There was another bit of Irish in DC last week—not just that one little holiday—and guest blogger Brieahn DeMeo from Solas Nua was the lucky one to catch it all up close for us. —Ed.
A dreadlocked Irishman emerges from a lower level dressed in a black suit, complete with pinstripe pants, a vibrantly green silk tie with black lace overlay, and matching green pocket square. He makes his way to the grand piano, gives the audience an acknowledging nod and begins. First, 3 simple notes played in descending repetition, then vocals—clean, crisp and soulful, and then the melody takes off and I’m hooked. Duke Special has taken the stage at the Gibson Guitar Room and is ours for the next 2+ hours courtesy of contemporary Irish arts organization Solas Nua.
With a vaudevillian air, Duke Special’s sound is unique and refreshing, laced with lyrics that will have you contemplating life and love (or is that just me?) But don’t worry, it’s not all serious, Duke has snuck a few songs into his repertoire that just makes you laugh because they are so clever. For instance “Wanda, Darling of the Jockey Club (A Bitch named Wanda).” Based on a new project exploring silent movie star Hector Mann, “Wanda” tells the story of a high society aviatrix who Mann waits on and the inevitable debacle that arises in any silent movie setting. The melody is reminiscent of silent movie soundtracks and had the audience members tapping their toes in time.
If any of you have been to the Gibson Showroom you know that there is a “stage” area at the front of the room with the audience sitting on couches scattered throughout the rest of the room, and in our case others sitting on the floor. It’s a great space for a small intimate concert, and halfway through the concert Duke stood up, pushed the Grand piano into the center of the room, and played the rest of his set 100% acoustic. I was sitting on one of the aforementioned couches and ended up not even 3 feet away from Mr. Special. I love these small venues where you can be up close and personal with the artists.
(Duke Special images ©Solas Nua)
“Freewheel” is probably Duke’s most well known song, and it was clear that this was the crowd pleaser, as audience members joined Duke in singing the chorus. But “In Memorium,” a new song part of a project with Spectrum, left the audience captivated and wanting more.
Duke has been commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to create a series of original songs inspired by current photography exhibition Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand. The pieces are beautifully written and incredibly moving. He previewed a few of them including, ‘Rita DeAcosta’ another Photographs project that night. The songs were so amazing when it was just him, I can only imagine what the concert at the MET will be like with the photos projected behind Duke on stage.
Duke Special is definitely one to keep an eye out for. He’s been building momentum as a solo artist for a few years now and has toured with Rufus Wainwright and Aqualung. If you can’t make it all the way to NYC for the March 24th concert, he will be at Jammin’ Java on March 30th.
