Evelyn Evelyn / Brogen Darren

Please say hi to Brogen Hayes. She dragged me along to see Amanda Palmer’s gig in the Academy on Monday evening. Here’s her thoughts (and some interjections from me too).

- Darren

Evelyn Evelyn are a fictional musical duo, made up of Evelyn Neville and her conjoined twin sister, Evelyn. The sisters have lived a harsh, cruel life that would not be out of place in a Victorian melodrama. Of course, Evelyn and Evelyn are Amanda Palmer, who is probably best known as one half of the Dresden Dolls, and her comrade and fellow musician, Jason Webley. Fictional, remember!

Palmer and Webley had a whole stage show worked out. They had costumes made. They had wigs. They had worked out how to play guitar with one hand each. They had created a whole back-story for the Evelyn sisters and the tragic events of their lives. Sadly, the conjoined twins of Evelyn and Evelyn Neville were, in fact, separated on Monday night.

I knew none of this. I didn’t know what to expect from this gig; perhaps some noisy electronica or some modern trip hop pop pap. I certainly didn’t expect to be instantly amazed by a performer who was hugely entertaining and captivating before she sang a note.

Due to the Pompeii-esque volcanic ash cloud that was hovering over Europe, Jason and the rest of the crew were stuck in Boston. Amanda staged a great escape from Iceland on Friday to perform in Dublin last night. The show must go on, right?

I knew the volcano had messed things up for the tour, but I also knew – from avid Twitter watching – that Amanda was soldiering on and was not going to let her fans down. Not because of some stupid volcano anyway. Amanda could have easily pulled the plug on the show, I mean, what’s one Evelyn without the other? But that would not have been the punk cabaret superstar that we know and love.

From the moment Amanda walked on stage, the audience knew they were in for a treat. She had been so busy trying to pull the show together that she had forgotten to put her stage clothes on. That just sums up the whole performance. With Jason Webley on accordion, playing via Skype on a big screen from Brooklyn, Amanda sped through the entire Evelyn Evelyn show. She played every character. She pulled random people up on stage to help her by drawing out a puppet show. Sometimes she played Evelyn, other times, she played Evelyn. Yet other times she narrated. She played keyboard and kazoo, sang, threw feathers, took questions from the audience and generally held the show together with her bare hands. Jason and Amanda managed to sing duets together even though there was a delay of a few seconds in the Skype feed they were using.

It was astounding. The chemistry between Amanda and Jason, though they were hundreds of miles and a three second delay apart, was a treat to watch. The whole gig should have been cancelled. It should have been - and yet, Amanda pulled together instruments, props, audio/visual equipment and random volunteers to create a unique spectacle that I am proud to have witnessed.

This sounds dreadful. It sounds like the kind of gig you would leave after a few minutes. It was actually gig was hilarious, silly and even though it was complete chaos, worked incredibly well. Palmer is a show woman through and through. She completely commands the stage with her presence and this is what made the show work. The audience loved the haphazard show, they loved the mayhem, but most of all, they loved Amanda.

This was not the show we were expecting from the Evelyn sisters. The album is full of sadness and heartbreak. The show could not have been more dissimilar. It was frenzied, slap dash and wonderful. It was easy to see that Amanda was enjoying herself as she ran from one side of the stage to the other, shouting stage directions to the randomers she enlisted to help her.

I am bouncing on to iTunes right now to pick up the album. Again, how could I have hoped for it to be a selection of songs infused with Tom Waits cynicism and powerful lyrics, Neil Hannon’s humour, Duke Special’s energy and Ute Lemper’s sexy delivery. This Baroque pop, punk cabaret style is my kinda music. How has Amanda Palmer passed me by? Which Dresden Dolls album should I get first?

After the story of the Evelyn sisters had been told. Amanda took suggestions from the audience as to which of her solo songs she should sing. The winners were Astronaut, Runs in the Family and the fantastic Dresden Dolls tracks Girl Anachronism and Delilah. The final part of the night saw Palmer singing an anti-volcano song called Fuck the Ash Cloud, written by her and her significant other Neil Gaiman.

This unplanned, impromptu sort of performance is nothing new to Ms Palmer. Amanda Palmer frequently tweets her location and tells her followers to come and see her do an impromptu street gig for nothing more than the pleasure of hanging out and connecting with her fans. These ‘ninja gigs’ are unplanned, unrehearsed and one of the reasons that Amanda has developed a cult following.

There are only a handful of performers out there who would want to go on without the rest of her team and comrades and still make it one of the most entertaining, funny and genuinely original gigs I’ve seen in a long time.

I’m a convert. Completely and utterly. In fact, before Palmer had finished her first song on Monday night, I had become a convert. The fun and energy of the show firmed my resolve, but it was the closing songs that confirmed it - Amanda Palmer and Evelyn Evelyn have landed into my list of favourite acts. I’m excited about discovering more of her music. I’m still buzzing from witnessing the greatest and most beautiful car crash that was her Academy gig. Were you there? Am I wrong?

The Sweary Lady was there and she will follow this post with her own eloquent review. I’m just delighted I finally got to meet her.