The Frames

I haven't seen The Frames live since 2003 and at that point they were one of my favourite bands. Seeing them live again in Belfast's Mandela Hall unraveled a pleasant nostalgia and rekindled an appreciation that had dwindled slightly in recent years.

I was mildly apprehensive before attending the gig, not wanting to taint those precious memories from my more vibrant years. I'm shameful of that apprehension now. Glen Hansard is nothing short of a musical genius, even boasting an Oscar along with Markéta Irglová, for the song 'Falling Slowly' in the movie 'Once'. Before this gig the Frames were one of the best bands I had ever seen live, and they still are. If possible, they're even better now than they were seven years ago, when their songs accompanied so many of the twists and turns of my youth.



The gig truly kicked off with the amazing, 'God Bless Mom', an older, rockier song from 'Dance The Devil' (1999), which appeared again on the Frames' live album, 'Setlist' (2004). Half way through the song Hansard charmed the audience into chiming out the chorus to 'It's a Hard-Knock Life' from the musical 'Annie', and for the rest of the set they followed him with complete adulation, softly singing to 'Star- Star', and screaming out to 'Revelate'.

The choice of songs were well mixed, relaxing and gathering at just the right times. In fact, a lot of The Frames' songs are microcosms of their live performances; they wax and wane perfectly, they ascend with just the right amount of energy and fall into calmness at just the right times. It's also hard to find a more emotive singer than Hansard, who assumes the role of a narrator on stage, not playing for himself or for the sake of playing, but to and for the audience. There is a real intimacy to the whole event, often he passionately gives some insight into his songs before playing them and there seems to be a genuine connection between his musings and the crowd.



The songs played were a healthy mix of new and old, choosing a little more from their older catalogue which suited my preferences perfectly since a long time ago I fell in love with 'Setlist'. A personal highlight was 'Your Face' which was played during the encore. It's hard not to be blown away by the sheer beauty of that song. In fact, as evidence to that sentiment, I have etched on my tattered notes: "So beautiful. Unbelievable."

The gig in Mandela Hall reminded me that The Frames are a live band whose real beauty tends to be lost somewhat in production. One can easily listen to 'Burn The Maps', and pick out 'Happy' as a great song, but until it's been heard live, it really doesn't compare. If you have never seen the Frames live, I cannot recommend more that you go to see them.

FUTURE GIGS

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