg, owes much of his newfound success to friend and tour mate Ed Sheeran. He’s just played the cavernous O2 as the flame-haired troubadour’s support and thought he’d stick around, selling out Vicar St., as you do. It’s a big leap from his busking days, so he has to work for the attention and quiet that his deftly-penned personal vignettes deserve. There’s more than a bit of shushing and thinly-veiled “you guys are out of order!” jokes – appropriately, a fine cover of ‘The Sound Of Silence’ is one of the night’s stand-out moments.

In terms of his original material, there is a touch of Marmite about Rosenberg. Me, I like the way he intersperses straight-talking romanticism with modern reference points. Fan favourite ‘Let Her Go’ gets everyone singing along, while ‘I Hate’ is a brisk anthem. By the encore of Springsteen’s ‘Dancing In The Dark’ and his own ‘Holes’, he’s won the night. Throughout, his ace card is his between-songs patter, which works.
It may be that he’s practiced his off-the-cuff quips to the point where his live competition is more Jack Whitehall-esque stand-ups than indie acts. What;s certain, though, is that he’s put in his 10,000 hours and is ready for the challenge. Welcome back any time, Song and Bants Man.