Marina and the Diamonds, The Academy, Dublin

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By Niall Byrne on Thursday, 12 November 20092 Comments | Print this post

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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2 Comments »

alan said:

1

Really enjoyed the gig, will definitely be checking her album out next year. She reminds of somebody from the 80s that i can’t quite put my finger on. She’s got the voice, the songwriting talent and a lot of confidence on stage.

Very annoying security guard wouldn’t let me use the telephoto lens – was fine with people filming the gig on their compact cameras right in front of him though. What’s that about?!!

- 13 November 2009 at 12:06 am

Gerard said:

2

Great gig, only a pity it was over so soon !
I think it was Marina’s people who were stopping photography – a spotter on the balcony calling in the security boys. I never can understand that. We rarely see the pros shots and they are running up and down in the pit for first three/four songs. Are they afraid of competition from amateurs in the crowd ? I protest by ignoring the merch stand.

- 14 November 2009 at 8:01 pm