MESMERISED, is what I felt throughout Irish-born Damien Rice’s long-awaited concert, which happened recently at Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on the 7 June. The 49-year-old musician and singer-songwriter held an amazing performance throughout the night with songs included from his older albums mixed in with some new songs that were a bit different than his usual style, but enjoyable nonetheless.
When I entered the hall by 8:30 PM, Liesl Mae, the opening act was already on stage performing a couple of songs that were melodious and easy to listen to while people were slowly filling up the hall.
When the hall was finally filled to the brim with his loyal and attentive fans, Rice finally appeared on stage sporting a simple outfit, and hairstyle and yet, his voice was anything but. Even the first song he performed, The Professor & La Fille Danse was an immediate attention-grabber of how he used his voice and fluency in French to further elevate the experience of hearing and seeing it live.
Rice continued wow-ing the crowd after that, with the estimation of having 1500 voices cheering and screaming for him. The stage itself was nothing particularly spectacular, not having any special effects or anything else added to it, and yet, Rice shone through with the projection of his voice, high notes, and the colour of his music.
One of my favourite highlights of coming to this concert was definitely the humour exhibited by Rice. As concerts usually are, there will be stragglers that will either arrive later than the expected opening act or have the constant itch to go to the bathroom before coming back to their seats. There will also be the odd group of hecklers that like to either voice their opinions or demand certain things and yet, Rice handles it in such a classy way while also being humorous about it, sarcastically joking with the crowd before laughing along with them.
Among his old songs, there were also a couple of new ones that were quite memorable, especially since it was accompanied by actual flashing lights, and required a couple of stage theatrics. But if I had to pick out of all the songs that Rice performed, The Box, I Remember, Older Chests, I Don’t Want to Change You and The Blower’s Daughter are definite earworms and must-sees in person.
Despite Rice being the main show, a memorable highlight of the concert was definitely his guest for the Malaysia stop, Francisca Barreto. Rice picked such a great voice to accompany him as her voice suited his so well, enhancing his colour much further while she showed off the crispness of her voice, clear vocals flowing through everyone’s eardrums. While Lisa Hannigan was a great previous duet partner for Rice, Barreto was a great change-up.
Nearing the end of the concert, Rice playfully complained that everyone was too far away from him and made a gentle request for everyone to come closer, and not even a minute later, the crowd gathered around him like bees to their favourite flowers. Every single person in the crowd had their phones up and was ready to get up close and personal. At this point of the concert, he definitely shows how much he cares for his fans by how much he indulges them. There would be countless requests coming his way, even as the concert comes to an end, and you would think he would end the night with the song that was already scheduled to be played but nope, with a small smile and a shrug, he ends up playing some of the songs that they requested and even performed multiple encores, that entails, Amie, Rootless Tree and The Blower’s Daughter.
Other than being talented and humorous, Rice is also known for his advocacy for human rights, as well as humanitarian campaigns throughout his concerts worldwide. In Malaysia, he is adamant about supporting Chan Tonnamphet, an 18-year-old indigenous community (land) rights activist in Thailand who is being investigated by authorities. She broke emergency rules while peacefully protesting the government’s takeover of her ancestral land at Kaeng Krachan National Park.
Rice also highlighted in between his performances that he is a constant advocator for all sorts of human rights campaigns, and in his speeches, he always manages to thank everyone that is involved as well as his loyal fans.
All in all, it was definitely an experience that was worth repeating because it was one of those rare concerts that truly let me soak in the vocals and melodies without any over-added theatrics. It was proven multiple times throughout the night that not only was Rice an amazing musician, but he also had a great personality too. It was truly a night to remember.