SUPER EXTRA BONUS PARTY, Bello Bar, Dublin, tomorrow, €15.
SEPB’s return after a seven-year break seems to be a relatively stress-free affair, with the Kildare act saying they never fell out, so there’s no cliched rock’n’roll rifts to paper over. The band took a break in 2011 leaving a trail of memorable collaborations, two brilliant albums, plenty of crowdsurfing bruises and a Choice Music Prize that seemed to piss off the right people.
The six-piece’s irreverent mix of electronica, hip-hop, post-rock and indie hit the bullseye more times than you’d think on paper, with guests as varied as folk duo Heathers and rappers Mr Lif and Cadence Weapon. It’s not just a nostalgia trip either – with Switzerland released before Christmas and new single Purple Hearts out today.
Their hectic home gig on New Year’s Eve should be a hint of what’s to come for their first Dublin headliner since 2011 – with videos circulating of stage-diving and swinging from the rafters. There’s a lot of catching up to do.
JOHNNY MARR, Button Factory, Dublin, tomorrow, SOLD OUT
Every time Morrissey opens his mouth these days, more and more diehards wipe that Smiths reunion off their bucket list. Which is just as well as it really, REALLY isn’t happening.
While Moz can’t help himself upsetting the legions, his old partner Marr just puts the head down and gets on with it. The world’s most humble guitar god is releasing his third album Call the Comets next month, and he’s kicking off his European tour in Dublin, always an easy sell.
On Marr’s first two solo records The Messenger and Playland, he didn’t go for the obvious jangle calling card, instead carving out a new wave post-punk path – with songs like Easy Money, Back in the Box and Boys Get Straight catchy live belters. Smiths fans won’t be left out either, with Panic, Bigmouth Strikes Again and How Soon Is Now around the encore point.
DETROIT IN EFFECT: Out To Lunch, Tengu, Dublin
One of my best nights out in recent years was a flying visit to London to see Egyptian Lover and the shady cult hero Detroit In Effect in a 12-6am blur at Oval Space. You know what you’re getting with Egyptian Lover – old-skool electro-funk, scratching, 808 showmanship and Freeeky dancing. Detroit In Effect was something else though – a frantic mash of fist-up UR militancy and sliced-up electro at Stingray/DJ Assault tempos.
Originally a duo of DJ Macco and P-Dog, Macco is the only one who’s in Effect these days. D.I.E. is as hard to pin down as hard to pin down as Drexciya, with very few interviews and barely any mixes, so this is a rare chance to catch a true Detroit electro pioneer.
SNOW PATROL, Millennium Forum, Derry, tonight, SOLD OUT; Cork Opera House, tomorrow, SOLD OUT; INEC, Killarney, Monday, 60.45; Olympia, Dublin, Tuesday, SOLD OUT; National Opera House, Wexford, Wednesday, SOLD OUT
Fans in Dublin got an exclusive insight into Snow Patrol’s new album Wildness, at the Vinyl Dublin festival at IMMA last weekend, with Gary Lightbody and co in conversation with DJ Edith Bowman.
Lightbody has been very frank in interviews recently, explaining that the seven-year wait between Fallen Empires and Wildness was down to severe writer’s block and addiction issues, then trying to write sober.
In their absence, acts like Ed Sheeran, The Script and Kodaline have filled arenas and stadiums with a more watered-down version of emotive indie-rock, but Snow Patrol are back with a run of sold-out dates and an album that’s sure to hit No1 in two weeks when it’s released.
Rock Against Homelessness, Olympia, Dublin, Sunday, €35
The spiralling homelessness crisis in Ireland is something we can’t brush off any longer, and Rock Against Homelessness 2018 is a much-needed drive to raise funds and awareness of the problem.
A record total of over 9,000 people are now homeless in Ireland, with 3,000 of those children. And as the Youth Foundation has pointed out, we should try not to just focus on the numbers, as there’s a person behind every statistic.
Acts involved on the night include High Hopes Choir, Imelda May, Dermot Kennedy, Wyvern Lingo, Loah, Paula Meehan and Jack O’Rourke, with MC Tara Flynn, and a promise of even more very special guests.
Moo Kid 