The charmed ones

THE Script had the plot for an entertaining gig and it delivered the goods last weekend. At the band’s concert in Malawati Indoor Stadium in Shah Alam, Selangor, thousands were entertained by its energetic performance and the members’ penchant for storytelling.

Before the pop band took the stage at 9pm, fans were asked to form a line.

Moments later, the crowd went into a frenzy as vocalist Danny O’Donoghue made his way through the line and onto the stage. His short walk was also accompanied by selected fans holding green flags with lights. Just like that, the band kicked off the show with Riverdance-tinged rocking number Paint The Town Green.

The semblance to Riverdance, green flags, and O’Donoghue all lead up to the fact that the band is Irish. Thankfully, no leprechauns made an appearance at this concert.

When the band was not furiously working the crowd into a fun singalong, its three members took the time to tell tales of fear and courage. Guitarist Mark Sheehan, for example, shared that he had an “irrational fear of heights”.

“The guys like to play around just to scare the (expletive) out of me. They find it funny,” Sheehan lamented to the audience.

He got his revenge when the band had to film a music video for Man On Wire, a song taken off The Script’s fourth studio album, No Sound Without Silence.

“You have to be careful with what songs you write because you have to shoot a music video,” said Sheehan.

For this particular music video, O’Donoghue had to walk on a tightrope above the streets in Cape Town, Africa. Here’s hoping they don’t write songs about punching sharks or driving through traffic blindfolded.

Even drummer Glen Power took the time to address the crowd, pausing the show for a photo op on stage.

O’Donoghue also shared that before making it big, the band was made up of a bunch of “broke musicians”.

“We were sleeping on couches and we had no money. Thankfully the music came along and introduced us to you beautiful people.”

Formed in 2001, The Script achieved breakthrough success in 2008 with the song The Man Who Can’t Be Moved.

The charismatic vocalist clearly knew how to have fun with the crowd. There was a moment when he disappeared from the stage, leaving Sheehan with a guitar solo only to pop up later at the sound control area. While singing You Won’t Feel A Thing, O’Donoghue held a GoPro camera and worked his way through the crowd and onto the stage. A little bit of the performance was lost in the frenzy but it’s OK.

Surely, fans appreciated O’Donoghue’s efforts to make that extra connection with them.

It was also obvious that the band had the crowd charmed with the members’ unwavering enthusiasm to keep them entertained. As the band wrapped up the show with Hall Of Fame, the crowd lapped up every moment.

The Script truly lived up to notion of Irish charm.