Was it a cold night when Bright Eyes released I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning in January, 2005? Given they’re from Nebraska it was definitely cold as hell, though I doubt any weather could’ve stopped them. Thursday’s windchill certainly didn’t stop a queue forming for Joel Harkin and Friends’ loving 20th anniversary tribute of I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, performed to a crowded Oh Yeah Centre.
It’s no mean feat to pull together a show of this scope, and yet so much has been considered. Videographers and photographers flit through the crowd to capture the night on film, and take-home-and-frame-quality posters were designed by artist Leanne McWilliams.
From start to finish, I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning was performed with loving accuracy by Joel Harkin & his musical troupe, consisting of Dan Monaghan, Niall Laverty, George Sloan, Nicole Harper, Saoirse Van Merkom, Turlough McDonald & Niall Carson. Top quality musicians, one and all. The band gives I’m Wide Awake the care and attention it deserves – quiet when it’s right, bombastic and energetic when it’s needed. Bassist and trumpeter Dan Monaghan afterwards said “We as a band were having such a good time, it felt like such a privilege to extend our good time to the entire audience,” and you could feel it – the band truly did look absolutely delighted to be there.
What transformed the night from a careful tribute to an evening of celebration was the litany of very special guests – Deirdre Kelly opens the night with the iconic spoken word introduction on At The Bottom Of Everything. Eve Belle takes the helm on Old Soul Song, giving a powerful performance for a song that could have been written for her voice (“I was introduced to Bright Eyes by Joel Harkin. Many such cases. Don’t become another statistic.”) Ciaran Lavery is dynamic but dignified when he takes the lead on Train Under Water, lending his distinct voice to one of the album’s powerhouses. Katie Richardson needs no accompaniment when she performs a country-tinged rendition of fan-favourite Lua. Oisín O’Scolaí is in charge on the bouncy Another Travelling Song. Ash Anraí-Jones gave a version of Poison Oak so gorgeous and heartfelt that I spotted some audience members wiping away tears.
Putting special guests, videography & an eager crowd aside, what tied the entire night together was the human catalyst Joel Harkin. Attendees of a Joel Harkin performance will be familiar with the droll storytelling that bookends each song & it’s always a hoot, but tonight you can see that what’s driving the whole show is Harkin’s unabashed adoration for one of the greatest folk albums of the century. “I’ve been dreaming of doing this gig for ten years,” he says, before climactic finisher Road To Joy, and you can tell. You can tell that Harkin has put blood, sweat and tears into tonight, and his infectious enthusiasm could be felt by every soul in there. When I asked him how he felt afterwards, he replied “It was one of the best nights of my life and I am overcome with appreciation and love for my wonderful friends and one of the best records ever made.”
I felt very lucky to have seen a show ten years in the making and the dreaming. As impressive as every musician was, as authentic as each rendition of each track was, the sheer love and appreciation for I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning transformed the evening from just another Thursday night show to a properly jubilant celebration of a beloved work of art.
