TheCity

Tag: entertainment

  • A catch up with Phil Costello of Aungier Danger

    A catch up with Phil Costello of Aungier Danger

    Aungier Danger, the new doughnut shop on Aungier Street, has had people queuing down the streets for one of their unusual doughnuts since opening last week. With brilliant names like ‘Banoffee Autopsy’ and ‘The Crime Scene’, there’s something for everyone.

    The City’s Rachael O’ Brien caught up with Aungier Danger owner, Phil Costello, to hear all about their first week in business.

    4

    What is the unique idea behind Aungier Danger?

    “I come from a musical background; I like having a good time and I love real American doughnuts so I tried to combine a cool place with cool doughnuts and cool music. Really good coffee was important to that too, so I tried to strike a balance between all these things.

    “For the name of the shop, I was sitting in a pub with a friend one night and I was trying to think of something. I read something on Facebook with the hashtag ‘Stranger Danger’, and I was in the process of thinking of something that worked with Aungier and it clicked.

    “I was going for the whole Brooklyn urban vibe, so it made sense to have some sort of danger attitude for the doughnuts as well, so I started thinking of crime scenes, gunshots and autopsies. We’re just having fun with the names and there’s more on the way.”

    How was your first week of business?

    “Unbelievable! We never anticipated the volume of people that came after the Lovin’ Dublin blog wrote about us the night before we opened. It was great.

    “Last Thursday morning, we opened at half seven, and there was a queue outside the door. We were sold out of 200 doughnuts in 15 minutes and we had a one per person policy that day. It was crazy.”

    After queues out the door in its first week, do you think it will quieten down or will the hype remain?

    “I think anywhere has a hype and a buzz at the start. I hope it doesn’t die down, but ultimately like anywhere, places do go quiet. But I believe if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll do well. People are coming in to get doughnuts every day to bring to the office for example.”

    What are your plans for the future?

    “I’m in the process of possibly looking for another place, as soon as the end of this year maybe or early next year. Somewhere bigger that can take a higher production scale, because I have had places emailing me asking for a regular supply of doughnuts so somewhat of a wholesale thing.”

    Which are you favourite doughnuts?

    “I’ve got two favourites – The Crime Scene and the Dublin Death-Trap. The Crime Scene is the red velvet one with cream cheese filling and strawberry icing. The Dublin Death-Trap is our take on the Boston cream, but with our own vanilla flavoured custard. The rest are all great too, but they’re my babies.”

    To find out more and keep up to date with Aungier Danger, check out their Facebook page.

    Follow Rachael O’ Brien on Twitter at @rachieobrien

  • Dublin DJ unites Hozier and Noel Gallagher for charity

    Dublin DJ unites Hozier and Noel Gallagher for charity

    Hozier, Noel Gallagher and Florence Welsh, have weighed in to raise much needed funds for breast cancer research.

    Irish DJ Greg McQuaid who works on a popular morning radio show KFOG FM, in San Francisco, came up with the idea of a charity single with his co-host Mike Nelson.

    The project began last January when Mike’s son wrote parts of a song regarding his mother’s ongoing battle with cancer.

    Mike and Greg jumped on board the project and asked everyone who came through the studio to lend their voice and musical talents to the track to bring the young boy’s idea to life.

    “The idea was that the show would ask all musical guests that visited the station in 2015 to help get the lyrics out of the kid’s head and make a proper song,” McQuaid told The City.

    “Most of the people were at the radio station anyway to perform or promote something so all that was needed was the guts to actually ask them to sing a song about boobs,” he added.

    Even though some of these acts were extremely busy, once Greg and Mike went to them directly they were happy to lend their voices to the project.

    Wicklow native Hozier didn’t have time to go to their studio, but recorded his part of the song in the Masonic music venue in California while he was touring in the States.

    “We went to a venue Hozier was playing at. He learned his part listening to an MP3 of the song we’d sent to his record label. It took about 10 minutes to record,” said McQuaid.

    The two radio hosts have been posting clips of the recording process online, and already have over nine thousand views online.

    The finished single and accompanying video have been officially released today to coincide with October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, and can be downloaded through iTunes.

    Any money raised from the single will go directly towards the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

    Photo: @Hozier/ Instagram

  • What to expect from Season 3 of House of Cards

    What to expect from Season 3 of House of Cards

    CC Image courtesy of Guillaume Bonnet on Flickr.
    CC Image courtesy of Guillaume Bonnet on Flickr.

    Daniel Pim looks ahead to the upcoming season of the hit political drama as it makes its long awaited return.

     House of Cards returns to our screens this Friday. The Netflix series is back for its third season and with it comes the return of everyone’s favourite Machiavellian character; Frank Underwood. Season two left viewers salivating when they saw Frank finally reach his lifelong ambition of becoming President. Now that he’s the most powerful man in the world, the burning question is: what direction will the show take? Will Frank rule with an iron fist or will all his scheming and lies come back to haunt him?

     This article is going to look at some of the best rumours being circulated about season three to give fans a taster of what is in store:

     In an interview with E-news, Spacey talks about how both writer-producer Beau Willimon and producer David Fincher “have a desire to see just how dark that well is and how deep does it go.” What exactly this means for the show and its characters remains to be seen. But it’s incredibly exciting news!

     

    Russia will play a large role in the upcoming series. International relations with China played a huge role in season two and now it seems that the focus has shifted. Lars Mikkelsen has been cast to play the Russian president. From the above trailer we see Mikkelsen’s character refusing to shake Frank’s hand. He’s also seen kissing Claire in front of Frank at some type of function. While fans don’t quite know how large of a role Mikkelsen will play just yet, it’s fair to say that he will cause Frank some serious problems during the infancy of his Presidency.

     

     Increasing tensions between both Frank and Claire seems to be a theme for the upcoming series. Now that they have finally achieved their goal and become the most powerful couple in the world, what more is there left to achieve? Well, quite a lot apparently. The internet is loaded with rumours of Claire’s ambition and a role with the United Nations seems to be gaining traction with each sliver of information being leaked. Netflix released a very interesting preview about the newest season: “Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright return to Washington with the stakes now higher than ever. President Underwood fights to secure his legacy. Claire wants more than being First Lady. The biggest threat they face is contending with each other.”

    In the original BBC series Francis Urquhart (Underwood) is killed by his wife, who hires an assassin to kill him. Elizabeth’s (Claire) reasoning for doing this is that Francis’s legacy will remain intact. Can we really see Claire killing off her Frank like in the original? Hell yes, she is the most interesting and complex character in the entire show. Impossible to read, viewers would agree that she certainly has enough ruthlessness to order Frank’s execution. Will the President meet his untimely demise? Will it follow the original and finish up at the end of season three? One of the co-executive producers Rick Cleveland divulged that as long as the lead actors Kevin Spacey (Frank) and Robin Wright (Claire) agree to keep coming back, the Netflix series will continue.

  • Festive fun lights up Grafton Street

    Festive fun lights up Grafton Street

    Spirits were high on Thursday as crowds from all over came out to see the annual turning on of Grafton Street’s Christmas lights.

    This year saw X Factor star Melanie McCabe, along with the Dublin football team lend a hand as the lights were switched on at 5.30pm outside St. Stephen’s Green shopping centre.

    Jack White MC’d the event, while the Hallelujah gospel choir led the crowds in some festive singing.

    A popular tradition among Irish people, previous years have seen Canadian popstar Michael Bublé and Downton Abbey actor Allen Leech do the honors of lighting up one of Ireland’s most iconic streets.

    This occasion marks the beginning of the illumination of Dublin City as Henry Street is set to be lit up on the 17th of November, while O’ Connell Street’s lights will be turned on next Sunday.

    Reporter: Claire Mc Quaid

    Video: Jonathan Crean

    Production: Kay Cairns

  • Bastille grace Olympia stage

    Bastille grace Olympia stage

    Provinssirock_20130614_-_Bastille_-_12
    Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

    There’s something endearing about a band that repeatedly thanks the audience for coming out to see them. It’s a refreshing display of humility and gratitude in an industry that is becoming increasingly dominated by money. But as Bastille took to the Olympia stage on Friday night, it was clear that the London quartet are still getting to grips with their newfound fame.

    Opening with catchy hit Badblood, what is immediately evident is an affectionate casualness between the four lads that almost makes you feel as if you’re watching your friend’s band rehearse in his basement, rather than the global chart toppers who are actually on stage.

    What’s not casual however, is their performance. Flashing strobe lights, snare drums and questionable, yet infectious dance moves are all a loud accompaniment for the band’s blend of indie-rock and electronic pop.

    Not one to chitchat, lead singer Dan prefers to let his voice do the talking as he effortlessly rattles his way through popular hits Overjoyed and Things We Lost In The Fire.

    At one point during the night, Dan decides that he wants a piece of the action and jumps into the crowd while launching into a rendition of Flaws much to the delight of his many admirers.

    The setlist is an eclectic mix of new records such as Campus and Brave combined with old familiars like Laura Palmer, These Streets and Weight of Living Pt. II.

    They even throw in a cover of City High’s What Would You Do? which instantly goes down a treat among their predominantly young spectators. It’s a generous delivery of 17 songs that is more than enough to satisfy the masses.

    During the encore, Dan playfully asks the audience to join in on his dancing during club anthem Of The Night, and of course the crowd are only happy to oblige.

    As they bid farewell with their most well-known hit Pompeii, every single concertgoer jumps to their feet, a sure sign of an enjoyable night.

     

  • New movie takes quirky look at sex addiction

    New movie takes quirky look at sex addiction

    thanksfors

    Modern society is bombarded by sexually themed marketing but when it comes to getting personal, it often comes with an air of disillusionment.  People with a desire for sex may walk the walk but not talk the talk. Such an attitude seems unbelievable. In his new film Thanks for Sharing, director Stuart Blumberg attempts to remove this stigma.

    Starring Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow, Thanks for Sharing follows the lives of Adam, Mike, and Neil as they battle to overcome an addiction that has taken over their lives.

    Adam (Ruffalo) is a successful environmental consultant living in New York, who after being sober for five years seems to be well on the road to recovery. This is until he falls for attractive cancer survivor Phoebe (Paltrow), who begins to question her feelings upon hearing Adam’s revelation.

    Mike (Tim Robbins) is Adam’s sponsor, and also head co-ordinator of the group sessions. For the past 15  years, Adam has dedicated his life to providing support for recovering addicts. But, in the midst of helping others, Mike has neglected his relationship with his own son Danny (Patrick Fujit), who has returned to the family home after struggling with an addiction of his own.

    Neil (Josh Gad) is an emergency room doctor and Adam’s mentor, who in the beginning is unwilling to take his addiction seriously.  However, when inappropriate behavior results in him losing his job, Neil is determined to turn his life around. It is during this time that he encounters fellow addict Dede, played by popstar Pink. Together, they keep each other in check, acting as a motivator each time one of them shows signs of faltering.

    With instances of subtle humour throughout, Thanks for Sharing is an insightful, yet surprisingly enjoyable drama that explores the dark and lonely side of addiction, while illustrating the importance of family and friends in striving for a positive outcome.

    Image top via Facebook