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Newton Faulkner wowed long-time fans at The Academy in Dublin on May 2nd. It was a sunny evening; the clouds had pulled apart to let some light and warmth through, and Abbey Street was quiet but busy. As we made our way inside, Charlotte, Faulkner’s supporting act, could be heard already. People were milling about, listening quietly. She was perched on stage at a keyboard, with a wash of blonde curly hair, managing the room of people with impressive confidence and control despite her young age.

 

By the time Newton himself appeared, shoeless and wearing mismatched multicolour socks, the crowd went wild. There were a number in the audience who were clearly long-time fans; people called out for songs that had never been recorded or officially released by Faulkner, for specific covers and favourite bonus tracks. The crowd were vocal in what they expected of the concert, and equally about what they were enjoying about it. Following a litany of shouted song requests, one women urged Faulkner to “Sing whatever you want, honey!”

Faulkner was particularly impressive on stage. His years of experience showed. He was confident and collected in front of the crowd; at home. His last two albums have been completely self-produced. Anything (from percussion to guitar, vocals and more) that you hear is played and recorded by Faulkner himself. Interestingly enough, this translated to the stage too. He was doing everything – literally everything – and all at once. He was playing guitar with one hand, the drums with the other, and at the same time triggering samples with his feet. All this time, while doing something different with each limb, he was singing, talking to the crowd, ad libbing, entertaining. The extent to which he was multitasking did not devalue the effect, or degrade the standard of the performance. If anything, the result was the opposite. The performance was awe-inspiring, comforting, and at times even funny.

 

The setlist ranged from a cover of “Send Me On My Way” to the theme song from Spongebob Squarepants, right back around to Faulkner classics like “Dream Catch Me” and “Write It On Your Skin”. Requested audience participation was similarly varied, from clapping to harmonising to … kazoo playing? Bizarre, yet effective and thoroughly entertaining.

 

All in all, the show was unlike any other I’ve been to, melding perfectly Faulkner’s own sense of uniqueness and eccentricity, with the performances at hand.