Entertainment
Freedom to fail is key to success for Tommy
I am an appeaser in the sense that I want to please an audience,” says comedian Tommy Tiernan. “The challenge is to do it in a way that’s not predictable.”
Being unpredictable yet pleasing is the plan as Tommy embarks on a tour to promote his latest DVD, Stray Sod, which was recorded in The Glebe Gardens Amphitheatre, Baltimore, Co Cork, during the summer.
Like his Crooked Man DVD of three years ago, Stray Sod is full of stories and observations about Ireland.
Tommy has been touring the island “specifically and obsessively for the past three years”, playing venues small and large across the 32 counties.
He has also toured to Irish exiles in Dubai, Australia and Canada.
“Without trying, you end up talking about Ireland specifically . . . you are mainly talking to Irish people about Ireland,” he says.
Stray Sod was recorded in an outdoor space which he likens to Brigit’s Garden in Roscahill.
It has been described as “a love letter to Ireland” although the stories weren’t developed in that way, Tommy says.
Developing his stories is a process that takes its own course, he explains.
“What fascinates me are the questions that I can’t answer.”
At the moment, for instance, he wonders if he’s doing his children any favours by educating them. He’s also preoccupied about an ancient king, Soma, who was associated with magic mushrooms, and what would happen if Soma were to sail up the Liffey today.
These are just notions and may lead nowhere, but right now they fascinate him.
“It’s not that you are always looking for funny things; it’s that you explore notions comedically and coherently.”
It’s also about keeping things fresh.
If the original mischief that drove him to be a comedian just becomes a way of paying the mortgage, things become too safe, he says.
“It’s important to keep taking chances.”
Whatever people might think about Tommy’s comedy, nobody could accuse him of not taking risks.
Among them was his decision in 2009 do a 36-hour non-stop show in the City’s Nuns Island Theatre, running from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.
That came during a difficult period for Tommy, when he realised his work had become more angry than funny.
“What I thought was a road ended up as a cul-de-sac, so I had the idea of doing 36 hours non-stop. To talk and talk and talk until I wasn’t angry anymore.”
A few months after that epic show, Tommy noticed a playfulness returning to his material.
“I wouldn’t undervalue anger or punk, but other areas of mischief became more fruitful,” he says.
Keeping things fruitful is a constant goal. That philosophy was recently explored in the RTÉ documentary, Tommy: To Tell You the Truth. It followed him on a European tour for which his shows were improvised. Some people loved it; others found it a stressful viewing experience.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Folk duo Niall Teague and Pádraic Joyce are launching their new album What Will We Be, a blend of folk, Americana and acoustic music, this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in An Taibhdhearc.
The success of their well-received 2020 release Taobh le Taobh, as well as recent successes at the Pan Celtic and Oireachtas Song Contests, spurred the duo on to record this new album which represents many years of collaboration and musical development.
It features Niall and Pádraic on vocals, harmonies, and acoustic guitars, Maidhc Ó hÉanaigh on double bass and Neil Fitzgibbon on fiddle. The catchy title track, What Will We Be, features contributions from percussionist Jim Higgins (The Stunning, Christy Moore, Paul Brady) and haunting, driving melodies on vocals, guitar, and fiddle.
Themes of love and hope are woven through Come Away with Me which features interplay between piano and fiddle as well as rich vocal harmonies.
People, places, and broken dreams are celebrated and lamented on Martin and Tom, Guitar Gold, Memories of You and Achill Island. The influence of David Henry Thoreau’s novel Walden features on the tracks Simple and Wise and Walden, with the beauty of nature, escape and simple pleasures at their core.
The album moves from minimalistic folk ballads such as Galway Ghost to swirling, string-laden arrangements on the song Neptune, both of which are influenced by maritime tales from Galway. Much of the work on this album was supported by the Arts Council, including work with musical arranger Eoin Corcoran and the string ensemble Treo.
The album will be launched this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in an Taibhdhearc. Tickets €22, plus booking fee at Eventbrite.ie.
Dunmore is the place to be this weekend for lovers of traditional music, as the Galway County Fleadh will take place there from this Friday, May 19, to Sunday, May 23.
It is 10 years since Dunmore last hosted a fleadh and the local Comhaltas branch, which has re-formed since Covid, is looking forward to facilitating this gathering of music, song, dance and craic.
The official Opening Concert will take place in Dunmore Town Hall this Friday at 8pm with the acclaimed Mulcahy family from Limerick. Mick, Louise and Michelle are well known throughout the country, thanks to their live performances, television appearances and numerous CDs. They were the winners of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Grúpa Ceoil Award for 2023. Tickets for their concert can be purchased on the door and a great night of music is promised.
Two days of competitions will kick off this Saturday at the town’s Community School, with more than 1,500 competitors taking part. Participants will be hoping to qualify for the Connacht Fleadh 2023, which will be held in Ballina, County Mayo, from June 23 to July 2.
Competitions for those aged Under 10, Under 12 and Under 15 will be held in a large variety of instruments on Saturday, as well as in singing and Comhrá Gaeilge. Sunday’s competitions will be for the Under 18 and Over 18 ages groups, as well as in dancing.
On both days a large entry is expected for Grúpaí Cheoil and Céilí Band competitions across all age groups.
Seventeen Comhaltas branches from across Galway will have participants in this weekend’s competitions, which will result in a large number of visitors to the Dunmore area.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the competitions, which offer a great opportunity to hear and see the talent on display. There will be sessions in local pubs over the weekend as well and everybody is welcome to attend these.
For more information on the County Fleadh, go to www.galwaycomhaltas.ie.
Music for Galway’s concert with renowned Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia which had been due to take place on April 27 but which had to be deferred, will now take place next Tuesday, May 23, at 8pm, in the Emily Anderson Concert Hall at the University of Galway.
This concert of German classics with Bach at its core, will brings the Bach element of Music for Galway’s 41st season to an end.
This world-class pianist who won the famous Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, has a repertoire that spans many eras from baroque to contemporary and he is widely known for his elaborate programmes. Cédric Pescia describes music as ‘language and movement at the same time’.
Audiences will have a chance to experience his soft, clear touch as he performs a programme for solo piano that will include classics such as Schumann’s popular Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), a suite of nine short pieces, and the penultimate of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, No. 31. These pieces will be interspersed with French Suites by Bach.
■ Ticket for Cédric Pescia’s concert are available at www.musicforgalway.ie, or by phone 091 705962 and on the door on the night. They cost €20/€18. The price for fulltime students of all ages is €6 while MfG Friends can avail of the friends’ rate of €16.
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