The Cranberries

Venue: Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
Date: 2nd April 2012
Promoter: Hype Records
Review by: Mandy Lynn
Special Thanks: Min and the Hype Records team
Photos by Cliff Y.

After a roaring success of the end of their 6 year hiatus last year; Irish rock band, The Cranberries, are back for more with songs from their 6th studio album, Roses. Despite it being a Monday, 8pm found the Singapore Indoor Stadium crammed with turnout of 5,000 die-hard fans donning shirts emblazoned with “The Cranberries” across their chest. One could feel the buzz of anticipation of the crowd as we waited for the band to grace the stage.

Ten minutes into their scheduled arrival, the lights dimmed and the stadium was bathed in a warm orange glow as the all too familiar sound of “Dreams” filled the air. In an instant, Dolores had the crowd on their feet, singing and swaying to the music. Crowd-pleaser “Linger” had the audience waving glow sticks in the air, couples leaning into each other as they sang along nostalgically. From their latest album, “Tomorrow” experienced much dancing as blue lights filled the stadium and Dolores danced and snaked along the audience, setting off one to many excited screams from the front row.

Showing off her powerful vocals in “Dream My Dreams” and “Waltzing Back”, Dolores proved her worth. In “Wanted” and “Just My Imagination”, Noel Hogan stole the show with his sexy e-guitar solo intro (Mike Hogan complementing on the bass), with Dolores psyching up the crowd to a deafening chorus. At one point in “Ode to My Family”, Dolores bent over, her face filled with emotion as she crooned out “My father, my father, he liked me, oh, he liked me. Does anyone care?” sending the crowd ballistic.

It was no surprise that as soon as the yuppie crowd recognized the intro to “Animal Instinct”, a thunderous roar of voices drowned out Dolores’ vocals, with only Fergal Lawler on the drums to be heard. Needless to say, “Zombie” sent the crowd into a fit of hysteria; cell phones whipped into the air in an attempt to relive the energy after the gig. This was probably one of the rare moments you’d see a crowd in their mid-thirties frantically waving handmade banners in the air, swaying to the music like a high school teenager.

Incredibly energetic throughout a 22-song set list, it was hard to believe that Dolores had hit the big forty. Tonight, 23 years of music showed us just how amazing the chemistry is between the band members, and how much the audience appreciates that.

SET LIST:

  1. Dreams
  2. Linger
  3. Tomorrow
  4. Wanted
  5. Just My Imagination
  6. Ode to My Family
  7. Dreaming My Dreams
  8. Animal Instinct
  9. Raining In My Heart
  10. Daffodil Lament
  11. When You’re Gone
  12. Can’t Be With You
  13. Waltzing Back
  14. Desperate Andy
  15. Free to Decide
  16. Playboys
  17. Ridiculous Thoughts
  18. Zombie
  19. Conduct
  20. Roses
  21. Promises
  22. Salvation