Milk It, Less Than A Week To Go Till Milk Fest.

Right so this year's Milk festival is less than a week away. All involved have done a stellar job at getting the word out in various corners of the gay press from Ireland AM to the Irish Times and even with headliner Roisin Murphy getting front covers with The Dubliner and GCN.

Milk themselves are doing the interactive, building online buzz bit with aplomb too. Their Facebook has been great for getting updates and I've been thoroughly enjoying their Twitter too which has been a good mix of updates, mentions and links to gay news stories worldwide.

With that in mind, here are my top ten reasons to be excited about Milk. With a line up that manages to mix a decent batch of popstars (people can gripe all they want but Alexandra Burke and Sophie Ellis Bextor are damn good at what they do, however "uncredible" they might be), up and coming Irish talent and DJs and performers from various parts of the gay scene.

Top Ten Reasons To Be Excited About Milk (in no particular order!)

1: Roisin Murphy's DJ set: Well look, you don't need me to tell you that Roisin Murphy is amazing. That voice, that fashion sense, that effortless mix of theatrics and ice queen cool mean Roisin is a unique and powerful musical force and one with an unsurprisingly loyal gay following . Roisin is currently developing a DJ set cum live show that should see her tour a leaner production, matching her new way of releasing individual tracks instead of an album. In an age when many artists sign high profile "360 degree" deals to cover touring and recording that do nothing, Roisin's approach is refreshing, practical and a joy to watch unfold. She has "highlight of Milk" already in her glamourous hands and come Sunday morning I'm sure everyone will be gabbing about Miss Murphy.

2: Panti as the MC: Anyone who has seen Panti in all her glory either at her weekly shows, on her must read blog or when she brings her energy to Electric Picnic knows that she is a whirlwind of humour, intelligence and full on glamour (as is her partner in crime Veda who will be playing a set at the festival). Having recently hosted a radio show, performed another successful one woman show and generally just worked her glamourous behind off it'll be great to catch Panti holding court over a gaggle of party-hearty gays.

3: 5,000 gays in a field: Speaking of gays I do think that one of the best things about this festival is going to be the very fact that it's core audience is The Gays (my catch all affectionate term term for any and all in the LGBTQ community) and whatever niche gay term you're throwing around (hello bears! Hiya twinks! What's the story indie gays?) I think we can all agree that Le Gays know how to party and generally have more craic than 99% of other people. Therefore 5,000 of them bopping around a festival for 24 hours is going to be craic-tastic.

4: Bunny's The Hutch: I'm hearing reports that drag doyenne Bunny will be bringing her new weekly show The Hutch to Milk (just one example of the raft of exciting gay talent that is heading festival ward for the weekend). The Hutch has been pulling the punters in a big way since it launched one fateful Tuesday in Pantibar a couple of months back and it's easy to see why the electic mix of burlesque, boylesque (oh yes!), drag, cabaret and performance art has been such a hit already. Having sampled The Hutch recently I'm very excited to see what Bunny has up her sleeve for Milk.

5: The Venue: Having spent the weekend at Ballinlough Castle in Westmeath for Body and Soul earlier this year, I can't recommend it enough as a festival location. Gorgeous surroundings, perfect for camping and camping it up (what? you didn't think I'd make that joke?) if the weather is as good as it's reported to be the place is going to be a proper slice of gay heaven.

6: Bitches With Wolves: My love for this Dublin electro pop act is well known at this stage but following the storming show I caught by BWW at the Academy 2 earlier this year and well recieved slots at both Oxegen and Lovebox, it's exciting to think what new surprises Bitches With Wolves have up their sleeve for the Milk crowd.

7: Headphone Disco With Mother: GCN's electro pop club night has been going down a storm on the gay club scene for the last few months and with good reason. Sweaty, thumping good fun with some of the best DJs in Dublin serving an eclectic mix of tunes, it's become a much talked about and must visit night. The Mother crew are Milk bound to serve up a headphone disco (if you haven't been to one, you haven't LIVED) which will see numerous Dublin DJs go head to head in a pop vs electro showdown. Running from 1:30 am to 6am when the performers have scurried off, you just know this is going to be the craziest part of the festival. And that is a good thing.

8: Alexandara Burke: People like to roll their eyes at X Factor starlets but by God does Alexandra put them in her place. She's got a great voice, looks a million dollars and bristles with a natural stage presence that only the best pop stars provide. Not only that but she's had a batch of hits from a highly enjoyable debut album. Sadly, we don't think she's going to have a meltdown on stage like that time with Beyonce on X Factor but we can dream!

9: Sophie Ellis Bextor: You kind of forget that since THAT dance tune in 2001 that SEB has racked up some big hits, some should have been big hits and become a cult figure for pop fans. From recent collabs with Freemasons, to being the face of Rimmel Sophie has done it all with a grace and style many big time pop tarts lack. Her set is going to be great fun and hopefully a chance to hear some of the new material. Not least her new track with Armin Van Buren:

10: Katherine Lynch: A comedian/TV star who grafted on the gay scene before winning over the Irish public with several hit TV series and a sell out live tour Katherine Lynch will no doubt mix her bawdy humour and cheeky reworkings of hit songs to full effect. I'm a big fan of Katherine's cheeky, ribald humour and its going to be fun seeing her make her original fans belly laugh their way through Milk Fest.

There you go, if you didn't want to buy tickets before you sure will now! For more info on Milk check out their official website. The festival runs this Saturday, with free camping in the rather lovely surroundings of Ballinglough Castle, Co. Westmeath.

The Meteors 2010: Hanging Out Backstage and Such

I was lucky enough to get to head along to the Meteor Ireland Music Awards last Friday. It's hard to believe the show is now in it's 10th (!) year but there you go. It's fast become a key part of the Irish music calendar attracting lots of press and international stars. This year's heavy hitter was no doubt Florence and the Machine. Everybody was talking about her, in the backstage media area she made many stop and gawk while she rehearsed her soundcheck. She looked like a knock out too. The Temper Trap, Dizzee Rascal, Pixie Lott, The Script were all there too.





Thanks to IMTV I got to head down to the show and do some interviews and help the team out in nabbing as many celeb interviews as possible. The Orange Carpet was actually great fun. It was a tad stressful but I did like how polite everyone was. There was none of the shoving/elbow in the face drama I had been expecting! 


It was a bit weird seeing the array of local and international celebs (of varying degrees of fame) in the flesh. Many of them looked better than on the telly. I'm not going to go into the who looked best in what when it was covered with such wit on Stylebitches but I will say this: Grainne Seoige looked HOT. That is all.


The media room was totally different though, at times a bit of a nuthouse. Lots of "PIXIE ONLY HAS TWO INTERVIEWS SCHEDULED, PLEASE STEP AWAY" moments (I'm of course exaggerating, I don't envy PRs and their ridiculously tough jobs at all) and then loads of people who'd happily amble over for a chat. Wallis Bird was a good example, a real sweetheart and in obvious shock about having won again. 


I really enjoyed it I must say. The lovely Helen O' Reilly nabbed some interviews with the likes of The Coronas, Bell X1 and Una Healy of the Saturdays (at one point I thought they were going to go to the bathroom and do their makeup together, they were getting along that well!). Katie Smyth of Limehouse magazine, who is doing presenting work with IMTV, was hilarious too check out her interviews when they go up, she had me in stitches.


I was lucky enough to do some interviews too, starting off with Katherine Lynch on the Orange Carpet who I made a complete tool of myself in front of. Honestly, I thought I'd peaked when I started singing S Club 7 before the celebs arrived (I'm. Not . Joking) but that interview was even worse. Following that I had a chat with a few others. 


Ray Foley of Today FM, who won his category AGAIN (nice one) who was very sweet and seemed a bit nervous. 


Mark Feehily of Westlife was very polite but kept saying things and looking off into the middle distance. I.e. "Well, I would say to Jedward and them to just enjoy it because it went awful fast for us and we didn't really get to enjoy it like .." *middle distance gaze* I kept thinking I was going to have to pat him on the shoulder. It was odd.


Inside the interview bunker (as I've now christened it) I grabbed some face time with Michelle Heaton who was actually very nice. She came across like a real grafter and she obviously missed her days with Liberty X. Alphabeat were very polite and friendly and awfully beautiful (the cheekbones! honestly). Their new album is also AMAZING, just to point out. There was also a hilarious "interview" I did with Louis Walsh and Sinitta who were clearly out for a good time and not really a chat. Sinitta's legs are incredible, that was all I really took away from our brief time together.


There were other classy moments throughout the evening including eating too many mini sandwiches and indulging in antics like this with Blanaid Hennessy:

Overall I had a fantastic night and can't wait for the next one. The show itself was slick and enjoyable and I think all involved should be commended for keeping this show running for so long and with such success. And for not kicking me out for singing S Club on the orange carpet. How nice of them. And for letting me spend my Friday night getting up to this kind of carry on:

The videos will be going up over the course of the next few weeks but you can see the first of the interviews below where I have a natter with Alphabeat about Lady Gaga, DJing and the 90s sounds on their current album:





(photos nicked from Straywave CEO Stephen McCormack's iPhone snaps)

Six Pack: Six Internet Things Worth A Gander

Here we are, sliding through snow, battling rain and still looking for a healthy dose of escapism. So fear not here are six internet treats to while away all the "what the hell is the weather doing, I feel like this is some kind of attempt by Al Gore to convince us he was right" madness.

(1) Rihanna interviewed by W Magazine : Fashion bible W get their paws on Rihanna for an great chat that gets across rather succintly everything that makes RiRi so great at the moment. Catch up on it here. You can check out the photospread too which has a great 60s movie star meets high fashion vibe. Great stuff. Thanks for MuuMuse for bringing this to my attention!

(2) Panti is CRAZY: Dublin drag superstar Panti has a rather great deal on for Sundays at her drinking hole (get your minds out of the gutter!). This video has been all over the place this week and with good reason. It is HILARIOUS:

(3) Katherine Lynch Returns: Speaking of hilarious things, Katherine Lynch is back. She may not be everyone's cup of tea but I love her bawdy, rough and tumble humour. Her new series started this Tuesday on RTE and RTE Player their catch up service has it available for a week here, new episodes added weekly

(4) Heidi Montag makes the next "Thriller": Apparently. Her album is no doubt a trash pop masterpiece but this interview with Entertainment Weekly is really interesting. I love the idea that someone can spend that much money on making an album and still not be able to sing. Well worth a read. That album cover is a work of garish art all by itself too:

(5) Ridiculous Cast, Ridiculous Movie: Kristen Bell, Christina Aguilera and Cher in the same film? How can "Burlesque" be anything less than amazing? Sound Off With DJ Taj has loads of photos here. Excitement.

(6) Joss Whedon on where US TV is headed: Fascinating interview with Joss Whedon. There is much chat of his now cancelled series Dollhouse which wraps up soon in the US and also on how Whedon has changed his approach to his work and making content when TV is losing more money than ever. An essential read for anyone the slightest bit interested in US TV and what the internet means for watching TV in general. Spotted via Pink is The New Blog