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October 31, 2009
rí–rá
FEATURE
Leeds
Festival highlights
■ Friday, November 6
Ed Byrne
The star of BBC2’s Mock The Week
returns with his critically-acclaimed oneman show about marriage, class, the
youth of today and anything else that
strikes him as humorous.
The Grand Theatre, 46 New Briggate,
Leeds LS1 6NZ
7.30pm
Box Office: 0844 848 2706
Tickets: £21
■ Saturday, November 7
At The Racket
Irish Arts Foundation in partnership with
SaltaireLive presents At The Racket, with
support from Co. Cork Leeds-based
singer/songwriter Sabrina Pigott.
Otley Courthouse, Courthouse Street,
Otley
LS21 3AN
8.15pm
Box Office: 01943 467466
Tickets: £9 in advance or £10 on the
door
■ Thursday, November 12
Sounds of Ireland
An evening of traditional Irish music, song
and dance hosted by Reel High and in
partnership with Leeds Libraries
Armley Library, 2 Stocks Hill, Leeds,
LS12 1UQ
7-8.30pm
Free event
■ Friday, November 13
Traditional Irish Music lunchtime
recital
In partnership with Leeds University, Des
Hurley (fiddle, button accordion) and Chris
O’Malley (piano, guitar, piano accordion)
are joined by the talented Nuala Kennedy
and Michael Bryan to perform traditional
and contemporary material.
The School of Music, University of
Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT
1.10-1.55pm
Free event
Comedian Ed Byrne and
musician Kathryn Tickell
(inset) are some of the
acts appearing at this
year’s Leeds Gathering.
■ Saturday, November 14
Film showing and concert
In partnership with The Leeds
International Film Festival and the School
of Cultural Studies at Leeds Metropolitan
University, there will be a showing of The
Pilgrimage of Ti-Jean, followed by a
concert featuring Leeds CCE, Nuala
Kennedy and Mike Bryan.
Seven (Chapel Allerton Arts Centre)
31A Harrogate Road, Chapel Allerton,
Leeds LS7 3PD
7.30pm
Free event
For a full programme of events visit the
website www.irisharts.org.uk
St. Claret
Social Centre
(The Botwell Club)
Botwell Lane, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 2AB
Tel: 0208 573 7886
Friday
30th
Saturday
31st
Sunday
1st
Double Bingo
Delta Country
Jenny and the
Grand Prairie
All Sports Live
3
ENTERTAINMENT
Sticking their necks out for music
NECK have established
themselves as the primary force
in Britain in the niche genre of
punk-folk. Formed about 10
years ago, the band has since
played around 1,000 gigs on
three continents.
The group’s third album Come
Out Fighting is released this
week and there’s already a
fourth planned for next year.
Firm festival favourites (they
have played Glastonbury as
many times as Billy Bragg), Neck
have been pretty busy! Made up
of second and third-generation
Irish artists, the band’s sound is a
blend of traditional instruments
such as the banjo and the tin
whistle — but with the spirit and
sound of punk.
Neck, alongside
contemporaries such as the
Dropkick Murphys and Flogging
Molly, create songs that really
reflect the experience of the Irish
out of Ireland and capture the
fusion of identities that their
situation creates.
Frontman Leeson O’Keefe,
whose family hails from Dublin,
has been playing music since he
was four years old. A punk
rocker in his youth, he was more
recently a member of Shane
MacGowan’s The Popes.
With his lengthy experience of
both the British punk scene and
Irish traditional music around the
country, O’Keefe has seen many
changes over the last few years.
He feels that the Irish population
has shrunk — either died off or
ridden back home on the back of
the Celtic Tiger. He says the
younger crowd that are left only
NECK: A riotous combination of punk and folk.
want to hear cover bands.
But despite that Neck’s fourth
album, to be released next year,
is a journey through the music of
the second and third-generation
Irish from Johnny Cash to The
Libertines. The qualification for
the songs was the same as the
Irish football team — the artist
has to have one Irish
grandparent. O’Keefe said: “It’s
an album of us doing Necked-up
versions of 15 songs by other
artists.”
Following the release of Come
Out Fighting, Neck are set for a
British tour throughout
November and December,
followed by another tour in
Europe in the New Year.
have even had a Celtic punk
magazine named after one of
their songs — Sh*te ’n’ Onions.
The group’s latest album, their
third, is a riot of rowdy crowdpleasing tunes balanced with
surprisingly tender ballads that
tell all too familiar tales of falling
in love and homesickness.
A particular favourite was
track two, Everybody’s Welcome
To The Hooley. With its comical
anti-racist lyrics and reel
sampled halfway through, it
exemplifies Neck’s riotous sound,
which is often described as The
Clash if they were born on the
Emerald Isle.
It touches on the experience
of the Irish Diaspora of racism in
the past, but also condemns
modern-day racism against
immigrants to Ireland.
Whilst I wouldn’t put this on at
home to relax to, it is music that
has a progressive take on
traditional music, keeping the
Irish custom of storytelling
through song alive and relevant,
but without taking themselves
too seriously along the way.
For a band that relates to the
experience of the Irish Diaspora
— or just for some cracking tunes
to put on before a night out —
Neck are worth a listen to.
Sinéad Farmer
★★★★★
CD REVIEW
Neck
Come Out Fighting
Out November 2
NECK hit the nail (very hard) on
the head when they describe
themselves as the love child of
Joe Strummer and Shane
MacGowan.
The six-piece band fuse a lively
traditional sound with fun,
energetic punk rock overtones,
an unorthodox combination that
they call PsychoCeilidh.
Over the last 10 years they
have established themselves as
firm favourites in the folk/punk
scene with contemporaries such
as Dropkick Murphys. And they
Forde’s Freehouse
Ganley’s
Irish Bar
Friday 30th October
STANDING ROOM
Saturday 31st October
SCUNNERS
Sunday 1st November
PADDY FIELDS
RESTAURANT OPEN UNTIL
9.30pm TUES-SAT
AWARD WINNING CHEF
(ex-Claridge’s)
Sunday Carvery 12-7pm
9 LARGE PLASMA SCREENS
43-47 London Road, Morden, Surrey
Tel: 020 8685 0481
www.ganleysirishbar.co.uk
108 High Street, Wealdstone,
Harrow HA3 7AH
Tel: 020 8427 6651
Friday 30th - DJ ROB
Saturday 31st - IAN RICHIE
Sunday 1st - COVERSTORY
For that like home atmosphere