Similarly to Radiohead and – though Glen Hansard and co. would balk at the comparison – U2, The Frames are one of those bands who view live performances as an opportunity to stir up a sense of communal euphoria. There is nothing remotely awkward or confrontational about their shows – they want the audience to feel right at home, almost as if the venue were one gigantic living room (an impression somewhat enforced by the decidedly homely stage décor of sofas and lamps).
And when the band kick into top gear – as they do frequently tonight – the feeling of togetherness among the audience is palpable. The first highlight arrives a few songs into the set in the shape of an almost sepulchral urban hymn, which goes someway to catching the medicated solemnity of Low at their most majestic. When the group shift the dynamic completely and segue into a typically skyscraping rendition of ‘Revelate’, the effect is dizzying. And as Glen howls, “My human fate/My revelate” with all the fury of Prince Hamlet after being confronted by his father’s ghost, it makes you think Pat McCabe was absolutely spot-on when he pointed to Hansard as being one of the most gifted lyricists around.
Not that it’s all pained soul-searching – at one point Hansard announces that the next song was written some years ago for his niece, before the group slide into an – oh, the guilt! – infectious cod-reggae novelty-number titled, ‘Banana Man’. With a chorus that simply goes, “Everybody loves bananas”, a mass singalong inevitably breaks out. “It’s a hit!” exclaims a visibly thrilled/mortified Hansard afterwards.
However, you could no more separate The Frames from melancholy introspection than you could yank the Happy Mondays away from E’d-up party anthems, and its with a magnificent take on ‘Santa Maria’ that the evening reaches its climax. With the crowd bathed in red light and the bass rumbling away like the pulse of a human heart, the song brings the evening to an appropriately elegant close.
Another triumphant performance from one of the premier acts in the country.