Dunboyne Diana returned to Manchester for a gig full of anecdotes, line dancing, hootin’ and hollering

Photo by Kate South

Words by Kate South

The energy was unmatched at the Academy on the 25th of November as CMAT took the stage with The Very Sexy CMAT Band. One thing about Manchester crowds is that they will always bring the party vibes, even on a rainy Tuesday evening. Opening the set from the balcony at the back of the venue, CMAT was greeted with rapturous applause from an adoring audience at the sold-out show. Not one to shy away from the spotlight, CMAT drank it all in, beginning the show with the final track off Euro-Country, “Janis Joplining”. The number is a fan favourite, and the laid-back, piano-driven track was the perfect opener for the show.

Running down to the stage, CMAT announced “Manchester – I used to live here!” before bursting onto the stage and heading straight into the second number, “The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station”. This song was absolutely incredible live, with every musician in the band giving it their all as strobe lights flashed during the vocalised climax of the song. Throughout the show, CMAT littered anecdotes about her time here that made the gig feel particularly special. Before beginning the third song of the evening, CMAT explained that she “used to work in the TK Maxx on Market Street” before comedically adding, “I probably cleaned your piss” (not mine, though… I was 16 when CMAT used to live in Manchester lol). Following this revelation, CMAT sang “I Don’t Really Care for You” from her debut album, If My Wife New I’d Be Dead. Fans of CMAT’s earlier work are in luck, as she playfully parodied Taylor Swift’s iconic Eras Tour later in the show by announcing “It’s The Ciara’s tour”, with songs from all three of her studio albums making an appearance. Before the final chorus, a few members of the band were featured in some line dancing. The band, which was absolutely on the top of their musical game, were heavily featured throughout the performance… more on this later.

After the three-track run, CMAT addressed the audience, reminiscing on her days in Manchester. CMAT is an effortlessly charismatic performer, and her crowd work was hilarious. The next song, “2 Wrecked 2 Care,” offered a more mellow pace but was swiftly followed by the melodramatic “Have Fun!” where she dramatically flopped onto the raised platform, pretending to collapse. She later outstretched her arms as if she was flying while singing the line “now I’m flying home like I always do”, the silly choreography exemplifying the number one priority of the evening: that everyone, including CMAT and her sexy band, have as much fun as humanly possible.

But it wasn’t all fun and games. CMAT has in her impressive discography some devastatingly moving songs, as well as upbeat numbers with important messages. CMAT explained the sentiment of “Take off Sexy Picture of Me”, and how it’s two fingers up to all the trolls who mocked her appearance in the comments of her much-acclaimed Glastonbury performance. While raising the serious point against trolling and how “we shouldn’t do that people”, CMAT also reiterated that the commenters were (obviously) completely mistaken, for CMAT is, after all, “incredibly sexy”. Nothing was taken too seriously, and as we all performed the “Woke Macarena” (devised by Sam Morris), it was clear that all of us agreed that CMAT was very sexy indeed. During this number, violinist Holly Carpenter joined CMAT downstage to perform the backing vocals and some silly choreography when CMAT sang “when the pain hits”, with Holly spinning around as if CMAT had slapped her, adding humour to the iconic song. 

This was only one of the several moments where the band got involved. Highlights included an interpretative dance during a break between songs, elevating several numbers through comedic choreography, stripping, and most impressively, performing an impromptu rendition of “Vincent Kompany” at the request of a fan. This Crazymad, For Me track was an undeniable deep cut, as even CMAT initially exclaimed when she saw it that the song was “too hard” (with the band nodding their agreement) and that she didn’t want to perform it, before swiftly obliging and adding “I apologise for my initial reaction…Abby, I love you”. I have no idea if the band had practised literally every single song in the CMAT discography in the event of an obscure request, or if they were just that good at improvising accompaniments, but the crowd was beyond impressed, paying no attention to CMAT’s memory slip at the very end…who could blame her!

We were then treated to “Tree Six Foive”, the crowd enthusiastically clapping along to the breakup meets barn dance anthem. Before the next track, “Coronation St”, CMAT revealed how she used to live in Chorlton, eliciting whoops from a group in the crowd who had made the trip into town. The reflective acoustic guitar ballad provided a break from the party atmosphere, the poignant lyrics no doubt resonating with the young crowd. CMAT wrote it reflecting on her time in Manchester, the chorus repeating the phrase “I’m 23, and everyone is having fun except for me”, articulating the loneliness that sometimes comes from trying to find your feet in your early twenties. After the number, CMAT took the time to introduce us to The Very Sexy Band individually, finishing with keyboardist Colm Conlan. Conlan and CMAT then took to the stage to perform fan favourite “Where Are Your Kids Tonight”, complete with wonderfully retro, camp choreography.

One of the highlights of the evening was “Running/Planning”, the emotional ballad opening with strummed guitar and a singing fiddle line. The song, which was the lead single from the Euro-Country album, captures the emotive country influence on the album, and I found the whole crowd singing together during the emotional final chorus deeply moving. The band then left the stage, but the night wasn’t over yet. The first of the encores began with the title track, “Euro-Country”. This song has one of the best bridges that CMAT (or anyone, for that matter) has ever written, and it was incredibly powerful to hear the song performed live. After the number, CMAT reflected on how, despite the track being so specific to Irish culture (focusing on what it was like growing up in Dublin in the wake of the 2008 Celtic Tiger Collapse), she is often surprised by the positive reception and emotional reaction to “Euro-Country” outside of Ireland. The similar crash that occurred in the UK meant that many of the themes resonate across the two countries, despite their differences. Today, in such a bleak economic landscape in the UK, it was cathartic to sing and be joined together in a shared mission, that we all know “it can be better if we hound it”.

Then came the biggest bombshell of the evening. Well, two big bombshells. The first being that CMAT started in hyperpop while living in Manchester (Iconic – though she admitted it wasn’t her calling and that she was “born to be a country singer”), and the second that “the best song” she had ever written was composed in Manchester. CMAT revealed that “I Wanna be a Cowboy Baby” was written “while staring into the mirror”, in her flat in Chorlton. She then joked, “I’m not being big headed; there should be a plaque!” and I quite agree – how lucky is Manchester to stake a claim to a small piece of Dunboyne Diana’s genius!  CMAT invited us to join in the “Dunboyne County Meath Two Step” while she sang, the whole crowd swaying together as we were serenaded.

After a rollercoaster of a concert came the grand finale: “Stay for Something”, an absolute corker of a closing number. After performing the whole song onstage, CMAT sang the final chorus one last time after storming into the crowd. We all danced together before she returned to the stage, running back and forth across the barricade, giving high-fives to her devoted fans. I feel so lucky to have been able to catch CMAT in such a small venue, before she takes on bigger and better stages during the next leg of the Euro-Country Tour next year. CMAT isn’t just a great singer but a true entertainer, and I can’t wait for her and the very sexy CMAT band to return to Manchester soon.