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Michael McDermott Gets Lucky
Abbey
Pub
March
16, 2007
PHOTOS
BY Niva Bringas.
By
ALANA GRELYAK
Half
filled with green balloons and almost completely filled with
fans, the Abbey Pub was the scene as Michael McDermott
played a heartfelt and wonderfully prepared show in honor of
St. Patrick’s Day. McDermott’s low and sexy voice was in
good form as he sang through many songs, including some from
his upcoming album “Noise From Words.”
McDermott opened the show playing keys, his back to the
audience as he sang. He would have done better opening with
a song that featured him front and center of the stage in
order to grab more audience attention. The audience found it
hard to settle down with McDermott squirreled away in the
corner, but the minute he stepped up to the standing mic
with his guitar, all eyes were on him. It took a few songs
to get warmed up but by the time the band reached their
fourth song, their sound had come together and everything
went smoothly. McDermott’s musical sound tended to be
heavily reliant on violin, which was performed by the
gorgeous Heather Horton, who also sang backup. McDermott’s
and Horton’s vocals blended seamlessly and they obviously
enjoyed working together on the stage.
Of
particular interest were “Hellfire in the Holyland,” from
his 2004 album Ashes, and “Junkie Girl,” from 1999s Bourbon
Blue, both of which were well-played with energy and
enthusiasm, though that’s not to say that the rest of his
songs were any less excellent. In the spirit of St. Patty’s
Day, McDermott threw in a great performance of “The Whole of
the Moon” as an encore. Although his fans screamed for him
to return to the stage a second time, some even shouting
“get your ass back here, “McDermott denied their requests
and ended the show. He wouldn’t have been wrong, though, to
take a second turn at an encore; no one in attendance seemed
like they were ready to let him go and another song would
have been warmly welcomed.
McDermott’s style is smooth and smoky with powerful and
sultry vocals and his songs are instantly likeable. Fans got
nothing less than excellence with his Abbey Pub performance,
though
I was left with one question: Why isn’t he playing larger
venues?
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