Randy Newman at Vicar Street – March 2nd 2012
Review: Justin McDaid
Photos: Owen Humphreys
Vicar Street is an all-seated and symmetrical affair tonight, looking from above in the balcony like some elaborate board game with obscure rules as seats are intermittently filled before Randy Newman comes on. It makes the pre-gig people watching easier though and tonight it’s a multi-generational affair, with the younger demographic at the thinner end of the wedge. No doubt reports from last night’s gig that Newman’s voice wasn’t up to scratch were in the back of a lot of minds in Vicar Street tonight. Fair enough, at times a slight quiver is evident, an odd crackle here and there while hitting the high notes, but certainly nothing anyone could complain about. And not a single complaint did I hear as the crowd filed out of the venue after a set of over thirty songs. The stage is unadorned, just Newman and a black piano, all focus on the man, the music and the words – satirical, poignant, autobiographical…or not, and everything in between.
He opens with ‘Last Night I Had A Dream’ followed by ‘Mama Told Me Not To Come’ and his between song anecdotes are rolled out straight away. Leonard Cohen’s name crops up in the introduction to ‘Suzanne’ and Newman says to general laughter before and during, “it’s a nasty little thing so I’ll play it.” Cohen, among others, crops up a few times during the night as Newman cracks wise about his continuing underdog status as his contemporaries careers flourish. The night continues in this vein as the comfortable rapport between singer and audience builds throughout. As in ‘Birmingham’- “shit I made a mistake”- or the full-voiced audience singalongs of ‘I’m Dead But I Don’t Know It’ and one of the night’s highlights, ‘Shame’. His outsider status is further explored in his sardonic tales of dealings with Pixar and writing for the movies, before he rolls out Toy Story hit ‘You’ve Got A Friend In Me’.
Newman flits between the satirical numbers, full of wit and general merriment in the venue to the more affecting numbers where you could hear a Werther’s Original drop, all the while self-deprecating and full of gentle digs at his contemporaries – particularly his observations that no-one seemed to be in any hurry to retire. His scepticism on Phil Collins’ supposed retirement is probably worth a trip to Paddy Power; this guy has been around. Another highlight comes late in the night with ‘Harps and Angels’, before ‘Sail Away’ and ‘I Think It’s Going To Rain Today’ polish off the set as Newman exits to a standing ovation. A two song encore of ‘Lonely At The Top’ and ‘Feels Like Home’ rounds of a loose and relaxed gig. We even got an interval.
Randy Newman Photo Gallery
Photos: Owen Humphreys
