Dear Reader –
A big week at home and abroad this week…
The Big Thing
So as if the week wasn’t busy enough, the Second Captains crew had asked me to go to London to play with them on their live show last Thursday. The show was in the EartH theatre in Hackney, where 700 people (mostly Irish men) came to see their favourite sports podcasters in the flesh.
And with no disrespect to any of the wonderful singers I got to play with in the shows that bookended the week, on Thursday night I got to accompany a true Irish hero.
Five minutes before the performance was due to happen however, the nerves hit me. Nerves that I haven’t experienced in a long time. All of a sudden I could empathise with Theme Night performers, who get one shot at their song and that’s it. It either goes well or it doesn’t, but either way it’s gone after a few minutes and you can do nothing about it.
And in this moment I could feel the weight of the 1400+ ears that were about to be trained on me. The finale. The big one. And I had to get it right…
Watch the original version of what we tried to reproduce live here,
Music by Conor Walsh. Words by Jack Charlton. Created by Mark Horgan. Pic below by Sorcha Pollak.
Where else but Sligo?
So it’s farewell to the Class of 2022!
A Teenage Theme Night rollercoaster for this particular group of 6th Yrs - bookended by some great live shows with a few online ones in between.
They signed off this weekend with a bang however with the help of the TYs and 5th Yrs in the Hawk’s Well Theatre. What a couple of shows we had - thanks so much to everyone who took part and to everyone who came.
My favourite moment was when David Walsh walked out on stage with just his guitar halfway through the second half. David is in 6th Yr but had never taken part in these nights before. So this was going to be his one and only theme night. And he was doing it on his own. And both nights he blew the crowd away. Hopefully only the beginning for this young man.
We’ll take a break for the summer now before returning in the autumn with a whole new bunch of 6th Yrs. So if you or someone you know is currently in 3rd, 4th or 5th Yr and would like to get involved in 2022-23, send an email to kieran@kieranquinn.ie and register your interest.
Thanks especially to (L-R in pic below) Ella Rose, Senna, Ryan and Rosha who led by example as emcees for the year. To the ever-dependable TTN band (Eddie Lee, Ken McDonald and Dave Flynn). To Niamh Crowley for digging me out of a hole on Saturday afternoon with some last-minute arrangements. To Joy Feehily for all her help throughout the year. And to the below photobombers Darragh and Nathan of course!
What’s New?
IN THE LAMPLIGHT: Niamh Crowley sat down with the lads and I last week to talk through the ups and downs of Theme Night #29. We were all in some sort of post-show fragile emotional state so it turned out to be great fun! Have a listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.
MUSICALS: For anyone who didn’t read last week’s letter, the theme for October’s show is Musicals - and I have been getting some amazing suggestions already. I won’t start work on it for a while yet, but I’m taking notes for when I do, so please send on anything that you’d like to hear or think could work.
NEXT WEEK: Loads of pics and videos from Theme Night #29 and Teenage Theme Night #26 coming your way (thanks to Kris Manulak). Here’s one to whet your appetite…Eddie Fitzpatrick et all in full flow.
Finally…
Thursday afternoon and I was trying to make my way to my London hotel while over and back on WhatsApp to the show producer trying to pick walk-on music for the various guests. I kept taking wrong turns literally and metaphorically. Until we came up with this one. What a tune!
Till next time - Kieran.
