Hi °C | Lo °C The festival has been a bit of a pig this year, if the programme is anything to go by. It features not one, but two acts with a pig at the centre.
We've already marvelled at the wonders of Mr Jones' amazing stunt pig, Fred. Next up is Delicious O' Grady, who, if we can believe our eyes, is hugging a porcine pal throughout his show, which kicks off later this evening.
Colm O'Grady, who bears a terrifying resemblance to Shane McGowan in the dental department, tells the story of his family during the Irish Famine.
Delicious is a dark comedy set during the Famine, and inspired by the writings of Flann O'Brien. Think laughter and tears mixed with a soupcon of juggling, handstands and perhaps even traditional Irish acrobattery (now officially a word).
While Delicious can't stand up for falling down, elsewhere, Accidents Will Happen. But however bad things get, the songs of Elvis Costello can often show the way ahead (see what I did there?).
And Elvis is the inspiration behind They Call Her Natasha, a show about a girl called Elsie Costello, whose story strangely mirrors that of the singer songwriter. Lou Dalgleish plays Elsie, and her breathtaking vocals are accompanied by Michael Weston King and the fabulously named Gladstone Wilson. In the future, all musicals will be like this.
And perhaps in the future all comedians will be as witty as Bill Hicks. The man who described himself as (and I paraphrase) ‘Chomsky with willy jokes' was a legend in his own lifetime. Nothing was sacred to the American who railed against the system, and joked his way to an early death bed, aged just 32. CQAF presents one of Hicks' last performances, just three months before he died, at a gig in San Francisco, when he knew he had nothing left to lose. It’s at the John Hewitt this evening. For free. See a comedy masterclass...
David Berman's seminal band Silver Jew get the big screen treatment in a music documentary with a difference. The movie marks the first ever world tour for the notoriously stage-shy Berman, when the band made a brief but momentous stopover in Israel. You can see how they fared this evening in the Black Box Cafe.
Elsewhere, the festival marquee will be rocking to the sound of virtuoso African musician Toumani Diabate — who channels Miles Davis, Hendrix and something called ‘ancient griot tradition'.
Last up in the music stakes this evening is Slovenian folk band Terrafolk. Think You Are My Sunshine played on the mandolin in the style of a death metal band and you're on the money.
Can you really afford to miss this? Terrafolk are in the Black Box.
