David O'Doherty: Big Time (PCF)

Being the last show of his Aussie tour, David O'Doherty was in full rock'n'roll destruction mode as he kicked over chairs and almost threatened to rip his clothes off, Iggy Pop-style. Fortunately, he came to his senses and was frank enough to admit that any onstage disrobing on his part would quickly lead to diminishing returns; full on rocker rebellion being one of the last things you'd expect from the fortyish, affable Dubliner (who's also an author of children's books, by the way).

Presenting a more or less entirely new set, barring a couple of tried and tested one-liners and what appears to be his best-known song Life, O'Doherty once again explored the sometimes painful gap between how people appear to live online and real life, and why Trump-style politics wouldn't work in Ireland given its history. Never mind "make Ireland great again," maybe try "make Ireland reasonable for the first time', he quipped. 

The material came rapidly in overwhelming torrents, such that laughter induced exhaustion became a genuine possibility. Channeling Nirvana's tendency to destroy instruments, O'Doherty then defiled his own half-size electric keyboard, ripping out the batteries and abandoning it on the stage with its synthy guts on full display.