Kings of Folk

Two legends of folk music, Andy Irvine and Dick Gaughan, play Whelans this Wednesday. Irvine, veteran of bands such as Planxty and Sweeney's Men and Gaughan, prolific Scottish folk and protest singer, perform together for the first time since the release of their 1983 album, Parallel Lines. It could quite possibly be the most important and most excellent folk gig since Planxty's 2004 reunion tour.

 

 Andy Irvine playing and singing The Blacksmith with Planxty in the 70s

 

Dick Gaughan - Bonnie Jeanie O'Bethelnie

I'm going to be yelling for these songs all night. 

Tickets are €20 from Ticketmaster oldflattop.com & WAV

  

http://www.andyirvine.com 

http://www.dickgaughan.co.uk

Brighton Rock

Brighton Rock Optimum Releasing

We went to a preview of a new adaptation of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock during the week, courtesy of Le Cool Dublin. The original film, considered by some as the finest British film ever made, was released in 1947, directed by John Boulting and with a screenplay by Greene and Terrence Rattigan. Richard Attenborough played the lead character "Pinkie". This adaptation is widely regarded as one of the most successful British films noir.

This latest remake is written and directed by Rowan Joffe (The American, 28 Weeks Later, The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall). Pinkie, teenage sociopath and up-and-coming gangster, is played compellingly by Sam Riley, who I mentioned in an earlier post. Other cast members include Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis, John Hurt and an assured performance by relative newcomer Andrea Riseborough in the part of the naive young waitress Rose.

The setting for the novel is the cold and dismal Brighton of 1938, permeated with rain and squalor and cruelty. Joffe's interpretation has brought the story into 1964, against the backdrop of the youth riots and the debate over the end of the death penalty. How much this updating adds to the story is debatable, although in '64 as in '38, we see shifting morals at play in a changing society and a nihilisitic, greedy young man trying to claw his way to power. What it had in abundance is a visual style that an adapation of the bleak late thirties of Greene's telling may have lacked.

Thanks to Le Cool Dublin for another opportunity to see a good film for free and before it's official release.


http://dublin.lecool.com

Why do we still live here, in this repulsive town? All our friends are in New York.

Gem of a tune, tune of a line.

Hilarious.

Zadig and Voltaire Kill It.

The Kills shot by Olivier Zahm for Zadig & Voltaire's 10-11 Lookbook. A very cool band with a great sound and look. They are somewhat under the radar. But with a new album and accompanying tour on the way in April, now is the perfect time to get on board.

Afternoon tea at Lost Society

Before I say anything else I should probably say that I am in love with having afternoon tea. It's a delicious luxury and a reminder of a more genteel age. I'd be very rotund by this stage had I been born a Victorian lady.

I've passed by Lost Society several times lately while shortcutting through the Powerscourt Townhouse. It's a new sort of a bar/lounge affair where Spy used to be, curiously decorated in a Georgian-futuristic style, and a little bit mysterious. It was mostly empty the day we visited, a photoshoot was going on in one room, and a meeting happening in another corner.

Futuristic Georgian at the Lost Society

We ordered afternoon tea for two which was as delicious as it was well presented - bitesize portions of very lovely things like prawn on avocado, miniature blinis with smoked salmon, cream cheese and caviar, and little scones piled with jam and cream. It was a perfect amount of food, and for two it was only €12, which makes a welcome departure from the €25 or so you'd pay for one in any of the hotels around town.

As a bar, I get the impression Lost Society is not the sort of place I'd love, but for afternoon tea it was just the very thing.


Afternoon tea served from 12 - 6
Lost Society - Powerscourt Townhouse, South William Street, Dublin 2 - http://www.lostsociety.ie/

Prima ballerina

Sometimes the release of a film with an easy to interpret style can have a greater impact on street fashion than what filters down from the catwalk. Natalie Portman's new ballet film Black Swan could well prove to be one such film.

Natalie Portman in Black Swan

The ballerina look was rampant a few years ago, with leggings and ballet pumps a staple of many wardrobes. It's an elegant look, especially when topped with hair swept up into a clean ballet bun, and one that's often more wearable than S/S '11 trends like the maxi skirt.

Topshop ballet pumps

Haute Hippie jersey tutu dress

Hair by Peter Stigter

Electric Dylan

Some excellent images of Bob Dylan during his visit to England in the sixties. Just on the brink of going electric, he arrived in England and caused a stir with his new dark enigmatic look. This tour is documented in the film No Direction Home. It is said that Dylan at this time set the template for how a rock star should dress,especially the dark sunglasses. One reporter said "Even when he took them off it looked like he was still wearing them". A snapshot of an artist at his creative peak,very aware of the power of his image.

On The Road Movie Miscast?

On The Road by Jack Kerouac is to be made into a film. Due for release in 2011 it is to be directed by two time BAFTA winner Walter Salles(The Motorcycle Diaries,Paris J'taim).The screenplay is being written by Jose Rivera who wrote the screenplay for the Motorcycle Diaries.So far there are reasons to be optimistic-Motorcycle Diaries was an excellent and critically acclaimed road film,so they appear to be as qualified as anyone to take a stab at On The Road.
British actor Sam Riley is to play Sal Paradise the narrator of the story.It is well documented that in the original draft of the book,Kerouac used his own name and his friends names.In the the published book all names were changed to separate himself and his friends from the activities being documented.So Sam Riley is playing Jack Kerouac.Now I am not questioning his ability to carry the part,his portrayal of Ian Curtis in Anton Corbijn's biopic Control was both moving and authentic.This was helped by Riley's resemblance to Ian Curtis.

Sam Riley and Ian Curtis

This is where the main issue with Riley being Cast as Sal Paradise/Jack Kerouac arises;he bears absolutely no resemblance to Kerouac.This wouldn't be such a bad thing if On The Road was a pure work of fiction.But it isn't.It's essentially a documentation of a time,which had to be veiled to protect those involved.The recent publication of the book with all the original names included,has reinforced the fact that the characters of the tale are real people.So fans of the book will expect Sam Riley to look like Kerouac but he doesn't.

Sam Riley

Jack Kerouac

I feel the effort could have been made to find someone who resembles Kerouac.His image is on the cover of most copies you will see in the book shop.It is an iconic image which fans won't be able to separate from the story.So now it's up to Riley to give a performance that can overcome the physical difference.Let's hope he can.

Step away from the bootlegs

Bell-bottoms, palazzo pants and billowing wide legged trousers make a welcome return for women this season. Disturbingly, they also appear to be on the fashion radar for men. Most worryingly, the style for men is just wider than a bootcut, my most hated of all cuts - as seen below at Acne.

Ireland is a country filled with men clad in ill-fitting jeans and apparently obsessed with the unflattering bootcut. When well styled and hanging off a rakeish model they can pass for acceptable, but on your average fellow shambling about Dublin they're just wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Ugly. The ends are always ripped and covered in mud, and they do nothing good for anyone with a waist bigger than a 32.

The news that they're once again deemed fashionable is just going to fuel their mania for the awful things.

Bored in the background

Disgruntled looking man with huge ring in the background of Brad and Angelina's joyous pose for the cameras at the Golden Globes. Maybe he's miffed that everyone's noticed Angelina's dress and not his co-ordinated cummerbund and bow-tie.


PA Photos

Lurking Depp

Johnny Depp lurks in the background as Christina Hendricks poses on the red carpet at the Golden Globes. Perhaps he's wondering why she's so pale.


PA Photos.

The Boss and The Passing Of Time

Now,I was raised on Bruce Springsteen. I was shamelessly belting out his melodies since I can remember. My parent's obsession with him and the endless rotation of his records has led to his music being ingrained in me to this day. I have always been an unashamed lover of Sprinsteen's music,my particular favourites being his breakthrough record Born To Run and it's follow up Darkness On The Edge Of Town. In school my love for The Boss was the subject of much ridicule, his music being derided as cheesy and lame. However in the last few years I have noticed a resurgence of interest and love for Springsteen's music. My peers who once dubbed Born In The U.S.A. "just stupid" now list it among their favourite records and I find them as excited as myself at the recent release of The Promise- a collection of songs that were written between Born To Run and Darkness On The Edge Of Town. I have also noticed a surge in cover versions of Bruce songs being performed by today's leading lights in music. I have included some videos of these for your visual and aural pleasure, so we can all appreciate the love for one of music's all time greats. I know, a lesser man would be bitter,I just feel somewhat vindicated.

Thank you my love

Possibly the most hilarious bit in one of the most hilarious shows around. Moss's finest moment.

Hemingway Movies and Wide White Pants.

As we at Buzz Cats are big fans of all things 1920's especially the writing and clothes of the time I was quite excited to see the general release last month of The Garden of Eden a film adaptation of the posthumous novel by Ernest Hemingway. The plot of the book revolves around the story of a jazz age American couple, David Bourne an American writer and his wife Catherine taking an extended European honeymoon and documents the next five months of their life, the story takes place mainly in the French Riviera mostly in the Cote D'Azur. During their honeymoon they meet a young woman named Marita whom they both fall in love with and ultimately only one of them can have and things go on accordingly from there.
The Garden of Eden was the second of Hemingway's works to be published posthumously (1986) and was greeted with some controversy due to what was dubbed by Susan Seitz as "Substandard" editing. This film adaptation was greeted as a "a boundaries-breaking erotic drama" on it's screening at the RomaCinemaFest, it is directed by John Irvin and the ensemble cast includes Jack Huston (grandson of filmmaker John, and great grandson of Oscar-winning actor Walter),Mena Suvari, Caterina Murino, Richard E. Grant, and Carmen Maura. Let's hope it does the book justice and if it doesn't at least some of the clothes look great,there's a trailer below, take particular note of the matching striped T-shirts and wide legged white trousers, always a good look.

Vivian Maier

Vivian Maier - French ex-patriate, wearer of men's coats, Chicago nanny, world traveller and fascinating street photographer.

http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com