MODFATHER
Paul Weller
Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Monday 8pm £37 waterfront.co.uk Olympia Theatre, Dublin Tues/Wed, Dublin €49.65 ticketmaster.ie
Yes, it really has been 40 years since Paul Weller first emerged as the snarky teenager who would split up The Jam at the height of its popularity, then subsequently forge a career that has always been close to the top. Having long since made peace with his past, expect some nuggets from The Jam's back catalogue as well as tracks from Weller's latest album Saturns Pattern. Special guests are Blossoms.
THEATRE
Scorch
The MAC, Belfast, Nov 17th-21st 8pm (sat mat 3pm) £12-£17 outburstarts.com
Online, you can be whatever you want. That is Kes's discovery, a teen fascinated with gaming, sci-fi and the alternative identity offered by avatars. "She thinks I'm a guy," Kes tells us about a new acquaintance in Stacey Gregg's new monologue play for Prime Cut. "And I don't correct her." Inspired by recent court cases, Gregg's piece is sympathetic to the gender curious protagonist, while keenly alive to narrower perspectives in the broader world. Kes watches movies "from the dude's point of view. Thought everyone did." The cruel irony is that the dude's point of view is often conservative and castigating, and bringing avatars into the real world is an easy way to get burned. A smart and sensitive piece, neither moralising nor glib, it's a coming-of- age tale entirely in tune with the times.
ART
In Darkness Let Me Dwell
Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, Co Meath Until Dec 4 solsticeartscentre.ie
For this beguiling trio of artists, their divergent work is cleverly linked by the invocation of the sweet melancholy of John Dowland's lament for voice and lute. Gary Coyle's southside gothic, Paul Nugent's subtle explorations of the unseen, and the late Patrick Jolley's dark visions edged with darker humour are brought together by curators Benedict Schlepper Connolly and Belinda Quirke.
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POP-UP JAZZ CLUB
Strut
Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Wed/Thurs improvisedmusic.ie Continues until Sat, Nov 21at
The Improvised Music Company stages a guerilla action in the Abbey this week, turning the Peacock stage into a pop-up jazz club that, over four days,will push the jazz envelope in all directions: funky Danish organ trio Ibrahim Electric get things grooving on Wednesday night; fast-rising vocalist Lauren Kinsella's Blue-Eyed Hawk bring their many-hued sounds to Thursday's curtain raiser; and then three talented Guilfoyles and guesting Austrian trumpeter rent said curtain in twain with a scorching late show.
HOMECOMING
U2
SSE Arena, Belfast 6.30pm Wed/Thurs, Nov 18th/19th £170/£95/£60/£33 ssearenabelfast.com
In which the Innocence + Experience tour finally makes it home. Now tweaked to what is, by all accounts, a streamlined, seamless whole, this is U2's first official indoor show in Ireland since late December 1989 (when they played The Point). And, of course, as if we needed reminding, they are in Dublin next week – November 23rd, 24th, 27th and 28th.
TWIN PEEK
In Dreams: David Lynch Revisited
National Concert Hall, Dublin 8pm €42.50/€37.50 nch.ie
Making its debut in Ireland, this is a live homage to music and songs from director David Lynch's film and television work. Musical director David Coulter oversees Jehnny Beth (Savages), Stuart Staples (Tindersticks), Mick Harvey (ex-Bad Seeds), Conor O'Brien (Villagers), Cibo Matto, Stealing Sheep, and mor, in a unique show that has been acclaimed from Australia to the UK. Unmissable.
TRAD
Gatehouse
Powerscourt Town House Theatre, Dublin Thursday Nov 19th 5.40pm €15 (incl nibbles) 087-2547574
These monthly Gael Linn gatherings are little delicacies, curated with an eye for detail and an ear for a great tune. This evening's concert features flute and whistle player John Wynne with his regular companion on fiddle, John McEvoy. Joining them are Jacinta McEvoy on guitar and concertina and singer Rachel Garvey.
ART
Industrial Yarns
Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Co Wicklow Until Nov 22 mermaidartscentre.ie
Philip Byrne's Industrial Yarns forms part of Bray's YARN Storytelling Festival. Behind the seaside façade, as Byrne points out, for much of the local population their livelihood depended on a number of local industrial enterprises: Solus, Industrial Yarns, Haughtons, Kennymore Sweets, Fiacla, Miller's Coffin Makers, Braycott Biscuits, Koss and quite a few more. Words, images and memorabilia recall the heyday of industrial Bray from the mid- to late-20th century.
BIRTHDAY
Tome
The Loft, Galway 9.30pm €10 facebook.com/tomegalway
Tome mark their second year in the party business with a visit from Randomer, the dude who has lit up so many club nights with his releases on Hemlock, L.I.E.S. and Clone. Randomer's tech grooves on such bangers as Huh have been a constant in Tome's two-year run. So it's highly appropriate that he is in town for tonight's session. Support from the Tome DJs.
DANCE
24 Frames Per Second
Dance Limerick, 1-2 John's Square, lightmoves.ie
The Light Moves Dance Festival takes place this coming weekend in Limerick, and central to that is 24 Frames Per Second, a project by Carriageworks that asked dancers, artists and film-makers to develop new work. It will be the first international exhibition of some of that work. See lightmoves.ie for the full line-up of screenings and events.
