Goodbyes seldom come easy. Genuine partings of the ways, with no real signs of rekindling, often bring waves of emotion and turmoil. As was the case with Textures on Thursday evening as the band arrived in Dublin to perform their last ever, Irish performance in the cities own Voodoo Lounge. An apt, intimate setting allowing fans to get up close and personal with the band for one final hurrah. And a hurrah it most certainly was.
Dubbed “Last Miles to the Moon: A Farewell to Textures,” the tour has been bouncing from city to city as the band say their final farewells. But not without some local support. On this particular night, Cork based Arjuna’s Eye, beamed their collective ‘kids in a candy store’ demeanour as they opened proceedings, their infectious delight serving both them, and their tight set well.
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Further unexpected goodbyes (sort of, anyway) were woven into the proceedings when support act Exivious also announced that they, too, were all set for sailin’ on down to Splitsville. Yet shock quickly turned to confused, tilted heads when they immediately announced that all current members would be reuniting in another outfit, to be seen together again sooner rather than later. It was a great turn of events, if put across poorly, for despite some repeated technical issues that required the front of house engineer to extend his best clipping things on to other things, using skills only he could apparently could use, Exivious delivered a set that was both an impressive watch and listen.
When the time finally came, the audience pressed themselves right up against the stage; there really wouldn’t have been much use for a barrier. Kicking it old school, Textures made their way on to the stage, helping their predecessors take down their gear while simultaneously setting up their own. You could feel the certainty in the air. This didn’t feel like your ‘farewell, we’ll be back next year’ tour. There was a palpable sense that this was it – this was the end. What was about to happen would be final and unrepeatable.
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Hugs exchanged between members, house lights down, and the party kicked off. From “Surreal State of Enlightenment”, to “Regenesis,” and the much beloved “New Horizons”, each member performed as if this might well be the last show of their lives, savouring ever moment! Uri Dijk on keys hopped behind his synths as if the stage was made from trampolines, vocalist Daniel de Jongh got up close and personal with his crowd, looking each in the eye, singing right to their face. Acoustic and electric guitar solos from Joe Tal stormed through openers right up to double encores, bringing it all to an end with “Laments of an Icarus.” If Textures left their Irish audience feeling more than a little melancholy, they also left them pumped full of adrenaline, feeling valued. In the end, both band and fans left knowing that they all mattered, the night itself had mattered, and that all had just partaken in a night to be long remembered.
“Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.” Indeed, it may take till some much later tomorrow before we can really be sure this is a permanent farewell for Textures. Or if they will find every and any reason for that almighty re-union tour? If they do, Textures are likely to meet a warm reception in Ireland. For they did themselves proud in Dublin. Yet the odds would suggest re-union isn’t a likely outcome. Both band and fans felt it on the night; the unity, the history, and the magic. The journey coming to its end. But oh the memories that live on.