PlayRewind

Back before Christmas one of my lovely friends (I have many) got me a ticket to Newton Faulkner in the Radisson Hotel in Galway. On Saturday I finally got to use that gift. The resulting night was a mixed bag.

Firstly let me say that the venue is a barn. A converted function room with little charm but we were not there for the décor and anyway the lights would be dimmed when the ginger one took the stage so I was not unduly perturbed. What the place lacked in charm Newton more than made up for. His is a one man show and his material can be very melancholic at times but despite this the show clipped along at a nice pace, never sinking too far into depression or becoming too frenzied. He told jokes, had a screen of visuals and organised the odd sing along, dividing the crowd and giving each section a part to sing. The rest of the time the crowd sang along anyway seeming to know every bar of every song that came their way.

That is not to say there were not downsides to the show, at points the visuals, which were projected on a large screen to coincide with certain parts of songs, were woefully out of sync and the over all volume of the show was much too low. I know it was not a Machine Head gig but you should not be able to hear the idle chatter of people around (not that closely around) you during songs. However the good natured vibe from both the crowd and Mr Faulkner and the sheer charisma he has made the glitches and back tech on the nigh forgivable.  He is well worth seenig live but only in the Radisson if you must.

Did a great version of this, enjoy
Badman