Cultural Events to Banish Post Festive Blues 2015

Grand Opera House 

 Mid Winter is a time when I retreat to the sofa and wrestle for domination of the remote control. But this will pass and  I enjoyed putting together this round up of cultural events to tempt culture vultures off the couch. My selection  appeared in the print edition of the Irish Examiner  on Friday 2nd January.
Arts Events Selection for month's ahead.

 Here are some further  suggestions.


Opera in Belfast .
I visited Belfast for the first time in decades back in the September  and was impressed with the scale and elegance of the city centre and the many venues. With a journey time of less than 2 hours by bus to Dublin, it is closer than I imagined.   I have a yen to see some opera in the Grand Opera House with it's splendid red brick Victorian facade.

 In February, Northern Ireland Opera present  Richard Strauss’ potent late Romantic setting of Oscar Wilde’s play based on the biblical femme fatale, Salomé.

Belfast-born Giselle Allen sings the title role of the bloodthirsty Princess .  Nicholas Chalmers conducts the Ulster Orchestra in this new production directed by Oliver Mears. There is more opera at the venue when English touring company Opera North  brings two rather more genteel   productions , to this historic venue

Opera at the Grand Opera House www.goh.co.uk

Salomé   Strauss 6-8 Feb

Marriage of Figaro Mozart  Mar 19^th and 21^th

La Travaiata Verdi Mar 18 and 20^th 

Special Consensus at Sixmilebridge

Superpowers in Galway

Festival of Youth Orchestras NCH Feb 7th

RTE Philharmonic Choir celebrate 30 years 

Castle Proms at 6MB Winter Music Weekend

The Voice Squad in Great Hall photo Mark Graham

'It's like being on Grafton Street ' said Phil Callery of The Voice Squad in the
medieval Great Hall in Bunratty Castle during their set as part of the annual Winter Music Weekend .  It


might seem like a strange comparison but there was indeed an element of indoor busking  as young and old,  weekend day trippers, sight seeing tourists and music lovers promenaded through the lofty dimly lit, medieval  hall  at times invading the performers space during their set on a pale wintry afternoon  The three man acapella group, seemed unperturbed and are happily reformed with all the original members after a  break of some years, their distinctive pure blend of voices still sounding as rich and satisfying as the creamiest caramelised rice pudding.  I spoke to Gerry Cullen following the gig about the resurgence of singing clubs. Aficionados present included Mr Year of Festivals, Mark Graham and photographer Christy McNamara They were followed by Two Time Polka, a six piece spicy,  cajun stew of a line up, featuring mandolin and accordion /concertina. This was a rare opportunity to hear them without the thick varnish of amplification giving altogether a more delicate auditory experience.   Some of the vocal introductions  of both groups were lost in the large space but it was a price worth paying if only for Ray  Barron's wistful rendition of Across the Universe on mandolin. Sometimes less is more.

photo Mark Graham 

This was, I believe, the second year that the Folk Park and castle were used as part of the annual Shannonside Winter Music Weekend hosted by the Sixmilebridge Folk Club and it seems a perfect synergy with a confluence of performing spaces of varying degrees of size, accessibility and comfort. I found it easier to stay in one venue  and didn't venture beyond the castle but musicians I spoke to reported that they enjoyed playing in The Barn.   There was a resonance with my own  past as it was my first visit back to the Hall where I performed  myself in my first summer job. I was accompanied by my daughter, she now the age I was then when I sat  in a long gúna waiting as the harpist began the tortuous process of tuning up. Those corkscrew staircases didn't seem so quite narrow back then.

Two Time Polka  photo Mark  Graham 

Saturday night in the pub venues in Sixmilebridge is not for the faint hearted and even though I was looking forward to hearing both bands on the bill,  I  beat an early retreat from the Mill Bar as American band Special Consensus were tuning up.  At ten o clock the venue was thronged  making any movement very difficult. Although two bands were advertised for 9.30, the first scheduled band did not take to the stage 'til almost 11pm, (a  raucous duo were belting out folk covers in the interim) by which time the consensus among  my party was that the degree of discomfort  was too great to stay any longer and we bailed out.  One of the problems was that although The Mill is a large space, with the placement of the stage right at the back, a large proportion of the audience have a restricted view of the performers. Being Saturday night, the pub was full of people who naturally want to chat and it did not make for  good listening . Although this was a write off in  gig going experiences, I enjoyed one of the best bluegrass gigs of last year at the same venue last month. You can read about it here . Driving home Niall Toner with his finger on the musical pulse echoed the live experience on the airwaves playing Special Consensus just as they were starting their set in Clare and followed up with a track from The Voice Squad.

Gypsy Rebel Rabble in Cellar Bunratty Castle photo M Graham 

Special Consensus are currently on an extensive tour  dates here and the Voice Squad play in Kinvara on January 26th

Related Posts
 La Savoy at Sixmilebridge WMW 2012

Sliabh Notes at WMW 2011

La Savoy at Sixmilebridge

There was a double bill of bands with American roots at the Sixmilebridge Folk Club Festival last night. From Eunice, Louisiana, via Paris, Sarah Savoy  brought her blend of cajun, country and rockabilly to Sixmilebridge, Co Clare last night as part of the.Shannonside Winter Music Weekend The Francadians are a very photogenic group and look the part. Front woman  Savoy,  was  an imposing presence with a strong sassy contralto voice and the boys, while not quite as handsome - well they had great hats.  The band lacked a drummer   (a plus in an intimate venue)  but were sorted in the percussion dept by a very young cherubic triangle player who despite her small stature, upstaged everybody in the band.
  

The first thing that must be said about this gig is that it was unamplified apart from a small unobtrusive  microphone suspended from the ceiling to aid spoken links. This meant there were no unsightly metal stands acting as a barrier between performers and audience. This is so rare that it deserves special mention and added enormously to the pleasure of the evening. (Other artists  /promoters in suitable venues please copy!). Vocals were shared between Savoy and excellent accordion player David Rolland. Cajun bands  are a  something of a novelty in the West of Ireland. Not since the Red Stick Ramblers played Glor, Ennis in 2009, (who I believe also have had  a Savoy from Eunice  in their line up), has their been cajun music of this quality in the Clare. The songs, as Sarah said in her terse, wry introductions are mostly about drinking, being broken hearted or hung over.  We were not really a hooping and hollerin' type of audience and the set does lend itself to dancing  with waltzes and polkas a mainstay of the set list including the wonderfully alliterative, Eunice Two Step. The usual hospitality of tea and cake was served between the sets, again another remarkable feature of this venue.