music

BINTII with PRINCESS TINYMEAT at SIDES

SIDES may well win back the reputation it once had for presenting new and exciting forms of music and performance art, if it continues in presenting acts such as Binttii & Princess Tinymeat. All the 'interesting' people were there for this gig which, I suppose, was a good sign (?).

The stage setting was quite effective and consisted of the usual rostra, but with some vertical flats attached. The flats were of paper (rather than canvas) on a wooden frame, with a representation of the female nude on them in red paint.

Binttii emerged through these at the start of the gig, revealing the band behind him. Two dancers were with him, a man and a woman- so much for the press release "this time they will all be boys”. Later on, another male dancer emerged from behind one of the remaining flats.

The dancers, band and Binttii himself wore mostly black clothes. I particularly liked the dancers make-up, especially the false eye effect painted on their eye-lids. My compliments to the make-up artist.

Sound-wise, the gig was certainly different.The backing tape was played through the house system, while Binttii and the band were relayed through four Bose 802s. The decision to place the 802s behind the mic. meant that there was a tendency for feedback at times, but I'm not so sure that a better position would have made the music sound any better.

The songs themselves started off with a very good rhythm track laid down on tape, but they got progressively more rough as the songs went on, ultimately ending in a mass of feedback and general noise. However some Goth friends of mine thought that this was a good thing, so I suppose it just must have been me that didn't like it. Leaving that aside, the songs were not too bad, "Hungry for Love", "Germ in You" and "Lonely Avenue" sticking out quite well. Thankfully his "Father Figure" is not a bit like the other song of that name. Bintii's raw energy on stage is undeniable, and he certainly managed to get the audience's attention when he wanted to, even going so far as to drag someone up on stage and practically make love to her on stage.

However, least I be prejudiced, here are some comments from the rest of the audience:

"Dreadful. Different but dreadful". "That was great!"

"Wasn't Damien fab." (Damien was one of the danceis).

Personally, I was happy when Martin McCann, the DJ (normally on Saturday nights) came back on after a 45 minute break (the duration of the show) and played some Flikkers classics such as "Native New Yorker" et al.

Tony Murphy

DAME EDNA FOR DUBLIN

BARRY HUMPHRIES, aka Dame Edna, will be presenting his riotous show Back with a Vengeance at Dublin's Gaiety Theatre from 20th to 24th September next. Booking has already opened at the Box Office.

NGF BENEFIT PARTY

Following on the success of the Pride Party at the Irish Film Institute in Dublin, the National Gay Federation (NGF) plans to host another fundraising party at the same venue on Saturday 20th August. The I.F.I. is at 4/5 Eustace Street, off Dame Street, Dublin, and the party starts at 11.00pm. The Pride Party 2 will include disco, slides, wine and food. Admission will be £3 with concessions to unwaged and students.

AROUND THE CLUBS

Dublin's club scene is getting quite busy, considering that students have gone home for the Summer and people are going on holidays.

Minskys, the new 7 - nighter has taken off very well, and now seems to be the place to go after the pubs, although the new licencesing laws mean that people perhaps tend to go out later at nights and spend less time in the clubs.

Hooray Henries, the established night club, has a new DJ, Gerry Moore, whom people might remember from Friday nights at the Hirschfeld Centre's Flikkers Dance Club. Continuing in that tradition, he has started a new one-nighter on Fridays, called Frenzy. All styles of music will be catered for, from charts and House to Soul and Funk, with perhaps even some Eurobeat! Gerry also plays on Mondays, where the music is slightly less up-temp and the tastes of the customers on the night are accommodated as much as possible.

Desire, SIDES' Sunday nighter continues to gain in popularity, with DJ Tony Murray making to provide the best in Hi-NRG, with top-class mixing. Times have been changed to 11.00-3.00 to coincide with the new pub hours.

Tony Murphy.