Scene + Heard: Entertainment news round-up

MUSIC NEWS: TFI Friday returns tonight to Channel 4, and there will be a distinctly Irish feel to proceedings, with U2 performing some music and Saoirse Ronan joining Chris Evans for a chat.

We’ve seen a lot of Tom Jones on the telly in recent years and beneath that decent-bloke exterior, there’s obviously still some bitterness towards Engelbert Humperdinck. The evidence? NME reports that the Welsh wonder was asked recently if he’d ever patch things up with his former chart rival. He politely replied, “No. It’s as I say — once a c**t always a c**t”.

The next album in Neil Young’s ongoing releases of live performances will be Bluenote Cafe, comprised of material recorded on tour in 1988, including a 19 minute version of ‘Tonight’s the Night’.

JAZZ FESTIVAL: The Guinness Cork Jazz Festival takes place next weekend, with a ‘something for everyone’ lineup that sees the event moving ever-closer to becoming a catchall festival.

For every jazz trio there’s at least one Boomtown Rats or Coronas, and it’s an ongoing tightrope walk for organisers to retain a strong identity while also being commercially successful.

Some interesting acts over the weekend include Californian hip-hop crew Blackalicious at the Pav on Saturday, and British DJ royalty Greg Wilson at the Savoy on Friday.

GIG WISE: Tickets went on sale this morning for Jess Glynne at the Olympia in Dublin on March 31, a gig you’d imagine will sell out rather quickly.

A poptastic lady of a different era, Janet Jackson, is also on her way to the capital for an appearance at the 3Arena on April 2.

At the cooler end of the scale, former 10,000 Maniacs singer Natalie Merchant is at the Olympia on March 24.

Both of Massive Attack’s gigs at the same venue in January have already sold out.

Another sell-out at Cork Opera House on Sunday has seen Albert Hammond already pencil in a return date for March 3.

Also in Cork, Live at St Luke’s has announced a new series of gigs for December, with a lineup that includes Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (12th), Panti (20th) and the launch of Cork soulster Brian Deady’s new album (21st).

COMEDY CAPERS: Des Bishop is moving on from his Chinese experiences and has announced a new show, Grey Matters, for Jan 22-23 at Vicar Street. The Irish-American comedian turns 40 next month, so will be riffing on age and whatever else comes into his head.

You may also be seeing a lot of Joanne McNally in the next few weeks. The Dublin funnywoman is taking over from Jennifer Maguire for the new series of Republic of Telly, and she is also at the Everyman in Cork tomorrow with PJ Gallagher for their Separated at Birth show.‘You don’t have to be adopted to be funny. But it definitely helps,’ is the tagline for the show.

Pat Shortt is at Cork Opera House tonight.

FILM TIPS: The Lobster opens this weekend, and its surreal tale from a dystopian future ticks the Irish boxes of being partly filmed in Kerry and starring Colin Farrell.

For kids, Hotel Transylvania 2 is one of a number of upcoming films to coincide with Halloween.

Triskel in Cork has Robert Pattinson in Anton Corbijn’s film Life; while Cork Cine Club on Thursday in St John’s College has Marshland (La Isla Minima), described as “True Detective set in the Andaluz swamplands”.

The Kerry Film Festival kicks off in Tralee on Wednesday, with highlights including Irish comedy, Monged.