Duke Special , Hannah Peel, Rams’ Pocket Radio @ The Belfast Waterfront / Warrenpoint Town Hall

June 21, 2010 1 Comment

Duke Special is Northern Ireland’s, if not one of the world’s, most timeless acts, and has a thesaurus worth of associations to go with him: ‘Vaudevillian’, ‘Gramophone’, ‘Dreadlocks’, ‘Military Jackets’, ‘Accented Singing’ – the list goes on.

His recent ‘The Stage, A Book and The Silver Screen’ tour didn’t just represent everything we’ve come to know the Duke for, it was an ambitious stage production that would have succeeded very comfortably at an Edinburgh fringe festival.

MLM managed to catch the show twice: at the Belfast Waterfront studio and Warrenpoint’s town hall (near Newry) – So here’s a review of sorts from both nights, starting with the support acts.

Words By: Matt Wheavil  Photography: Peter Stuart and Matt Wheavil

Hannah Peel @ The Waterfront Studio – 09/06/2010

Hannah Peel arrived with a charming anecdote – a careless Ryan Air pilot had broken her accordion, which she brought on stage in pieces, so we were left with three instruments to enjoy – a piano, a voice and interestingly, a music box.

Not knowing what to expect as she started rotating the handle of her music box (which looks like an upturned ukulele and has paper feeding through it like a printer, with the score hole-punched in), what came out was nothing short of beautiful, soothing and melodic.

Hannah didn’t need an accordion at all, her strongest instrument undoubtedly being her voice, which shone through over the tinkling lullabies emitting from her little box of tricks.

The emotions in her vocal performance were conveyed to the point that you knew exactly what the songs meant without knowing their lyrical content. ‘Song for the sea’ was one of the highlights, resonating beautifully with an unmistakable tone of longing.

When Hannah moved to the piano, she retained her penchant for melody and simplicity, with her hands gliding as effortlessly as her voice over the tranquil notes.

The entire audience looked riveted, visibly losing themselves in a swirl of music box and piano magic – all of Hannah’s songs are structured in a such a way that they build up and down, flowing constantly and drawing you in.

Towards the end of the show, Hannah broke into an unbelievable music box cover of tainted love, encouraging the audience to stamp their feet and ‘ooh’ or ‘aah’ eerily when prompted. Everyone got involved instantly, bringing in a fourth instrument of fun – foot stomping percussion!

Hannah Peel has to be seen live to be appreciated – there’s nothing like it, except maybe Duke Special… if he were to add a music box, pitch perfect falsetto and long ginger hair on top of his vaudevillian dreadlocks and gramophones.

Rams’ Pocket Radio @ Warrenpoint Town Hall – 12/06/2010

Having already reviewed Rams’ Pocket Radio in Auntie Annies some weeks ago, tonight was a little different, as frontman Pete McCauley was on his own with nothing but his voice and a Roland keyboard.

Not only that but the set had changed – instead of deploying it as a closer he broke straight away into Rams’ latest and most accessible single, ‘Dieter Rams has got the pocket radios.’

The audience immediately sat up and paid attention, responding instantly to the strength of the song’s melodic hooks.

Pete pulled off an engaging performance, his face contorting expressively, conveying a visual manifestation of the tension present in Rams’ music and had the look of a musician wearing his soul on his sleeve – something Duke Special himself would no doubt appreciate.

This was especially apparent during ‘Love is a bitter thing’, into which Pete threw himself completely, displaying terrific showmanship during the chorus with a pained yet powerful vocal.

There was a little surprise in store as the Rams’ frontman invited Shauna Tohill of  ‘Silhouette’ on stage during ‘Numbers and Letters’ to provide intermittent backing vocals and while still a great performance, the full potential of what could have been a beautiful duet was lost with the two of them standing a little far apart on stage for there to be any real spark.

Still, while lacking a little of the chemistry present in Rams’ normal four-piece line-up, this was a solid opening act with Pete delivering a fast paced and thoroughly entertaining show, which was met with a well-deserved rapturous applause.

Duke Special

It’s difficult to fault Duke Special live. He tends to put on an explosive show, teeming with presence, personality and creativity.  While this was the case in spades on both nights, the venue actually does make a difference.

The Waterfront studio stage was beautifully laid out with the multitude of props and instruments present in this tour, including extra space to manoeuvre.  Warrenpoint’s town hall on the other hand had everything crammed in… but… where the Waterfront had professionalism on its side, it lacked the intimacy of the Warrenpoint and that for me was the defining difference between the two nights despite both in essence being exceptionally entertaining.

The show itself was fantastic. The first of its three acts was based on the silent movies of Hector Mann, with Duke Special acting out every song, deploying passionate hand gestures and playfully incorporating various props such as suitcases and a deck of cards.

In between songs reels of footage ran in the background showing interviews with experts discussing the characteristics and works of Hector Mann. For me, I found this confusing first time around but on second viewing it made sense as I grasped the gist of the narrative (hint: A good reason for a DVD release).

Throughout all three acts though, of which the second and third were best due to a clever build-up of dramatics, Duke Special was relentlessly energetic and displayed not just the ability to get into any character’s shoes as an actor, but powerful, soaring vocals, nearly shaking the audience off their seats.

The highlights were Duke’s far too occasional dalliances with his old friend, the piano. While his band exuded more than enough talent and energy to match Duke Special himself, it was during the low-key moments of what we know and love (one dreadlocked vaudevillian and his piano) that the atmosphere in the room melted.

The encores of both shows were sensational in different ways, including the classic ‘Our Love Goes Deeper than this’ and a catchy cover of ‘I’m Still Standing.’

The former in the Waterfront saw Duke tip the piano onto its edge, somehow not letting it fall and throwing unbelievable force into the song both vocally and instrumentally.

The Warrenpoint went one better though as Duke invited everyone off their seats to come to the front and dance along to the last two songs. There was a real sense that the Duke felt free to let go and enjoy himself here after a tough 6-week tour that looked exhausting to perform once, never mind 26 times.

Perhaps its not just the venue that makes a difference but the timing… Ultimately however, it’s the performers that matter and the level of charisma and talent present in both Duke Special and his band carried forth a show of not just musical but theatrical excellence.

A stunning spectacle that should, if nothing else, be granted a DVD realise so that more can enjoy it.

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(C) Peter Stuart and Matt Wheavil  – All Rights Reserved. If any person wishes to use this content for publication, they must request permission from the work’s respective owners, who can be reached by contacting: photography@musiclinkni.com

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