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Laughter is the best medicine for comedian Phill Jupitus

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Phill Jupitus....long association with Galway.

Comedian and Never Mind the Buzzcocks star, Phill Jupitus has a unique way of staying sane.

“Basically I do stand-up instead of paying for a therapist. It’s much more profitable for me,” he says.

Jupitus returns to the city for more ‘therapy’ on Sunday for performances in the Galway Comedy Festival, rebranded as the Vodafone Comedy Carnival, which starts today, and runs until Monday, October 27. As well as several stand-up shows, listeners to Galway Bay FM’s mid-morning magazine show, Galway Talks, can hear Jupitus next week as he stands in for Keith Finnegan for an hour a day.

A firm favourite with Galway audiences, the English funny man has been coming here for two decades, since his first gig in the former GPO nightclub in the late 1980s.

That was pre-Celtic Tiger Galway – the city has changed a whole pile since and so too has his stand-up style.

“When you do something as long as I’ve been doing it – I’ve been performing in one shape or another for over 30 years – naturally my style changes. When I was younger it was a lot more surreal, whimsical stuff, but as I’ve gotten older, it’s a lot more talking about life – the comic father . . . the things I talk about are sort of the common concerns of most fathers; fathers and daughters especially, and I think that’s why it resonates with the audience,” he says.

Jupitus is unmistakably English – his accent gives it away – but he says that is an asset abroad, rather than a hindrance.

“I used to do a lot in America, so I know a lot of American speech pattern. I did a gig in New York once, and for the first half of the week I used American speech patterns but then I switched and just did British for the second half of the week and it just went down better.

“I think an audience, particularly an audience overseas, likes to hear something different. And they like to hear indigenous speech pattern. If I hear an American comic say ‘pavement’, I’d be like ‘no, that sounds wrong in your mouth’. It’s always better to sort of stick to who you are.”

Last month, Jupitus did a gig in Sweden that ‘went down a treat’ with 400 Swedes, so he says, “the language barrier thing is a bit of a misnomer”. He says cultural barriers exist, however, as he recalls nearly being arrested for a risqué segment in the Middle East.

“I did a gig in Dubai, and I talked about my daughter, and the guy that organised the gig said after ‘you really sailed close to the wind there’. They really don’t like you talking about sex in the Gulf – genuinely, it was that close to calling the police. I said ‘what, really?’ and he was like ‘No seriously, culturally, you can’t’. You just have to be aware. But the essence of what we do – stand up comedy – is the exchange of ideas for laughter. The thing is, if you mitigate those ideas, and if you water them down, and if you try and tailor those ideas to the audience, or if you try and second guess your audience, I think you’re taking more of a gamble than just doing your own thing. I’d rather fail by being myself than fail trying to be what they want,” he says.

And that’s the thing about being a comedian – you can fall flat on stage, your jokes going down like lead balloons. Jupitus is aware of this – “stand-up is a very, very strange job” – but he doesn’t get nervous before taking to the stage.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

CITY TRIBUNE

Folk duo launch What Will Be Will Be

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Niall Teague and Pádraic Joyce.

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.

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CITY TRIBUNE

All roads lead to Dunmore as town tunes up County Fleadh

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Most of the competitions for young musicians will take place this Saturday in Dunmore Community School. All the competitions are open to the public.

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.

 

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CITY TRIBUNE

Piano concert rescheduled for Tuesday

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Pianist Cédric Pescia.

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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