Fri 01 May 2009 8:00PM Peter Broderick (Efterklang / Bella Union) + Ian Whitty & Daithí O Crane Lane Theatre €10
Sat 02 May 2009 8:00PM Paddy Casey ** rescheduled from January ** Cyprus Avenue €25
Tue 05 May 2009 9:00PM Foy Vance w/ Iain Archer Cyprus Avenue €11
Fri 08 May 2009 8:00PM Super Extra Bonus Party The Pavilion €10
Fri 08 May 2009 8:30PM Jerry Fish & the Mudbug Club Cyprus Avenue €20
Thur 14 May 2009 9.00pm Mick Flannery De Barra’s €20
Fri 15 May 2009 8:00PM The 4 Of Us (unplugged) Cyprus Avenue €15
Sat 16 May 2009 9:00PM Delorentos Cyprus Avenue €15
Sun 17 May 2009 8:00PM Paul Brady Everyman Palace €31
Wed 20 May 2009 8:30PM Laura Izibor Cyprus Avenue €16
Sat 23 May 2009 9: 00PM Director Cyprus Avenue €13.50
Sun 24 May 2009 8:00PM Tricky Cork Opera House €30
Sun 31 May 2009 9:00PM Stone Roses Experience Cyprus Avenue €10

Prescient – adjective

Having knowledge of events before they take place.

- DERIVATIVES prescience noun presciently adverb

- ORIGIN from Latin praescire ‘know beforehand’

You Belong in Generation X

You fit in best with people born between 1961 and 1981. You are fun, laid back, and very independent. You are willing to take risks and live your life however you see fit. You are casual, accepting, and friendly. You see everyone as your equal.

I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.

Woodrow Wilson
28th president of US (1856 - 1924)

Waveriders is essentially a surfing document with an Irish perspective. It was directed by Joel Conroy and narrated by Cillian Murphy. The film looks back at the roots of modern surfing and finds that an Irish/Hawaiian guy called George Freeth is at the heart of today’s sport. George Freeth was the son of an Irish man and Hawaiian women. He was responsible for the rebirth of surfing (the sport of Hawaiian Kings) in the early twentieth century. He moved to California and taught people how to surf while also spreading knowledge about lifesaving and implementing techniques still used today. The film also explains how surfing pioneers travelled from California to other countries in the sixties and seventies in search of new surfing spots. The Malloy Brothers, three American brothers feature in the film a number of times. They have travelled around the world surfing and earning a living from their experiences. They have been coming to Ireland for over a decade and have surfed in Bundoran and around the Cliffs of Moher. Kelly Slater, multiple world champion, also pops up in the film and comes across as a bit of a misanthropist. Despite the fact that he dislikes the cold and likes to surf alone he still managed to enjoy his surfing experience in Ireland. He looks his most comfortable when he is surfing, like he was made to be on a surfboard and looks as relaxed riding a wave as most people do when they are having a cup of tea. The climax of the film is when a group of surfers go out in the middle of a storm and ride some of the biggest waves that Ireland has ever seen. Some of the footage in the film is amazing and would make you want to jump in a car and explore the west coast of Ireland. I came out of the film wanting to buy a better camera and go on a road trip around Ireland. The film also has a great soundtrack with songs from Jape, Rory Gallagher, U2 and the Cinematic Orchestra. It is great to see an Irish film doing so well and enjoying both nominations and wins for many cinematic awards.

Some of the awards and nominations that the film has received:

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Film at the Dublin International Film Festival 2008
Winner Best Feature Documentary Award, IFTA 2009
Winner Best Feature Documentary Award, BIFF 2009
WINNER Best Documentary Award, CFM 2009
Shortlist Grierson Awards 2008
Official Selection Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2009
Nominated for two IFTA Awards 2009: Best Sound & Best Feature Doc
Official Selection Newport Beach Film Festival 2009

*Gate Multiplex, Cork - Waveriders - 9.30pm

Paua – noun

A large New Zealand abalone (shellfish), whose shell is used to make ornaments and jewellery.

- ORIGIN Maori

I went to see BellX1 play in Dolan’s in Limerick at the end of March. I hadn’t been to Dolan’s before and I really liked it as a venue. ‘Villagers’ played support for BellX1 and despite the fact that the lead singer looked about twelve years old, they were good. They currently have an EP called ‘Hollow Kind’ out and I’m quite attached to the song ‘Pieces’. I think they are playing in Cork soon so there is an opportunity to catch them in the near future. They are also playing at Electric Picnic as are BellX1. We were very close to the front of the stage for this gig which was a bit disconcerting but I still managed to enjoy it. :-) For once the people around us weren’t too mental, bar the group to our right who persisting in yelling out the words of every song. I have no problem with people singing along, as that's all part of the gig but don’t yell out the words during the quieter songs!!! BellX1 played another blinder of a gig and had the crowd begging for more.

Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right.

Laurens Van Der Post

Stochastic – adjective (technical)

Not precisely predictable; random or affected by chance.

ORIGIN – Greek stokhastikos

I’ve seen Aaron Dillon play twice in the last couple of weeks. The first gig was in An Cruibin, which used to be the Lobby and it all still looks kind of similar upstairs. I really enjoyed this gig. The atmosphere was great and the crowd in general were appreciative. The other things that made the gig really enjoyable were that I had a good seat and two yummy hot toddies! Aaron Dillon and his band played a good range of songs from his Brown Envelope album as well as some new songs. I particularly liked one song which I think is called ‘Seasons’. It’s always great when a band plays a new song and they really give it some welly. :-) The second gig was a free gig upstairs in the Roundy and this wasn’t as enjoyable. The band played well but the noise from the audience was quite loud. It meant that the band had to play harder and some of the quieter songs were a bit forced because they were competing with chatter from the back. The best part of this gig was the rousing rendition of the Transvestite song (Everybody’s Messing with their Sexuality) at the end.

You cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are.

- Anna Quindlen

Four music journalists from the Irish Times ‘Ticket’ have picked out their top 50 Irish music acts now.

Three rules were:

1. Solo acts had to have been born on the island of Ireland or to hold an Irish passport.
2. In the case of bands, half or more of the members had to have been born on the island of Ireland or to hold an Irish passport.
3. Bands had to have recorded or released music since January 2008, or to have played a gig since January 2008.

50: MICHAEL KNIGHT
49: DAVID TURPIN
48: SAVILLE
47: ANN SCOTT
46: MICK FLANNERY
45: EVIL HARRISONS
44: THE BLIZZARDS
43: IAIN ARCHER
42: HEATHERS
41: THE SCRIPT
40: DARK ROOM NOTES
39: ASH
38: THE JIMMY CAKE
37: REPUBLIC OF LOOSE
36: IARLA Ó LIONÁIRD
35: DUKE SPECIAL
34: DAMIEN RICE
33: SI SCHROEDER
32: MARTIN HAYES & DENNIS CAHILL
31: THE SPOOK OF THE THIRTEENTH LOCK
30: GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT
29: JULIE FEENEY
28: COLM MAC CON IOMAIRE
27: CATHAL COUGHLAN
26: KATIE KIM
25: DAVID KITT
24: MY BLOODY VALENTINE
23: MESSIAH J THE EXPERT
22: SNOW PATROL
21: IMELDA MAY
20: OPPENHEIMER
19: CHEQUERBOARD
18: U2
17: CAP PAS CAP
16: DELORENTOS
15: JINX LENNON
14: FIONN REGAN
13: RSAG
12: THE DIVINE COMEDY
11: THE FRAMES/SWELL SEASON/GLEN HANSARD
10: HALFSET
9: BELL X1
8: ADRIAN CROWLEY
7: RÓISÍN MURPHY
6: VILLAGERS
5: LISA HANNIGAN
4: FIGHT LIKE APES
3: CATHY DAVEY
2: JAPE
1: DAVID HOLMES

Nialler 9 has his own list of ‘50 Best Irish Music Acts Right Now’ which you can check out here.

Penumbra – noun (pl. penumbrae or penumbras)

The partially shaded outer region of the shadow casted by an object.

- DERIVATIVES penumbral adjective

- ORIGIN from Latin paene ‘almost’ + umbra ‘shadow’

Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare.

Harriet Martineau
English economist & novelist (1802 - 1876)