Welcome to the weekend, courtesy of JOE.ie. Whether you’re staying in or going out, we’ve got it covered. It’s time to leave the working week behind.
GOING OUT
Gigs
The festival season gets a second wind at this stage of the summer and the resurgence kicks off on Friday in Belfast with the return of Belsonic. The event sees the Stereophonics and friends (friends being Kids in Glass Houses among others), playing in the city’s Custom House Square. Belsonic tickets have been selling like hot cakes so you might want to get the finger out if you want to catch some of this year’s action. Click here for more information.
Belsonic isn’t the only gig our northern brethren are putting on this weekend. Hot Fuss will be taking to the stage in the Empire Music Hall in Belfast on Saturday with the show set to get underway at 8.30pm. Click here for more info.
The Coronas, meanwhile, will be in action in the Royal Theatre and Event Centre in Castlebar on Friday. Show starts at 9pm. Click here for tickets.
Those knocking around the Fair City will be given the chance to catch James Lavelle of UNKLE fame. Gig takes place on Friday in Crawdaddy and it’s a late one – show starts at 11pm.
Click here for tickets.
James Lavelle works miracles with a Doves track:
Film
New to cinemas this week is Angelina Jolie’s latest offering, Salt. It has been billed as a female version of the Bourne trilogy, although maybe not quite as good. Throw your eye over JOE’s Salt review before you make a call on whether to pop along.
Events
The rugby season takes some tentative steps towards getting fully underway with a set of friendlies this weekend. Munster take on Leicester in Musgrave Park in Cork on Friday and action starts at 7pm. Connacht, meanwhile, take to the field on Saturday in a pre-season friendly against Saracens. Hit the Galway Sports Ground at 6.30 for this one.
Leinster will also be in action, taking on London Wasps, in Donnybrook Stadium on Friday. Game starts at 7pm. Click here for ticking information.
In GAA, meanwhile, the All-Ireland Championship semi-final takes place in Croke Park on Sunday. Cork vs Dublin promises to be a good one.
Click here for ticketing information.
If you’re looking for somewhere to bring the kiddies this weekend, you could do worse than the Rehab Waterways Adventure. The event launches on Saturday from Sallins County Kildare and will see heritage boat the Neuwe Zorgen set sail for two weeks on a tour of towns and villages throughout the Midlands.
There will be a range of family entertainment at the launch point and at the various inland stops and visitors will get the chance to clamber on board the ship, built in the Netherlands in 1904. Click here for more info.
Getaway
God evidently thinks it’s funny to urinate all over his servants on this his greenest isle during summer time, but you don’t have to stand for it. You could convert to Buddhism or alternatively make a break for it – check out the hottest late, late travel deals featured in the newest edition of the Last Minute JOE.
STAYING IN
Sport on TV
After a cracking opening weekend in the Premier League it’s the turn of the Bundesliga this weekend. Louis Van Gaal’s champions Bayern Munich take on Steve McClaren’s Wolfsburg on Friday night – surely worth a watch to see if McClaren tries his own comedy German accent in the post-match interview. In the Premier League, our pick of the weekend is Manchester United’s away trip to Fulham, as Craven Cottage has claimed many a Red Devil scalp in previous years.
For GAA fans, Sunday’s Football All Ireland Senior Championship Semi Final between Dublin and Cork should be a cracking tie and gets the JOE live-tracker treatment in the afternoon. Finally, if you’re looking for some Italian football you could do worse than the pre-season Trofeo Belusconi clash between AC Milan and Juventus on Sunday night.
Can Bayern fans look forward to another trophy-laden season?
Friday 13 August
Bundesliga: Bayern Munich v Wolfsburg (ESPN from 7:30pm)
Saturday 14 August
Premier League: Arsenal v Blackpool (Setanta Ireland from 2:30pm)
Premier League: Wigan v Chelsea (Sky Sports 2 from 5:00pm)
Sunday 15 August
Premier League: Newcastle v Aston Villa (ESPN from 12:45am)
SFC Semi Finals: Dublin v Cork (RTE Two from 3:30pm)
Premier League: Fulham v Manchester United (Sky Sports 1 from 3:30pm)
Trofeo Berlusconi: AC Milan v Juventus (Setanta Ireland from 5:45pm)
On the Box
It’s only been on the box a couple of weeks but already JOE can heartily recommend Channel 4’s latest sitcom Pete Versus Life (Channel 4, Fri 10pm). Rafe Spall stars as the titular Pete, a sports writer whose hopeless lovelife and inner monologue is presented during the show using sport-style coverage with analysts, coloured graphs and ‘in-game’ commentary as he attempts to put the moves on potential conquests. It’s perfect Friday night fodder for a few laughs before heading out.
Cillian couldn’t forgive McAdams for starring in The Notebook
Cillian Murphy is on fine form this weekend in Wes Craven’s suspense thriller Red Eye (RTE Two, Fri 9.55pm). A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream director Craven brings together a fine cast including Rachel McAdams (The Wedding Crashers, Sherlock Holmes) for his 2005 thriller, where McAdams stars as a hotel manager trying to overcome her fear of flying with a late-night flight to Miami. Cillian plays a seemingly friendly man sat beside her mid-flight – who she discovers is a terrorist intent on involving her in an assassination plot.
DVD
Jude Law and Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker team up in this week’s DVD release Repo Men. The pair are called in whenever desperate people fail to complete their futuristic organ replacements. Law and Whitaker are the best in the business at reclaiming ‘body-parts’, as they hunt down those that can’t keep up their payments, with often painful and bloody results. That is until Remy (Law) falls behind on his heart replacement and is hunted by his former partner. Definitely worth a rent.
Plus
Don’t forget to join JOE this weekend for our GAA live match-tracker, as we’ll be here on Sunday from 2:30pm with coverage of the Senior Football Semi Final between Dublin and Cork. Feel free to send your comments mid-game to shout@joe.ie.
