I am aware that I have raved about Lisa O’Neill in the pages of Folk Radio in the past, so tonight’s gig will hopefully give me some scope to expand on exactly why she is so highly thought of on the modern folk scene. Her conduct during the encore gives some insight, acknowledging that she is playing in England the same week that many are mourning the passing of the Queen. Lisa is fully aware that opinion is divided, offers no judgement, and neither does she hint at her own feelings about monarchy; she simply observes that some people are really grieving this week and ends the set with a beautiful version of her song ‘Goodnight World’ (written for the play ‘The Boy Who Talked To Dogs’). She has a purity of understanding that bypasses the societal positionings people tie themselves up with; yes, there is a voice at the back shouting “thank you” at the very mention of the Queen, then the same again as the song ends, but as she sings “goodnight stars, goodnight sky, goodnight moon and sunshine, everyone I love lies under you tonight” every soul in the room is stirred regardless of their royalist views.
This could be the same thing Lisa refers to when talking about Violet Gibson, who she sings of on her song of the same name. Observing how many believed Violet to be a mad woman, this singer believes it is often those mad ones who often see things how they really are. I see that same quality in Lisa, I am not suggesting madness, but there is that piercing look in her eyes that cuts through all pomp and ceremony in search, among the birds and skies, the moon and stars, for an ethereal truth. Then there is that voice, a formidable force of nature. It sounds like an old voice, the kind you might expect to hear on a dusty old blues 78rpm disc, but she sings very much for the people of today. Opening the set with ‘Lilac Wine’ is a bold move, one that would expose many a lesser singer, especially with it being a tune best remembered in a 1966 version by Nina Simone. But Lisa O’Neill has the poise and range to use this as a vehicle to lock in the audience’s attention, and it’s a grip that does not loosen for the next ninety minutes.
Tonight was a little like a Lisa O’Neill greatest hits selection from her career thus far, with a brilliant Ivor Cutler song, ‘Squeeze Bees,’ thrown in as “a little bit of sugar.” Playing mostly with a fine band and joined later by support act Cormac Begley (who opened with an extremely engaging flight through his range of concertinas), a couple of new tunes were played from an album due in February next year. A heads up for that one, if what I heard tonight is anything to go by, we are in for a treat. We also heard older standouts like ‘Pothole In The Sky’ as well as tunes such as ‘Rock The Machine’ and ‘Blackbird’ from the last album ‘Heard A Long Gone Song,’ songs which are already wearing an air of the ‘classic’ about them. Then ahead of the encore, it is time for her mantra-like version of Bob Dylan’s ‘All The Tired Horses,’ a piece that confounded Dylan fans for decades which, earlier this year, Lisa was asked to cover for the TV show ‘Peaky Blinders.’ That can only be a good thing; it matters little how people get to hear Lisa O’Neill’s music; any path to increased exposure for an artist like this makes the world a better place, in my opinion. With a voice emitting the power of Eliza Carthy, the conviction of a June Tabor and original songs that instantly sound so right, she surely is among the best things to be found performing in the folk world today. Lisa O’Neill continues to delight all who hear her.
Upcoming Dates
N. Ireland/Ireland
Ticket Links: https://lisaoneill.ie/home/tour/
Wed 2/11 Belfast – Empire Music Hall*
Thu 3/11 Dundalk – Spirit Store*
Fri 4/11 Derry – Sandinos*
Wed 9/11 Kilkenny – Cleeres*
Thu 10/11 Cork – Coughlans+
Fri 11/11 Cork – Coughlans+
Sun 13/11 Clonakilty – DeBarras+
Wed 16/11 Limerick – Dolans^
Thu 17/11 Galway – Roisin Dubh^
Sat 19/11 Listowel, Kerry – St John’s Theatre
Sun 27/11 Sligo – Hawk’s Well Theatre^
*Kú, +Brian Leach & ^The Silken Same
Website: https://lisaoneill.ie/