Monthly Archives: July 2011

Music Video: The Dying Seconds - Mora Minn

  By Lisa McInerney | July 29, 2011 - 2:00 pm | Music, Music Videos
Comments Off

Jaysus, I love it when an Irish band comes up with something moving and intelligent and beautiful. It makes me want to sneer it from the steeples. See, world? This is what we’re capable of. This is what we’re about. This is what the island of saints and scholars has distilled to. You can take your Westlifes and your Scripts and sweep ‘em under a carpet of placid meh-ness where ould wans can enjoy them in the lobotomised peace and quiet they inspire. Erm… Yeah. Anyway, this is the brand new video for Mora Minn, by The Dying Seconds, who we’ve raved about before. Mora Minn (as a single) will be launched in Crawdaddy on August 12th. That means there’s a gig on. Go be moved and inspired and made more beautiful.

Music Video: Wild Beasts - Bed Of Nails

  By johnmfinn | July 29, 2011 - 10:49 am | Music, Music Videos
Comments Off

In an age when Youtube hits can be translated directly into chart success music videos have become increasingly ridiculous, extravagant and gimmicky. What was once the exception has now become the standard and suddenly a well shot video of a band performing their song stands out as different. With the video for their latest single “Bed of Nails” Wild Beasts have kept things simple. Directed by Daniel Brereton and filmed in London the video feature shifting lights, lens flair and plenty of earnest indie swaying but what it really does is allows you to focus on the music. The track is taken from their latest album ‘Smother’ and is available to buy from Domino as a limited edition, signed postcard.

Movie Review: The Smurfs in 3D

  By pluincee | July 29, 2011 - 9:29 am | Movies & TV, The Culch
1 Comment

The discussions about the use of 3-D in film, especially live action, has been getting quite a bit of attention recently, with industry heads and punters alike chipping in their two-cent worth. Most recently, Simon Pegg on twitter summed it up for me when he said that 3D works with animation but not necessarily with live action. Having no idea what to expect from the Smurfs’ most recent outing – a long awaited revival of the little blue men (and one woman) of my childhood – I was happy to don my 3D glasses in anticipation of an animated adventure. What followed was nothing short of beauty. For kids, certainly, this latest outing of the Belgian Blue beings, will delight and entertain, classic slapstick routines being expertly mixed together with action and maybe a hint of romance.

Replay: The Vodafone Comedy Festival

  By Sinead Keogh | July 28, 2011 - 10:14 am | Celebs, Comedy, Events, Festivals, Gigs, The Arts
Comments Off

We spent a very sunny Saturday in a very black tent for The International Comedy Club show at The Vodafone Comedy Festival in the Iveagh Gardens last weekend. On the Thursday we caught Maeve Higgins, Tig Notaro and Eleanor Tiernan in an unexpectedly awesome all-female line-up. We can’t find official video from the weekend online just yet, but with Tig Notaro and Nick Thune being two brilliant new-t0-us acts that we’ve come away loving, we’re doing our duty to pop culture and telling you to check them out. The Comedy Fest, by the way, has lots of newfangled venue names like ‘The Cherry Top’ and ‘The V Room’ now that new sponsor Vodafone’s on board, but it’s still the same awesome weekend of comedy. Missing it and looking forward to next year already.

Teaser Trailer: Rubberbandits in NYC

  By Sinead Keogh | July 28, 2011 - 9:55 am | Comedy, Music, Performance Art, TV
2 Comments

The Rubberbandits appear to have rode their horse outside all the way to America and pitched up on MTV’s front lawn and the teaser trailer for ‘Rubberbandits in NYC’ popped into Culch’s inbox today. It’s not that good but presumably they thought it was because everything is better with a bag of glue. Too hash harsh? I’ll be honest, I’m over the ‘bandits. Base humour about gays, fat people and getting off your face isn’t really sustainable after the first half-hearted lol. Mind you, the million+ views on all their songs tell a different story so clearly I’m just ancient. Thoughts, learned culchies? PS I tagged this post under ‘comedy’ and ‘performance art’ - now that’s funny.

Galway Races: 2nd Leg of the Budweiser weather presenter auditions and Scott Campbell bets on Bahrain Storm

  By Sinead Keogh | July 27, 2011 - 12:12 pm | Celebs, Events, Festivals, Tourism
Comments Off

In Galway for the races? Even if you’re not, read on for the chance of a free pint! There’s an open invite to the Galway Races Budweiser Ice Cold Index party at The Skeffington Arms Hotel in Eyre Square on Saturday from 4pm. Rugby star DJ Cian Healy is on the decks and Jennifer Maguire is MC for the Galway leg of the auditions to find Scott Campbell’s weather presenting co-star for a national TV campaign. The Budweiser Ice Cold Index (a smartphone app that gives you money off your pint on hot days ‘the hotter the day the less you pay’ if you haven’t heard the spiel) are holding three heats to find a co-star for their weatherman Scott Campbell. The Dublin date has already passed but there’s still a chance to try out in Galway on Saturday or next month in Cork. Each heat has one winner who … There’s more →

Preview: The Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival

  By Sinead Keogh | July 27, 2011 - 11:41 am | Events, Festivals, The Arts, The Culch, Theatre
1 Comment

Back on our pop culture radar is the annual Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival with their just-launched, kick-ass programme. In keeping with previous years, there’s plenty of variety and you’ll find it all here but if you’re a bit overwhelmed by the scale of it all, we have a few recommendations. For starters, we’re big fans of Chekhov. First introduced to team Culch via the Chekhov’s Comedy Shorts series on Sky Arts (find it if you can, it’s hilarious and unexpectedly crammed with big names), we’re looking forward to seeing two Chekhov-inspired works during the festival. “DONKA, A LETTER TO CHEKHOV” is pegged as an extravaganza of acrobatics and magic (it’s performed by acrobats and a troupe of clowns), inspired by Chekhov’s plays and diaries it’s promising to be surreal and escapist. (Gaiety Theatre, September 29th - October 2nd.) Meanwhile, “16 POSSIBLE GLIMPSES” focuses on the life and death of the … There’s more →

Theatre News: Autumn Run for JB Keane’s ‘Big Maggie’

  By Sinead Keogh | July 27, 2011 - 10:51 am | Events, The Arts, Theatre
Comments Off

Druid have announced that John B Keane’s ‘Big Maggie’ is set for the stage once more with a run in Galway’s Town Hall Theatre (November 11th - 19th) and Dublin’s Gaiety (November 21st - 26th). Culch.ie have announced that they’re rather delighted by the news! One of Keane’s best, it deals with all the go-to themes of Irish theatre: money, land, and in this case some secretive sex and black humour as title character Maggie, recently-widowed, becomes the steadfast matriarch in the face of her squabbling, inheritance-hungry children. If you’ve never seen or read Big Maggie then we recommend making it your business this time around. It’s ten years since Garry Hynes directed it for The Abbey and it was commended for how well it was brought into the modern day at the time (it originally premiered in 1969). Hynes is once more in the director’s chair for this production … There’s more →

Arthur’s Day launch 2011

  By Anto | July 25, 2011 - 11:09 pm | Events, Featured Post, Gigs
Comments Off

I know what you’re thinking: “Why are Guinness running Arthur’s Day again?” I wondered the same myself and the figures for the marketers have probably been very favourable over the past few years. *However*, I’m positive towards the event for two reasons: first of all they’ve given Irish bands a foot up through the Our Thursday’s competition last year and secondly, all of the money from the gigs goes towards the Arthur Guinness Fund which has funded a lot of social entrepreneurs around the country. Last week Guinness drew down on a further €650,000 from the fund, which was awarded to another ten Irish social entrepreneurs. The ten entrepreneurs with each of their unique projects will not only receive financial support but also professional business mentoring over the next two years. Good stuff. We were invited along to the launch event for 2011 last week in Whelans, Dublin. Aloe Blacc, … There’s more →

Short Film: Isle of Man Tourist Trophy

  By Ronan | July 25, 2011 - 5:17 pm | Movies & TV
Comments Off

The fourth entry in the 2011 Short Stories film making competition, “Isle of Man Tourist Trophy” takes viewers into the world of Road Racing, a world which flies past at two hundred miles an hour. The Film makers have given us a stunning visual evocation of the sweeping landscape of the Isle of Man, and the extreme focus of the men and women who participate every year to test its roads. You can watch it, and find out more info after the jump…

New Radio Show: The Comedy Corner

  By Peter | July 25, 2011 - 1:22 pm | Comedy
1 Comment

The Comedy Corner is a new radio show airing at 3pm every Thursday on 103.2 Dublin City FM. It gives air-time to both up and coming stand-up comedians as well as well-known names in Irish comedy. The host of the show is the wonderful Sinéad Nolan and this Thursdays guest [I believe] is none other than our very own Eric Lalor. If you are a comedian who wants to go on the show or if you have any ideas or suggestion for the Comedy Corner you can email Sinead Nolan at [email protected] You can of course listen to the podcasts after via The Comedy Corner Blog or you can find The comedy Corner on Facebook OR you can Listen Live via: Turn your dial to 103.2 or Online at http://dublincityfm.ie/ Here’s a taster of how it all works…. This is Sinéad’s interview with Tom ‘the bear’ O’Mahony. Ruddy hilarious. Bulaidh … There’s more →

Review: A Betrayal of Penguins - The Workman’s Club

  By Andy Gaffney | July 25, 2011 - 11:45 am | Comedy, Featured Post, Gigs, Theatre
1 Comment

A little while ago after seeing A Betrayal of Penguins supporting their sketch comedy peers ‘Foil, Arms and Hog’ at Whelan’s I mentioned that, golly I would like to see a full show of them. Sure enough just like that time I asked for Power Ranger toys for Christmas, I got my wish (which by the way, was very hard that year, when children did that thing where on Christmas Eve they talk to a Santa on a radio show, he was all like “Oh, I don’t know, the elves are finding them very hard to make”, so yeah, up yours other kids).

Amy Winehouse 1983-2011

  By Lisa McInerney | July 23, 2011 - 9:12 pm | Featured Post, Music, The Culch
2 Comments

I missed the inaugural meeting of the Amy Winehouse Appreciation Society; she was on MTV rotation before I’d heard of her. I always feel ashamed when I admit that, like it was remiss of me not to have caught the kernel of her talent, not to have been around to add to the heat that made her pop. The video was Stronger Than Me. The voice pricked my ears and swung my head and stopped my heart. I sat watching with my jaw on the floor, and as soon as the song stopped and I’d wound my jaw back onto its hinges, I found myself a copy of Frank and became a card-carrying member of that Appreciation Society, with special responsibility for Taking Amy’s Side Against Narrow-Minded Arseholes and Rolling My Eyes At People Whose Favourite Song Was Valerie.

Trailer: The Amazing Spider-Man

  By Culch.ie | July 21, 2011 - 1:25 pm | Movies & TV
9 Comments

This just popped into the inbox. Squee. Official-y film spiel: The film, which is now in production and is being shot entirely in 3D, will be released on July 3, 2012. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field. The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the Marvel Entertainment production for Columbia Pictures. Whoop. Can’t wait.