One of the first picks on my desert island-list would definitely be Damien Rice's O. It is one of those albums which is so divine that you secretly hope the artist wouldn't record another album ever again, just so he/she couldn't fuck it up. Therefore, when Damien's second album 9 was released, my approach towards it was as cautious as an Italian football manager's tactics when leading 1-0. But of course, after such a sublime debut it is hard to lower one's expectations. So, YES 9 was a disappointment. But NO, it wasn't as bad as it was made to be by the cynical music media. It's just one of those cruelties in life that if you record one of the best albums of a generation, you'll always be judged harshly because it.

After, the disappointing 9, many (including myself) thought Damien had much to prove. However, once seeing him play a fantastic concert in Stockholm, it once again became painfully clear just how short sighted we music consumers are. Fortunately for us, Damien didn't seem to mind even if his follow up to O wasn't a masterpiece since he always knew something many of us seemed to forget; the true extent of his talent does not limit to the tracks on his albums, but extends, flourishes and delivers its greatest potential in his passionate performance.

At the fantastic venue, Damien and his three-piece band preformed a balanced set of songs from both albums. The ninety minutes alternated between heartbreaking ballads and energetic rock which, in fact, highlighted the hidden excellence of the new album. So, even if 9 was slightly anticlimactic, its songs never shied away in the company of such gems as Cheers Darling and The Blower's Daughter.

With a gung-ho attitude, Damien didn't keep the audience waiting to show just how good and self-assured he is. He sang fantastically the beginning of I Remember (sang by Lisa Hannigan on the album) unaccompanied and without a microphone. When howling out the climatically desperate line "God would forgive me but I whip myself with scorn scorn/ I wanna hear what you have to say about me/ Hear if you'll gonna live without me" you could sense the shivers (the brand only Damien Rice is able to inflict) that were rushing through the collective spine of the audience metamorphosing into a wave of muscular spasms. It couldn't have been just me. Despite being a first class tear-dropper, I Remember was performed with sheer power and successfully manifested the versatility of Damien's songs. Songs that might sound like one dimensional heart throbbing ballads, for the unappreciative and cynical ear at least, released their raw energy on stage. This was essentially a feature with the songs from 9 which, on the album, sadly succeed in containing their vigor inside the cardboard covers. Therefore, not only I Remember but also Accidental Babies (the closing song of the encore), which is one of the most straightforward balladic flag wavers, turned into a wild ten minute crescendo of storming prog. If any latecomers arrived during these two, they might have thought Mogwai was in town.

Most songs from O were as perfect live as they are on the album. Even Eskimo was excellent, with Damien singing the Finnish lyrics unintelligibly but by heart and getting well-deserved applause from the numerous Finns in the audience. And 9 certainly pushed its weight, especially, with the rock driven Me, My Yoke & I and Coconut Skins which had much more muscle live than on the album. Only the unnecessary Dogs should have been dropped, but I guess that even a man possessed needs a one four minute breather during a 90 minute set.

As a character, Damien Rice has always been a bit of a mystery. He doesn't give many interviews and only seldom features in the music press. Throughout the gig, though, he presented himself as a fragile, shy and almost comically hesitative character, fitting perfectly in the stereotypic singer/songwriter- mould. At times it was so over the top that it felt as if his stage persona was deliberate in order to contrast the passion and confidence of his performance. Whether deliberate or not, his stage character's realness was the only thing you could question after the gig. Because you would never again question Damien's brilliance.

Teksti: Markus Kitunen