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November 2012 Archives

Monday November 26, 2012

Andrew James O'Brien and The Searchers In Concert

157.jpgThey are few and far between, the songwriters who can stop you in your tracks, have you hanging on every word.


Andrew James O'Brien first appeared on this show as part of the 2010 CBC-Music NL Songwriters Circle in Rocky Harbour.


Almost nobody in the room knew who he was. His first album was still a few months away. But from the moment he began his first song, you could hear a pin drop.


He's had that effect on audiences everywhere, and his days as an unknown performer are long over.


Andrew James O'Brien and his band the Searchers took the stage of the LSPU Hall last spring and fans packed the house for a pair of shows presented by CBC Radio .The event turned into a celebration of one of the great young voices in Newfoundland music.


It was quite a time, as you'll hear this Saturday.

 

Photo: Andrew James O'Brien with Catherine Allan of his band the Searchers. (Bud Gaulton).

Tuesday November 20, 2012

A Performance Hour Documentary Special: "A Bullet for the General"

One of  the latest audio features from Newfoundland documentary maker Chris Brookes unravels the mystery of Major General Hugh Tudor.Tudor mugshot-1.jpg

For four decades, this decorated World War One general and friend of Winston Churchill lived in St. John's - far from his country, his wife and children, and very far indeed from the limelight.

But he lived in fear, carrying a Webley revolver and a set of brass knuckles in case of a surprise attack.

And he harboured a dark secret - one that would eventually carry an assassin across the Atlantic on a mission to hunt him down. Or so they say.

Tudor had been the commander of the infamous Black and Tans, the British force formed in 1920 to "fight fire with fire" against the IRA in Ireland.

After Irish independence in 1922, Tudor was considered a marked man, and he escaped to exile in Newfoundland.

Did the assassination attempt actually happen, or is it the stuff of legend?

With the help of Newfoundland crime novelist Thomas Curran, the documentary sleuths the mystery of a man reviled in Ireland as a rapacious war criminal, and remembered in St. John's only as a quiet old man.

"A Bullet for the General" is a Battery Radio production, and aired on RTE Dublin in January.

You'll find an audio listening link and background information on Hugh Tudor at the Battery Radio website.

Thursday November 15, 2012

"A Map Of The Body" written and performed by Monica Kidd

This week on the Performance Hour a repeat broadcast of the international award winning " A Map of The Body" written and performed by writer, broadcaster and medical doctor Monica Kidd. This hour long spoken word piece won the Gold Medal at New York's "Gracie Awards" presented by Alliance For Women in Media.

Tuesday November 6, 2012

Amelia Curran launches her latest CD "Spectators"

 

thumbs_amelia_curran.jpgAmelia Curran launched the long awaited and highly anticipated encore to her 2009 Juno award winning CD Hunter Hunter with a sold out concert at the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre. She brought with her a brand new band complete with horns and strings and a bag of great new songs.

 

"Spectators" marks the growth of this exceptional singer songwriter whose precise poetic sharpness and tuneful rhythms set her apart from most of her contemporaries. The new material continues to explore the hope and despair of relationships and the search for a better ending - every word considered and confidently delivered within an air of vulnerability.

 

On this the opening night of a Canadian tour Amelia and the band waltzed the home town audience through the heart of her new material with a just enough attention paid to her past catalogue to satisfy the faithful.

 

Her fan base ever growing Amelia Curran's audience finds a restful place in her music while she quietly achieves star status one show at a time.

 

Catch the concert this week on The Performance Hour!