While the choice of Vicar Street for a headline concert proved to be somewhat over-ambitious, there was no doubting that, given time, John Spillane could easily pack it out. A wiry-headed Cork man with a fine sense of Corkonian surrealist humour, the former Nomos singer might to the undiscerning listener come across like a Disney version of an Irish singer/ songwriter, but thudding above the occasional whimsy there beats a heart of solid emotions.
Fussing over his guitar like a seamstress over a particularly knotty confusion of thread and needle, Spillane is initially on stage by himself.
In this strictly solo capacity, he sings the excellent When You And I Were True, a relic of a bygone era of wistful romance and optimism. Following a couple of songs that he describes as "gems of the Gaelic Hit Factory" (one of which is a collaborative effort with poet Louis de Paor), Declan Sinnott joins him.
Rangy of demeanour but extraordinarily expressive on guitar, Sinnott provides the necessary embellishment that drives the gig forward in a venue of this size. My Love Will Not Sing For Me ("about the women and the drink" explains Spillane mischievously), Let The River Flow, Back To The Well For Water and Soon, Child all follow in quick succession. Each one is a charmer, brimming over with controlled elemental imagery and taut scenarios.
John Spillane supports Brian Kennedy on Friday and Saturday at the Cork Opera House.
