Ry Cooder
Dublin Olympia Theatre
11th June, 2009

On the opening night of their European tour, a lively, but small crowd enjoyed Cooder’s first performance in Dublin for 15 years, with Nick Lowe on bass and shared vocal duties. Opening with Fool Who Knows (with Lowe on vocals), it was Cooder’s guitar skills that held the evening together, helped by his son’s drumming. His ability to make notes low down the neck sound like high-end solos ensured that he was a joy to behold, and confirmed his status as Rolling Stone’s eighth best guitarist in the world. The highlight was his classic of Arthur Alexander’s Go Home Girl. A vigorous The Very Thing That Makes You Rich got the crowd dancing in the aisles. A guest slot for the tin whistle of Paddy Maloney on A Boomer’s Story kept the crowd up, and made up for Flaco Jiménez’s absence. General consensus was that a few more Lowe tracks would’ve been nice, but a mellow Peace Love And Understanding got a raucous cheer.