The last time that I checked, sea dogs were crusty old tars smoking foul-smelling pipes and not leggy, blonde Swedes playing acoustic guitar. However, that’s female liberation for you! Anyway, I only came across Sarah Assbring’s music for the first time earlier this year and it has been slowly growing on me ever since. Last Thursday’s performance would seem to have sealed the deal!
To be honest, I feared for her before the show. Dublin crowds are notorious for talking loudly right through support acts and the sight of her acoustic guitar standing there in lone defiance, as the crowd swelled up beforehand, gave me a real sense of foreboding for what was to come. However, in fairness, she commanded a huge amount of respect when she played and quite justifiably so!
Her set was a nice balance between her two albums to date, with songs such as “Party”, “Candy”, and “Dog” from her eponymous debut album giving way to “How Did We Forget”, “Do Not Despair”, and “Glory To The World” from this year’s From the Valley to the Stars. I particularly liked how well that the melody of the curiously submissive “Dog”, the sultry swing of “How Did We Forget”, and the poignant optimism of “Do Not Despair” respectively translated into her live performance.
Do check out some of her music here!
Filed under: Gigs, Music | Tagged: El Perro del Mar, Sarah Assbring
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