Forty Years on the Road, Forest Arts Centre, New Milton
Opening with a very topical song about an innocent wild animal being hunted by a pack of hounds and a posse of Neanderthals, Irish singer-songwriter Andy Irvine opened Forest Arts' varied autumn season.
Charming, eloquent, and immensely experienced, Irvine embellishes his songs with bouzouki, mandolin and mandola, entertaining the knowledgeable audience with The Girl I left Behind, the 1849 Donegal Goldrush, and the autobiographical O'Donaghue's Bar.
A solo troubadour has nowhere to hide and nobody to rely on, but despite the occasional lyric amnesia and bum note, Irvine touched his audience with his new song Oslo, an unusual 5/8 version of Reynardine, and the personal lost love in Wind Over The Danube.
The finale, Gladiators - an angry anti-war diatribe set in First World War Australia - emphasised Irvine's lyrical control, musical expertise, and beautifully crafted material.
He may have been on the road for 40 years, but this man still has plenty to say.
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