Damien Rice, Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

Tonight was my third time seeing Damien Rice in only six months, as he announced his return to Chicago in the spring shortly following his brief fall tour. I still don’t have any regrets about flying to Montreal to see him. It was however my first time at the Auditorium Theatre, a beautiful monument to the arts in downtown Chicago, originally completed in 1889. The theatre currently hosts performances by the Joffrey Ballet, in addition to a variety of concerts, musicals, and other performances.

Our seats were towards the back of the main floor, though the seats in fact sloped up in the back, giving us a great straight on view, even if we were well past optimal viewing distance for a quiet solo act like Damien Rice. Though this time he had a [subpar] opening act, the set up for his stage was the same as before – just Damien Rice, his guitar, and a handful of lights. During quiet moments, he was illuminated by a single spotlight. When the guitar effects kicked in, additional light exploded from the stage. He also played an actual electric guitar for a few songs during this set, including his opening number, the title track from his recent album, My Favourite Faded Fantasy (2015).

He shared the same humor and many of the same stories with us in Chicago as in Montreal. He admitted that his music isn't going to get anyone “up,” unless by somehow making you feel relatively good compared to his depressing music. He again did “Cheers Darling” midway through his main set. Though this time he just downed single glass of wine instead of a few bottles. He also performed the song on his guitar instead of with a backing track and gave a much shorter and slightly different version of the story that accompanies the song, explaining that a lot of people have probably heard it before anyway. During the story, he also noted that the couple in the bar shake a cigarette, as smoking in bars used to be the standard in Ireland. He remembers it as great, it required doing “a whole catch of laundry in the morning, but it was great.”

Between songs, he playfully mocked a fan expressing their love for him, “I love you if you play the songs I want to hear and give a fantastic performance. Oh, you love me unconditionally? Then good night.” He shared further ruminations on Ireland and God, explaining that “Ireland is great if you’re into guilt.” When responding to another fan who presumably yelled out, “God Bless You,” he replied, “I don’t believe in God, but yeah whatever thanks.”

Like in Montreal, his set included “Cannonball” without the use of a microphone. His guitar was still plugged in, though turned down. He also did another audience participation version of “Volcano” and took a couple of audience requests, though not nearly as many as in Montreal. One new aspect was a version of “Trusty and True” on the harmonium on the side of the stage. He used some guitar effects on and off throughout the set but no heavy bass until the last minute or two of “I Remember,” the closing song of his main set.

After a short encore break, he returned to the stage only a few minutes before 11, telling us he had to wrap up in a few minutes. We wouldn't be treated to a multi-hour encore tonight. In fact, the two hour set ended with just a single song for the encore. I think mostly to make up for the abbreviated encore, he mixed in an amazing version of Radiohead’s “Creep” into “The Blower’s Daughter.” I was very impressed as it’s a very difficult song to cover vocally, but Damien Rice and Thom Yorke have similar voices so he really nailed it. Furthermore, the theme of the song is certainly fitting with much of his music as well.

Setlist:
My Favourite Faded Fantasy
The Box
Elephant
Delicate
Colour Me In
Cheers Darlin'
I Don't Want to Change You
Cannonball
Volcano
Rootless Tree
Trusty and True
9 Crimes
I Remember
Encore:
The Blower's Daughter/Creep [Radiohead Cover]