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I’m presently completing an internship at my university counseling center (working toward a master’s degree), and one of my least favorite intern duties is “tabling,” whereby I am tasked to sell the many wonders of our counseling center to random passers-by as they make their way to their classes or to their favorite campus eatery. I just don’t have the personality required for such a task. I can’t help but give off the “keep walking” vibe, which is, of course, the opposite of what you want if the goal is to hand out as many brochures as possible. It’s no mystery why I’m never chatted up by the person sitting next to me on the airplane. Something in my demeanor must be making things quite clear: Leave. Me. Be.

That’s not to say I’m devoid of social skills or social needs. In fact, I had a great conversation with the other intern who was tabling with me the other day. Somehow he had heard from a mutual acquaintance that I was big Glen Hansard fan, and he asked me what I thought of Hansard’s fellow Irish busker-bro, Damien Rice. I confessed that I was totally unfamiliar with Rice’s music, although I had heard his name tossed around now and then. My table-mate assured me that if I liked Hansard, I would almost certainly like Rice. Dude was right. I’ve been watching nearly every live performance I can find of the guy on YouTube. He’s got that thing, that intangible vibe that so fascinates and captivates me. It’s that ability to completely draw in and hold my attention with the sheer soulfulness of the performance. There’s something about the acoustic guitar and voice together—nothing more, nothing less—that strikes just the right chord with me. Rice is also a bit of a mystery man, a tortured-artist type, and that’s something else that tends to pique my interest. Apparently the guy fell in to some significant commercial success fairy early into his career, didn’t enjoy much of what went with it all, and so took the recluse route by jumping off the grid for like, eight years or so. He’s back recently, with a new album and some hard-won personal perspective, and the musical fruits of this return are pretty fucking fantastic, especially in the context of a live performance.

What can I tell you. I dig the shit. Check it out. Or just keep right on walking. Either way is fine with me.