Extras:
Documentary, Lyrics, Photo Gallery, Music videos: Come Home Billy Bird, Absent Friends
Divine music from the Divine Comedy.
It’s a job well done as they take to the stage at the London Palladium.
Northern Ireland’s very own cult singer-songwriter, Neil Hannon is TDC, along
with some highly accomplished musicians who’ve entered the ever expanding
entourage.
By many, he’s been described as a pop-genius, and has set an agenda of
writing great pop songs that will hopefully reach as large an audience as
possible. He seems to have achieved both goals, as the fanbase increases year
on year.
Complete with the 15-piece Millennia Ensemble he thrills the fans with a
selection of both popular favourites and some rarely heard album tracks.
Hannon’s penchant for fusing old French and Indie music: it unfolds into
panoramic epics, synonymous with his ‘soundtrack fetish‘.
Absent Friends
Strong emphasis is placed on melody and harmony which he learnt from his days
in both school and church choirs. Having studied piano, he has an excellent
grasp of what constitutes an additional classical feel. He works out the
basics on his computer, and hands over the more elaborate workings to his
trusty collaborator Joby.
He keeps his finger well and truly on the pulse by ensuring that he’s
responsible for the overall beautification of his compositions. On this
occasion he was desperately keen to play songs from this year’s Absent Friends
album with full instrumentation, despite the cost.
Two gigs in Liverpool, and it was straight on to the Palladium show, which he
described as a triumph. It’s either a melancholic slant - Sticks and Stones
and Leaving Today or an uplifting one - National Express, Something
For The Weekend - with both moods equally balanced.
There’s an underlying child-like innocence, which is very attractive coming
from a 33-year-old. He continues to be a maverick amongst his contemporaries:
a rare breed indeed.
This is sophisticated Pop music of the 20th and 21st century - with a totally
timeless feel. Sit back and enjoy a fascinating night of eclectic music.
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Absent Friends
2. In Pursuit Of Happiness
3. Becoming More Like Alfie
4. Sticks & Stones
5. Leaving Today
6. Come Home Billy Bird
7. The Certainty Of Chance
8. When The Lights Go Out All Over Europe
9. No One Knows
10. National Express
11. Generation Sex
12. Songs Of Love
13. The Happy Goth
14. Our Mutual Friend
15. Three Sisters
16. Charmed Life
17. Tonight We Fly
18. Something For The Weekend
19. Sunrise
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
