The Ulster Fleadh at Dungiven burst into life last night with three totally different acts entertaining a packed St Canice’s Hall with a three-hour show of breadth and depth, of raucous laughter, dark brooding, and irrepressible excitement. My own reason for heading over the Glenshane Pass was to hear Sí Van, the new trio of …
Category Archives: Reviews
Earnestly funny
I know, I know, I’ve left it to the last minute, but I really have to say how much I enjoyed The Importance of Being Earnest – still running at the Lyric Theatre – but only until Saturday. Wilde’s play is as funny and relevant today as it was when it was first performed on …
The Gloaming + Sam Amidon
The omens were good for the Gloaming concert in Vicar Street last night – no need for a raincoat in the mid-afternnoon sun as Dublin was a-buzzing in the warm spring weather, the trip to Forever 21 was painless – I had my teenage daughter with me, – and then we had a great meal …
Almost Planxty
What ‘s in a name? Well. when the names are Donal Lunny, Andy Irvine, Liam O’Flynn and Paddy Glackin it means a full house at the Cathedral Quarter Festival Marquee. Three quarters of Planxty (two of the hippies and the civil servant) were joined by one of the country’s finest traditional fiddlers for a night …
CQAF: Alexis Sayle
When I lived in Belfast city centre, I used to walk to work listening to my iPod. People passing by would stare at the nutcase with the headphones giggling to himself as he walked along. The reason for the perambulatory mirth was one Mr Alexi Sayle whose collection of short stories, My Lucky Pig, was …
Review: Melmoth the Wanderer
You know you’ve had a great theatrical night out when, the following day, you find yourself singing songs you’d heard the night before. And repeating lines delivered in funny accents that made you laugh. And talking about the scary bits. And the funny bits. And the magical bits. And the couldn’t-quite-grasp bits. So driving to …
McSherry, Rynne, Hennessey and Scanlon
What makes An Droichead on the Ormeau Road so special as a music venue? Firstly, it’s the welcome you get there. The An Droichead bunch are amongst the friendliest you’ll get at any venue in Ireland. Take a bow, Jim, Claire and of course, Úna. Secondly, it’s BYO. It’s nice – and cheap – …
Out to Lunch: Will Kaufman
Woody Guthrie is a name many people will be familiar with, some being loyal disciples of arguably America’s greatest singer and writer of protest songs but most people, I would suggest, would only have a passing knowledge of Guthrie and his songs. Will Kaufman’s show, Woody Guthrie: Hard Times and Hard Travellin’ however – part …
Out to Lunch: The Third Policeman
For a long time, I’ve been an admirer of the comic genius that was/is Brian O’Nolan aka Flann O’Brien aka Myles na Gopaleen, Brian Ó Nualláin and whatever you’re having yourself. After reading the Catechism of Cliche, myself and other followers of the great man would take great pleasure in adding to the ammunition of …
Out to Lunch: Kevin McAleer
The Out to Lunch festival kicked off yesterday, not with a bang but with a giggle. You don’t expect a lot of belly laughs from a Kevin McAleer gig but a constant stream of psychadelic musings on the absurdity of the world and yesterday’s audience at the Black Box had their idea of reality stretched …