Quarter Block Party and other gigs to see in Cork city this weekend
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 31ST:
UCC Music Soc: Battle of the Bands Heat 2 (8pm, €2/free for UCC students)
The battles continue upstairs in Cyprus Avenue, after blues outfit Crojayn’s victory last week in the first round. Sparring to join them this week: Sit Still, Centralhall, and Ghostking is Dead. This writer would like to ask new attendees to observe basic etiquette, as outlined last week.
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 1ST:
Cider Wasps @ Fred Zeppelin’s (8.30pm, €5)
Waterford alt-rockers go back upstairs to the red room on Parliament Street, returning shortly after a recent excursion. Support from Dry Roasted Peanuts.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 2ND:
QBP Opener: Elaine Malone @ The Friary (4pm, free)
Limerick-born and Cork-based psych-folker Elaine Malone launches her new single, and drops the starter’s flag on Quarter Block Party 2018.
QBP: Anna Clock & Cal Folger-Day @ St. Peter’s (6.15pm, free)
Musician/composer/sound-artist Anna Clock comes to Quarter Block Party via a trail of worldwide appearances for her performances, workshops and public interventions, joined by Dublin-based chanteuse Cal Folger-Day.
QBP: O Emperor & Tandem Felix @ Amp Venue (8pm, €15 or evening/weekend pass)
O Emperor return from an apparent state of ‘blurblobitude’ to launch a new body of work, including new single ‘Make it Rain’. Support from fellow comeback kids Tandem Felix.
QBP: Rory Francis O’Brien, Hawkbastard, Fuzzy Hell and Dim the Lights @ The Roundy (9pm, €10 or evening/weekend pass)
A sleeper highlight of the festival, tonight’s Roundy billing features Ten Past Seven man Rory O’Brien, Knocknagore raptor enthusiasts Hawkbastard, Kanye West side-project Fuzzy Hell, and sleazemongering DJs Dim the Lights.
QBP: Pillow Queens, The Sunshine Factory & Lowlek @ An Spailpín Fánach (10.30pm, €10 or evening/weekend pass)
Triple-bill of bands encompassing the wider alternative sphere, with Dubliners Pillow Queens joined by shoegazers The Sunshine Factory and musical magpies Lowlek.
Techno Fridays @ Cyprus Avenue (11pm, €6)
Away from the Quarter Block trail, Techno Fridays kicks off its 2018 with the first of a series of all-Irish lineups: Dave Mono (Body Control, Infalux, Digital Distortions) plays a live set, supported by Jamie Behan (Bastardo Electrico, Flexure, Shelter Records) and Steven Forde (Wired Deep).
QBP: Radio Mná @ Triskel Christchurch (midnight, €10 or evening/weekend pass)
Collaborators Magdalena (Muireann Levis + Roisin Kelly), Irene Buckley, Emily O’Flynn, Eilis Collins, Inma Pavon, Felispeaks and Aisling O Riordan will combine their disciplines to carve a new unique environment for the audience: a space in which to experience woman, exalted in all her many forms.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 3RD:
QBP: The Point of Everything Podcast @ The Roundy (1pm, free)
The Point of Everything podcast features in-depth interviews with members of Ireland’s creative sectors, from music to books to art. At Quarter Block Party, host Eoghan O’Sullivan will chat to two special guests in long-form conversation: Molly King, head of development at Other Voices, and Sam McNicholl, of Connolly’s of Leap. Followed at 2 by a live recording of Headstuff.org’s No Encore music podcast, hosted by Dave Hanratty.
QBP: CorkLovesMusic x Cuttin’ Heads Collective – Getting Together @ Triskel TDC (2pm, free)
CorkLovesMusic teams up with Cuttin’ Heads Collective for a special workshop designed for people looking to start or join a music collective. Chats with the CHC crew, plus vision-boarding and speed-networking.
DAWG Days @ The Friary (3pm, free)
Cork Dog Action Welfare Group hosts a fund-raising, bring-your-own-dog gig at the biggest little pub in the city: Twitch Jr. and Devil’s Bit playing music upstairs, vegan food downstairs. DJ set from Waterford’s Soul Dance Records afterward.
QBP: CorkLovesMusic – Moving Together @ St. Peter’s (4pm, free)
The discussion on collectives picks back up at St. Peter’s, down the road from the Triskel. Brendan Canty (Feel Good Lost), Angela Dorgan (First Music Contact), Ross Herlihy (Cuttin’ Heads Collective) and Emma Kelly (Merakindie/Signal) talk about collectives and their impact on Cork music.
QBP: PowPig & God Alone @ The Roundy (4pm, free)
An all-ages musical excursion featuring two of Ireland’s most promising young bands at present: Corkonian post-metallers God Alone and teenage Naive Ted-produced Limrockers PowPig. More of this sort of thing, please.
QBP: Talk of the Parish (6pm, €tbc)
A triple-bill of improvisation and installation, including female improvisation group HEX, audiovisual performance in.stance, and site-specific performance piece Go-Betweens.
QBP: Myles Manley @ The Friary (7pm, free)
Sligo’s most pre-eminent popstar of all time, in perpetuity, deigns to come down to us in solo, acoustic form at the Friary.
Rubyhorse @ Cyprus Avenue (7.30pm, €20)
Corkonian indie/pop five-piece continue warming up for this year’s big comeback album, following an appearance at the Winter Music Festival last weekend.
QBP: Bad Bones, Percolator & Davy Kehoe @ Amp Venue (8.30pm, €10 or evening/weekend pass)
Dublin electronic producer/composers Davy Kehoe and Bad Bones share the stage with Waterford kraut/indie/shoegazers Percolator in the Hanover Street venue complex, in one of the main events of Quarter Block Party.
QBP: Andy Wilson & the Toys, Yenkee, Pale Rivers & R.Kitt @ The Roundy (8.30pm, €10 or evening/weekend pass)
A four-way dance of emergent musical interest, with singer-songwriter Andy Wilson joined by the Toys (Darren Keane & Ruairí Dale), Yenkee making their live debut, Pale Rivers continuing on a good run of live appearances and releases, and R. Kitt making a live excursion.
QBP: Slumber @ Triskel Christchurch (11.45pm, €10 or evening/weekend pass)
SLUMBER is a special midnight exhibit of a group of talented artists, including David Kitt, Anna-Mieke Bishop and dancer Nic Gareiss, who as individuals are pushing the boundaries of their own genres and practices.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 4TH:
QBP: Vinyl Love with Stevie G @ SOMA (12pm, free)
Stevie G lets a load of Cork music heads at his good decks in the concrete-happy sanctum of SOMA, on Tuckey St. New DJs every half-hour.
QBP: Alex Petcu’s Sound Bath @ St. Peter’s (1pm, free)
A fusion between a gong bath and musical performance, Alex Petcu performs a new piece for bell plates, gongs of various types, temple bowls, chimes and other resonant percussion, including unique instruments that he has constructed himself.
No Covers Vol. 2 @ The Friary (4pm, free)
Volume 2 of the live folk compilations recorded upstairs in the Friary. Among those playing: Brian Lalor, Christine Phelan, Castle Street, Podge Lane and Twitch Jr.
QBP: Damsel @ BDSM (7pm, free)
Damsel is a dreamy folk-rock band from Cork curated by singer-songwriter Luke O’Neill. Influenced by everything from Leonard Cohen and Scott Walker to T Rex and Dolly Parton, Damsel crafts thoughtful pop songs for the whole family.
QBP Closing Party @ BDSM (8.30pm, free)
The Sing-Along Social rounds things up for Quarter Block Party’s 2018 installment. The theme: LOVE SONG POP BATTLE. It’s on.
