A VERY SWEET SUBURBAN CASEY GIG
‘IF YOU LIKE Paddy Casey songs, you’re in luck. I know all of them. Well, most of them.’ This is the wit fans have come to expect from Casey, a member of the Irish musical elect of Messrs Hansard, O’Rourke, Rice, Dempsey et al.
Paddy earned his fee in the Harbour Bar last week. While the vast majority of those present were there for the gig, there were pockets of people just in for a pint and a chat.
And chat they did. The lounge in the Harbour was never going to be a quiet room, even for a famous singer-songwriter. Frank Sinatra and Freddie Mercury could rise from their graves to duet on that particular stage and a few punters would still shout in each other’s ears through the quiet ones.
‘I don’t mind if ye talk, just as long as it’s in the same key as the music,’ said the Crumlin man, who proceeded to deftly win the audience over to a man, and woman.
Prior to the main event, Saoirse Casey opened for her father with a remarkable set of originals. ‘I’m her biggest fan,’ Paddy told the audience later when introducing Saoirse.
He started with the ethereal ‘ There is Light’, before dispensing with the softer sounds and drawing on a uniquely impressive back catalogue. The big finish was ‘Saints & Sinners’, with every box ticked en-route, from ‘ The Lucky One’ to ‘Bend Down Low’ and from ‘Addicted to Company’ to ‘Whatever Gets You True’. He endearingly appealed to the audience to sing along, even teaching the odd chorus before kicking off the song.
This reporter unsuccessfully demanded that he do ‘Out of Control’. However, the song’s co-writer, Kilcoole woman Kim Hayden, wasn’t in Bray last Thursday night. ‘I don’t know the other part!’ he said. One notable cover on the night was a cover version of Sinnerman. While Nina Simone’s was the definitive version, Paddy’s own is a worthy companion. ‘No Diggity’ morphed into a rendition of Prince’s ‘Get Off ’ and raised the roof. Nobody was talking by then.