Russell Crowe’s Indoor Garden Party in the Gaiety review: Patchwork show with a party atmosphere makes for a fun Monday nightplays two parts: the sometimes interminably long story-telling host, and the MC who quickly introduces guests and walks to the back of the room for a breather or a snifter or both. The gig subtitle of “Featuring his band, The Gentlemen Barbers & Lorraine O’Reilly” also tells a tale.
“Welcome to the Taylor Swift alternative concert,” he says as he stands behind the mic, centre stage, flanked by five musicians, co-vocalist O’Reilly, and backed by three female singers. Everybody is dressed in black, suited and booted, a clear signal that Crowe isn’t prepared to part the audience from their money without giving extra added value.
The stories are told without pretension, with Crowe swearing like a docker, clearly endearing himself to the audience. He is personable and sincere in his delivery, too, especially when he gets serious and/or sage-like. Neither can you fault the musicians, even if the original material rarely ventures beyond the rigours of what you’d hear from a highly experienced pub band.
Not to worry. The gig ended with a trio of songs that had the audience up and at ‘em: a Pogues-like knees-up tune, Testify, a barnstormer of a soul/rock song, and a surprisingly strapping version of Simon and Garfunkel’s Hazy Shade of Winter. Crowe then sang a rapturously received rendition of Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits and bucked the curfew with Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues.
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