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Description: The Kildare singer-songwriter and his band on a short tour promoting latest album, 9.
Phone: 0844844 4748
Website: www.hammersmithapollo.net
Email: info@hammersmithapollo.net
Trains: Tube: Hammersmith 
Extra info: Pub
Creative tension: Damien Rice delivers a fascinating gig at the Apollo
The artistic temperament, a prickly, potentially monstrous thing that values the art above all else, can make it hard for a musician to get along with his audience and even his bandmates.
Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice, who possesses this disposition to such a degree that one day he will probably finish a gig by slicing off an ear, has long been difficult in direct proportion to the loveliness of his balladry.
His media profile in recent years has deliberately been nil, and this was his first British gig in support of his second album 9 that came out in November.
Most worryingly, he appeared without a crucial member of his band, co-vocalist Lisa Hannigan, and never mentioned it, although a new post on his website states that their six-year professional relationship "has run its creative course".
When someone shouted "Where's Lisa?" and he gave a sharp "I dunno" after a tense pause, it was as if he had just finished disposing of her body.
Yet it was this kind of tension that made being in his presence so gripping.
Every extra second that he didn't flounce off seemed precious, and his restless wrestling with his own songs was a fascinating battle.
It was as if he had deliberately filled his two albums with fragile, pretty heartbreakers with the sole purpose of confounding the expectations of anyone who buys his concert tickets.
Volcano moved from a languid groove to a crashing crescendo as he experimented with multiple effects pedals.
The folky strum of Coconut Skins ended with Rice battering the body of his acoustic guitar while two drummers made as much noise as possible.
It is so rare, rather than watching yet another band churn out their hits just as they are on record, to see someone really making music right in front of you.
He sang in French, allowed cellist Vyvienne Long to perform a bizarre comic ditty entitled Random Man On The Motorway, and downed three glasses of red wine in quick succession to bring some realism to the drunkard's lament, Cheers Darlin'.
Searing rockers such as Me, My Yoke + I were exhausting to watch, but the reward was a final moment of genuine crowd-pleasing.
He performed Cannonball solo, unamplified, and the entire auditorium seemed to hold its breath at the simple sight of a small man singing out in the darkness.
You wouldn't want to work with him, but two hours in his company is something to treasure forever.
Damien Rice will play Wembley Arena on 6 October.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
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