Despite the sky threatening rain at every opportunity, it managed to stay off to keep the crowd that had packed into the Iveagh Gardens dry. Although maybe if it had of rained, they would have chatted less, who knows. The main event on Sunday evening was Damien Rice, one gig that was very much anticipated.

Opening the proceedings was a singer-songwriter called Bryan Dalton. As soon as he sat in front of the crowd, he shouted “Hi mum!” into the mic. Cue a middle-aged woman frantically jumping around as her son delivered some beautiful songs and a series of anecdotes that were genuinely smile-worthy. The crowd were more content to chat amongst themselves, a trend that seemed to continue throughout the night. After Dalton had departed, Colm Mac Con Iomaire and a collection of musicians took to the stage. Beautiful violin playing woven with intricate piano melodies provided a captivating show that was again lost on a crowd who only turned the volume up as time went on. This was frustrating for those trying to enjoy the opening acts and is something that noticeably irritated some people.

A few minutes later than scheduled, Damien Rice took to the stage. Songs like 9 Crimes, Amie and Elephant were unsurprisingly incredible, but the true gem of the night was Colour Me In. There’s something about Rice’s voice that sends shivers down your spine as the initially gentle vocals grow to create something truly stunning. However, this and some of the softer songs on the set were drowned out by the continuing chatter – it’d make you question if people were there for the gig or the inevitable Facebook check-in.

The one confusing thing throughout the night was the lack of accompanying musicians, it seemed to be a lot of stage for one man. The addition of a piano, backing vocals or virtually anything else would have elevated the quality of the show immensely. The use of backing tracks and distortion also didn’t work at all. There’s something about acoustic guitars and distortion that just doesn’t work well.

Issues aside, Damien Rice delivered a show that was full of heart, and the passion in his voice during every song and the enthusiasm of his anecdote telling was excellent. It was far from perfect, but hey, the best things in life are always a bit rough around the edges.