Tom Waits (Live)

The Ratcellar, Dublin

It’s a mark of the esteem in which Tom Waits is held that he receives a standing ovation simply for walking on stage. Clearly, expectations are sky-high for his first gigs in Ireland for 20 years. Fortunately for the 5,000-strong audience, Waits proceeds to give an absolutely masterful performance that roundly justifies his reception. A consummate showman, he performs from a raised platform, gesticulating wildly and stomping his feet to send clouds of dust billowing around him.

In between songs, he treats us to a series of bizarre, illuminating and hilarious anecdotes. And the songs? Well, with a back catalogue like Waits has, there are bound to be tunes you want to hear that don’t get an airing but who could complain about a set that encompasses beautiful ballads like ‘Invitation To The Blues’ and ‘House Where Nobody Lives’ and deranged beasts like ‘Hoist That Rag’ and ‘9th And Hennepin’? The balance is just about right between old favourites (‘Rain Dogs’, ‘16 Shells from a 30.6’) and newer material (‘Lie To Me’, ‘Lucinda’), although fans of his early beat poet-balladeer material may well have left disappointed; that Waits has left those days far behind is obvious as he gurgles, grunts and screams his way through an utterly deranged ‘Misery Is The River Of The World’.

An epic reading of ‘Make It Rain’ closes proceedings before an encore of ‘Heart Attack & Vine’, ‘November’ and the tender ‘Hold On’. Waits exits to another – richly deserved – standing ovation. Just don’t leave it another 20 years, Tom. Neill Dougan

Issue #52 - Very Bro-some

Featuring Panama Kings, ASIWYFA, an investigation into DIY touring, details of what over 25 of the finest NI bands are up to in 2009 and much more.