Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - Whelans Dublin 7th May 2010
May 10th, 2010 by Donagh
I knew very little about Hope Sandoval, or the Warm Inventions apart from a few stray things when I went along to the gig in Whelan’s last Friday.
Basically, I knew she was the singer with Mazzy Star whose album Among My Swan I have had for years but which I haven’t listened to that often. Her voice I could be assured would be amazing, but also of that fine brittle Americana tradition that used to be so popular with Uncut writers, and probably still is. So perhaps I tended to take it for granted. And of course she’s been a guest singer all over the place. See Seán post BARRETT, JOYCE AND HOPE for details.
Also, the drummer in the Warm Inventions is Colm Ó Cíosóig who was the drummer and founder member in My Bloody Valentine.
Keeping with tradition I was late for the gig, missing the first song, and would have missed the second if it hadn’t been abandoned half-way through. A bit of technical malfunction continued for the third and forth song, or so it seemed judging by Hope’s pissed off demeanour. It was hard for me to tell, as I wasn’t familiar with the songs all of which I assumed were from Through the Devil Softly album, released in late 2009. I was upstairs too, which may not be the best place to hear music that is so carefully produced. However the slight reverb on the vocals seemed to thin out for later songs. It was a short set, which after the initial complaining about monitors and so forth from Sandoval involved no interaction with the audience. It was also a very short set, lasting only about 45 minutes, including a one song encore that only materialised after a relation or friend of Ó’Cíosóig (I suspect) kept the call going for it for about five minutes.
It’s been a trend in gig reviews here over the last while to stick up a video of the performance provided by Conor of Trig Films. Fortunately he was at this gig too.
This song was the encore (don’t know the name of it, sorry), and definitely left me wanting more.
As it happens as I was standing just a little to the left from where it was taken. After a slow start it turned out to be a great gig, with very nice songs and a band who knew exactly what they were doing. They also managed to build what originally are rather delicate affairs up into a lovely noise, as the song below shows.
Just wished it was a little longer.
Enjoy
Bluebird Through the Devil Softly featured too.
As did Suzanne from 2001’s Bavarian Fruit Bread
Shocked I am to discover that you went to a gig without letting me know first. Shocked and disappointed. Doesn’t matter in any case, because I was there too. Two can play at that game.
I can clarify some things about the setlist:
Courtesy of a girl up the front who wasn’t too bothered having a Hope Sandoval setlist since she was primarily a Mazzy Star fan. Go figure…
You forgot to mention how swoonsome Ms. Sandoval remains. Some kind of remarkable restraint on your part, I’d imagine. I don’t know if ’swoonsome’ is a real word, well, it is now. The girl I went to the gig with remarked afterwards “All the girls at the gig wanted to be her; all the guys at the gig wanted to shag her.” I mumbled something non-committal.
Odd gig for me too in that Hope Sandoval (in all her various guises) never really seemed like a person who existed outside the confines of recorded music. That whole ethereal quality thing I suppose. At the gig, I felt that it really came together for Suzanne and Feeling of Gaze, methough. Short and sweet.
Jayzus - it’s like listening to an auld couple - the two of youse - Biddy and Buddy Mulligan, for ex.
Is the Donagh fella let loose on the roads at last that he’s zipping around to all these gigs instead of wishing me a happy passage into me 5th decade ??
Jim, I hope Dublin ain’t so backward that some of the BLOKES wanted to be her and GIRLS wanted to shag her also….
Though given the overwhelming vibe of homophobia I usually get when back there, I suspect it still is..
Jim, thanks for the playlist, for not telling me, and for letting Sean get the digs in about us being like an auld couple. Listening to one of the lines of Suzanne makes me think that Sean might be right about what some of the girls were thinking too:
Sean, you’re right, about almost everything, but what can I do if I’m not invited to things.
I haven’t been let loose on the roads to go to gigs or anywhere else. Hopefully after the 19th I will be though.
Happy birthday Seanie. I’m there too. The big 39+1.
Ta Jim - and the same back to ye. According to my daughters, I’ve just been 12 again for the 28th or 29th time (never was too hot at the old maths - bloody incrementals drive me mental)