VILLAGERS
Margins Cafe Open at 18:30 reservation required. Book here.
Doors 19:00
Age restrictions: Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult
Escapism is a very necessary pursuit right now, and Conor O’Brien follows it to mesmerising effect on Villagers’ fifth studio album. Fever Dreams works like all the best records – it becomes a mode of transport; it picks you up from where you are and sets you down elsewhere.
“I had an urge to write something that was as generous to the listener as it was to myself,” he says. “I wanted to make people smile but also to create a space to reflect in. I wanted nuance, warmth and intellectual curiosity all wrapped up in a kind of agnostic devotional stew. Sometimes the most delirious states can produce the most ecstatic, euphoric and escapist dreams.”
These are songs with the strange melted shapes and the magical ambivalence of dreams. Of course, we are all such gifted storytellers when we dream: ceaselessly, and without effort, the scenes present themselves, the perfect dialogue unspools, a cohesive dream logic holds, and it springs the most beautiful images, or the most terrifying sweeps of fantasy.
And then we wake up to the grey skies and bleariness, to the unease and ennui of the everyday, and we can’t do it anymore – the dreams have receded into the darkness of the sub-conscious, and trying to catch hold of them again is like trying to grasp water.
Thus it drearily remains, until and unless the dreamer becomes the artist – it is the artist who learns how to collapse the barriers that separate the everyday from the dreamlife, and in this mysterious way allows the life and the work to become one. On this record, it is evident at once that Conor O’Brien has become that artist.
Book For A Pre-Show Dinner
Make your free dinner reservation to eat at our Margins Café before the show!
You must have a general admission ticket for the show to gain entry for dinner.
Doors will open for early dinner ticket holders at 18:30.
The Margins Café serves delicious, freshly prepared food at gigs and events. All profits go towards The Margins Project, based here at the Chapel which works with people who face issues of homelessness and crisis.
THIS WEEK'S MENU
Slow cooked beef bourguignon with garlic and leek mash
Sweet potato, spinach & peanut Thai coconut curry with jasmine rice ( vegan )
Mushroom, caraway seed and hazelnut torte
Marinated beetroot & goat cheese quiche
Frangipan fig & orang tart
Selection of salads
Book Your Reservation HERE
More Information:
The venue has unreserved seating and are taken on a first come first serve basis. Please arrive early before event door times if you have preferred seats. Due to the nature of our venue, please be prepared to queue for entry.
The venue is fully accessible, with use of ramps and the upstairs bar is accessible with use of a platform lift. Please email [email protected] with your accessibility requirements.
The bar is located on the first floor of the venue and will be open pre-show from the stated door time and during the interval. The bar will be closed after the interval. The bar is 18+ only.
Alcohol consumption will be limited to the bar area only, it is not permitted to take alcohol to the main chapel space. An array of soft drinks and snacks will also be available and are permitted in the main space.