Music review: Father John Misty, Róisín Dubh, Galway

Father John Misty has been the breakthrough act of the year, his second album, I Love You, Honeybear, having charmed audiences with its irresistible blend of rock classicism, confessional verse, and cold-eyed cultural prognosis.

Of course, when the gods smile on you it’s appropriate that you kick a smile back their way. Misty — aka Josh Tillman — doesn’t really do smiles, however.

But he can glare out at an audience with some aplomb, and always with a peculiarly joyful relish. That constant glare — tempered by the singer’s moments of judicious stage mania — sets a searing tone for an intimate and electrifying gig.

Opening the set with ‘I Love You, Honeybear’, Tillman seems a bit uncertain over the first few bars of the song, but he and his exquisite band quickly find their stride.

The brilliant ‘Strange Encounter’ follows, Tillman altering his delivery of the pre-chorus slightly.

It’s a rare live diversion from the original recording. One of Tillman’s distinctions as a singer — in addition to a broad and versatile voice — is an ear for metre, and his vocals are littered with splendidly precise phrasings. Throughout a dynamic live set, it’s incredible how tightly he holds to those.

Predictably, the best songs on the night are the more upbeat, rollicking tunes, among them ‘Chateau Lobby #4’, ‘The Night Josh Tillman Came To Our Apartment’, and ‘Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings’.

But it’s notable that many of Misty’s meeker songs — which on record can sometimes sound ponderous and mannered — are much more feverous live.

Wry and intense, Tillman offers up amusing banter throughout, and doesn’t hold back on the showman front either, handing his guitar to a crowd member while he goes ballistic during ‘Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow’.

Following a moving run-through of ‘Bored In The USA’, the relentless charge of ‘Ideal Husband’ ushers the set to a close before Tillman returns alone onstage to play a lovely rendition of ‘I Went To The Store One Day’.