The Unthanks, “Diversions Vol. 3: Songs from The Shipyards” – Cork Opera House, 04.12.12
Modern day audiences have become attuned to certain thematic concerns when dealing with songwriting, and it’s easy to spot a few of the archetypes. We may have the lovelorn troubadour, the iconoclastic political tirade, the celebration of the abstract or the inane vapid platitudes of lesser acts. Music these days, not to sound positively geriatric...
Nils Frahm – Interview
Photo: Antje Taiga Ahead of two Irish dates this week, Nils Frahm spoke to Conor about breaking his thumb, the perfect Steinway sound and the Erased Tapes family… Hi Nils, can I ask you first about your new EP, Screws, which you recorded while you had a broken thumb earlier in the year. How did...
Duke Special, Irish Tour
Duke Special heads out on what they’re calling a “grassroots” tour of the island in a couple of weeks. Essentially, it’s one man onstage (presumably a piano will be centrally involved), although that may not do justice to the range of performance styles the Special One has made his own – from cabaret to torch...
Horsemen Pass By at Cork Film Festival Club
Cork Film Festival is in full flow by now and the Vitaphonic Festival Club in the middle bar of Cork Opera House looks like a very welcome addition to the wider programme. Through the week you’ll find the considerable talents of DJ’s Cian Ó Cíobháin, Ian Fiasco and Phil Hope on show, bands such as...
Roaratorio: An Irish Circus on Finnegan’s Wake – Cork Opera House, 03.11.12
Words: Vicky Langan Photography: Brid O’Donovan Full photoset on here It was great to come in out of the cold. Almost immediately, I struck up some conversation with an older woman who was also hovering next to the radiator by the front door. Asking her if she was aware that the seating arrangement for tonight...
Roaratorio: An Irish Circus on Finnegan’s Wake, in Pictures, @ The Cork Opera House, 03.11.12.
Photography by Bríd O’ Donovan
Beach House w/ Holy Other – Cork Opera House, 27.10.12
Photography: Bríd O’Donovan In passing through Ireland last weekend for three dates (Mandela Hall Belfast, Vicar Street Dublin and Cork Opera House), Beach House joined an elite bunch of crossover indie artists. In the last few years, only The National, and maybe Sufjan Stevens (let’s agree Arcade Fire don’t count), have played this many Irish...
Taraf de Haidouks – Cork Opera House, 26.10.12
Lou Reed once said, “Nothing beats 2 guitars, drum and bass.” Tonight we get pretty close with 3 accordions, 3 fiddles, flute, cymbalom(!) and double bass. It’s frosty, and we’re freezing as we get to the Opera House, who are running a tight ship tonight. It’s coming up to half eight and Taraf de Haidouks...
Go out to the Beach House
A few years back (before the CRASH), a friend of mine who lives in Dublin was going along to catch Fleet Foxes, who were riding the crest of a Pitchfork-Sub Pop hype wave at the time. I quizzed him soon after as to how the gig was. He reported that Fleet Foxes were only ok,...
Taraf de Haidouks, this weekend
Thank God the Taraf de Haidouks concert in the Opera House this Friday is not seated. The music from this band of random-aged Romany folksters often sends such a rush of blood to the head, chairs would have been flying through the air as if it were a clear summer’s afternoon on Dame Street. Last...
Roaratorio
Just when you thought that Joyce couldn’t get any weirder . . . In the true spirit of Noise, we bring you words about Roaratorio: an Irish Circus on Finnegans Wake. Composed by John Cage back in 1979, Roaratorio is a sprawling collection of field recordings, traditional musical excerpts, strange noise and Cage’s own interpretations...
