I've been invited along to the launch of the 2010 Meteor Music Awards (Facebook link here) and here, as I've just posted on Boards.ie, is the list of the nominees as I have in front of me:
(EDIT: To vote in each category, just click on the category headline below)
Awards will be held at the RDS Friday February 19 2010, presented by Amanda Byram. Performing on the night will be Westlife, Snow Patrol, the Script, Florence and the Machine, Paolo Nutini, The Coronas, Pixie Lott and "many more to be announced".
This weekend I'm heading south with Steph to blog, tweet, twitpix and otherwise record and experience the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival 2009.
It's an event running over 30 years but this is the first time I'll have been down for it - in fact it's my first major jazz event!
Having been all souled up at this year's Dublin City Soul Festival I'm looking forward to hearing a different type of music and experiencing a different vibe. Huge thanks to Guinness for the invitation and opportunity!
This year's festival features over 1,000 musicians from 29 countries, so I'm sure there'll be some interesting choices for me. Having gone through the programme diligently and repeatedly, I'm hoping I get to experience the following (and here's where you'll find me to buy me a pint/slap me for all the bad jokes):
Friday:
First off it's to Jazz at the College lunchtime concert at UCC's Aula Maxima with Grace McMahon and the Paul O'Donnell Group.
Heading on then at 3pm to see a jazz group called The Club Men in the Festival club
The group above are called The Bad Plus - comprised of Ethan Iverson on piano/keyboard, Reid Anderson on electric bass and Dave King on drums - and I love the description -
The Bad Plus has undoubtedly exploded all notions of what a jazz piano trio should sound like – whether at rock festivals, jazz clubs or symphony halls. According to Rolling Stone, 'By any standard, jazz or otherwise, this is mighty, moving music … hot players with hard-rock hearts.'
They'll be doing a double bill with Sun Ra Arkestra in the Everyman Theatre on Friday evening from 20:30.
Saturday starts a trip to CIT and the Cork School of Music for a Family Jazz Big Band Concert with musical director John O' Connor conducting the band, made up of senior degree and post-graduate students of the School who will play "popular and exciting big band favourites."
Featuring guest musicians from around the world, this group apparently have a a repertoire that ranges from gypsy melodies to experimental electronica, crossing the tundra of jazz along the way. The line up looks like a great list of musicians including Cora Venus Lunny, Ben Davis, Kate Ellis, Oleg Ponomarov and Tom Arthurs .
This (well the dancing part) could well be us after our Swing Dance Lesson on Saturday afternoon, if we don't go to the Jazz Poetry session(daddio) instead.
We'll then be heading on to see the Garda Siochana Band performing with Togetherness Gadjo Jazz at the Festival club at 15:30 before a break for the Cork Tweetup where it'll be nice to put names to faces.
Then we go to a concert I'm greatly anticipating - Mr Kurt Elling, singing Coltraine and Hartman.
Described by the New York Times as ‘the standout male jazz vocalist of our times’, Kurt’s rich voice displays an astonishing technical facility and emotional depth. He celebrates in Cork the launch of his latest album ‘Dedicated to You’, his stunning interpretation of the classic Coltrane/Hartman album.
Special guest is Grammy winner Ernie Watts, one of the most versatile sax players on the world scene in the past 40 years.
Also on that evening that I'd love to have seen is the already SOLD OUT Imelda May gig at 20:30 in The Savoy of Patrick St over in The Pavilion is Fionn Regan at 8pm.
SUNDAY
We'll be starting Sunday with mass. As it should be. A Jazz mass.
Join this truly celebratory and spiritual Harvest Jazz service at Cork’s most historic church - a morning of jazz joy featuring the Bla Mondag (Blue Monday) Jazz Band from Copenhagen and the African Irish Gospel Choir from Cork with guests Music commences at 10.45am.
From there it's back to the Everyman Theatre to see Jack de Johnette and the Ripple Effect
Jack DeJohnette is widely regarded as one of jazz music's greatest drummers. From Chicago, he has collaborated with most of the major figures in jazz history, most notably John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Ornette Coleman, Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny.
DeJohnette is also skilled at nearly every musical style and is no stranger to leading innovative bands of his own. The Ripple Effect is DeJohnette's latest collaborative project. The Ripple Effect blends shades of world music, drum and bass and electronica to create a fresh taste of rhythmic jazz for the 21st century. Phenomenal.
After that, at 15:30, there's a Mystery Session at the Festival Club. Very exciting altogether. No idea who it could be!
Come and experience the hot house atmosphere of Harlem’s most flamboyant period - the jazz age at its zenith with glamourous guys and gals, plus great music. And expect the unexpected it was a sellout last year.
Music from the 16 piece Tuxedo Junction Big Band playing the hits of Billy Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller and more.
After that, it's possibly the gig that I'm most looking forward to (and that I'm hoping to post about tomorrow - the beautiful and wonderfully talented Ms YolanDa Brown in the Firkin Crane.
And then it's dancing the night away at the Festival Club in anticipation of our trip home on Monday.
So, short version - lots of music, seeing friends, having a dance, a pray, a walk and a great time. Woot :)
Title of talk: "Current treatment of ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome".
Venue: Mount Herbert Hotel, Herbert Road, Dublin 4
Time and date: 7.45pm, Thursday June 18
Admission: €5. All are welcome.
Dr Enlander grew up in Northern Ireland and studied medicine in Dublin in the 1960s before obtaining a fellowship to Stanford University; he has lived and worked in the US ever since.
Dr Enlander’s practice in New York is devoted to ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia. He has co-authored numerous research papers on the illness and is principal investigator of a US$900,000 study investigating the use of hyperbaric oxygen in ME/CFS.
Around 12,000 people in Ireland are thought to suffer from ME, now often diagnosed under the name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). The exact cause of ME/CFS remains unknown, but most patients experience a flu-like illness before the onset of ME/CFS.
Patients experience symptoms such as sore throats, concentration problems, sleep problems, muscle pain, and flu-like weakness and exhaustion especially after activity. There is no known cure at the moment, though some sufferers do improve over time.
Further details and a free information pack can be obtained from the Irish ME/CFS Association, PO Box 3075, Dublin 2.
E-mail: info@irishmecfs.org Tel: 01-235 0965
I'll certainly be there. Suffering badly at the moment.
(Yes, that is me, Anto and Darren performing live. Really. Kinda.)
It was one of the best events I've ever volunteered at. I had so much fun with comedians, fellow volunteers and friends and it's happening again this year. Next weekend in fact!
Yep, it's the Carlsberg Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny and they're looking for volunteers.
There are OOODLES of comedians performing this year - Tommy Tiernan, Des Bishop, Dermot Whelan, Andrew Maxwell, Barry Murphy, David O'Doherty, Karl Spain, Jarlath Regan, Andrew Lawrence, Lee Mack, Ricky Grover, PJ Gallagher, Dom Irrera, Maeve Higgins, Dave Gorman, Ian Coppinger, Neil Delamere, Otis Lee Crenshaw... so yes, there's loads.
Last year I met the comedians, I met some really cool people (that I'm still in touch with) and got to see a good few shows, all for showing people to their seats, getting the place ready and clearing it after it was done.
Yes, it's a bit of manual work; no, it's not uber glamorous but it's worthwhile for something that brings as much money to Kilkenny as the Festival does and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it lots. I blogged about it here last year.
So yes, they're looking for volunteers older than 18 to come help. As well as the cool and funky t-shirt and lanyard, you get show passes, festival club passes and drinks vouchers. Well, we did last year...
If you're in the area or free over the Bank Holiday weekend and want to do something really worthwhile, I can't recommend it enough :) Truly an epic weekend.
Can you spot Ellybabes, Niamho, Ian or me dancing outside of Central Bank on Monday afternoon last?
It was brilliant fun and fair play to the Performance Corporation for organising it. Thanks also to Liana who was a wonderful dancing partner and instructor!
and have watched the Grand Marshalls, Brian Dooher Tyrone Football Captain, Henry Shefflin, Kilkenny Hurling representative, Angela Walsh, Cork Football Captain and Cathriona Foley, Cork Camogie Captain being interviewed
and am looking at performers like
while waiting for the 2009 St Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin to start.
So as you can imagine, blogging will be light. In the meantime, keep an eye on Twitter - You can see all tweets using the #SPF09 tag here - to give you an idea of what twitterers are talking about.
best Irish female - Camille O Sullivan (tho 'twas a close one with Lisa Hannigan)
best Irish album - Messiah J & The Expert (again, narrowly beating Sea Sew)
and I can't judge best live performance because I wasn't at any of them and sure best pop will go to The Script. The Coronas, pop, really?
In further news, I've just received (and edited for you) a letter from the PR company to tell me:
The 2009 Meteor Ireland Music Awards will take place at the Simmonscourt Pavillion in the RDS on St. Patrick’s Day 2009. The awards will be broadcast on Wednesday March 18th on RTE2.
The star-studded music spectacular,will be hosted by Amanda Byram.
The glamour event of the year will see the cream of the crop turn out in force. The breathtaking line up for the night will see James Morrison, Duke Special, Elbow, Boyzone, The Blizzards, Stereophonics, Imelda May, and Enrique Iglesias take to the limelight and entertain like never before.
This year will also see a long awaited special collaboration from Sharon Shannon and Mundy. Sharon Shannon will also be presented with The Life Time Achievement Award for her contribution to Irish music.
Fr. Shay Cullen from the Preda foundation will be presented with the 2009 Humanitarian Award for his phenomenal work in the Philippines. The award will be accompanied by a €100,000 donation to aid the continuation of his life changing work.
I see also that Niall Stokes from Hot Press is due to get the Industry award.
Should be a good night. I was there last year. Mr Tayto was the biggest celebrity I met... until I met Rick O Shea of course. Jesus, a year already...
Okay so maybe it's a guy thing, but do you remember your first proper best friend? I don't mean someone you just knew and played with in school, I mean the friend you had that you were convinced you'd be best friends forever. You went to the cinema, you went together to matches, you went to parties and nights out, on holidays and for quiet contemplative pints in the pub.
You laughed with them, applauded their triumphs, shared their gains as they did with you. You were unstoppable together, a regular Holmes and Watson, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Asterix and Obelix, Batman and Robin, Bill and Ted, Dastardly and Muttley, Ernie and Bert, Spongebob and Patrick. You were known as friends, you were best friends - everyone could see and admire it.
It wasn't just friendship, it was brothers. You admired each other, encouraged each other and your life was better because they were in it. And you grew older together, heading towards adult and all that involves and you meet each other's partners, you promise to be each other's best men and you may even dance at each other's weddings.
Of course there's arguments. There always is. Misunderstandings, slights, slaggings. Not exactly nice but friendship is also about accepting, ignoring, just going with things and putting the grudges, the judging and the "sins" out of your head. It's knowing someone's faults but loving them anyway for it.
And then something happens. It may be a small thing, it may be a big thing, it may be nothing at all, but the friendship is paused. A new friend or circle is introduced, one that takes up some of the connection time. One of you moves away or gets a shiny new job or attentive partner or start a new chapter in your life. Maybe it's just you forget a birthday or an appointment. You fall out of touch.
It's not a malevolent or vindictive choice - it may not even be a choice. You don't 'do' arguments, you just accept and move on, right? This just falls into one of those things that you keep on meaning to do, but keep on putting it off until you have the time that it needs, the time it deserves.
The longer it goes on the more awkward it is to just pick up the phone or send a text or an email, but sure you know that they know you're thinking about them and if they needed you they knew where you are and sure you can always pick up where you left off, right? That's what friendship is, isn't it?
But as much as it's all well and good there's a bit of bitterness there. Your friend wasn't there for important things. Where before you could divide and conquer the problem, you had to face this one on your own. You didn't need them really, you could have fun without them!
As much as you knew it wasn't anyone's fault the friendship had died, you justify it within by thinking - well if only they'd put in more effort, if they were as much into it as you were. It takes two.
And then you meet up again after time has passed. One of you calls or writes or emails and it's on again. The same opportunity to catch up, to rekindle the fire of friendship, to sit and have a drink and talk. You meet but suddenly, despite the build up, the excitement, the potential to regain what was lost you realise that it's not the same. Every difference that existed between you is magnified, everything you may not have liked but accepted unconditionally becomes an issue.
They're not big matters but they serve to mask or overwhelm the absolute hurt you really feel about their absence as you realise just how much you missed them, how much time you've lost and how ashamed you are for letting it get this far.
So you try talking. Let's talk like we did in the old days, eh? You know when you could sit and talk for hours about anything at all and you'd still have fun, still be interested, still enjoy it. But now you really have nothing to talk about. The words won't come and the ones you choose are just masking the fact that what you had is gone and you both know it. You'll talk about anything so you won't be talking about nothing or even worse, about what is now gone between you. Things are different now and that's not good.
That is what Sam Shepherd's Ages of the Moon made me think about last night.
Stephen Rea (Ames) and Sean McGinley (Byron) play with considerable skill two friends reunited after a long time apart. Time was they were great friends. Time was they were the Lone Ranger and Tonto, facing the wild west together after a chance encounter on a highway in 1962.
It's now 2007 and Ames has made a mistake. He's messed up his personal life and with nowhere else to turn has run away from it all. Alone with just nature and thoughts he replays the past, finds no escape or resolution and it comes to a drunken phone call to Byron which results in their reunion.
"That's why I'm here, some sort of moral support or something... Long story short, you got yourself into some doggy do do, Mr Frisky." - Byron
It takes a lot of skill for two actors to sit alone on a stage with a minimum of props, a lot of dialogue and a script that demands both silence and awkwardness to be as big a part as the action that follows. The freedom that Jimmy Fay as director gives each actor makes what happens all the more watchable and enthralling.
No dramatic gun-toting, action filled piece this, the true skill of Shepard is the response it provokes in the watcher of this long, slow, pregnant-pause-filled confession of "God I missed you" between two men. "We're not exactly spring colts" admits Byron, the change between them unspoken but increasingly apparent. "Used to be we could talk about anything, the two of us, years ago. There wasn't all this judging"says Ames.
A line about"brimming with guilt and remorse, flooded with regret" spoke more strongly to me than any of the other lines.
This play is hard to define. It's not a theatrical "experience", it's not a life changing event, it's not actually all that serious.
Perhaps a more skilful critic could draw themes of contemplation, self-realisation and nobility, which all exist in their own place, but overall it's the decay of people, of opportunity to connect and of time that I left the theatre with. Is it entertaining? I prefer the best of the word 'interesting' to describe it.
"You called me". "I appreciate that" "You'd do the same for me?" "I would. Of course I would!" "Of course I'd never get myself into a jam like this." "WHAT?!"
Whatever Ages of the Moon is not is eclipsed by the opportunity to see two extremely talented and full-of-presence actors push this script and the thoughts of the playwright into your brain, to watch them in an intimate setting and see just how well chosen they are for the roles and how skilfully Shepard has woven this tale around them.
McGinley and Rea are believable - they could well be these two old men trying to recapture youth, slagging and bettering each other, playing to their roles while all the while circling the fact that god damn it, they like and missed each other. Though set in America this could be a typical Irish-or-anywhere story, a warning for friends and a memory of old friendships.
If you do see this, be prepared for the surprising and unexpected emotions brought about by McGinley's soliloquy on recent events in his character's life.
The contrast portrayed here between his thus far steady and quiet mannered presence (compared to Rea's manic and attention seeking one) and the tender, romantic eloquence in which he describes his own despondency, his journey back to his friend, his shock at seeing"the grey, the shoulders stooped, the eyes sunken deep inside the ragged fleshy masks" is so stark, so piteous that just those few simple lines and the incredible story it contains makes the slow build up worth it. Gone is the bitterness, the disputes, the grudges and petty jealousies.
This is what friendship should be about. Connection. Presence. Sharing. Just people, people on a planet with one sun and one big, old moon.
Ages of the Moon is on in the Peacock Theatre, Dublin 1 until April 4 - you'll find more information here. Show time is 8pm and tickets are €22 or €18 for Saturday Matinees. There's a sign language interpreted performance on Saturday 21 March 2.30pm and an excellent opportunity to see both actors in conversation on Thursday 26 March after the show.
A big thank you to David at the Abbey for arranging the tickets and to Colm Hogan for the use of the photos.
David from Dublin's Abbey Theatre was in touch to let me know about the new Sam Shepard play, Ages of the Moon which has its world premiere in March.
Written especially for leads Seán McGinley and Oscar-nominated Stephen Rea, this is:
"a gruffly poignant and darkly funny play. Byron and Ames are old friends, re-united by mutual desperation. Over whiskey on a hot summer’s night, they sit, reflect and bicker until fifty years of love, friendship and rivalry are put to the test at the barrel of a gun."
Sam Shepard is a Pulizer prize-winning US writer, director and actor. His 2007 play, Kicking A Dead Horse premiered in the Abbey. It was written by Shepard for Stephen Rea, and then went on to tour to New York and London. Ages of the Moon follows the Abbey's other sell-out productions of Shepard's Fool for Love (2008) and True West (2006)
Fiach Mac Congail, Jimmy Fay, Sean McGinley and Stephen Rea were interviewed in a short video about the play:
The play opens Tuesday 3 March, with previews February 24 to 28 and March 2 and it runs to April 4. Booking is now open on Dublin 01 87 87 222 or via AbbeyTheatre.ie
Last Sunday, Sinéad, Jen and I went to see the BODIES exhibition in Dublin's Ambassador Theatre. Opening weekend as it was, the place was packed, the queue for tickets long and the experience rushed. Given that, I came away with some learnings.
TICKETS:
If possible pre-book your tickets online. Again, it was opening weekend so crowds were probably higher, but the difference between the queue outside at 2pm and 2.15pm was actually a good twenty people. However, those with prebooked tickets can just walk right in.
We braved the queue and bought our tickets for a later time so could do the same. To give you an example, below is the queue outside on Sunday at 2pm, before they put up the barriers and formed multiple lines just an hour later.
BAGS AND CAMERAS:
Neither are allowed in. I was quite disappointed about the camera rule, given that photos could serve to only pique curiosity rather than repulse most people, but there you go. There is a free cloakroom where you can deposit your stuff. If it's busy, I'd recommend putting your coat in as well - it gets warm!
On a side note, I'd forgotten notebook and pen so scrawled down my impressions on the back of postcards with a borrowed biro. Therefore the below may be subject to inaccuracies as I try to decipher my almost illegible scribbles.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Well, they've painted the Ambassador apparently, so the short walk down to the first room is not as foreboding as you might imagine. Signs are placed on the walls, reading:
The specimens in this Exhibition have been treated with the dignity and respect they so richly deserve
and
Why all this interest in the human body? The answer to this question seems quite clear to me. Your body is the one thing that you carry with you from the moment you are born until your very last breath.
Dr. Roy Glover is "Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Michigan and the chief medical director of the University of Michigan Medical School Polymer Preservation Laboratory. He serves as Chief Medical Advisor and spokesman for BODIES... the exhibition". That's according to Google anyway.
In the various articles I've researched, a couple of things come up - how were the bodies acquired, what was done to them and if it's ethical.
'... dogged by controversy with suggestions that the exhibits were either executed Chinese prisoners or were people who had not given their consent to have their bodies shown after their death.
Dr Glover said: “We have practiced due diligence in obtaining the bodies. We work with a partner that we have the utmost amount of trust in – the Dalian Plastination Facility in Dalian, China.
“The person I work with it is a personal friend of mine. We have been in the same professional organisations for many years. He has sworn affidavits to the effect that the bodies were those who have died of natural causes.
“We have examined every one of the bodies who come into the show for any evidence of trauma or any kind of physical abuse.”'
All of the bodies were obtained through a credited medical university in the People's Republic of China. Asia possesses the largest and most highly competent group of dissectors in the world, and they are highly skilled in preparing the bodies for educational and scientific purposes. Currently, human specimens in medical schools in China, the United States and other countries throughout the world are donated or unidentified bodies.
Roy Glover, spokesman for BODIES... The Exhibition, says its cadavers -- all from China -- did not come from willing donors.
"They're unclaimed," Glover says. "We don't hide from it, we address it right up front."
So there you have it. They are bodies from China that may or may not have been willing participants in the project. Does that matter? Does it make a difference to your knowledge of the exhibition once inside? For me, not really, because far from being the 'ghoulish' and 'gruesome' spectacle the ever-reliably tabloid Indo claims it to be, the bodies are displayed in a museum or gallery exhibit format.
There's not much to be squeamish about and the Polymer Preservation process involved was by far much more of interest to me.
ROOM ONE: Entering the exhibition.
You walk down a hallway and into a big room with a lot of glass cases and "models" on display, and, in my case, a lot of people. I'm not a crowd person so before I joined the fray I spent a bit of time just observing. Though not of the Dublin exhibtion, of which there are few photos that I can find, the below should give you an indication.
On the walls around the exhibition are signs and projections. They both feed back into the educative theme behind the exhibition, telling you things like 'Compact bone tissue carries your weight' or how the projections are artists impressions of the cells and tissues in your body. 'More than 200 different kinds of cell and 75 trillion cells in total make up the body'; 'Fibroblast cells build and maintain cartilage, skin and bone' and so on.
The first few exhibits I crowded in to see were bones - knee joint cartilage, an elbow joint, the top of a skull, the sacrum and lower vertebrae. Interesting stuff indeed, though not really that awe-inspiring. As the crowds parted I got my first glimpse of a body, behind which a sign proclaimed
'The study of human anatomy has always operated on to see is to know.
This exhibition uses dissected human specimens to provide you with a visual textbook to your own body, offering you a profound insight into your body, its functions and its needs or health and longevity.'
THE BODIES:
This Dara Mac Dónaill/Irish Times photo of Dr Glover with one of the specimens should give you an idea of what you'll be seeing, far better than those on the website. They are as they're advertised - bodies without the skin, but showing everything (minus the blood) that's beneath.
One model shows muscle attachment and layering, showing the four muscle layers separated from their points of origin but connected to the points of insertion. One case held the muscles of the arm and leg, giving you the opportunity to see both limbs up close.
You can walk around most of the full figures. The one above (adapted from an Irish Times photo) shows a male figure, metal filling still in teeth, which purports to "illustrate the nearly countless number of tasks the brain executes from basic to highly complex actions".
Another fascinating exhibit was the seated figure with an exposed brain. The meningus gyrus and grey matter were apparently prominently visible, but the poignancy of the piece overlooking a case containing disected brains was quite something.
Again, each part in the case was labelled clearly and familiar parts from crime novels or CSI episodes became much more than "somewhere in the head".
ROOM TWO
Room two was dedicated to blood - the vessels, the muscles, the arteries and valves. Special dissections revealed blood vessels and specimens like the heart with coronal cut, the arteries of the kidneys and those of the stomach and thorax are, pardon the pun, very illuminating.
"Using a technique called corrosion casting, the blood vessels were first injected with a coloured polymer which hardened, The remaining body tissue was then chemically removed, revealing the delicate matrix that transports the blood."
The full body blood vessel map of a male body has to be seen to be believed.
ROOM THREE
"On average a pack of cigarettes shaves 3 hours and 40 minutes off your life. Leave your cigarettes in this gallery and stop smoking now".
Smokers beware - this is not a good room for you. Given that the first specimen in this example of smoker's lungs (I didn't embed it because it's quite gruesome), while it may not put many smokers off the habit, it's certainly a warning for the rest of us not to start, especially when compared to the model of the healthy lungs.
This room also went into the digestive functions, with a body displaying how the whole viscera, the vital organs of respiration, digestion, circulation and reproduction are all contained within the thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavities.
There is also a specimen showing the distribution of fat on an overweight female, sectioned as she is, vertically, into four or five pieces.
EMBRYONIC AND FOETAL DEVELOPMENT
At this stage now I was tired. Tired of the crowds, of being hurried from exhibit to exhibit as more people crowded around to see the next in line. Hardly the organiser's fault but it was quite an assault on the stimuli. The sign outside this room read
Please pause a moment and consider if you wish to enter. All foetal and embryonic specimens perished in utero from complications during pregnancy as well as birth defects teat occurred during this time
I learned a couple of interesting facts in this room. One, that the sperm is the smallest cell, the female egg is the largest. Two, that the phrase "miracle of life" is indeed very apt and three that foetal development is an astounding process.
On one side of this small room, we see foetal bone development at 11, 13, 15 and 16 weeks due to a process involving Alizarin, a dye which binds to calcium to measure the stages of skeletal development. In others we get cross sections of foetuses in various stages.
I came out from there ready now to go, as awe inspiring as I found that particular section. On the steps outside was a young fella, possibly around 13 or 14 in floods of tears for some reason.
ROOM FOUR:
The last room was much bigger and contained interesting specimens of bodies in cross section, diseased or cancerous parts of the body and so on. I didn't linger though, I just popped into the very pricey gift shop (t-shirts €22, keyrings €5) and then headed out.
Before I left though, I spotted and wrote down the following from a sign, that quite probably should be at the start of the exhibit:
'We live in a world surrounded by technology, information and cement; fast paced living with little time for reflection.
When an illness is severe and our mortality comes into question, we may take this time to stop and ponder our existence. But cured, we are off again, not thinking about the extraordinary, complicated human beings we are.
Our bodies are indeed intricately more complex than all the computers and gadgetry that surrounds us today. Yet many of us do not really know what lies beneath our skins, how our bodies function, what they need to survive , what destroys them, revives them.
BODIES... the exhibition is an attempt to remedy this unfortunate set of circumstances. Take the knowledge gained from this exhibition, expand on it and use it to become an informed participant in your own healthcare. This involves more than improving your diet or beginning a long overdue exercise program.
It involves partnering with your doctor to understand what you - and your unique body - need to sustain a full and rewarding life.'
Taking all that into account, BODIES... The Exhibition is well worth seeing. The price is hefty at €20 and repeat visitors should be offered half price tickets. I think too there should also be "quiet hours", where, once the initial rush has died down, the organisers offer to let only a set amount of people in to see the exhibition and to take their time. Given it's booked for six months, this may become a reality.
You'll need to take one, maybe two hours to properly see the entire exhibition. We entered at 3pm and were out by 4.05pm but that was more due to the crowds and the heat. It sparked interesting conversation, but ultimately each of our experiences were personal, were unique and we all saw things the others didn't.
Would I recommend it? Yes, definitely. It left me with a high regard both for the human body and the healthcare professionals who deal with it. Reading all the recent articles regarding how right it is, the rights of those whose bodies are being used, of their families, the sourcing of the bodies and indeed the promotion of the show as an educational rather than a commercial experience, I still feel a sense of awe for the process, the intricacies involved, importantly the science behind it and most importantly the delicate but fascinating chance to see what's under the skin, in a human body, up close.
I uploaded two short videos from the BODIES The Exhibition website today. Take a look. Though American and obviously promotional, they'll perhaps give you a better idea than the Dublin website can:
The exhibition is open 10AM to 8PM Sunday to Thursday and 10AM to 10PM Friday and Saturday. You'll find more information on the website here.
All photos in this post are sourced from here and here unless otherwise stated.
This Saturday evening, 20 September, Cultivate are opening up their great cathedral space in St Michaels and Johns, Temple Bar to become The Funky Seomra, a space "where you're free to dance anyway you like without limitations, to the lush beats of funky world music accompanied by live African drummers."
I don't have great photos but this may give you an idea of the size of the place:
Even better for a dancer with my raw talent two left feet they're promising that you can:
Get energised, liberated and invigorated!
Loosen tensions, release stress and move deeper within!
Come to move and not care what others think!
The night, from 7.30 to midnight is organised by David Mooney, a guy who seems to know what he's talking about when he says that dance is good for you. Interestingly (and this is where I may lose you) the night is alcohol and drug free. There's also not much chance of a cramped, overcrowded dance floor or a Sunday morning hangover.
There's live African drumming on the night, with organic snacks and chocolate treats. There's a smoothie bar, a chai and specialist tea bar and a chill out zone for when the dancing gets too much.
It's open to everyone and is one of the four before the end of the year. Fun and funky and different - a nice alternative for a Saturday night.
I never meant 2 cause u any sorrow. I never meant 2 cause u any pain... I only wanted 2 one time see u laughing. I only wanted 2 see u laughing in the purple rain"
I discovered two things last night - one, that Purple Rain is a hilarious song and two, that that I'm not a Stephen Lynch fan.
Yes, I knew who he is, what type of songs he sings and the lyrics to some of them, but compared to the audience at Dublin's Olympia last night, their fanboy adulation and the exuberant applause that greeted every utterance from his lips, I feel like one of those people who say "Lord of the Rings? Absolute rubbish. I never read the books or saw the movie but it's still crap". I didn't have a clue.
Similar to Andrew, I was introduced to Stephen Lynch's music by Darren and Lottie, who stared at me incredulously when I admitted that no, I'd never heard of him. Cue You Tube and the playing of many videos, much laughter and gasps of shock from me at some of the lyrics. Filthy, obscene, irreverend and quite often very, very manky. I loved it. I immediately got copies of the albums and they've been standards in my iPod playlists for the past few months.
I had no idea he was popular this side of the water though. We found out too late he'd played Whelan's earlier this year AND was in Kilkenny for the Cats Laugh Festival so seeing him as one of the opening acts for the Bulmers Comedy Festival was quite a nice surprise. Tickets bought immediately, it became the gig to look forward to for the summer. The fact the first one sold out and they added a second was some indication for me, but then again, it may have been the only tickets they could get for the Festival, seeing as some of the big names were sold out, right?
Wrong.
Lynch's following over here seems to be huge! I really felt sorry for the lovely Ruth-Anne Cunningham, the singer who went on as a warm up. She apologised almost straight away that she "wasn't a comedian" and launched into some soulful, poppy tunes that were completely inappropriate for the night and the audience, even if she did tie in a bit of Prince at the end.
I'm not sure why Bulmers chose not to have a comedy act as a warm-up, especially given the amount of comedy acts in Dublin, though fair play to her, she did her best for the songs she sang. Apparently very successful State Side (and deservedly so) I think we were just bored waiting for Lynch to come on. I'd love to hear her perform in a different venue - last night, brave as she was, it just didn't work. Behind me people were asking afterwards "What was that girl's name at the start?" A pity.
So, though, how was Lynch? Hilarious.
The power of You Tube has really been elevated for me in the last few hours. I'm not sure if I'd forgotten or underestimated the power of the channel but I was taught/reminded that if your content is great, you will get an audience. The amount of people in the Olympia who knew all the lyrics was impressive. The last time I experienced anything like this live was a Christy Moore gig where he played Ride On and the crowd blasted it back at him. Even he seemed surprised and impressed at times at the level of audience participation.
He too understood this and didn't mind people filming it, as long as they gave an accurate representation of the performance. It's refreshing to see artists accepting that people want to share the experience, not to show it was bad, to how great it was and how much they enjoyed it. I'd say there'll be a fair few videos uploaded in the next few days!
I really got the sense that the Stephen Lynch on stage, as polished and contrived as his talking may be in places, is a fairly accurate reflection of him in real life. His banter with Rod Cone during "Big Fat Friend", though scripted (and obscene) conveyed a genuine warmth and friendship between the two that obviously enjoy what they're doing. It must be difficult to stick to the script time and again so their ad-libbing was much more for their benefit than for ours, however funny it was. Lynch has a great ability with voices - his Cartman was excellent - and it's these songs he seemed to enjoy most.
One thing that spoiled it slightly for me, and it's a lot to do with listening to live recordings as opposed to attending many live shows was some of the audience. I really enjoyed hearing people sing along and the giggles of those to whom the lyrics were new, but there were some people who took every opportunity to shout down song titles or just scream random, unnecessary gibberish that detracted from the experience. I'm not talking about the standard whistles and cheers, rather the drunken yells of those in love with their own voices at the cost of those around them. Niamh confided after the show how she'd have stabbed one of them in the eye if she could.
Massive credit must go to David Josefsberg (Lynch starred with him in Wedding Singer on Broadway) whose own voice and presence on stage added so much to the proceedings. Dirty Sanchez (you can see the performance here) was a new one to me, but absolutely hilarious. I had tears rolling down my face for most of it, but it's when the three launched into Purple Rain that I realised that comedy really is looking at the ordinary things in an extraordinary way. He didn't change the lyrics or anything much - they just sang it in a very funny way.
Last night was great. Laughter truly is a great medicine (as is sushi and Guinness) and Lynch and co provided a lot of laughter. I can understand how songs with Nazis, menstrual cycles, special needs children and AIDS may not be everyone's cup of tea but sometimes switching off the brain and indulging in a bit of wickedness can be a welcome reprieve from the seriousness of the situations around you. Being there with good friends who laughed, clapped and sang along - enjoying it as much if not more than I did made it all the better.
I'd go again if I could. I look forward to the Comedy Channel special he told us about, bleeps and all.
Stephen Lynch may not be a household name here yet, but he's on the way. Talented, funny and genuinely likable, he's an artist I look forward to seeing here again.
Any of the things I write on this blog are my own opinions and should be treated as such. They are neither a reflection on or the opinion of the companies that I work with. I also do not write posts that have been paid for or requested by employers.
Given all that though, I still hope you enjoy them :)
