Live Review: Sinead O'Connor

There’s something of a school hall vibe in QPAC this evening as ushers creep around asking patrons to stop filming, and baby boomers shift angrily in their seats, issuing sharp shooshes to anyone daring to talk over their favourite Irish rose, Sinead O’Connor. She’s in feisty form from the outset, eliciting plenty of chuckles throughout comedic opener Queen Of Denmark as she stomps through a raucous chorus with the support of her five-piece band. With her shaved head clad in a beanie, O’Connor is diminutive in stature though defiant in presence; it’s truly impressive to hear her vocal remain loud and strong even as she holds the mic at arm’s length in the shame of Take Me To Church.

Beyond the dark and chugging Harbour, O’Connor’s stage babbling becomes more frequent as she starts beating on her chest exclaiming, “Just gonna burp myself. I can’t sing this pretty song and belch at the same time...” Burping would indeed have ruined 1994’s In This Heart, a ballad made more lovely with an Irish lilt and the harmonies of the band added one-by-one. As the band depart for O’Connor’s mid-set solo, she is handed a guitar, prompting the disclaimer, “You’re about to find out my guitar playing is as good as my stage presence.” Black Boys On Mopeds – from 1990’s Grammy Award-winning I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got – is all the more striking in this format, though If U Ever is strummed strangely, and several bum notes break the momentum. The Emperor’s New Clothes brings several of the less repressed sections of the audience to their feet to clap, howl and dance unashamedly to one of O’Connor’s most recognised songs, and the band clearly enjoy breaking into a rockier number before the sweet vocal melody of The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance closes the set. An encore of Streetcars is breathy and heartfelt, though the finale everyone wants to hear – O’Connor’s famous arrangement of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U – falls somewhat flat when delivered with just the two guitarists in support. Like much of the set tonight, it’s enjoyable, and worthwhile just to hear O’Connor’s incredible vocal, though it all feels a little paint-by-numbers, particularly in the band department.