Caught Live: Joanna Newsom + Roy Harper @ Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin

It’s hard to believe that the man sitting in front of us is now in his seventies. Armed with just an acoustic guitar and a voice that fills this wonderful venue with ease, Roy Harper tells us (tongue firmly in cheek) that he’s here tonight “because I’m the best in the world at what I do”. Self-deprecation aside, there are certainly moments during Harper’s opening set when you believe that to be true. Sure, his guitar-playing is a little rusty at times, and a few of his songs pass by without much consequence, but when he’s good – like on an incredible version of ‘Me And My Woman’ from 1971’s classic Stormcock album – he really does cement his legendary status. Finger-picking at a ferocious pace and hitting the high notes like he was forty years younger, it’s easy to see why Joanna is so enamoured by the man, his long, wandering songs bearing more then a passing resemblance to some of Newsom’s own mini-epics.

Over the past few years Joanna Newsom has successfully negotiated the difficult transition from cult stardom to mainstream adoration, her porcelain good looks adorning more front covers with each passing month. What’s most impressive (and crucial) is how she’s managed all this without compromising her art; this year’s sprawling triple-album Have One On Me is ambition writ large, and looks destined to go down as one of the great records of 2010. It’s a shame, then, that tonight’s show never really takes off the way it might have.

We can perhaps put it down to a bout of first-night-on-tour rustiness, or the fact that the bulk of tonight’s set is drawn from Have One… (the three older songs she airs easily evoke the biggest crowd response), but there is definitely something a little flat about the overall performance. Having witnessed her Olympia show a few years back, this writer knows just how mind-blowingly good she can be in full onstage flow, and to be fair there’s nothing wrong in a technical sense tonight: the band are (too?) tight, the voice is pitch-perfect and the venue could have been built with her stately elegance in mind. And yet, there’s a sense that something is not quite right – and I’m damned if I can figure out exactly what that is!

Newsom receives a standing ovation at end, but there are also plenty among tonight’s crowd who choose to leave early – one couple beside me decide they have had enough after four songs. Ultimately, the faithful get what they have wished for – one of modern music’s true eclectic geniuses performing her wonderful songs – but when one knows how mesmerising Newsom can (and should) be, it’s easy to leave with a lingering sense of disappointment.