The Swell Season – The Palais

HeyHeyMyMy sent part-time correspondent Andrew Rutter down to The Palais Theatre  to see The Swell Season. He didn’t have to be encouraged. His  account follows:
To understand The Swell Season you need to have an appreciation of;
a)    The genius that is Glen Hansard
b)    The film Once
c)    The magnificent band The Frames
The Swell Season is the collaboration between Frames frontman Glen Hansard and Czech songstress Marketa Irglova who also starred in the 2007 film Once (if you love music you need to see this film).
It was not a typical Frames crowd at The Palais. Many punters had obviously been drawn to the Swell Season gig by the popularity of Once and as most of the songs from the film were showcased they would have been delighted.
The fact this film has helped broaden Hansard’s popularity is surely a good thing as he stands comparison with the great singer/songwriters of the world today. I declare my bias as a massive Frames and Hansard fan when I say he is the best singer, showman and band leader that I have seen in the past 10 years.
The interplay between Hansard & Marketa Irglova was central to the film Once and it was evident early with Irglova and Hansard crouched on the ground to sing Fallen From The Sky in an intimate opening to the set. The pair than teamed on Lies (“..the little cracks they escalated..”) with Hansard’s plaintive yet powerful falsetto and trusty well-worn acoustic guitar complimented by Marketa’s pure voice and piano.

The Frames band members then joined the pair to perform Low Rising (make sure you check out the brilliant film clip on You Tube) followed by (Maybe I Was Born to Hold You) In These Arms with the audience singing the harmony refrain – something of a staple at Frames gigs that also works a treat on the quieter Swell Season songs. Feeling the Pull followed before Marketa took centre stage to pour out the gut-wrenching If You Want Me. She followed this with Fantasy Man sung with a passion born out of its dedication to a friend battling depression.
The highlight of the gig came next with Hansard, solo, at the very front of the stage, singing without amplification (a la the busking performance at the start of Once) a stunning  version of Say It to Me Now which left me wondering how he can scream and hammer that voice without doing damage – amazing! The brilliance continued with a powerful performance of Leave and an acoustic version of Lay Me Down (with hilarious explanation of the songs inspiration) – one for the Frames fans.
The set then moved through Hansard solo with Backbroke (la da da da da da da da) which made the spine tingle with extent of his vocal range and a duet with Irglova of Tim Buckley’s Buzzin Fly complete with amazing guitar playing and with a bit of Grace thrown in the middle, before Colm Mac Con Iomaire, the Frames violin virtuoso, performed an Irish standard The Court of New Town.
The band returned to accompany Marketa as she performed I Have Loved You Wrong, then the band performed The Rain before the set finished up with a rousing version of When Your Mind’s Made Up. Oh and a shout out at this point to the band Joe Doyle, Rob Bochnik, Graham Hopkins & Colm (the Frames in a mellow mindset) for their brilliant work interpreting these songs.
The spontaneous standing ovation that followed did not let up in noise or intensity until the band returned for a 5-song encore. First came The Hill with Marketa solo on piano singing a siren song to her estranged husband. The central love song Falling Slowly followed which had the audience spellbound in its thrall.
Joe and Rob then joined Glen for a three-way acoustic guitar performance of Gold – the brilliant Interference song from the film after which the band played a surprising, and surprising good, version of Empire of the Sun’s Walking on a Dream which they had rehearsed during the day.
High Horses finished the set, the band in full flight and leaving the audience with one final refrain to take them away into the night (“..we’ve gone as far as we can go…without dying”).
It was a night of superlatives, magical playing, brilliant duets, audience singalongs, witty anecdotes and the presence of Hansard. Come back again…and maybe a Frames side-show next time – please?