Live Review: The Script

11 April 2013 | 10:12 am | Ching Pei Khoo

They are the Irishmen you dream of meeting at the local pub – their merry on-stage banter and the drunk dial stunt adding to the band’s growing popularity.

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If there is ever an opportunity to get your ex to rethink that breakup, it would be surrendering your phone to The Script's lead singer Danny O'Donoghue to make 'the ultimate drunk dial' in the middle of a gig in a packed arena with everyone gleefully watching on. And the icing? Having O'Donoghue and his bandmates Mark Sheehan (guitar, backing vocals) and Glen Power (drums) perform the band's poignant ballad Nothing to your ex on the other end of the line the entire time.

It is indeed an evening with something for everybody, including the legions of Irish wrapped in green, white and orange. Promising Queensland artist Sinead Burgess opens with smooth country rock style tracks – her voice steely, confident and ethereally reminiscent of Wendy Matthews. The Original Rudeboys, a band of five young men from the same hometown as The Script with a rap-pop style that pays strong homage to them, albeit with less finesse. They ramp up the energy stakes for the young fans and appropriately set the musical landscape for their countrymen.

With the recent release of their third album #3, The Script appears to be moving the direction of their songwriting beyond the intense self-scrutinising that weighed heavily in their earlier catalogue. It's reinforced by the short introductory video with an ominous voiceover narrating a philosophical view of the earth's existence in the galaxy. The symbolic phoenix-like flames flash repeatedly on the back screen during the evening and culminate in a long prologue to the band's final number Hall Of Fame in which O'Donoghue holds aloft a blazing torch and dramatically walks the perimeter of the stage. Despite this overt statement however, the band are wise to recognise their affirmed talents: heart-rending lyrics without the pathos, arresting storylines and well balanced rap style vocals on a harmony of interwoven pop and soft rock. They efficiently perform all the solid chart-toppers from their previous albums – Breakeven, Before The Worst, For The First Time, We Cry and The Man Who Can't Be Moved. A letdown, however, is the sound quality that appears inherent with a stadium venue – the uncontrolled acoustics often distorting their music and vocals. With plenty of unbridled Irish charm and roguishness however, O'Donoghue and Sheehan make this forgivable. They are the Irishmen you dream of meeting at the local pub – their merry on-stage banter and the drunk dial stunt adding to the band's growing popularity.