Reviews
Even for a man with a musical pedigree that stretches through five decades, Nile Rodgers has had an eventful three years since he last played in Cork City, to a half-full Savoy. On the personal front, the 61-year-old Chic frontman battled with prostate cancer and has come out the other side free of the disease. Professionally, he produced an autobiography that’s a must-read for any serious music fan, and has also become a household name again, on the back of his success with Daft Punk. ‘Get Lucky’ gave Rodgers his first chart-topping single in many years, and also ensured the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival had a rare concert sold out by early September.
Those who got lucky enough to be present in a packed Opera House went into party mode as soon as the guitarist and his eight-piece band took to the stage. Within the opening 15 minutes, such dancefloor classics as ‘Everybody Dance’ and ‘I Want Your Love’ had risen above the din of a chatty crowd. The hits kept coming, as Rodgers rolled out tracks he had produced for other artists, including Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’, Bowie’s ‘Lets Dance’ and ‘I’m Coming Out’ for Diana Ross.
Chic may have lost the talents of the late Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson, but tonight’s groove-fest was driven along by the superb playing of current rhythm section, Jerry Barnes on bass, and drummer Ralph Rolle, as well as the main man’s distinctive, funky guitar riffs.
Rodgers doesn’t need much prompting to talk about his own achievements and star collaborations, but his affability still manages to outshine any traces of ego, not least when he talks of how the power of music, and the buzz he gets from fans, have been so important in sustaining him through some of his recent travails. He also praised Cork as the first city in Ireland to book Chic for a non-festival gig, back in 2010. Dowcha boy!
‘Good Times’ segued into ‘Rapper’s Delight’ — the first ever rap song to hit the charts, after it used the Chic track without permission — and the band took their final bows as ‘Get Lucky’ played over the PA. Presumably, Rodgers has an agreement with Daft Punk that he won’t play the hit as part of a Chic set, but with such an incredible back catalogue, he probably doesn’t need to.
Star Rating: 4/5
Classical - The Nose (Met Live in HD)
Omniplex, Mahon Point, Cork
By Declan Townsend
In 1836, the Russian writer, Gogol, published a short story called The Nose in which he satirised the Russian bureaucracy of his time. In 1928, the young Dmitri Shostakovich (b 1906), turned the surrealist story into the libretto for the first of his two operas. Following a concert performance in 1929 it received its first stage presentation in 1930. The difficulty of the score, and the number of characters (over 70) necessitated a huge number of rehearsals but it did receive 16 performances in Leningrad, arousing considerable controversy. It was not performed again until 1974.
In 2010 Peter Gelb of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, persuaded the South African artist/sculptor/theatre director, William Kentridge to produce, direct, and design the sets for its first American presentation. This is a revival, with Paolo Szot once again playing the principal role.
Kentridge set out, using very fast, constantly changing projections on the backdrop, to set the moods of this confusing plot, in which Collegiate Assessor Kovalyov wakes up to find that his nose has been cut off by the barber who shaved him, He goes in search of his nose and encounters it, now grown into a man, and dressed in the uniform of a State Councillor (a rank higher than him). All sorts of confusing, nonsensical, amusing, situations follow, accompanied by exceptionally loud music. At one stage, Kovalyov attempts to place an ad in the newspaper, seeking the return of his nose but, instead, the bewildered clerk offers him a pinch of snuff.
I am familiar with Shostakovich’s instrumental music. The music in The Nose is totally different and Kentridge’s production is so distracting that I could not concentrate on listening to it. I couldn’t help hearing it, though. I left with both my head and my ears aching.
Like so many experimental works of art, it is well-nigh impossible to adequately assess its merits on first acquaintance. Kentridge’s production, however, made any attempt on my part doubly difficult.
Star Rating: 2/5
