Neil Hannon arrived on stage in a suit and sunglasses looking exactly like a 1990s The Divine Comedy album cover. And that makes sense as he informs us that it’s been 30 years since their sensational album ‘Casanova’ was released. 30 years?! How can that be? Either something is wrong with time or we’re all a bit older than we think. And looking around the crowd… yeah, there were a few more grey hairs than an average gig, and honestly, we were all glad to have a seat in this grand Edinburgh venue.
It was appropriate then that the gig kicked off with some songs from that three-decades-old album with Generation Sex, Becoming More Like Alfie and The Frog Princess setting an upbeat tone. And while those song celebrate the youthful exuberance of shagging around, the 30 years of The Divine Comedy’s back catalogue since has provided reflection on a number of life’s most significant moments, which became something of a theme.
Throughout the show, we touch on different areas along the journey of the human condition from the awkward crushes of student years At the Indie Disco, learning you enjoy looking at old houses in Assume the Perpendicular, dealing with an empty nest in Norman and Norma, reflecting on the death of a parent in The Last Time I Saw The Old Man, accepting the fading of the light with the peerless Lady of a Certain Age and contemplating your own death as you get older in Achilles. And if that all sounds a bit gloomy, it absolutely was not with lyrics filled with warmth and wit and melodies that stick with you like an old friend on a long walk.
But it’s not just ghosts of the past and future, there’s some comment on the present day with a rare live outing for the surprisingly prescient cowboy swagger of You’ll Never Work in This Town Again from 2019’s concept album ‘Office Politics’ which predicted we’d all be replaced by machines. And Neil serves his six-strong band (accordion, violin, keyboard, drums, bass and guitar) some cocktails from his drinks trolley as they intro the gentle Mar-a-Lago by the Sea of which you can probably guess the topic.
The crowd while polite and full of applause seemed a little bit flat at first, not really responding to the leading man’s banter, which is perhaps exactly as you’d expect at a chamber pop gig in a multi-tiered concert hall where everyone was sitting down and in their 40s (50s?). And that really works for the quiet contemplative powerful tracks like ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’ from last year’s outstanding album, Rainy Sunday Afternoon.
But the atmosphere massively lifted as Neil encouraged the crowd up onto their feet towards the end of the gig. One deep cut from 1994’s ‘Promenade’ Ten Seconds To Midnight blended into Absent Friends, the rousing anthem celebrating the dearly departed (some more of that big moment introspecting). From that point forwards, it was bouncy pop with I Like and the inevitable singalong to National Express. The encore then brought the exuberance down a little as we prepared to re-enter the real world with the melodic Songs of Love and the heart-breaking Invisible Thread.
The show ended, as all their shows end, with the beautiful Tonight We Fly, a look into the lives of others which ends:
‘And when we die
Oh, will we be
That disappointed
Or sad
If heaven doesn’t exist
What will we have missed
This life is the best we’ve ever had’
And when I look back on it all, it will be gigs like this – seeing an exceptional songwriter, surrounded by outstanding musicians, perfectly bringing to life the songs that I’ve loved for decades – that I’ll remember. A wonderful night. I wish there were more like this.
The Spoilist went to see The Divine Comedy on Friday 3rd July 2026 at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh.