Terça-feira 4 Set 2007, 4h:35
Dolores O'Riordan rocks the National Auditorium
The Irishwoman proves that she doesn’t need her former band to make the fans go wild
Mexico City, Mexico; September 3rd, 2007
Few minutes ‘til 7 o’clock, and the national auditorium looked half full. Many were still outside chatting with friends about how unbelievable it was for the event to happen. It was unlikely from the beginning. Her solo debut, “Are You Listening?” (Sequel/Sanctuary/NoiseLab), had not gotten into the Mexican top charts. The single “Ordinary Day” had been played very scarcely on Mexican radio. The show had been announced less than a month before. The previous shows of the tour had been in very small venues. To think she would present herself in the National Auditorium, with a 10 thousand people capacity, without her band “the Cranberries” seemed far-fetched. It would be the largest show of the whole tour.
At 7 o’clock, the lights went off. The people that were waiting outside seemed to have taken into their seats. The place looked packed, except for the second floor, which remained always closed, covered with curtains and with the lights down. Sources have stated an attendance of around 6 to 7 thousand people. And then, shadows indicated the band was getting hold of their positions on stage. The sound of the first riffs of “Zombie” made de audience go mad. Screams and cheers. And the lights of the stage came on.
Dolores was holding a black guitar, and black was her outfit as well (black boots, black jacket, really short shorts). People went crazy. People in the first row were shaking green, white and red balloons and shouting like mad. The chorus seemed to drive everyone crazy. Zombie, eh, eh. “Hello Mexico” she saluted. That was the start of an unforgettable night for many.
“Angel Fire” followed “Zombie” in the setlist. She had lost her jacket and was sporting a black tee. Powerful ballad, it was one of the first songs people knew from her first solo album. She had sung it live last Christmas in Montecarlo, at the ‘Concierto di Natale’. “Animal Instinct” was up next. This time, she came closer to the audience, shaking hands with some of the first rowers.
Then came “Apple of my Eye” and “Linger”. Everyone had their mobile phones out (or their lighters), and waved hands in the air. She had the audience sing a few lines of “Linger”, one of the oldest hits of the Cranberries.
Someone from the stage crew handed her a white acoustic guitar, which could only mean one thing: “Ordinary Day”, the lead single for her solo album would come next. And it did. People sung along the song as if were an old Cranberries’ hit.
“Human Spirit”, another song from “Are You Listening?” had Dolores playing the flute, a feat not many knew she could pull. And she did it good. The piano/keyboard, played by old Cranberries back up keyboardist Denny DeMarchi, was impeccable. He would then play more of it on the next two songs: the Evanescence-ish “Stay with me” and the rather experimental “Black Widow”. People in the audience stayed almost silent, so they could enjoy these new songs. Dolores’ voice thundered right through the audiences ears on the chorus of “Stay with Me”, which is a mournful cry for the company of the loved one. “Black Widow” very silent at the beginning, but near the end it was louder than even “Zombie”. She went backstage for a little while, while the band performed delightful stunts at the end of the song.
After the very short break, the music for “Pretty” started playing. She dedicated it to “all the beautiful Mexican women”. This one goes way back. It’s part of the Cranberries’ first album “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?”
Then, after all the silence and stillness of the audience during the last 5 songs, it was the turn of the cranberries’ hit single “Free to Decide”. They started playing, and when the drums came in, which is her cue to start singing, her voice couldn’t be heard. The microphone was off. She turned around, still playing her guitar, and waited ‘til it was replaced with one that was working. She approached the mic and said between laughs that it was off. Then she started singing. The audience went wild again. She asked them to sing with her and they did.
The ballad “When You’re Gone”, where she would as well play the guitar, would represent one of the climax moments of the gig. The ‘bay bay bay’ turned the audience on, and this made her draw a big smile on her face.
She backed up a little after “When You’re Gone”, when the band started playing the first notes of “I Can’t Be With You”. She rushed to the front of the stage where the microphone was, and make the audience roar. People sang, yelled and jumped through the entire song. Another climax moment. After this one, she played “Loser”, now without her guitar. She moved from one side of the stage to the other, trying to make contact with fans in the balconies of the venue.
“Are you ready to rock” she asked the audience, who responded in a loud roar, and “Salvation” started. The rockiest song of the set. People was crazy. Singing and dancing. They answered Dolores’ ‘aha’s’ with enthusiasm. People from the first rows tried to approach her, or give her things, such as a Mexican flag, a t-shirt or a stuffed Garfield (reminiscent of the one someone threw to her at the show in the Palais du Bercy, in France on December 1999, with the Cranberries).
The second single from “Are You Listening” came through this time. Very rocky, she moved from one side to the other and got close to both bassist Marco Mendoza and guitarist “Steve DeMarchi” who used to be the additional guitarist for the Cranberries, and is in charge of the backing vocals as well.
Lights went all out and the whole band went backstage. We knew it wasn’t the end. It usually is when the lights come on and guards start telling people to get out.
When they came back out, the riffs to “Ode to my Family” resounded in the auditorium. She wasn’t playing the keyboard this time. An old classic marked the beginning of the end of one helluva show.
She then said she’s take the audience back a little bit. Back to 1999. She said a fan in the press conference had asked her why she had left such a song out of the setlist. They played “Just My Imagination” and Dolores approached the edge of the stage again, where the first rowers tried desperately to hold her hand.
Next song was “Accept Things”, which Dolores announced as a song about acceptance. Then she announced a song she wrote on October two years ago. “October” has become a fan favorite. People, though tired, jumped and screamed louder than before.
She said she had enjoyed it in Mexico, that she had had some Margaritas the night before and that she was feeling much better then. She said: “Mexico, te quiero” (with the help of the Mexican guitarist), and also shouted “Viva Mexico!”.
This definitely pointed to the end of the show, which was confirmed when she said the next song would be “Dreams”. She’s always closed her concerts with this song (with few exceptions). People went frantic. People on the first rows thundered to the stage. Security guards couldn’t do anything but tried to hold them from getting on stage. Dolores, nevertheless, came close and shook hands with as many fans as she could. Then she took a bottle of water and poured it over her hair. She then shook her hair, which sprinkled the fans closer to the stage with water. Fans seemed to be in total ecstasy. The show had come to an end. She shouted ‘Gracias’ and ‘Thank You’. And left the stage. The band remained for a minute or two, while Marco Mendoza played with drummer Graham Hopkins. Marco would play a riff and then Graham would do a line. It seemed it was the band’s turn to have some fun. They seemed to be responding each other, or rather ‘challenging’. After a minute, it was all over. The four guys got to the front of the stage and bowed down. They, then left waving to the audience.
The best show of my life had ended.