Okkervil River @ Róisín Dubh, Galway

Fresh from their appearance at Electric Picnic some 24 hours previously, Okkervil River arrive in Galway for the first time on their only other Irish date this year. Tonight's gig is a perfect distillation of the band's oeuvre bookended by 'Plus Ones' and a typically raucous 'Westfall'. Sheff, unshaven and evidently Electric Picnified, somehow manages to channel his manic energy into each note sang and chord played. Nowhere is this more evident than on the show's highpoint, a stunning rendition of 'A Girl In Port'. Ballad of sorts it may well be, tonight the band bastardise its slight form (on record) into a compelling wig-out. Sheff's (almost) solo version of 'A Stone' brings to bear an intensity which inspires utter silence amongst the devotees.
But the night is not without difficulty. Sheff's voice wavers on occasion and during 'For Real' and 'Lost Coastlines' in particular, it seems as if proceedings may have to come to a premature end. Sheff asks for someone to buy him a restorative whiskey - cue stampede of indie kids racing to the stage proffering a Jameson to their hero. Regardless, it empowers Sheff to race through 'Our Life' and sees him finish a celebratory 'Unless It's Kicks' on his knees.
Tonight there is no 'Blue Tulip' or 'Another Radio Song' but the set still manages to read like a greatest hits compendium. The band borrow almost exclusively from 'The Stage Names' and 'The Stand Ins' but 'The Latest Toughs' from 'Black Sheep Boy' sparkles early on and 'Westfall' bristles as the show comes to an end.
There is the slightly bizarre sight of the band eschewing the traditional encore routine, by turning their backs on the audience for some 60 seconds then 'returning' to play the aforementioned 'Westfall'. Ultimately then, a triumph.

Plus Ones
Singer Songwriter
A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene
The Latest Toughs
A Girl in Port
Pop Lie
A Stone
John Allyn Smith Sails
For Real
Lost Coastlines
Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe
Unless It's Kicks

Westfall