Notes

Artist Seth Kim-Cohen is writing a twitter novel… Also, check out his recently published book In the Blink of an Ear: Towards a Non-Cochlear Sonic Art. I haven’t had a chance to pick it up yet but when I do I’ll give it a short review. I’m in the middle of Alex Ross’ The Rest is Noise, which is an unbeatable guide to twentieth-century music. It’s information heavy but conjures a visual map to the significant events, works and artists of the twentieth-century.  Again, when I get through it I’ll write a few notes on it.

Modest Mouse (I love the giant fly on his site) is coming to Ireland! Whee!

You facebook people – join my Music Capital Scheme group and get loads of info on capital support for instruments in Ireland!

Michelle Browne’s Mind the Gap project is continuing as a part of the Fringe Festival. I caught the Fare Play trip last weekend and took a taxi spin around Dublin with the epitome of a Dublin taxi driver giving me a guide to the buildings and follies that form a part of the Nama fiasco. The driver was pro-Nama and had a load of convincing points to make (e.g. Manchester, a city with a larger population and annual financial turnover than the whole of Ireland, has FOUR MP’s and a handful of counsellors, who keep the city ticking over without any major disasters while we need a couple of hunderd TD’s and a couple of thousand counsellors…) but I’m still not convinced and believe the government is working very hard to bail out it’s boys club.

I also caught Die Roten Punkte at the Bosco Tent on Saturday night. It was an awful lot of fun and had the audience doubled over with laughter as Otto and Astrid brought us on a hilarious and occasionally cringe-worthy adventure that is their music career. For a small duo with teeny instruments to have an entire tent stand up and make hand gestures at will is no mean feat in audience engagement! Myself and my mates hung around for the evening and danced the night away with live music and a DJ to follow – a great fringe evening!

Just for kicks “oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy“

Culture Notes

CMC’s plans for Culture Night unveiled – technophiles take note!

Justin Carroll’s group Togetherness perform in The Back Loft on Sat 19 Sept. I’m not in Dublin that weekend but it should be a great gig with Sean Carpio on drums, Dave Redmond on bass and Hughes Mayot on sax.

size2shoes are going from strength to strength and about just launched a “mini-website”, The Vault, featuring tracks, interviews, free downloads and loads more. I really like these guys after seeing them support Julie Feeney in Crawdaddy for her album launch. They’re gas lads, check it out – you might even learn a bit of beatboxing from Moley…

I joined artists network called Art Review but am still trying to figure out how it’s going to benefit me… More on this as soon as I figure it out…

Unique performer Dave Flynn is featured on two new releases – his own CD of contemporary traditional Irish guitar available for purchase here, and his guitar music also features in a publication called Contemporary Anthology of Solo Guitar for Five Fingers of the Right Hand. I haven’t had a chance yet to listen to the CD yet but if Flynn’s live performances are anything to go by it should be an excellent listen.

On Thur 27 Sept The Clonmel Junction Festival presents Dulsori in Chadwicks. “Their energetic, elemental performances are raw and passionate affairs as the world’s most enthralling drumming troupes. Dulsori never fail to thrill and excite.” – sounds like great craic and it’s very reasonably priced at €15 for adults and €5 for children. Call Premier Music on 052 6129811 for tickets!

Culture Notes

Just in the door from Waterworn as a part of Absolute Fringe and it was really, simply the most elegant work I have laid my eyes on. A shadow play based on a tale of sea adventure, the play revolved around one character and his day at sea, hunting whales. I haven’t seen shadow puppets since I was a child and my Dad used to make them to entertain us before we went to sleep and this was a treat and a half. On entering the darkened tent space, we passed a hunched over figure playing an out of tune piano that managed to sound charming without grating on the ears. The lights came up behind the sheet and there was an instant engagement with the silhouetted figure. There is something lonely and poignant about shadow plays that lent itself perfectly to the tale of loneliness and tragedy at sea; enhanced by the Michael Nyman-style repetitive rhythms of the piano. I went with my friend Niamh and after the play she remarked that the haphazard tuning and creaks of the old piano made perfect sense in the handmade tone of the production. If you get a chance, please see it – it made us want to run home and create our own shadow play theatre, and we might just do that yet!

I also got a chance today to drop into the Douglas Hyde at lunch for a short talk by the curatorial assistant Barry White about the current exhibition of Paki Smith works. I hadn’t actually seen the show at that point and was delighted to be introduced to some of the works within the context of Paki’s work. The show is brilliant – there’s an awful lot of work displayed, supplemented by a load of his workbooks and journals, but its well worth taking the time to see everything. I found the imagery, ideas and imagination in the work really inspiring and have a small idea for a wee craft project after spending time in the space.

I have a ticket in my pocket for the Synth Eastwood gig at the Spiegeltent tomorrow so very much looking forward to that and in particular to the spatial mc two-hour pre-show gig! Spatial mc emailed out a list  “eye-catching facts about the show”:
• Sadly this is the last year The Spiegeltent is in Dublin
• This is the best priced show in The Spiegeltent (€15!)
• Free Absolut reception!
• 5 minor Irish celebrities may be in attendance
• 6 different music styles on offer
• Multi speaker dancing is the equivalent of 2 triathlons
• Free Absolut reception!

Culture Night is only a few weeks away at this stage and because it’s taking to the road and going national this year there are a few serious decisions to be made. For the past few years it was just a matter of trying to decide which of the many, many events to attend in Dublin, however this year we’re faced with the option of heading home or to other parts of the country to sample the cultural events on offer there. I’ve decided to head for west and will be spending the night in Sligo taking in all they have to offer. More anon…

One last quick note – google give grants to arts and not-for-profit organisations looking to use their Ad Words facility. Get in touch people!

Culture Notes

A number of arts organisations have come out with strong words against the proposed end to Artists Tax Exemption. Both the Arts Council and the VAI have released statements against the proposed changes to the exemption.

Sideline productions are currently in production of a new series for RTE which will be based around a Choir competition. Application forms and guidelines on the Sideline website. Sounds like a lot of choral fun actually…

One of the recipients of The Arts Council/Music Network Music Capital Scheme, which I manage with Music Network, won the Glasgow Scotland World Championship in their category for pipe bands. Congratulations to the Letterkenny Pipe Band on that and a whole host of other achievements since they were awarded instruments under the 2008 awards. The 2009 application forms and guidelines are available on the Music Network site.  

As far as gigs go this week is fairly quiet, although it may just be a case of me being totally out of the loop post-Tipperary. Hoping to catch the SynthEastwood gig at the Fringe on Thurs.

Lorcán Mac Mathúna, Martin Tourish and Séan Óg present “moving new interpretations of Old Irish love songs from the 8th to the 14th centuries” as a part of IMRAM 2009 Irish Language Literature Festival in New Theatre, Temple Bar next week.

Music for the Golden Vale round-up

So I’m back online after an amazing weekend in Tipperary (apart from the small matter of Tipperary losing the all-Ireland).

I’m still processing the weekend in my own way – by the time the performance started I was so invested in it’s outcome that I found it difficult to stand back from the performance an evaluate it critically. I had hoped to have someone do that evaluation for me but due to tighter and tighter budget I had to leave that out at the last minute. It really was wonderful though. There was a smaller audience than I had hoped but those who made it were absolutely attentive and seemed as invested as I was. The new commission by Ian Wilson, performed by the NCC and Iarla Ó Lionáird , under the baton of James Wood was beautiful and at the end of the evening, was very emotional for me personally.

A huge thank you to all involved. I need to take this space to say thanks in particular to my brother Donnachadh who spent the day ferrying me around, taking care of everything I need and to Niamh Ryan who ran my box office and was there the whole way through the development of the project as an objective point of view. Without the two of them I would have been absolutely lost in the production on the day.

The evening ended with a great Tipperary-style knees up in my Holycross local, with music played into the wee hours (and some Kerry slides danced in the lounge)!