The 150 strong crowd at the Clifton Hill Hotel’s Emerald Lounge were quietly buzzing as a smiling Liam Byrne took to the stage. “Are ye in good form?” he asked in a strong county Wexford accent. A roar in the positive, “anyone here from home?” he pressed. The room shook and so began Back home In Derry.
It was soon obvious, besides Byrnes likeness to the Kildare folk legend, that crowd involvement was order of the night, with byrne regularly giving the mic a wide berth allowing the gathering to bellow the chorus in between swirls of Guinness and Magners.
The apartheid and grim working-class undertones to Dunnes Stores gave the crowd their first chance to appreciate Byrnes superb story telling abilitity. Then – as much was the pattern for much of the night – the mood switched back from emotive to jovial, as he aimed a bar at the hotel management. “They’ve kindly given me water,” he said, sipping from a bottle before some clean strumming formed the backbone to hilarious tales of his giving up “the mushrooms, disco biscuits, funny fags and mad soup” and an ex-pats lament of how “Christmas shopping in a pair of shorts just isn’t f**kin right”
Now warmed up, he proceeded to roll off effortless takes on Moore classics and traditional folk anthems, with a thoughtful balancing of Irish and Australian references. Fairytale Of New York hit the mark with everyone, even those curious few not savvy with the Pogues, or Christy Moore for that matter. His own Irish radio hit, The Ballad Of Miriam O’Callaghan sat comfortably alongside The reel In The Flickering Light, which enlivened the crowd so much it took several minutes for hush as Byrne, eyes closed and operatic voiced offered up beguiling versions of Cliffs Of Doneen and The Band Played Waltzing Matilda.
A fantastically funny story about shopping in Cork for black t-shirts preceded Christy’s Black Vest and a few tunes later he once again had the gathering in stitches with his take on the Ricki Martin hit Living La Vida Loca. Sang very much in a heavy Irish accent, it’s called Living In A Field In Avoca. Liam had some Australian cousins in the audience and a song he wrote for his late father, called Golden Boats, struck a chord and built a spiritual bridge all the way back to the hay fields in Wexford.
Other highlights included startling renditions of Ordinary Man and Ride On while Joxer Goes To Stuttgart had the green-tops screaming as Ray Houghton’s Euro’88 goal against England was celebrated once again.
Delighting with his skills on the bodhran (afterwards he admitted to “losing himself” in the performance) and harmonica on Dirty Old Town he rounded out the performance with a fierce medley that included Lisdoonvarna and Gaelic Storm.
Byrne has hyped as energetic, witty, passionate and enthusiastic. On Friday night, on a fine Australian evening, he was all this, and much more. Humble and talented, he’s not merely a worth Christy Moore substitute-he’s well worth the price of admission in his own right.
Daniel Lewis