The Róis
ín Dubh is packed to near capacity as Ryan Sheridan takes to the stage. He’s in high spirits tonight after the release of his debut album The Day You Live Forever. Dressed in peaked black cap and suit jacket, he cuts a slightly stocky figure.
With no time to waste he jumps straight into his brand of high tempo acoustic rock. With what appears to be a basic enough percussion setup (hand cymbals, bongos and a beat box), the Polish born Artur Grazcyk brings an incredible rhythm and power to the performance that compliments Sheridan’s fast strumming style. There is no let up in this regard for the first few numbers; Take it All Back, High Roller and Standing Tall, as the duo let the crowd know what to expect for the next hour or so.
Providing insight, the Monaghan man pauses between songs and states “I started this song in New York” where Sheridan lived for most of his teen years. His vocals have a polished American flavour to them as they carry over the enthusiastic crowd and juxtaposed with his scratchy guitar sound they serve well in drawing the audience in.
The single The Dreamer brings a great reaction. Graczyk’s stomping beat strapped tightly to Sheridan’s choppy guitar now has the crowed dancing.Machine and Endless Road reveals a softer slow tempo sound as he abandons his strumming hand and picks his way through these simple acoustic numbers but is forced to stop abruptly due to sound problems. However this doesn’t seem to phase him as he chooses to share the origins of his songs with the audience.
The show moves on with a pumped up version of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues, which brings the house down, and Sheridan too, as he intentionally falls flat on his back but manages to still play the guitar with great ease. Perhaps due to his dancing days with Riverdance, Sheridan’s performing persona stands to him as he commands the stage with the album title track ‘The Day You Live Forever’ and also The Game.
By now he’s cocky and gregarious with the crowd in front of him. He finishes with the single; Jigsaw, which only leaves people begging for more. He delivers in the form of The Dreamer as an encore, which is played for a second time tonight.
This was a tight well-worked performance from a talented singer-songwriter. Sheridan certainly delivered the goods throughout the entire performance and there is no doubt that he will do so in the future.
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