The Waterboys wow Cork's Marquee with a performance for the ages 

Attending the Live At The Marquee performance by The Waterboys with a VIP wristband and a brief to review the concert was a far cry from the first time I saw Mike Scott and his band in concert, almost four decades ago as a first-year law student, when they played support to Simple Minds in Croke Park.

The name of the band is the same — but it seemed somehow totally different. Under the leadership of Mike Scott, it has that same Waterboys energy which gets into every sinew of an audience — and it certainly did this on the banks of the Lee on Thursday evening.

For a group that has so many songs of its own, penned by Scott and others, it was unusual to hear it start with a cover of Willie Nelson’s Me and Paul — but the opening lyrics made it all make sense: “It’s been rough and rocky travelling but I’m finally standing upright on the ground.” 

In a later verse, Scott, born in Edinburgh but now an Irish citizen, arrived with Paul in Cork. The Waterboys had landed.

Then came the more familiar song-titles — Be My Enemy, Medicine Bow, How Long Will I Love You — but while the lyrics are the same, there’s a freshness about the performance which is captivating.

In an interview with The Echo before the concert, he had promised to introduce some material from his new album, Life, Death and Dennis Hopper. A band diverting from its hits to introduce new material can see a mass exodus to the bar — but this material is so strong, telling the life story of the actor/director/photographer and, according to Scott, a participant at several of the crucial cultural crossroads of the 60s, 70s and 80s. 

He discovered Andy Warhol, he directed and starred in Easy Rider, he was a presence in Blue Velvet, he was the villain in Speed! The song Genius was a highlight and the final image on the large screens on either side of the stage featured the well decorated wooden cross erected at the grave of Hopper in a Boothill-type reminiscent cemetery in the desert.

There are too many highlights to mention — rediscovering the live experience of The Waterboys is like rediscovering youth, it’s energising and life-restoring. And I could have sworn I heard the lyric ‘The whole of Macroom’ when they went out with their most famous hit during the encore.