Up to owt this evening, Corkonians? The marvellously marvellous Irish legends Jape play The Old Oak tonight, in association with Beck’s, and admission is free. Yes, free! Did I already say “marvellous”? I think I did! Is there a better way to spend your Thursday evening, fellow fans of taste, wit and electronica? Not without getting arrested, no indeed. Doors are at 8pm and support comes from Roisin O and Sweetcorn Riot. See you there!
Delilah is Paloma Stoecker, a striking diva-in-waiting, a purveyor of thoroughly modern urban soul with a voice capable of rushing from wavering fragility into powerful clarity in the same disarming lyric. Should that make her sound a little too like Adele Mark II, you might want to note that when I say modern, I don’t just mean voice-indulgent songs, or a charming shrugging-off of celebrity culture, I mean clever, stirring use of dirty beats and skewed rhythms. I mean something a bit … Jesus, cooler than the “urban belter” norm. Atmospherically closer to Sade than Adele, self-penned (and co-produced), complemented by her own piano arrangements, Delilah’s songs aren’t just clever and cool. They’re personal. Affecting. Accomplished. Go is a collection of four songs which showcase that fantastic voice at satisfyingly different angles. I Can Feel You is a ballad with vocals and piano battling it out to gorgeous effect. Breathe is … There’s more
Always doing things a little bit differently, Dublin’s Fringe Festival (which continues its partnership with Absolut this year), launched this morning with a breakfast buffet rather than the usual drinks reception. This year’s festival promises to be bigger and bolder than any of the previous 16, incorporating nearly 900 artists in 82 shows which will take place in 34 venues across the city from September 10-25.
There’s a long story to how I met The Journals. I will admit it was garden related, partly because they were playing in one but young bands get take their breaks as and when you can. That aside, The Journals are a brilliant young band. They were only supposed to played one song, max two. They played a full set and I should add all of the songs are self penned. Formed in early 2010 by Ollie Moyles and Alex Cummins, The Journals line is completed by Fergus Cahillane, Niall Thornton, and Luke O’Neill. Young they maybe, but surprising possibly and albeit under varying guises they’ve already managed to play venues such as ALT, the sugar club, Kielys, Kennedys, The Mercentile, The Headline, RDS and more. Their date to fame however was recently when live at Whelans they played support to Cashier no. 9. Not bad. Personally, they remind me … There’s more
Alongside Glyndebourne, Loughcrew and the proms, madrigals are an undeniably summery type of music. For the past 500 years, travelling from Italy and across Europe, madrigals set poetry to music in a beautifully light, harmonious manner. This summer over 3 nights (July 22-24), the National Chamber Choir of Ireland under the direction of Paul Hillier bring a programme of madrigals to three venues around the country.
Opera – especially in a country as small as Ireland – is a closeknit community, one that is often seen as being exclusive or elitist. Because of that perception and having not yet been to one of Ronnie Dunne’s Operatic Garden Parties, I was unsure what to expect, but as I entered the opulent (albeit breezy) grounds of Kilruddery House, I was struck by the cordiality of the affair. The welcoming atmosphere was only extended by the pre-recital prosecco reception, the interval canapés and the raffle in aid of the triennial Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition. While the Orangery showcase is closely linked to the competition, in a non-competition year, its focus is much more on showcasing young talent than giving the winners a platform and this afternoon of opera did just that. With experienced voices such as Sandra Oman & Deirdre Masterson in a much more supportive role than I … There’s more
Y’know the way now we have Google+? Fionn Regan is like Irish Singer/Songwriter+. As cute as Donovan crossed with a hobbit, the Mercury-nominated musician isn’t your average tousled dreamboat with a guitar; he has his own sound, but he can’t seem to stop messing with it. Which is great, because I bore easily. Pop over to Soundcloud for the title track from 100 Acres Of Sycamore, the album due in August. It’s gratifyingly bigger than it has any right to be. Bluesy, over folksy. Eerie, over twee. You can also download 100 Acres free from Fionn’s website, and the album is on preorder now from iTunes and that. Fionn is currently traipsing around the country showcasing his new stuff, and has still to get to the following gaffs. July 21st, Thursday - The Grand Social, Dublin July 22nd, Friday - The INEC, Kilarney July 23rd, Saturday - The Set Theatre, … There’s more
Well now. A spectacular splat of mud-splaying has been playing out this past week between dance heavyweights Ministry Of Sound and easy-listening-crud heavyweights Syco (Simon Cowell’s company. See what he did there?). Ministry Of Sound have signed young dance sensation Avicii, a.k.a Tim Berg, a Swedish DJ/producer who’s tipped to be the next David Guetta, though I don’t remember putting in a repeat order. Anyway, clearly somebody did, as Avicii’s been making waves with his track Fade Into Darkness, formerly known as Penguin. It’s an undemanding piece of popshine, pretty much perfect for mass consumption. According to Ministry Of Sound, while Penguin was notching up the radio play from the likes of Pete Tong, Annie Mac and Scott Mills, they had been working with Avicii in order to develop the track from a cheerful instrumental (Penguin) to a smash hit vocal (Fade Into Darkness). In the course of MOS’s seeking out … There’s more
Four years ago, Justin Lee Collins tried to resurrect another classic TV show (his A-Team one was legendary), with Bring Back Dallas. Little did he know, that five years later, JR, Bobby and the rest of the gang (plus the dude from Desperate Housewives that went out with Nadine) would be coming to our screens. Last week, TNT released the first trailer and official photos for the new show, which is to air in summer 2012. It’s already looking better than that horrid 90210 remake, with the old cast and new cast blending in perfectly. I have to say though, JR looks ancient. But Bobby, now that’s a grey fox! Jesse Metcalf will play Bobby and Pam’s son Christopher, fellow Desperate Housewives star Josh Henderson is J.R.’s son John Ross, while the Fast and the Furious’s Jordana Brewster is set to play the girl caught between the two guys in … There’s more
Chris Weitz is a name you probably don’t know, and this has all the hallmarks of an art-house film with indie roots. It’s about immigrants. It has no Hollywood stars. It’s on limited release in the IFI and it has had next to zero marketing. But Chris Weitz is a director whose films have grossed over $1 billion dollars worldwide. He’s part of the mastermind brotherhood that created American Pie, he directed and adapted About A Boy and Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, and most recently he was at the helm of Twilight: New Moon. The success of this last venture essentially allowed him to write his own cheque as regards his next project, and the result is A Better Life, a story-driven relationship piece about an illegal-immigrant father and his ungrateful son in modern LA. Certainly a change from the father-son dynamic in American Pie. The story follows Carlos … There’s more
It’s not a random word generation or an epic fail from Google Translate; it’s the title of the new single from the Arctic Monkeys*, the second from Suck It And See. Here, have a shimmy at the video, directed by the Focus Creeps. It’s got a catsuit-wearing bird in who swoons a bit in a corridor. The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala is released on August 12th. Christ. Sounds like a threat from a psychotic zookeeper, doesn’t it? *Anyone else wish they were called the Artic Monkeys? Imagine articulated monkeys. Hoho! What larfs!
I saw two plays this week as part of the 10 Days in Dublin festival – Odd Sense’s Alpha & Omega and The Sting’s The Maids. Due to a lack of situational awareness on my part, I ended up sitting on bare wood for the duration of both, so the Numb Arse Test can be applied for the purposes of a capsule review – during Alpha & Omega I minded, during The Maids I did not. Alpha & Omega is the story of two (initially) charming youngsters, Alph and Meg, living a sheltered, orderly life in an underground bunker, with only the disembodied voice of a computer to keep them company. Despite their situation, they’re bright and carefree, and the ominous feeling you get as the implications of this discrepancy set in is one of the more satisfying aspects of the performance. Where it falls down is in the tension … There’s more
Irish comedy’s heartthrob Aidan Bishop (hey, it’s not often they’re good lookin’, it’s worth the mention) is heading off to Edinburgh pretty soon for his fourth consecutive run at the Fringe. Before he does, he’s doing a week of preview shows at The International Bar on Wicklow Street (‘The Inter’ to regulars) and they’re 100% free in. Interested? ‘Misspelled’ is described as a ‘brand new stand-up comedy show’ in which ‘Aidan Bishop asks if dyslexics make the best comedians’. The resident MC at the Inter and well known brother-of-Des grew up with undiagnosed dyslexia and the new one-hour show explores his childhood and how dyslexia has changed his life. Sounds like heavy going, but they say tragedy breeds comedy and we’ve heard on the grapevine that this one’s worth a look. Running Monday 18th to Friday 22nd at 7.15pm (doors at 7pm) it’s totally free and 100% misspelled.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Temple Bar’s regeneration as Dublin’s Cultural Quarter, over the next ten days, Temple Bar is the place to be for arts and culture in the capital, with its Cultural Trust having organised an impressive array of events covering music, theatre, comedy, visual arts, film and family. In fact, the whole thing is just so impressive that I’m going to liberally slice from their press release. There are dozens of really interesting, unique events planned and it’s difficult to predict highlights. Liberally sprinkled on the smörgåsbord are such delights as… Conversations about Culture, a unique outdoor photographic exhibition which will change every day featuring images of people as they pass through Temple Bar during the festival and their opinions on culture. Movies on the Street: Two movies also celebrating anniversaries this year will be screened on Cow’s Lane - Breakfast at Tiffany’s which is 50 … There’s more
Director: Rebecca Daly Cast: Antonia Campbell-Huges, Sam Keeley, Olwyn Fouere, Vicky Joyce Receiving rave reviews from Cannes and causing a stir there at the Director’s Fortnight, Rebecca Daly’s The Other Side of Sleep received an Irish screening at the Galway Film Fleadh. Director Daly was on hand to introduce the cast and commented that “there wouldn’t be a Q&A after the film, the film sort of speaks for itself.” Gar O’Brien, programmer for the festival, mentioned just before the screening that this was a film that stayed with him for quite a while after he saw it and it’s not hard to understand why. Almost like a more intimidating and suffocating version of The Machinist, The Other Side of Sleep is a credit to Rebecca Daly, another of the great Irish directors making an impact abroad at the moment. Skilfully, The Other Side of Sleep involves the audience from the … There’s more
