Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul in Dublin

Tonight was the night Little Steven’s magical musical emporium came to town. For two and a half hours, the Dublin crowd was treated to a pulsating rock and soul revue that has set the bar for energy and entertainment.

The band promenaded on stage lead by the three backing singers with boa fringed parasols followed by the five-piece brass section, in single file, to the sounds of ‘Communion’. The circus carnival before the ringmaster, Mr. Van Zandt entered the ring. When the first song has the crowd baying as if it was an encore, you know you are in for a special show.

And special it was. Little Steven last played in Dublin just over two years ago with the same 14-piece band supporting him. The group has grown tighter in that time if that was possible. The band was dressed in 60s psychedelic swirls of purple, greens, and reds. Sequins caught the stage lights in a gaudy display that suggested the 1970s had yet to arrive. This was the set-up, as each member spoke a line that drew a picture of the summer of sorcery, “when life was filled with unlimited possibilities”.

Tales, fables, and parables were to unwind and be told, to join us all together in a rich tapestry of revelry. “Harmony, unity, communion”.

It might sound a bit hokey but on the night, it was executed with such panache and vibrancy, that there were few doubters left when the sweat-drenched musicians left the stage, two and a half hours later.

It’s an endless summer night. Liberation’s in the air. I want to say I love you to everybody everywhere. I see the whole gang. They’re all here tonight. They’re making the scene because the time is right.

That seems to encapsulate Steven’s idea of the music he’s making in a nutshell.

It was a veritable festival of funk and fun, as Van Zandt defied his 68 years, and opened up little trinkets of musical bliss. Sounding in fine voice, he also ripped through scorching solos as if they were scales. The trio of singers with sequinned outfits and huge 70s hair, with movements choreographed to a T, expended enough energy to keep a small town lit for a week. Sweet harmonies and sass indeed from Jesse Wagner, Sara Devine and Tania E. Jones, who, at times, threatened to steal the show.