Thirteen Virtual Ways To Have A Shit Hot Easter!*

After all that hard work and moaning about the church, the bleedin' pubs are closed again on Good Friday! Nobody, though, is going to stop us virtually running riot this Easter Bank Holiday with some brilliant online gigs, TV and film premieres and other quality fare to look forward to. We've also come up with a list of what needs to be on the sofa with you as you navigate your way through a seriously hectic audiovisual schedule.

Friday

Love Wedding Repeat
Having caused numerous rib fractures with This Way Up - nothing ever has or will in the future make us laugh as uproariously as that ‘Zombie’ scene - Aisling Bea returns tonight in Love Wedding Repeat.
The Groundhog Day of smug middle-class weddings, the Netflix one-off also benefits hugely from having Tim Key, AKA Alan Partridge’s Sidekick Simon, in it.

Sofa essential: A big box of Kleenex for the soppy bits, of which there are many.

Fleabag Live From The Soho Theatre
Before dazzling TV viewers with her self-narrated reflections on life, love and the considerable shortcomings of the male species, Phoebe Waller-Bridge performed Fleabag as a one-woman show. She reprised it last year in London's Soho Theatre who have it on charity pay-per-view this weekend. It's also available on Amazon Prime but this is a much nicer way of watching it.

Sofa essential: A family-sized tub of Ben & Jerry's and one spoon for when those men (bastards!) get up to their usual lowlife shenanigans.

https://sohotheatre.com/fleabag-for-charity

7.30pm Laura Elizabeth Hughes' Hot Press Lockdown Session
Kicking of an Easter Lockdown Session bonanza is this fabulous Dublin songstress whose Pieta House-supporting 'For You (Home)' single premiered recently on hotpress.com. On Saturday it's the 7.30pm turn of Sophie Doyle Ryder and on Sunday Curtis Walsh so, go on, fill yer Instagram boots.

Sofa essential: Your credit card so you can send love and money Pieta's way.
https://www.pieta.ie/support-our-work/donate

To kick off the #EasterWeekend, we're delighted to present @LEHsounds on the Hot Press #LockdownSessions – live on the Hot Press Instagram at 7.30pm tonight!#StayHomehttps://t.co/QvmdCEqJ81

— Hot Press (@hotpress) April 10, 2020

Billie Eilish Live At Music Midtown
Friday night's musical entertainment is provided by Planet Pop's hottest property who followed up her Electric Picnic stormer - can we go back there now, please?! - with another beaut of a show in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sofa essential: We scoffed an excellent falafel during her Stradbally set, so in vegan solidarity with Billie break out the chick peas!

Saturday

Questlove DJ Set
If you're still going strong in the wee small hours, the Roots mainman is throwing a virtual Wuf In The World dance party, which "explores the miracle bond between dogs and humans."

Sofa essential: We're kinda thinking of a nice whiskey at this time of the morning. And some of that Jamaican aroma Massive Attack were so partial to back in the day.

 

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@questlove is taking over our Instagram for a Virtual DJ Set on Friday April 10th at 5p pst to wrap up the 1st annual #WUFweek2020 on #NationalHugYourDogDay Grab your 🐕 & let’s dance people! @FoundAnimals Foundation will be donating $1 ( up to 5k) for every user that joins - benefiting the Better Neighbor Project who provide vet and pet services to homeless communities that are affected during the quarantine.

A post shared by WUF IN THE WORLD (@wufintheworld) on Apr 9, 2020 at 12:55pm PDT

Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
If you can't get to the London West End the London West End will come to you courtesy of Andrew Lloyd-Webber and his new The Shows Must Go On series. Taking care of wholesome Saturday afternoon family viewing is that fella Joseph and his glam rocker coat. All together now: "I closed my eyes, drew back the curtain (wooooooaaaaaaahhhhhawwwwww)/ To see for certain (wooooooaaaaaaahhhhhawwwwww) what I thought I knew..."

Sofa essential: Seeing as Pick 'N' Mix is probably out at the moment, the biggest bar of Fruit & Nut in the shop and a mineral for the kids.

Radiohead Live At Punchestown 2000
The memories will come deluging back as you watch Thom and the boys ripping it up twenty years ago in a tent in (well, near) Dublin. Greedy Radiohead-ers can immediately fast forward to 2016 for their equally incendiary Lollapalooza set.

Sofa essential: We were on a cider buzz when we saw them at Punchestown, so a flagon of whichever apple-y concoction takes your fancy.

Sunday

Talking Sopranos Podcast
If you're up for some gangster rapping of a Sunday, Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti) and Steve Schirripa (Bobby Baccalieri) are hosting a genius podcast which goes right back to Tony & Co's first TV adventure. The perfect primer for 1. Re-watching the whole of The Sopranos and 2. The The Many Saints Of Newark prequel film which is coming soon courtesy of HBO. See elsewhere on hotpress.com for the deep dive into our Sopranos archives.

Sofa essential: One of Tony's big fat trademark cigars and/or a plate of Carm's trademark Baked Ziti. https://www.bingingwithbabish.com/recipes/ziti-lasagna has the ste-by-step.

Tiger King & I
The joyous news for those missing the murder, mayhem and madness of Joe Exotic & Co. is that Joel McHale is hosting a Tiger King after-show which will receive its Netflix premiere on Sunday.
We're still waiting for the exact time, but there will be brand new interviews with John Reinke, Joshua Dial, John Finlay, Saff, Erik Cowie, Rick Kirkman, and Jeff and Lauren Lowe. For reasons of a penal nature the star man himself won't be able to attend, but we're sure his presence will loom large over proceedings.
See all you cool cats and kittens there!

Sofa essential: Kit Kats for when you're feline peckish. Okay, we'll get our coats...

The Tiger King and I — a Tiger King after show hosted by Joel McHale and featuring brand new interviews with John Reinke, Joshua Dial, John Finlay, Saff, Erik Cowie, Rick Kirkman, and Jeff and Lauren Lowe — will premiere April 12 pic.twitter.com/8fbbNdaiDA

— Netflix (@netflix) April 9, 2020

6pm Andrea Bocelli Music For Hope

‘Rebirth’ is the key theme as the opera superstar accepts an invitation from the stricken city of Milan to perform in the Duomo.
Currently bankrolling the purchase of essential protective equipment for medical staff through the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, the solo accompaniment will be provided by the cathedral’s regular organist, Emanuele Vianelli.
“On the day in which we celebrate the trust in a life that triumphs, I’m honoured and happy to answer ‘Sì’ to the invitation of the City and the Duomo of Milan,” the singer reflects. “I believe in the strength of praying together; I believe in the Christian Easter, a universal symbol of rebirth that everyone – whether they are believers or not – truly needs right now. Thanks to music, streamed live, bringing together millions of clasped hands everywhere in the world, we will hug this wounded Earth’s pulsing heart, this wonderful international forge that is reason for Italian pride. The generous, courageous, proactive Milan and the whole of Italy will be again, and very soon, a winning model, engine of a renaissance that we all hope for. It will be a joy to witness it, in the Duomo, during the Easter celebration which evokes the mystery of birth and rebirth.”

Sofa essential: It might take a bit of tracking down but Lambrusco Mantovano, which is nothing like the fizzy pop sold under the name in supermarkets here, is considered the ultimate Lombardy celebration wine. Failing that, no one will think harshly of you for sucking on a Peroni or Birra Moretti from one of Milano’s rival towns.

Queen Live At Wembley Stadium
The conventional wisdom is that Freddie Mercury was at the height of his live powers at Live Aid, but we reckon he was in even more gloriously OTT form when Queen returned to Wembley Stadium in 1986 for their own weekend of headliners. Supported by Status Quo who also did a top-notch job of cranking out the hits, Freddie was as bouncy as the giant inflatables that escaped into the crowd, and milked every last drop of rock ‘n’ roll grandeur from ‘We Are The Champions’ at the end.

Sofa essential: Why, champagne of course, dahling!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=mmSbCgVBaMM&feature=emb_logo

9pm Pulp & New Order Listening Parties
Strap yourself in for a double Britrock whammy of Twitter listening parties courtesy of that nice Tim Burgess from The Charlatans. First it’s Jarvis sharing juicy tidbits about Pulp’s A Different Class followed by New Order taking a trip down Power Corruption & Lies memory lane.

Sofa essential: Are you sorted for E’s & Wizz?

timstwitterlisteningparty.com

* Please see Chris Kent’s Comedy In Solitary contribution for further elucidation...

Hot Press Presents: Comedy In Solitary – bringing you sketches from some of Ireland's favourite comedians during lockdown.

Kicking off proceedings this #GoodFriday is Cork's @chriskentcomic!https://t.co/x3aCjRjl5v

— Hot Press (@hotpress) April 10, 2020