Bottoms up, public servants. Capital Brewing Co. is the newest addition to the ACT craft beer scene, with Canberra becoming more of a craft beer capital by the day. Pun intended. Officially launching in Canberra on Thursday, April 21, Capital will see the hospitality, brewing and festival industries join forces — starting with mates Tom Hertel and Laurence Kain (owners of Hippo Co and ex-owners of Honky Tonks) and Rich and Sam Coombes (founders of Batlow Cider Co). "We knew Tom and Laurence from supplying cider to their venues and ended up drinking a lot of beer together," says Coombes. "We would talk about how cool it would be to open our own brewery in Canberra and produce great beer for the region and inspired by the region." The Capital team is seven-strong, comprising of Hertel, Kain, and the Coombes brothers, alongside operational partners Ian Stott and Nick Hislop (who've worked with both Aussie and US breweries and cider companies), head brewer Wade Hurley and Secret Garden Festival director Clare Downes. What. A. Team. The brewery's range of so-called "good natured brews" starts with their Coast Ale, a California style beer created by head brewer Hurley, who hails from San Diego mega-breweries Coronado Brewing Co and Green Flash and recently moved to Australia to take on the local craft market. With the intention to get Canberrans celebrating their natural, outdoorsy surrounds, the entire range of Capital brews will pay homage to the region's trails, lakes and mountains. Apart from the Coast Ale, the 'natural' core beers will include a sessionable Trail pale ale and the four-hopped 'Evil Eye' IRA, which uses seasonal cascade hops grown in Batlow. "Our red IPA is inspired by the autumn season, both in colour and in the seasonal nature of the hops used for the beer" says Coombes. Homegrown hops will be supplied, when possible, by the Batlow Fruit Co-op, which also supplies the apples for Batlow Cider. Hop growing is a relatively new venture for Batlow's orchard manager Andrew Despre, who has recently traveled to major hop growing regions across the US and New Zealand. The Capital brews will be officially released on Thursday, April 21 and hopefully reach bars and restaurants Australia-wide shortly after. With plans to open a brewery in the Fyshwick district sometime in 2016, Capital will be contract brewing out of Sydney breweries Wayward and newcomer Hairy Man Brewery until then. We can't wait to see (and taste) what these nature-loving brewers have in store.
Sometimes, you just need to get away from it all. And what better way to do that, than by escaping to your own private luxury villa, floating offshore from Sydney's famed Palm Beach? Lilypad, the northern beaches' lavish floating accommodation is reopening from February to the public, following a series of upgrades and refurbishments. The villa, which first opened in 2019, has been fitted out with a whole new design that pulls from Spanish and Mediterranean coastal villas. The spot has also scored some exciting new additions, including a completely solar-powered, on-board sauna. The new design is a pretty vast change from the previous look of the floating home, according to owner and designer Chuck Anderson. "We've made better use of the space to create a whole new feeling when onboard and I know returning guests, along with new guests will absolutely love it," Anderson says. The floating paradise has been built with respect for its natural environment, running entirely off solar power. And, it's been cleverly engineered to remain stable, while still embracing the natural movements and rhythms of the water below. After all, a bout of seasickness doesn't exactly scream 'luxury'. Inside you'll find all the comforts of a luxe home-stay from a full modern kitchen and king bedroom, to a wine cellar with access to a collection of Las Vino and Veuve Clicquot wines. The living space opens onto a deck on which you can sit and look out over the surrounding ocean while you eat or with a drink in hand. Topping off your time at the Lilypad is added resort-style luxuries like included meals with a private chef on request, champagne on arrival, a private boat for use to and from the villa, paddle boards and access to onboard massages. Bookings are available for one to five nights stay, with accommodation packages starting at $1800. Bookings are now open for Lilypad from February 2022 via the accommodation's website.
While many states and territories have closed their borders and all Australians are advised against any non-essential travel, Australia's Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham has said now is the time to start "dreaming of" and "planning" domestic holidays. During an interview on Sunrise this morning, Monday, April 13, Birmingham thanked Australians for staying at home, saying, "it has been critical for slowing the spread of the virus and it will remain critical for some time to come". Just when these restrictions will be eased, though, is up to Australia's "medical officials and health experts", Birmingham said. But in between studying and "bingeing Netflix", Birmingham is encouraging Australians to: "undertake a little bit of dreaming, a bit of little planning, so those who can afford to, who will be in a position to, can get out and help an Australian tourism business when we get to the other side of this." Because of COVID-19, Australia's tourism industry — an industry that was already hit hard by this year's bushfires — is losing out on an estimated $9 billion a month, according to Tourism and Trade Forum. https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/1249481159714590720 Birmingham said state travel restrictions could be lifted before international travel ones, which he has hinted may be in place until 2021. When asked by the ABC about booking a hypothetical overseas trip in December, Birmingham said: "I wouldn't put any guarantees that you could undertake that overseas trip in December". https://twitter.com/BreakfastNews/status/1249464202978156545 For now, both the international travel ban and local non-essential travel regulations remain in place, with police in NSW, Victoria and Queensland handing out fines for those leaving home without a valid reason. You can currently only leave your home to shop for food and other essential supplies; for medical care or compassionate reasons; to exercise, in-line with the two-person limit; and for work or education if you cannot work or learn remotely. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Image: Tourism Events Queensland
If you're reading this, odds are that you're not an American teenager. Your life likely doesn't resemble HBO's hit series Euphoria for a heap of reasons — you're not in high school and you live in Brisbane being two. Still, for one big night at The Triffid, you can celebrate the Zendaya-starring show that everyone's been obsessing over since 2019 by hitting up the Euphoria House Party. Bust out the glitter eyeshadow — or, if you don't have any, take advantage of the event's free glitter face painting and bejewelling. There'll also be Euphoria-inspired decorations, and attendees are encouraged to dress up to fit the theme. We'll leave how that should play out up to you. The main attraction from 8pm on Friday, July 8: dancing to Euphoria's soundtrack, spanning tunes from both season one and season two. That means everyone from Santigold, Billie Eilish and Arcade Fire to Kilo Kish and Air Supply will get a whirl, plus Labyrinth and Zendaya, Orville Peck, Lana Del Ray, Lenny Kravitz, Noah Cyrus and Lil Xan, and Australia's own INXS as well. There'll also be Euphoria-themed drinks for you to sip, because all that dancing is thirsty work. Tickets cost $39.98 — and while Euphoria focuses on teens, the Euphoria House Party is firmly for over 18s. Images: Eddy Chen/HBO.
Even vegetarians and vegans need a filthy food option sometimes — and Lord of the Fries is one of few fast food joints that really gets this. Now, Australia's homegrown vegetarian chain is expanding their offering to include all-day vegan breakfast. The photos may look like Maccas knock-offs, but the brekkie options — like the rest of the Lord of the Fries menu — are 100 percent vegan. Think BLTs, sausage and hash brown muffins, and a fried chicken and waffle bun with bacon, butter and maple syrup. Plus, there's also an English muffin stuffed with the holy trinity of 'bacon', 'egg' and 'cheese'. All made without any animal products, of course. The idea of vegan eggs might make some people squirm, but the mere fact that vegan fast food breakfast options are readily available is roof-raising news for those who like to keep their hangover cures cruelty-free. The all-day breakfast is now available nationwide and in all stores. Check out the full menu here.
Unless you have the greenest of thumbs, it's not always easy knowing what to do to keep your plant babies from going to plant heaven. But if you figure out how to do it well, you'll reap the benefits of living in an environment that's good for your health and highly attractive, for that matter. Founder and editor of The Planthunter, Georgina Reid, spoke to us about the important things to keep in mind when growing plants at home, while Dr Dominque Hes, director of Melbourne's Thrive Research Hub, provided us with her own research on how plants improve our wellbeing. It's easy to hoard plants, particularly if you're drawn to their natural aesthetic. And according to Hes, science has proven it's beneficial for your health to have heaps, too. "What's important is having a variety of plants of all shapes and sizes, colours and textures. The variety is what gives us the greatest benefits as it most reminds us of nature," says Hes. [caption id="attachment_647290" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Georgina Reid of The Planthunter.[/caption] "It's part of a biophilic response left over from a time when humans spent more time outdoors than indoors, surviving based on a relationship with nature. Our brain is more relaxed and able to better deal with day-to-day activities if it feels in control," she says. "Parts of the brain still need to be connected to nature to feel that control. When this bit of the brain is relaxed, research shows that it allows improved concentration, communication, intuition, recollection, learning and creativity," she says. So, really, stocking up on your favourite plants is a win/win. Your place will look lush and your wellbeing will skyrocket thanks to plants' ability to take up fine dust particles, CO2 and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can come from new furniture, paints, carpets and clothes. Which plants are good for your space? We've taken you through choosing the best plants for your home, now here's how to make sure they (and, in turn, you) stay healthy and happy. Read on to learn how to take care of your favourite plants — and reap the benefits of having these green guys as housemates. SUCCULENTS We'll start with the easiest plant type to grow at home: succulents. They often have thick, fleshy leaves for storing water (so they also look kinda quirky) and generally aren't that needy. Because of their ability to store water, succulents aren't the thirstiest of plants. One watering each week is enough — but if the soil or potting mix around the plant is already moist, it won't need any. You can check how damp the soil is by putting your finger a couple of centimetres into the soil (this measurement can be used to test soil or potting mix moisture for other plants, too). Reid suggests putting them in full light as most succulents prefer outside life. However, if keeping plants outdoors isn't an option at your place, Reid says some succulents like jade plant (crassula spp.) and haworthia (haworthia spp.) will do just fine indoors. Plus, jade plant is a power plant. Hes explains that plants like jade plant with more stomata (like plant pores) are considered 'high removalists' because they're able to remove those fine dust particles, CO2 and VOCs at a much higher rate than other plants, meaning they are good for producing oxygen. FERNS Having spent millions of years evolving to survive in perpetually wet, humid environments, ferns are not exactly going to appreciate the drier climates of your house. If you give them a rainforest-like space to grow in they'll absolutely thank you for it. This could look like your bathroom or a shadowy part of the garden. Most ferns will require more watering than other plant types. And some ferns will need more drenching than others. But they all love nutrient-rich soil and organic liquid fertilizer is recommended for that extra nourishment. Ferns can be tricky to figure out and can differ a lot from one another, so it's not wise to put down any blanket rules. Reid confesses to having killed a fern or two. "Do your research and talk to specialist fern growers about providing the best situation for your ferny friend," she says. One fern to look for is the hare's foot fern. Also a high removalist like jade plant, hare's foot grows well in sunny environs, all while helping filter the air in your home. HERBS These guys love the sun so consider keeping them outside wherever possible. Annual herbs such as parsley, basil and mint can survive with a bit of shade (and plenty of water) but perennials such as rosemary, oregano and thyme come from the Mediterranean and want to soak up the rays — they need direct sunlight to grow. Perennials are more tolerant of drier conditions than their annual cousins. They thrive in the summer months and will need more watering then. "Water weekly in the warmer months, as this is generally their growing period," says Reid. "And water less so over winter." In order to keep them alive for as long as possible, pinch the flowers off parsley, basil and coriander. Similarly, try pruning herbs (cutting their tips off) for denser growth — it'll give them a bit more life. VEGGIES You don't need a background in agriculture and miles of fertile land to grow beautiful vegetables. All that's required is a planter box and a lot of sun (you'll need to give them at least six hours of sunlight each day). Most vegetables are annuals and will set seed after a year, meaning that they won't be able to produce anything good after this. The key to mouth-watering produce is rich, moist soil. "You want your soil to be as rich and nutritious as possible, to ensure your crops are juicy and delicious," says Reid. She suggests looking into compost and 'worm wee', both wonderful forms of nutrition. And, make sure that your veggie plants don't stay in soil that's too saturated or has been dried out for too long. Oh, and it's not just you that likes tasty produce. "Depending on where you live you may need to protect your veggie garden from hungry critters like possums and birds," she says. CACTI They're virtually the opposite of a fern and far better at soaking up sun rays than anything else you'll ever grow. If you can help it, avoid keeping them inside. In fact, if you're good at neglecting things, the cactus might be your match. It's imperative not to water a cactus more than necessary — if in doubt, it's better to hold back. "If they're not undercover, don't be fussed about watering them. Just rely on the rain," says Reid. "Otherwise, water your cactus when you remember — but make sure you don't remember too often." Now that you can go forth confidently knowing how to take care of your favourite plants, check out our guide to choosing the best plants for your home. And don't forget to add some of those home-enhancing high removalists like jade plant and hare's foot fern, as well as silver queen, pot mum, dragon tree and devil's ivy. Plant Life Balance is a new initiative designed to get Australians excited and confident about styling their homes with plants while promoting the healthy benefits plants bring. The initiative also delivers an Australian-first, virtual greening app. The Plant Life Balance app, asks Aussies to rate their space, then improve their health score by choosing a look for their room or outdoor area, grabbing a plant list and hitting the nursery. Download the app here.
Pull out your loose change stash and check under the couch, because one of southeast Queensland's favourite dumpling spots is serving up an impressive weekly deal. Every Monday, Harajuku Gyoza is slinging gyoza for $1 a piece. Head on at any time of the day and bring your appetite — and all the gold coins you can find. Customers can choose any kind of gyoza on the menu, other than open pork gyoza or Harajuku Gyoza's limited edition gyoza. And, you can order them in $5 plates of five, with one type of gyoza per plate. There is a limit of four plates per person; however that covers 20 dumplings, so you won't leave hungry. There is another catch — punters must download the Harajuku Gyoza app and present the promotional tile in the app to a staff member when you place your order to access the $1 dumpling extravaganza. Bookings are recommended, because everyone loves cheap gyoza — or, if you prefer, you can order to takeaway as well. [caption id="attachment_775115" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Harajuku Gyoza[/caption] Harajuku Gyoza's $1 dumpling deal is available every Monday until Monday, November 30 — at its Brisbane CBD, South Bank and Broadbeach venues.
Baby animals are one of those human instant pick-me-ups, similar to coffee or brown paper packages tied up with string. Many would argue that even better are baby farm animals, mainly because they’re harder to find than your run of the mill domestic pets. Lambs, calves, piglets, ducklings; they even have adorable names to match their teeny-tiny cutesy-wutesy faces. If you disregard the fact that the majority of baby farm animals will grow up to be a meal for someone (sad face), when they’re living in a miniature barnyard and available for you to pat as much as you desire, their existence seems all very innocent and soothing – like a natural Valium. As part of the Christmas holiday entertainment this year, Brisbane City will be playing home to a collection of barnyard babies for a week. Although marketed as a children’s activity, I feel its placement in the CBD means that the organisers secretly want busy workers to de-stress in their lunch breaks. Seriously, I could probably work a 24 hour shift if every so often I could squeeze an adorable piglet.
If you're a fan of God's gift to vegetables, boy do we have some news for you. Melbourne-born ethical fast food institution and promoters of the best chips in the universe, Lord of the Fries, has landed in Fortitude Valley with its first Brisbane store. Setting up shop in Brunswick Street, this isn't the chain's first Queensland shop, with that honour going to its already-open digs in Surfers Paradise. But, the new eatery does mean that fries-loving Brisbanites no longer need to head down the coast to get their fix. The much-loved Aussie chippery first hit the streets in 2004 as a food truck in Melbourne. The initiative was started by Mark and Mandy Koronczyk, with the pair discovering a mutual love of potato slivers — and a conscience to help build a better world by finding an alternative solution to the chemical and beef-tallow-laden fries swallowing the market. Hence, the Lord's offerings sit atop a 100-percent vegetarian menu, using oil free of chemicals, preservatives and animal products. In addition to the immensely addictive fries, other menu items include plant-based patties, hot dogs, nuggets and mac 'n' cheese balls, as well as shakes and ice cream. The chain now has 24 stores around the country, plus four across the ditch in New Zealand, with plans to expand across Asia in the not-too-distant future. Find Lord of the Fries at 3/352 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley — open 11am–10pm Monday–Thursday, 11am–3am Friday, 11.30am–3am Saturday and 11.30am–10pm Sunday. If you're choosing to go out and support local businesses, have a look at the latest COVID-19 advice and social-distancing guidelines from the Department of Health.
If you're the kind of person who looks for hot cross buns on your local supermarket shelves the moment that December 26 hits each year, congrats — you know that these seasonal treats really should be available all year round, as everyone should. And, you're likely also aware that not all hot cross buns are created equal. Lune Croissanterie's hot cross cruffins are in a league of their own, for instance. The highly coveted Easter bites are returning in 2023, too, to the delight of pastry lovers across Melbourne and Brisbane. Whether you've had plenty of Lune Easters or just a few — Lune only opened its first interstate store in Brissie in 2021, after all — these baked goods are a must-try. Yes, they're exactly what they sound like, and they're only available for a super-limited time. Forget plain old croissant-muffin hybrids — Lune's Easter version throws hot cross buns into the mix as well, and they always sell out. The croissant-muffin-hot cross bun mashups come filled with a spiced custard and traditional hot cross bun fruit mix, which includes sultanas and candied citrus peel. They're then topped with a cross (obviously) and brushed in a sweet glaze. And, they're both vegetarian- and Halal-friendly. If you're keen, you'll find them in-store at Kate Reid's pastry haven from Monday, March 20–Monday, April 10 at all Lune sites. The chain is also doing pre-orders from Friday, March 17 for its Fitzroy, Armadale, South Brisbane and Brisbane CBD venues. Dubbed 'HCCs', the hot cross cruffins cost $10 each — and pre-ordering early is recommended. If you want some for Good Friday, Lune advises that you'll need to pre-order by Tuesday, April 4. Lune's hot cross cruffins will be on from Monday, March 20–Monday, April 10 at all Lune stores, with pre-orders from Friday, March 17 for Fitzroy, Armadale, South Brisbane and Brisbane CBD. Images: Peter Dillon.
One of the original godfathers of dance music is coming to Australia for a five-date nationwide tour. Fatboy Slim, otherwise known as Norman Cook, exploded in the 90s with his brand of big beat that overflowed into the mainstream pop world. From his four studio albums between 1996–2004, he can claim bonafide hits like 'Right Here, Right Now', 'The Rockafeller Skank', 'Praise You' and 'Weapon of Choice'. Fun fact: Cook also holds the Guinness World Record for the most top 40 hits under different names. Brisbane audiences can expect the full live show when Fatboy Slim lands next January — hitting up the Riverstage on Saturday, January 25. The UK artist will be supported by 2manydjs, aka David and Stephen Dewaele of Soulwax, with further local support acts to be announced. Image: Fatboy Slim.
It has been more than 40 years since Harris Farm Markets opened in Sydney, with a particular focus on fresh local produce. And if you're a Brisbanite wondering why the chain has both stood the test of time and amassed a considerable following, you can now find out for yourself — with the family-run brand launching a new Brisbane store, and planning a seconds one in 2021. The first has popped up at the former Clayfield Markets site, and it actually marks a homecoming. While Harris Farm Markets is definitely based in New South Wales, it used to own the Sandgate Road spot until it handed it over to Carlo and Susan Lorenti. The pair have run it for a couple of decades since, and are staying onboard to manage the store now that it has changed its name. Launching on Wednesday, December 16, Harris Farm Markets' Clayfield shop features a tomato shed, a huge deli with more than 200 cheeses on offer, and a leaderboard focusing on Queensland strawberries and mangoes — plus an organic produce section, a gourmet grocery range showcasing boutique local wares, a bakery and a hefty array of meat. Also on offer: milk on tap, from Maleny Dairies. The idea is to highlight Queensland and Australian products, all at a site that underwent a rebuild and redesign before it reopened. Then, in May 2021, Harris Farm Markets will open its flagship Queensland store, which'll set up shop in West Village in West End. It'll sprawl across a warehouse space in part of the old 1920s-built Peters Ice Cream building, so it's safe to expect that it'll be sizeable — and, obviously, conveniently located. At both sites, shoppers will be able to buy products from more than 300 Queensland growers, creators and producers — with Barambah's organic milk, frozen fruit from My Berries in Caboolture and organic chicken from Hobbs Family Farms Organic in Pittsworth just some of the items on offer. The two new stores will mark Harris Farm Markets' first outside of NSW, with 22 locations currently open down south. Find Harris Farm Markets at the current 823 Sandgate Road, Clayfield — and at West Village in West End from May 2021.
Ballet Revolución comes direct from Havana, Cuba. Having wrapped up an extensive tour of Europe and gaining praise like “an irresistible Cuban cocktail of ferocious sensuality,” the show will stopover in Brisbane for four nights. The production features 18 of the world’s finest dancers on stage, most from the same training school in Havana. Alongside them is a live band performing the rhythms of Latin America, as well as the hits of Sia, Lorde, Beyoncé, Jessie J, Bruno Mars, J Lo, Prince and Rihanna. As well as a focus on classical ballet, Ballet Revolución combines contemporary street dance, shoulder snaps, body rolls, acrobatics, jazz hands, body popping and everything else you might find in a music video.
We're all used to seeing movies from the male perspective, even if we don't know it. The enormous gender imbalance in the film industry means that that's the status quo, and it shows few signs of changing. Thankfully, nestled within the mass of man-centric content are a few gems with a difference. Sometimes they're made by female filmmakers. Sometimes they're about atypical female characters. In a program called The Female Gaze, Brisbane Festival shines the spotlight on cinema that challenges the status quo when it comes to gender. Opening with the Queensland premiere of The Diary of a Teenage Girl starring Bel Powley, Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgård, and cycling through six other old and new titles — such as Cannes Film Festival 2014 camera d'Or winner Party Girl, the exploration of Albanian customs that is Sworn Virgin, and Gena Rowlands in John Cassavetes’ legendary Opening Night — it's a much-needed blast of femme-fuelled sunshine in an otherwise blokey filmscape.
Austrian-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once famously stated that "the limits of my language means the limits of my world". Wittgenstein was part of a philosophical movement whose intense and sustained navel-gazing gave rise to an idea known as the "linguistic turn". This was an idea, with which everyone from novelists to zoologists jumped on board, suggesting that our creativity and conceptual imagination is limited by the fact that our languages are made up of a limited number of words. So we are stuck with a limited number of meanings. As such Wittgenstein, and his quite morbid buddies, argued that language is inadequate to the task of expressing human experience. The website "Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows" are doing their little bit to make the inexpressible more expressible, by creating an ever-growing list of new words to describe the sad little idiosyncrasies that make up modern life. This consistently hilarious and subtly insightful website believes that if words like "gif" and "trolling" deserve a place in the Macquarie Dictionary then why shouldn't words like "astrophe" or "heartworm." (Which describe, respectively, the hypothetical conversations we have with other people in our head, and those past relationships that are buried deep in our psyche.) With Dictionary.com recently releasing their "word of the year" here are our five favourite contender entries for next year from of "The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows". Contact High-Five An innocuous touch by someone just doing their job—a barber, yoga instructor or friendly waitress—that you enjoy more than you'd like to admit, a feeling of connection so stupefyingly simple that it cheapens the power of the written word, so that by the year 2025, aspiring novelists would be better off just giving people a hug. Reverse Shibboleth The practice of answering a cellphone with a generic "Hello?" as if you didn't already know exactly who was calling—which is a little like the egg requirement that marketers added to early cake mixes in the 1950s, an antiquated extra step that's only there to reassure you that it's an authentic homecooked meal, just like grandma used to make. Sonder The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you'll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk. Astrophe A hypothetical conversation that you compulsively play out in your head—a crisp analysis, a cathartic dialogue, a devastating comeback—which serves as a kind of psychological batting cage where you can connect more deeply with people than in the small ball of everyday life, which is a frustratingly cautious game of change-up pitches, sacrifice bunts, and intentional walks. Semaphorism A conversational hint that you have something personal to say on the subject but don't go any further—an emphatic nod, a half-told anecdote, an enigmatic 'I know the feeling'—which you place into conversations like those little flags that warn diggers of something buried underground: maybe a cable that secretly powers your house, maybe a fiberoptic link to some foreign country. Entries and text from the wonderful Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.
When word first arrived in 2020 that Cali Beach was turning a Gold Coast rooftop into a beach club with pools and bars, everyone's thoughts immediately went to splashes and sips while the summer sun is shining. Just like most of southeast Queensland, Surfers Paradise doesn't get a three-month super-frosty stretch, so taking a dip in winter didn't seem out of the question, either. But this venue has had broader plans for its sky-high perch when the middle of the year has hit since 2022. For the past two years, The Rooftop Lodge has taken over the 5000-square-metre venue on a fourth-floor rooftop on the corner of Surfers Paradise Boulevard and Elkhorn Avenue, featuring snow-topped trees, an ice-skating rink and cosy lodges. That isn't the 2024 experience, however. Until spring hits, running from Friday–Sunday weekly, Cali Beach is now an inflatable nightclub. An alpine angle remains in the temporary makeover, taking cues from the Swiss Alps — albeit with poolside daybeds, which you won't find come winter at the real thing. By day on Saturdays and Sundays, you can still bask in the sun, knock back cocktails, play party games and listen to DJ-spun beats. By night, the festivities blow up, with the inflatable fun dubbed Wintersun. Inflatable igloos? Check. Fire pits? Check again. Fire performers and fireworks? That's two more checks. Lighting displays add to the mood, as do more games, giant hanging inflatables above the pool, and a wintry food and drink menu. Entry is free, but you'll obviously need your wallet for whatever tempts your tastebuds.
Back in 2020, which now seems a lifetime ago, Laneway Festival celebrated 15 years since Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio first decided to fill a Melbourne alleyway with tunes. The beloved fest marked that milestone with a characteristically jam-packed lineup that made its way to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Fremantle, as well as Auckland — but since then, it's been quiet thanks to the pandemic. First, the bad news: no one will be raising a plastic cup at the fest in 2022, Laneway organisers have confirmed. Now, the great news: the event is gearing up to finally make a comeback in 2023. In a social media announcement, the Laneway crew noted that right now it'd usually "be sailing the Laneway cruise liner into Australia/NZ, docking at Adelaide." That's clearly not happening at the moment, and "for obvious reasons we have decided to sit out again this year but rest assured, we are busy bees preparing for Laneway '23," the post continued. Dates, cities and venues for 2023 haven't been announced yet, but the Laneway team also noted that they're quite advanced in the planning for next year. "It's unusual for us to have booked so many acts so early on but that is what we can confirm we have done for Laneway 23, and it's already feeling like one of those very special Laneway lineups... there are so many exciting ideas and dreams coming into the picture and we look forward to sharing them with you into the new normal," organisers revealed. View this post on Instagram A post shared by St. Jerome's Laneway Festival (@lanewayfest) If you're now already looking forward to next year, that's understandable. If you're now speculating on who might be on the bill, that's perfectly natural, too. Laneway's news comes after restrictions eased in both New South Wales and Victoria on Friday, February 18, allowing dancing again — with NSW's ban on dancing at music festivals set to lift this week as well. Laneway Festival will return in 2023. We'll update you with further details, including dates, venues and lineups, when they're announced. Top image: Anthony Smith.
Brisbane chocoholics unite! Once again The Sebel & Citigate is hosting their famous Easter Chocolate Buffet to soothe all your cravings. Located in the wonderfully central King George Square, it is situated in the perfect place to meet up with friends and indulge in some heavenly cuisine before continuing on to partake in some Easter shopping. With their selection of chocolate spanning cakes, slices, tarts, cheesecakes, puddings, numerous pleasures to be dipped in delightful sauces and many more varieties of cocoa happiness it is sure to make even the most fussy eater content. And the best part is, you can eat until your heart’s content or your stomach is groaning. Running from 18 April to 2 May there are plenty of opportunities to visit (and revisit). With the buffet running both lunch and dinner sessions you really have no excuses. Bookings are a must though and can be made via phone on 07 3222 1128 or email tsckgsb_bistroallure@mirvac.com.
Brunswick Street's resident arcade bar isn't one to shy away from an occasion — or shy away from finding new reasons to get folks through its doors. The How The Grinch Saved Christmas Artist Markets offer a little from column A and a little from column B. They'll also offer you an array of different gift ideas. Between 10am–12pm on Sunday, December 9, Netherworld is celebrating a heap of creative folk who've helped deck the venue's walls and halls at its art shows this year. More than that, it's getting them to sell their wares. There'll be original art, prints, and other bits and pieces, with the 18-strong artist lineup including Shani Finch, Deadbeat Dame, Sarge, Izzy Voodoo, Freak Street, Hacklock, Planet Hostile and more. Entry is free, and this is the type of event where buying a piece of art proves a present in multiple ways. Obviously, whoever you're planning to give it to (including yourself) gets lucky, but so does the artist.
Before SXSW made its way Down Under, Australia was already home to an annual event filled with live tunes, plus musicians and industry experts chatting about the business. In 2025, BIGSOUND marks 24 years of serving up that exact combination, and also of making Brisbane the centre of the Aussie music scene for a spring week in the process. How is it celebrating nearing its quarter-century milestone? With quite the hefty lineup. Briggs, Tash Sultana and Blur drummer Dave Rowntree are just some of the talents on the program — and that's just at BIGSOUND's conference. There are two key strands to this Sunshine State event: getting an array of people talking about all things music, and enlisting as many Brissie sites as possible in turning the River City into a multi-venue festival heaving with gigs. The first part is where well-known names usually come in. The second is where discovering your next favourite act is on the agenda. In 2025, you can enjoy both across Tuesday, September 2–Friday, September 5. Yorta Yorta rapper and Bad Apples Music founder Briggs will be in conversation with Gomeroi musician Kobie Dee, digging into their journeys, while Sultana is on the bill fresh from releasing her Return to the Roots EP. As for keynote speaker Rowntree, he heads to Brisbane just as he releases his new photography book No One You Know, which is filled with behind-the-scenes snaps taken by the man himself. Also among the folks on the conference lineup: Mallrat, Elly-May Barnes and Josh Pyke, adding to the musos picking up the microphone in a different way; Darcus Beese, aka the first Black President of a UK major label and the executive who signed Amy Winehouse at Island Records UK; Music Supervisor Anne Booty, who has worked on Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness; plus SXSW Music Festival Director Dev Sherlock, Reeperbahn Festival's Senior Partnerships Manager Robin Werner and The Great Escape's Head of Music Adam Ryan. So far, the list of musicians among the 120-plus acts that will play 18 Brisbane stages includes WAFIA, KAIIT, Inkabee, Azure Ryder, The Southern River Band, Hatchie and plenty more — all following in the footsteps of Sultana, Flume, Courtney Barnett, Baker Boy, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard and others at past BIGSOUND festivals. "BIGSOUND is about taking stock of where we are and imagining where we want to go next. At a time of rapid transformation in the music sector — across tech, touring, sustainability, and artist income — we want to amplify the value of meaningful connection. Between creators and audiences, between industry peers, and artists and the people who can take their careers to the next level. Whether it's onstage or over coffee, BIGSOUND is where new ideas and partnerships begin," said QMusic and BIGSOUND CEO Kris Stewart about 2025's lineup so far. "Curating this year's program has been such a joy — the artists we've selected reflect the incredible depth of talent in Australia, and each one is doing truly exciting things with their music. We're so proud of this group and can't wait to see them bring the Fortitude Valley to life in September," added BIGSOUND Co-Programmers Casey O'Shaughnessy and Katie Rynne. [caption id="attachment_907796" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dave Kan[/caption] [caption id="attachment_851424" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/caption] [caption id="attachment_861894" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/caption] [caption id="attachment_907800" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Simone Gorman-Clark[/caption] BIGSOUND 2025 takes place between Tuesday, September 2–Friday, September 5 in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For more information and tickets, visit the event's website.
Does this time of year make you want a constant party at your disposal? Are you of the belief that Christmas could only be improved by its own festival? Do you dream of playing house and electro tunes to Santa as he comes down your chimney? If so, Electric Playground has the event for you. Imagine this; Christmas Eve in Fortitude Valley, you’re surrounded by all of your closest bros and gals listening to the amazing beats of the 2011 festival year; fist pumping and enjoying a few festive drinks. Normally the end of a night out results in everyone parting ways to go home and sleep it off, but not this time! When the clock turns midnight, things can only look up – you’re going home to presents and feasts of food. Spinning the tracks this Saturday will be Electric Playground’s newest residents Mystro, Jovito and The Chad. All known for their ability to keep a party alive until the early hours, you’re in safe hands to enjoy a night out. If this sounds like a Christmas miracle to you, you better not shout, you better not cry… because Santa Claus is coming to town.
If there's one date on the calendar that's worth going all out on, the final day of the year is surely it. Abiding by this notion, Friday's is putting on quite the party this New Year's Eve. The riverside hotspot is planning its biggest bash of the year for bright-eyed Brisbane partygoers. For a spot out in the beer garden, you can grab a general entry ticket for $35. Or take things up a notch and get your paws on a cocktail package ticket for $120. You'll get to live it up inside with a three-hour food and drink package, which includes beer, wine, spirits and roaming canapés. After 10pm, both areas will be open to all guests, so you can either nab a prime position for the fireworks over Brisbane River, or tear up the dance floor, with live music playing all night. There's a limited allocation of tickets, so make sure to secure yours quick-smart here.
The world’s most well-loved cowboy doll and space man action figure are back on the big screen. Possibly in celebration of Tom Hanks letting it slip that Toy Story 4 is in the making, Toy Story 2 is screening at the Princess Cruses lawn at South Bank. It’s not your average expensive cinema, it’s a free outdoor screening where you can spread out and enjoy the Pixar motion picture. You may own it on DVD, VCR and have the theme songs on your iPod, but that’s no excuse to not enjoy some outdoor cinema and be reunited with Woody and Buzz. Maybe you’re one of the die-hard fans who ripped the arm off your Buzz doll after seeing the film and wrote ANDY on the bottom of all your shoes with a sharpie, or maybe you just love a good reuniting with your childhood. Whatever the reason, don’t hide your inner child. It’s a free and relaxing afternoon at the beautiful Princess Cruises Lawn where you can grab a deck chair or spread out your picnic basket and yell at the bastardly Stinky Pete and laugh with Bullseye and the round-up gang.
"Touring is the only job in the world, I think, where you are a professional and you drink," James Vincent McMorrow muses from a phone somewhere in Dublin. "If you were an accountant or even if you were an actor and you drank at the levels that some touring bands do, you wouldn't be able to function." Two years ago, he decided to give the bottle the boot. Not because he had an uncontrollable drinking problem, but because he wanted to "see what would happen". "At that point in my career, everything was on a really intense upswing and I was playing big shows. It's not that I wasn't enjoying [drinking], it's just that I didn't feel that I was in control of what I was doing. I didn't think I was doing it justice in the way that I wanted to." In a January 2014 Guardian interview, McMorrow identified a packed-out show at London's Festival Hall as a turning point. "The biggest show I'd ever played in this country... I got off stage and thought — did that go well? I don't know," he told journo Tom Lamont. At first, the sobriety inspired a sizeable dose of performance nerves. "I became incredibly aware of my hands and started making mistakes again," he recalls. "I used to think that you needed to drink to get out of your own way mentally and create. But it actually made me think from a much clearer perspective." CREATING POST TROPICAL When work began on second album, Post Tropical, the music flew thick and fast. "I had better ideas than ever before... I was much more ambitious." Where 2011 debut Early in the Morning was folk-ish and harmony-fuelled, Post Tropical sees McMorrow delve into new territory – R&B influences, dashes of Rhodes, electronica and intricate layering. There's hardly an acoustic guitar to be heard. The songs were assembled over the course of eight months and recorded "on a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border" — where the likes of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Animal Collective, Beach House and At The Drive In have laid down tracks. "It's the perfect place to make music... I don't think I'll record anywhere else again. I came for the equipment and stayed for the view," he adds, laughing. McMorrow sees putting together a song is akin to solving a Rubik's Cube. "Every time I look at it, there's a couple less red squares. Then I keep going and I take a look at the other side. It might go the wrong way, or it might get better. And one day, it's just done. I'll listen to it and there'll be nothing in it that doesn't make me happy." https://youtube.com/watch?v=jgE3AengS0A ON BEING YOUNG AND MUCH MORE SERIOUS The songwriting process wasn't always so intuitive for the Irish native. McMorrow remembers a younger and much more serious version of himself. "I think I went from trying to be a musician to being a musician and that was a very big change. I don't examine music anymore; I follow it where it leads me. I used to question — you'd worry about whether you were good enough, or whether you could do the things that needed to be done. But I don't worry about that anymore. I still challenge myself every day and push myself infinitely harder than I ever did, but I do it with a sense of knowing what I'm doing and how to get there." Back in his worrying days, he spent hours reading some pretty meaty literature. "I became really obsessed with people like John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner and the American idea — between 1900 and the 1930s and '40s. It's quite funny, because if I examine the books I read and where I was at musically, I can connect the dots quite quickly. I read a lot of heavy books like The Sound and The Fury, and because I was writing music there was a certain element: 'if I read these serious things then I want to write about serious things.'" https://youtube.com/watch?v=j0DvjgagJko ON GAME OF THRONES These days, however, he'll "read anything that's put in front of [him]". Even if the writing isn't quite up to scratch. "I just read the entire Game of Thrones, everything up to the point where it finishes," he explains. "I read it because I started watching the series and I got annoyed because it was ending, so I thought I'd read the book. But then I realised the books were really, really long and kind of weirdly written. I don't know if you've read fantasy novels before but they're kind of... they're not the most amazing writing in the world, even though the story is obviously compelling. And when I started reading them I didn't realise that [George R. R. Martin] hadn't finished the series. So I got to the last book and found out he had two more to write still!" Fortunately, he's moved onto Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin, which he describes as "really beautiful". And McMorrow has a plethora of tour dates to keep him busy between reads. JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW TOUR DATES: Wednesday 21 May — Astor Theatre, Perth Friday 23 May — Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane Tuesday 27 May — Forum, Melbourne Thursday 29 May — Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House (Vivid LIVE) Saturday 31 May — Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House (Vivid LIVE)
In Contagion, the most prophetic film of the 21st century so far, filmmaker Steven Soderbergh didn't just chart the outbreak of a deadly pandemic or introduce everyone to the term 'social distancing'. His eerily accurate thriller also delved into the quest to find a vaccine, too, so that life could go back to normal. And, that's the reality the world has faced since COVID-19 first emerged — with pharmaceutical companies and medical researchers around the globe working furiously to come up with a solution. Several vaccines have not only been created over the past year — much faster than the usual timeline — but have started being used in countries around the world. The latter is happening in places such as the UK and the US, where coronavirus case numbers have remained at enormous levels. In Australia, where the situation thankfully hasn't reached the same scale, the federal government has decided on a different approach. And today, Wednesday, January 6, Minister for Health Greg Hunt, revealed that doses should start being rolled out locally in early March. The Minister discussed the current plan in an interview with radio station 2GB, including revealing the change to the schedule — noting that originally the government was going to start administering the vaccine in the second quarter of 2021, then moved that up to late March 2021, and has now jumped forward to the beginning of that month. In recent weeks, as case numbers have been rising in Sydney and Melbourne, the original timeline received criticism. Vaccines need to be evaluated and approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration before they can be rolled out, with that process currently underway for multiple different vaccines — including from Pfizer-BioNTech and University of Oxford-AstraZeneca. Hunt also confirmed that the first round of vaccinations will cover frontline workers — particularly those working at hotel quarantine sites and international border checkpoints — as well as health workers and residential aged care facility residents. "That's the first round, and then we'll work through it in terms of age and other priorities — which are currently being finalised by the medical expert panel, but progressively working down in age and where there are other vulnerabilities in terms of disability or certain Indigenous age groups and others, then they'll all be identified," he said. As Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced in mid-2020, vaccines will be provided to every Aussie for free when they are rolled out. Australia currently has agreements to receive ten million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which will be manufactured overseas, and 53.8 million doses of the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, with production of the latter already starting locally. Both require two doses per person to be effective. Obviously, it's expected that the government will provide further details about how everyone will get vaccinated — and specific dates for the start of vaccinations — before the beginning of March. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Australia, visit the Australian Government Department of Health website.
UPDATE, March 25, 2021: Guns Akimbo is available to stream via Stan, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Sadly, they exist everywhere online: petty folks who troll, subtweet and spit insults from the safety of their keyboards, all while simultaneously playing the victim and claiming to be superior. As personified by gamer and computer programmer Miles (Daniel Radcliffe), that's the kind of attitude Guns Akimbo seemingly endeavours to skewer. Miles is initially one of those guys, to an extent. Especially forlorn after breaking up with his girlfriend Nova (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), he's happy to mouth off on social media without thinking, even though he definitely knows better. But when he picks a fight with someone willing to take their beef into the real world, he's suddenly immersed in a physical, tangible, life-or-death battle — with guns bolted to his hands, no less — instead of merely trading belittling remarks with an unseen enemy from his couch. Guns Akimbo isn't the first film or TV show to ponder where humanity's thoroughly 21st-century obsession with technology and always-connected lifestyles may be taking us as a society (as Black Mirror keeps telling us, it's nowhere good). Following in the footsteps of 2016's mostly effective Nerve, it's not the first to get slick and playful with its commentary in this space, either. Alas, although Deathgasm writer/director Jason Lei Howden makes a perceptive leap from online trolling to actual death matches, he isn't particularly interested in engaging with the idea. Sure, one of the movie's characters yells "have you learned nothing from video games?" — winking at and nudging the audience in the process — but rather than meaningfully satirising or making a statement about the internet age, the ease with which abuse has become normalised and the lack of empathy that goes with it, Guns Akimbo is happy to simply lean into its OTT spectacle. Heartbroken, constantly denigrated at work and just mopey all-round, Miles wades into trouble when — like everyone in this futuristic world, or so we're told — he starts spending too much time watching an illegal underground fight club channel called Skizm. The battles are real, brutal and fatal, and the people pulling the strings don't take kindly to Miles' snarky commentary. Next thing he knows, ringleader Riktor (Ned Dennehy) and his cronies are banging down his door, giving him the body modification from hell and forcing him to play. To stay alive, Miles will have to hunt down reigning champion Nix (Samara Weaving), all while drone cameras capture and stream his every move to the braying, dead-eyed masses. One of Riktor's henchmen goes by the name Fuckface (Set Sjöstrand). When Miles and the Harley Quinn-esque Nix cross paths, she dubs him 'Fuck Boy'. And, standing atop a car, straddling a gun and wearing heart-shaped sunglasses like she's stepped out of someone's wet dream, Nix is also fond of yelling far more colourful banter. That's the level that Guns Akimbo is operating on — one that splashes slow-motion visuals all over the screen as frequently as its characters fire bullets, and attempts to dress it all up with plenty of supposedly edgy dialogue, relentless chase scenes, and emojis and video game-like imagery. Just as Miles discovers when he wakes up with weaponry nailed to his appendages, however, it all gets old fast. Expertly choreographed action scenes are a wondrous art form, as the John Wick franchise just keeps demonstrating, and will hopefully keep continuing to do so until Keanu Reeves is an octogenarian. Guns Akimbo is clearly reaching for such heights — while also taking inspiration from Battle Royale, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and the much less successful Keanu-starring and -directed Man of Tai Chi — but proves sorely lacking in the style and flair department. The trouble with largely forgoing any substantial plot or depth in favour of an overblown look and feel is that, if a movie misses its mark, it just comes off as empty rather than exhilarating. That's the case here, in a film that aims for wild but settles on obnoxious and grating. The one saving grace: Radcliffe, aka the likely reason that this flick even exists. On paper, watching Harry Potter fight for survival with guns bolted to his hands sounds like an entertaining prospect — and the former Boy Who Lived certainly gives his part more depth than the script or premise calls for. He's been doing that, of late. Finally free of his childhood altercations with Voldemort in one of the biggest movie series there is, Radcliffe has since gravitated towards out-there roles that he's been giving his all. See also: his turn as a farting corpse in Swiss Army Man, and his work as both a hapless angel and a floundering medieval prince in anthology TV series Miracle Workers. But he can't save Guns Akimbo from its worse impulses, and nor can Flight of the Conchords' Rhys Darby in a brief appearance as a homeless man. As for Weaving, who was such a standout in last year's Ready or Not, she's more on the movie's wavelength: cartoonish, ridiculous and in pure wish-fulfilment territory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOFatKD0Vzo
If there's one thing the entertainment industry loves at the moment, it's turning movies into something else. Musicals and television shows, to be exact. Following in the footsteps of La La Land, Amelie and a wealth of others, The Devil Wears Prada is the latest film making the leap to another medium. Yes, the fashion-focused workplace drama is headed to the the stage in musical form. Showing just how terrifying your boss has to be to make you not just scream, but sing, the film-to-theatre adaptation will take its cues from the 2003 novel the movie was based on, as well as the 2006 flick starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. And, it'll come with songs from a famous source, with Elton John signing on to compose the production's music. If this sounds partly familiar, that's because taking The Devil Wears Prada to the stage has been mooted since 2015, but without any specific details. John will join forces with playwright and screenwriter Paul Rudnick (Sister Act, Addams Family Values) to bring the tale of aspiring journalist Andy Sachs, her haughty, haute couture magazine editor Miranda Priestley to singing-and-dancing life. No word yet on casting, or when the musical will become the kind of hot ticket that a million girls would kill for. Via Deadline.
They're the masters of immersive thrills, such as smash-hit shipping container installations Seance, Coma and Flight, also known as the Darkfield series, but not even the folks at Realscape Productions are immune to the realities of pandemic life. They're currently locked down with the rest of Melbourne, putting their nerve-jangling real-life projects on hiatus until later in the year. Luckily, in the meantime, Realscape and Darkfield (UK creators) have teamed up for a brand-new audio experience fans can enjoy from the comfort of home. This one's called Double and, while it's delivered remotely, it's geared to be every bit as creepy and unsettling as its IRL predecessors. Launching this Friday, July 17, Double is being presented via the producers' new digital project Darkfield Radio. Like its siblings, it plunges participants deep into an immersive experience by perplexing the senses — this time, with the use of a 360-degree binaural sound, played through your own headphones. Double requires a two-person set-up, with players seated across a table from each other. The pair of you will then tune into a special 20-minute broadcast, at the exact time as hundreds of other players across the country. And there's just one rule to follow: everyone has to be who they say they are. True to form, the exact details are kept vague until you're living the immersion, but we do know Double pulls inspiration from the Capgras delusion, a condition which sees a sufferer convinced that a loved one has been replaced by an imposter (sometimes an evil-intentioned one). Prepare to have your truths shaken and the familiar warped, right there at your kitchen table. If you live in metropolitan Melbourne or Mitchell Shire, do remember that you're not allowed visitors in your home — unless it is to deliver care or essential services — but, you can visit your partner if you don't live together. For more information on the stay-at-home orders, head to the DHHS website. Tickets for Double are $10 and on sale now through the website. Early-bird tickets are available for $7 for the first week of shows, starting Friday, July 17. Images: Alex Purcell
Young Henrys have teamed up with Brisbane boys Dune Rats and have given a beautiful birth to the Dunies Lager, which the band calls, "A can so cold it'll cool ya house." The brand new brew, like most great inventions, came from a pub bet. "We hung out with our mates Young Henrys one arvo and it came up that we were gunning for number one when our new album dropped," the band says. "The fellas said if you get the top spot we'll brew you your own beer." So when the Dune Rats' second album, The Kids Will Know It's Bullshit, unsurprisingly made its debut on the ARIA charts at numero uno, the lads at Young Henrys stuck to their word and knocked up a batch of crisp lager to honour the bet. Behold, the bet winners: And let's face it, the equally-as-happy-looking bet losers: The Dunies Lager is sold in tinnies, either in the six pack or by the case, with a Dune Rats-yellow design by artist Lee McConnell. On top of that, a select few venues around Sydney will be treated to a keg or two, so there'll be the chance to whet your whistle with the draft stuff. Now, you can't release the product of a beautiful union like Young Henrys and Dune Rats without throwing a big ol' party to celebrate, and the Dunies Lager won't be an exception. There's a shindig going down this Sunday, February 26 in Darlinghurst. Tickets are free, but there are only 200 available here, so best to get in quick. Mary's will be onsite with food available to purchase and and everyone through the door before 8pm will get a free drink on arrival. The combination of bands and booze isn't a new one. It's not even Young Henrys first foray, having created the Pils 'N' Thrills with DZ Deathrays last year. However, a brand new beer from a brewery and a band like Young Henrys and Dune Rats is nothing to shake a stick at, so check out the Young Henrys website for further instructions on how the blow the froth off a few cold ones.
Ah, the poignancy of Grand Theft Auto V. We're not even kidding. There's no denying that the naturalistic light effects of GTA 5 are astoundingly realistic, and really quite beautiful to behold. Hazy daylight, golden sunsets and atmospheric nightscapes are equally convincing in the world of the game, which has been the talk of the town since its recent launch. GTA 5's aesthetic appeal has not escaped the notice of 20-year-old Brazilian SVA art student Fernando Pereira Gomes, an avid street photographer and gamer who recognised certain parallels between his two passions. He's been taking artistic stills using a character's in-game camera phone in GTA 5, composing shots just as though he were turning a camera lens on the real world, and the results are both sensitive and pretty dope. In-game photography is not new, as seen here. Gomes, who's one of those hardcore fans that stood in line to grab a copy of the game at midnight when it first launched, got the idea for his ongoing series Street Photography V when he began simply driving around GTA 5's various pixelated Los Santos landscapes and realised how the movement of the characters through digital vistas resembled scenes he'd try to capture IRL every day — not least because of the unpredictability of the scenes unfolding, and their fleeting nature. As he told The Independent, "It was very similar to photographing on actual streets — with me having to run across the road, pulling out my camera in time, framing the shot, and taking it at the right moment.” On his site he says: "The game is so realistic that it felt like being in the streets outside ... anticipating passersby’s movements and reactions. In a way, it was also incredibly frightening that these algorithms could look so real, or is it that we ourselves are becoming ever more algorithmic?" The pictures reveal what attracts Gomes's eye: frequently the images are wide angle shots with an isolated figure turned away from us, a shadow cutting the frame in half or a perfectly flat and symmetrical view of a figure or two against a wall. Be sure to check them out.
If you'd like to spend the rest of 2022 hopping between music festivals and doing very little else, that's definitely a possibility. Everything from Splendour in the Grass and Falls Festival to Woodford Folk Fest, Spilt Milk, Lost Paradise, Festival X, Grapevine Gathering, Beyond The Valley and Jungle Love is making a comeback before the year is out — and, as just-announced, so is The Grass Is Greener. Queenslanders should already be familiar with the music, food and art festival, which made its debut back in 2016. In 2022, it'll return to Cairns and the Gold Coast, spreading the love from one end of the Sunshine State to the other. And in excellent news for festival fans and music lovers down south, it's also branching out further for the first time ever. Your destinations: Canberra and Geelong, with The Grass Is Greener expanding nationally but keeping a focus on bringing tunes to cities beyond the usual state capitals. It'll do the regional rounds across the last two weekends in October, starting on the Goldie, hopping down to the ACT, zipping back up to its Tropical North Queensland birthplace, then wrapping up its 2022 run in Victoria. "With plans to grow The Grass Is Greener into a national festival falling through in 2020, we couldn't be more thrilled to bring regional Australia a truly unique offering they deserve," said organisers Handpicked Group. Each 2022 stop will boast multiple — and themed — stages, other eye-catching activations, and VIP packages. Exactly who'll be on the bill won't be announced till Thursday, June 16; however, given that The Grass Is Greener has played host to Amy Shark, All Day, Hayden James, Ocean Alley and Tyga before, expect a characteristically impressive lineup spanning both international and Aussie artists. [caption id="attachment_856350" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Curdin Photo[/caption] THE GRASS IS GREENER 2022 DATES: Saturday, October 22 — Gold Coast Sunday, October 23 — Canberra Saturday, October 29 — Cairns Sunday, October 30 — Geelong The Grass Is Greener will hit the Gold Coast, Canberra, Cairns and Geelong in October 2022. The full lineup will be announced on Thursday, June 16 — head back here then for further details — with pre-sale tickets going on sale from Wednesday, June 22 and general sales from Thursday, June 23. Head to the festival website for more info and to register for pre-sales. Images: Mitch Lowe and Curdin Photo.
When February passes its midway point each year, margaritas start being the hospitality industry's drink of choice. The reason? World Margarita Day on February 22. That date has been and gone for 2023 now, but the 'ritas will still be flowing in Fish Lane in March. In fact, the precinct is dedicating the entire month to margs — on menus in general, and at events dedicated to the cocktail. The patch of South Brisbane and West End does already have celebrations devoted to rosé and negronis on its calendar, so consider this a case of pouring out some love for another tipple. Dubbed 'March Into Margarita', the tequila-fuelled event will run for the entire month — so, from Friday, March 1–Sunday, March 31, 2024 in its inaugural year — across venues such as Bar Brutus, Chu the Phat, Hello Please, Kiki Kiosk, Midtown, Southside and Saccharomyces Beer Cafe. The special marg lineup spans classic versions everywhere that serves them, plus creative takes at a heap of places. Chu the Phat is taking its cues from Bangkok, El Planta's margs will involve grilled pineapple and rhubarb, and Midtown is doing both spiced lychee and passionfruit takes. You'll find find a smoked jalapeño sip at Saccharomyces, too, as well as a largerita — which Chu the Phat is also serving. If you're looking for a specific day to head along, take inspiration from shindigs such as the Margs-a-Million festival. Taking place on Sunday, March 3 across two two-hour sessions — from 12–2pm and 2–4pm — it'll see Southside serve up margaritas and mezcal-based cocktails. Also, Benny Lam and his chef team will collaborate with the crew from Mama Taco in West End on bites to match. Midtown is hosting The Margarita Edit on Thursday, March 7, complete with marg flights instead of its usual martini spread, plus small plates to line the stomach. And Chu the Phat is throwing a laneway party called Phat Phiesta on Thursday, March 21, where there'll be sips, mariachi music and dishes with ample spice. Or, each Friday and Saturday in March from 3–5pm, you can head to Hello Please for $15 margs and two tacos for $18. With all of this marg-centric fun, if you claim that you don't know what to drink to kick off autumn in Fish Lane, no one will believe you. March Into Margarita runs from Friday, March 1–Sunday, March 31, 2024. For more information, head to the Fish Lane Arts Precinct website. Images: Pixel Punk.
Recently opening the Sydney Film Festival to great buzz, 20,000 Days on Earth is a documentary that's fiction. It imagines the 20,000th day on earth of singer and raconteur Nick Cave, and it's a day that includes him talking to his shrink, recording an album, helping archivists make sense of his historical record, lunching with his pals, driving Kylie Minogue around Brighton, and playing at the Sydney Opera House. A pretty great day, by any standards. Instead of clarity and chronology, what you get is a fragmented sense of biography that you have to put together yourself, or let wash over you as a series of impressions, sensations and enraptured moments. Artists-turned-directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard have basically conjured a new format here, made sweeter by the flair and flamboyance Cave brings. 20,000 Days on Earth is in cinemas on August 21, and thanks to Madman Entertainment, we have ten double in-season passes to give away in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=a8vy-DO-I5E
Wet and wild isn't just the name of a southeast Queensland water park. Thanks to Tropical Cyclone Oma, it might describe conditions across the state's lower coastline over the next few days. The Category 2 storm is currently approximately 890 kilometres north-east from Brisbane, prompting the Bureau of Meteorology to put everywhere from Bundaberg to Ballina on cyclone watch — including Brissie and the Sunshine and Gold coasts. It has been 29 years since Cyclone Nancy threatened Brisbane, and while Oma isn't expected to make landfall in the near future based on present observations, it still looks likely to make its presence known. Currently sustaining winds of 95 kilometres per hour — and wind gusts reaching 130 kilometres per hour — BOM predicts that the storm will keep moving in a general southwesterly direction. Travelling at 11 kilometres per hour, it'll head towards the southeast Queensland coast across Thursday and Friday, all while maintaining its current intensity. [caption id="attachment_708951" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Bureau of Meteorology[/caption] Think wind, rain and generally staying away from waterways — plus planning your next moves if the cyclone threat increases, which is a course of action that the Bureau strongly recommends. There's already more than a brisk breeze blowing, and mild-to-heavy showers are forecast for the next six days, including up to 60 millimetres on Sunday and up to 50 on Monday. Temperatures will also dip slightly, hovering at the 28-degree mark compared to today's top of 34. Brisbane mightn't seem like cyclone territory; however, both of the city's 1893 and 1974 floods were actually the result of cyclonic weather systems — and the latter was caused by a slow-moving cyclone, like Oma. Starting in Fiji and gradually making its way towards our shores, Oma has been dubbed a "large-eyed" storm by NASA, who anticipate the cyclone moving west to northwest by the end of the weekend. https://twitter.com/lifesavingqld/status/1098397083935985664 On the coasts, as well as the Fraser Island and Wide Bay coast, the Bargara region and even northern New South Wales, Oma is also due to spark heavy rainfall, coastal erosion, dangerous surf conditions, gale-force winds and larger-than-usual high tides. If you're wondering what kind of big waves are in store, BOM advises that it "may exceed the highest tide of the year by around one metre". With that in mind, all beaches on the Gold Coast are closed from now until Sunday, February 24, and some spots on the Sunshine Coast are too. In general, residents are warned to avoid all coastal activities, including rock fishing, boating and swimming. And, obviously, to not even dream about living out any Point Break-style 50 year storm surf fantasies. With a toasty warm January proving Australia's hottest month ever on record, and with floods savaging Townsville earlier this month, 2019 has already proven a tumultuous time, weather-wise, in Queensland. That doesn't look set to change any time soon. Stay safe and dry, folks. The Bureau will continue to update its warnings and maps regularly — visit bom.gov.au/qld/warnings/.
We’ve known for a while that Public Enemy are headlining the eighth Golden Plains Festival next year, so we knew it would probably kick a fair few arses. But we had no idea it would be this many. The lineup includes such a tasty smorgasbord of local and international artists that the March long weekend can’t come quick enough. The overseas contingent boasts some of the world’s finest, including the soulful, confusing and perpetually beautiful Neko Case, Japanese funk legends Osaka Monaurail and Kiwi super-dub soldiers Fat Freddy’s Drop. The home crowd is just as exciting, with rock stalwarts You Am I leading the charge, followed closely by new rave pioneers Cut Copy and the supernatural soul crew that has earned Questlove’s glowing endorsement, Hiatus Kaiyote. The lineup is an eclectic mix of dance, funk, soul, blues and good ol’ rock 'n' roll, all spaced out with care over a long weekend in the country. Hot damn, we say to Golden Plains. Hot damn to the promise of a chilled-out festival in the middle of nowhere with a lineup that’s got something for everyone, and then a little more. Words cannot express. For the full lineup, check out the Golden Plains website. The ballot is open now for tickets.
Summer is over for now and spring is still almost half a year away. But if you want to start thinking ahead, Surfers Paradise is set to welcome a brand new attraction that'll keep you busy when the warm weather hits. Do you like hanging out by the beach? Splashing around in several pools? Enjoying a few games of volleyball on the sand? Watching a movie under the stars? If you answered yes to all of these questions — and you also like to spend your sunny days and starry nights kicking back in a cabana, hopping between multiple restaurants and bars, dancing to DJs and gathering the gang on a rooftop with a view — then you'll want to add Cali Beach Club to your must-visit list. First announced late in 2020 and originally scheduled to open this past summer, Cali Beach Club will feature all of the aforementioned facilities and activities in the one spot. Yes, it's going to be more than a little jam-packed with things to do when it launches just in time for spring this year. Although an exact opening date hasn't yet been revealed, the new precinct will officially open on the corner of Surfers Paradise Boulevard and Elkhorn Avenue sometime in August — perched four levels about the street, sprawling across more than 5000 square metres, and boasting vantages over both the ocean and the Surfers' skyline. The Gold Coast might be known for its theme parks, but this is shaping up to be the boozy adult alternative, as run by Australian hospitality group Artesian Hospitality. Whether you're a Brisbanite heading down the highway, a Sydney or Melbourne resident enjoying the lack of border restrictions, or hail from elsewhere in the country, you'll find quite the spread awaiting once you step inside. That includes four pools to swim in, and plenty of daybeds, sun lounges and cabanas where you can while away the hours. There'll also be exercise areas and sports facilities, such as the aforementioned beach volleyball court, and a dance floor as well. In terms of food and drink, you'll have options, thanks to two restaurants and four bars. Exact details of what they'll be serving, and what'll make them different from each other, haven't yet been revealed — but one eatery will sit right by the ocean. Come evening, a moonlit cinema will screen flicks by the water — again, though, no other details have been revealed. Showing Jaws and Point Break seems like a must, however, because everyone likes catching movies about the sea while they're literally right next to it. [caption id="attachment_793063" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Map of Cali Beach Club[/caption] All the other questions you're currently pondering — such as opening hours, cost, capacity and social distancing measures — haven't been answered yet either. But, while it looks perfect for spring and summer shenanigans, Cali Beach Club plans to operate year-round. The Gold Coast does have the weather for it, after all. And, although the precinct will officially welcome in the general public in August, it'll actually be completed sometime in June. Over that two-month gap, it'll let a few exclusive corporate functions and events — and even weddings — have the run of the place. If you or someone you know are currently looking for a space for a up to 150 guest for a special occasion, take note. Cali Beach Club will open on the corner of Surfers Paradise Boulevard and Elkhorn Avenue, Surfers Paradise, sometime in August 2021 — we'll update you when an exact date is announced.
Not every city gets its own book filled with love stories from locals that's penned by one of its best-known and beloved authors and journalists. Thanks to Trent Dalton's Love Stories, however, Brisbane boasts exactly that. It was back in 2021 that the Boy Swallows Universe scribe spent two months on the corner of Adelaide and Albert streets in Brisbane's CBD, Olivetti typewriter in hand, asking folks walking by for their romantic tales. His question: "can you please tell me a love story?". Those yarns came to the page via his 2022 Indie Book Awards Book of the Year-winner, and they're also destined to hit the stage during Brisbane Festival 2024 thanks to a theatre production of the same name. Dalton's writing career is filled with affection for Brisbane — as evidenced, of course, in Boy Swallows Universe on the page, stage and screen — and he isn't done showing it while collecting tender tales from his fellow Brisbanites. Also for Brisbane Festival, he's asking for love stories again. [caption id="attachment_969256" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andie Dittman[/caption] Dalton is Museum of Brisbane's next artist in residence, and there's two parts to it, both of which want you to share your tales. From Friday, August 30–Sunday, September 29, 2024, Write Your Heart Out will take over the Brisbane City Hall site, getting visitors to add their love letters across the month. Dalton is still busting out his Olivetti, too, popping up in King George Square taking place from 12–2pm on Friday, September 6 with fellow writers to take down love stories from passersby. Taking tales from the public will also serve as a part of a mentoring session, with Dalton imparting advice on interviewing skills to the group of emerging writers that'll be assisting in an intensive workshop. [caption id="attachment_969257" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andie Dittman[/caption] Dalton and the Write Your Heart Out residency is looking for all kinds of love stories, whether about first loves, loves that got away, long-running loves or anything in-between. If you're keen to pen your own rather than tell it to Dalton and his team directly, you'll be able to sit down and write at MoB. Either before or afterwards, if you're also keen to see what Love Stories looks like treading the boards, it's running at QPAC from Sunday, September 8–Sunday, September 29. Jason Klarwein plays a writer and husband, while Michala Banas is his wife. They're both based on Dalton and his wife Fiona Franzmann, who each contributed extra material to the script by Tim McGarry. And yes, the production does indeed set its scene from the corner of Adelaide and Albert streets. [caption id="attachment_969255" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andie Dittman[/caption] [caption id="attachment_944824" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trent Dalton and Franzmann. Image: Lyndon Mechielsen.[/caption] Write Your Heart Out takes over Museum of Brisbane, Level 3, Brisbane City Hall, 64 Adelaide Street, Brisbane, from Friday, August 30–Sunday, September 29, 2024 — with its pop-up event in King George Square taking place from 12–2pm on Friday, September 6. Head to the venue's website for more details. Love Stories will play the QPAC Playhouse, South Brisbane, from Tuesday, September 10–Sunday, September 29, 2024 as part of Brisbane Festival. Head to the venue's website for tickets and further details. Top image: David Kelly.
Brisbane’s favourite easy-speakin’ event has arrived! You no longer have to spend your Friday night lingering on random's Facebook profiles or Youtube-ing funny cats. Speakeasy has swept into town, bringing together a bunch of creative talent set to satisfy your curious mind. Teaming up with the Frankie&bs collective crew, Speakeasy will host an evening of inspiring art at creative studio, The Thought Fort. There is nothing better than a cheeky BYO event to bring together the finest of Brisbane’s art scene, especially when everyone is invited to share in the fun. This Friday will feature some interactive wall-art from Jackpot, found footage from Deerhouse Pictures, and special guest Viva Maria taking the stage to bring you the best of in-house entertainment. Get off Youtube, but don't forget one of it's best lines, 'gotta get down on Friday'! Which seat will you take? One at Speakeasy, I hope!
Probably the toughest event on the planet — and people are lining up to give it a shot. What do you call a gruelling, 20km obstacle course designed by British Special Forces that involves mud, fire, ice and a little bit of electricity? Some say suicide, but for many people it's just a good time. What began as a challenge for the only the most mentally strong minds and physically fit bodies, Tough Mudder has expanded and now boasts a following of more than half a million die-hard participants worldwide. Based on the ethos that it is not a race, it is a challenge, Tough Mudder unites participants on the core principle of teamwork and support. As each challenge gets tougher, the more you need to rely upon your teammates to help you. Although it is an event that probably makes you want to vomit from fatigue just reading about it, participants from all walks of life say Tough Mudder is the most rewarding fitness challenge on the planet. So if you want to push yourself and conquer your fear of physical exertion, give Tough Mudder a shot.
The current true crime craze has filled our ears with acclaimed podcasts and packed our streaming queues with must-watch TV programs. Now, it's turning a former teen idol into a serial killer. After singing his way through high school, playing frat pranks at college and saving lives on California beaches, Zac Efron is swapping teen musicals, Bad Neighbours flicks and Baywatch remakes for a stint as notorious serial killer Ted Bundy. The end result is Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, which focuses not only on the horrific string of killings that would eventually lead to Bundy's arrest and execution (he confessed to 30 homicides, but is suspected of committing more), but also on his relationship with single mother Liz Kloepfer (Lily Collins). How did the infamous figure charm his victims? How did Kloepfer fall in love with a psychopath? Both questions sit at this heart of this crime thriller. The movie's first trailer, which dropped in late January, showed us that it's quite the change of pace for Efron, who has been garnering impressive reviews for his performance. Also starring John Malkovich and Haley Joel Osment, the film screened at the Sundance Film Festival earlier in the year, debuting 30 years after Bundy's execution on January 24, 1989 — almost to the day, a case of gruesome timing that obviously isn't a coincidence. Now, a second eerie trailer has dropped for the film (below). This time round, Efron is a lot less charming and whole heap more unsettling — which, you know, is appropriate (since he's a serial killer and all). True crime fiends will be happy to know that a release date has also dropped — and you only have to wait 30 days until the thriller hits your Netflix queues. Yep, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile will be hitting the streaming service on Friday, May 3. Maybe schedule in a long weekend. In the meantime, you can watch (or rewatch) the equally chilling Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, which are also on Netflix. And watch the new unsettling new trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdMtnvMJcDA&feature=youtu.be Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile will hit Netflix on May 3, 2019.
Since opening in 2012, Morningside's Southside Tea Room has become a true Brisbane institution. Co-owned by couple Patience Hodgson and John Patterson of The Grates, the Southside Tearoom is known for its relaxed atmosphere, unusual events (including the incredibly popular Always Sunny in Philadelphia trivia night) and vintage tropical aesthetic. “We wanted to create a relaxed, unpretentious suburban oasis,” Patience says. “When we lived in the States we fell in love with all the neighbourhood bars, and that's what we were dreaming of replicating in Brisbane.” Like any loyal Brisbanite, she also loves to talk about the weather. “I love the weather,” she says. “I'm so conditioned to good weather in Brisbane that I feel like I get micro-seasonal depression when it rains for stretches longer than two days. We all joke about it, but I think it's a genuine thing!” Patience and John have just welcomed a new baby into the fold, but that hasn’t slowed them down. Here are Patience’s five steps to the perfect weekend (even if you have a baby in tow). DIP YOUR TOES IN WYNNUM’S FAMOUS WADING POOL Well worth a day trip, Wynnum is a suburb just 30 minutes drive out from Brisbane’s CBD. “The Wynnum wading pool is a rad glimpse into ye olde Brisbane,” Patience says. “Basically it's a pool that fills with sea water that's been there for almost 100 years. It's still got loads of character even though they renovated it about ten years ago. The locals are a hoot, and there's plenty of classic fish & chip shops close by.” While you’re there, check out the quality op-shopping on offer along and just off Bay Terrace. EAT LUNCH AT PERRETT'S PIES “While in Wynnum go to Perrett's Pies," Patience says. "It's one of the oldest bakeries in Brisbane, dating back to 1970. They still use the same pie trays and cake moulds so you'll notice everything is a little smaller then modern times. It’s run by a hilarious Irish man and their Neenish Tarts are to die for.” There ain’t nothing more Queensland than eating a sauce-slathered pie by the ocean, so tuck in. DINNER AT POPOLO IN SOUTH BANK When you get back into town, be sure to head down to South Bank, the precinct that boasts the famous inner city beach, Streets Beach. There are plenty of places to have dinner while gazing over the twinkly Brisbane river, but Patience recommends Popolo. “Popolo in South Bank is a must do. It's right on the river with spectacular views of the city. My mouth is watering just thinking about their truffle polenta and their chilli clams, and they also make great cocktails.” ARCHERFIELD SPEEDWAY “Head down to Archerfield Speedway on a Saturday night," says Patience. This is one seriously decibel-raising, out-of-town adventure. "Super loud, and, once you've forked out your ticket price, super cheap inside. Heck, they serve beer out of a shipping container that's emblazoned with a faded 4XXXX Gold logo. Kids run around playing footy with empty coke bottles and lifers bring their own ice boxes filled with home-brand soft drinks even on nine degree nights. It’s amazing. And yes, the chips are covered in chicken salt!” TREAT YOURSELF TO A PROPER HAIRCUT AT BAREBONES BARBERS “Barebones Barbers in Morningside is great," says Patience. "It’s an original barber shop run by fresh young blokes. Steve, one of the owners, was the last man in Australia to actually get qualified through a barber course; they’ve since pushed it into the hairdressing accreditation. He was trained up by the old bloke who used to own the place, and a year ago, he retired and left the shop for Steve to take over. Even if you don't need a haircut, just get one because these guys are the real deal — ex-ship makers and tradesmen who now find satisfaction in other people hair.”
The rise of the smartphone has seen the demise of the public telephone booth. Good riddance, you might say — those things were an eyesore anyway (and they didn't even have Instagram). But it's a bit of a different story in the UK; their fire engine-red phone booth are iconic cultural landmarks, and the streets of London just wouldn't look the same without 'em. So to stop them from entering extinction, New York co-working company Bar Works are looking to repurpose the booths into tiny on-street offices. It's not the first time someone has decided to give telephone boxes a new life — Berlin have turned theirs into a series of mini nightclubs — but it certainly seems like the most productive way to use them. Pod Works, which will be launching in London, Edinburgh and Leeds, will transform the phone booths into mini workstations for people who are working in the city and need a place to tap out some emails, make a call or prep for a meeting on the go. The pod 'offices' will be fully equipped with Wi-Fi and internet connections, a printer and scanner, a wireless mouse, a 25-inch screen, a hot drinks machine and a power source. Membership will cost £19.99 (roughly AUD $39) and will allow you to access the pods whenever you like through an app on your phone. "Entrepreneurs and others constantly on the move need a convenient, affordable and private place to work," said CEO Jonathan Black in a press release. "Why should they sit in Starbucks or any other coffee bar when using one of our Pods will allow them to truly focus on their job before an important meeting or presentation at less than the price of two cups of coffee a week?" If you've ever had to make an important Skype call in a loud cafe with shitty Wi-Fi (or had to endure someone else doing the same), you'll know that an insulated internet pod is exactly what this world needs. Telstra, please take note. Image: Negative Space.
It's a series about the squabbling children of a global media baron who, after their father's health takes an unexpected turn, start trying to position themselves as next in line to the empire. It's obviously set among the one percent, in lives of luxury and privilege that most folks will never know, too. But the idea that depiction doesn't equal endorsement is as rich in Succession as its always-bickering characters. Created by Peep Show's Jesse Armstrong — someone who knows more than a thing or two about black comedy — this Emmy, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics' Choice, Writers Guild and Directors Guild Award-winner is savagely witty, darkly biting and often laugh-out-loud funny about its chosen milieu. Succession also has one of the best casts currently on TV, and its stars keep picking up accolades and nominations that demonstrate just that. Brian Cox is as formidable as ever as family patriarch Logan Roy, but he's matched at every moment by Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin and Australian actor Sarah Snook as three of the four Roy children.
Autumn might be in full swing across Australia — whatever autumn looks like in your part of the country — but an endless summer now awaits. Fancy spending a year flying around the country, and the world, to various beach spots? Win Jetstar's latest giveaway and that's on your agenda. The Aussie airline is handing out a golden ticket — and, because it isn't Willy Wonka, there's no free chocolate involved. Instead, the carrier is gifting the lucky recipient a year's worth of free flights, although there is a limit to how much you can get soaring over a 12-month period. One person will receive up to $24,000 in Jetstar flights, which'll come in the form of 12 return flights to any beach within Australia, plus six international return flights — both for two people. So, if you win, your other half / bestie / sibling is going to want to start making holiday plans, too. Before you can go in the running for the contest, which is only open to over 18s, you need to start how Jetstar wants you to continue: by hitting up a local beach. Until Thursday, March 16, the airline is asking for your snaps — but where you'll need to head, when and what you'll need to do for your picture varies. On Saturday, March 11 in Melbourne, for instance, you'll need to head to Catani Gardens Beach in St Kilda between 10am–12pm. On Sunday, March 12 in Sydney, the same applies at Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club from 10am–12pm, too. At both spots, folks will find a pair of 14-karat gold trunks. And yes, that's what you'll need to take a photo of — a selfie, in fact — then upload it to Instagram Stories while tagging @JetstarAustralia #TheGoldenTicketTogs. Those shimmering swimmers won't be heading elsewhere, but residents of Canberra will still want to hit up Lake Burley Griffin from 9am–5pm on Monday, March 13 — and Adelaide inhabitants should make their way to Adelaide Oval from 9am–5pm on Tuesday, March 14. In Perth, you're going to City Beach from 9am–5pm on Wednesday, March 15. And southeast Queenslanders, including Brisbanites, have a date with the Pelican Beach boat ramp on the Gold Coast in their future from 9am–5pm on Thursday, March 16. Visit those togs-free spots in the ACT, SA, WA and Queensland, and you'll be looking for Golden Ticket Togs posters and billboards. Again, you'll need to take a pic, then upload to Instagram Stories while tagging @JetstarAustralia #TheGoldenTicketTogs. Jetstar advises that the most creative golden snap will win, so interpret that however you like. It'll then pick one per state/territory, and open up the ultimate winner to a public vote. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jetstar Australia (@jetstaraustralia) Jetstar's Golden Ticket Togs promotion runs on different dates in different states, closing with its Queensland leg on Thursday, March 16. Head to Jetstar's Instagram for further details, and the airline's website for terms and conditions. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
The year 2000 unleashed a man who shaped the world with his fearless, comical stupidity. We all remember the nonsensical outcry Jackass unleashed upon society. We all remember, the one, the only, Steve-O. He has drunk his own urine, jumped into a ceiling fan, ignited anal fireworks and snorted wasabi. He is the ball breaking, self mutilating comedian that shook the world with his unbelievable, painful humour. I thought he may have died a while back and MTV had been covering it up all this time, but I was wrong. Steve-O will be in Australia next week! Returning to unleash his particular style of stand up comedy and hilariously absurd stunts, there will be no limb spared. You never know what this guy might do. Will the Tivoli still be standing on May 25? Only time will tell.
If you have seen the new single, ‘Ballad of the War Machine’ from Midnight Juggernauts, you might not know what to think. The throw-back, surrealist video clip had tongues wagging and mouths salivating a few weeks back for the return of the Melbourne trio, yet no one expected their return to be this covert. Like Cold War-era secrets, information on the new Midnight Juggernauts material was kept secret, as different versions of the video were covertly distributed through blogs and discussion boards. The responses to this method of viral promotion were varied, yet the end result is a memorable experience that has only made anticipation grow in the bellies of fans. Since releasing their previous albums, Dystopia and The Crystal Axis, Midnight Juggernauts have been touring the globe before taking time off to gather inspiration for their next effort. If this lead single is anything to go by, Midnight Juggernauts will still be pushing boundaries and matching expectations. Their national tour takes in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne before the trio play at Groovin’ The Moo. Check out the clip for ‘Ballad of the War Machine’ here.
Dust off your petticoat and get your doublets out of the attic — because London's historic Globe Theatre is heading online. You can't currently visit the site itself, which was originally built by Shakespeare's playing company and housed his greatest works; however you can watch six of the Bard's plays performed on its stages thanks to Shakespeare's Globe On Screen. History buffs and Shakespeare enthusiasts alike now have the opportunity to soak in productions on the venue's YouTube channel, with a different pre-recorded performance made available every fortnight. And, checking out these acclaimed works won't cost you a cent, with the six plays streaming for free. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TuR24xhtYg Until Sunday, April 19, ponder whether to be or not to be with a 2018 production of Hamlet. Then, between Monday, April 20–Sunday, May 3, revisit the star-cross'd romance of Romeo and Juliet, as performed in 2009. The fortnight spanning Monday, May 4–Sunday, May 17 will be all about a 2013 version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, with The Two Noble Kinsmen (from 2018; streaming from Monday, May 18–Sunday May 31), The Winter's Tale (from 2018; streaming from Monday, June 1–Sunday, June 14) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (from 2019; streaming from Monday, June 15–Sunday, June 28) all following. Top images: John Wildgoose / Shakespeare's Globe.
Scotch and Sean Connery; the perfect pair. In theory they exist as separate beings, but together they are the kind of coupling that inspires relationships everywhere to be shaken, not stirred. Personally I've never had scotch before, nor can I recall a Sean Connery movie besides James Bond. However, just the name of this event has inspired me to mix up my Wednesday night plans, as if Mr Bond were whispering instructions in my ear. In order to accommodate for all the classy grown ups who prefer eating dinner before hitting the bar, Festival of the Scotch Night begins at an easy (if not oddly timed) 8.05pm with several artists performing acoustically: Matthew Colin, Jonathan Steedman, Dana Hock, Dom Miller, and Ned Guggenheim. The whole night is arranged around Sean’s preferences, so don’t even think about ordering something besides scotch or you mightn't be allowed to take home a signed picture. No promises, though. Just enjoy the scotch and relax, you silver fox, you.
If you're not the heiress of a Russian billionaire or a Victoria's Secret model, then it's probably unlikely that you have the spare cash to buy yourself a private island or hold your 21st birthday on one. Despair not. Do what you can to rustle up $1500 and you'll have the option of spending the night on a man-made island: Africa's first underwater hotel room. Opened as the Manta Resort's newest attraction on November 1, 2013, the subaquatic accommodation floats in a circular blue hole in the coral reef near Pemba Island, off the East Coast of Tanzania. The top floor — above sea-level — features an open-air deck where guests can relax, take in the idyllic Indian Ocean surroundings and soak up some sun or gaze at the stars. The bottom floor, submerged to the depth of four metres, is a bedroom, walled entirely in glass and affording dreamy views of passing sea-life. The nocturnal scenes, illuminated by spotlights, have been described as rather surreal. The vacation innovation was designed by Swedish installation artist and sculptor Mikael Genberg. He's the brains behind the Utter Inn, an underwater room built in a lake near Stockholm, and is currently contemplating putting a Swedish-style cottage on the moon. Funding was achieved via a newly formed company registered in Zanzibar, Genberg Art UW Limited, which represents a collaboration between several Swedish and Tanzanian investors, including Genberg Underwater Hotels, Christer and Jacky Abrahamsson, Hans Elis Johansson and Michael Wild. Via PSFK.
