This is not a theatre blog!

Honest.

It just seems that way.
Hmm.
Maybe i've found a niche. The four people that go to the theatre in dublin, when its not disney on ice or Mama Mia can visit this site regularly to find out what i liked and didn't like.
I think its working like this. I go to the cinema loads too, but i'm always behind the times. I'm aiming to go to inland empire this week, and i'm going this week as i think it finishes on thursday! Its always the same, i go to things with panic for fear that they'll close before i see them.
I buy a decent amount of music also, but its generally being posted from Hong Kong, or somewhere, so by the time its arrived, the critics have already all had their say, and it all seems old hat. I guess i need to convince to give me stuff for free before it comes out. That should be easy enough!
With the theatre, i'm just being cheap. Previews are cheaper, so I go to them. Then when i'm thinking of what to chat about on this site, it always seems obvious enough.
Anyway, here's a review of things i've generally liked in the last while, but haven't mentioned as they're hopelessly out of date!
Music

Fionn Regan - Yep, he arrived. They're lovely songs, very melodic and just canter away, with great plucked guitars. I'm not sure i'm completely convinced by his lyrics. Maybe i'm just being stoopid, but things like 'I have become, an aerial view of a coastal town, that you once knew' just dont' mean a lot to me. Is he trying to suggest that he's become a distant image as he fades from her world, or... god only knows. Anyway, I've a nagging doubt that they're just lyrics, words, that don't have huge meaning. Anyway, i'm enjoying it none the less, just slightly less than i though i would! 3.5/5

Arcade Fire - Another small let down. It all sounds like I've heard them before. Even the lyrics seem strangely familiar, i'll have to research it better, but i think they're covering at least one of their older songs, or maybe i just heard it on the internet somewhere before i got it!
They've made their sound slightly bigger, using church organs and choirs and the like, which does seem quite impressive. The slow songs lose me completely though. There's more than enough on it, to make me happy i bought it, just a few too many songs i skip, if i'm near the cd player! 3/5.

Kristin Hersh - Ok, if you've ten or twelve albums from her already, this will not shock you! Its got some interesting arrangements, with strings in almost every song., Violin and Cello to augment the three piece rock band of 50ft wave! Its definitely the best album of her last few in my mind, and varies between fast and slow songs to give the album some variation and depth. 3/5.

Cinema
Venus - I like that he's a horrible nasty character, not a sweet gentle old man. I real old Lech, who is disgusted that he can't pull like he once did. Its well acted throughout, but there's a lull after an initial high. It starts incredibly, but loses its pace and humour slightly after the initial half hour or so, and falls away. The end is slightly sentimental, but still, made me laugh more than once and is worth it for the performances alone. 3/5