Metropolis
Festival guide
Fans of high-calibre contemporary music will be delighted to learn there’s a new festival landing in Dublin on 7 November, and with it comes more than your average muddy weekender can offer. Bringing together visual installations, high-profile panel discussions and musical performances from both local and international talents, Metropolis is truly an all-encompassing audio-visual experience. Read on to discover which live music acts we’re most excited about seeing.
Chic
Responsible for supplying the golden oldies on an otherwise largely contemporary roster, disco supergroup Chic are to do the honours at Sunday’s Main Hall finale. It’s a credit to Nile et al that 40 years on, ‘Le Freak’, ‘Good Times’ and the rest of the band’s groove-laden, feel-good cuts are as in-demand as they were in their Studio 54-era heyday, and Nile’s recent collaboration with Lady Gaga cements his staggering longevity. Be sure to pack your sparkliest disco-gladrags for when the mirror balls start spinning: no-one else on earth conjures funk-disco dancefloor mastery quite like Chic.
Good Times Chic 24/02/2014Jeff Mills
Despite his phenomenal presence within underground electronic music, Detroit techno ambassador Jeff Mills has managed to steer clear of mainstream success, distinctly avoiding the ego parade of that commercial dance has become. Where EDM-messiahs David Guetta and Tiesto rely on epic hooks and cataclysmic drops, Mills conjures crunching industrial soundscapes to spectacularly hypnotic effect. Get ready for clattering hi-hats and turbo-fuelled tempos, as the man behind ‘The Bells’ shows Dublin a thing or two about techno.
Le Galaxie
When we describe Le Galaxie's live shows as colourful, we're not just referring to their day-glo beards and neon face-paint.. It takes some guts to end a set with the ‘Jurassic Park’ theme tune, but that’s exactly the kind of tongue-in-cheek wizardry to expect from the Irish four-piece, whose ode to the dinosaur flick was met with roaring approval at this year’s Electric Picnic. Oozing enough synth-pop finesse to give even Daft Punk a run for their money, the eccentric Dubliners and their spectacular homemade 3D light-show are set to dazzle the RDS, bringing Saturday’s high-octane programme to its peak.