Paul's Pages » Gigs

Quasimodal (3)

paulmthomas — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:30:31 +0000

Another day, another Quasimodal gig. This one, however, was a little different. For a start it took place on my birthday (woohoo!), and it wasn’t late in the evening in a dark basement – it was at 6pm in a cafe! Piedescalso is a very bizarre little café on Thomas Street in Dublin. It’s long and thin, and the walls serve as an art gallery. The emphasis is on relaxation and smiles. Simon and Alon and their unplugged guitars fit the chilled out atmosphere perfectly, and they played on and off for nearly 2 hours, mixing up their usual programme of their own songs with a few other bits and pieces. Hearing the music of Dowland and Ravenscroft accompanied by guitars in a gig setting was unusual, but it fit their programme perfectly.

Their quasimodal style was adapted to form a pastiche of Radiohead (who had played in Dublin the night before the gig), using some translated Hebrew text (of all things). Worked a treat. Whilst it was not quite like being at Croke Park or Malahide Castle, it made those of us who had missed out on Radiohead feel a little better about ourselves!

Following the gig, I joined the musicians to attend another gig at the Button Factory. A slightly random (but in places perfectly good) German electronic group called Notwist were playing, but more importantly, Simon’s housemate Sinead’s band, Half Set, were playing before them, and we went along to support. Thank you to Simon for the ticket as part of my birthday present!!

Quasimodal (2)

paulmthomas — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:42:07 +0000

Simon and Alon played an excellent gig in Shine in Dublin last night. Their 35 minute slot was the last of three, and by the time we’d waited for the football (being shown downstairs) to end and the music to start it was already getting quite well on in the evening, and Quasimodal finally started playing at about 23.40.

Their music draws a large influence from the modal harmonies of the music of Restoration England, and in mood generally ranges from sad, through somber and into melancholy. The poetry set is often the work of Simon’s sister, Catherine MacHale, mainly in English, but there was also an Irish text. The set also included two songs in Hebrew.

The texts and music are not all gloomy, however. Or particular note was an excellent upbeat setting of a Shakespearean sonnet, including a recorder solo in the style of the time!

All in all an excellent evening’s entertainment. I look forward to hearing more from Quasimodal.

Quasimodal

paulmthomas — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:39:08 +0000

On Wednesday 21 May some friends of mine are playing a gig in Shine on Wexford Street in Dublin. It’s free entry and they’ll be playing a 40 minute set from sometime around 21.30. Their MySpace site gives some more details. They are an Irishman and an Israeli, write their own material, and are well worth hearing; don’t expect your usual open-mic fare. Whilst a thoroughly modern sound, their musical influences stretch right back to the sounds of Restoration period England (honestly). Simon MacHale and Alon Schab are Quasimodal!