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Maverick Sabre at The Workman’s Club, Dublin October 24th 2012

It’s about a year since I last saw Maverick Sabre live, last time it was in The Village in Dublin on a Saturday night, a packed venue meant we got to know our neighbours pretty well.

Tonight, I was guest of the HTC Authentic Sound event in The Workman’s Club where Maverick Sabre performed`an acoustic set. A lot of times during these corporate events, there are a lot of suits and competition winners out for an after work pint. Tonight though, there seems to be a good contingent of genuine fans who sang along with the hits as well as a few lesser known songs.

This intimiate setting allowed the audience to experience a side of the man that we normally don’t get to see. Maverick comes to the stage with cheers of approval, accompanied by a cup of tea and his guitarist, Charlie. Everyone settles quickly into acoustic vibe, with the audience singling the refrain of ‘These Days’ so Maverick doesn’t have to.

Stripped back in a situation like this, really opens up lyrics and the meanings of songs and Mav’s Jamaican influences turn this into quite an experience. With songs like ‘These Walls’, which he tells us was written for a BBC series, and ‘Sometimes’, they tell stories of his neighborhoods, his life, taking hip hop and reggae influences and melding them into what could be the equivalent of a twenty first century folk singer. ‘Sometimes’ stirs the emotion of the audience who sing the ‘I hate that history, I hate that Union Jack, I’ll never speak for any flag or any man’, with gusto.

Throughout the night we hear ‘No One’ and ‘I Can Never Be’, singles from ‘Lonely Are The Brave’, stripped back and delivered with delivered with passionate and soul. The choice though to still play what Mav describes as one of his favourite songs, ‘Wonderwall’, maybe one to change in situations like this. Even a casual music fan would probably know the words to the Oasis track, which has its downfalls. The audience sing it loud, within a full band set up would probably get washed in with the sound but here it seems this got a better response than Maverick Sabre’s own material.

There are a few over excited fans who shout repeatedly for ‘I Need’, to which Mr Sabre responds ‘I Need’s coming’. For a last track of the evening, it was the perfect ending. Going on this performance, Maverick Sabre has a depth and soul far beyond his years.

For a corporate event, it was perfect, for Maverick Sabre, get rid of the Oasis track, you don’t know how good you are yourself.

EDIT: November 5: I found this video online of the night.

Maverick Sabre – HTC Authentic Sound – Live Acoustic show from HTCIreland on Vimeo.