Hot Press Weekender

A Hallowe'en weekend can be a bit of drag for grown-ups with busy bars and one too many fancy-dress party invites to dodge (if you're not the sort who is delighted by the prospect of going all out costume-wise). Luckily, there's a bunch of live shows worthy of your attention as well..
FRIDAY OCTOBER 30
Munster has our pick of the action as the weekend gets underway.
First up, The Jimmy Cake take to the Dolan's stage in Limerick. The sonic space cadets ended their seven year album drought at the tail-end of the summer. Master proved they've lost none of their bonkers inventiveness despite line-up changes over the years, and their love for horror tropes, squalling sounds and heavy sets make them perfect companies to usher in the day of the undead.

In Cork, Simone Felice continues his short Irish tour in the wonderfully intimate venue that is Coughlan's Bar. A great place to see the Catskill Mountains man do his songwriterly thing.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 31
It's safe to say Best Coast will rule the Hallowe'en night.
While the irony of having a band that deals in dreamy Californian indie pop headline The Academy, Dublin on the spookiest evening of the Irish winter is not lost on us, it's bound to make for a satisfying contradiction. Especially when the songs are so infectious.
Bethany Cosentino and her newly-bolstered have proven themselves to be summertime festival favourites but hitting the road for arena tours with the likes of Green Day have brought their show to an even higher level. They can play anywhere now, essentially. Oh, and this year' California Nights is easily the best thing they've ever done.

Will the band be bothering with Hallowe'en costumes though?
"We all have sort of been coming up with ideas," Bethany Cosentino told us in the run-up. "I think everybody in my band has a costume and I'm the only one still trying to figure it out. I'll come up with something. Maybe I'll just get one of those silly devil costumes or something."
A killer set will be more than enough.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 1
Another Academy gig winning our affections as the weekend draws to a close. At this point you'll want to banish those thoughts of Monday morning in the office, and the psychedelic sounds of Bradford Cox's Deerhunter should more than do the trick.
New album Fading Frontier just landed and it finds the Atlanta act in fine form. Our own Paul Nolan heralded it as "a treasure trove of sonic treats."