Glen Hansard

QPAC 18.10.16

“Yeah, It’s a mighty long way down rock and roll/from the Liverpool Docks to the Hollywood Bowl”.

Mott The Hoople sang that line on ‘All The Way From Memphis’. Glen Hansard has lived it. Tonight he’s playing a full house at QPAC. A lifetime ago his band The Frames were tearing up the Zoo in Fortitude Valley and earning rave reviews.

The last time Hansard played QPAC it was part of a three-night stand opening for Eddie Vedder that has gone down in local folklore. As Hansard himself jokes, ‘it’s nice to go on last’.

The evening begins with Hansard on stage a smidge after 7.30pm. It’s a good sign, the artist intends to play a long set. And tonight he’s got some serious melodic firepower behind him. Alongside the rhythm section are piano/keys, a three-piece string section and a trio of brass players.

The set opens with the superb ‘Just To Be The One’ from Hansard’s current solo album, Didn’t He Ramble. The work provides rich pickings with Hansard playing nine songs from it. Highlights include ‘Winning Streak’, ‘Stay The Road’ and the title track.

In a night full of jaw dropping moments, Hansard re-invents ‘Wedding Ring’ with a wonderful cameo from trumpeter Curtis Folkes. Hansard’s stage patter is honest, chatty and occasionally revealing. Thank you ‘Renata’ from that bar in New York City for inspiring such a wonderful song written in your honour. And, if Damien Rice hadn’t left his backstage rider unattended, would a gem such as ‘McCormack’s Wall’ have come into existence?

Hansard’s Celtic roots run millions of years deep. Then, there’s his lineage which carries forth from Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the great folk architect, Woody Guthrie.

Talking of recently seeing Guthrie’s archive, Hansard delivers a re-working of Woody’s ‘Vigilante Man’ intercut with Guthrie lyrics written for slum lord Fred Trump and updated for today. Displaying his machine gun right arm, Hansard lets the bulk of the band slip away for a drink while he and bassist Joe Doyle set the evening on fire with a guttural reading of Van’s ‘Astral Weeks’.

A masterclass in songwriting and performance, Hansard offers a beautiful homage to the late Gene Wilder. His own ‘Falling Slowly’ is performed in a manner that further illuminates the gorgeous melody and narrative intent.

By the time the encore concludes, the ten piece band are channeling STAX records and it’s soul-power all the way as the audience and band testify and shout ‘Mercy’.

Two hours have flown by, the curfew has been exceeded and a subtle message from the venue that ‘you’ve gone overtime’ is ignored as Hansard kicks the band into an impromptu take on the AC/DC belter from the margins, Gimme A Bullet.

Not to be missed on this tour, Hansard brought it all … great songs, a top shelf band and a whole lotta heart.

Sean Sennett