BEATYARD
Sat -Sun, Dún Laoghaire the-beatyard.com
There is something about the Beatyard festival that warms the cockles of our community cultured heart. Run by the Bodytonic crew, who have been putting on club nights and now bars and pubs in different parts of the city for 16 years, it takes the best bits of their many operations and transports them to a seaside setting for a weekend festival.
The set-up is excellent. We’ve made this point before, but it really struck home again earlier this summer while we were at Primavera in Barcelona. That festival takes place in a mammoth, purpose-built outdoor venue complex. It means that the usual festival problems of queues, facilities and toilets are much easier to manage, and weather isn’t as much of a problem, as concrete doesn’t get muddy.
The former Stena Line ferry terminal in Dún Laoghaire has plenty of potential in this regard and, with a bit of imaginative thinking, it could be transformed into something similar, though on a smaller scale, to Barcelona’s Forum complex. The Beatyard is a brilliant showcase for this, thanks to its proper bars and facilities and eclectic, interesting offer.
The music roster is top-notch. Snarky Puppy are one of best touring acts in the world. George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic deserve all the reverence their funk-driven mothership gets. Lee Scratch Perry shows no signs of slowing his game. Roy Ayers and Boney M are a true touch of class. And Charles Bradley is not messing around when he calls his band the Extraordinaires.
The lazy, bank-holiday atmosphere is also more conducive to discussions and chats, and the Banteryard festival is particularly strong. There are chats on the attention economy, with people from Facebook, Starcom and Mediaworks; ethical fashion with Dominique McMullan, Rosie O’Reilly and more; Blindboy Boatclub from the Rubberbandits on art, politics, sex and fish fingers; George Clinton himself; and an excellent session on Irish music videos with This Greedy Pig, Tony Kearns, Brendan Canty, Hugh O’Conor and Dave Tynan.
At time of press there were still some tickets available. See the-beatyard.com for the necessaries.
FRIDAY
My Real Life
Theatre Royal, Waterford, 8pm €17/€15 theatreroyal.ie
Writing successful fiction for young readers has never been child’s play, but applying those skills to the stage can be another challenge. Eoin Colfer, the Wexford- born creator of the Artemis Fowl phenomenon, has written for theatre before with Holy Mary, a play for young audiences in which a girl prepares to make her first Holy Communion, but here he turns his attentions to matters more adult, perhaps even to a sacred cow. When Noel, played by Don Wycherley, leaves a rambling voicemail on his best friend’s phone asking him for a “good speech” for the “afters”, it’s clear he’s not talking about a wedding party.
Suicide has always been a tricky subject to dramatise, to say the least, and it is a worrying dramatic metaphor in any circumstances. In Ben Barnes new production for Waterford’s Theatre Royal it becomes a kind of self-audit, a recollection of heartache and love, regret and euphoria, and a man dealing with multiple sclerosis. Debuted in 2014 as a short 15-minute play, it has here been extended to 90 minutes, still a short aperture to contain the thoughts of a lifetime as it draws troublingly to its end.
SATURDAY
Indiependence 2016
Mitchelstown, Co Cork 1pm €119/€109/€99 ticketmaster.ie Also Sat/Sun
One of Ireland’s perennial outdoor music events carries on regardless, and it’s good news as crowd-friendly music acts such as BellX1, The Strypes, Walking on Cars, The Blizzards, The Kooks, Editors, and The Frank & Walters take charge of the buzz. Other festival treats include the Spoken Word stage (curated by Wasps vs Humans) and band/musician interviews (Saturday and Sunday) courtesy of Culture Vultures.
Shine
Queen's University Belfast 9.30pm £22/£20 shine.net
Circus is the night Yousef first established in Liverpool a decade and a half ago and is still proving to be a major draw for him. The club’s visit to Belfast this weekend will feature the Circus ringmaster in the main room alongside John Digweed, the dude with the well-seasoned ability to turn deep, dark, throbbing electronic thrillers into big room bangers, and Nocturne’s Jordan. Derry crew Jika Jika host Room 2 with Ejeca and Schmutz.
Division
Pygmalion, Dublin 6pm €10 pyg.ie
Bill Patrick made his bones as a DJ in late 1990s New York. He began at the Limelight, but also called Vinyl and the superb Arc home for spells. Also known for the Robots’ parties and Robot Radio host, as well as some fine techno and house sensibilities, Patrick’s Private Stock outings on Pulse Radio demonstrate the width and depth of his musical leanings. A champion booking from Division.
Aziza Brahim
Sugar Club, Dublin 8pm €15 bigbangfestival.com
Singer Aziza Brahim (right) is an artist for our times: She was born in a refugee camps lining the Algerian border with western Sahara, raised in exile, now travels the world and providing a compelling voice
to the still dispossessed Saharawi people. With support from the Irish- Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu; part of the Big Bang “world music” festival, which also features noted Indian sitarist Roopa Paneshar (Friday) and Hotter Than July (Sunday).
Buttons and Bows
Upstairs at The Live Lounge, The Plaza, Buncrana, Co Donegal 8pm €15 086-268 5550
This newly reunited foursome features the combined fiddles of Séamus and Manus McGuire alongside Sliabh Luachra box player Jackie Daly and multi instrumentalist Garry Ó Briain. Unmissable.
SUNDAY
Sonairte Laytown, Co Meath 3pm €25 facebook.com/FlameFestivalOfficial
Sonairte, an eco-centre just outside the Co Meath seaside village of Layton, is the site for this jam-packed day of Irish talents covering many genres. Acts on the three-stage bill include Fish Go Deep, Cian Finn (above), Travis Oaks, The Valves, Mark Austin (The Minutes), Just Mikey, Daniel Burke and many more. The event will also feature art installations, fashion exhibitions, face- painting and deluxe food and drink.
Paranoid London
Pygmalion, Dublin 9pm €10 facebook.com/ParanoidLondon
You could says Paranoid London’s Geraldo Delgado and Quinn Whalley have built quite a rep by not doing what everyone else is doing. But while a rep for vinyl-only releases and not giving interviews and will do so much, it helps greatly that the duo’s acid house rebel music is quite splendid. Their debut album is an excellent soundclash full of passion and bravado. They will bring their barrage of synths with them tonight, so expect some serious headbanging.
KiNK
Crystal, Waterford 10pm €20/ €18/€15 facebook.com/Kink303
Strahil Velchev, the done of Bulgarian electronic music, has done a lot of living since he first came to notice in the clubs of Sofia in the late 1990s. There have been stellar releases since then for labels such as Rush House, Running Back, Dirtybird and Clone, while his Cyrillic side-project has also gained a lot of moment. But it’s Velchev’s live shows as KiNKthat have really raised the bar, a spectacle where Velchev and his machines create a storm of sound. Support from Kenno and Warren Sauvage .
Hotter Than July
Smithfield Square, Dublin (outdoor) From 3pm Adm free
Along with tolerance, world peace and chocolate cake, dancing in the streets is something there should be more of. That’s what’s sure to break out on the streets of Smithfield when than the Hotter Than July “world music” fiesta hits twon. “World” has become a suspect particularly adjective, when most of the musicians on stage are based in Ireland, though they may hail from Africa, South America or the near East . Still, it will certainly broaden your musical horizons. It’s rumoured that Aziza Brahim ( see Saturday) may also make a appearance. What better way to celebrate 21st-century Ireland than to boogie with your new neighbours?
