Sinead O’Connor

Bestriding the stage in dark sunglasses, dog collar, crucifix, and her trademark shorn skull this lithe and energetic high priestess of Irish pop opened up proceedings with the classic couplet: “I wanted to change the world/but I could not even change my underwear”, a cover of new friend John Grant’s ‘Queen Of Denmark’. But from there on in O’Connor struggled to take command of the night, mainly it seems because of some faulty equipment – she spent much of the time adjusting her radio mic – somewhat distracting her and the audience from fully diving into her world of religious and sexual anger and angst, and a knack for a memorable song title or two, plus some excellent and diverse tunes (including a couple of lovely acapellas) that straddled her career; from the world-is-now-your-oyster door opening of ‘Nothing Compares To U’ to songs from her last, and very strong album, ‘How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?’.

Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, 8 May 2013
[Rating: 3.5/5]
Jeff Hemmings