Live at the Marquee review: Christy Moore has 'no equal' in the tent
Karina Tkachenko, Valerie O'Brien, Jack Fitzgerald, Jack Hale, Sarah Cunningham and Luke Littler ( ! ) attending Christy Moore at Live at the Marquee , Centre Park Road, Cork on Saturday 15th June 2024. Pic Larry Cummins
Where do you go for superlatives when Ireland’s all-time greatest just outshines even his own prior perfection in the tent?
Everyone at this all-seater, one-man show left the Marquee in no doubt that Christy Moore simply has no equal, certainly not on this island and, for many of us, not anywhere else on the planet.
Firstly, his rapport. At one moment, he's doing requests, like a local radio DJ. A crew member brings him a page of messages, so Christy reads out a handful from people from all over the world who've made their way to this gig. Among them a fan from Newfoundland, so he sings Sonny's Dream, written by Newfoundlander Ron Hynes.
And a nod to his own kin: "I come from Newbridge, Co Kildare, but most of my family has moved to Cork and they're all here tonight. So I will dedicate the next song to them, especially to my grand-nephews, Evan and Luke Moore."
Nancy Spain, then straight into Ordinary Man. "Ye were on it there," he says to the crowd. "I had trouble keeping up with ye."
Why is it that, at 79, he’s still delivering such peerless energy and passion for performance? Why, despite being Ireland’s most accomplished live performer, does he play every gig like it's his first, like his life depends on it?
Christy is the only one to have played all 18 years of the Marquee to date (the first was in 2005 and we lost two years to Covid; admittedly I did Pass Maths in the Leaving Cert, but I think I'm right!). I've not seen all 18 shows, but it's fair to say that no two shows that I've seen have been the same.
Some of the best bits are the mistakes. Having spent two minutes introducing a John Spillane song, getting John to stand up and take a bow, Christy completely took himself by surprise.
"It's always a buzz when I come to Cork. I know that John Spillane is in the crowd. Stand up and say hello to the people, John. (a bit of guitar fumbling) ... Jaysus, now I can't find the start of this song. I'll play this one instead."
He plays John Spillane's Gortatogort and brings the house down. "I'll bring down the tone of the night now, I'll do one I wrote myself." He plays Delirium Tremens, with everyone in the tent, including the 25-year-old next to me, singing every word.
We’ve seen Christy in duets, quartets and quintets. We thought he'd never top the shows with the incredible Declan Sinnott beside him, but he just keeps on raising the bar and surpassing himself.
The sense of each show being unique, however, is not about whether there’s a band with him or not, it’s about the fact that this country’s all-time greatest act isn’t really an act at all.
Yes, he's rehearsed like a pro, but so much of the delivery is totally pure and spontaneous. In terms of peerless performance, you have to leave music and turn to Billy Connolly for comparison. Christy is unique because he’s on the edge, out on a limb all the time. He's not acting, but he's the best act you’ll ever see. He's peerless because he's fearless.Â
The setlist is stuffed with absolute bangers: City of Chicago, Vive La Quinta Brigada, Johnny Boy, Ride On, Joxer Goes to Stuttgart, Black is the Colour, Don't Forget Your Shovel and many more. But even the setlist doesn't explain the phenomenon that is Christy.
"I think I knew five songs," said Jean-Luc Diquelou, my Breton friend, after the show. Jean-Luc is a fan of Christy from his days with Planxty and Moving Hearts. "Before he came out, I saw one microphone and a guitar next to it. I was a bit worried. How could just one guy entertain a crowd this size? But I have never seen a concert like this. I loved it."
Up next Friday in the Marquee is Mick Flannery, followed by Biggest Disco on Saturday night.
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