Monthly Archives: January 2012

Events: Simon O’Keeffe brings you: Neighbourhood #1 (Love, Sex, Death, the Northside)

  By Amanda | January 24, 2012 - 3:30 pm | Comedy, Events
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Simon O’Keeffe presents his debut solo show in the Workman’s club on February 18th. Let’s face it, with a name like that why wouldn’t you want to go, eh? Simon is the regular MC at the Capital Comedy Club in the Ha’penny and has decided that it’s about time he branched out and gave his audience what they want: a whole hour or thereabouts of his fabulous humour. Support on the night will be provided by the rather funny Matt Saddlier who has supported Eddie Izzard (so therefore must be good!) The critics love Simon anyway… “A treat to watch.” www.dublinks.com So come and join him as he takes the leap and presents his first solo show, you are guaranteed a laugh at least. Tickers are available from Ticketmaster or on the door on the night. Where: The Workman’s Club When: The 18th February 2012 Time: 9pm Cost: €10

The Comedy Interview: Aidan Killian

  By Amanda | January 24, 2012 - 12:25 pm | Comedy
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Aidan Killian is the thinking man’s comedian. He is the regular MC at Anseo on Camden which recently won an award for best comedy venue in Dublin. I recently described Aidan as a “very intelligent comedian whose observations on life’s problems are hilarious”. I sat down to have an intense chat with Aidan about Anseo and all things comedy related. What does it feel like to have won an award for best comedy venue on Dublin? It feels great. I love it. It’s just really cool that more people voted for us than for Enda Kenny. I already know what it is, it’s a small room with a great atmosphere and we get great acts. The truth is it’s not the best comedy club in the world, it might be the happiest or the most fun, it’s not the biggest or the most profitable but it’s a lot of fun … There’s more →

Movie Review: The Descendants

  By willok | January 24, 2012 - 10:05 am | Movies & TV
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‘The Descendants’ is a quiet film, set over a few days, which sees Matt (George Clooney), as patriarch to his own immediate family and trustee of the interests of extended family, confronted with a wife suddenly in a coma and a realisation that he is ill-equipped to guide his daughters through this nor any other crisis to come. Nothing about the movie is overdone – there is no overacting, no simplification, no unneeded exposition. The film opens with a voice over narration, which can sometimes throw up flare shots of poor story to come; in this case it is scene-setting and puts Matt’s crisis front and centre before letting the film unfurl of its own accord.

Shame in 60 Seconds: An Empire Done in 60 Seconds Entry

  By Sinead Keogh | January 20, 2012 - 6:38 pm | Movies & TV
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Hiya. You’re gorgeous. Did anyone ever tell you that you have lovely eyes? Will you do us a favour? Our mates Colm and Andy (who also write for Culch, if that sways you in any way, WHICH IT SHOULD) have entered Empire’s Done in 60 Seconds Competition. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s where competitors come up with a 60 second video that tell’s the story of a film that came out in the past year… with any kind of twist they like. There are loads of rules and stuff, but all you really need to know is that the guys have done Shame in 60 seconds, it’s deadly, many scenes were filmed in Culch Towers so you can actually see our beds and stuff if you’re really interested in creeping on us and the guys are hoping to get to the next round of the competition. It’s all … There’s more →

Red Bull Launch Bedroom Jam Competition

  By Culch.ie | January 20, 2012 - 2:00 pm | Gigs, Music, The Internet
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Pictured below are band-of-the-hour The Minutes (see what we did there? ) rocking out at last night’s launch of the Red Bull Bedroom Jam at The Workman’s Club. If you think you’d look that good on stage and have the talent to back it up, then read on, this could be your big moment. Bedroom Jam is offering young Irish bands the chance to seriously kick-start their careers by performing at Irish music festivals in 2012, with the ultimate winner bagging a chance to record at the Red Bull Studio next autumn. We’re particularly interested in this competition because it relies heavily on how cool you are on the internet … or how well you can promote yourself at least… and we’re all about the internet self-promotion in Culch Towers. To enter Bedroom Jam, bands need to upload a video of themselves performing to the competition website, www.redbullbedroomjam.ie between now … There’s more →

Events: Get Back - The Story of The Beatles @ The Tivoli

  By Sinead Keogh | January 20, 2012 - 11:47 am | Gigs, Music, The Culch, Theatre
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Looking for something to do in dull, frumpy-as-a-nun January? Beatles fan? Get Back - The Story of The Beatles hit the stage at The Tivoli Theatre last night and runs until February 14th. The show, charting the rise of John, Paul, George and Ringo from Liverpool’s Cavern Club to their Final Sessions, features a soundtrack of hits such as ‘She Loves You’, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, ‘Yesterday’, ‘Help’, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, and ‘All You Need Is Love’. Beatles producer George Martin has commented of the show ‘the vocal resemblance is uncanny’ and the group capture the look of the fab four with scenes transporting you onstage and into the studio with one of the greatest bands the world has ever seen. Interested? Where: The Tivoli When: Jan 19th - Feb 14th, 7.30pm Tickets: €20.00 - €28.50 from 01 4544472 or tivoli.ie

Events: Charity comedy gig: The Maple Hotel

  By Amanda | January 20, 2012 - 11:30 am | Comedy, Events
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Four of the best Dublin comedians come together for a great cause tonight. Robert Coyle, Jim Elliot, Abie Philbin Bowman and Aidan Killian are putting their comedic abilities to good use in aid of the Free Leonard Peltier appeal. These are comedians you should definitely catch. Robert Coyle is one of the rising stars on the Irish comedy circuit and his boundless energy is infectious. Jim Elliot is a fantastic story teller who has a natural ability to draw people in. He is definitely not one to be missed Abie Philbin Bowman is a highly entertaining comedian whose tales are intricately woven and challenging. Aidan Killian, the regular MC of Anseo is an intelligent comedian whose observations of life’s problems are hilarious. His tales of love and sadness and anger will leave you wanting more. This promises to be a fun night and I am assured it is room of … There’s more →

Comedy Review: The Tunnel Comedy Club, Drogheda

  By Amanda | January 20, 2012 - 9:00 am | Comedy, Events
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On Saturday 14th I ventured to the Tunnel Comedy Club in Drogheda for my first out-of-Dublin comedy review. The venue itself is located quite literally in a cellar. It’s down an alleyway, brightly lit I’m happy to report. On walking into the pub you are faced with an actual tunnel complete with stone wall surroundings. I must admit I was very impressed with the venue. It is certainly very well set up for comedy. MC for the evening was club owner Harry McGarry. Harry has great stage presence and is very energetic. It is this energy and enthusiasm which transfers to the audience and makes them want to go along with him for the ride. From tales of unwanted Christmas presents and how to deal with them to getting fit, Harry had the audience in stitches. Mark Cahill was the first up to grace the stage with his comedic abilities. … There’s more →

COMPETITION CLOSED: Well Luke What We Have Here. It’s Invasion Dublin!

  By Lisa McInerney | January 19, 2012 - 3:00 pm | Competitions, Events, Movies & TV
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Everyone knows that the best convention ever was the one at the end of Galaxy Quest, but as that was kind of a one-off, and also entirely fictional, your best bet for geeky frolics and detailed debates about protocol for computer systems that haven’t been invented yet is to get yourself along to Invasion Dublin. Yup, Ireland’s Star Wars convention returns to Citywest from the 4th to the 6th of May. May the FOURTH be with you, in fact. Ha. Ha-ha. Invasion Dublin promises to be stuffed to Jar-Jar’s gills of the entertaining, the educational, the bizarre and the nostalgic. This year there’s a pleasing and very healthy emphasis on the science in science fiction, with talks and demonstrations on space travel and robotics. Fans will have the opportunity to check out beautifully detailed replicas, including – eek! – the Emperor’s throne room from the Death Star, the Mos Eisley … There’s more →

Silence Is Golden… Movie Review: The Artist

  By Jen McShane | January 19, 2012 - 12:00 pm | Featured Post, Movies & TV, The Culch
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It’s the film that has charmed audiences and critics alike across the globe and all without uttering a single word. For many, it’s simply the best film of the year. The Artist proves that so much can be said by saying so little. This tender, witty, charming film, which pays tribute to the classic silent movie era in Hollywood, is the best thing to hit our screens in a long long time. Sound like an exaggeration? Then you haven’t seen the film! Since premiering at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival last year, the hype surrounding the film has been huge and luckily, it does not fall foul of the hype. Having scored big at this year’s Golden Globe awards with three wins and numerous BAFTA nominations just announced, The Artist has captured us, and indeed Hollywood, like no film has done in years. It’s surely a shoo-in for Oscar glory. … There’s more →

Events: PoP Up! Theatre

  By Amanda | January 19, 2012 - 9:00 am | Comedy, Theatre
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Are you looking for something different to do? Are you an aspiring thespian? Do you love the theatre? Well, PoP up! Theatre is where you need to be! PoP Up! Theatre is a night of sporadic theatre, scenes, monologues, beer and entertainment. With scenes from well-known plays with a bit of a twist added to some completely original material, this promises to be a surprise theatre event. A little bit neurotic, extremely narcissistic, touching, innocent and raw all at the same time. Gary Jones, one of the organisers behind PoP Up explained to me that the aim is to put on an interesting and ‘outside the norm’ evening’s worth of entertainment.” I have a sneaky feeling there may be a lot of laughter involved in the evening’s entertainment too! Sure why wouldn’t you want to come along? Where: Slattery’s Pub, Rathmines, Dublin 6 When: Friday 10th Feb Time: 8.30pm Cost: … There’s more →

Real Trad Irish Session: Fingal Folk Club Returns for 2012

  By Peter | January 18, 2012 - 11:39 pm | Music, Tourism
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Returning for 2012 this Friday January 20th… In what looks like from the outside [and is if you must know] an old Irish national school hall, every Friday takes places what can only be one of Ireland’s hidden music gems. The great ones always are. Step inside however and you might be quite surprised…. Inside decorated cloth drapes the windows, lighting shines within certain parts of the rooms, image are blown onto the walls and the table tops are covered over with night lights placed in their centre. A little dark Parisian café-ish, but Irish. The musicians travel from all over and the difference ?

New Music: Santigold’s “Big Mouth”

  By Lisa McInerney | January 18, 2012 - 5:00 pm | Music
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I do like a bitta Santigold of an unseasonably sweaty winter’s evening. This is crankin’, spankin’ new song Big Mouth. Now that you’ve finished excitedly bopping your nearest neighbour and/or humping the leg of the couch, you can download Big Mouth - for free! - at Santigold.com. Just give the lovely lady your email address and consent to be periodically mailed at. Totally worth it.

The Hits and Misses from the Golden Globes.

  By Jen McShane | January 18, 2012 - 12:00 pm | Featured Post, Movies & TV, The Culch
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We’re always looking for fresh blood at Culch, because somewhere in Sinead’s attic is a portrait getting… Never mind. The point is that we are rather delighted to introduce New Girl Jen into the Culch mix, to which she has sworn to add passion, intrigue, and many pictures of George Clooney. Oh look, she’s started already. ~ Lisa Award Season officially got off to a glitzy start as this year’s Golden Globes saw the crème de la crème of the Hollywood elite come out in hopes of picking up a coveted award. We had our usual hits and misses in terms of the fashion stakes… Reese Witherspoon, when I die, I’m coming back as you but what where you thinking? Kelly Osbourne and Sarah Michelle Gellar? An entire post could be devoted to the fashion stakes, but the awards themselves proved to be more interesting. Slightly more relaxed than the … There’s more →

Comedy: Two To Watch Out For

  By Amanda | January 18, 2012 - 9:00 am | Comedy
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On Wednesday night I headed in to Anseo for a laugh as you do at a comedy club. I have to say I really like Anseo as a comedy venue. It has a real intimate and friendly feel to it. As per usual Aidan Killian was on top form as MC for the night, but while I was there I saw two comedians who are definitely ones to watch out for. These were Robert Coyle and Alan Scarry. I had previously met Robert while reviewing Quinns in Drumcondra but had not seen him perform on stage that night. I was not entirely sure what to expect, but when he bounded on stage with such enthusiasm, I knew instantly that I was going to like him. Robert is a natural storyteller with a bit of a cheeky chappy shyness about him too, which endears him to the audience. From hilarious tales … There’s more →