Live Review: Glen Hansard, Lisa O'Neill

An Evening With Glen Hansard at the Sydney Opera House felt more like an overdue catch-up with close friends, with Hansard's magnificent music bathed throughout the night in jolly stories and cheeky anecdotes.

Cavan singer-songwriter Lisa O'Neill, a petite woman with a charming presence and a harrowingly compelling voice, was a perfect opener. Performing with a maturity and intensity that could almost match that of Hansard, O'Neill effortlessly struck an emotional chord with the audience. Her stunning England Has My Man saw O'Neill's emotionally contorted voice seep in and under everyone's skin and her return later in Hansard's set to perform a song about feeding Elvis Presley Irish stew definitely cemented her popularity.

Whether due to St Patrick's Day or the iconic venue, there was a buzz of something special in the Opera House for Glen Hansard's performance. From Hansard's opening, tender take on John Hegarty's Limerick Town, an enthusiastic audience laughed, clapped and sung along to almost two hours of joyous music. There were whistles after the spine-tingling peak of Love Don't Keep Me Waiting, and revered silence on Come Away To The Water.

In one irrational moment Hansard pulled a woman, Mara, from the audience to sing on his award-winning song Falling Slowly, a madman's idea that resulted in a spontaneous moment of bliss when Mara both knew all the words, and could sing beautifully. Similarly, towards the end of the night Hansard, along with backing band, O'Neill, and even his hard working roadie finally 'surrendered to the green' with a tongue-twisting, impressive rendition of the long-winded, very wordy Rocky Road To Dublin. Thinking not much of it, Hansard threw a verse out to the audience in the hope someone knew it, only for an Australian guy to get up and sing the next rambling, obscure verse perfectly, much to the delight of both the crowd and Hansard.

Hansard finished up the night with a collaborative version of The Auld Triangle, a last nod to St Patrick's Day that culminated in the audience in its entirety on their feet, singing the final chorus at the top of their lungs, like old, close friends – because that sure is what it felt like.