Gig Guide: the New Music Festival at the NCH, plus the best of what’s on this week

PICK OF THE WEEK

New Music Festival
National Concert Hall, Dublin, Thurs-Sat, nch.ie
This weekend, the New Music Festival takes over the National Concert Hall, Dublin, with a programme of contemporary classical music, planned with the help of composer, conductor and pianist Thomas Adès.

There will be Irish premieres of Adès' Totentanz and Living Toys; two operatic superstars with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in the form of Simon Keenlyside and Christianne Stotijn; and Tiny Portraits in Tiny Rooms, which is a Crash Ensemble music trail in various rooms around the venue.

Among the main highlights is Gerald Barry's riotous new opera Alice's Adventures Under Ground, which drew yelps of laughter from the crowd during its European premiere in the Barbican. Performed by the Britten Sinfonia and conducted by Thomas Adès, the performance tasks its seven singers with portraying 52 roles between them. As the only member of the voice cast restricted to a single part, Barbara Hannigan embodies the bemused yet resilient Alice and, arms aloft and waving, at several points appears to be conducting herself with aplomb.

The hooting mania of the Alice mythos is inherent in the text, but few adaptations succeed in capturing the wickedly subversive absurdity of Lewis Carroll’s classic, which is a distinctly adult melange of poetical allusions, maths problems and linguistic in-jokes.

Gerald Barry wastes no time constructing a vast, great clanking hootenanny in its image. Much of the narrative is imparted by overhead screen, along with stage directions, lyrics and, in one memorable moment, some upside-down arithmetic. The denizens of Wonderland are quick to remind us that “language is worth a thousand pounds a word”, which might account for the piece’s breakneck briskness, coming in at under an hour from start to finish. Barry makes up this shortfall by cramming as much as possible into that time, with segments in Russian, German, French and Latin, a croquet match that links moves to piano techniques, and a bravura sequence in which Humpty Dumpty’s Recitation is set to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.

Overwhelming, bewildering, and delightful, the most surprising thing about the entire madcap romp is that it's over within a bristling 50 minutes. Alice is short, but sweet, and there's little doubt you're watching something wonderfully strange, but strangely wonderful.
- Seamas O'Reilly

FRIDAY

Hennessy Lost Friday
RHA, Dublin 7-11.30pm, €20 eventbrite.ie
This is a fine blend of cutting- edge art, music and spoken word in the elegant surroundings of one of the country's finest galleries. Those on the roster include poet John Cummins; live music from Bad Bones and Valerie Francis; DJ sets from Lime and Fancy; and interactive art from Holly Pereira. Don't forget to check out the stunning Joy Gerrard exhibition, and the food and drink from every hip hop act's favourite brandy.

I Have a Tribe
Whelan's Dublin 8pm €15 whelanslive.com
Fronted by Dubliner Patrick O'Laoghaire, I Have a Tribe has assuredly made their way from ingénue act to established presence. Last year's Beneath a Yellow Moon album confirmed O'Laoghaire's winning way with melody, and for live shows the music is subtly enhanced by the contributions of former Fight Like Apes' singer, May Kay.

Emma Pollock & RM Hubbert
The Workman's Club Dublin 8pm €12/€10 theworkmansclub.com Also Sat, Cork; Sun, Galway
It isn't often that Ireland is on the receiving end of a series of gigs for a movie tie-in, but thanks to Dundalk documentary maker, Niall McCann – whose Lost in France film investigates the rise of indie music in 1990s Glasgow, via cult record label Chemikal Underground – we can finally get to see two of the era's best songwriters very up close and very personal. Lost in France opens at Dublin's IFI today.

Shivers
Electric Galway 11pm €8/€5 electricgalway.com
Galway's well turned out house party marks a year in business with a visit from Berlin don Frank Timm aka Soundstream. Over the years, Timm has produced a fantastic run of tunes which put disco and funk bang into the middle of an infectious house groove. Add in his minimal sound explorations as Soundhack and collaborations with Errorsmith and you've a producer who rarely puts a finger wrong. A good way for Shivers to round a year of parties which have featured the likes of John Daly, Pender Street Steppers, Telephones, Wino Boys, Maurice Fulton and many more.

SATURDAY

Striking Sounds
Jigsaw, 10 Belvedere Court Dublin 8pm €10 buttonfactory.ie
Presented by online radio station, Dublin Digital Radio, make way for an evening of female-centric music featuring members of Barq, Everything Shook, Naoise Roo, and Flecks. Also includes sets from Gash Collective and DDR DJs, and guest speakers. All proceeds to Strike 4 Repeal.

Shine
Queen's University Belfast 9.30pm £22.40 shine.net
Shine's regular tribal gathering has techno heavyweight and Dystopian label geezer Rødhåd in pole position. A regular visitor up north who played both AVA and Celtronic festivals in 2016, Rødhåd's honing a deep and distinctive beat for himself with every passing release. Support in the main room from Drumcode and Hotflush regulars Dense & Pika as well as rising Belfast producer Koichi. Shine residents Schmutz are joined in room 2 by Sally C, while Derry's Audio Asylum crew and Miniminds are the keyholders in Room 3.

Telephones
Tengu Dublin 10.30pm €15/€10/€5 dekmantelfestival.com
The best European electronic music festival right now is Dekmantel and the men behind it are lording it in the capital tonight. A superb booking policy coupled with peerless attention to detail right across every aspect of the festival have put this Amsterdam event at the top of this list. Besides Dekmantel, Thomas Martojo and Casper Tielrooij are also behind such happenings as Selectors in Croatia and the Lente Kabinet party at the Het Twiske nature reserve north of Amsterdam. Support from Telephones' dude JOMA

George Fitzgerald
Button Factory Dublin 11pm €18/€16 facebook.com/georgefitzgeraldofficial
George Fitzgerald is the man to call if you're after quality deep house and hazy electronica. His Fading Love album from 2015 showed that the former Black Market Records' employee is in this game for the long run. Like the BBC Radio One DJ's previous releases for Hotflush and Hypercolour, and those killer remixes for Jessie Ware, Jon Hopkins and many more, Fading Love showed Fitzgerald's nous when it comes to forward-thinking electronic fare. Support from Jack Thompson.

SUNDAY
The Art of Friendship: Japanese Surimono Prints
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle, Dublin Until August 27 cbl.ie
Japanese woodblock prints are recognised as a pinnacle of the printmakers' art, and surimono prints are regarded as the most lavish of Japanese prints. Surimono – it translates as "printed thing" – were made for exchange between friends, at New Year, for example, and usually included especially composed verses . Alfred Chester Beatty built up one of the finest private collections of surimono in the world. This show marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ireland and Japan.

MONDAY

Claire Carpenter
Paintings. Cross Gallery, 59 Francis St , Dublin. Until March 25 crossgallery.ie
Claire Carpenter's tempera on gesso paintings, small in scale, generate a novelistic texture , a versatile narrative space in which memory, description, speculation and dreams can coexist in works that offer real insight into the multi-layered way we experience the world.

TUESDAY

Brilliant Corners Festival, Belfast
Various venues; continues until Saturday 11th March, brilliantcornersbelfast.com
Belfast's daring and eclectic Brilliant Corners festival, now in its fifth year, probes the Venn diagram of contemporary creative music with a programme that includes Belgian avant-rockers Dans Dans, Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen's prog-punk trio, London electro-pioneers Strobes and Ronan Guilfoyle's powerfully creative Hands quartet (see below), plus screenings of movies on Frank Zappa, Albert Ayler and Black Power. The faint of heart should see about making alternative arrangements.

Ronan Guilfoyle's Hands
Dolan's Warehose, Limerick (Tuesday); The Black Box, Belfast (Wednesday) ronanguilfoyle.com
Bassist and composer Ronan Guilfoyle's 2015 release Hands was a scorching missive from the sharp end of contemporary jazz, recorded in New York with two of that city's most distinguished exponents of same – saxophonist Dave Binney and drummer Tom Rainey – plus the leader's son, mercurial guitarist Chris Guilfoyle. It is not common for these fleeting studio line-ups to take to the road, particularly in Ireland, so this five-date tour (continuing next week) is a rare opportunity to hear Guilfoyle's challenging music played with the levels of skill and invention it deserves.

WEDNESDAY

Before
Victor Sloan. Belfast Exposed Gallery, Until April 15 belfastexposed.org
Victor Sloan is best known for his photographic works on places and events in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. In them, he brilliantly visualises how the past is corrosively written into the present and colours any potential future.

No Assembly Required
Sugar Club, Dublin, 8pm €12/€15
Celebrate International Women's Day with a variety show of comedy, music and performance. Comedian Tara Flynn hosts and performers include Maria Doyle Kennedy. Veda Beaux Reves and the Glitter Hole Troupe . And did we mention there's an aerialist?

This Lime Tree Bower
Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire. Mar 7-8 €20 paviliontheatre.ie
Conor McPherson was just 24 when he wrote This Lime Tree Bower, his monologue play from 1995. Now that the piece has almost reached that age itself, a new generation stage his Dublin-based story of corruption, crime, brotherhood and moral relativism, told from three interweaving perspectives. Joe is a naive school student who falls in with a bad seed. Ray is a reprobate philosophy lecturer, prone to womanising and debauchery. Frank, Joe's older brother, decides to settle a score with the man who humiliated his father. How their stories connect and develop is the intrigue and verve of McPherson's writing, a simple story well told. Eoghan Carrick directs Peter Daly, Stephen Jones and David Fennelly.

THURSDAY

RTÉ Choice Music Prize 2016
Vicar St Dublin 7.30pm €26.50 ticketmaster.ie
Yes, it's that time of the year again when 10 Irish albums fight it out for the top prize. While the judges reflect on their selections in a nearby venue, the live event takes place here. With the exception of James Vincent McMorrow (who is touring in some far-off land), all of the acts on the final shortlist will be performing: All Tvvins, Bantum, Wallis Bird, Divine Comedy, Lisa Hannigan, Katie Kim, Overhead, the Albatross, Rusangano Family, and We Cut Corners. Ready. Steady. Go!

Oddisee & Good Compny
Sugar Club Dublin 8pm €15 thesugarclub.com
Maryland, USA, songwriter and musician Amir Mohamed (aka Oddisee) started out as an MC but swiftly graduated to collaborate with the likes of De La Soul, The Roots, Flying Lotus, and Hudson Mohawke. Amir debuts his Beneath the Surface tour in Ireland in the company of funk/blues/soul artist, Olivier St. Louis. An evening for the hip-hop connoisseur awaits.

Bicep
Electric Galway 10pm €8 feelmybicep.com
There's no stopping Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson at this juncture. The Belfastmen have become astute and well regarded producers, DJs and scene regulars over the past number of years, with a strong slew of remixes, original tracks and especially club appearances. They've done the business with Carl Craig, put out tracks for AUS, Wolf Music, Rush Hour and their own Feel My Bicep and are equally at home on BBC Radio One as they are onstage at Boiler Room or Panorama Bar. Support from Rory Hamilton (Hammer) and Paul Belton.