Daily Archives: December 14, 2011

New Music: Jericho

  By Lisa McInerney | December 14, 2011 - 2:00 pm | Music
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I do so love finding new Irish bands, so long as it’s not at the bottom of my bed at 3am, or in my welly on the third morning of Electric Picnic (could happen, John found a spider in his). And this new Irish band is something special. Jericho are a Cork five-piece funk-piece who draw inspiration from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Earth, Wind and Fire. Not your usual local folksters, then. Frontman Darragh sounds like classic Michael Jackson after a wallop of fifteen unsugared coffees; smooth but gutsy, with a cheekiness that’s just the right side of legal. Jericho offer a slick take on the sexier end of soul, as much for fans of Friendly Fires than James Brown. The gang have just released the EP “Tantra”, and it’s available for free download here. Go on, oil up your hips for a wiggling and give it … There’s more →

The Comedy Interview: Foil, Arms and Hog

  By Amanda | December 14, 2011 - 1:00 pm | Comedy
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Foil Arms and Hog are one of those comedy groups that mesmerise and amaze you with their quick-witted humour and perfect comic timing on stage. Off stage they are a really nice and funny bunch of guys! I caught up with them in their fancy offices recently for a chat about comedy and their future plans. So lads my first question has to be about your name. What’s with that? (After much hole-digging on my part, trying to remember what I heard we finally got to the correct answer!)The lads explain that the name grew from nicknames they had for each other, like ripping it out of each other’s style of performance, so Sean Finegan became Foil as in the comedic foil, the straight man in the sketch, Conor got Arms because he is big into the physical style of comedy and Sean Flanagan ended up with Hog as he likes … There’s more →

Alternative Christmas Mixtape: Day 3

  By Culch.ie | December 14, 2011 - 12:00 pm | Music
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Day 3 in the Alternative Christmas Mixtape house. Can Aidan Coughlan please come to the Diary Room… Fountains of Wayne are at their best when they’re combining humour, poignancy and utter despondency, then bedding it all on top of a tasty melody to make everything seem just fine. And so, this is very much Fountains of Wayne at their best. Like Hackensack and Stacy’s Mom, this number is built around a hopeless, childlike naivety which is endearing upon first listen - but heartbreaking once you consider that, come Christmas morning, this is going to be one disappointed little kid. We’ve all been there. But hey. That tune and those backing vocals would lift anyone’s spirits.   Aidan Coughlan is a music journalist with the Irish Independent. Check out his article on the greatest riffs throughout musical history in this Saturday’s paper. You can find him online at Twitter.com/aidancoughlan. Culch.ie’s Alternative Christmas Mixtape … There’s more →

Comedy Review: Stand up against the Bankers @ Anseo

  By Amanda | December 14, 2011 - 9:11 am | Comedy
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Anseo is one of those venues that I had made plans to get to but had never quite managed to make it. Since I had got to know Aidan Killian he had been suggesting that I go, so when I came across the Stand up against the Bankers gig in aid of Occupy Dame Street which sparked the inner protestor in me, mash that together with comedy and of course you will find me there! How could I refuse? Anseo as a venue is brilliant. While sitting waiting for the gig to start, the one word that came to mind was “earthy”. This may have something to do with the colour scheme and the various odd illustrations… It has a raw edge feel to it unlike other venues I’ve been to. It seems less polished, but not in a bad way. It’s quite a big room but not that big … There’s more →