We love Irish music here at SoundCheck, so are delighted to be DJing at Feedback in Whelan’s on December 5th. There are so many awesome Irish bands hitting it up; David Turpin, 202s, Valerie Francis, Cap Pas Cap, Dead Flags, Holy Roman Army, Sick and Indignent Club and Patrick Kelleher & His Cold Dead Hands, and we’re DJing upstairs too, whoop whoop!

Tickets are just ten bucks and all proceeds go to the Peter McVerry Trust for homeless people.

See yiz there.

FREE CUPCAKES @ 7PM

FREE SCREENING OF THE ROOM @ 8PM

FREE SINGSTAR @ 10.30PM

INDIEPOPELECTROFUN ALL NIGHT LONG

There are three certainties in life; death, taxes, and the fact that The Room is the best movie of all time. So in celebration of it’s place in movie heaven, we’ve decided to show it in our private cinema room FREE every week at SoundCheck in Spy on South William St (apart from the last Thursday of every month, when we’ll be screening music documentaries.)

Have you seen it yet?

Our Private Cinema Room at SPY

WE LOVE THE ROOM, and judging by the last few few times we’ve shown it – we know loads of you guys love it too. This is a church, and Tommy Wiseau is God. Our new weekly screenings of The Room will coincide with our campaign to bring Tommy Wiseau to Dublin. We want Tommy to see how much Dublin loves his masterpiece. And with your help, we will make this a reality.

Altogether now: YOU’RE TEARING ME APART, LISA!

For more details follow us on Twitter : twitter.com/soundcheckd

..or become a fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundcheckdublin

PS Half the fun of watching The Room is ranting and throwing spoons at the film, so in preparation, here’s The Onion’s guide to watching The Room, which we’ll also have at the screening every week…

YELLS

• ”Spoon!”
Nearly all of the artwork in the film features spoons. Whenever one of the works appears on screen, you yell “Spoon!” and hurl plastic picnic spoons at the screen. Fourth row from the screen essentially makes the whole project self-replenishing, because most spoons land there. You literally throw a handful and another handful falls in your lap. It’s like being part of a plastic-cutlery salmon migration. As the film trudges on, people start throwing spoons out of boredom, even if the scene doesn’t require it.

• “Sestosterone!”
You can pretty much yell it any time lost Brawny Quilted Picker-Upper spokesman Greg Sestero is on screen. It is particularly fitting when he’s about to be manly about something.

• ”Cancer!”
Lisa’s mother alludes to having it once and then never mentions it again. Also, when she touches Lisa on the nose, some people shout “I put my evil inside you!”

• ”Denny!”
Used to herald the arrival of the tragic kidult. Also, every time Denny leaves the scene, it is proper to shout “Goodbye, Denny!”

• ”One!” “Two!”… (counting bff allusions)
Sestero’s character alludes to being Tommy’s best friend between five and seven times in the movie. The number is uncertain because whenever he alludes to it, everyone yells out which number they think it is. Usually, people are hammered enough that by “Three!” or “Four!”, two-thirds of the theater has no idea, or thinks they have fallen ahead or behind.

• “FOCUS! UNFOCUS!!”
The film is constantly going in and out of focus. (“Damn you Todd Barron!” He’s the director of photography, and that’s what you shout when his credit pops up) Whenever the film goes out of focus, people shout “Focus!” Of course, when it does come back into focus during a sex scene, it is necessary to shout “Oh God. Unfocus!”

• ”Shoot her!”
Yelled during Lisa’s protracted neck-twitch scene. (It’s a reference to the opening of Jurassic Park.) Also appropriate: “Quaid, get to the reactor!”

• Yelling “‘Cause you’re a woman!” after pretty much anything that regards a female character.
Started off as a dig at the film’s casual misogyny (there are half a dozen places where it works and is hilarious), but quickly spiraled into a non sequitur that can be dumped after anything. It is theRoom equivalent of adding “in bed” to a fortune-cookie fortune. Every time I watch it, I am forced to ask myself: “Who is the woman that broke Tommy’s heart? Who is the evil bitch responsible for this movie?”

• Various things to yell over B-roll:

“Alcatraz!”
For Alcatraz, or anything framed with bars

“Go! Go! Go! Go!”
Used to cheer on tracking shots of the bridge. Celebrate when it makes it all the way across the bridge. Express your disappointment when it doesn’t.

“Everywhere you look, everywhere you look!”
Sung over houses that look like the ones from the opening of Full House.

“Meanwhile, back in San Francisco!”
Whenever a shot uses the iconography of the city to verify that, yes, we have not left San Francisco.

ACTIVITY/CUES

• Saying “Hi” to Tommy when he appears to look down at the corner of the screen during the party scene. This entails running down to the screen and hanging out toward the bottom-right-hand corner and then shouting as his eyes acknowledge you.

• As Denny eats the apple which might be the most heavy-handed and irrelevant action in the film, I enjoy shouting “Oh, shit! Metaphor!” (Seriously, just what the hell is eating the apple supposed to signify? That Denny has given in to temptation? What temptation? What the hell does Denny giving in to temptation have to do with anything?)

• When the characters throw the football back and forth, you do the same thing with your friend(s). Since you are drunk and in a darkened movie theater, this usually goes awry. One of my friends accidentally beaned Tommy this way. Another time, someone hit the screen and the theater ownership got pissed.

• At one point, two characters will show up in Tommy’s apartment. They will be fucking. No one will know who they are, thus it is appropriate to shout “Who the fuck are you?” whenever they appear onscreen.

• It is also appropriate to shout this when the actor playing Peter (the psychologist) disappears (maybe he was looking at the camera too much?), only to be replaced by another actor who looks nothing like him. Yes, just “Who the fuck are you?”

• Tommy’s deranged giggle, which he delivers at inappropriate moments (“He beat her up so bad, she wound up in a hospital on Guerro St.” “HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”) should be mocked mercilessly.

• One of my favorite moments was back in ‘06. Two guys dressed up and acted out the Denny vs. Chris R. scene at the front of the theater while the scene happened onscreen.

• ”The Seventh-Inning Stretch” is what we call the longest of the film’s gratuitous sex scenes. This is where you piss/smoke. Pros know it’s coming and beat the traffic.

• Singing along to “You Are My Rose” and lifting one’s phone/lighter. Let’s not forget that we are all part of the same wave of undeniable good. A friend noted that they should’ve used “You Are My Rose” instead of “Hallelujah” in Watchmen.

• On that note, breaking into the “Yes We Can!” chant sometimes works, especially after Tommy’s speech about “If everybody loved each other, the world would be a better place.” This chant started during the election and has continued since. I like to think that’s it one of those rare moments where irony and sincerity collide, neither quite dominating the other.

• Being open about one’s revulsion during any of the sex scenes. Includes graphically describing the act and hurling the cruelest jokes about the actors’ bodies/movements that one can conceive. Breaking into the Free Willy theme is sometimes done. Notice how it looks like Tommy is fucking her belly button? Yeah, you’re doing it wrong, Wiseau.

• Humming the Mission: Impossible theme when Tommy is hooking the tape deck up to the answering machine. Mind you, this movie was made in 2003 and Tommy (Johnny) was still fucking around with a tape deck, which given the amount of time that passes between this scene and when he plays the recorded conversation, must have been one of those super 72-hour tapes.

TOMMY

• Tommy often does a Q&A before each screening. The questions are usually the same: “How much did the film cost?” “Where did you get the money from?” (He doesn’t ever reveal that.) “Where are you from?” (Also doesn’t answer.) For the longest time, Tommy stopped showing up at screenings, but ever since the write-up in EW, he’s come every month. Usually he drops some reference to a celebrity possibly being in the audience.

• He really is that grotesque in real life, not buff like in the movie. Made entirely of Bionic Christmas Hams, that man is!

• But he also has enough of a sense of naïveté that you kind of root for him. He really did think he was making a masterpiece.

• He also performs a Shakespearean sonnet at the end of each Q&A. This is as awesome as it sounds.

VICES ONE COULD INDULGE IN IF ONE WERE SO INCLINED

• Cisco fortified wine remains the gold standard. It’s cheap (<$5 for eight servings) and the drunk combines the euphoria of a wine drunk with the psychotic edge of cocaine cut with gummi-bear runoff. You will be confident and jacked-up enough to yell your stupid jokes before they even register as thoughts.

• This one actually requires a buddy. I did it last time I went. Basically, you each drink half of one of the huge things of RockStar, then each dump half a fifth of bourbon into the RockStar can and stir it. You’re sacrificing coherency in the end, but it’s a blast.

• The scotch/vodka drink they have in the movie itself is only recommended for people who want to go from grossed-out to fucked-up to sick in the span of 15 minutes. I have seen this made and imbibed during a screening of the film. Do not drink this. Bad things will happen.

LADIES & GENTS

This Thursday we’ll be heating your bones with a ride of a lineup…

7PM: Music kicks off with residents, drinks promos hit the bar and cupcakes make their way to tables!
8PM: We’re screening THE ROOM with all the Oniony frills
9PM: Aine Macken and the twins hit the deck before HERM at 10pm
11PM: Fresh from the launch of her debut album, Dublin drag superstar VEDA BEAUX REVES spins us towards 3am

CHEAP BOOZE ALL NIGHT LONG, ALL NIGHT
Tenner bottles of wine til 11pm
2 for a tenner cocktails til 11pm
€4 vodka & dash
€4 PINT bottles Staropramen
€4 pear & berry cider

DANCING AND SHIZZ

SHARPIES

LABEL MAKERS

LIGHTENING BOLTS

KISSING

and a BIG thanks to Mackers for a characteristically sexy flyer

It’s officially Winter, SoundCheckers, but to warm y’all up on these cold nights, we’ve got a HAWT set of DJs ready to set the decks on fire.

UnaRocks and McGint (aka Fionn) will be rocking the best in indie, pop, electro and beyond. In the Monkey Bar, we’ve got the legend that is Philth blasting out the tunes, alongside SoundCheck fave Plaido, the debut set of Baby H, and the return of Sarah Fox!

Howdja like them apples?

Don’t forget, we also continue our series of epic college SingStar battles upstairs from 10.30pm.

It’s free in before 11, fiver after. Bottles of vino are €10 until 9pm, cocktails are two-fo-one until 11, and we’ve also got several €4 drink deals, including bottles of beers, ciders, and vodka and mixers.

That’s SoundCheck November 5th – see yiz there!

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

This Thursday, in association with American Apparel (official after-party for their special instore night this thursday from 6-9pm), Soundcheck presents SCREAMCHECK, our twisted, halloween costume party alter ego. ZOMBIES AND CHEERLEADERS is our theme and there are prizes from the American Apparel crew for best dressed, so dress to kill or be killed

As Halloween is our favourite holiday we’ve invited our favourite zombies down to join us behind the decks.. here’s the lineup:

Monkey Bar:
7pm: Ragin Spice
8pm: Aine Macken
9pm: SuperSuperDisco
11pm: Dublin Streets

Black Room:
10pm: Creepy Karaoke
11.30pm: UnaRocks & McGint

Wax:
Lady Jane, Orlando & Oakes, I Have Zombie Turtle

Don’t forget Creeepy Kareoke from 10.30pm. Come cheer on your friends and foes murdering songs for your entertainment. And see how much ghastly fun it is to do it yourself.

We will defo play Monster Mash. And Thriller. And mayb that Backstreet Boys song, but only if you promise to do the dance……we’ll also play other DEADLY songs from bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Passion Pit, Friendly Fires, Blondie, Mystery Jets, Roxette, MIA, Dizzee Rascal, Hervé, Justice, La Roux, Soulwax, The Supremes, New Order, Bloody Beetroots, Peaches, Switch, MGMT and many many more.

ZOMBIES AND CHEERLEADER THEME.

PRIZES FOR BEST DRESSED.

SCREAMCHECK. all the fun of soundcheck with extra FRIGHT!!!!

free before the witching hour (11 bells), 5screams after 11pm

Costume judging starts at 9pm and goes on all night loooooong. xxx

ps awesome flyer by enda mac nally. check his work at www.endamacnally.com

Yo! SoundCheck at Spy this week features special DJing guests from 7pm including DIYlan Haskins (Hideaway House, Hideaway Records, The Exchange), Liana Come As Soon As You Hear, and Aine Macken (www.ainemacken.com.)

We are screening the Irish kung fu classic Fatal Deviation from 8.30pm as part of our ScreenCheck series upstairs in the Black Bar.

We’ve got SingStar kicking ass upstairs from 10.30pm, where Trinity College will be taking on UCD in a karaoke blood battle. Heads will roll.

Later, bringing the fun tunes are Jane Le Cirque, and her merry band of awesome DJs.

Free in before 11pm! Just a fiver after! €10 bottles of wine until 9pm! 2-for-1 cocktails until 11pm! Loads of €4 drinks including pint bottles of beer, cider, and vodka + dash! Free popcorn at the movie! Free cupcake buffet from 7pm!

(flyer this week courtesy of Karl Come As Soon As You Hear)

SoundCheck Oct 15th, here’s the score:

From 7pm til late, we’ve got music in the Monkey Bar from Ragin Spice, Fake Tan Dan, Herm, UnaRocks and Fionn.

€10 bottles of wine until 9pm, 2-for-1 cocktails until 11pm, and loads of €4 drinks, including beer, cider and vodka + dash. Free cupcakes!

8.30pm ScreenCheck presents The Labyrinth. Free popcorn!

From 10.30pm, it’s SingStar karaoke battles upstairs. Lightening bolt prizes! Humiliation! Fun times!

Then Jane Le Cirque takes it to the max with awesome fun tunes til LATE.

Free in before 11pm, fiver after.

Rock on.

Tonight we put the Flash Mob out of its misery.

Here’s why…

In September 2009 Oprah Winfrey launched the 24th season of her show with a ‘flash mob’ – which consisted of 21,000 people fenced into an area on the streets of Chicago gradually breaking into a choreographed dance, while the Black Eyed Peas performed a specially Oprah-ized version of their latest hit.

It looked pretty cool, for a giant choreographed dance. But it wasn’t a flash mob – described on Wikipedia as… a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

So Oprah just didn’t seem to get it and clumsily christened it after one of the greater guerilla concepts of this decade to use it as a daytime US TV novelty. In fairness to her, she’s not the only major corporation to smear their greasy hands on the flash mob. And regardless, the flash mob had a good innings – in its 7 year lifetime since 2002, there have been some spine-tingling moments. Moments of confusion, surprise and exhilaration. Here’s two of our favourites..

Frozen Grand Central

Sound of Music, Antwerp Central Station

Nevertheless, with the concept now bruised, abused and in tatters, we decided it was time that somebody showed some mercy. And what better way to have done so than with, well, a flash mob. ‘Death Mob’ saw 250 people collapsing to play dead on Dublin’s busy South William Street to declare an end to the Flash Mob.

The awesome Conor Steenson made this video about the event:

Photos were online with a couple of minutes, first from Marcus Macinnes who tweeted an image on pix.ie…

Some more pics:

Photo by Eoin O'Riordan

Photo by holderied.philippe on Flickr

The Facebook event for this event was: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149634177132&ref=share

So we’ve got TWO movies this Thursday.

First up our buddies at Trinity are showing La Grande Boueffe at 7pm (think overeating prostitutes and strange goings on) with chocolates from Lindt, and after that it’s THE LEPRECHAUN with free popcorn from SoundCheck. I love this movie, so awesome. Check it out.

Then we’ve got SINGSTAR karaoke madness. Lots of tunes to choose from, so get down to SoundCheck and bust your lungs. We’ve got lightening bolt-themed prizes for people who are especially amazing.

€10 bottles of wine until 9, 2-for-1 cocktails til 11pm, loads of €4 drink specials after then. Free in before 11pm, fiver after.

We’ve got some great DJs this week playing the best in indie and beyond including Edel Coffey, Platinum Jones, Fake Tan Dan + Sarah Ruxton and more.