The last time I saw Kiefer perform was my last gig before the world closed down due to Covid. That gig, in the Ambassador in Dublin, was, to my memory, a hugely enjoyable country rock-flavoured affair.
Six years on and with a new album, ‘Grey’, poised for release, Sutherland returns with something much harder. Yes, there are still Country inflections, but tonight’s gig is unapologetically a rock show, and it suits him well.
With the four band members already on stage, a nattily dressed Kiefer strides on stage, complete with a feathered fedora, somehow avoiding parody, by that touch of charisma that only some carry, and launches into ‘Down below’, and a great cover of Garbage’s ‘I’m only happy when it rains’.
New material from ‘Grey’ is threaded throughout the set, alongside well-established favourites and some choice covers.
‘Goodbye California’ is from the new collection, and a mid-tempo ode to his adopted home of California, which is met with immediate warmth from the packed and receptive Limelight audience.
There are a few fans wearing t-shirts from the Lost Boys movie, subtle reminders that many first encountered through cinema, rather than music.
But tonight, there is no playacting; Sutherland is the real deal.
Between songs, he proves an engaging raconteur, with an easy-going, self-deprecating sense of humour.
‘I’m not one to give advice, or tell people how to live their lives, but life is too short to do something you don’t love’, informs the room, before another crowd pleaser in ‘Something you love’
The evening is full of such interactions, introducing songs with a little background story or a quip, and it is very endearing.
‘Parents, and songwriters don’t have favourites, he intones with a nod and a wink, before bringing the tempo down somewhat with mid-tempo rocker off the incoming ‘Grey’ album, ‘Come back down’.
Kiefer has surrounded himself with an exceptional band of experienced musicians, and Kiefer is clearly revelling in his role as the frontman.
Fan favourite ‘Two stepping in time’ is greeted with great delight by the ebullient audience, and little dance circles break out throughout the venue, wherever there is space.
‘This is how it’s done’ is the first real sign of country, apart from his hat of the evening, but even this has a little more grit than gloss.
The heat continues with ‘Down in a hole’. But, there’s much more to come. A rocky, at times with a salsa back beat leads ‘Agave’ and a stunning cover of Phil Collins’ ‘In the Air Tonight’.
Best if all, is a reworking ( already!) of the new song ‘Starlight’. On the new record, it’s a brooding ballad of lost people drowning their sorrows and lost hopes in a bar. Live, it becomes something else entirely, expansive and urgent, with Ashley Wilson’s guitar slicing through the arrangement, whilst Kiefer leans fully into the emotional weight of the song.
The rock side really is on show all night. Kiefer and the legend of the ‘lost boys’ might linger on in his other career, but it seems he has truly found his place in music.