ROCK REVIEW
W HEN waiflike Dolores O’Riordan gets in front of an audience, any inhibitions she has about performing are stripped from her psyche, and she lets her animal instincts take over.
Wednesday at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Miss O’ and her band, the Cranberries, served up a terrific (albeit short) set. That program included all of the Irish quartet’s past hits, but it really made its mark when the band worked the songs from their just-released disc “Bury the Hatchet.”
Although there are no tin whistles, pipes or fiddles in the arrangements, O’Riordan’s vocal inflections – which climb from her earthy mid-range to a tightly controlled soprano in yodel leaps – are very traditional. The boys in the band complement her warbling with jangly guitar pop that often intertwines with the drumming to the point where it seems every bit of its energy is aimed at rhythm, leaving O’Riordan alone to provide the melody.
In spite of O’Riordan dressing to thrill – first in a flashy metallic bra top and later in a see-through red dress – the real excitement was conjured when she and her bandmates dove into the new songs, such as the vocally demanding “Saving Grace,” their inspired version of “Animal Instincts” and rocking “Loud and Clear.”
Without question, the fans were wrapped in rapture for oldies such as “Linger,” “Zombie,” and the final encore tune “Dreams,” but it’s a rare rock show that features so much new material and gets such a heated, welcoming reception.
The Cranberries as a band are also charming rock stars, since they project nearly zero pretentiousness on stage. There is no posing, and even though O’Riordan dominates as she prances across the stage with a hint of tomboy awkwardness, there is little question that the band is a band, rather than merely backup for her.
Rumors were circulating at the Hammer that the Cranberries would be playing a return engagement later this summer. If they do, count that show among the season’s must-see concerts.