Following the Summer release of his new album ‘Whispers’, Passenger set off on a headline tour, calling into Dublin’s 3 Arena.
Support act on the night were Canadian trio, The Once. Excelling their uniquely enchanting folk-ridden harmonies across the crowd-flooding arena, they provided an incredible opening to the night. Fantastic stage presence, crowd interaction and essentially impressive songwriting.
Taking to the step up from his previous Vicar Street show, Passenger met the Dublin audience on a good night, having beat Australia in the rugby just a few hours prior. A crowd up for a good time – check.
Opening on what he described himself as the most depressing gig opener ‘Rolling Stone’, the atmosphere in the arena was spectacular. As anticipated from Mike’s early speech, the gig held moments of chilling silence across the venue, and anthemic moments of thunderous sing-alongs.
Standout tracks of the evening shone through for ‘Life’s For The Living’, ‘27′, ‘Let Her Go’ and ‘Riding To New York’, succeeding a rundown of Passenger’s experience which lead to the emotive number.
As Passenger departed the stage, leaving the Dublin crowd on a high as they obeyed orders to “sing like you’ve just beaten Australia, Dublin” – there was no “one more tune chants” but a drawn out sing-along of ‘Scare Away The Dark’‘s closing segment.
Returning to the stage, Passenger took The Once back on stage to perform a wonderful mash up of ‘Brown Eyed Girl / Dancing In The Dark’ and closing the night on his acclaimed ‘Holes’.
A wonderful performance which radiated honesty and passion for his craft and an admirable performance ethic.