The Year Of The Jackal

We were at the Limelight in Belfast last night to give a roaring endorsement to Conor J O'Brien and his Villagers combo. We've seen them blossom over the year and those songs have become very dear to many. Now he holds the stage with extra stature and on 'Becoming A Jackal' the band crunch at the guitars on a couple of choice moments, giving the song a fresh definition.

Conor holds the audience so well, and we're glad to hear some lesser known songs, including 'Memoir', which he's kindly donated to Charlotte Gainsbourg, plus 'In New Found Land, You Are Free', which chokes us up properly. It's such a different vision from the saints, the snakes and the history of 'Home'. You can appreciate a new steer for the Villagers, a destination we'll surely want to follow in 2011. For now, he's got my album of the year, easy.

I'm planning to run through my favourites of 2010 on the December 27 show. Tonight there will be some of the worthies, plus a couple of tunes from a Villagers session, recorded yesterday by my pals at ATL. We will also play something from Captain Beefheart, to mark the passing of a supreme character.