Jimmy Mitchell at Whelan’s – Review

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Mitchell supported LiR at Whelan’s on 22nd of June.

Jimmy picked up the show almost straight after opening act Acoustic Behaviour keeping the audience going. He introduced himself in a thick north Dublin accent completely at odds with his striking singing voice. He kicked off his acoustic set with some beautiful vibrato on the opening notes in his powerful, slightly countryish voice.

His song titles, he admitted, were very literal and ‘Black Haired Blue Eyed Girl’ was no exception. This melancholy number had a liltingly tender chorus and lyrics that swelled with emotion. The set was a lot like having a very talented friend providing the soundtrack for a summer evening party with the lively crowd, cosy dark setting and plenty of chat, drink flowing and great music. His powerful voice cut through the chatter and his raw, passionate vocals were reminiscent of classic Spanish ballads.

Mid set he took a turn for the deeper and sadder with ‘Distant Hills’; a song he described as about being ‘totally disconnected from everything on the planet-real uplifting stuff’. The song hit right to the heart with not just its lyrics and tone, but with the sheer passion of his voice, and his next song ‘The Great Divide’ was a surprisingly upbeat number that really showed off how Jimmy’s vocals could strip away the surroundings so it felt like just the listener and the lyrics.

His last song was possibly the most striking of the whole set- ‘The Island of Mystique’. He described it as being about ‘getting away from it all with someone you love’. Romantic may not be the technical, musical term- but it perfectly describes the opening acoustic line. This romantic feeling was carried on through the beautiful sweetly descriptive lyrics.

Jimmy Mitchell has a truly incredible voice with a natural power to it that was ideally suited to the relaxed atmosphere at the Whelan’s gig and kept up a nice soundtrack for an evening of banter and good music!

Review by Kat Clinch