Photo from Flickr by kaotage.
I was aware that two special shows were to take place in Whelans and were to feature Daniel Johnston, Mark Linous of Sparklehorse, Scout Niblett, James McNew of Yo La Tengo, Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub and Jad Fair and Bob Sluggett of Half Japanese. When Daniel played Vicar Street last year, I was wary of going. I had just seen The Devil and Daniel Johnston months previous so although I was fascinated by his story, his unique and sometimes painfully simple songs but I decided I wouldn’t go. Was I going to gawk at some fucked-up guy from that movie or did I genuinely think he was some kind of god? Neither. Afterwards, I remember hearing reports that people were laughing at him so I was glad I didn’t experience it.
When tickets returned on sale two weeks ago without thinking about it, I snapped two up, mostly out of latent curiosity. The initimate setting and the supporting group of indier-than-thou messiahs was enough to convince me to give it a shot. They were not my indie messiahs however. Let me explain. In the years a lot of my peers were probably finding themselves in a Yo La Tengo albums or Wilco, I was listening to Beastie Boys and discovering hip-hop. I have 1 Sparklehorse album, 2 Yo La Tengo albums and 1 Daniel Johnston album but none of them are regularly played if I’m honest. So that’s the mindset I approached the gig last night, thinking the names were attracting the crowd more than their back catalogue.
It was a singular kind of event last night, not too dissimilar to the Hal Willner’s Rogues Gallery of Indie music except for a lot more engaging and a lot less forced. Sure, people were clearly fawning at the site of Daniel or Mark Linous or James McNew but in the end there were enough decent songs played to ensure, it was an engaging experience. Mark Linous played ‘Homecoming Queen’, a Sparklehorse song I’m familiar with, getting the audience to sing the backing vocals in hushed tones. Jad Fair led a musical game of stop-start song with NcNew and Blake watching for the cue. Scout Niblett impressed with an idiosyncratic performance which I hate to say, reminding me of PJ Harvey’s caustic morbidness. She bleated out the line “We’re all going to die soon”. How Lovely. Norman Blake played a short acoustic set full of simple pop melodies and the first Teenage Fanclub song the band ever wrote ‘Everything Flows’. The Scotsman’s set was a highlight.
Daniel Johnston came out and played a short set on a miniature guitar. He introduced himself by telling us he had a dream where he was sentenced to death for trying to commit suicide. That sums up Daniel for me. He was joined by his guests for a full band set which included ‘Speeding Motorcycle’ and ‘Casper The Friendly Ghost’.
I needn’t have worried about the gawking factor at a Daniel Johnston show. Being schizoprenic and bipolar removes the shrinkwrap around the part of Daniel’s brain which filters honesty and that’s his unique talent. His ability to convey directly through his lyrics and simple melodies, emotions and feelings that most people would hide out of embarassment or awkwardness. That is why people are there to witness him in the flesh. He is loved, not laughed at. I’m glad I witnessed that for myself.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
Yo La Tengo are a great band.
Avoid Half Japanese albums though, they’re great but the albums are 70% unlistenable from my experience… especially the triple album debut.
For more crazy singer songwriters check out R Stevie Moore.
One of Daniel’s songs is on the album ‘Songs in the Key of Z’ an excellent compilation of ‘outsider’ music. i wish I had been at the show.
I think your lack of involvement in the music of all of the bands made for a great review, Niall. Most fans of YoLaTengo, TeenageFanclub and Sparklehorse (myself included) fall into the “rabid” category, and while that’s not a bad thing by any means, it can mean reviews tend be muddied by the fawning.
The tone of this review is what I hope my first review of a WuTang Clan show will sound like 🙂
these are pretty cool if you’re into Daneil Johnston and the whole ‘Hi, How Are You’ thing:
http://www.hihowareyou.com/store/shop/details/1419
blogged about this myself niall. Like you, i was wary after hearing strange reports from the vicar st gig. daniel tells that suicide joke EVERY single time he plays. But i think with the support in question, it all worked out comfortably and well, most likely because they were established bands with nothing to gain and who wanted to give something back to the man who inspired him. The thing about Daniel Johnston though, is he is quite severely mentally ill. Like hardcore unwell and liable to be violent if not on his medicine. It makes me wonder about who is benefitting from these shows? If it is him, great. If not, we all need to ask ourselves some questions. He really does not care for money, but right now is in a lucrative situation. As far as I am aware his family manage his finances. It’s an odd one. All I know is that on Sunday night he really seemed into the gig and the audience. My mate saw him at Vicar St before and said he was shakey, uncomfortable and quite aware of the casually cruel curiosity of many audience members. Whelans was anything but that. I actually enjoyed the gig so much I was grinning a day later.
Weird. totally missed your post. It’s the uneasiness at Johnston’s touring and performing that you alluded to that I also picked up on but didn’t voice here. Why is he doing this? Is it his choice? He definitely looked like he enjoyed himself in that regard.
That he was aware of the casually cruel curiosity at the Vicar St gig is upsetting which is why I stayed away in the first place.
I was at the Vicar St gig last year and didn’t pick up on any of the negative stuff you mentioned. For me the Vicar St gig was far better than last week’s. I suppose it depends on who you’re surrounded by really.
I definitely didn’t hear anyone laughing AT him though, they might have laughed at the suicide joke and a couple of others though.