PICK OF THE WEEK
Science Week Various venues nationwide, Until Nov 15th, science.ie
Science Week isn't just for children, as research shows adults are just as stupid when it comes to science – just look at current Republican frontrunner Ben Carson.
On Friday at Film Base in Dublin, Future Love sees Dr Mark McCormack and Dr Emer Maguire discuss the future of love in the age of Tinder and other technologies against the backdrop of Spike Jonze's Her. Saturday, at the Lexicon library in Dún Laoghaire, director Daniel Dencik will introduce his movie Expedition to the End of the World, about a group of artists and scientists who sailed to Greenland on a three-mast schooner (no need for Tinder there).
And Sunday will see the Irish premiere of Experimenter in Dublin's IFI. The film, starring Winona Ryder and Peter Sarsgaard, is a biopic about Stanley Milgram, the scientist who devised a series of experiments to test how people react when asked to obey authority figures. The screening will be followed by a discussion, led by BBC Radio 4's Quentin Cooper, on whether the Milgram experiment would yield the same results today.
As part of a wider conference, Prof Mark Harrison will deliver a lecture entitled 'Pandemics: the genealogy of the concept' at Maynooth University. Participants are encouraged to arrive in biohazard suits to try and create some atmos. At GMIT in Castlebar, the Exploration Dome mobile planetarium will be parking up and bringing the wonders of the universe outside Connaught that little bit closer on Sunday. It's free but booking is necessary. And Cork's Blackrock Castle Observatory has a whole selection of events on throughout the week. For more on the huge range of events on all around the country, see science.ie.
FRIDAY
HOUSE
Julio Bashmore
The Academy, Dublin 11pm €22.90 twitter.com/juliobashmore
Matt Walker is a man for all seasons. Better known as Julio Bashmore, the Bristol producer can turn dancefloors on with his own killers like Battle for Middle You or knock listeners for six with exquisite production work for the likes of Jessie Ware. As his debut album Knockin' Boots showed, Walker's suss when it comes to melodic, soulful, classic house shapes is quite wonderful to behold. Support from Colin Perkins.
VOCAL JAZZ
Jo Lawry
JJ Smyths, Dublin; also Saturday, Belfast
Last time Australian vocalist Jo Lawry was in Ireland, she was appearing at the O2 with Sting and Paul Simon. The talented singer and songwriter returns this week with husband, renowned London-born saxophonist (and here, pianist) Will Vinson, for an altogether lower key duo tour - a chance to see two prominent members of New York's emigré music community in an intimate setting.
THEATRE
Beowulf: The Blockbuster
Project Arts Centre. Ends Nov 21 8.15pm €10-€18 (Sat mat 3pm €14) projectartscentre.ie
The oldest surviving epic poem written in Old English, Beowulf is a tale stacked so high with heroic developments – from rampaging monsters and battles, to beastly revenge and human counter-revenge, and finally a showdown with a dragon – that scholars can't say for sure whether or not the original included room for a lightsaber duel as well. Bryan Burroughs' world-beating solo performance, which began on the Dublin Fringe and charmed Edinburgh and New York, uses the story as a bridge between generations. In Burroughs' captivating physical display, a man dying from cancer enhances a telling for his Star Wars-obsessed son injecting special effects and real-world subtexts. The show doesn't avoid the saccharine, but it understands the impulse behind storytelling, whether ancient or rebooted, where imaginations have always flared as bright as a campfire or a blanket of CGI.
SATURDAY
AWARDS
NI Music Prize
Mandela Hall, Belfast 7pm £12 mandelahall.com
Featuring performances from shortlisted acts The Lost Brothers, Malojian, Ciaran Lavery and Ryan Vail (the full shortlist of 12 also includes the likes of Duke Special, And So I Watch You From Afar, Not Squares, SOAK and Tim Wheeler and can be found at nimusicprize.com), Neil Hannon's Divine Comedy will also receive the "Oh Yeah Legend Award". Hannon will also be on hand to perform tracks from his fantastic back catalogue.
REWIND
A Celebration of Red
Tivoli, Dublin 11pm €17.75/€15 tivoli.ie
The Red Records' rewind continues. This time the label marks the 20th anniversary of Mark McCabe's Maniac 2000 with a live peformance by old-school electro-pop crew 4 Rhythm. Headed by Simon Fitzpatrick, 4 Rhythm scored a hit with the original track before McCabe came along with his version and turned it into the fourth biggest-selling Irish single of all-time. Support from Feel So Real hit-makers Dream Frequency Sound Crowd's Mark Kavanagh, Colm Doogan and DJ X-Ray.
TRAD
Tom Mulligan Centenary Concert
Community Centre, Drumkeeran, Co Leitrim 8pm Adm free, 086-1089952
A night of musical celebration honouring the memory of Leitrim fiddle player and piper Tom Mulligan will feature his son, piper Neilidh Mulligan, and a host of local and visiting musicians.
ELECTRONICA
Bob Moses
Button Factory, Dublin
11pm €12 facebook.com/bobmosesmusic
Given the amount of albums released every year, there are bound to be some which don't get their fair share of the shine they're due. It would be a shame if Vancouver duo Bob Moses, who take their name from New York's infamous city planner, suffered from that fate. Debut album Days Gone By from Jimmy Vallance and Tom Howie is a strong, vibrant, classy blend of distinctive electronic grooves and savvy, classic songwriting.
UNDERGROUND BASS
Dub'n'Jungle
Turks Head, Dublin 10pm €8/€6 turkshead.ie
The Variant and Jenni Junglist crews join forces for a night of old-school jungle, dub and grime in the heart of Temple Bar. UK DJs Problem Child and Dean (Dubplate Wars) will take care of the jungle side of the house with The Energy Collective's John Flavrjay Conlon. Meanwhile, there is grime and dub on the menu with mode7, Brunswick Sound and Classical Trax's Sci-K and Ramona dishing it up.
SUNDAY
ART
Hennessy Portrait Prize 2015 National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin nationalgallery.ie
In an era of celebrities and selfies, portraiture is more popular than ever. The Hennessy Award shortlist demonstrates that there are works of real quality using traditional media as well as lens-based ways of making images. Included are superb paintings, sculptures, photographs and video works. From the 12 works on view, a winner will be announced on November 17th.
SINGER-SONGWRITER
Kurt Vile & the Violators
Vicar St, Dublin 7.30pm €32.50 (sold out) vicarstreet.ie
And so Vile, the co-founding member of War on Drugs, consolidates his status as a much-admired solo act by delivering tracks from his recently released sixth album, B'lieve I'm goin' Down. You like Nick Drake, Neil Young, Bert Jansch, Randy Newman? This way, if you please. Special guest is Waxahatchee.
