Monthly Archives: April 2011

Review: Spies @ The Workman’s Club

  By Neil | April 13, 2011 - 10:45 am | Events, Gigs, Music
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Spies are launching their single ‘Barricade’ downstairs in Whelans on April 23rd. Doors are at 8pm, it’s €8 in with a free copy of the CD, and support is from The Pacifics and Tandem Felix. Neil caught them live a few weeks back… Croupier, Squarhead and Spies played the Workmans club on Thursday the 24th of March Spies lie. Otherwise they are just people, and people are boring. This is what the recorded version of Spies is: a band in disguise. On record they are a bastard alien hybrid of The National’s atonal punctured drums with Editors’ pulsing rhythms, layered with a smooth vocal line. (If the vocals were a Cold War spy, they’d be George Clooney hitting on a picture of himself looking at a picture of himself but with a scarf, and the scarf is made of pure smooth.) It’s a fine record, simple and under-produced, but with … There’s more →

Movie Review: Your Highness

  By Peter | April 12, 2011 - 6:16 pm | Featured Post, Movies & TV, The Culch
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I was supposed to interview Damian Lewis for this which would have been good - and - I could have gone to a meet up of sorts with Danny McBride - that I really would have liked. For reasons closer to home I simply couldn’t make that gig. Would have been nice nice to see how that worked out though… That said, I did get to the press screening last week and - in case you maybe wondering, there’s not much difference between a press screening and a normal screening apart from I got to see it earlier than some. Same seats, same screens etc… To the film itself, the official blurb goes as follows Prince Fabious (James Franco) is brave, handsome and valiant in a medieval world where rescuing damsels, slaying dragons and conquering evil are second nature to any heroic knight. His brother Thadeous (Danny McBride) on the … There’s more →

Review: Rum and Vodka

  By Colm O'Brien | April 12, 2011 - 3:38 pm | Events, The Arts, Theatre
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Rum and Vodka (dir. Kevin O’Connor, prod. Philip Doherty, Gonzo Theatre Company) — The International Bar The narrator of Conor McPherson’s black-hearted 1992 monologue is a mess and getting messier. Rum and vodka, we’re told, is a cocktail fit to wake the dead, but this is wishful thinking for the wretch in front of us here, for whom it’s just another step in a desperate sprint towards oblivion. Kieron Smith throws himself into the role, spitting and snarling and riding the script’s warring currents of bravado and self-loathing with skill and a perverse charm. He keeps the energy up well despite the occasional flabbiness of McPherson’s writing (with some anecdotes dragging on after the point’s been made, and a too-neat progression that belies the erratic dizziness of a real drunken rant). But in the end it’s all a bit too _sober_, a bit too controlled. Smith is too steady on his … There’s more →

Competition CLOSED: Jamie Oliver DVDs

  By Sinead Keogh | April 12, 2011 - 1:33 pm | Celebs, Competitions, Food
22 Comments

***Competition Closed. Winners have been contacted*** It’s competition time again in Culch towers, this time courtesy of our buds over at Buzz mag in The Irish Sun. They’ve given us ten sets of Jamie Oliver DVDs to distribute to the Culch.ie masses. We know…pukka One of the hottest TV chefs out there is on a mission to make home cooking easy and healthy and now you can get cooking and using your kitchen to its full potential! All you have to do is answer the below question and we’ll pick ten lucky winners to get Jamie Oliver in their very own home!* So let us know; if you were cooking for Jamie, what would you make for him and why?  If you’re a Jamie-loving type, the Buzz guys are talking about him at the moment over here. *Digitally You’ve got ’til Friday…go wild.

Competition: ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil

  By Sinead Keogh | April 12, 2011 - 12:30 pm | Competitions, Events, Gigs, Music, Performance Art, The Culch
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This Saturday night marks the end of two weeks of hotly-contested classical competition at the ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil. Bringing to an end musical action in over 185 categories, the Gala Concert will feature performances from the best of the competitors as well as The Celtic Tenors. We’re big fans of a bit of classical ’round Culch towers. Peter had a chat about it here and I mentioned it here and we’re altogether a bit excited about the whole affair. So much so, that we’ve even got hold of a bunch of tickets to send you off to witness the key-plucking, string-strumming action for yourselves. Category competitions from piano to brass have been fought out over the past fortnight and the best of the lot will be taking to the stage at the National Convention Centre in the Docklands. Kicking off at 7.30pm this Saturday night, it promises to … There’s more →

Racoon, Matchbox Theatre

  By Niamh | April 10, 2011 - 8:44 pm | Theatre
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A mysterious man. A chance encounter. And a shocking secret that leads to the most important choice of her life. This was all I knew about Racoon when I went to see it on Friday evening after work. In the cosy Matchbox Theatre with a small audience, this one woman show made good use of the whole venue roaming around the room from one corner to another, from chair to table and back again. Cate MacGabhann plays Saoirse, a young waitress. She started by telling us about a particular customer who came to her café one day, an older gentleman who cannot take his eyes off her. Saoirse is a little affronted at this and her workmate Rita has noticed too. This begins a strange tale of Saoirse and Seamus. Who is he? What does he want from her? Does he want anything? Why is there someone asking questions about … There’s more →

Neil’s Movie Round-Up

  By Neil | April 9, 2011 - 4:07 pm | Movies & TV
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Essential Killing is a silent, direct and inscrutable film.It challenges constantly, illumninates the boredeom of casual film viewers’ taste, and loves doing so.Vinvent Gallow plays an Afgan, possibly Taliban, it never states, who kills 3 American soldiers, in a derailing opening sequence so beautiful and simple, it’s immediacy almost pokes fun at exposition-heavy thrillers who find it necessary to add layers to their one-dimensional characters. It is a man-on-the-run action film with little dialogue, a knowingly ambigious morality, showing that if you swap nationalities with Vincent’s stark villian, it would be a hero’s tale, it’s this constant flux that demands attention though the oddests of set pieces from out running soldiers to pain stricken hallucinations ,with a performance from Gallow that perfectly encapsulates his persona dangling moral senses. He runs barefoot through -30 degree temperatures, tears through raw fish and demands the woman he suckles form is really lactating. It … There’s more →

Competition: Insidious @ Cineworld

  By Sinead Keogh | April 8, 2011 - 1:52 pm | Celebs, Competitions, Events, Movies & TV
29 Comments

***Competition Closed. Congrats to Sharon Healy.*** Are you a horror lover? FROM THE MAKERS OF PARANORMAL ACTIVITY AND SAW COMES THE NEXT CHAPTER IN HORROR  To celebrate the release of ‘Insidious’ which stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne and opens in cinemas on April 29th, we are giving away a set of tickets to a special preview screening of the film on April 14th at Cineworld, Dublin. James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the director and writer, and co-creators of SAW will be in attendance and are taking part in a Q&A following the film. Want to know what you’re letting yourself in for?

The East Pier at the Abbey Theatre

  By Niamh | April 8, 2011 - 9:31 am | The Culch, Theatre
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Jean and Kevin knew each other way back when. You can tell. You just know that they knew each other at some point - but not any more. It takes a while to figure it out, for them to actually get through the small talk and get to the real reason that they know each other. The East Pier opens on a large hall with a dreadful patterned carpet, piled up chairs, a dusty oul chandelier, an abandoned vaccuum cleaner and a general sense of neglect. Kevin (Don Wycherley) enters first, he is looking for someone, searching inside and out, nervous, twitchy and eventually he settles a little until Jean (Andrea Irvine) arrives. Once together - they have clearly arranged to meet here - they dance around each other. Talking around each other, how’ve you been? Kids? Married? How are your parents? Oh I met Billy Williams recently, remember him?

Watch Frank Turner: The Road

  By Ronan | April 7, 2011 - 6:34 pm | Movies & TV
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Earlier this week, I posted an interview I conducted with film director James Henry over on Scannain about his new film Frank Turner: The Road. The film is one of five selected for Relentless Energy Drink’s Short Stories competition, following their “No Half Measures” theme. It’s a five minute documentary about the on-tour life of musician Frank Turner, and provides a fantastic insight into life on the road for a hard-working musician. While you may have seen U2 or Pearl Jam on tour before, it’s nice to see a smaller musician in action, and I really enjoyed the short film. It’s a great piece of work, and fantastically made, so if you have five minutes to spare, check it out.

Rediscover Fashion Show 2011

  By Peter | April 7, 2011 - 6:14 pm | Fashion
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Irelands first Eco fashion label is back for 2011 with a new Spring/ summer collection. Remember the Rediscover fashion show 2010. Once again the show will be hosted by brendan Courtney. Where: The Guinness Storehouse When: 21st April 2011 Time: 7pm Tickets: €10 - which includes a drinks reception and tour Booking: to purchase tickets, please email [email protected] or telephone (01) 842 7848 This video from 2008 gives a great behind the scenes from that show… This is my video from last years collection. More information on Rediscovery Centre Website *disclaimer: my video not the greatest I ever made

Review: Rio

  By Kitty Catastrophe | April 7, 2011 - 12:00 pm | The Culch
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Rio tells the story of Blu, a rare macaw living in Minnesota who turns out to be the last male of his species and as such is brought to Brazil in order to get acquainted with Jewel, the last female. The pair get off to a rocky start and a gang of villainous poachers throw a spanner in the works when they kidnap the birds. Jesse Eisenberg voices the domesticted Blu in the nerdy and endearing manner that seems to be his default setting (apart from The Social Network, where he was nerdy and kind of a dick), while Anne Hathaway plays Jewel, all fiesty and independant and such. There’s great colour and scenery going on in the film and while the story is cute and all, it’s quite predictable and doesn’t really manage to outshine the huge amount of recent animated features. There are a few good jokes scattered … There’s more →

Storyland: Rent a Friend

  By Anto | April 3, 2011 - 3:52 pm | The Culch, TV
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We’ve talked about RTE’s Storyland competition before on Culch and it’s now in its third year. Previous winners Hardy Buck’s have gone on to have their series produced for RTE 2 and this year’s competition has some strong contenders. I’m not sure where I came across the link initially (probably Twitter) but I watched the second episode of Rent a Friend, a Kilkenny set comedy/drama, last Wednesday and loved it. Dave and Der are in their early 20′s, out of college and out of work, forced to live at home. With few opportunities they decide to sell the only asset they have - their friendship. Unfortunately as far as friendship goes these two are offering the worst deal on the market. The second episode features Dave score what he thinks is a date with a model and Der’s roped into showing a blow in about town. If ya like it, … There’s more →

ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil: Classically Good Looking

  By Sinead Keogh | April 2, 2011 - 10:44 am | Events, Gigs, Music, The Arts
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While not being mature enough not to think that the word ‘pianist’ deserves a wee giggle every time, we do think we ought to give the nod to the upcoming classical music fest that is the ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil. Happening at the RDS from April 4th - 16th tickets are a fairly fabulous €5 per day and there are a few highlights on the line-up that Culch are hoping to catch. If you’re into strings (who isn’t?) the Aileen Gore Cup is being hotly contested by violinists, cellists, double bassists, harpists and even guitarists on April 14th at 12 and 2pm in the Concert Hall. On the same bat day and same bat channel, the Morris Grant €2,500 bursary (piano) is happening at 7pm. And the piece de resistance, the Gala Concert featuring some of the best of the Feis Ceoil competitors along with The Celtic Tenors, will happen … There’s more →