Buck 65 live at Whelan's, Dublin
A relaxed Buck 65 may not have always reached great heights in Whelan's, but thanks to some help from an audience member, all is forgiven.
Patrick Gleeson
Buck 65 strolls on from the wings to rapturous applause, looking a good deal more relaxed than when he previously played Dublin as part of last year’s Bud Rising festival. On that occasion a delayed flight meant he had to come straight from the airport and onto the stage – and it showed.
Buck has often been compared to Tom Waits and indeed his stage persona bears more than a passing resemblance to that of the grizzly raconteur. A pathological storyteller, he’s as interested in between-song banter as he is in the actual music. Whether chatting or rapping, his guttural drawl makes you want to stop and listen.
In one of the night’s more touching moments, Buck asks a member of the audience if he could give her a peck on the cheek because she reminds him of his mother. Not the kind of thing you’d expect at a rap show.
Later, he reveals plans for a new record, teasing us with a few cuts from the work in progress, including the excellent ‘Spread ‘Em’, a song inspired by his love of old detective films.
Sometimes though, things come a little unstuck: one of his best songs, ‘Kennedy Killed The Hat’ for instance, drifts oddly by, never reaching the heights it does on record.
All is forgiven however when he delivers a stomping ‘Wicked And Weird’, for which he is joined onstage by a member of the crowd who does a remarkable job of keeping up with Buck’s breakneck delivery. And not a squeak from security...
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