February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The Irish Rhapsody Festival is returning for a second year, and the organizers are calling it much bigger and better than the last. Running through March 17, organizers are adding to their concert series with a spoken word portion.
Based at the Knitting Factory in Lower Manhattan, the music portion of the Irish Rhapsody Festival will center on the first U.S. appearance in 18 years of pop outfit The Undertones. The Northern Irish quintet had a hit with “Teenage Kicks” in 1978 and toured the U.S. with The Clash the following year. The band will play both March 4 and 5, perhaps making some new fans and bringing some old ones out of the woodwork.
Another musician coming out for the festival will be The Pogue’s Spider Stacey. The former vocalist and tin whistler will be bringing his styling to the Knitting Factory on Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17. He will be performing Pogues classics, backed by South Chicago Celt-punk outfit The Tossers.
Branching out into Ireland’s thriving literary scene this year, the Rhapsody Festival had added a spoken-word series to its already beefy lineup. Such talent at Helena Mulkerns, Imelda O’Reilly (called Ireland’s answer to beat-poet Allen Ginsburg), and playwright Colum McCann will all be participating in one of two nights: Friday, March 5, or Saturday, March 13. Time Magazine’s Lisa McLaughlin is curating the event.
Another festival, expanded to cover a broader section of Irish culture, is the Film Fleadh, now part of what is called The Craic Festival. The annual film festival is now teamed with three nights’ worth of music, also at the Knitting Factory. The films will be screened at NYU’s Cantor Center, with the exception of the premier night.
This four-week festival kicked off Feb. 25 with its Punk Fleadh Night. Featuring Seanchai, Lancaster County Prison, and The Ruffians, it was an enthusiastic way to kick off the Festival.
Punk night will be followed tonight by The Craic Session, celebrating all that is good in Irish folk and bluegrass, with a special acoustic set by Mr. North, a local band starting to get national exposure on radio and with concerts. Closing out the music portion of the Fleadh will be a benefit concert for the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation. The Republic of Loose and Mark Geary are coming in from Dublin for this, and it looks to be a great show for a great cause.
Taking a look at the Film Fleadh portion of The Craic, the crown jewel will undoubtedly be the U.S. premier of “InterMission,” which tore through Irish film records this winter, thanks to an ensemble cast of all that is good in Irish cinema.
This is the sixth year of the Film Fleadh, and while the organizers have not set a schedule for the rest of the Festival, you can bet it will include some of the best and brightest work coming out of Ireland. Look for selections from the Cork, Galway and Dublin Film Festivals.
With everything going on, no one should be sitting at home this Saint Patrick’s Day season. Music for all tastes, the occasional literary reading, and some good films to keep you busy, this year will certainly put Irish culture at the forefront.