U2: Live at Red Rocks
Friday, March 26th, 1.40am, free, youtube.com
It's the second live concert film in U2's Virtual Road series, broadcast on the band's YouTube channel, and this time we're whisked back to Red Rocks stadium in Denver, Colorado, in 1983, when Bono and the boys delivered an iconic, rain-soaked live performance that alerted the United States to this unstoppable musical force from across the pond. The first film in the Virtual Road series, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle (2001), was aired on St Patrick's Day, and there are two more to come: Popmart Live from Mexico City (1997) on April 1st and iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE: Live in Paris (2015) on April 10th.
If you can’t stay up to catch the Red Rocks gig, you can watch it anytime over the next 48 hours. The show features support from current Dub sensations Fontaines DC – hang on, sure they weren’t even born when U2 blasted Red Rocks. The channel will air a film of Fontaines DC’s hometown gig recorded last year as a warm-up for the main feature.
March to Rise: A Benefit Concert for Middle Church
Friday, March 26th, 1am, eventbrite.com
Middle Collegiate Church is an iconic Gothic church in Manhattan's East Village with a diverse congregation who combine "on-your-feet worship" with "take-it-to-the-streets activism". Its members campaign for LGBTQ+ rights, racial equality and women's right to feel safe walking the streets of the city. On December 5th, 2020, a fire gutted the church, leaving only its stone facade and bell tower intact – the bell has rung for presidential inaugurations as well as for victims of 9/11.
But, as the press release for this special live fundraiser says, “no fire can stop revolutionary love”, and it’s no surprise to see an impressive array of stars stepping up to the plate for to help rebuild the church. The lineup for this night of healing words and music includes Norah Jones, Ani DiFranco, Ellie Kemper, Emily King, Heather Headley, Daniel Breaker and Aunjanue Ellis. The event will be co-hosted by the actor Tituss Burgess, star of the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and the businesswoman and TV personality Bevy Smith.
The North Will Rise Again, featuring Lightning Seeds and The Charlatans
Saturday, March 27th, and Sunday, March 28th, 7.30pm, £10-£57.35, universe.com
It's almost as big a rivalry as Leinster and Munster, and this weekend the debate gets settled once and for all as two music cities – Liverpool and Manchester – go head to head to decide which one has produced the best pop music of our times. The North Will Rise Again is an online microfestival celebrating a famous musical feud; the festival organisers want to highlight the devastation wrought on live music in the north of England by Covid-19, and help some of the venue owners and stage crew who have been forced out of work.
First up, on Saturday night, are The Lightning Seeds, the Scousers led by Ian Broudie, who have brought us such hits as Lucky You, The Life of Riley and England’s World Cup anthem Three Lions. Then, on Sunday, we cross to Manchester for a performance by The Charlatans, who rose to fame as part of the Madchester scene, effortlessly rode the Britpop wave, and established themselves as a vital force in modern music. They’re led by Tim Burgess, who has kept fans entertained through lockdown with his regular Twitter listening parties.
A Night in with Neil Gaiman
Monday, March 29th, 6.30pm, £10-£20, fane.co.uk
What drives the turbo-charged creative mind of one of Britain's most imaginative and successful authors? This livestream might give us a few insights into how one man's head can contain a universe of ideas. To celebrate the re-release of five of his most popular novels, Gaiman will be in conversation in two livestreamed events, the second one scheduled for April 9th. The reissued books – American Gods, Anansi Boys, Stardust, The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Neverwhere – will be a chance to discover why Gaiman is the go-to author when TV producers want to create another mind-bending visual feast.
Carl Bernstein and Fintan O'Toole: Rebuilding a Broken America
Tuesday, March 30th, 6.30pm, please enter a contribution between €5 and €15, crowdcast.io
This is the final event in the current Winter Series brought to you by the Festival of Writing & Ideas, in Borris, and it tackles the big question of where the United States goes after Donald Trump's presidency.
The former Washington Post journalist Carl Bernstein and the Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole put their heads (virtually) together to tease out the issues that have riven the US over the past four years of Trumpism, and assess how his attacks on the legitimacy of the election and his enabling of far-right extremism have undermined democracy and made the country a more dangerous and divided place. Bernstein and O’Toole will also talk about how the Biden-Harris administration can begin to heal its wounds.
Maroon 5 Livestream
Tuesday, March 30th, 8pm, £18.86, universe.com
The US band Maroon 5 have had a hugely successful 20 years. This livestream features their greatest hits, with a promise of stunning visuals and great tunes such as Payphone, She Will Be Loved and Moves Like Jagger. They'll also be unveiling their latest single, Beautiful Mistakes, in a show created in collaboration with the acclaimed music-video director Sophie Muller.
The band’s lead singer, Adam Levine, recently whipped up some controversy when he complained in an interview that “there’s no bands any more”. Lots of people responded by naming several currently active bands, but the shortness of the list kind of underlined Levine’s point that the traditional rock combo is becoming an endangered species. Still, here’s one band keeping the flame going.
