TELEVISION, Academy, Dublin, tonight, & The Limelight, Belfast, Tomorrow
New York’s Television were always on the more cerebral end of the punk spectrum. Their 1977 debut Marquee Moon is still held up as one of the defining records of the era, with the title track a 10-minute masterpiece. The Limelight gig is billed as a Marquee Moon LP show, and I’m sure they’ll play the whole LP the Academy as well.
COLUMBIA MILLS, Whelan’s, Dublin, tomorrow
I’m waiting patiently for an album for Bray act Columbia Mills but until then we can catch the launch of their EP The Perfect Day. It’s another another woozy psychedelic shoegaze wonder, taking in The Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal Scream, Massive Attack and The Verve when they were just called ‘Verve’.
ANDREW WEATHERALL, Twisted Pepper, Dublin, tomorrow
A true DJ legend, Weatherall has been at the signpost of every fork in the electronic music road for around three decades now. From his production work with Primal Scream, Sabres of Paradise, Two Lone Swordsmen and Asphodells, and his sets that cover techno, house, rockabilly and dub, each gig’s a master-class.
TOM JONES, Olympia, Dublin, Tuesday & Wednesday
Tom Jones must be the only 75-year-old chancer who can try to pull off the sex panther stage routine without being laughed out of town. The man who still inspires mass knicker-throwing is in town for two shows, belting out chest-beating anthems and howling ballads like no one else, ever. Sex Bomb is quite possibly the worst song ever — tied with The Mavericks’ Dance the Night Away — but Jones has plenty of other brilliantly daft songs to make up for it.
NILS FRAHM, National Concert Hall, Dublin, Wednesday Berlin composer Nils Frahm is a rare artist — a true piano genius who can just as easily slot into the bill at Primavera or Sonar, as classical concert halls. For this latest tour he’s playing a grand piano, Mellotron, synths, drum machines and an organ he made himself. I first saw Frahm at Primavera in 2013, sinking into the seats in the Auditori on the final day and he single-handedly banished the fear. His performance at Belfast City Hall for the Red Bull Music Academy Weekender was another transcendent event, topped off with Frahm playing keys with a toilet brush.
MOGWAI, Cork Opera House, Wednesday, & Olympia, Dublin, Thursday
Mogwai will be the loudest band that’ll ever play Cork Opera House, but the plaster in the Olympia’s ceiling should last the distance. The Glasgow post-rock pioneers are also masters of delicate melody and ambient release, ebbing and flowing in waves. I’ve been dipping in and out of Mogwai for years without being as much of a disciple as some, but their latest album Rave Tapes is a belter, and their soundtrack to the French supernatural drama series The Returned is still rattling round my head after bingeing on the series a few months ago.
Moo Kid 