LITERALLY packing them in for the first of two nights at Belfast's premier music bar, Frances Black had the unintended but useful leeway of two fine support acts in brother Martin Black and Derry songwriter Tony Kerr while the more obstreperous elements of her audience got the huffing and puffing over the lack of seats out of their system.
Pub gigs are not perhaps where Frances Black is at - or, more precisely, they're not best suited to the demographic range of her audience. Black herself positively shone in the place, with the cramped intimacy, a fantastic new band, and exemplary sound and lighting contributing to the most exciting Black performance this writer has seen. Guitarist and musical director, Ted Ponsonby and drummer Liam Bradley, in particular, injected the music with a new edge, without heavy-handedness. Who would have thought you could usefully punctuate Frances Black songs with Keith Moon flourishes?
Those who pigeonhole Black as a light entertainer are writing off a tremendous, natural, performing ability and level of audience rapport which could as easily take her punters through more challenging material than the likes of Intuition and After The Ball.
With a new solo album making three plus her back catalogue with Arcady and Kieran Goss, the need to include these cornier elements in her stage repertoire edges out more substantial songs; but, no matter, it was a well-balanced set, and her intro combination of Don't Be A Stranger and Nanci Griffith's On Grafton Street and its attendant anecdotes made for magical moments.