DREAM-POP
Ballet School
The Workman's Club, Dublin 8pm €12.50 theworkmansclub.com
If Northern Irish singer Rosie Blair channels the fragile spirit of Liz Fraser, then her fellow band members (Michel Collet and Louis McGuire) manage the not altogether easy feat of sounding like the much admired 1980s band The Associates. Impressive, irrespective of influences and reference points.
HOUSE
The Martinez Brothers
Opium Rooms Dublin 11pm €10 facebook.com/themartinezbrothers
The brothers are going to work it out. It was Steve and Chris Martinez's dad, a Loft and Paradise Garage regular back in the day, who first filled his sons' heads with the magic created on New York's underground dancefloors. These days, the pair are spinning their take on NYC's house sound worldwide.
CLUB
War
Hangar, Dublin 11pm €8/€5 facebook.com/WARdublin
War is back in its old digs in the heart of the city centre. Hangar is the new name for the venue formerly known as ALT and Andrew's Lane Theatre. Back in the day, that's where War's mischievous blend of glammy pop, fabulous house and giddy dancefloor bangers used to brilliantly come to the boil. You can expect all of the above and much more from the regular crowd of up-for-it screamers and shriekers. JC
TECHNO
Chris Liebing
District 8, Dublin 11pm €15 chrisliebing.net
The Frankfurt DJ, producer and CLR label main mover has been a regular visitor to the city over the years. He's blazed a trail for himself over the last 20 years, moving from the Omen club and the Eye Q label to working with producers like Marco Carola, Ben Sims, DJ Rush, Adam Beyer and more at CLR. His own productions continue to showcase his dark, heavy, intense sound, with his CLRX offshoot label concentrating on more industrial-focused sounds.
DRUM'N'BASS
Sigma
Button Factory Dublin 11pm €15 facebook.com/sigmaHQ
There's life in the big room drum'n'bass thing yet. Cameron Edwards and Joe Lenzie initially arrived with well-received releases for Hospital, Bingo and Viper. But a recent run of epic, more commercial tunes such as Night and Day, Nobody to Love, a reworking of Kanye West's Bound 2, and Changing with Paloma Faith have seen Edwards and Lenzie move from those underground roots. Many original fans may not dig where they're heading, but newbies have come around to flying the Sigma flag.
ANIME
Eirtakon
Croke Park, Dublin €25-35 eirtakon.com
Ireland's largest anime convention is taking over Croke Park this weekend from Friday to Sunday. Eirtakon, now in its 10th year, celebrates all things anime, manga and Japanese. Events include cosplay and gaming workshops, console tournaments, a Yule Ball, cosplay blind date, and a large artists' alley and traders hall. Guests over the weekend include Caitlin Glass, Venus Angelic, Courtoon and Chuck Huber. If these names don't ring a bell, this is probably not your rodeo.
