Live music: So this is what a Cork gig looks like in the Covid era...
Gemma Dunleavy and harpist Róisín Berkely performing at the Kino in Cork. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
“Can I get a little more reverb on the monitor, please.” Did we ever think that such a mundane line would sound so glorious?
It's been quite a while, but we're finally at a gig. Many people haven't been at a live event since March, and despite some noble efforts, those online concerts just don't fill the gap. And while punters are missing those fun nights that also act as important salves for the mind and soul, the industry providing them has been decimated.
Everyone from singers to bar-staff to stage-hands have had their livelihoods wiped out, with little chance of reprieve this side of springtime. Just sitting here feels like a special occasion.
Kino in Cork has been back in action for a few weeks, running sit-down gigs and comedy shows with reduced capacities and strict guidelines.
No more than 50 people are now allowed into the former cinema on Washington Street in Cork, so many of the artists who play there are trying to make up the shortfall by putting on an early and late show in the same evening.
You book a table in advance. On arrival, one of the staff briefs you on basic Covid-safety procedures and guides you to where you are sitting.
All the staff are wearing masks, while punters aren't, as they sit at decently-distanced tables. Hand-sanitisers have been placed around the venue.
Yes, you can go to the toilet, but not up to the bar. To order your drink, you just turn on the little light at your table, and a waiter comes to you.
Bills get sorted at the end of the night.
Gemma Dunleavy arrives with the ultimate 21st-century Irish stage set-up – a laptop to provide the backing tracks, and a live harp (played by Róisín Berkely).
The Dubliner describes her recent Up De Flats EP as a love-letter to her Sheriff Street stomping ground, and between tunes tells tales of an area she's clearly proud of. While many of us think of lawnmowers or swallows as the harbingers of summer, for her it's the sight of more police helicopters flying overhead.
Dunleavy's stories and songs don't sugarcoat life in a part of the city that's long been blighted by drugs and other social problems, but they do remind that there's another life between the crime headlines and macho raps where we usually hear about such areas.
While most of the tunes lean towards mid-tempo RnB jams, the highlight of night is provided when Dunleavy shifts gear for the title track of her EP. A UK garage beat demands some hip-swaying action, but the Kino audience has to stick with a seat-bound shuffle as they sing along with a song you'd imagine could still become a summer anthem.
We're not quite “Shouting 'up the flats' from the roof tops” yet, but tonight is a fine reminder of what awaits us when things get back to normal.
We're out the door by 9.30pm, as the venue prepares for the later show. A stroll through the city after the gig provides easy evidence of why Cork and other parts of Ireland have experienced a spike in Covid cases.
Can properly-run venues like the Kino guarantee you'll be safe? Absolutely not. But they have found ways of providing what feels like a night out that reduces the risks to a more acceptable level for some.
Along the way, they've also provided a night's work for about ten people. We'll take that for now.
