Anders Hanson

Last night I went to see Róisín Murphy at Plug. Unusually I went only knowing two of the songs that she performed - Let Me Know and Overpowered. Both of which are brilliant tracks, but having heard clips of some of the others I knew I would enjoy it. It was also clear from the appearance of various outfits on a hatstand at the back of the stage before her performance, that it was going to be a real show. And it was.

Róisín is a brilliant singer and some of her songs show real talent and an eye for a really catchy tune. I am surprised that she has yet to make a proper breakthrough in the singles chart. As well as her singing and writing ability, she also clearly loves to put on a show and not just sing on stage. Although she is not quite yet at the levels of other performers like Kylie Minogue, she clearly has aspirations in that direction. I suppose there was also a feel that this performance was special because it was a home town gig. Although as she put it herself on the night, she has many of those - Dublin because it was where she was born, Manchester because it was where she grew up, London because it is where she lives now, and Sheffield because it is where she lived when she was first discovered and where she started her music career as a part of Moloko.

It was a long show, with her on stage for two whole hours and so you certainly felt as though you got your money’s worth. I also discovered some brilliant tracks that I hadn’t heard before. The biggest surprise being her solo version of the track that she had previously done some of the vocals for - The Truth by Handsome Boy Modeling School. It was a brilliant version and she can do rap as well as dance and pop. I could say so much more about this show, but I have found an online review of another of her dates in this tour that says everything I would say, so I will link there instead.

Finally, just a brief mention to the support act Bohemian Mods. They came on stage a lot earlier than I would have expected and so I unfortunately only heard the final two songs from their set. But from the little I did hear, I would certainly make the effort to see them again. Their songs were very melodic and the best description I can come up with is that they are in the singer-songwriter tradition but with the look of the Arctic Monkeys.