PICK OF THE WEEK
May Day May Day
That alert you can hear blaring signals the unofficial opening of festival season. From here until around October, expect festivals and events to be vying for your attention every weekend.
This weekend, there are two excellent options to choose from. The Bray Jazz Festival runs from Friday to Saturday, and the 16th edition opens with the Dublin City Jazz Orchestra led by Pete Churchill, paying tribute to Kenny Wheeler. Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Ed Motta gets in the groove on Saturday night. US trumpet star Ambrose Akinmusire tops the bill on Sunday night. There’s also plenty of domestic talent on offer down the bill, including intrepid vocalist Sue Rynhart and Afro-Cuban monsters Havana Che.
Over in the wesht, things are more dramatic thanks to the Galway Theatre Festival, which runs until May 9th. Established in 2007 to give a platform to local work, the nine-day festival crosses theatrical boundaries and the city, offering circus, spectacle and old-fashioned plays in a variety of traditional and found venues. Midweek treats include a clown adaptation of Love’s Labour Lost (Bank of Ireland Theatre, 1pm/7pm); Witness, a glimpse of a translator’s experience with war testimonials (An Taibhdearc, 8.15pm); and a multimedia meditation on life in the dole queue, Waiting in Line (Nuns Island Theatre, 2pm/ 8.15pm).
TRADITIONAL
Ré
Triskel Arts Centre, Cork 8pm €20
tunesinthechurch.com
A new coalition of musicians takes to the road tonight for a tour of churches. Whatever your possible misgivings about the venues choice (uncomfortable seating, po- faced setting, great acoustics?), the line-up is not to be trifled with. Liam Ó Maonlaí and Peter O’Toole of Hothouse Flowers join west Kerry concertina player Cormac Begley, ace piper Maitiú Ó Casaide and singer Eithne Ní Chatháin. Can they manage to whoop it up in these sanctified settings for this Tunes In The Church tour?
Caitlín and Ciarán
Wexford Arts Centre 8pm €15/ €12
wexfordartscentre.ie
Concertina and fiddle make exceedingly cosy bedfellows, and are even more at ease with the occasional step dance stitched into their fine tapestry. Caitlín Nic Gabhann and Ciarán Ó Maonaigh (above) celebrate their debut CD with a series of gigs, with tonight’s show supported by Bealtaine Festival, doffing its cap to the intergenerational passing on of tunes and steps that lies at the heart of the tradition.
CLUB
Abstract
Opium Rooms, Dublin 11pm €15/€12/€10
abstract.ie
A fine double-bill to kickstart a busy bank holiday weekend. Matthew Dear is a man on a mission to thrill for many years. Between his work on the Ghostly and Spectral Sound labels, remixes for various pop blue-chips and releases under his own name (Audion and Jabberjaw), Dear has rarely paused for breath. He’s joined this evening by Matt Tolfrey, the Leftroom overseer whose ear for a good tune has seen that label provide elbow-room for Maceo Plex, Jay Haze, Laura Jones and others over the past decade.
HOUSE
Duke Dumont
Savoy, Cork 10.30pm €22.50/ €15
dukedumont.com
The pop-house boom has been good to Andy Dyment. When it comes to the weekend sound of the crowd, his tunes have been nigh on ubiquitous over the past two years. Dyment produces user-friendly house tracks that shimmy and shake and will join you for a luridly coloured beverage at the bar. Expect whoops of delight all night long for this Corker by the Lee.
THEATRE
Live Collision
Various venues Until Sunday
livecollision.com
And now for something completely different? Live Collision is a live art festival, featuring performances, digital interactions, dialogues and exhibitions from local and international performers. It’s all new, so highlights are almost impossible to pick, but wroth taking a chance on are Best Before End by Helen Paris, Katy Baird’s Workshy and Dickie Beau: Unplugged.
