Dublin delights for Passenger

Not so long ago, he was playing warm-up for Ed Sheeran. Fast forward a few months, and Mike Rosenberg aka Passenger, is more than capable of holding his own on stage.

Greeting a packed Vicar St. crowd last night, he exclaimed, "It's great to be back" before launching into a rendition of Life's for the Living.

But, these are new times for Passenger. He's worked hard to get where he is today, and he's not afraid to let us know. Just five years ago, he tells the audience, he was playing to crowds of less that 20, most of whom never acknowledged his existence.

There are lighter moments during I hate in which he encourages the crowd to join in on his hatred of  "racist blokes," "ignorant folks," and The X Factor, to which he refers to as a "bunch of money grabbing pricks."

Most of the time though, it's a sombre affair. If he's not singing about broken hearts in Holes, it's his struggle to give up smoking in Riding to New York.

Occasionally, he demands silence as he attempts to sing unplugged versions of his songs sans a microphone. While it's great in theory, his quiet, yet beautifully raw voice seems to get lost among the louder members of the crowd, who are seemingly unwilling to shut up.

There are no lazers, fireworks, or even backing tracks. It's just Passenger and his guitar. For some, it's a confusing concept. For true music lovers, it's a sight to behold.

Let her go is an obvious high point, every member of the audience singing along note for note to the most popular tune in Ireland this year. One guy even shouts out the question that's on all of our lips, "why'd you let her go?," to which Passenger good-naturedly replies "good question!"

Admirably, each song is a story, all of which feature real emotions and real experiences. By the end of the night, you feel as if the person standing on stage is not so much a musician as a new companion.

He doesn't leave without saying that he'll be back soon, a promise that most of us will only be happy to hold him to.

It should probably be noted that if you enjoy shouting obscenities at the stage, or filming every song on your mobile phone, then this is not the gig for you.