SPOTlight: Damien Rice @Hummingbird Centre

August 17th, 2007 posted by robb

Damien Rice performs at Humming Bird Centre, Sept 10@8PM

Passionate and intense singer/songwriter Damien Rice is coming back to Toronto for the 2nd time this year, this time at the Hummingbird Centre. I saw the Irish singer/songwriter perform at Massey Hall a few months back, where we put on a near identical performance when he was here at the sweltering hot Danforth Music Hall sweat-a-thon show last year. It was a brief solo stop before meeting back up with the band.

I was severly disappointed with backup singer Lisa Hannigan left the band to pursue her own endeavous. Her haunting smoky alto voice combined with Rice’s intense and pain-stricken music went straight to the heart. Use of chilling call and answers and warm Hannigan echoes lost meaning when he had to respond to himself – it was on the edge of schizophrenic.

Nonetheless, Rice still packs an intense electro-acoustic punch and will put in a great show – even if it echoes his last few Toronto performances.

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