It was inevitable really. After she stole our hearts at Electric Picnic, Marina returned for her first Dublin headline show and was greeted like a heroine. Wearing a custom-made leather dress and a blinging massive earring in the shape of a giant M in her left ear lobe, it’s easy to see why people warm to her so easily. Half-Welsh and half-Greek, she’s an easy person to connect to on-stage, clearly revelling in the adoration and her current popular position.

Tonight, the Diamonds (the audience) are redubbed the Emeralds. Marina and her three piece band preview some material from her forthcoming album The Crown Jewels as well as now-established hits (for this audience anyway) in ‘Seventeen’ and ‘I Am Not A Robot’.

By four songs in, she’s taken to the piano for the middle third of the set which saw people singing along to ‘Obsessions’ and playing ‘Mowgli’s Road’ and new track ‘Numb’. Where she excels though is the more boisterous numbers which truly showcase her impeccable voice. A song about her obsession with the U.S, and with the chorus “I’m obsessed with the mess that’s America” was introduced as ‘Hollywood Infected My Brain’ and by the time encore comes around, there are no songs left to play, so Marina plucks for the full-version of ‘Mowgli’s Road’. It turns out to be a good decision as it’s the highlight of the night. She’ll be stealing hearts for a long time, judging by this performance.

Photos by Damien McGlynn.

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