Review by James Hendicott
Photos by Alessio Michelini
The Divine Comedy (The Olympia) – September 30th
Promoting a Divine Comedy show as ‘an evening with Neil Hannon’ is a fair indication of the kind of performance we can expect today. Laden with quips both within and around the music (“I’ve written too many songs at this point. Do you think I can start un-writing them from now?”), Hannon’s solo show is one that explores the popular and obscure corners of his back catalogue, yet maintains an air of the all round performer rather than straight up musician.
Opening with a strangely serious version of ‘My Lovely Horse’ on piano (“I didn’t want you to shout for it all night”), Hannon positively encourages heckling. He’s a shambolic performer, forgetting his own words at least half a dozen times over the course of the night, and throwing together the set to suit his mood and the instrumentation in front of him at the time (piano seems to take preference over guitar). The effect, though, is not so much frustrating as charming: it fits with his music and stage persona, and the crowd clear love Hannon for his ditsy ways.
‘The Pop Singers Fear Of The Pollen Count’, ‘The National Express’ and early hit ‘Becoming More Like Alfie’ are each given a playful airing, before Hannon has the entire sold-out Olympia whistling along to ‘Songs Of Love’ whilst chuckling to themselves over the
Father Ted imagery it evokes. Hannon’s odd brand of impulsive humor comes to the fore again when he introduces ‘The Lost Art Of Conversation’ with a ‘conversation’ on the contents of his leather satchel. Later we’re challenged to write a silly song, hold a note for a long time, beat our dad’s at chess and finally tell a joke (live on stage) during ‘Can You Stand On One Leg’. One audience member courts controversy by grabbing the mike and hitting us with the line “How do you find Will Smith in a Snow Storm?” Dangerous territory, man…
Aside from a couple of disinterested folks at the back chomping on the customary bags of popcorn on offer at the ‘formal’ Olympia events, though, today’s crowd is absolutely lapping it up, so much so that Hannon’s able to close the performance with a double encore. For the single-track second encore, he delves into the emotional ‘Sunshine’, exploring his childhood during the troubles in Derry, and highlighting his more serious side. The track goes straight for the emotional jugular.
The Divine Comedy’s biggest draw – one that Hannon displays equally effectively in his ‘Duckworth Lewis Method’ collaborative guise – is not so much musical or even vocal. It’s in his ability to write off-the-wall, witty lyrics that fall together into a whole that’s far better than the very 90s sum of its parts. His live performance – if tonight is anything to go by – demonstrates that just perfectly. Oh, and that punch line? We wouldn’t leave you hanging…“Follow the Fresh Prince…”
