Loudon Wainwright III

Fifty one not out and his songs are still funny, sad and true, just like his jokes. Loudon Wainwright III returned to Dublin's Olympia Theatre on Sunday for another good night out with friends - at least, that was the sense of the occasion.

From the start of the 90minute plus performance, it was clear the American singer/ songwriter was playing on home turf. The audience warmed to his clever banter and oddball gestures and Loudon responded with a wellpaced show that perfectly reflected the sweet and sour nature of his material.

Many of the songs were taken from his new CD, Little Ship, a collection mostly inspired by a recent bout of heartbreak. However, one of the exceptions, Primrose Hill, a wonderfully haunting tune about a homeless musician, was one of the highlights of the night. Another was Four Mir- rors, a brooding song about his father, which in turn led on to an older tune, The Picture. Both songs display Wainwright's craft in articulating the fraught and fractured relationships which exist in families.

These were the darker sides of a thoroughly engaging performance. Most of the night was illuminated by his snappy satire and his rueful ruminations on love and love lost. There were laughs aplenty, but they failed to hide the pain and weariness underlying his songs. So Damn Happy, its lilting melody burdened by the bleak lyrics, typified the mood.