Kneecap review: Belfast rappers rock Cork City Hall
Kneecap at Cork City Hall on Wednesday. Picture: Larry Cummins
★★★★☆
It was a sea of tricolour balaclavas, green Kneecap jerseys, and flags of Ireland and Palestine at Cork City Hall as the Belfast rap group played the first of two sold-out concerts on Wednesday.
It’s just over a year since the trio played the venue, but what an eventful period it’s been. While their self-titled film missed out on an Oscar nomination, it has pushed Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí to international prominence. The Cork gigs come in advance of a weekend where they have been nominated for 17 IFTAs at Friday’s Irish Film and TV Awards, and another six at the BAFTAs in the UK on Sunday.
Opening for Kneecap was Dublin artist Gemma Dunleavy, who commanded the stage for some 30 minutes with her dance tracks, most notably her modern classic, ‘Up the Flats’.
The Belfast lads then took to the stage shortly after 9pm. “What a pleasure it is to be back in Cork,” Móglaí Bap said after performing their first song of the night, ‘It’s Been Ages’.
Talking about the significance of performing at City Hall, Kneecap paid tribute to Terence MacSwiney, former Lord Mayor of Cork who died on hunger strike in Brixton Prison in 1920, whose statue sits outside the venue.
The 80-minute gig saw multiple mosh pits open throughout, sweat and tears, people on shoulders, Irish and Palestine flags, and plenty of balaclavas. There was surely no place for a pint to survive in the heaving mass.
The crowd was a mix of younger college students and folks in their thirties and forties – some who have been fans since Kneecap first came to Leeside for Quarter Block Party in 2019, and others who’ve discovered the trio on their recent ascent.
Chants of “Free Palestine!” erupted through the night, and the rap trio projected messages on screen such as “Get the US military out of Ireland”. Mo Chara also spoke about the death toll in Gaza and how privileged we all were to be able attend a gig and have fun without the worries endured by Palestinians.
Offerings from their latest album, Fine Art, included ‘Sick in the Head’, ‘Rhino Ket’ and ‘Better Way to Live’, but they also went further back for favourites such as ‘Get Your Brits Out’, ‘Your Sniffer Dogs are Shite’, and ‘C.E.A.R.T.A’.
Ending the night with ‘H.O.O.D’ , DJ Próvaí left the safety of the City Hall stage, and jumped into the audience for some crowd-surfing and to partake in other raucous fun in the mosh pit. One gig down, and anyone heading along on Thursday is in for a treat.
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