Weekender: |wiːkˈɛndə|– noun – what to do with your weekend.
Amnesty International Ireland and French Embassy
Wednesday 15 October | Freemason’s Hall | Free, 6.30pm
This evening the famously beautiful and esoteric surrounds of Molesworth street’s Freemason meeting Hall is hosting a special screening of French documentarian and academic Dr. Arnauld Gaillard’s film Honk examining the numerous absurdities of the death penalty. Through focusing on three individual and distinct cases the film explores how the death sentence generates pain, unfairness, violence and inefficiency in the heart of American society.
As part of this once-off event, put together by Amnesty International Ireland in conjunction with The French Embassy, the screening will be followed by a discussion on the justification, or lack thereof, of having any crime punishable by death. Speakers include Dr. Gallard himself, Prof. David Kenny of Trinity Law School and Dannie Hanna, Lawyer for the Texas Defenders Project. This promises to be a heated and thought-provoking discussion between several passionate and informed experts in their field. A nibbles and wine reception is also scheduled in the Freemason’s hall will also follow the evening’s debate.
Open House
Friday 17 – Sunday 19 October | Various locations | Free
As featured in the very centre of this magazine, Open House returns this year with a theme of Learning From Buildings. Completely gratis (though you may need to book tickets for some showings), Open House allows you to take a peek inside of many of the city’s finest buildings on both a personal and political scale. A fascinating way to engage with a built environment that can all too often be overlooked, Open House is a rare treat for the inquisitive soul. Highlights include the large-scale treasures like City Assembly House and the King’s Inns to intimate private residences like No. 53 Harty Place and Sam Stephenson’s No. 31 Leeson Close. There’s also a series of talks over the weekend which require booking. See openhousedublin.com and the centrefold of this month’s issue of Totally Dublin for more the full scoop on all the available venues and events.
Hunt & Gather: Prom Night – Class of ’87
Friday 17 October | The Pint | €12, 11pm
Its hard to believe, considering the effect they have had on the city’s cultural landscape, that the folks over at Hunt & Gather have only been at it for a year now. True to form, they’ve got something special up their sleeves to celebrate this milestone. Lads, root out the most ill-fitting suits and ruffled shirts. Ladies, source arrange your hair into your best approximation of a Marge Simpsons bouffant. That’s right, they are throwing a good old fashioned prom.
Granted, the closest thing most of us will have gotten to the real deal is endlessly watching repeats of Saved by the Bell (surely that’s not just us, right?) so thankfully H&G are pulling out all the stops for an evening of shameless, unbridled cheese. With photobooths so you your sweetheart can grab a memento of your magical night and a make up corner provided by Lorcansface slapping glittery goop and all that other good stuff all over your mug. There’ll be drinks deals and a bowl of spiked punch to keep you lubricated and in keeping with tradition there will of course be a prom king and queen crowned on the evening so don your finest glad-rags and be sure to show those pearly whites if you want to be in with a shout of being the belle/beau of the ball. More here.
Lisa O’Neill / Chequerboard / Ain’t Saint John
Saturday 18 October | The Joinery | €10, 3pm
Stonybatter’s beloved and sadly soon to be defunct Joinery is hosting an afternoon of fantastic local music this Sunday headlined by the always stellar Lisa O’Neill. O’Neill is a genuine original on the Irish music scene. With an idiosyncratic, down-home approach and truly unique, tender and expressive voice, she has been compared to visionary artists the like of Tom Waits, Gillian Welch and the indomitable PJ Harvey.
Local axeman John Lambert (Chequerboard) will also be playing accompanied by cellist Mary Barnett and a backdrop of hallucinatory visuals courtesy of Miranda Driscoll. Opening proceedings is Wexford born folky John Mac Naeidhe, also known as Ain’t Saint John. Mac Naeidhe draws on sounds of classic Americana to create something akin to the sunny south east’s own approximation of the great Bill Callahan. All in all you’d be hard pressed to find a lovlier way to wile away a blustery Sunday afternoon so get out of your pyjamas at a reasonable hour and head on down. Details here.
Mississippi Records On Tour + Marisa Anderson + Dragging An Ox Through Water
Sunday 19 October | The Sugar Club | €12.50, 8pm
The people behind Portland’s crate-digging oasis Mississippi records and it’s associated outré record imprint are travelling the world spreading the good word when it comes to unfairly forgotten or just flat out lost records of yesteryear and lucky for you they’ve decided to make a stop in our fair city’s Sugar Club. The Mississippi records story is so closely associated with eccentricity in taste and passion for new discovery and both these ideas are central to the multi-media presentation lead by Mississipe mastermind Eric Issacson. ‘A Cosmic and Earthly History of Recorded Music according to Mississippi Records’ mastermind Eric Issacson. The 90 minute film/slideshow/lecture combination strives to ‘instinctively and idiosyncratically illustrates a entire history of recorded music (from the birth of the first star in the universe all the way to the dark ages of the 1980s’. If all that wasn’t exciting enough, All materials employed as part of Issacson’s presentation will be from Mississippi Records vast and seldom seen archive of film, music and art.
But wait, there’s more. Following the presentation a pair of typically brilliant Missisipi associated acts will be taking to the stage. Firstly, the entirely unclassifiable but truly unmissible noise and drone influenced homemade textures of Dragging An Ox Through Water followed by Marisa Anderson, a phenomenal composer and multi-instrumentalist to who draws on influences as disparate as Delta blues, noise, country music of the 1960s and 1970s and West African guitar playing to make a joyfully singular racket all of her own. Full information here.
