The Sigla Blog

Tuesday gig madness - New Bloods

Sinead — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:06:20 +0000

Tomorrow night, music fans are spoilt for choice with The National, Ane Brun, The Hold Steady, Yeasayer, The Pigeon Detectives, Black Mountain and Ain all playing in Dublin. One gig you might have missed, is New Bloods, an all girl trio from Oregon, who released their debut album, The Secret Life, (review here) last month on Kill Rock Stars. They sound like The Slits with violins and a little more pathos. It’s rough around the edges, but crammed with energy and huge potential. Above is the video for ‘Doubles’ but have a listen to ‘Deadly Nightshade’ on their myspace page.

They play the Boom Boom Room at 9pm and admission is just €8. They also play The Pavilion Bar in Belfast tonight as part of their European tour.

Writer Nuala O’Faolain dies

Sinead — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:45:01 +0000

Writer Nuala O’Faolain passed away during the night aged 68. The author, best known for her memoirs Are You Somebody? had been battling terminal cancer that had only recently been diagnosed. Last month, she was interviewed by Marian Finucane about facing death, and in the interview she is honest and unsentimenal about her own mortality. It was one of the most affecting pieces of radio I’ve ever heard. As Marian points out in the introduction, O’Faolain’s views are not for everyone, especially those in similar predicament, but it was an unflinchingly brave and articulate account of what it feels like to know you’re about to die.

You can listen to the interview here - click on the audio link for the April 12th programme. There’s also a full transcript of the interview here.

The Lighthouse Cinema reopens

Sinead — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:04:48 +0000

Am very excited about seeing the new Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield. I spent many an afternoon in its predecessor on Abbey Street, and saw my first films by Jim Jarmusch, Pedro Almodovar, Atom Egoyan, Krzysztof Kieslowski (the Three Colours trilogy) and so many great directors. The Screen Cinema on D’Olier Street could always be relied on to show the odd marginal film, but The Lighthouse showed across the board arthouse, World Cinema and independent films. In its 12 year absence, the IFI has in many ways continued its remit, but nostaligic cineastes will hopefully still make regular trips to its new home in Smithfield.

Today’s programme kicks off with Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky, Honeydripper by John Sayles (I saw a couple of his films in the old venue), XXY, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, My Brother Is An Only Child and Once.

Best of luck to all those involved in resurrecting one of my favourite cinemas.

Link: Lighthouse Cinema