Quarter Block Party & more gigs/clubs to see in Cork this weekend
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 8TH
QBP: Beats and Sweat @ Dali (7pm/7.30/8pm/8.30, €15 on the door, or part of ticket bundles)
Not a strict Sir Henry’s tribute, as mooted in some quarters, but rather an artistic installation harkening back to the general mood and atmosphere of heading up the stairs and into one’s favourite clubnights of yesteryear. Leeside hall-of-famer Stevie G on the ones and twos for authenticity, of course.
God is an Astronaut @ Cyprus Avenue (7.30pm, €22.50)
Glen of the Downs post-rockers return to Cork, toting the heaviest and most textured work of their fifteen-plus-year run, in the form of new album ‘Epitaph’.
QBP: Eve Clague, Laurie Shaw, Rising Damp + Spekulativ Fiktion @ The Roundy (8pm, €10 at the door or part of ticket bundles)
One of Irish hip-hop’s cornerstones finally makes a Quarter Block Party showing. Support from punk performance artist Rising Damp, the prolific Laurie Shaw and singer-songwriter Eve Clague.
The Eskies @ Coughlan’s (9pm, €10)
“Folk noir/gypsy jazz/sea shanty and swaggering stage spectacle” makes its return to the Eskies’ regular Leeside haunt.
QBP: Junior Brother, Yenkee and Shookrah @ An Spailpín Fánach (9pm, €10 or part of ticket bundles)
Kerry songsmith and general man-about-town Junior Brother blesses QBP with his presence, alongside a live outing for Yenkee and prog-soul supernovas Shookrah.
QBP: Gadget and the Cloud + GASH Collective DJs (10pm, €10 if yer dancin’, or part of ticket bundles)
Ballyhea’s favourite daughter plugs her live-performance ambient electronic show into Dali’s Arcline sound-system. GASH Collective disc-jocks Laura Lolz, Cáit, Endrift and Eliza are subsquently on duty ’til close.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 9TH
QBP: The Point of Everything Podcast @ The Roundy (2pm, free)
TPOE/Irish Examiner man Eoghan O’Sullivan records an episode of his podcast live for QBP, with writers Caroline O’Donoghue (herself a former Leeside music scribe!) and Roisín Kelly.
QBP: Sam Clague, Maija Sofia, Laura Duff + Trick Mist @ The Roundy (7pm, €10 on the door or part of ticket bundles)
Dundalk man Trick Mist plays the Roundy after launching debut full-length ‘Both Ends’ at the venue before Xmas. Limerick singer-songwriter Laura Duff, Galwegian singer-songwriter Maija Sofia and Corkonian troubadour Sam Clague round out the billing.
QBP: Le Boom + Gaptoof @ Dali (8pm, €15 on the door or part of ticket bundles)
Indie/house/electronic roof-raisers Le Boom return to Cork City. R.I.P. to those onstage barriers. Support from Soft Boy Gaptoof (fka Nxstalgic), with a special uptempo set.
QBP: Kneecap, Silverbacks + Barry Wilson @ An Spailpín Fánach (9pm, €10 on the door, or part of ticket bundles)
Belfast hip-hop Gaelgóirs headline a late show at the Spailpín after being rescheduled from a cancelled Connolly’s of Leap gig. Art-punx Silverbacks and composer Barry Wilson shore up the billing.
QBP: Post-Punk Podge, Extravision, Ghostking is Dead @ Coughlan’s (8.30pm, €10 on the door or part of ticket bundles)
Quarter Block Party’s first excursion into Coughlan’s on Douglas Street. Post-Punk Podge and his Technohippies look set to wreck the gaff, while post-punks Extravision and electronic pop troubadour Ghostking is Dead are well-able to assist in that process.
Deasy & Gary Fitz @ Dali (11pm, €12)
Cork duo return for their monthly residency, toting an eclectic mix of house, tech and bass for the venue’s regulars.
QBP: Hilary Woods & Flowers at Night @ Triskel Christchurch (11pm, €15 or as part of ticket bundles)
The festival’s headline musical outing sees Sacred Bones recording artist Hilary Woods play her stunning ‘Colt’ album live in the intimate surrounds of the Christchurch. Sherkin Island ambient project Flowers at Night in support.
Shiba-San @ Cyprus Avenue (11pm, €15)
French hip-hopper-turned-house-producer with the seal of approval from the likes of Pete Tong and Annie Mac heads to Caroline Street as part of a seemingly-endless world tour.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 10TH
QBP: Dublin Digital Radio @ The Roundy (12pm, free)
DDR makes the pilgrimage south to the real capital for a special live broadcast from QBP, helmed by the boss-man Ray Wingnut, and featuring live DJ sets from some of the festival’s performers.
QBP: Landless, Anna-Mieke, Colm O’Brien @ Coughlan’s (4pm, €12 at the door or part of ticket bundles)
Acapella trad/folk-song quartet take to stage at Coughlan’s to help close QBP’s live billing, alongside singer-songwriters Anna-Mieke and Colm O’Brien, the former Lonely Tourist.
QBP: Sing-Along Social and Festival-Closing Disco (8pm, free)
The zero-commitment choir for non-singers returns to close up QBP for another year, led by author and chorister-in-chief Aoife McElwain. Followed by a DJ set from QBP people and friends ’til closing!
The Tan Jackets @ The Crane Lane (midnight, free)
It’s all the Cork psychedelia lads, playing all the proto-punk and psychedelia classics in a free gig. Expect tunes from MC5, the Sonics, and other trailblazers.
