Brian Kennedy walked down the stairs of Dundalk Gaol onto the stage and immediately launched into "Recovery". Then he engaged the audience telling them that he would be taking questions throughout the night as it adds a "sense of joy and uncomfortableness" which it certainly did at points. He spoke honestly and frankly about his cancer battle and his new EP "Recovery". After this he played "Child Of War" which featured the voice of newsreader Sean Rafferty. Up next were old favourites such as "A Better Man", "Captured" and Van Morrison's "Days Like This".
A cover of Joni Mitchell's "A Case Of You" was followed by "Best Friend.
Brian told many stories of his past from Belfast to London. One such story was about a shoplifting incident with Eddi Reader which resulted in the writing of "Silver Hearts On Chains". Then came "Don't Look Back" and a captivating rendition of "Cloudsong" from Riverdance. This came from Brian's time performing in Riverdance in New York which also inspired the next song "Christopher Street". "Sunday Morning" was followed by the powerful "You Raise Me Up" and Paul Simon's "The Boxer". Quite fittingly, the night ended with an incredible performance of "The Auld Triangle".
From start to finish, Brian had the audience in the palm of his hand with his strong vocals and his personable demeanour. He spoke a lot (maybe too much for one woman who implored him to "SING") but his stories often brought humour even from dark places. Nobody there wanted the show to end and I overheard one woman say "that was brilliant, can he come back every week?". If that was the case, it would probably be a sell out every week as well.
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