Weekender: |wiːkˈɛndə|– noun – what to do in Dublin this weekend.
12 POINTS FESTIVAL
Wednesday 15 – Saturday 19 April | Project Arts Centre | €15/12 each night, €50 festival pass
With three bands playing each of four nights in the Project Arts Centre, 12 Points Festival is a uniquely egalitarian festival concept. Each of the twelve acts playing comes from a different European country and each are pushing at the edges of jazz and experimental music. The structure means that you’re not only getting a bunch of wildly different musical prospects each night, but the musicians themselves are also fostering a network based on an appreciation of such out-there experimentation. All in all, a pretty unique prospect. For more you can check out our feature length preview of the festival itself, and you can win tickets to each night right here. Also work noting is after each night’s performance, there’s a ‘Showcase’ nights taking place in Sweeney’s where the music and revelry continues into the wee hours with jam sessions.
SPRING AWAKENING
Thursday 16 April | Various locations in Dublin 1 | Free, some ticketed events, 1pm onwards
Spring Awakening is the first in what one hopes will be a series of events from new artistic enterprise, Culture Dublin 1, an organisation dedicated to promoting awareness and engagement with cultural institutions within one of our most historically and culturally significant districts, Dublin 1. On Thursday 16th April, Spring Awakening will be setting up shop in an array of the area’s most remarkable landmarks for day of open, multi-disciplinary culture, affording you the opportunity to step inside some of Dublin’s most venerated buildings and celebrate this often-overlooked area of the city centre, with something on offer to cater to all tastes, from Argentine tango lesson, to talks on Georgian architecture, to Joycean discussion and workshops on penning a novel. Spring Awakening strives to help rejuvenate the area through affording attendees the opportunity to experience it’s past, present and future with fresh eyes. For full listings of events visit www.culturedublinone.com
REMEMBERING ITALIA ’90
Thursday 16 April | 1872 Room, Aviva Stadium | €5, 7pm
As part of One City One Book’s focus on the Barrytown Trilogy, Eamon Dunphy, Johnny Giles and Bill O’Herlihy will reminisce about the glory days of the 1990 World Cup when the whole country were part of Jackie’s army, a time so memorably captured in The Van. Trust me, if we had Guff-o-meter, it would heading for the ‘Are You Crazy?!’ reading. Reckon there’ll be tears flowing at this. Tickets here.
OKO-ALARMIST-REDIVIDER
Friday 17 April | Smock Alley Theatre | 6pm, Free but ticketed
This special one-off gig is a cross-promotional affair, between the aforementioned 12 Points and the ongoing Music Town event (featured last week and running until this weekend). OKO, Redivider and Alarmist and are 12 Points alumni who’ve gone on to release excellent work. I Love You Computer Mountain from OKO was amongst our favourite records of 2014, while Redivider blew our socks off at the Ensemble Music launch night in Block B late last year. Alarmist, meanwhile, are known for their spectacular visuals as well as their urgent post-rock. This gig’s free but you need to book tickets – which can be done here.
RECORD STORE GAY
Saturday 18 April | Outhouse | 1-6pm, Free but donations welcome!
Capel Street’s Outhouse, a vital meeting place and resource for the city’s LGBT community, is once again welcoming one and all for their annual celebration of music and diversity Record Store Gay. From 1pm Outhouse will be hosting a slew of live performances from a selection of the bands featured on the Record Store Gay compilation album. These compilations are invariably a treat, showcasing some of Ireland’s best underground musicians performing their chosen ‘gay anthem’, tracks fluctuate from the affecting to the tongue in cheek to form a document that is, year-in and year-out, worthy of attention. Also running in Outhouse on the day will be a poster exhibition featuring work from some of Dublin finest artists and illustrators. Festivities will run in Outhouse until 6pm, at which point the good times move over to PantiBar where the performances will continue until the PantiShow kicks off at 10.30. All proceeds from the day will be going towards the YesEquality Campaign. For more deets, check out our recent interview with the beautiful brains behind the operation, Aine Beamish and Andy Walsh. Elsewhere for Record Store Day, there’s live performances in Tower Records’ cafe on Dawson Street (featuring the Urges) and in Freebird Records (featuring amongst others Cloud Castle Lake).
JULIAN COPE
Saturday 18 April | Whelans | 8pm, €25
Former Teardrop Explodes frontman, poet, author, label owner, photographer, English national treasure and occultist Julian Cope has many strings to his bow. The breadth of the man’s work makes it nigh on impossible to anticipate what sort of head-feeding material he’ll be rolling out when he takes to the stage of Whelan’s this Saturday but you can be certain, whatever it is, that you’ll get your money’s worth. Groovy, very groovy.
