The Guide: The events to see, the shows to book, and the ones to catch before they end

Event of the week

Van Morrison

Sunday, December 4th/Monday December 5th, Europa Hotel, Belfast; 5.30pm; £180; ticketmaster.ie

For many people, Van Morrison is one of the few remaining ‘60s rock legends still standing, yet his obdurate nature (especially throughout the pandemic) has dulled some people’s admiration of him. Nonetheless, he has (obviously) numerous peerless songs in his back catalogue and so these swish, jazz club cabaret-style appearances (which include a champagne drinks reception and dinner, hence the upgraded ticket price) might just be the gigs for those that really want to see someone of Morrison’s stature very much up close and personal. Beats a 3Arena show, any day of the week.

Gigs

Villagers

Monday December 5th, National Concert Hall, Dublin; 7pm; €36.50; nch.ie; Wednesday, December 7th, An Grianan Theatre, Letterkenny, County Donegal; 8pm; €31.50; angrianan.com; Thursday, December 8th/Friday, December 9th, Town Hall Theatre, Galway; 7.30pm; €31 tht.ie

The recent reissue of a digital edition of Villagers’ most recent release, Fever Dreams, featured acoustic versions of a few of the album’s songs. Cue an idea: why not embark on a tour that stripped down and freshly arranged not just the songs on Fever Dreams but also Conor O’Brien’s other albums, from his 2010 debut Becoming a Jackal onwards? Sounds like a great plan to us.

Gilla Band

Friday, December 9th, National Stadium, Dublin; 7pm; €30; ticketmaster.ie, also Thursday December 15th, Empire Music Hall, Belfast; 7.30pm; £18; ticketmaster.ie

Over ten years on the go, Dublin’s Gilla Band continue to cause disruption. Three albums lay testament to their value – 2015′s Holding Hands with Jamie, 2019′s The Talkies (placed at the top spot on this paper’s 50 Best Irish Album of All Time list), and this year’s Most Normal – but it’s fair to say that Gilla Band are an onstage in-your-head experience. The sound is furious, sometimes uncontained and, let it be said, not for all, but anyone that likes grit in their cornflakes will surely dive in.

Soda Blonde

Friday, December 9th, Vicar Street, Dublin; 7pm; €28; ticketmaster.ie

We recall when Little Green Cars (the band that Soda Blonde arose from, phoenix-like) split up a few years ago that we might never see their like again play a venue as prestigious as Vicar Street, yet here we are. It has been quite the career path: new name, new music, new focus, and a thirst for retrieving lost time. The band’s 2021 debut album, Small Talk, is proof positive that the game is not just afoot but that they’re on top of it. Expect a celebratory vibe here, with new songs providing the proverbial cherry on the cake.

Tony O’Shea is one of Ireland’s finest documentary/socio-realist photographers

Photography

Tony O’Shea – The Light of Day

Until February 18th, Photo Museum Ireland, Temple Bar, Dublin; adm free; photomuseumireland.ie

For some inexplicable reason, this is the first major retrospective exhibition of the work of Tony O’Shea, one of Ireland’s finest documentary/socio-realist photographers. Based on his book of the same title, which was published in 2020 to coincide with an exhibition (subsequently postponed) at the same venue, this collection, digitally archived and curated by Photo Museum Ireland, brings together for the first time a large portion of the photographer’s ground-breaking output. For the diary: O’Shea signs copies of his book on Saturday, December 17th.

Exhibition

Abigail O’Brien PRHA Selects ...

Until Saturday, January 14th, Glór, Ennis, Co Clare; adm free; glor.ie

A significant group exhibition of work from the RHA council is selected by artist Abigail O’Brien (the first woman president of the RHA in its 200-year history). The breadth of the exhibition includes artists such as Alice Maher, Mick O’Dea, Vivienne Roche, Una Sealy, Eithne Jordan, James Hanley, and O’Brien herself, while the diversity of work embraces still life, photography, landscape, and drawing.

Comedy

Foil, Arms & Hog

Saturday, December 3rd/Sunday, December 4th, Vicar Street, Dublin; 7pm; €28; ticketmaster.ie; Friday, December 9th, INEC, Killarney, Co Kerry; 8.30pm; €33.50; ticketmaster.ie

Formed in 2008, having first met at UCD Drama Society, and profoundly influenced by the sitcom, Father Ted, Foil (Sean Finegan), Arms (Conor McKenna) and Hog (Sean Flanagan) have since advanced to the point where they have become deft exponents of sketch comedy art. Observational humour is the name of their game, and life’s simple, commonplace subjects are their focus. The outcome is a genial rollercoaster ride of acutely Irish gags (an oldie but goldie example of which is How to Speak Dublin). The trio also perform at the same venue on Tuesday, December 13th/Thursday, December 15th.

Installation

Corban Walker: As Far As I Can See

Until January 15th, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork; adm free; crawfordartgallery.ie

Ireland-based internationally-acclaimed artist Corban Walker decided to be an artist in 1985 when he visited Paris, where he was influenced by Bulgarian-American artist Christo’s large-scale wrapping of the city’s Pont Neuf. As Walker is all too aware, size isn’t everything but his architecture-interconnected work as an artist has focused on experiences of scale. That continues in As Far As I Can See, an exhibition of mirrored sculptural and installation works that, states the exhibition programme notes, “disrupts and constructs alternative conditions where the viewer may become part of the object”.

Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s, The Silent Twins

Still running

Kinopolis

Thursday, December 8th-Sunday, December 11th, Irish Film Institute, Temple Bar, Dublin; ifi.ie

IFI’s annual festival celebrating Polish cinema returns after a pandemic-induced delay with a programme that includes Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s 2022 The Silent Twins and Andrzej Żuławski’s 1988 On the Silver Globe (the screening of which will be introduced by filmmaker Paul Duane).

Book it this week

Gift Grub/Mario Rosenstock, nationwide tour from February 24th; ticketmaster.ie

Bressie: Where Is My Mind? Live Podcast, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, April 28th; ticketmaster.ie

My Therapist Ghosted Me Live!, The Marquee, Cork, May 27th; ticketmaster.ie

Sting/Blondie, Malahide Castle, County Dublin, June 28th; ticketmaster.ie