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Proving that they can rock an outdoor event as well as they can jam at a club show, the Cranberries continued their summer Bury the Hatchet tour with their second trip to the DC area. Having opened this tour with an energizing performance at the 9:30 Club in April, the Cranberries blew into town again for a visit to Nissan Pavilion in Virginia on August 19. Playing before an eager crowd on a warm summer night, Dolores and the boys soared through a stirring set of the band's classics and some of its newer favorites. Whether the band is back to stay after its long sabbatical remains to be seen, but for this fan, the answer is a foregone conclusion.
After a guitar-filled opening set by Collective Soul, the Cranberries took the stage before a legion of screaming fans. Kicking things off with what I can only assume is an old Irish tune ("God Be With You All"), Dolores brought the fans to life instantly, strutting about the stage with her shorn hair hidden under an over-sized cowboy hat. Determined to expose their fans to the best that Bury the Hatchet has to offer, the Cranberries offered up two numbers from their latest album. "Promises," one of the harder tracks on the album, was brought forth with some timely yelps from Dolores and the throbbing guitars of lead Noel Hogan. Though not nearly as powerful, "Animal Instinct" nonetheless offered fans another peek at the sort of music Hatchet has to offer.
It goes without saying, however, that most of the fans in attendance came to see Dolores belt out many of the band's classics, and, sure enough, she did not disappoint. "Linger" was but one of six songs that the band trotted out from the 1993 debut album, and it was clearly the best. Not far behind, however, were engaging renditions of "Sunday" and "Salvation," a track from the band's critically-lambasted third album, To the Faithfully Departed. Of course, sometimes the best moments at a concert occur when a band plays something the fans are not expecting. The band's buoyant cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" was certainly one of the show's highlights, and it was followed shortly after by a truly moving performance of "Daffodil Lament."
The Cranberries should definitely be commended for a longer-than-average encore, as the band returned for five extra songs. Unfortunately, two were the lifeless "Dying in the Sun" and a rather tame "Shattered." Yet just when fans were beginning to get restless, the band turned the excitement level up a notch, pulling the obscure "Liar" out of their bag of tricks. Much to my personal delight, they followed that with current radio hit "Just My Imagination" before closing with the life-affirming "Dreams." The Cranberries only played for a short bit more than an hour and a half, but it can never be said that they did not maximize their time. Even more impressive, Dolores, if not the band as a whole, seemed to get livelier as the concert wore on, even stopping to dance an Irish jig near the end of the encore. Moments like that make me glad I came back to see the Cranberries, and they assure that I will return again...
Setlist:
Encore:
Submitted 8/20/99.
If you have any questions or comments about this or any other concert, please feel free to e-mail me.