Monthly Archives: July 2011

What Amanda Brunker’s Mind Thought Happened…

  By Peter | July 13, 2011 - 9:10 pm | Festivals, The Culch
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You may think you have seen this video…. you haven’t. Courtesy of the fine upstanding ladies and gentlemen of Cork Campus Radio UCC 98.3FM Ireland’s only 24/7 student radio station….. this is pure gold. You can go say thanks to them over on the twittersphere @corkcampusradio. And before anyone suggests it…. I didn’t go looking for this - it found me I don’t know The Brunkster I have never taken part in a mate campaign I have did not have a relation with Monica Lewinsky if i got up and sang at oxegen - amanda would be entitled to say I was shite criticise thats what happens when you do gigs rock and roll man etc straight after this I will be hugging a tree anyway the wind blows…. Frankie says Relax

New Music: We Are Losers - Sunset Song

  By Peter | July 12, 2011 - 3:21 pm | Music, The Culch
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I was lucky enough to be reared with a vinyl player in my bedroom growing up. I was fortunate moreseo to know people who knew that Ziggy Stardust wasn’t an affliction and John Peel didn’t come in a jar. In the name of Dave Fanning, the son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. At my age, one realises the better reared bands and the better music really does come the old route and in all honesty, good old hard slog, a bit of back lash hither dither and maybe one or two gigs where your amp blew up - never really did hurt anyone. At the very least you know that threatening to throw in twitter after a shite review really isn’t the way Keith Richards would have dealth with it - even if you can make decent Metallica-like hand gestures, you probably only knew one of their songs. To brighter … There’s more →

Reach Out Comedy Night - July 26th

  By Peter | July 11, 2011 - 4:11 pm | Comedy, The Culch
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Get Your Giggle on for ReachOut.com with some rib tickling comedy at The Sugar Club When: 26th July 2011 Where: The Sugar Club Why: It’s for ReachOut.com MC: Fred Cooke And also with: Jack Wise, Eric Lalor and Shazwanda Tickets: €20, available through entertainment.ie Fair Play To: Macquarie Group and all the staff there Should you live in a cave….. here’s the blurb on the funny people….. Fresh from his performance at this year’s Street Performance World Championship, Jack Wise is sure to mesmerise the audience with his speciality cocktail of comedy and magic all served up with a solid slice of sarcasm. Meanwhile, the warm and energetic Eric Lalor will leave the audience with a warm fuzzy feeling that only a belly laugh can, showing why he goes down such a treat with comedy gig goers across the land. With his wide-eyed innocence teamed with manic mannerisms, Fred Cooke is the … There’s more →

Pics: Oxegen Day 1

  By Sinead Keogh | July 9, 2011 - 1:02 pm | Festivals, Gigs, Music, The Culch
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We’ve got our wristbands on, here we come, da da dum, we’ve got our wristbands on, hit and run, then we’re gone… Day 1 of Oxegen at saw team Culch arriving at Punchestown to the strains of Weezer before hitting up the new Captain Morgan tent to meet the man himself. From there we split up to hit My Chemical Romance, Tinie Tempah and Example before huddling together again for the first big rainfall of the festival at The Script. Friday impressions say the ground is squelchy and calls for wellies, the staff and security on-site are the best of helpful form and somehow, there seem to be more places to sit this year. Our recommendations so far include Crepes in the City (go for streaky bacon with cheese and salad leaves…yum); a cocktail from either Captain Morgan or the gang over at the Electric Ballroom; and getting your wellies … There’s more →

The Loft Bookshop

  By Colm O'Brien | July 8, 2011 - 4:26 pm | Books, Events, The Culch
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For any bookish types who happen to be in town this evening, The Loft Bookshop on the top floor of Middle Abbey Street’s Twisted Pepper building is having a grand opening starting from 7.30pm, featuring “some wine, a little food and some music”. It’s a lovely wee place altogether — the selection is small but thoughtully assembled (any shop that stocks The Illuminatus! Trilogy is aces in my book) and the staff are friendly and genuinely enthusiastic. Plus the award-winning 3fe coffee shop is just downstairs (although it closes at 7pm… still, future reference and all that). Give it a look, why don’t you. http://theloftbookshop.com/ http://twitter.com/theloftbookshop

Oxegen: Survival Guide

  By Sinead Keogh | July 8, 2011 - 12:45 pm | Festivals, Gigs, Music
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We’re off to Oxegen. We were gonna write our own survival guide, but, well, this one’s pretty good, and funny, and we’re quite tired, sooo… reblogged with permission from the kind folk at Red Bull Ireland. It’s almost Oxegen time. This rite of passage rolls around but once a year but before you pull on your wellies we recommend you take a quick look at our Festival survival guide: You wake up face down on the grass. You are sunburnt, confused and everything you own is wet. Someone has drawn a disturbingly detailed penis on your back. A man with an obnoxiously large cowboy hat and a pair of luminous sunglasses stands over you, pointing and laughing. And to make matters worse you have slept through all of your favourite acts. Ok, so the above situation may be on the extreme and comical end of the spectrum but everyone has … There’s more →

Events: Opera at the Orangery

  By pluincee | July 8, 2011 - 12:27 pm | Events, Festivals, Music, Performance Art, The Arts, Tourism
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While the Temple House Festival was brought forward from its September date last year to beat Oxegen to the punch as the first Irish festival of the summer, those of you who want music without mud will be happy to know that the Killruddery Festival of Arts (which, this year, features Il Divo, Colm Wilkinson and ‘As You Like It’) will begin next Sunday, July 17th, with Veronica Dunne’s renowned Opera at the Orangery.

Movie Review - The Galway Film Fleadh Premiere - The Guard

  By Sue Murphy | July 8, 2011 - 8:48 am | Movies & TV
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Director: John Michael McDonagh Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Liam Cunningham, Mark Strong, David Wilmot, Pat Shortt. Winner of the Best Debut Film at the Berlin International Film Festival and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, The Guard has been bringing down the house at international screenings. Receiving its Irish Premiere, fittingly, at the Galway Film Fleadh, McDonagh’s story of the “small town cop” Detective Sergeant Gerry Boyle, continues on its mission to become one of the most successful Irish films and to prove that the Irish are not only good at comedy, they excel at it.   Detective Sergeant Gerry Boyle is, as he describes himself, the “last of the independents.” Living a secluded and routine driven lifestyle in Connemara, Boyle has largely been forgotten by the big boys in Galway and basically, pleases himself. Having had no one to answer to for a considerable period … There’s more →

Music Video: Martin Byrne - Ireland My Ireland

  By Peter | July 7, 2011 - 12:10 pm | Music, Music Videos
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In 2010 Martin Byrne released his debut album titled ‘My Ireland’. Within months of it’s release Martin was voted 2010 Best Singer Song Writer of The Year at West Limerick 102 fm Annual Awards, an acolade that put him shoulder to shoulder with other award winners including June Rodgers, Foster and Allen, The Dreamers and many more. Most recently, Louise Morrissey, one of Ireland’s best loved singers and entertainers, has released her recording of one of Martins songs, Home Sweet Home. From a music writing perspective that has to be one fine compliment. update: my interview with Martin about his music career so far and the future…. enjoyed this Martin Byrne - My Ireland (mp3) This is the latest release by Martin. My Ireland is available in iTunes and all good record stores. More about Martin and his music - www.MartinByrne.ie or over on Facebook Video and image courtesy Directing Media

Oxegen Stage Preview: Red Bull Electric Ballroom

  By Pani Dender | July 7, 2011 - 10:04 am | Events, Festivals, Gigs, Music
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In the midst of all the new bells and whistles features of this year’s Oxegen, one thing in particular caught our eye. The Punchestown Exhibition Centre, that shed that’s usually know as the ‘Dance Stage’, has been re-incarnated as the Red Bull Electric Ballroom. The electronica operation transformation includes a massive skin on the outside to make it fall in line with the look of the bigtop tent structures of the other stages, and comes complete with grand entrance, chandeliers, hanging prints and giant portraits all reminiscent of the 1930s ballroom era. The new look alone, a very welcome step away from the sweatbox of old, probably makes it worth sticking your head in for a poke around, but in particular we recommend checking it out tomorrow. Friday, Oxegen’s traditional Fancy Dress day, see’s the Red Bull gang calling for visitors to get on their gladrags for the ballroom. They ran … There’s more →

Movie Review - The Galway Film Fleadh: Parked

  By Sue Murphy | July 6, 2011 - 1:39 pm | Movies & TV
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Parked Director: Darragh Byrne Cast: Colm Meaney, Colin Morgan, Milka Ahlroth, Stuart Graham.   Receiving its Irish premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh, Parked, the debut feature from Darragh Byrne, was a wonderful way of opening the Fleadh. Unlike the other Film Festivals in Ireland, the Galway Film Fleadh are arguably some of the greatest supporters of the director’s first feature and with this in mind, one of the finest first Irish features opened the 23rd Fleadh. Last night, Darragh Byrne introduced the film with his producers on stage, following an uplifting speech by Michael D. Higgins and there has been a certain amount of expectation around the film following its success on the festival circuit abroad.  

Relentless Energy Drink Extreme Photography competition winner announced

  By Ronan | July 6, 2011 - 12:11 pm | Music
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Corkman Colin Aherne has been announced as the winner of the Relentless Energy Drink Extreme Photography competition, which took place last weekend at the Sea Sessions Surf and Music Festival in Bundoran. Entrants were briefed to capture an image based around any action sport that tells a story of Relentless Energy Drink’s “no half measures” ethos. The competition was judged by world renowned surf photographer and filmmaker, Mickey Smith, director of the multi-award winning surf film Dark Side of the Lens. “The picture was taken in Helsinki, Finland during a BMX competition.” explains Colin. “I was over there for a few days on a trip and was lucky enough to come across the competition and take some pictures. To me the picture means ‘just go for it’.” Judge, Mickey Smith says “we were blown away by the high standard of all the entrants, there were some really stunning images. The … There’s more →

The Anti-Room Film Club

  By Lisa McInerney | July 5, 2011 - 7:28 pm | Events, Movies & TV, The Culch
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I was trying for ages to come up with a cool enough post title to suit the new Anti-Room Film Club, and I failed miserably. Puns didn’t seem appropriate, and my usual smartarseisms a bit too flippant. I think this is a really snappy idea, and not just because I also write for the Anti-Room. Disclaimer out of the way? Here we go, then. The Anti-Room, in case you’ve been living down a well, is a site written by a fantastically slapdash bunch of ladies who cover everything from pop culture to politics. We love film, and we love a lively discussion over drinks, so we’re combining the lot in our monthly film club, which starts tomorrow night, Wednesday 6th, in the Workman’s Club on Wellington Quay, Dublin! We’ll be showing cult or classic films, and there is sombre promise of cake. I shall be missing for the inaugural screening, … There’s more →

New (Free!) Music: Niki and the Dove - The Fox

  By Lisa McInerney | July 3, 2011 - 11:48 am | The Culch
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This is not particularly new. It’s just that I suddenly realised during a poptronicagasm last night that I couldn’t live without it. This is The Fox by Swedish electronica duo Niki and The Dove. Niki is not the singer’s name (it’s Malin) and there is no further mention of ornithological interests, but surely that’s on the forgivable end of nomenclatural fraud? I’d much rather Kate Bush-style hollering and slightly off-kilter synths than the kind of twee candyfloss the band name suggests, anyway. Niki And The Dove - The Fox by subpop And you can download and keep it for free (click the downwards arrow on the rhs)! Lovely, innit? And here’s more eerie dancepop in DJ Ease My Mind (which sounds like Natasha Khan at the Eurovision)