FRIDAY
Black Sabbath
3Arena Dublin 7pm €94.50 ticketmaster.ie
The price of admission might bring a tear to the eye and a dent to the debit card, but there's no doubt that this rare Irish show by Black Sabbath – inarguably the best metal band, like, ever – will be their final gig in these parts. Three original members, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler, will perform songs culled mostly from their first five classic metal/rock albums, all of which were released in the band's halcyon decade of the 1970s. Rival Sons support. Gig of the week, no question.
Melodic
Button Factory Dublin 11pm €15/€13/€10 buttonfactory.ie
Melodic get the finery out for their fifth birthday bash which features Pig&Dan at the top of the bill. The Pig&Dan story began when Igor Tchkotoua and Dan Duncan fortuitously met on a flight to Spain, kicking off a run of releases on labels such as Drumcode, Soma and Cocoon as well as their own Elevate imprint. The pair have become clubland globetrotters too, taking their booming house all around the world from Space in Ibiza to festivals like Tomorrowland and Nocturnal Wonderland.
Martin Hayes and David Power
Ionad Cultúrtha, Ballyvourney, Cork 8.30pm €20/€5 ionadculturtha.ie
Long-time collaborators from their work with the Master of Tradition festival and tours, Feakle's master of all master fiddle players Martin Hayes (and founding member of The Gloaming) resumes old acquaintance with Waterford's divine piper David Power for a performance in an intimate setting.
Subject
District 8 Dublin 11pm €18/€15/€10 district8dublin.com
A serious collection of techno heavyhitters get in formation in the Liberties tonight. Paula Temple has form in Dublin from previous visits when audiences reacted well to the Berlin-based producer's sets. She's the woman behind such crunchy, thumping techno weapons as Deathbox for R&S and Speck of the Future, as well as killer sets at Berghain, Tresor, Bloc and ADE. Support from Birmingham DJ and Elements producer Rebekah Parmar and Subject's Cailin Power.
Ian Shaw w/ Phil Ware Trio
Billy Byrnes, Kilkenny (Friday) 9pm,
10,
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; Workman’s Club, Dublin (Saturday) 8pm,
15,
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Welsh vocalist Ian Shaw began his stage career telling jokes, and though he has grown into a serious singer with a clutch of critically acclaimed albums under his belt, he retains the warmth and extroversion of a born raconteur. His association with pianist Phil Ware – UK-born but an influential figure on the Dublin scene for more than a decade – has borne various exotic fruits over the years, including the excellent Abbey Road Sessions. Expect to laugh and cry and howl for more.
Cass McCombs
Whelan’s, Dublin 8pm €18.50
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Also Sat, Róisín Dubh, Galway 8pm
16/
14
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As far as this Californian singer and songwriter is concerned, it is all to play for – folk, rock, country, punk, roots, psych and a few other bendable genres play a part in his creative output. McCombs performs rarely in Ireland, so these gigs are your 2017 opportunities to catch a singular, special talent.
UFO Club
Wigwam Dublin 10pm €10/€8 wigwamdublin.com
Back in the day, there was a legendary Dublin club of the same name starring Francois and Mick Heaney, but this ain't it. For their second Middle Abbey Street outing, this unidentified flying object welcomes Percolate's Krywald & Farrer to town from across the Irish Sea, where their lush, simmering mix of house, techno and disco has seen them make many waves. Aside from stellar DJ sets, they've had releases on Gottwax and Rob da Bank's Silver Bear label, while their Peries edit project has received many props. Support from the UFO crew.
SATURDAY
Izumi Kimura & Gerry Hemingway
Mick Lally Theatre, Galway, Saturday, 8pm,
10,
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; Royal Irish Academy of Music, Westland row, Dublin, Monday, 7pm, adm free,
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Since she relocated to Ireland almost 20 years ago, Japanese pianist Izumi Kimura has become a staunch champion of free improv and a lightening rod for contemporary composition. This brief series of duo encounters begins with a meeting with acclaimed US free drummer Gerry Hemingway, whose previous collaborators include free pioneer Anthony Braxton. The faint-hearted should make alternative arrangements.
Howth Burns Nicht 2017
Abbey Tavern, Howth, Co Dublin 8pm €20 087-6780360 howthsingingcircle.com
An annual celebration of all things Robbie Burns, Howth Singers Circle gather round the fire for another chance to raid his voluminous song catalogue. Expect your vocabulary as well as your songbook to be enriched.
SUNDAY
Emotional Archaeology
Survey of the work of Daphne Wright (Gallery I until February 26) RHA Gallagher Gallery, 15 Ely Place, Dublin rhagallery.ie
Welcome 25-year survey of the work of Daphne Wright, accurately described as a "quietly influential" artist. From jesmonite life casts of her sons to eerie reincarnations of dead animals in a compound of "white sparkling marble dust" she creates installations, films, recordings and drawings that explore areas of fundamental human experience in surprising, compelling ways.
Margo Price
Button Factory, Dublin 7.30pm €23 buttonfactory.ie
If you're looking for the kind of country singer and songwriter that has more woes, worries and weeps than your average mortgage-drowning parent of teenagers, then Margo Price is your best bet. Her 2016 debut studio album, Midwest Farmer's Daughter, documents her trials in a succinct, old-fashioned way that brings to mind C&W greats such as Loretta Lynn.
