You may recognize Lisa Hannigan’s work with Damien Rice and The Cake Sale. Unfortunately, of the three times i have seen Damien Rice, Lisa never performed with him (There was that time when they played san diego in a tiny venue and i was 3 months away from turning 21 and I wasn’t allowed in. It was one of those shows that i will forever regret for missing.) The whole time i was watching her perform, I was only thinking of how different her solo stuff is from the songs she performed with Damien. I mean sure, Damien wrote most of the songs that Lisa sang on but her solo record also features members of Damien’s band (Vyvienne and Tomo) so you would expect songs of the same style right? wrong. The songs are mature and hit the spectrum from sleepy ballads to a drum and bass type track; yet, the record is still cohesive sounding. Listening to the record is like wearing a sweater at the beginning of autumn- its warm, fluffy, and gives you a slightly hazy feeling. This may very well be my soundtrack to the season. One of my favorite things about her music is her enunciation and how fragile she sounds- hearing how she breaks the rules of pronunciation (Listen to “Keep It All” and “Pistacio”). Live, all the nuances in Lisa’s music is magnified. For example, the Harmonium and the electric upright bass is so rich sounding and adds another layer of depth. My favorite songs of the night include Venn Diagram, I Don’t Know, Lille, and Keep It All.

Set List:
Sea Song
Splishy Splashy
Blurry (from Other Voices)
I Don’t Know (one of my favorites off the record)
The Lady Is A Tramp
Keep It All
Pistacio
Teeth
Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (Bob Dylan cover)
Venn Diagram
Ocean and a Rock
Lille
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Couldn’t Love You More
Free Until They Cut Me Down (Iron & Wine Cover)

Lisa’s voice is so unique and as sad as i am that she doesn’t perform with Damien Rice anymore; however, I’m glad that she has recorded a solo disc that features her unique feathery vocals.
If Lisa and her band play in your town, don’t miss it. At the moment she is only doing a few shows that aren’t with Jason Mraz (he’s playing large venues). Hopefully, after her record is released, she will do a more extensive tour.

Sorry but no pictures for this show! The Largo has a strict policy regarding cameras and I can’t tell you how many times i wanted to snap away. : ( But, check out some vids of her on YouTube.

Lisa peforming “Lille”:

Performing “Blurry” on Other Voices:

Lisa with Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol) performing “Some Surprise” from The Cake Sale, a charity project for Oxfam: