Going out: the best of what’s on this week

Pick of the week  

Electric Picnic

You’ve done a terrible job packing that rucksack/ wheelie case/bin bag. You have definitely not brought appropriate footwear, rain gear or sun-cream.

Your working arrangements for next week are loose to say the least, although you are fairly sure you asked your boss for Monday off about seven months ago, during those after-work drinks that ended up in that terrible nightclub when you made a move on Bernard from accounts (scarlet).

Can you leave yet? Will they notice? If you leave now you can get a lift with Jessica/Jim/ John and you spent aaaaaages putting together that deadly playlist. Can’t believe Lana Del Rey isn’t on till Sunday. Saps.

Your accommodation arrangements for the weekend are also a little up in the air. You don’t have a tent just yet, but you do have one of those gazebos that your Ma got in Dunnes and two foldable chairs. Sound.

Mind you, you have spent all week googling sales deals for cans to see where the best place is to get them on the drive down. And you’ve saved up a bunch of those Capri Sun drinks with the rescrewable lids for a little later refreshment. Smart.

Do we have to bring wellies? Are you bringing wellies? Nah we definitely won’t need them sure look it’s sunny outside now and no I haven’t read the forecast but did you see that about the hurricane, oh yeah, ha ha, nah wellies are heavy, we’ll be grand in flip-flops. Are bindis still a thing?

What are you going to see? Haven’t a clue, who’s playing Friday night? The Ticket said they’re great, but sure they haven’t a clue the dopes. Have you found a toilet that hasn’t been destroyed? I’d murder a coffee. That looks amazing where did you get that go on yeah give us a little bite. I’m taking me hangover to Mindfield, they’ve a prosecco bar and I need a sit-down. Where’s the rave in the woods? I’ve no signal. I’ll meet you left of the sound desk. This is going to be epic.

Friday  

Harvest Times Blues
Various venues/times, Monaghan, County Monaghan €50/€20/€15
harvestblues.ie
Monaghan town has hosted this blues festival for many years, and while its profile has been somewhat overshadowed by the same weekend's Electric Picnic, there's no denying its appeal for the hardcore blues music fan. Highlights incorporate Ronnie Greer's Blues Revue, Jordon Patterson Band, Rick Vito & the Lucky Devils, and Sugar Ray & the Bluetones.

Antidote & Crilli
Atlantic Bar Portrush 9pm £7/€5
atlanticbarportrush.com
It's the weekend when you can't deny that autumn is well and truly here and the Antidote and Crilli crews join forces to mark the end of the season with a blowout session. Portrush DJs and MCs Antidote keep things hopping downstairs with DBMCs, Oracy and the Antidote sound system, while there's drum'n'bass and jungle vibes and tings upstairs from Bangor's Crilli crew with DJ Snuff, Bad Operator, Sully and Phat Controller.

Output
Lone Wolf/Club Mollys Limerick 10.30pm €5
facebook.com/Output11
A new night Shannonside for fans of underground electronic music with the Output crew holding fort. The main man on the bill is Jasper, the Connemara DJ behind the Kinetika nights in Galway, the Scrobarnach festival, which took place in Mullingar last month, and blazing sets full of dark, bassy techno. Support from Benswan, Socky, BadManDeego and Don Falcone.

Alan Partridge Quiz
Bernard Shaw Dublin €10
facebook.com/thebernardshaw
How well do you know your Partridge? Here's your chance to find out as Bernard Shaw hosts a quiz about all things Partridge-related. It's hosted by Simon Greenall, the actor best known as Michael from the TV series, and it will probably be better entertainment than staying in and watching The Late Late Show, the most Partridge TV show ever.

Gatehouse
Roscommon Arts Centre 8pm €15/€12 ~
090-6625824
Some special happened when two long time collaborators, flute player John Wynne and fiddle player John McEvoy saddled up recently with concertina player, Jacinta McEvoy and singer, Rachel Gavey, whose choice of songs and inimitable phrasing set their new album, Tús Nua, apart. Intimate, open-armed music that sets its sights firmly on the present.

Saturday  

Division
Pyygmalion Dublin 6pm Adm free before 11pm/€10 after
pyg.ie
Pygmalion's regular Saturday night club keeps it local with three homegrown spinners. Sexshop has been in situ here for a couple of years supporting such visitors as Marco Carola, Paco Osuna, Konrad Black and Ryan Elliot. Do-Funkk has been crafting deep sounds for quite some times through sets for Faciendo Global Radio, work on his Domus label and appearances at clubs across Ireland and further afield. Finally, there's Will Kinsella, the producer, DJ and promoter behind a rake of interesting projects over the past few years.

Squeeze
Vicar St Dublin 7.30pm €45
ticketmaster.ie
Some bands and their music stand the test of time, and if there's one British band of the past 40 years that does just that then it's Squeeze. Mid-1970s UK punk gave them a leg-up and a lean-to, but the band's songwriting mainstays Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford were (and are) pop classicists at heart. Expect well over a dozen pop crackers, including Up the Junction, Tempted, Labeled with Love, and Another Nail in my Heart.

Sunday  

The Alan Kelly Gang and Eddi Reader
An tSeaneaglais, Derry 8pm £12/15
Kelly, Reader and their fun lovin' gang mine a seam where Irish and Scottish music intersect with no small degree of finesse and wit. Kelly's utter possession of his gargantuan piano accordion, wed with Reader's ever-evolving ever-revolving performance chutzpah, grounded in the fineboned playing of The Kelly Gang and Reader's partner and songwriter John Douglas, has rendered many of their live performances magical. This is the start of a lengthy tour, so catch them near you while you can.

Nicky Siano
Pygmalion Dublin 9pm €10
pyg.ie
When it comes to house and disco, Nicky Siano wrote the book or, at least, was around when the various chapters were compiled. a regular at David Mancuso's loft parties in new york, siano's handiwork at the gallery in the mid-1970s is what initially put his name up in lights as a dj with serious style, flamboyance and musical smarts. siano later djed at such nyc favourites as studio 54, le jardin and Body & Soul and ensured his place in the pantheon.