Gig of the Week: Paul Brady delivers a musical and lyrical masterclass
The now 77-year-old songwriter and his band turned in an impeccable performance at Vicar Street
Paul Brady, Vicar Street, Dublin, April 17, rating: ****
Great songs have a habit of finding new resonance long beyond their intended meaning. Paul Brady has more than a couple of those in his back pocket. Tonight, when he plays The Island, its imagery of skies on fire in the Middle East, it’s impossible not to be drawn to thoughts of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
“They’re showing pictures on the television, women and children dying in the streets,” Brady sings to a hushed Vicar Street. Similarly, a powerful Nothing but the Same Old Story stirs stories of the recent treatment of immigrants to Ireland, a devastating irony on its original critique of our own reception in seeking better lives abroad.
