Recently (as recent as last week) went to see Ray Lamontagne play to a full house in Cork’s Opera House. It definitely does, even if it’s a bit late and half-assed, deserve a mention. I’d been of the opinion for some time that he’d put on a great live show if the albums are anything to go by. Couldn’t have been more right. Our seats were front and slightly right of center, perfect as far as I was concerned but lacking in legroom according to my significant other.
Ray was preceded by a performance by Leona Naess who was just the ticket and complimented nicely the performance to come. I and I’m sure many people in the audience were surprised how soft spoken Ray actually is, given the unbelievable sound he’s capable of making. After the first couple of songs, I started to wonder if he’d interact with the audience at all, or so a recent article on him would have had me believe. He thanked the gathered masses profusely for generous applause, made some jokes and overall remained hugely polite. All that despite a few people in the audience that I think would have liked to reorganise his chosen play list.
All to be expected with a boisterous Corkonian crowd however and that of course is half the charm of going to a gig in Cork. It was an amazing gig with amazing talent from both the main man himself and his band. I can only imagine he went onto Limerick the following evening and played to yet another capacity crowd. Before anyone asks, yes; I’ve been kicking myself quite hard since the gig last Thursday that I didn’t bring my camera. Front row and all. Could have gotten some amazing shots (maybe) but I decided not to chance it as I didn’t really feel like getting booted out of the Opera House. That didn’t seem to bother the rest of the crowd, who’s flashes lit up the room throughout the whole gig. Ahh, it’ll do me no harm to have one night without the ol’ camera!
