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Author: JASON MacNEIL
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TORONTO - With Irish group The Cranberries currently nothing more than a memory and with no plans to get back together anytime soon, it might be quite a while before fans hear some of the band’s biggest hits. Fortunately, the group’s lead singer, Dolores O’Riordan, isn’t one to distance herself from her musical past.
O’Riordan’s early Saturday evening 85-minute set at the Phoenix Concert Theatre centred on her recent, long-awaited debut solo album Are You Listening?, but the performer made sure to include some of The Cranberries’ repertoire beginning with the harder, edgier Zombie. Dressed in a black T-shirt, matching mini skirt and fishnet stockings, and looking like she just came from a Joan Jett concert, O’Riordan got the crowd on her side early.
“Thank you very much! I hope you are listening to Are You Listening?” she said prior to starting Angel Fire and quickly going into the mid-tempo Animal Instinct which once again showed her unique set of pipes, a set that can turn on a dime from a precious ethereal tone to a throaty howl.
Following the melancholic piano-driven “love song” Apple Of My Eye, O’Riordan and her tight, note-perfect four-piece band went straight into Ordinary Day, the lead single off the new album. What was more surprising was how enthusiastic the crowd, which filled about two-thirds of the venue, was toward the radio-friendly tune. Little coaxing was needed from O’Riordan for a sing-along.
After taking a picture of the crowd, the chatty 35-year-old went back in time with the melancholic Ode To My Family, the leadoff song from The Cranberries’ 1994 album No Need To Argue. Yet things took a slight downturn with the ensuing Human Spirit with O’Riordan rocking out as much as one can with a tin whistle. As well, Black Widow, inspired by the death of her mother-in-law, was an eerie effort with keyboardist Denny Demarchi repeating a carnival-like series of notes throughout.
These were the exceptions though to stronger numbers like the plodding, unnerving and heavy Stay With Me that sounded like a long lost cousin of Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir. Leaving the stage briefly as the band fleshed out the song, O’Riordan returned with the short and sweet Pretty, which lived up to its title.
Perhaps the highlight of the set, though, was the tender When You’re Gone, which would have fit perfectly as the slow dance number at any ’50s high school prom. Swaying with her electric guitar as she performed, O’Riordan earned one of the biggest cheers of the night. Just as pleasing was the punchy follow-up Loser, which could have been mistaken for The Cranberries in 2007.
For the homestretch, the performer opted to go back in time with a frantic, garage-rock rendition of Salvation that had O’Riordan dancing around as if she was a teenager. The four-song encore also closed with her strumming an acoustic guitar and easing her way into Linger before rounding things off with Dreams.
Opening the show was Jessie Baylin and two supporting musicians. Baylin, who has a new album entitled You, played an adequate 30-minute set highlighted by Leave Your Mark.