FESTIVAL CHIC AT ELECTRIC PICNIC
Posted on 4 September 2013
VODAFONE NUT HUT
Posted on 24 July 2013
I’m sure you are dying for the Vodafone Comedy Festival to kick off this Thursday, and with the exceptional line up of Irish and international comedians who could blame you? Expect to see acts like John Bishop, Lee Mack, Tommy Tiernan, Ardal O’Hanlon, Reggie Watts, Dylan Moran, Michael Che, the stars from Whose Line Is It Anyway, David O’Doherty, PJ Gallagher and a whole lot more. They’ll be bringing tears to your eyes with laughter throughout the 4 day event from the 25th to the 28th of July in The Iveagh Gardens. Check out the full line up here.
As well as enjoying the comedy you can take in some live music, sample some gourmet BBQ, drink at one of the many bars, be amazed by some of the crazy talented street performers or relax in some of the picnic spots provided.
Don’t forget to stop by The Nut Hut, Vodafone’s chill out area, an interactive space where you have the chance to win prizes and avail of some fantastic giveaways. It’s not one of the four main stages but it’s a great chance to chill out with your friends and enjoy a more intimate setting when it comes to comedy. On the Thursday you can see Bernard O’Shea and the finalists from RTE 2’s “New Comedy Awards” (RTE series presented by Bernard O’Shea and Jennifer Maguire to find the best in new Irish comedy talent) including the eventual winner Sean Nolan. If you were a fan of Sean’s while watching the show, he is also supporting Lee Mack on the Friday at 9:30 in The Comedy Hub. David O’Doherty and guests are in The Nut Hut from 9:45 until 10:30 with Do You Remember The First Time.
On Friday Jarlath Regan will be bringing his Stand Up And Answers show to the Nut Hut. If you have never been to one of these you have to check it out, it’s pretty much a table quiz fused with stand up comedy from some of our best loved comics with some crazy trivia rounds thrown into the mix. It’s great because people take table quizzes so seriously this is the opposite of that, or is it??? Jarlath now lives in London so it will be nice to see him back on Irish soil.
Other acts to check out over the weekend include Karl Spain with his Nut Hut Bingo, Greg Proops the smartest man in the world proopcast, Bookworms with Kevin Gildea and guests and Gunthers Sunday Roast with Karl Spain, Kevin Gildea and Ian Coppinger. Check out The Nut Hut schedule here.
If you haven’t got your tickets yet, click here and get booking! Tweet @michelledohrty and @vodafonecentrestage and let us know who had you splitting your sides with laughter at the weekend ☺
MUSIC FESTIVAL DO’S AND DON’TS
Posted on 18 July 2013
Have we looked at the dos and don’ts of festivals yet? If you are camping there are a few things I’ve learned over the years, so I thought I’d share them with you.
DO
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Get to the festival early enough so you have loads of time to get your stuff from the car to the campsite and get your tent pitched before it gets dark. You also want to find a good spot that is near enough to the entrance but also off the beaten track and not right beside the toilets. There is nothing worse than the waft coming from festival toilets. We know that most tents pretty much look the same so try to have a flag or some sort of a landmark to help you find your tent easily enough.
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Bring something to carry your bags from the car to the campsite. It can be miles away from where you park, and from past experience I want to cry by the time I get there. The bags are always too heavy for such a long trek and you have to keep stopping and starting to give your arms a rest. So what I would suggest doing is borrowing your Granny’s shopping trolley for the weekend (yes the naff one with the wheels). Who cares if it looks daft you will thank me for it later!
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Make sure you pack the usual essentials like a tent, sleeping bag, blow up mattress, pillow, toilet roll, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, painkillers (wellies if raining are CRUCIAL). Pack your toiletries for when you have a shower and I always bring flip-flops with me as they don’t take up much room and there is nothing worse than trying to put on wellies after a shower. Don’t forget your towel!
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Pack food like biscuits and crisps, something you can eat if you just need a snack to tide you over, bring lots of water, it’s going to be a long weekend and you will want to keep hydrated.
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Have a meeting spot if you get separated from your friends. It is important to look after each other. As we all know our phones die quickly so make sure you know where the Vodafone tent is where you can charge your phone for free.
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Pack the sunscreen. If this weather keeps up make sure it is 15 SPF or above because you are going to be standing in the middle of a field for most of the day with nowhere to take cover unless you are catching a band in one of the tents, but for the most part you will want to enjoy the sunshine. A hat would also be a good idea, as you don’t want to get sunstroke and have to spend the rest of the weekend in your tent.
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HAVE A GREAT TIME!
DON’T
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Turn into a teenager who just got out for the first time when you arrive at the festival. The temptation will be to have a couple of drinks but don’t forget it’s going to be a long weekend and you have loads of time to enjoy a few bevies. Oh and speaking of alcohol don’t bring glass bottles with you as you will be stopped and made put it into plastic bottles that you will be charged for.
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Take anything valuable with you as you are away from your tent for a lot of the time and we all know if someone wants to go into your tent they can.
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Forget that we are all going here to have a great weekend so make sure you don’t have any issues with your neighbours. Treat them how you would like to be treated so no falling into their tent at the end of the night or playing loud music at all hours unless of course you have invited them.
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Wear uncomfortable shoes. Getting away with not wearing wellies is such a bonus but don’t be tempted to wear flimsy shoes, you are still walking through fields so wear shoes that will give you a bit of support. Converse spring to mind straight away or flat ankle boots.
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Wander off on your own, especially if you are a girl. Always go everywhere in groups as there is nothing more terrifying than being on your own and not being able to find your friends for hours.
GREAT WEATHER AND GREAT GIGS
Posted on 15 July 2013
Hello summer!! Wow what an amazing week it’s been? How nice is it to wake up in the morning with the sun shining? Imagine having to think about putting on sun factor first thing in the morning, I know it’s very alien to us as it’s a real novelty in Ireland.These are things you associate with your holiday for a week abroad that you’ve saved up all year for because you desperately want a bit of vitamin D, feel the sun on your skin and get away from the misery of constant grey clouds or rain. I don’t know about you though but I do find myself complaining about the heat ☺ “I know we’re never happy” I don’t think we mean it in a bad way it’s just we are not used to it. So if you find yourself doing that then just stop and let’s enjoy it while we have it.
Sorry I’m getting all carried away with the weather here, let’s get back to the festivals and concerts that are so much more enjoyable when the sun is shining. Imagine being able to go to a gig in a field in flip-flops “Shock horror!!”
I had a jam-packed weekend of gigs in London! I went along to Bon Jovi in Hyde Park last Friday. It was surprisingly a lot better than I thought and I found myself singing along to all the classics!! I wouldn’t be a big Bon Jovi fan but I really enjoyed the whole experience and was so impressed with how well organized it was. It didn’t feel like you had to walk for hours asking people where to go with no one knowing where anything was! It was really well sign-posted from the outset, and I collected the tickets and got into the park without being stressed or annoyed by the time I got in. There were no queues for the ladies and they were spotless, and inside the bars and food stalls were all laid out like a street from a film set and were easily accessible. If anyone is thinking of going to Hyde Park for a gig, I would highly recommend it!
On the Saturday night I randomly ended up getting a ticket to Mumford And Sons who headlined their own one-day festival ‘Gentlemen of the Road’ at London’s Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford. Vampire Weekend, Ben Howard, Haim and Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zero’s were all on the line up. It was a fantastic day with a really great crowd who were just so much fun. I have to say Mumford And Sons really do know how to get the audience going and they looked so happy and overwhelmed. They couldn’t stop smiling and made reference to the crowd being much better than Glastonbury – but I know they probably said that at Glastonbury too but we are suckers and do like to think that we made their night so much better. I was a bit judgmental about the guys being a headline act at Glastonbury. I didn’t think they were worthy of such an honour at this stage of their career but after seeing them on Saturday night and how much their 60,000 fans were loving them I think they deserve to be up there with the best of them.
Speaking of Glastonbury, it seemed to start off as a bit of a worry with the weather not being the best but overall it looked like a great weekend. I love the Rolling Stones and you can’t take away from their amazing back catalogue of classic tunes but I couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for them, I mean they are OAP’s after all but here they were rocking out like young lads. I suppose fair play to them but poor Mick would need to be careful he wouldn’t break a hip, the swagger off him around the stage. Do you think he get’s carted off on a stretcher after he comes of stage? Just kidding!!
Well, that’s all from me this week, need to catch up on some sleep. Enjoy the rest of the sunshine ☺ If anyone was at Glastonbury let me know how it went on twitter @michelledohrty and @vodafonecentrestage
