Latest news with #Dynamo
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I want to show people their magic': Steven Frayne AKA Dynamo at Glastonbury festival
By three of Glastonbury, it's a welcome time for a pick-me-up, something jaw-dropping, perhaps even magical. At Guardian Live at the Astrolabe theatre, members of the audience were treated to an impromptu show from Steven Frayne, the magician formerly known as Dynamo. 'I'm a bit like Prince,' the Bradford-born entertainer jokes, having laid his old name to rest recently. As interviewer Zoe Williams and the crowd looked on in wonderment, Frayne reminds everyone why he's one of the UK's most gifted performers, as he brings people up on to the stage for one of his famous card illusions. On the surface, this is literally one of the oldest tricks in the book. But Frayne brings a nimble – and yes, dynamic – edge, demonstrating his 'Dynamo shuffle' where he moonwalks as he jumbles his deck. With kind-of-self-taught magic, does it feel limitless, Zoe asks. 'The more experience I have in the world, the more I can keep pushing the boundaries,' says Frayne. 'For me, it's not actually about what I do, it's about the way it connects with you guys.' The talk is interspersed with clips from Frayne's TV documentaries, where he's visited classrooms, hospitals and community football teams to uplift and inspire. 'It's important to inspire the next generation, they're the future leaders,' he says. 'You don't have to be confined by your environment, or defined by it. It's important to show them that you can be anything you want to be.' Magic, which he learned from his grandfather, he continues, was a gateway out of his difficult school years. 'Two guys would pick me up and put me inside a wheelie bin and take me to the top of the hill and then push me down the hill. It was horrible.' He started doing tricks to distract the bullies and 'it saved me, I didn't get beaten up any more.' Though his parents weren't around so much while he was growing up – 'my dad was in jail', he confides – he credits being 'left to my own devices' for his vivid imagination and 'hustler' mentality. He says that he 'felt isolated,' as a child, 'but through magic, I can bring people together.' 'I got to not have adults telling me what I could and couldn't do,' he continues, 'I had no direction in some respects, but I believed anything was possible. I would try anything and I didn't care about failure. Somehow I'm still trying but I keep landing on my feet.' He speaks about auditioning as a young man for a King's Trust grant, which he won and it helped him to buy his first camera equipment. The rest he spent on tickets to hip-hop shows, where he'd charm his way backstage. In response to a reader's question about the best experience of his career so far, he also goes back to his early years, when he would blag it backstage at hip-hop shows and impress his favourite rappers. Including one Mr Snoop Dogg. 'I ended up backstage with him in a green room that was very green, right? I'm doing my magic for Snoop.' Afterwards, he asked to film the rapper doing a shout out for his new website and the rapper 'turned around, found the beat on his laptop, put it on full volume, and then, for my camera, did a five-minute freestyle rap about all the magic he'd just seen. As a hip-hop fan, to have Snoop Dogg do a rap about you …' He felt as if he had 'made it'. In 2018, his Crohn's Disease became so severe that 'I was basically in a position where I couldn't even hold a pack of cards any more,' he says. 'It knocked me out of the game. It got to the point where I felt quite worthless. I didn't see the point in my existence if I couldn't share magic.' After pulling himself back from the brink – and undergoing some hefty keyhole surgery, which he shows the audience – he decided that he wanted to pay his gift forward. Asked where he finds his inspiration these days, he says, 'from real life: reading a lot, watching movies. When I watch a film and see a special effect, I'm like, 'I want to figure that out!'' Increasingly, though, he is inspired by the people he meets along the way. 'More recently, I get inspiration from going travelling around, meeting young people, trying to find a way to give some magic back.' He's hoping to do a lot more of that this year. Frayne has just finished a run of 50-odd shows in Soho, London, under his real name, for the first time – a return to his closeup roots, rather than the eye-popping stunts he later became known for on national television. Clearly buoyed up by the experience, he's hoping to take it on tour later this year. Closing this heartfelt in-conversation event, he adds: 'I spent so much of my life focused on the magic in me,' he says, 'I was missing out on the magic of everybody else, and now it's like a whole new lease of life in me. I just want to, I want to show people my magic, but show people their magic as well.'
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Sing along with the common people: Saturday at Glastonbury with Raye, Pulp and pop punters
The sun hit hard on Saturday until late afternoon, and proved too much for some people. Festivalgoers struggle in the heat by the Other stage. Photographs: Alicia Canter Magician Steven Frayne – formerly known as Dynamo – appeared at a Guardian Live event early in the day, speaking to Zoe Williams and performing tricks for an excited audience. Dynamo doing tricks at Guardian Live. Photograph by Kate Hutchinson Febrile energy built up throughout the day ahead of Kneecap's controversial appearance at West Holts, which was so busy that it was closed to entrants 45 minutes before the gig began. Móglaí Bap of Kneecap at the West Holts stage. Photograph: David Levene Flags abound as a huge crowd waits for Kneecap at West Holts. Photograph: Robyn Vinter Pulp, the mystery Patchwork billing on the Pyramid stage, delivered an overwhelmingly euphoric set, with Jarvis on top form – and a cheeky appearance from the Red Arrows. Jarvis Cocker of Pulp on the Pyramid stage. Billy Bragg topped the bill at his own Left Field stage. Billy Bragg at the Left Field stage. Raye graced the Pyramid stage with a classy performance – 'a huge red Vegas showgirl set complete with her name in Edison bulbs and the biggest and brassiest of big bands to fill it', as described by Gwilym Mumford in his review. Raye on the Pyramid stage. On the Other stage later in the evening for Charli xcx, Brat summer was still alive and well in the tonsorial choices of some fans. A Brat devotee at Charli xcx at the Other stage. Alicia Canter was side of stage for US rapper Doechii, who gave an astoundingly theatrical performance on the West Holts stage. Doechii headlining the West Holts stage. The partying continued into the small hours at Levels, where Skream and Benga performed, while neighbouring San Remo gathered a crowd. Late night revelry. Photographs by Jonny Weeks
4 days ago
- Sport
Ezequiel Ponce, Jonathan Bond lead Dynamo past St. Louis City 1-0
HOUSTON -- Ezequiel Ponce scored in the second half and Jonathan Bond made it stand up as the Houston Dynamo snapped a three-match skid with a 1-0 victory over St. Louis City on Saturday night. Ponce ended a scoreless match when used assists from defenders Felipe Andrade and Franco Escobar to score his fifth goal this season and 10th in his two seasons in the league. Andrade's assist was his first in the rookie's ninth career appearance and Escobar's was his third this season. Bond needed just one save to post his sixth clean sheet of the season for the Dynamo (6-9-5), who beat St. Louis City (3-11-6) for the first time in five regular-season matchups. The two clubs played to a scoreless draw in Houston last season and tied 1-1 there in 2023 — when St. Louis City won the Western Conference regular-season title as an expansion team.(backslash) Roman Bürki finished with five saves for St. Louis City, which falls to 1-7-2 on the road. Houston played without defender Griffin Dorsey, who was suspended for the match for an accumulation of yellow cards. The Dynamo travel to play San Diego FC on Saturday. St. Louis City plays at Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Ezequiel Ponce goal enough as Dynamo blank punchless St. Louis City
Ezequiel Ponce scored in the 66th minute Saturday night and the Houston Dynamo earned three points with a 1-0 blanking of visiting St. Louis City SC. HT Image Houston generated the goal off a cross into the box. Franco Escobar passed to Felipe Andrade near the right post and his pass found a wide-open Ponce, who kneed the ball into what amounted to an empty net for his fourth goal of the year. Goalie Jonathan Bond had to make just one save Cedric Teuchert's attempt from the center of the in the sixth minute of stoppage time as the Dynamo earned their seventh clean sheet of the year while snapping a three-game losing streak, all by 3-1 scores. Houston outshot St. Louis 18-7, putting six shots on frame. It was another low-event night for St. Louis , which fell to 1-11-4 in its last 16 matches. Goalie Roman Burki came up with five saves to help keep it in contention, but an offense that entered the night 25th in the league in goals simply never threatened Bond. St. Louis' only decent scoring chance prior to Teuchert's shot came in the 78th minute, but Joao Klauss' header sailed over the crossbar. Klauss came into the match on a roll, scoring a hat trick in a 3-3 tie with the LA Galaxy on June 14 and adding a goal in Wednesday night's 4-2 defeat against Orlando City. An early sign that it might be another long night for St. Louis came in the 15th minute when interim coach David Critchley was forced to sub out forward Alfredo Morales after he suffered an apparent injury. Akil Watts replaced Morales but wasn't able to add much to the attack. The match was the last Dynamo appearance for highly decorated midfielder Nico Lodeiro, who won two MLS Cups with Seattle in 2016 and 2019. Lodeiro, who subbed in during the 85th minute and took a handful of corners at the end, will join the national club in his native Uruguay. Field Level Media This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ezequiel Ponce, Jonathan Bond lead Dynamo past St. Louis City 1-0
HOUSTON (AP) — Ezequiel Ponce scored in the second half and Jonathan Bond made it stand up as the Houston Dynamo snapped a three-match skid with a 1-0 victory over St. Louis City on Saturday night. Ponce ended a scoreless match when used assists from defenders Felipe Andrade and Franco Escobar to score his fifth goal this season and 10th in his two seasons in the league. Andrade's assist was his first in the rookie's ninth career appearance and Escobar's was his third this season. Bond needed just one save to post his sixth clean sheet of the season for the Dynamo (6-9-5), who beat St. Louis City (3-11-6) for the first time in five regular-season matchups. The two clubs played to a scoreless draw in Houston last season and tied 1-1 there in 2023 — when St. Louis City won the Western Conference regular-season title as an expansion team.(backslash) Roman Bürki finished with five saves for St. Louis City, which falls to 1-7-2 on the road. Houston played without defender Griffin Dorsey, who was suspended for the match for an accumulation of yellow cards. The Dynamo travel to play San Diego FC on Saturday. St. Louis City plays at Real Salt Lake on Saturday. ___ AP soccer:
