Gig Review: Roisin O

Gigs were truly back with a bang over the past few weeks for us here at Our Muchness Guide! With a few days to reflect on a fantastic reintroduction to the Irish Music Scene, we are happy to say it was like we never left! Like many music fans around us, we were just waiting patiently in an imaginary queue waiting for the doors to open again and to be reunited with our favourite musicians. The first gig back after a year, six months, and six days (yes, we were counting) was a Róisín Ó gig! If you know anything about me, dear readers, you know Róisín has been my number one for many years. So, with a quite high level of anxiety, excitement and with a hint of nerves, we ventured back into the gig scene of Ireland. Always hoping gigs would bring back some sort of normality.

Monroe’s 7th September

On one of the hottest days on record in Galway City, I made my way to Galway to meet up with a friend. After hours of a fun catch up, we were queuing outside Monroe’s waiting to go inside. In a world where following guidelines and remaining socially distanced is the norm, a sense of this new way of entering a gig felt alien. Instead of ID checks it was COVID vaccination checks, instead of taking Monroe’s steps two at a time before making your way near the front of the stage, you had to wait to be shown to your allocated seating decided on by staff. We ended up being seated right beside the sound booth and Monroe’s camera man which, in a way, seemed quite fitting. Although certain aspects of the beginning of the night felt strange, some things will never change like chatting to random people in the queue or in the female bathrooms. Some of the best people have come into my life this way and this night wasn’t any different with; a friendship being formed after the gig on the stairwell leading down to the main venue floor.

Kicking off the night was Brad Heidi who, despite being on his six nights in a row of gigs, made it seem effortless as he had the group hanging on every word. His confidence and stage presence reminded Emer and I of a young Dermot Kennedy when he started out. Despite only knowing one of Brad’s songs, I enjoyed his set immensely. His voice made me stop and take notice. He did confess to the audience halfway through his set that he had a set list but wasn’t following it so, with this happening, I would like to go to one of his own headlines shows just to see how a fully decided set sounds from him. But, overall, he was a solid performer to start the night and left the audience in a great mood with several people in the group bopping around to his music.

One thing that had us on the edge of our seats after spotting the stage set up was the fact there were no drums on stage. This fact alone made my brain go into full ‘I cannot wait’ mode. As much as I adore full production gigs, my absolute favourite performances by the artists I adore are the simplistic ones. You know that moment when it is just a guitar and the artist or a keyboard and the artist? They are the moments I 100% believe make or break an artist. There is no production or instruments to hide behind; there is just the artist, their voice, and the raw emotion of their art. The entire of Roisin’s set in Galway can be summed up as an emotional showcase of music that had the audience captivated from the first guitar strum to the final harmonizing outro. It was Róisín’s first gig as solely Róisín Ó in several years and I think I speak for a few fans when I say: Welcome back Róisín, you truly did knock it out of the park!

There were a few hiccups with lyrics and chords escaping their minds but, as the audience stated perfectly, “It just means it’s truly live!” Those moments are some of my favourite moments at a gig. The artists looking to the audience for the next set of lyrics or just a moment of encouragement from clapping along or just a smile of encouragement! As for the set list, it was, in true Róisín Ó fashion, some golden oldies, the new singles and covers that everyone could sing along to! I am not ashamed to admit that I lasted one verse before bursting into tears with the sheer joys of being back at a live music event or that Emer and I were some of the only people who got up to dance along to our favourite songs (with masks on of course). Lastly, Róisín’s voice is one of only a handful that I can listen to time and time again while goosebumps dance across my skin and I honestly was on cloud nine that my first gig back was a stripped back set by my favourite Irish artist.

Favourite moment of the gig: Dancing like no one was watching.

Stand out song performance of the night: ‘Heart & Bones’

The Button Factory 11th September

Two nights in the space of five days, is anyone really surprised? This time round though we had a few more friends, old and new, in our party and a birthday to celebrate! Heading into the Button Factory seemed a lot more relaxed on my side, cert checked, tickets scanned, and we were in. Half of our party were there for doors and snagged us an epic table up by the stage! Upon surveying the stage set up, I was excited to see the drum set because I had been told the Dublin gigs would have the full band there but it took seeing the full set up for it to sink in.

The support act for the night was Rachel Grace and, trust me, when I say this lady is insanely talented. You know you are seeing someone spectacular when you can hear the audience comment on how good she is! It was our group’s first time seeing Rachel Grace live and we will make sure we go to another gig with her soon. The set was just Rachel and her keyboard. She had the audience captivated from the very first song and even though most of the room had no idea of her songs, she had several new fans by the end of it! We, here at Our Muchness Guide, made sure to go on Bandcamp to buy her music as soon as we could after the gig. Her voice is incredible! The song highlight for us was ‘Cry Me an Ocean’

Unlike Galway a few nights before, from the very first song Róisín’s set sounded completely different. It is arguably the main reason why I adore going to see an artist’s multiple nights of their tour, no two performances are the same! Dublin’s performance can be summed up as celebrating a reunion of friends where emotions were high and the craic was mighty! Although the raw emotion that comes with a Róisín Ó performance was there, the first night of Róisín’s Button Factory gigs revolved around the dancing and pure joy of being back in a venue surrounded by strangers and friends. From the introduction of ‘Better This Way’ to the last word of the crowd singing along to ‘Dreams’, Roisin had the crowd hanging on every movement and song lyric. From the golden oldies to heartbreakingly accurate covers to the hauntingly beautiful new material, Roisin’s setlist always feels like a story and not just a collection of songs. An upbeat explosion of raw musical talent and emotion was the foundation of a set that had the audience wanting more even after the gig ended. It is safe to say Róisín truly loves performing live. Despite being an artist who truly performs with her heart on her sleeve, it is safe to say Róisín is truly on track to finding herself within her music and performing live. Both nights the audience were graced with seeing a confidence from Róisín that many of us haven’t seen in her performances in years if ever.

Favourite moment of gig: ‘Call It Love’

Stand Out song performance of the night: ‘2023’

Both nights saw Róisín perform her new single ‘Still Gold’ which comes out this Friday! We won’t spoil the song too much but, make sure you pre save it here. It’s Niamh’s favourite song of this new era of Róisín Ó songs. This live version was stunning and emotional. We look forward to hearing the studio version and how it captures the story within this song.