Glen Hansard. Image (c) @rybazoxo
Saturday 13th April 2024 St George’s Hall, Liverpool, UK
Words by Ryan Oxley
For me, ONCE is one of the finest indie music films ever. Released in 2007, the film is a musical that stars, and has a soundtrack co-written by Glen Hansard. Before the film's release, I did recognise Glen from the cast of The Commitments, the celebrated Irish film based on a book by Roddy Doyle but I wasn't aware of his incredible talent.
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| Glen Hansard. Image (c) by @rybazoxo |
Glen Hansard is a journeyman/troubadour of a musician, and following 'ONCE' I became an immediate fan of his solo work, The Swell Season, and The Frames. Based in the UK, I doubted I'd ever get a chance to see this regular European touring artist (who’s also hugely popular in the USA) then I found out he was playing a gig in my favourite music city (sorry Manchester) I grabbed a ticket online, booked a bedsit for the night, and got a train to Liverpool. Promoting his latest album ‘All That Was East Is West Of Me Now’, I downloaded it on Spotify and had the tracks on repeat. I was excited to see if Glen would do any songs from the ONCE soundtrack, and he peppered them throughout the gig, tracks from the new album are also folksy balladeering stories that enamoured this small venue, and enthusiastic crowd.
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| St George's Hall, Liverpool. Image (c) by @rybazoxo |
Of course, I took a few images, and as you can see, St George’s Hall is a beautiful venue - historically, aesthetically, and acoustically. Glen is also a great storyteller - in between songs, he told a few funny tales of life, love, ancestry, and everything you’d expect from an Irishman. ONCE is a timeless classic, and it was worth waiting 17 years to see Glen Hansard live.
Watch my YouTube video of ‘When Your Minds Made Up’ from this special gig here
Learn more about Glen Hansard & buy his latest album here
www.ryanoxleywriter.blogspot.com