On the 23rd of April, Waterford artist Moncrieff played his largest Dublin headliner to date with support from The Quiet Man.
Support came from The Quiet Man and it was absolutely phenomenal. He took the stage with only himself and his piano and poured his heart out to the crowd for 35 minutes. Although his songs were generally quite sad his catchy melodies and great piano playing gave a d underlying sense of hope to the set. A highlight of the set was the song he wrote with Moncrieff called ‘Friendly Fires’ which was a fantastic display of piano playing and his fantastic voice. I can’t think of a time when I enjoyed a support set more than The Quiet Man in recent memory.
Moncrieff himself was also fantastic playing a fantastic mix of both old and brand new songs. This show was exactly 1009 days waiting to happen and every second of it was unreal from Moncrieff’s performance to the lighting. The show started out strong with Moncrieff getting emotional after the second song ‘Like I do’ as the crowd sang every word back to him. Next up was ‘Serial Killer’, a song about an Ex who Moncrieff could only describe as a serial killer.
Moncrieff then introduced the next couple of songs by talking about his own experience during the pandemic as these songs were written during the pandemic. ‘Fuck it Dance’ was the first of the two songs and it did exactly what it said on the tin, getting both the crowd and Moncrieff dancing their hearts out. Such an enjoyable thing to see. Moncrieff then took a moment to introduce the next song ‘In My Room’ which was written when he was feeling lost in 2020.
The next part of the show was such a joy to watch. Moncrieff introduced a brand new song which he was filming a video for during the show. He then proceeded to jump into the crowd and they all danced together. He then got back on stage to introduce a cover of Avril Lavigne’s ‘I’m With You’. , which he sang from the balcony of the Academy.
The next couple of songs were more personal, about dealing with the loss of his brother and sister when he was younger, his own personal struggles with suicidal thoughts after this and how music saved his life as it gave him an outlet to express himself in a safe space. Although these songs were highly personal to him , a feeling of community could be felt around the venue.
Moncrieff then played this hit song ‘Warm’ alone on stage without his band. The crowd sang every word of this track which once again made Moncrieff emotional and was a touching moment. A choir joined Moncrieff on the balcony of the Academy for the next few songs which was another great moment. Moncrieff closed the show with a full band version of ‘Warm’, which the crowd loved once again.
Moncrieff’s biggest Dublin headliner to date was a fantastic display of artistry and creativity. It was a fantastic night and I already cannot wait for him to come back already.
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