Damien Rice in Dallas!

I distinctly remember the first time I saw the movie Closer. It wasn't because of the gorgeous men (Jude Law and Clive Owen) as the lead actors or because of the plot resemblances to my own life (infidelity and betrayal). Nor was it because of the confusing use of time lapses that I really didn't understand until the second viewing. No, it was the opening and closing sequences that captured me and the haunting voice singing the phrase, "I can't take my eyes off of you..."

I immediately Googled the soundtrack, coming up empty handed. But I was able to discover that those words were from Damien Rice's, "The Blower's Daughter". Withing minutes, I was the proud owner of the pirated version of the song (don't worry, I later ended up buying the entire album and his later album legally on iTunes). It turns out that he is an Irishman with way more in his repertoire than that one song. Most of his songs carry that haunting, whispering delivery, sung with such passion. Think David Gray or Howie Day if you want a comparison.

So, tonight Robin Leach and I were off to see him live at the Majestic Theater in downtown Dallas. As usual, Robin had no idea who we were seeing. But, I think after the opening number he was hooked. We sat on the third row, and despite our proximity to the stage, the NO CAMERA enforcers were out in full force so I was only able to sneak the one pic. The show was mostly mellow, with Damien playing the piano or guitar with the cello accompanying him and he even ended the show with an unplugged song. The crowd was on the younger side, which seems to be the theme at all of my recent concerts (maybe I am just getting older!). Anyway, he told numerous stories about the background of several of his songs and humored the audience with their sexually suggestive meanings.

As for the rest of the evening, we decided to take in a night cap at Elbow Room. It was about time I took Robin to this old medical school haunt of mine. After a couple of hours of bar games/trivia, we decided to call it a night.