Leslie Dowdall

IT'S been a long time coming eight years, if my memory serves me right - but finally former In Tua Nua singer Leslie Dowdall got to show what she was made of in front of a hometown audience at Whelans in Dublin last night.

What she was made of was a mix of velvet and leather, a little slight yet somehow sturdy, and her performance was a [solid if somewhat undemanding show of vocal skill and musical craftsmanship.

Everyone remembers In Tua Nua but many of us have forgotten just how incidental they really were to the Great Irish Rock Story. Aside from a couple of pleasant tunes and a rather unpleasant major label encounter, the Eighties ensemble never made much of a mark, so, when Leslie Dowdall took the stage with her backing band for her first Dublin show in yonks, it must have felt a bit like starting over again.

The solo album, No Guilt No Guile, showcases Dowdall's mature, mid tempo style, and her live set was a tasteful cocktail of soft rock tunes and softcentred ballads, all delivered with well measured professionalism.

Songs like Saturday Night, a tune written by The Blue Nile, and Everything were rather weak doses of musical medicine, but the subdued If You Want Me To Stay had the potential to heal. For nostalgia's sake, Leslie dusted off two In Tua Nua songs, but it was a little like holding a cracked mirror to the past.

A new song, Hand On The Water, was a cool, country rock splashdown, while a cover of Neil Young's Goodbye - which Emmylou Harris also covered - was tinged with crocodile tears. Much more sincere was Leslie's own song, Torn Inside, dedicated to someone dear and I suspect departed.

A rendition of The Police's Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, however, seemed superfluous, given the wealth of tunes out there which would perfectly suit Leslie's voice.

The gig ended on a high note with a repeat performance of "last year's single, Wonder fill Thing, and the audience sang along with the infectious chorus.

Leslie Dowdall has the voice and the style to entertain, but she hasn't yet tapped the reserves of passion which would truly make a difference.