things to see in galway this week..

Super Bonus Extra Party
Roisin Dubh Saturday February 23

Join the party with Ireland’s most energetic indie-electro outfit Super Extra Bonus Party who are bringing their unique brand of mixtape madness to Galway city this weekend. The four-piece Dublin based band are currently touring Ireland in support of their recently released EP Everything Flows which features remixes by Jape, Cadence Weapon and Nouveaux Noise. Formed about 3 years ago Super Extra Bonus Party is more than just your average indie band. Their sound has been described as a "joyful mix of bouncy electronics blending twisty melody lines, rubbery beat shenanigans and live bass, with the added power of a Brazilian MC when playing live". Having just been nominated for a Choice Music Award big things are clearly in store for this four-piece band whose debut album was released last April to huge public and critical acclaim.

Their self titled debut album is one of the most diverse and eclectic Irish albums of recent history mixing various styles and genres but remaining completely original and fresh. The album is a collection of big beat sounds and high octane electronic harmonies with lots of reggae effects thrown in for good measure... as the band name suggests it is perfect up-tempo party music. Since releasing the album, they have played at the Electric Picnic, Mantua and Life festivals, and have supported The Go! Team, Cadence Weapon, Bonde Do Role, Subtle, Aliens and Delorentos. Onstage their live performances have become legendary events and Super Extra Bonus Party are well able to whip a crowd into a frenzy. For anyone who is a fan of bands who push musical boundaries this gig is a must. The show begins at 9 and since it’s free no-one has an excuse to be left out of the party.

Syndromes and a Century
Town Hall Theatre Film Club Sunday,
February 24.
This film explores the hopes and dreams of a number of characters connected in a hospital and takes as its starting point a tale of tangled human relationships, in this case the faltering love life of a demure young female doctor at a remote upcountry Thai hospital. Funded by the city of Vienna as part of the celebration marking the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, Syndromes and a Century by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul is a visionary masterpiece that blurs the boundaries of past and present and explores the subjectivity of memory. It is an abstract but a very warm and often very funny film about the director's recollections of his parents, both doctors, before they fell in love. According to Apichatpong, however, it is not about biography but about emotion. "It's a film about heart", he says, "about feelings that have been forever etched in the heart." The film is an impressionistic and disorienting series of scenes centring around several different hospitals, and focused on couples, romance, job interviews, and patients.

Like the fragmented recollection of a dream, the film is composed of snippets of memory that start suddenly then end abruptly without resolution. A dentist wants to become a singer and takes an interest in one of his patients, a Buddhist monk whose dream is to become a disc jockey. The monk tells the doctor of some bad dreams he has been having about chickens. A young patient with carbon monoxide poisoning fires tennis balls down a long hospital corridor. Syndromes and a Century does not yield to immediate deciphering as it moves swiftly from the real to the surreal and back again. Overall, while the film requires a measure of commitment and attention it is worth the effort and will transport the viewer to another world.
Admission is €8/6. Visit www.townhalltheatregalway.com for details.