Brendan Benson strips down
Ciara Moynihan
American singer/songwriter Brendan Benson – and member of The Raconteurs – will be playing in the Róisín Dubh on Tuesday, September 21. The date is the only Connacht stopover in his 15-date tour of Ireland.
Benson has chosen to perform ‘stripped down’ shows in intimate venues around the country with his keyboardist Mark Watrous. On the menu will be a smattering of songs from his solo album back catalogue – ‘One Mississippi’ (1996), ‘Lapalco’ (2002), ‘The Alternative to Love’ (2005) and this year’s offering ‘My Old, Familiar Friend’.
Benson has always wanted to tour in Ireland – his mother was born here and he still has family living around the country. His decision to perform to low-key venues with limited seating is rooted in his desire to make this tour something special, something different.
“At long last, I’m doing it; touring Ireland! I’ve always wanted to, but for some reason or another, couldn’t. I’m doing it a little differently too; gonna drive myself and Mark Watrous to the gigs in a van, with just an acoustic guitar and a keyboard in tow … Playing for gas money! Just like the old days … Good way to see the country, I figure.”
For those who know and love his pop/rock style, this unusual Irish tour gives them the chance to see the singer up close. For those who find it hard to disassociate him from The Raconteurs (and it’s hard not to) a Brendan Benson gig will be more of a curiosity excursion.
A word of warning though: Benson’s contribution to The Raconteurs could be described as an understated, sweetness-and-light counterbalance to Jack White’s dark, heavy rock-blues guitar and notorious front-of-house attitude. If it’s The Raconteurs you’re after, expect to pass the time playing Spot the Jack White-shaped Hole on the Stage.
