Sinead O’Connor live

Sinead O’Connor
Vic Theatre, Chicago
Tuesday, November 29, 2005

With a fiercely defiant attitude and a powerful voice to match, Sinead O’Connor may be one of the most interesting female artists in the modern rock world. From her refusal to perform following the “Star Spangled Banner” to her much maligned tearing apart a picture of the Pope during a “Saturday Night Live’ taping, her non-conformist stands will always precede her. It’s unfortunate her actions often trump her talents, even if much of it is self-inflicted. She has experimented with many styles, from traditional Irish to showtunes, and this time around the Rastafarian principal has emerged.

O’Connor returned to Chicago last week in full reggae regalia — complete with a do-rag covering her still-shaven head and donning a blue work shirt, jeans, and a scarf with Jamaican colors — and after a slow start she appeared at ease, for once, in her current incarnation. Backed by the respected Jamaican riddim team of drummer Lowell “Sly” Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare, along with six other Jamaican musicians, O’Connor’s tiny frame and initial meek demeanor seemed a study in contrast. Vocally she started strong, despite initially seeming awkward with no audience eye contact through much of her set. Launching with the first two tracks of her all-reggae covers album, Throw Down Your Arms, she commanded attention with an acoustic hymnal “Jah Nuh Dead” before picking up the groove with a rousing rendition of Burning Spear’s “Marcus Garvey.”

Eventually she found her comfort zone, connecting with the audience and riding the riddims through the upbeat portions of the show. She danced and passionately spread the word of Jah throughout the set. The foreboding “Vampire” evoked the evils of oppression while the band added a long jam to the arrangement (a treatment given to much of the material); elsewhere “Curly Locks’ — both Lee “Scratch” Perry covers — received a more playful vibe. However, it was the stirring and reverent renditions of Bob Marley’s “War” and Burning Spear’s “Throw Down Your Arms” that fully unleashed O’Connor’s siren wail.

While many of the upbeat reggae covers provided a celebratory flair, it was her acoustic deliveries that had the most resonance. “Rivers Of Babylon” gave a chance to hear her vocal range, as did the Peter Tosh covers of “Stepping Razor” and show closer “Jah Is My Keeper.” And for all the spiritual soul searching and peace the Irish songstress may try to claim, it was at this point O’Connor demonstrated her blood still has the ability to simmer. Introducing the encore closer by saying she would perform her favorite song, by possibly her favorite songwriter, someone in the audience yelled, “Prince!” — no doubt hoping for the song that helped put her on the map, “Nothing Compares 2 U.” O’Connor quipped “No, Peter fucking Tosh. Fuck that fucking midget!” before ironically launching into the moving tune about Jah.

Still, it’s hard to not miss hearing songs like “Troy” or Mandinka” and the audience was quite respectful of her new material throughout the show — O’Connor herself seemed humble and thankful until just before the end. Her former well-known material binds well to her evocative voice, and though her reggae covers are an interesting foray (it’s not often one hears a powerful female voice in that genre) many of the songs just don’t showcase her amazing range. It has been reported that reggae is a one-album venture for her. Who knows what her next incarnation will be? One thing seems certain, her experimentation has always brought intriguing — if not always fully successful — results.

— Althea Legaspi

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly