Weds 5th - Sunday 9th December

Hi gang,

Hope you caught a good gig or two last week - I didn't make as many as usual myself what with one thing and another. The sound of Ralph Kirschbaum's gorgeous dark cello made a striking addition on Thursday though to the Vanbrugh Quartet for Schubert's fairly heartstopping C major Quintet and I liked the new works, especially Seoirse Bodley's, but jeez did the audience drive me mad. Crossing and uncrossing legs, sighing, fiddling with programmes, unwrapping sweets... it sounds like the back row of transition year accountancy not a concert audience and made me start to look forward to the West Cork Chamber Music Festival again... God I'm a sap, ok rant over - there's too much too look forward to...

Wednesday 5th

9pm Cyprus Avenue - The bassplayer from the Redneck Manifesto, Richie Egan's Jape is in town. Not as hard-rocking as the Rednecks, it's about the songs man and more in a pop vein but worth checking out if you like that kinda thing.



Thursday 6th

1.10pm, Crawford Gallery - Today is the chance to hear the winner of the hotly contested Axa International Piano Competition (2006), Romain Descharmes with a mystery programme, he was last heard playing Mozart, Brahms and Chopin you can be fairly sure that it will be easily enjoyed music and very beautifully played. Certainly a bargain at €10. http://www.romaindescharmes.com/1/Biography.htm


8.30, Bodega White Room - Slowburn, a CMC Film & Music Triple Bill - I'm excited to have an old friend from Thomastown in Cork for the first time - Stephen Buck is a singer-songwriter who is primarily a playwright and writes great quirky lyrics that I'm hoping you'll all enjoy. We also have David O'Riordain, a singer-songwriter in the Cork Music Collective (your hosts for the night) who I'm really looking forward to hearing and I think he will probably fit in nicely beside Stephen. And at the heart of the night we're showing Scooter's great 30 minute film Torture is US which fought off stiff competition in the Cork Film Festival to win the Made in Cork award. One of the first events in the festival to sell out, many people haven't got to see this seriously funny film yet - so here's another chance! All this for €8? Where would you be going....






Saturday 8th -

8pm - Cork School of Music Unless you have some kind of holiday booked or a seriously hot date I recommend getting your ass down to be blown away by the crazy breakneck balkan brass bonanza that will be the Boban Markovich Orkestar from Serbia. In fact scratch that, bring your hot date and you can be sure their blood will be right up by the end of the night... A global sensation, the New York Times described a performance as "Dance music that was almost brutal in its gleeful efficiency", bringing touches of klezmer, funk, tango and jazz to that infectious Balkan sound and these guys are such good players they have given masterclasses at the Juilliard School of Music. I've never had an opportunity to hear anything like this and am really excited - please come and enjoy it so promoters will start bringing more!

10pm - Liquid Lounge Club Ping Pong are treating their guests' ears to Fist Fite. Nihl describes them as a "raucous keyboard/drums/screaming trio" from Portland Oregon, USA. "It's - get drunk and howl at the moon - type music". Hip Cork band Hooray for Humans will be playing support...




Sunday 9th -


8pm - Crane Lane 2006 winners of the BBC Folk Awards Flook were recommended to me by Mags O'Sullivan so they MUST be really good - sorry I didn't get this into the mailout. Here's their website


8pm - Triskel The hard-working Carducci Quartet are back in town after the success of their September festival, playing in the intimate theatre at Triskel. Multi-award-winners, this half-Irish, half-British quartet has a lovely programme of Haydn, Britten and Beethoven lined up....



Ok that's all from me for now...

Nicki