Damien Rice­ Gig Review With the lights dimmed in a glorified library, the diminutive figure of Damien Rice warbles away in the corner of the Michelberger lobby in which he’s been crammed into. This however is not due to the insignificance of the event, rather the fact they couldn’t fit anymore Rice fans in if they tried. Once again Rice has found himself trying to perform in a setting that is cosy and intimate, performing to a small audience that he believes is probably the only group of people capable of understanding his simple yet raw music and demeanour… Rice has forgotten again though, forgotten he is a superstar, one of, if not the greatest acoustic singer­songwriter of music’s modern era. Opening with the ever so tangible ‘Delicate’, any fears of Rice just performing songs from his new album disappear­ the audience has been treated to a timeless classic from ‘O’. Delivered with the esoteric aura which seems to have followed Rice throughout his 16 year long solo career, He then delves straight into ‘Volcano’ where he bellows the lyrics “What i really need is what makes me bleed”. This is true of Damien Rice, he always shines through adversity. Ever the profound philosopher, debut album ‘O’ graced our ears after some soul searching in Italy, a result of previous rock group ‘Juniper’s failure to really take off. This is the first album Rice has released now without the help of the angelic Lisa Hannigan. Rice’s ego would never admit the harm this would potentially cause to his music and live performances, but surely it did. He has now honed a craft however and prevailed into legendary status while Lisa Hannigan’s career lies somewhere in Music limbo. As the show goes on it seems as though Rice has breathed a whole new life into his career, he pounds away at his guitar as he gives a truly breathtaking rendition of ‘9 Crimes’. This however is not really the case, Rice’s album production rate may be sparse but this is merely because he is one of the industry’s last true singer­songwriters, where Jack Johnson’s message got lost somewhere between numerous albums, Rice’s stands the test of time and his story ages beautifully with his third album. In 25 years time it will be Rice, and no other who takes the Mantle of performing intricately crafted acoustic music as a cult hero, from the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. It is Damien Rice who ages like a fine wine. Carlo Pernice .