Lisa Hannigan at the Mod Club; Sunday March 1, 2009

Lisa Hannigan at the Mod Club; Sunday March 1, 2009.

Seeing Lisa Hannigan was at the top of my list of must sees probably as of nearly four or five years ago. I first heard her as Damien Rice's female counterpart, much to my chagrin she wasn't at either of the shows I saw Damien Rice at. They had some falling out shortly after they recorded '9', Rice's hauntingly beautiful album. In that album Hannigan started and finished it. Her vocals are airy but full of life, they have this super comforting warmth to them. This is best illustrated in the tunes: “Volcano” off of his first album titled 'O' and in the recorded verion of '9 Crimes' off of his latest titled '9'. Live she was everything I thought she'd be, maybe a bit more. I hate going to shows where i'm not super familiar with the music. Her cover of Air's “Playground Love” was my favourite part of the evening. It was eerie as she used her harmonium, and almost unrecognisable until she sung “You're my high school lover...”. Most memorable at the bridge the music stopped and she and her band sung acapella, which sounded more like a Gregorian chant than it did an Air song. It was absolutely lovely. Hannigan's voice is eerie, as it's deep yet hollow and very airy. She thrives on “oohs” and “hmms” throughout her tunes. Which made me think that if she just hummed through a whole tune i'd be thoroughly happy. She could produce crap lyrics and her voice would carry her to sell out venues. She was a bit sick but it didn't translate to her vocals one bit. Nor does her Irish accent which was so think that i struggled to make out what she was saying. She didn't talk much, but her personality really stuck out when she played her own music.She seems significantly more free than when she played with Damien Rice. I think this is partially because she's now performing her own songs, her own words. She fidgeted a bunch in the style of Sia or Joe Cocker... She's a gem but i can confidently say that i don't like her music. I like her voice but just with other people's music.The openers are called the Low Anthem, they had just played at the Mod Club with Rachael Yamagata not three months before. Seeing them for the second time made me appreciate them because they changed up their set from the last, playing some of the same songs but some entirely different ones. I hope i see them again.

March 4, 2009