In Photos: Villagers + Hired Hands @ Vicar Street, Dublin (22.12.10)

As we ourselves pointed out to Conor O'Brien when we interviewed him last week, it's hard to think how 2010 could really have gone any better for Villagers. It was hardly surprising, then, to find the Dublin band in jubilant form for a pair of hometown Christmas week gigs. We were in attendance on the second night, and as well as festive vibes aplenty we detected a new level of confidence and stage presence from O'Brien and his cohorts that suggests Villagers' profile should grow still further in 2011.
 
Support on the night came from fellow Dubliners (and former Any Other City labelmates) Hired Hands, whose jaunty multi-instrumental workouts perfectly suited the cozy mood inside Vicar Street. Next stop for Villagers is a string of live engagements Down Under, before they return to this part of the world in the spring to begin work on the follow-up to Becoming A Jackal - itself a top-five Album Of 2010 in our recent countdown don'tchaknow.
 
Mark Earley's photos capture a special evening inside the Dublin 8 venue, an occasion that also witnessed the annual RW staff Christmas blowout... These weren't the only type of shots Mark worked his way through over the course of the night, we can assure you! If, like us, your memories of the gig are a little hazy, just click on any of the thumbnails below to load a slideshow of his images.