A marathon of music this week

Hey there,

I gave myself a bit of a break from this last week, unplanned, sorry - life got in the way! Strangely enough not in the way of listening to music though, hmh funny that, though I'm a bit vague on some details. (Was I really at the Crane Lane on Sunday? Several witnesses insist...) The Irish Chamber Orchestra on Saturday night were pure pleasure (nice to finally meet you there Vinny!) in the last concert of this season - I can't understand why they don't always sell out - if we can't fill a 400-odd seat theatre every time those guys come to town, well, maybe we don't deserve em.

Sorry I think the sudden cloud and drizzle has me a little down this week. Hang on while I ratchet up the enthusiasm for the tips bit.


Wednesday 28th

7.30pm Cyprus Avenue Peter von Poehl's pretty electro pop will reward drifting into if you're around, just a fiver... http://www.myspace.com/petervonpoehl

9pm Counihans' (next to the Crane Lane) Arundo are a band combining Andean and Irish music who seem to have been playing here a while. Gas idea I'm not convinced but maybe because all I could track down on the net was a phone video with desperate sound - it's a free gig so see what you think yourself.

Thursday 29th

6.15 Glucksman Gallery Singer and violinist Lucia Comnes will surely draw a huge crowd out to see her, especially fans of the wonderful Polskadots, a band she was a founding member of before she returned to her native US. She's now touring with bassist Sean Stillinger and percussionist Aharon Wheels Bolsta. Definitely free gig of the week!

8pm St. Anne's church (the bells one) Shandon The Mount's Bay Singers might be rather good, they describe themselves as "An accomplished and enthusiastic choir" who do a range of stuff - when you consider they say they include 8-part a cappella pieces, well that would suggest they're pretty capable.
Incidentally if YOU or someone you know is interested in joining a choir the Cork Chamber Choir is looking for 1 soprano, 2 tenors and 1 bass. You can contact us through our myspace or drop me a mail and I'll put you in touch with Ann Marie http://www.myspace.com/corkchamberchoir

9pm Roundy Room Brazilian trumpeter Tonynho dos Santos and his new band the Fireangels will have the place feeling very summery.

10pm Nancy Spains Pianinst Emiliano Petronilli (of Swing Street) and drummer Davide Sotgiu are hosting a weekly blues jam session - people are welcome to join in, sounds nice.

Friday 30th

7pm Sirius Arts Centre
right through to Monday

Put a trip to Cobh into you plans this weekend and enjoy some of the Cobh Maritime Song Festival in surely the most perfect venue in the country for such a thing. Check out the whole programme at www.cobhmaritimesongfestival.com and look look amn't I good to you........This is the Cork-Cobh timetable http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/printed_timetable_pdfs/2008/Mallow%20Cobh%2008.pdf

Saturday 31st

1.15pm, Cork School of Music A lovely opportunity to hear some great trad from fiddle-player Edel Sullivan and guitarist Eileen Healy AND support a Kenyan orphanage with your €10 entrance - talk about fair trade.

Sunday 1st

10pm Charlie's Eoin (Reggie) O'Regan's band is a very safe bet.


Monday 2nd

9am-3pm Cork City I've had a great time lhelping to line up musicians who will be busking along the length of the Cork City Marathon circuit courtesy of Cork City Council. Trad players, jazzers, rockers, gypsy musicians, old-time and world music groups will be out to try and lift the runners spirits and keep onlookers entertained please come and enjot the atmosphere. My map of the action is here if you want to try and catch something specific - http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=109036976011531848577.00044de7144fe1d8907c9&t=k&z=13 - how about the brilliant Lazik outside Hardwood Café? maybe the Critters at Bishop Lucey Park? Trad on Horgan's Quay or by the Lough? Or jazz at County Hall? We've 20 groups in all...

9pm The Whisky Saxophonist/clarinettist Clinio Cocuzza is hosting a regular session on Mondays now. http://www.myspace.com/cliniococuzza

Thursday 5th

9pm The Roundy The Polskadots have old friend Lucia Comnes as guest, a very special occasion and definitely one for the diary lads

9pm Triskel Jazz harmonica player Ray Preston is clearly a master and well respected by the looks of one enthusiastic expert (http://www.jazzeddie.f2s.com/jazz_harmonica.htm)

this gig with his quaret should be meaty - hear him here http://harmonica.co.uk/music/Ray_Preston_Making_Whoopee.wma

Saturday 7th

8pm Cork Opera House I'm well ticked off I'll be away for Rufus Wainwright, though he might be sold out already... www.rufuswainwright.com

Have a great one...

x N

Another week's music in Cork and a ticket competition!

Hallo everyone,

Great to be back in Cork - last night's concert from Lunfardía at the Triskel was excellent (far more impressive music from South America than I heard on my travels last month I'm afraid). Great to see another sell-out concert too! Speaking of sell-outs there was a queue outside Pro-Musica on Monday morning for superstar guitarist John William's concert on April 24th so you'd want to get moving if you want to hear him play. Word has it that he'll be giving some kind of seminar for guitarists - I'm not sure what the craic is but if you're a guitarist and would like to go let me know and I'll try and put you in touch with the right people.

This week there's a good choice of music - from straight-up classical to experimental improv, blues (the good kind) to singer-songwriter stuff so get the hat and gloves on and get into town...

Nearly forgot the competition! Easter weekend sees a brilliant festival courtesy of West Cork Music, East Meets West - 2 sexy quartets are in town to meet each other and play - the all-male T'ang quartet from Singapore (I saw them a couple of years ago and they really are damn cool) and the all-female Callino quartet from Britain/Ireland and there'll be other performers too. There's six concerts in total over the weekend and I've blagged 2 tickets (worth €40) to the closing concert on Easter Monday at 8pm for one lucky winner at which you can see both quartets play individually before the grand finale of an uplifting octet where the two groups join forces. More info to come next week, and if you're not available on the Monday I can change the tickets for another concert in the festival. To enter leave a comment, any comment and I'll pick the winner out of a hat on Friday week. (yes it is an odd way to hold a competition but I'm hoping it will help the blog go up the Google search thing if I get a few comments on it!).

but for now...



Thursday 13th

1.10pm Crawford Art Gallery Two of Cork's most established and talented classical musicians, violinist Ruxandra Petcu-Colan (who begat the amazing Ioana) and pianist Gabriela Mayer will play violin sonatas by Schubert and Szymanowski. Tickets are €10/7.

8pm Cork School of Music I'll be at the National Symphony Orchestra checking out their performance with young violin soloist Alina Pogostina - a gorgeous programme of Bruch and Beethoven and opening with that popular chestnut, Wagner's overture to Tannhauser.

9.30ish Ziggy's (opposite the Oval) Andrea Bonino who brought you last year's big news Hadasha has an as yet unnamed new blues band with Eoin O'Regan and Jerome Rimson - they've only done 2 gigs but word has it something very special is happening already - won't cost you anything to find out! Can I do the Symphony Orchestra and this in one night? Course I can! Can you?

9pm Roundy Cormac O Caoimh is one of Cork's best singer-songwriters - I still haven't actually heard him but I know it's true, I just know it.



Friday 14th

9pm Bodega (White Room) STeT Lab Cork's most exciting experimental music event plays takes place for the last time in this plush and intimate venue before moving somewhere bigger - it's attracting big crowds of hip musos and is always an adventure for the ears. I'll be lazy and quote Han - "The event will feature Lone Monad (A.K.A. Don Malone) on electronics with Jesse Ronneau on double bass. Emeritus professor of Composition and Electronic Music at Roosevelt University, Chicago, Don Malone is a true pioneer of electronic music and improvisation."

Saturday 15th

10.30 Liquid Lounge Ping Pong needs little plugging from me anymore I gather but it's still a good place to hang with the hip cats - this week it hosts Plug'd Records' 4th birthday and Felix Kubin, a dadaist electro artist from Hamburg who cites Stockhausen, Ligeti & Kraftwerk as influences. There's always the roofgarden if it's too much for ya!

Sunday 16th

3pm Charlie's I don't say it often enough, if you've nothing to do of a Sunday afternoon there really is no better way to spend it than with a rake of Beamishes at the trad session. It's fun, it's messy and the music's usually great.

Monday 17th

9pm Cyprus Ave It'll be hot n sweaty and great craic altogether (and there's feck all else on of note) ....the St Patrick's Day Céilí Mór - gwanyabiya!


Wednesday 19th

8pm UCC Music Dept (O'Riada Hall) Once a year something very special happens - Mel Mercier and the UCC gang let the rest of us in to share in the music of the Javanese Gamelan. The traditional orchestra of metal pots, gongs and xylophones is perfectly normal in Indonesia, but this is the only one in the Republic of Ireland. It plays extraordinary, other worldly music - as they play a melody kind of floats out that is not carried by any one person, it really is magic. Gamelan music had a major effect on Western compaosers and visionaries in the twentieth century. Be warned - get there really early as this always fills...


That's it for now x