February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Eileen Murphy
The masters of the universe have voted with their wallets, and the winner is (or should we say, the winners are) U2.
According to Bloomberg Radio News, the album of choice for vacationing Wall Street traders and bankers is "U2: The Best of 1980-1990." Other favorites include "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” Alannis Morisette’s "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" and Ricky Martin’s first English-language album, featuring the dance tune “Livin’ La Vida Loca."
This news shouldn’t come as any big surprise the music lovers. After all, these people are intelligent and discerning (at least, they’d better be — they’re in charge of our 401K!) The statistics were compiled by Amazon.com, which sells books, music and videos over the internet.
In more Bono news, the singer’s recent collaboration with ex-Fugee Wyclef Jean, on the record "New Day," will be released as a single Sept. 14. And for those of you with deep pockets and a hankerin’ for a little face time, Bono will perform with Jean at the Wyclef Jean Foundation’s Caribbean Soiree at New York’s Copacabana nightclub tonight, Sept. 8. Tickets are a paltry $1,000 — but, hey, they’re tax deductible.
And finally, fans will be happy to know that the U2 frontman and his wife, Ali, are the proud parents of a bouncing baby boy who was born on Aug. 25. We’ve been trying to find out details like name, weight and whether or not the li’l tyke was born with those big fly glasses and a funky nickname, but we’ve heard nothing yet. The Hewsons have two other children, 10-year-old Jordan and 6-year-old Eve.
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Makem set to ‘Invade’ the Irish Rep
We’re thrilled to hear that Irish folk legend Tommy Makem will be returning to the Big Apple to star in a one-man show at the Irish Repertory Theater this fall. The world premiere of "Invasions and Legacies" will take place on Monday, Sept. 27, and run through Saturday, Oct. 9. The show was directed by the Rep’s artistic director, Charlotte Moore.
The Bard of Armagh, who, with the Clancy Brothers, changed the face of Irish music in America, has written a performance piece that weaves the ancient tales of Ireland with a selection of songs and ballads. He is no stranger to the theater — it was his ambition to establish a career as an actor that brought him to New York in the 1950s, where he teamed up with other aspiring thespians to form the seminal Irish folk group, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.
This show will surely sell out fast, so don’t spare the horses: run to the phone and order your tickets now. "Invasions and Legacies" will be performed Monday through Saturday at 8 p.m., with Saturday matinees at 3. Tickets are $35 and are available at the Irish Repertory Theatre box office, 132 West 22 St., between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, or by calling (212) 727-2737. And if you’re really, really good, Tommy might sing "The Rambles of Spring," during the show. (Well, we can hope, can’t we?)
Beantown bow for Saw Doctors
Boston fans of popular Irish band The Saw Doctors are in for a treat this week. The band will make their big screen debut in the indie film "The Tavern," which receives its American premiere at the Boston Film Festival this Friday, Sept. 10.
The band members, Davey, Leo, Pearse and John, play — now here’s a stretch — an Irish singing group in the film. They flew in from their home base of Galway last year to shoot their scenes in New York, and, according to a band insider, they had a blast. We hear that the good vibes translate onto the big screen, which augers well for the movie’s success.
Set in and around Manhattan, the film follows the misadventures of Ronnie and Dave, best friends in their 40s who pool their savings to start a restaurant-bar. The film’s stars, Cameron Dye and Kevin Geer, play hapless heroes who encounter cutthroat competition, cook wars, ruthless creditors, illegal immigrants and broken promises. The film, which was directed by Walter Foote, also features hot comedienne Margaret Cho.
The band contributed nine songs to the soundtrack, including perennial favorites like "I Useta Lover" and "N17" (which is not to be confused with the naughty movie rating "NC-17"). But please don’t misunderstand us — "The Tavern" is safely in PG territory. The Saw Doctors have kids themselves, y’know.
The film will be shown at the Loew’s Copley Place Theatre, 100 Huntington Ave., Boston on Friday at 7:15 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. There will be additional screenings during the film festival on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 12:30 p.m., 2:45 p.m. and 5 p.m. For information, call (617) 266-2533.
Filling a ‘niche’
They say that an entertainment column, (or was that nature?) abhors a vacuum, so the nice folks at Intercultural Niche Strategies, a P.R. firm that specializes in world music, has stepped in to fill the void. They have compiled a list of the top Celtic albums, based on play lists from 32 Irish radio shows, and plan to release the results on a monthly basis.
Reps Michael Murphy and Patrick Brady have promised, on their honor, not to tweak the playlists in any way, so any artists affiliated with INS who appear on the chart are there through statistical coincidence. (And, in the interest of full disclosure, we should state that Mr. Murphy’s name appears in this column through sheer statistical coincidence, "Murphy" being the most common surname in Ireland. It’s not because of any "Murphy" connections. Really. Cross our heart.)
But enough dilly-dallying; let’s get to the list. And so you can understand the coding: an (N) after an album title indicates that this is the album’s debut on the chart. An (R) indicates that the album is a re-entry. A number after the album title indicates the album’s previous position on the chart.
1. Dordan "Celtic Aire" Narada (N)
2. Kila "TÓG é GO BOG é" Green Linnet (2)
3. Kate Rusby "Sleepless" Compass (N)
4. Tim O’Brien "The Crossing" Alula Records (1)
5. Clandestine "To Anyone At All" Culburnie (N)
6. Niamh Parsons "Blackbirds & Thrushes" Green Linnet (5)
7. Secret Garden "Dawn of a New Century" Philips (10)
8. Solas "The Words That Remain" Shanachie (R)
9. Various Artists "Celtic Tides" Putumayo (R)
10. Kate Rusby, Kathryn Roberts "Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts" Compass (4)
11. Patrick Street "Live from Patrick Street" Green Linnet (9)
12. Wolfstone "Seven" Green Linnet (8)
13. Kevin Burke "In Concert " Green Linnet (R)
14. Various Artists "Celtic Voyage" Gourd Music (N)
15. Afro Celt Sound System "Volume 2, Release" Real World (13)
*National Celtic Music Radio Chart(c) is an objective collection of Celtic albums being played on the radio compiled from radio reporters from the Intercultural Niche Strategies marketing database. INS has in no way altered the chart or playlists of any reporter. Any artists affiliated with INS that appear on the chart is purely a statistical coincidence.