Many an Aussie kid has spent a Saturday night hyped up on lime cordial spinning around their lounge room to Kylie Minogue. So, prep the cordial, and get ready to party like it's 2000 'cause the Aussie pop icon is heading back to home turf. While your inner child might be more familiar with her hits 'Spinning Around', 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' and that duo with Robbie Williams 'Kids', next year, Minogue is returning to Australia to perform songs off her just-released album Golden. Minogue was last here four years ago, in 2014, for her Kiss Me Once Tour, and now she's back, taking her Golden Tour for a spin around the country in March, 2019. As well as performing headline shows in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne, she'll also be performing at A Day on the Green in Perth, the Hunter Valley and Mount Cotton, Queensland. She'll be singing hits off her latest — and fourteenth — album Golden, which debuted at number one on the ARIA charts just this year. Featuring hits like 'Dancing' and 'Stop Me from Falling', the album has more of a country music-feel than her others, which is fitting, seeing it was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. On stage, Minogue will be joined by former Scissor Sisters frontman (now solo artist) Jake Sears at all shows and Brisbane artist Hatchie at A Day on the Green. Another special guest is expected to be announced soon, too. KYLIE MINOGUE 2019 'GOLDEN' TOUR DATES Sydney — ICC, March 5 Perth — A Day on the Green, Sir James Mitchell Park, March 9 Melbourne — Sidney Myer Music Bowl, March 13 Hunter Valley — A Day on the Green, Bimbadgen, March 16 Mount Cotton — A Day on the Green, Sirromet Wines, March 17 Tickets for capital city shows are available through Frontier Touring and A Day on the Green tickets are available through its website. Both go on sale at midday on Monday, November 19.
The lineup for Australia's most highly anticipated music festival, Splendour in the Grass, was announced early this morning via the Breakfast Show with Tom & Alex on Triple J. Headlining the 2011 edition of the festival, to be held at Woodfordia in South-East Queensland for the second time, are Kanye West, Coldplay, Jane's Addiction, Pulp and Regina Spektor. The full Splendour In The Grass 2011 lineup is as follows: Kanye West Coldplay Pulp Jane's Addiction Modest Mouse Gomez Elbow Friendly Fires The Living End Foster the People Regina Spektor (only show for 2011) The Hives Architecture in Helsinki Bliss 'n Eso Grouplove The Kills Glasvegas Cornershop The Vaccines The Mars Volta Mogwai DJ Shadow The Grates James Blake Eskimo Joe Cut Copy Boy and Bear Sparkadia Muscles The Jezabels Isobel Cambel and Mark Lanegan The Panics Jebadiah British Sea Power Seeker Lover Keeper Black Seeds Liam Finn Wild Beasts Garath Liddiard Lanie Lane Kan Festival dates: Friday 29th July to Sunday 31st July Tickets cost: $390 (inc gst) Event + $120 (inc gst) Camping + booking fees, which gives you entry to the festival for 3 days, from Friday 29 July to Sunday 31 July. Tickets go on sale at 9am AEST on Thursday 5 May. For more info visit the Splendour in the Grass site. https://youtube.com/watch?v=yQ7YTVop-hE
Back in 2007, Daft Punk played Brisbane's Riverstage. If you were there, you'll never forget it — and if you missed out, you'll never forget that, either. Now that the band has parted ways, no one will get that chance again, sadly. Head down to HOTA, Hone of the Arts on the Gold Coast, however, and you can pretend for one evening. Feel like scoring a dose of da funk on a Saturday night, losing yourself to dance and getting lucky? Of course you do. You'll be burnin' up the floor, getting derezzed and giving life back to music in no time from 6pm on Saturday, September 17, in fact — and if you do so harder, better, faster and stronger, you'll be doin' it right indeed. If you haven't guessed just who is in the spotlight at The Daft Punk Experience with Alternative Symphony, then you probably need to take your helmet off and prepare to give some of the best albums of the past two decades a spin one more time. There'll be robot rock, plenty of digital love and you might even think you've been around the world while you're throwing shapes. And, for this one-night-only gig, Alternative Symphony is playing Daft Punk's greatest hits with an orchestral spin. That means you'll be listening to the band's tracks as played by a full orchestra, assisted by DJs, drums, strings, horns, trumpets, live vocalists and MCs. It all takes place at HOTA's outdoor stage, with seven-metre-tall installation Alcazar will be in place — so dancing around it and inside it is also on the agenda. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmi60Bd4jSs
When you work in the most iconic building in the country, you need an eye-catching uniform to match. That'll soon be the case for the folks making sure that Sydney Opera House runs smoothly, with one of Australia's top designers given the task of coming up with their new threads. In Sydney to open Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia, Lee was named as the fashion figure responsible for Opera House's next uniforms, which will be worn by more than 600 staff. Working closely with the venue's employees over the next 12 months, he'll come up with a fresh look for their tour guides, box office and front-of-house attendants. Given his acclaimed architectural and sculptural aesthetic, he couldn't be a better fit for the job. Indeed, Lee has long admired — and been inspired by — the famous structure. "I first visited the Opera House as a child to see theatre and contemporary dance and I have been a regular ever since," he said. "Meeting the needs of the Opera House's very diverse workforce and making sure the clothes combine elegance and utility, inspiration and practicality is critical. It is important that a cultural icon such as the Opera House projects an image that parallels the architecture of the building." Since 2010, Lee has displayed his wares at the Opera House on four occasions, starting in 2010 when he became the first designer to show in the Concert Hall Northern Foyer, and including this year's headlining Fashion Week show. Long pegged as one of the country's hottest young design talents, over the past seven years he has won the Woolmark Designer Award at Melbourne Fashion Week, the Qantas Spirit of Youth Award, and Best Designer awards for GQ and Marie Claire magazines, as well as designing a range for Target. Images: Dion Lee's 2010 Fashion Week show / Bowen Arico.
Kraken Rum is giving UK bartenders the chance to mix drinks at the mother of all pop-up bars. The Black Ink Society will be hosting a bar at the Red Sand Sea Forts, a lonely 14km off the coast of Kent, for one day only on October 14. Hopeful bartenders will compete in the Think Ink competition for the chance to strut their stuff in the creepy abandoned pillboxes. The Red Sand Sea Forts were built during World War II as anti-aircraft defences and fell into disuse after the war. They were occupied by various pirate radio stations during the 1960s, but have since been abandoned and fallen into the depths of dilapidation. But Kraken Rum wants to change that. They want to restore the forts to their former glory — then throw a huge party in them. The competition itself carries only one proviso — in order to be considered a cocktail "as dark as the Kraken’s ink", bartenders must use at least 35ml of Kraken Black Spiced Rum. Otherwise, competitors are free to go for broke by mixing their own concoction in order to secure their place at this "unique, if terrifying" shindig. The finals are to be held on October 8. Via www.psfk.com. Picture by Russ Garrett.
What happens when New Zealand's own Rose Matafeo (Baby Done) takes on British romantic comedies? In 2021, the answer was Starstruck. It's the rom-com sitcom that doesn't just fit the genre, but also loves it, unpacks it, and knows how to adapt its tropes in a smart and hilarious way. In fact, it was a delight in its first season, and then again in its second run in 2022. Here's hoping that when September rolls around, it'll prove the same once more in season three. One of the best of new shows of its debut year and best returning series of its second year, Starstruck was renewed for a third shot of love in London last year — and now the latest season arrives when romance is usually in the air, aka spring Down Under. This time, Matafeo's Jessie is single after breaking up with famous actor Tom (Nikesh Patel, Four Weddings and a Funeral), and now navigating what that all means. No matter who's starring in them, when and where they're set, and whether they're showing on the big or small screen, romantic comedies do adore telling tales about trying to hold onto a good thing. Two people meet, fall for each other — whether immediately or eventually — and work through whatever it takes to enjoy their romantic bliss: that's it, that's the genre's familiar formula. It's a setup that TV series Starstruck has been both adhering to and interrogating over its run so far, too, but the show is branching out narrative-wise when it returns in Australia via ABC iView from 9.30pm on Wednesday, September 6 and in New Zealand via TVNZ+ from 8.30pm on Saturday, September 2. If you're new to the series, New Zealander Jessie didn't realise that Tom was so well-known when they met. Once she was aware, that fact was inescapable as they tried to make their fairy tale relationship work. And yes, before the show entered its post-Tom era (although he still pops up) as its just-dropped season-three trailer notes, Matafeo — who stars, writes and created the series — well and truly knew that Notting Hill got there first. To-date, the series has proven a wonderful showcase for Matafeo, and also a savvily smart exploration of rom-com tropes as well, embracing and subverting them as needed. Nodding to romantic comedies such as The Graduate, Love Actually and Bridget Jones' Diary has also come with the territory, amusingly, affectionately and astutely so. Matafeo co-writes Starstruck with fellow comedians Alice Snedden and Nic Sampson, with Matafeo and Snedden also directing the third season. Check out the trailer for Starstruck season three below: Starstruck season three will stream in Australia via ABC iView from 9.30pm on Wednesday, September 6 and in New Zealand via TVNZ+ from 8.30pm on Saturday, September 2. Starstruck's first and second seasons are available to stream in Australia via ABC iView and in New Zealand via TVNZ+. Read our full review of Starstruck's first season — and our full review of its second season, too. Images: Mark Johnson/HBO Max.
One very visionary, mad-scientist type of ice-cream maker, Britain's Charlie Francis of Lick Me I'm Delicious, recently had a sudden flash of inspiration while casually reading a research paper on the properties of underwater invertebrates (as you do). Why don't I hire a Chinese scientist to synthesise luminescent jellyfish protein with ice cream?, he mused. It all seemed so blindingly obvious. And thus, just in time for Halloween, a spooky glow-in-the-dark ice cream was born. So how does it work? The chemically recreated, calcium-activated protein, sourced from jellyfish, suffuses the dairy delight with an unmistakable iridescence, far stronger than the subtle blue glow of quinine. (Were you even aware that quinine has a fluorescent quantum yield that's visible under a UV light? That's fancy-talk for it glows in the dark. Your humble gin and tonic can glow in the dark.) Adorably, the pH of your tongue affects the protein, such that the ice-cream grows more luminous the more you lick it. Just like the beautiful phosphorescence you might have seen at night on a tropical holiday — tiny specks of plankton that glow whenever waves break over them. The cost of a scoop of this insane novelty experience? A mere $225. We don't think it will appear at Gelato Messina anytime soon, but we are hoping that the trend for glowing food catches on, and brings the price down so we can all have more fun when the lights go out. In the meantime, Francis offers a much cheaper gin and tonic-flavoured sorbet, using the above mentioned high-tech quinine technology. Just imagine all the types of dessert innovation this invention could catalyse. Francis has a lot of other exciting plans and ideas for future treats, including "invisible ice cream". Could this have anything to do with recent developments on the light-bending invisibility cloak front? We can but speculate. His blog gives a shout-out to any scientist interested in helping with the project, so if you're of such a stripe, get involved. Dessert-lovers of the world need you. Via PSFK.
The top level of Chermside shopping centre is undergoing quite the revamp, with Event Cinemas sporting a hefty makeover (complete with a glam new bar) and boozy mini golf venue Holey Moley opening its doors onsite. Come March, they'll also have company thanks to the first Brisbane Hijinx Hotel — the OTT challenge room bar concept that's been winning fans in Sydney and, since December 2022, in Surfers Paradise. If you're new to Hijinx Hotel, which hails from Funlab — the company behind Strike, Holey Moley, Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq, and B Lucky and Sons — we have a few questions that explain the idea. What looks like it takes its design cues from The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Shining's Overlook Hotel and Willy Wonka's chocolate factory? What gives the escape-room concept a game-fuelled twist and drips with nostalgia as well? What also combines all of the above with cocktails for the ultimate in kidulting fun? This is Funlab's adult-focused twist on sleuthing your way through various spaces with a beverage or several in your hand, inviting patrons to play and sip your way through it. It'll open its doors at Chermside on Friday, March 31, forming a mini game-fuelled — and 350-person-capacity — precinct alongside Holey Moley. Instead of escaping at Hijinx Hotel, patrons hit up challenges. So, the Chermside venue will spans ten game rooms filled with entertaining things to do. That'll include two brand-new spaces that haven't been seen at other sites: Battleship, based on the submarine-themed game, which'll involve trying to sink ships for points; and Cute as a Button, a new version of its Who Meme game, where you'll solve cartoon puzzles that feature characters from your childhood. Chermside will also get the Big-style piano room with a giant keyboard across the floor, ball pits and a giant version of Scrabble. Basically, the whole concept is a bar decked out like a hotel, but getting attendees to complete challenges rather than get a-slumbering in its various spaces. It also gleans inspiration from all those supremely Instagrammable pop-up installations that include ball pits, but this one is sticking around Brissie permanently. And, it boasts bars for cocktail-drinking opportunities, nods to New York hotels in its facade, and just generally overflows with homages to movies and board games from the 80s and 90s. Shaking off your regular routine is clearly the name of the game here, and partying like you would've before you were old enough to drink alcohol — but with the hard stuff definitely on offer. That all starts when you enter via the faux hotel lobby bar, which is full of colour and surrealist touches. Instead of merely checking in, though, that's where you'll find cocktails. As for the not-quite-hotel rooms themselves, you gain access by heading to reception t0 pick up a swipe card. Also a highlight: those creative cocktails, breaking up all that kidulting with drinks like the Bubble and Pop and the Penthouse Party. Some of the venue's tipples are designed to share, most of them look ace on your Instagram feed, and there's also a range of non-alcoholic drinks — and food to line your stomach. When Hijinx Hotel opens at Chermside, it'll see Funlab boast 14 venues across Queensland, all aiming to make you forget your age. Find Hijinx Hotel at Chermside shopping centre, on the corner Gympie and Hamilton roads, Chermside, from Friday, March 31. For further information in the interim, keep an eye on the Hijinx Hotel website. Images: Mitch Lowe / Zenniesha Butts / Funlab.
There's no shortage of venues around Brisbane that aim to make their patrons feel like they're somewhere beyond the River City, whether spiriting your tastebuds to France via bites to eat, to Japan at an izakaya or to Bora Bora thanks to themed mini golf. The next with that mission: Enigma. There's no mystery around its influences, with the new Fortitude Valley nightclub taking inspiration from Ibiza, Miami and Las Vegas — all in a spot on Brunswick Street that boasts a $9.3-million fitout. Opening on Friday, August 2, 2024, then operating on Friday and Saturday nights onwards, Enigma wants to wow Brisbanites before they even step foot through the door — and as soon as they do as well. Befitting the Vegas nods, it features an LED walkway that will get the entrance glowing, then clubgoers once you get inside. Visuals also accompany the beats inside, in a space that adds to the Hallmark Hospitality Group's stable of sites around southeast Queensland. Maggie May, Lefty's Music Hall, The Lord Alfred and Hey Chica! are among the company's fellow venues in Brisbane. Retro's and Finn McCool's have locations both here and on the Gold Coast. And the latter is also home to The Cavill Hotel, Sandbar, Lost Kingdom and Asylum — while Hallmark is also behind The Spotted Cow in Toowoomba. "It targets those seeking an escape, blending music, performances and technology to craft a dynamic, unforgettable night," said the organisation's Cade Hopman of Enigma. "We have seen Fortitude Valley go from strength to strength in recent years. There is a strong appetite for those clubbing experiences locals travel far and wide to take part in. The time is right and we are going all out to elevate the Brisbane club scene." Enigma's resident tune-spinners include Tasha Lee, Curdin, SF Fudge, Sophie Bridges, Nestor Vargas and Apolloco, setting the mood whether you're hitting the dance floor or hanging out in the seven booths surrounding the DJ in the VIP area. As for the drinks options, classics such as margaritas, Long Island iced teas, Aperol spritzes and espresso martinis sit alongside the club's signature sip. Opt for The Enigma and you'll be drinking vodka, white rum, gin, blue curacao and raspberry, plus Red Bull. Find Engima at 299 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, from Friday, August 2, 2024 — open from 9pm–4am Friday–Saturday. Head to the venue's website for more details.
Over Easter, KFC spread some paschal cheer — and some of its finger lickin' good fried chicken — with free delivery. This weekend mightn't be a special occasion or include any public holidays, but now it's McDonald's turn to share the fast food love. If you're craving a Quarter Pounder or a box of chicken McNuggets and you don't fancy leaving the house, Maccas is offering free home delivery on orders over $25 via UberEats. The limited-time offer is available nationwide and runs until Sunday, April 19. To get your hands on a burg, some fries, a Happy Meal, McFlurry or a hot fudge sundae — or anything else on the chain's regular menu — with no extra delivery cost, head to UberEats' website or use the UberEats app and enter the code MACCASWEEKEND. The entire transaction will be contact-free, including when it hits your doorstep. And, if you're after a few household staples, Maccas is also delivering milk, plus six-packs of English muffins and its gourmet buns. Or, of course, you can ignore whatever time of day it is and go straight for a McMuffin, hash brown and some hot cakes. McDonalds is offering free delivery across Australia on orders over $25 made via UberEats, with the special available until Sunday, April 19. To order, head here and use the code MACCASWEEKEND. Images: McDonalds.
The lines between physical and virtual are blurring at Brisbane Powerhouse, with the iconic arts centre announcing their first digital-centric festival, IRL, to take place in May 2015. A convergence of live arts and gaming culture, IRL (as in, 'in real life') bridges the gap between the venue’s performance focus and the changing online landscape. The festival aims to create unique multimedia experiences and celebrate the increasingly interactive, interconnected realm that now encompasses all arts endeavours. Artistic director Kris Stewart, who has been at the helm of Brisbane Powerhouse since July 2013, said the festival is being developed to embrace and enable the new wave of national and international digital creatives. Thinking local and acting global, IRL will harness the power of leading Queensland-based organisations such as Queensland University of Technology, The Edge, Halfbrick Studios, Brisbane International Game Developers Association (brIGDA) and The Cube, as well as showcasing international partnerships with The Sundance Institute (home of the Sundance Film Festival), Electrofringe and LA-artists I Am 8 Bit. Further programming and curatorial decisions are still in development, with more details to be announced closer to the event. Organised and hosted by Brisbane Powerhouse, from 2015 IRL will sit alongside the World Theatre Festival, Brisbane Comedy Festival, Brisbane Queer Film Festival, Queensland Cabaret Festival and children’s festival Powerkids in the venue’s annual calendar of festivals.
It's impossible to watch a movie directed by Wong Kar-Wai and mistake it for the work of another filmmaker. As he has kept proving over his 33-year career to-date, his work is just that distinctive. And while the opposite is true, too — no one will ever confuse a movie helmed by someone else for one of Wong's efforts — his influence on cinema and his peers is evident in every neon-hued tale of yearning, every mesmerising and aching love story that says as much through its imagery as it does with dialogue, and plenty of martial arts fare as well. Wong makes films to luxuriate in — to truly feast your eyes upon — and, unsurprisingly, the Gallery of Modern Art wants to celebrate that fact, and his work. Accordingly, it's teaming up with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and Sydney Film Festival to present touring program Love & Neon: The Cinema of Wong Kar-Wai. It showcases 11 of the filmmaker's titles, surveying his entire career, and will screen in Brisbane from Friday, April 30–Sunday, May 16. In the Mood for Love is on the bill, of course, but it isn't the only movie worth checking out on the silver screen. You can also see his debut feature As Tears Go By; Chungking Express, which is inspired by a Haruki Murakami short story; and the touching Happy Together — plus the rebellious Days of Being Wild, the gorgeous 2046, and Wong's first English-language film My Blueberry Nights. Or, there's also his two martial arts epics: Ashes of Time: Redux and The Grandmaster. You'll be watching restored versions of most of the above, too, including glorious 4K restorations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfbLJh7-hQY
UPDATE, March 11, 2022: Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is available to stream via Netflix, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Every Tarantino film has one: an image that so impeccably captures its essence, it instantly symbolises the movie as a whole. In Reservoir Dogs, it arrived via a slow-walking crew of criminals. In Pulp Fiction, it came in the form of a twisting Uma Thurman and John Travolta. In Inglourious Basterds, it could only be Melanie Laurent's unflinching act of rebellion. They're the sights that blaze fiercely with the spirit of their respective pictures, all while burning themselves into viewers' retinas. Set in 1969, as the swinging sixties came to an end and Charles Manson altered Los Angeles forever, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood boasts one also. The honour goes to Margot Robbie's stellar portrayal of Sharon Tate as she sits in a cinema, watching 1968's The Wrecking Crew with a paying audience, and delighting at the crowd's response to her performance. Crosscut with the antics of Once Upon a Time In Hollywood's two other sublime leads — Leonardo DiCaprio in charmingly crumbling mode as fading TV star Rick Dalton, and Brad Pitt as his stunt double and best buddy Cliff Booth — the movie-going scene ranks among Robbie's longest in the film. The lack of dialogue she utters throughout the picture compared to her male co-stars has sparked some backlash, but it's unwarranted. This is a flick that cuts to the core of its leading lady again and again. Here, Robbie's version of Tate is excited and radiant as she soaks in her cinema experience. In a savvy touch, Tarantino uses genuine snippets from The Wrecking Crew to let everyone soak in the actual Tate, too. And, as we watch Robbie both playing Tate and watching Tate, we feel the character's nerves and exuberance, and understand what's running through her heart and mind. Moreover, we do so while knowing that her real-life fate couldn't clash more starkly with this moment. It's a startlingly layered scene — all the more so after seeing what comes next — but that's Tarantino's ninth stint as a director in general. It's also warm and thoughtful, in a movie that similarly earns that description. Although such a tone contrasts with the filmmaker's usual hectic, stylised, talky vibe, it shouldn't come as a shock. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood sports a fairytale title, and basks in the glow of Tinseltown from five decades ago. Tarantino fashions a love letter to a period that has definitely passed by, as lensed in sunny hues by his regular cinematographer Robert Richardson. However the picture's feel has another flavour and meaning, as does the energy emanating from Tate's time staring at the big screen. A film of hope, lament, farewell and recognition all in one, it realises that spying the past through rose-coloured lenses and yearning for its comfort amidst upheaval is inevitable. It also knows something just as important: that change is equally inescapable. Long past his prime-time heyday and only just beginning to realise it between drinks, Dalton isn't coping well with his own evolving status. When a producer (Al Pacino) tells him that he keeps being cast as television villains to bolster the next generation of heroes, and that he should get into spaghetti westerns instead, the actor doesn't take the blunt disclosure well. As Dalton tries to prove that he's capable of more (to himself, mainly), Booth rolls with the punches, despite his own bleak professional prospects. Lately, he's a driver, gofer and righthand man to his famous pal, rather than his stand-in, yet little fazes him. When Dalton starts bubbling with enthusiasm over his new neighbours, Tate and her husband Roman Polanski, Booth barely seems to care. And, when he picks up a hippie hitchhiker (a scene-stealing Margaret Qualley) who's part of Manson's (Damon Herriman) flower child entourage, he enters their unnerving world without breaking a sweat. History dictates where Once Upon a Time In Hollywood ends up, in a manner. In the revisionist mode that served Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight so well, Tarantino dictates the specific details within his admittedly slim narrative, as well as the time spent luxuriating in them. With no disrespect to his previous films, he's at his most intricate, mature and laidback, crafting a picture — and people within it — that audiences want to spend as much time with as possible. Filled as it is with movies within the broader movie, comic flashbacks and stars galore (such as Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Timothy Olyphant, Bruce Dern, Dakota Fanning, Lena Dunham, Luke Perry and Maya Hawke), it's easy to fall in step with the film's rambling pace, enjoying each moment as it arises. Incessantly keen to splash his affection for celluloid history across the screen as always, Tarantino is in his element recreating Hollywood's golden days, its big names and LA's gleaming sights, and nodding to westerns once again. But, befitting a flick about weathering seismic personal, cultural and societal shifts, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is a glorious character piece first and foremost. Tate, Dalton and Booth remain the key to the film, and the driving force behind its hangout air. With the often dancing, smiling Tate, Tarantino presents a self-possessed woman content in her skin and life, yet at threat by the darkening tides around her. Through Dalton and Booth, a duo with as many grin-inducing gifts as firm flaws, he finds fractures — some glaring, some hidden — in their facades that mirror the world around them. Exceptional performances assist — including the overflowing delights of pairing up DiCaprio and Pitt for the first time — but perhaps Once Upon a Time In Hollywood's smartest move comes from building such compelling, revealing, deeply felt characters. The film has character, too. Roving leisurely and unravelling shaggily, it waits a beat to notice a woman's bare feet on a sun-dappled car dashboard. It peers down at an ostensibly abandoned ranch once used for western TV shoots, relishing its beauty even in a display of tension and menace. It revels in the humour of showing Booth jump onto Dalton's bungalow roof in just three bounds, and later during his face-off against Bruce Lee (Mike Moh). These types of flourishes give the movie a different kind of character to Tarantino's usual oeuvre. He's more assured and ambitious, less ego-driven and gimmicky, and more judicious with his expertly choreographed violence and witty banter. Again, that's no slight to a fantastic filmography that also spans Jackie Brown, Kill Bill and Death Proof, but the change of pace suits the writer-director, the era he's wading through and his chosen story perfectly. It also shapes what just might be his best work yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsL_spv4yEw
When international art collective teamLab launched Borderless, its Tokyo-based permanent digital-only art museum, the dazzling space became the most-visited single-artist site in the world in just its first year of operation. Wherever the outfit pops up — be it in Shanghai oil tanks, Japanese hot springs or Melbourne — its installations are always hugely popular. So it's no wonder that the group is expanding its footprint by opening more permanent locations. Late in 2019, teamLab launched a new venue in Shanghai, which is also called Borderless. Come this March, it's also opening a museum called SuperNature in Macao. Located at The Venetian Macao, the latter site will sprawl over 5000 square metres, filling the space with the kind of immersive, interactive installations that have gathered the collective of artists, programmers, engineers, animators, mathematicians and architects such a devoted following. [caption id="attachment_758086" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] teamLab. Expanding Three-Dimensional Existence in Transforming Space - Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors, Free Floating, 2018, Interactive Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi © teamLab[/caption] In good news for anyone who has visited a teamLab venue or installation previously, SuperNature will also include a selection of brand new works — although, even if you're a seasoned teamLab visitor, these are the types of pieces that you can visit over and over and never get bored. Much will look familiar, playing with concepts and designs that the collective is clearly drawn to, such as floating balls, projected flowers and animals, and other kaleidoscopic imagery Chief among the highlights is The Infinite Crystal Universe, which uses light points, pointillism-style, to create three-dimensional objects. While you're interacting with the piece, you can use your phone to select the elements that make up the universe. The artwork will also response to the presence of people, as most of teamLab's installations do. [caption id="attachment_758090" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] teamLab. The Clouds that Self-Organize, 2019, experimental photo of the new artwork © teamLab[/caption] Then there's Massless Clouds Between Sculpture and Life, which plays out just as its title suggests. In this installation, giant clouds will float between the floor and the ceiling — and even when you walk through them, breaking them up, they'll form back into shape. Also on the bill: Mountain of Flowers and People: Lost, Immersed and Reborn, which'll let digital flowers bloom and change with the seasons, and Expanding Three-Dimensional Existence in Transforming Space — Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors, Free Floating, where bouncing spheres float above visitors, changing colour when they're touched. Like Borderless, SuperNature will also feature an Athletics Park, where you'll really get physical traversing graffiti-covered valleys, climbing a ropes course, scaling a light forest, jumping or playing hopscotch, as well as an educational, kid-focused Future Park. Located in the resort hotel's Cotai Expo Hall F, and set up like a labyrinth — making you wander around and around to find all of its nooks and crannies — SuperNature will welcome visitors through the doors from January 21 for previews ahead of its official opening date. Find teamLab SuperNature at Cotai Expo Hall F, The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, Estrada da Baía de N. Senhora da Esperança, s/n, Taipa, Macao SAR, P.R. China from a yet-to-be-revealed date in March. It'll be open from 10am–10pm daily. Images: teamLab. teamLab is represented by Pace Gallery.
Camping is an excellent way to get away from the buzz of city living, to slow things down and reconnect with nature. While you may be stripping back to the very basics, that doesn't mean your menu has to be — even if options can feel limited when figuring out what to eat around the campfire. To help you out, we've whipped up a full menu of tasty camp cooking hacks and tips to make your next outdoor trip a culinary delight. With a little bit of prep and a few handy tools, these meal ideas won't make you feel limited by your outdoor camping kitchen. Treat yourself to these easy, delicious dishes no matter where you are. BREAKFAST Paper Bag Bacon and Eggs Love camping, but hate washing up? This is the perfect no-fuss breakfast for your next rendezvous with the great outdoors. All you need to do is rub the inside of a paper bag with bacon to grease it, then line the bottom with a few strips of bacon, creating a nest for your eggs. Crack one or two eggs into the bag, fold the top down a few times, then poke a hole through the fold and put a stick through to hold the bag over the fire — though not so close that your breakfast bursts into flames (which can happen, so take care). Your bacon and eggs should take around five to seven minutes to cook, depending on how crispy you like your bacon and how soft your eggs. Make sure you have a bit of paper towel underneath the bag as you eat, otherwise you may end up with a nice greasy patch on your pants. Hot tip: Take your eggs and bacon to the next level by adding add some mushrooms or spinach. Campfire Blueberry-Orange Muffins For something pretty special for your next camping breakfast, we recommend breaking out these special muffins. All you'll need is twelve oranges and some blueberry muffin pre-mix from the supermarket. Make up your muffin mix in a jug so it's easy to handle, slice the oranges in half and scoop out the flesh (which you can save for your camping sangria — more on that below). Pour the muffin mix into one orange cup, then top with the other emptied half. Wrap each orange in a layer or two of al foil, and rest them on some hot coals just next to the flames. Turn each wrapped orange over every minute or so for about ten minutes until they're cooked through. Unwrap and enjoy. [caption id="attachment_630716" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flickr/brenneman.[/caption] LUNCH Campfire Nachos The secret to making exceptional nachos is all in the layers. Making these nachos is super easy with a good camp oven and your preferred ingredients: tortilla chips, cheese, tinned black beans, tinned tomato, avocado, coriander, shallots, lime, salsa and more cheese. Start with a hefty layer of chips, followed by black beans, salsa, shallots, tomatoes and cheese, then repeat. Cook over the fire, so the cheese melts and the ingredients are warmed through. If you have an esky, bring some sour cream to add on top post-cooking, and unless you're a fan of warm avocado, top with avo and coriander as well. Finish off with fresh lime. Camping Toasted Sandwiches Few things hit the spot better than a gooey, melty toasted sandwich — especially when it's infused with some campfire smokiness. Bring a great jaffle iron, some bread and the fillings of your choice, and you're in business. If you don't have a jaffle iron, you can achieve similar results with foil and a skillet, or by cooking straight on the pan with some oil to stop your sandwiches from sticking. Filling options can range from roast chicken, swiss cheese and avocado to gruyere and blue cheese with fig jam. DINNER Campfire Potatoes Cold nights call for toasty warm, wintry food, and you can't go past campfire-cooked potatoes. As you fry up the spuds, the campfire will add a highly delicious smokey flavour. Warm up your camp oven by resting it over the fire on a tripod or straight on some hot coals. Slice brown onion into rings, and add them to your pan or camp oven with some minced garlic. Get those bits sizzling, as you cut your spuds into slices about half a centimetre thick. Toss the potatoes and a handful of diced bacon in with the onion and garlic, then pop on the lid, stirring every five minutes to make sure nothing sticks. Once everything's cooked, top your smokey, meaty, potatoes with that sour cream you brought for the nachos. Camp Oven Pizza Make sure you have plenty of hot coals for this one; it takes around 20 minutes to bake through. For ease's sake, grab some pre-made pizza dough — or prep some dough beforehand if you have a good recipe. Line the bottom of the camp oven with baking paper so that some paper sticks up on the sides, and press your dough in. Top with sauce, cheese and whatever toppings you fancy, put the lid on, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is golden and dough is cooked through. Using the extra baking paper on the sides, lift your pizza out, slice and dig in. [caption id="attachment_630717" align="alignnone" width="1920"] @racheena.[/caption] DESSERT Campfire S'more Cones Bring along some some waffle cones for an easier-to-eat, more decadent take on the s'more. Fill the cones with marshmallows, chocolate chips, chopped nuts, almond slices, coconut, peanut butter and anything else you can think of, and wrap each cone tightly in foil. Roasting them in the fire takes a bit of balancing skill, as you'll want to roast them upright if possible. Leave them near the fire for about five minutes. The al foil shouldn't get hot, but if the cones are too hot to hold, use tongs to hold them, or MacGyver some kind of cone holder. Ten points of the latter. Baileys Marshmallows This is straightforward excellence. Toast your marshmallows as usual, and once they're golden and gooey, dip them in Baileys. That's all there is to it — be warned though, things can get a bit messy. Best for each person to have their own little mug of Baileys for sipping and dipping. DRINKS Campsite Sangria Be the hero of the campsite with this boozy, fruity sangria. The night before you head off camping, add fruits like the orange flesh from the muffins, apples, peaches, strawberries and blueberries, plus a quarter cup of vodka to a large mason jar. Fill the rest of the jar with white wine, and leave to sit overnight. Once you arrive at the campsite, you'll have the perfect mix to combine with ginger ale and lemonade. Speedy Mulled Wine Mulled wine at a campfire is mighty fine, but there's a lot of fussing around with sugar, cinnamon and spices, plus the mulling time. Keep things simple with two easy ingredients: cinnamon tea and port. Use a billy can to brew up some of the spicy tea, which is as simple as steeping cinnamon quills in water. Once the tea is sufficiently brewed and hot, fill mugs halfway and top off with port. The sweetness of the port balances out the cinnamon tea to add some extra warmth at night.
Think opera, and a particular picture probably comes to mind; however there's more to the art form than melodic melodramas. Take Opera Queensland's latest production as an example. From July 14 to 29, they're going gothic with Ruddigore, or the Witch's Curse! — and amusing as well. An opera that combines history with hilarity, Ruddigore was penned by Gilbert & Sullivan back in the late 19th century, first performed in 1887, and ranks as the tenth of their 14 comic operas. Here, a farmer must try to escape a wicked curse — and ghosts — so that he can be with the woman he loves. Sounds like a cheeky comedic romp with just the right amount of eccentric touches, right? That's what's in store at QPAC's Playhouse under the direction of Lindy Hume. Those keen on really getting in the swing of things can also attend an opening night feast, which includes an exclusive presentation and a two-course meal. Image: Opera Queensland.
Famed South Australian wine region the Barossa is about to move even higher up on your post-COVID-19 travel list, with Seppeltsfield winery announcing a new six-star hotel to open in early 2022. Named after innovative winemaker Oscar Benno Seppelt, the proposed Oscar Seppeltsfield will bring super-luxe accomodation to the area, which will make it more than just an epicurean's dream destination — so start planning your lavish out-of-iso trip now (just don't pack your bags yet). The $50-million development will be surrounded by century-old vines and feature 70 rooms — including penthouses and suites, each with a private balcony — as well as a fine dining restaurant, private dining room, boardroom, fitness studio, day spa and infinity pool. To top it off, there'll be a sky bar with sweeping 360-degree views over the Barossa. In short, this opulent hotel will take your next trip to new heights (literally). Just think, after hitting up a bunch of cellar doors, sipping local vinos and eating lots of cheese, you can come back and have a dip in the pool, sip more wine at the rooftop bar then sit down to a white-tablecloth dinner. If you're looking for indulgence, this is it. Designed by Adelaide-based firm Intro Architecture, the towering 12-storey design was inspired by wine barrels and is set to bring a modern edge to Seppeltstfield, which is one of Australia's oldest wineries and was lauded as one of the top 50 vineyards in the world in 2019. The new hotel also looks a lot like La Cité du Vin in Bordeaux, also one of the world's most prestigious wine destinations. Oscar Seppeltsfield is slated to open at Seppeltsfield Winery's Great Terraced Vineyard, Barossa Valley, SA, in early 2020.
UPDATE, May 13, 2022: Due to Brisbane's wet weather, Regional Flavours has been cancelled for 2022. The event's organised have advised that "it is with great sadness that we announce the cancellation of Regional Flavours 2022. This decision was not made lightly and ultimately took into account patron, stallholder, talent and staff safety given the current weather forecast and conditions." Ticketholders will receive automatic refunds via Oztix. If you're a Brisbanite who's fond of hitting up the city's festivals, the next few months are shaping up to be big — with Stones Corner Festival, Big Gay Day, Teneriffe Festival, Pinot Palooza and Paniyiri all returning before winter hits. Also joining them is Regional Flavours, and it's back to its three-day, once-a-year format. So, get ready to eat and drink your way around South Bank in a huge way. The dates you need to block out in your diary: Friday, May 13–Sunday, May 15. And if you've flocked to this South Brisbane event before, you'll know that you won't be leaving feeling hungry or thirsty. For more than a decade, Regional Flavours has been the inner-city precinct's signature food and wine festival for good reason, even in 2021 when it broke up its usual festivities into separate mini fests. You can't beat the full experience, though, obviously. The main attraction here: bites and booze. To take care of both, there'll be farmers, graziers, growers, winemakers, brewers, distillers and artisan producers hailing from both Queensland and Australia, all onsite to showcase their wares. That's what the jam-packed market part of the South Bank event will serve up — but there'll also be cooking demonstrations, masterclasses, a gin lovers' experience, and a significant focus on farm-to-fork sustainability. And, a whole heap of culinary stars will take to the fest's three stages as well. Chefs doing the honours include Georgia Barnes, Khanh Ong, Courtney Roulston, Miguel Maestre, Peter Kuruvita and Alastair McLeod, as well as the folks behind a range of Brisbane restaurants — including from Otto, Paper Daisy, Stanley, Agnes, Golden Pig, Rosmarino and Essa. If you're keen to learn more about bush tucker and slow food, Dale Chapman is on the bill as well — and to give the whole fest a soundtrack, DJs will be spinning live tunes and live music will be played across three venues. This year's Regional Flavours also has a theme: 'the ultimate grazing table'. And yes, that sounds exactly like what you'll be doing as you munch your way around South Bank, stopping only to soak in the riverside view while you eat and drink. Regional Flavours returns to South Bank between Friday, May 13–Sunday, May 15. For further details, head to the event's website.
For more than a decade, a movie version of Monopoly has been mooted, but hasn't yet reached screens. There's no need to hope for a Jumanji-style big-screen take on the game, however. Instead, from Wednesday, November 15 in Melbourne, you can just head to Monopoly Dreams and enjoy playing your way through Australia's first theme park-esque Monopoly experience. Here, the property-buying family favourite is no longer just a game: it's an immersive 1700-square-metre attraction. Monopoly Dreams is already open in Hong Kong, making the Aussie venue only the second in the world. Initially slated to launch in October, it's now officially ready to welcome in Monopoly lovers. If you're wondering what happens when the game that's caused many a childhood dispute — and plenty more between adults as well — makes the bricks-and-mortar leap on Melbourne Central's lower ground level, that's as understandable as being annoyed about being sent directly to jail. The answer isn't just a life-sized version of the game that everyone has played more than once. Rather, the venue is taking a chance on bringing Monopoly elements beyond the board, building a Monopoly city that includes water works, the electric company, the bank and Mr Monopoly's mansion. Yes, there is indeed a jail. Presumably you don't go directly there upon entering, but you can get your mugshot taken within its walls. When you walk through the doors, you'll also find carnival games. It wouldn't be an attraction based on a board game if playing games wasn't a big part of the setup, of course. Expect challenges as well — and, in the mansion, there'll also be a vault and gallery, alongside a 4D cinema screening a movie about Mr Monopoly and his dog Scottie touring Melbourne locations — plus the opportunity to create your own customised Monopoly title deed. For bites to eat, patrons can hit up the Monopoly cafe. And if all this Monopoly talk has you wanting to play Monopoly or buy Monopoly merchandise, Monopoly Dreams will also feature Australia's first and only dedicated Monopoly store. Catering for audiences of all ages — so, you'll have kids for company, but it's open for adults without children in tow — Monopoly Dreams will take visitors around 60–90 minutes to enjoy the full experience. "The opening of Monopoly Dreams has been highly anticipated by Monopoly fans since the news broke that we'd be making Melbourne our home," said Monopoly Dreams General Manager Mark Connolly. "We are absolutely thrilled to now be opening the doors and welcoming guests into the incredible world of Mr Monopoly." Monopoly Dreams will open on Wednesday, November 15 at Melbourne Central, Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. Head to the venue's website for tickets and further details.
Sisters Grimm do not make theatre the way you might usually think of theatre. The trashtastic Melbourne satirists (also known as Ash Flanders and Declan Green) staged their DIY 2010 theatre piece Little Mercy in a car park and 2012's Summertime in the Garden of Eden in a suburban garage — and got rave reviews for both. So much so that the anti-establishmentarians have gone establishment, in the nicest possible way, as the Sydney Theatre Company is bringing them out to reimagine Little Mercy, a high-camp ode to 'evil child' movies, for their Wharf 2 stage. (Summertime in the Garden on Eden, meanwhile, will get a run at Griffin Theatre in November). Marcus Costello caught-up with Ash, who as well as writing and directing is playing the mother character Virginia, on his first day treading the boards at the Wharf. Here's what he had to say on stepping up to the main stage, the joys of the low-brow, and how they're adapting their "aesthetic of failure". First day of rehearsals, how's it going? We haven't stopped laughing that we’re actually here at STC. Well it's a long way from where you gave birth to Little Mercy in a Melbourne car park all those years ago. How has the show changed since then? Oh, you know, just little tweaks — like rewriting the whole show. Our shows are always staged in response to the space we're working in and the resources we have available, which is usually next to nothing. Our work ends up being an exercise in the aesthetic of failure, which is where much of the comedy comes from. Of course, being here [at STC] we can't just pretend we have no money so we're responding to the idea and construction of conventional theatre. In a way it's not that radical a departure because we're all about the interrogation of genre — finding the cracks, tearing it apart, and putting it back together. We like to see how much pressure something can take before it's completely unintelligible. Stepping up to the main stage... I like to think of it as STC stepping down [laughs]. Good call. In any case it's a collision of worlds. If you like it here and want to stick around, how is that going to affect your anti-establishment practice? If we can get paid to do shows on big stages, great, but it was never really our aim to make it to this point at settle-in. I think we'll always do scratch shows because mixing up where we perform is really important to us. I mean, we'll ride this out and have fun along the way, but we won't get so big-headed that we'll stop performing in living rooms and backyard sheds, or car parks, even. By the same token, if performing in car parks to a bunch of our adoring friends was all we ever did, it wouldn't amount to much. We don't plan to play it safe. A character at the centre of your play, Rodger, is a wealthy theatre director. Should we take that as a dig at the establishment? Um, [laughs] oh I don't know how meta we want to get about that! I mean, yeah, his job, his taste comes across as increasingly ridiculous throughout the show. We needed a job where the husband/father could become totally engrossed in what he does. As we both know, directors can get way too involved with their own projects and stop seeing the world around them — maybe even fail to see their own child is a psychotic killer. You say that the goal of your theatre is to make the audience laugh. I reckon your gritty-camp shtick might rankle with some of the more conservative STC season subscribers, don't you think? We don't intend to shock them too much. I mean, we won't be flopping our dicks out. In a way, our comedy is kind of old-fashioned. A man in a dress isn't new, but what we do with it hopefully is new and interesting and funny. At least we hope so because we think laughter in the theatre is vital. If you go to the theatre to take your medicine, to eat something that's good for you, then you've killed a lot of the joy. I don't like to go to the theatre to be educated. Dialectical, polemical, preachy theatre, theatre where the performers blast their politics at you, that doesn't inspire me. At least, if I learn something I want it to be incidental to the laughs. And if it's not making me laugh, it should make be gasp. Whatever is does, it needs to make me feel something. There are a number of Australian theatre-makers at the moment who set out to hurt feelings and sensibilities. How do you feel about that? Oy vey! That's not something we would deliberately set out to do. Our kind of humour can be quite hoary and hokey but I think if anything was going to offend, especially the STC audience, it would be the stupid jokes — because we would offend their intelligence [laughs]. I'm not playing Virginia for a joke, but every time I get on stage there will be laughter for a good five seconds. That's interesting because you're not unknown to the Melbourne drag scene. How does it feel having an audience laughing at you not with you? I'm totally fine with it. It’s not my job to know why people are laughing, it's really not. I'm happy with laughs wherever they’re derived from. I'm just not that precious; I'm aware of the grenade that I am. Little Mercy is on at the Sydney Theatre Company's Wharf 2 from March 7 to 24. Tickets are available from their website.
OVERVIEW Are you an authority on pop culture, music, food, drink, events and city life? Are you adept at putting your thoughts on those things into words that people can’t help but read? Are you a total pro at all things digital? Concrete Playground is currently seeking a skilled, experienced journalist/editor to join its Sydney team as deputy editor, and if you answered in the affirmative to all of the above, you may just be the person we’re looking for. RESPONSIBILITIES Working closely with the editor-in-chief from our Redfern, Sydney office, you'll come up with story ideas, write articles and commission work from a team of freelancers. Fastidious subediting will be a pillar of your day, as will making images, text, video and links work together as a happy whole. Your primary responsibilities will include: Leading Concrete Playground's news and features content across Australia and New Zealand.Management and growth of Concrete Playground’s various social media channels.Assisting with the planning and execution of Concrete Playground’s editorial strategy.Creation of varied written and multimedia content.Management of freelance news contributors across five cities. REQUIREMENTS A university degreeAt least one year's experience in the online media environment.A demonstrated ability to write smart, funny, popular articles quickly, and to come up with even more ideas than you can write.Solid subediting skills and ability to work with a style guide.Experience with social media management and strategy.Knowledge of SEO and basic HTML.Experience working with a content management system (preferably Wordpress).A good eye for images and skills with image production (preferably Photoshop).Expertise on the topics of music and pop culture, though you might also be strong in: technology, design, sustainability, current affairs, fashion, lifestyle, travel, food & drink, film, the arts and local cultural life.Some photography or videography skills. HOW TO APPLY Please send your cover letter, CV and links to 3-4 relevant online writing samples to Concrete Playground’s editor-in-chief, Rima Sabina Aouf, at contribute@concreteplayground.com.au WHO WE ARE Concrete Playground is an online weather vane pointing readers to the cultural tornadoes that are just about to hit. Our writers, editors and contributors have a constant ear to the under and above (but never middle) ground of the creative worlds of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland and Wellington. Ideally, applicants will be pretty familiar with us and what we're about.
Two Little Boys follows the series of unfortunate incidents that make up Nige (Bret McKenzie) and Deano's (Hamish Blake) long-term mateship. Things get tricky when Nige accidentally runs over and kills a Scandavian soccer star. He has no one to turn to but Deano and, unfortunately, Deano is not the kind of guy to turn to in a time of crisis. The mishap leads to more unfortunate events with hilarious and bizarre consequences. Directed by Robert Sarkies and based on the novel by Duncan Sarkies, Two Little Boys is a cheeky comedy bound to make you laugh and appreciate the one of a kind relationship between two best mates. Thanks to Hopscotch, Concrete Playground has ten double passes to giveaway to see Two Little Boys. To go in the running just subscribe to Concrete Playground (if you haven't already) then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au
In these multi-purpose, multi-tasking, multi-hyphenate-filled times, the idea of a winery simply featuring rows of vines, the facilities to make vino, and somewhere to buy and drink it is long gone. Sure, all of the above are still included — but so are sculpture gardens, luxury hotels and four-acre spaces filled with edible greenery, plus giant five-storey cubes. The latter is the standout attraction at South Australian winery d'Arenberg, which opened its new centrepiece in McLaren Vale on December 14. More than 14 years and $15 million in the making, the towering structure looks like a partially twisted Rubik's Cube floating above the plants below. Of course, even over-sized versions of everyday puzzles don't usually feature an art gallery, a wine inhalation room, a virtual fermenter, a blending bench, a video room or a smartphone app-linked functionality that's being dubbed an "alternate reality wine museum." A cellar door and a restaurant are part of the space as well, the former boasting panoramic views over McLaren Vale, the Willunga Hills and the Gulf St Vincent, and the latter serving up seasonally changing degustations over two levels. Anyone visiting for a sip and to stock up their own wine reserves can expect to pay $10 to enter, then try 30 different grape varieties, 70 wines and choose from four different premium tasting flights (for an extra fee). Meanwhile, hungry attendees can feast on a menu cooked up by husband and wife team Brendan Wessels and Lindsay Durr. Other highlights include 115 televisions, and a glass roof that features 16 hydraulic umbrellas — which lift in a choreographed sequence. As well as proving unlike any other winery in the country, it's anticipated that the massive square will become a tourist attraction. "The d'Arenberg Cube has been a once in a lifetime project – high tech, yet grounded in the dirt of our McLaren Vale vineyard, with views to the future," explains d'Arenberg Wines chief winemaker and viticulturalist Chester Osborn. Images: d'Arenberg.
'Social distancing' isn't just a phrase that you might remember from watching Contagion years ago. As the world reacts to COVID-19, it's an important and crucial tactic to help stem the growing spread of the coronavirus. That means not only keeping your distance from other people if and when you do venture out of the house but, increasingly, staying home entirely. If communal viewing parties are part of your usual social routine, however, you don't have to completely adjust to watching Netflix alone. Thanks to a Google Chrome plug-in called Netflix Party, you can now stream movies and TV series on the platform simultaneously with your friends — with the browser extension synchronising everyone's playback so you're truly watching each and every frame at the same time. It also features an online chat function, allowing you to talk, laugh and otherwise comment while your film or show of choice plays. To use Netflix Party, everyone you'd like to watch with will need have their own Netflix account. They'll also need to use Google Chrome — and the plug-in is only available on desktop and laptop computers, so you won't be able to sync your television sets. After downloading the extension, you'll want to head to the Netflix website, select what you'd like to watch and hit the 'NP' button at the top of the browser next to the address bar. Then, select 'start the party', which'll create a URL for you to share with your mates. For those receiving a Netflix Party URL, you'll need to click on it to open it in Google Chrome, then hit the 'NP' button at the top of the browser next to the address bar. Once you've done that, it should automatically bring you into the communal viewing space. Of course, people have tried synchronising their streaming viewing manually ever since Netflix and other platforms emerged on the scene. If you've attempted that option, though, you'll now that it's tricky, involves a constant barrage of text messages asking "which part are you at now?", and just proves logistically frustrating. Netflix Party is available for Google Chrome on both desktop and laptop computers. To download the plug-in, visit the Netflix Party website. 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. Top image: Netflix.
When The Calile — arguably the best hotel in Brisbane — opened its doors on James Street in 2018, it didn't just add a rather striking-looking hotel to the busy Fortitude Valley strip. It also became home to the first Brisbane outpost of Gold Coast Greek restaurant Hellenika. Serving up meals and drinks for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, Hellenika lets you enjoy its offerings in a pastel and neutral space that befits the complex's cruisey, stylish digs. A close collaboration between Hellenika owner Simon Gloftis and architects Richards and Spence, the Valley spot capitalises upon as many of The Calile's features as it can — complete with a pool-adjacent terrace, poolside cabana and sun lounge dining for hotel guests (with its own menu), and a casual bar overlooking Ada Lane. The long breakfast menu is made for anyone – whether you're staying at the hotel or not. Get around the traditional avocado on toast and eggs royal options or try something with a little Greek flair. The Strapatsada baked eggs with feta, olives, peppers and chilli and the Greek French toast made on tsoureki (sweet Greek bread) are stand out dishes. And, as you might expect in a restaurant that has a body of water in sight — even an artificial one — seafood is a major culinary attraction here. Hellenika's lunch and dinner menu offers up caviar and ceviche, grilled king prawns, flash fried calamari, pan-fried whole snapper — the list goes on. But it's the Greek classics, interpreted with a bright, modern bent, that really have the ability to knock one's socks off. The saganaki elicits an emotional response. The chargrilled lamb ribs and the hilopites (braised beef shin) are succulent winners for the carnivorously inclined, while the Athenian style spaghetti served with generous chunks of Moreton Bay Bug and tomato, chilli, garlic and white wine is a bonafide banger. Other dishes include Greek dips, olives, anchovies and salads for those after a small bite alongside some larger veggie options such as the eggplant moussaka and spanakopita. Pairing your meal with a beverage involves perusing a 500-strong wine list, including several Greek options including a fantastic Assyrtiko by the glass. As for cocktails, the Hellenika G&T comes with a splash of rosemary, while the Ari Onassis combines mastiha, gin, St Germain, lemon and cucumber. Classic cocktails, non-boozy options, beers, ciders and ouzo are also on offer. This place is so good you won't want to leave. And if you don't want to, there's always the hotel. Images: Sean Fennessy. Appears in: The Best Restaurants in Brisbane The Best Hotels in Brisbane
Gemelli Italian has set up shop in Fortitude Valley's bustling James Street precinct, marking the Gold Coast-based chain's first Brisbane outpost. You might've eaten at brand's spots down the coast, which include a restaurant in Broadbeach and a trattoria in Nobby Beach, but now it has made the trip up north. Decked out with timber arches to break up the space, and featuring large windows as well, Gemelli's James Street eatery has a light and airy feel. Settling into the McLachlan and James street corner site that was previously home to Bucci, it's serving up pizza, pasta, antipasti and sweet dishes such as deep-fried dessert gnocchi and Nutella calzones, all inside a three-level dining space. Here, you can start with the cherry tomato, buffalo mozzarella and parmesan-topped bruschetta, then move on to a black olive and black anchovy pizza or the carbonara, or opt for bistecca or saltimbocca. The drinks list favours Italian beers and wines, too, and you can sip classic Italian cocktails — negronis, bellinis, rossinis and the like — or try house concoctions such as the Sicilian margarita. Those pizzas? They're cooked in a bespoke oven from Naples. Those tipples? They hail from the bar at the back. Fancy some salumi? There's a display fridge filled with it. Images: PHNX Digital.
So you didn't have the time or money to hop the pond over to Palm Springs to experience the epic Coachella music festival? Not a problem, YouTube has got it covered. Literally. The massive video library has created its own live-stream channel, appropriately named YouTube Live, and Coachella was the first partner to offer to broadcast live content for the channel from April 15 to 17 (US time). Among the lineup of over 100 performers include top acts The Strokes, Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Kanye West, Cee-Lo Green, Kings of Leon and Duran Duran. If you aren't already in-flight to take part of the madness first-hand, just sit back and watch it all go down on the Coachella live webcast for all three days of the festival. Although YouTube isn't the first site to introduce a live-stream channel, they certainly will have the most advanced webcast program, one that will cater to individual users based on their interests online and undoubtedly be sought after by big-name events worldwide. https://youtube.com/watch?v=8heZuMZLqRI
When Coming Home in the Dark starts, it's with a lingering look at New Zealand's landscape, with the film peering across the magnificent countryside as far as the camera can see. In doing so, it begins with two familiar touches that bubble with comfort and security. NZ's stunning scenery has been burned into audiences' minds several times over via The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. As a result, it beckons with the kind of warm memories that've sent plenty of fans flocking to the nation's shores. And, the people seen navigating NZ's scenic sights here, and what they're doing, also initially sit in cosy territory. Hoaggie (Eric Thomson, The Furnace) and Jill (Miriama McDowell, Waru) have hit the road from Wellington with their teenage sons Maika and Jordan (debutants Billy and Frankie Paratene), all to stop at quaint service stations, hike through the wilderness, take family photos with striking backdrops and have a nice little picnic. In other words, they're enjoying exactly the leisurely trip you'd expect in such eye-catching surroundings. Fond thoughts, tranquil feelings, unspoiled vistas, loving company — none are indulged for too long, though. Coming Home in the Dark sees the bliss and beauty, but it also quickly shines a spotlight on trauma and horror. During the picnic, two men appear suddenly, instantly popping the happy little bubble that's encased the film's central family so far. It's immediately apparent that the gun-toting Mandrake (Daniel Gillies, Occupation: Rainfall) and his little-spoken offsider Tubs (Matthias Luafutu, Ghost in the Shell) aren't there to improve this picturesque escape, or to make friends. First, the interlopers demand the car keys. Mandrake taunts his hostages and struts around like he's holding court, visibly feeding on the response. He warns Hoaggie that they're facing a pivotal juncture, too — one where "later on, when you're looking back at this occasion, I think that right there's going to be the moment you wish you'd done something." Then, after a campervan of fellow travellers has been waved away from the precarious hostage situation, Coming Home in the Dark starts to sink its claws in. Within the narrative, the movie forever shatters any possibility of returning to its idyllic opening scenes. Thematically, it unearths the ills of history that refuse to remain buried. The terrain is different — there's no mistaking New Zealand's greenery for Australia's ochre-hued outback — but Coming Home in the Dark finds kindred spirits in features from across the ditch. In both countries, natural splendours can't mask the woes of the past, or the injustices waged against either nation's Indigenous inhabitants (for Aussie examples, see: Ivan Sen's Mystery Road and Goldstone, Warwick Thornton's Sweet Country and powerful 2021 release High Ground). Adapting Owen Marshall's short story of the same name, first-time feature director James Ashcroft appears to be taking cues from Austria to begin with, however, and fashioning Coming Home in the Dark after Michael Haneke's two versions of Funny Games. There's an iteration of this story that could play out at random and prove soul-crushingly chilling as a result, as all tales that highlight life's arbitrary cruelty do, and yet that isn't what's on offer. Instead, Ashcroft and co-screenwriter Eli Kent (The Seagull) find an even deeper pool of terror in pondering the treatment of children in government-run facilities. Their script shares threads in common with Cousins from earlier this year, but they dive deep into the abuse of kids in such places — the boys' homes and similar sites in use for half a century between 1950–99 — as well as examining the inescapable scars left, the paths towards criminal behaviour potentially sparked and, here, the retribution inspired. If Coming Home in the Dark doesn't waste a second in jumping from a gorgeous getaway to holiday horrors, and it doesn't, then it's just as precise about and committed to its trek from there. After Ashcroft and cinematographer Matt Henley (also making his feature debut) bask in NZ's majestic landscape — including showing how isolating it can be when things go awry, without overtly labouring the point — they embrace their journey into more brutal territory. Indeed, there's no flinching at splashing bloodshed across the screen, at boldly blasting away happiness or at exploring who is complicit in horrific deeds, and how and why. There's no simple route through the film, either, or straightforward way to apportion sympathy. As a thriller, Coming Home in the Dark is tense, nerve-wracking and unrelenting, feats it achieves in no small part thanks to its knife's-edge balancing act. What befalls Hoaggie, Jill and their family is shocking and nightmarish, and so are the events that've brought Mandrake and Tubs to them — and the connective tissue between the two couldn't be thornier and knottier. Unsurprisingly, this is a picture that's constantly shifting. It refuses to relax, seek a reprieve or offer solace, even briefly. Ashcroft helms an exacting genre piece and a weighty musing on trauma combined, and his riveting film isn't easily forgotten — not its story, its melding of vacation scares with historical atrocities, or the imagery that segues from postcard-perfect sights to stark scenes of violence. Also memorable and seeping under the skin in an insidious fashion: The Vampire Diaries and The Originals star Gillies. He's menacing in every second, and looms large like an immovable force. He's scruffy, steely, unwavering and unpredictable, and gives flesh to the movie's contemplation of piercing troubles that won't be shaken. He's also pivotal when the film explores how everyone twists tales to fit their own preferred narratives (as underscored by a short but pointed argument about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein). Still, Coming Home in the Dark has space for fine turns across the board, including from Thomson. He initially leans on the affable dad vibes that've clung to him since Packed to the Rafters — but, like everything else here, he doesn't ever just stick to the expected.
Brisbane isn't like any other Australian capital city. It's far more laidback than Sydney and Melbourne, and considerably more humid than Adelaide and Perth. It doesn't have its own beach — no, South Bank doesn't really count — but it does overflow with subtropical vibes. So, at its latest free exhibition, Museum of Brisbane is giving everything that makes this sun-dappled town what it is a big, warm hug. It also ponders whether the city's image accurately reflects Brissie circa 2021. Displaying between Saturday, June 19–Monday, April 18, City in the Sun covers everything from frangipanis and jacarandas to pineapples, all via works from artists such as Kinly Grey, Christopher Bassi, Laura Patterson, Rachael Sarra, Sam Tupou, Sebastian Moody, Holly Anderson and Rachel Burke. Also gracing the inner-city museum's walls and halls: Gerwyn Davies, Michael Zavros, Tracey Moffatt, Scott Redford and Olive Ashworth. Their pieces feature plenty of colour, but also toy with and interrogate Brissie's identity. Across 30 artworks — complete with eight significant commissions — highlights include Moody's large-scale light work Sunshine Psychology, Moffat's First Jobs photographs of Brisbane in the 70s and Grey's interactive piece, which draws upon attendees' body heat. Or, get swinging in Burke's backyard installation with its cubby house, flower beds and a tinsel sky. Images: Toby Scott.
It has always been impossible to watch TV shows by Nathan Fielder, including Nathan for You and The Rehearsal, without feeling awkwardness gushing from the screen. The films of Josh and Benny Safdie, such as Good Time and Uncut Gems, are such masterclasses in anxiety and chaos — and so astute at conveying life's anything-that-can-go-wrong-will certainty — that viewers can be forgiven for thinking that their chairs are jittering along with them. From Easy A, La La Land and Maniac to The Favourite and Poor Things, Emma Stone keeps proving an inimitable acting force. Combine Fielder, the Safdies and Stone on one series, then, and whatever sprang was always going to be a must-see. Streaming in Australia via Paramount+ from Saturday, November 11, exquisite new dark satire The Curse is also as extraordinary in its brilliance as it is excruciating in its discomfort. As well as co-creating the ten-part series, Fielder and Benny Safdie co-star, co-write and co-direct. Stone joins them on-screen and as an executive producer, with Benny's brother Josh doing the latter as well. The Safdies' regular collaborator Oneohtrix Point Never, aka Daniel Lopatin, gets the show buzzing with atmospheric agitation in one of his best scores yet — even after winning the Cannes Soundtrack Award for his unforgettable work on Good Time. And yes, The Curse is everything that the sum of these parts promises. It's more, in fact, then even more again. It flows with disquiet like a burst hydrant. It fills each almost hour-long episode with a lifetime's worth of cringe. It's relentless in its unease second by second, moment by moment and scene by scene. It's also a marvellous, intense and hilarious black comedy that apes the metal Doug Aitken-esque houses that Stone and Fielder's Whitney and Asher Siegel like to build, reflecting oh-so-much about the world around it. The Curse takes the show-within-a-show route, with the Siegels eager to grace the world's screens as reality TV hosts. Their angle: environmentally sustainable passive homes that only use energy that they create, which Whitney and Asher consider their contribution to their adopted New Mexico hometown of Española. The newly married pair have American pay TV network Home & Garden Television interested in Fliplanthropy, as well as their efforts to green up the community, create jobs for locals, and revitalise a place otherwise equated with struggling and crime stats. Lurking between the couple and HGTV is producer Dougie Schecter (Safdie, Oppenheimer), Asher's slimy and manipulative childhood friend with a nose for sensationalism — particularly when he gets the scent of disharmony among his stars as they try to start a family, get their show on the air, build their gleaming houses, find ideal buyers, honour the area's Indigenous history and overcome The Curse's title. As the series dives into, parodies and interrogates unscripted television, gentrification, whitewashing, white saviour complexes, racism, appropriation, marriage, privilege, authenticity, spiritualism, inherited burdens and more, its moniker can refer to many things. A white couple sweeping into the region, trotting out altruism for fame — and, in Whitney's case, to scrub away her association with her parents (White House Plumbers's Corbin Bernsen Search Party's and Constance Shulman), who have been dubbed slumlords for treating their tenants poorly — is hardly the gift that the Siegels think. Accordingly, while their actions around Española don't just span futuristic abodes that couldn't stand out more, but also enticing new businesses to the area with free rent, supporting campaigns for land rights and celebrating local artists, it's forever plain that every move that the pair make is about getting something out of it. Fielder has long unpacked what it truly means to show reality on-screen, plus the machinations behind it — and with unsettling precision, The Curse is no different. Stress would ripple through this series as inescapably as Whitney's desperation to become TV's next big thing anyway, and Asher's onslaught of neuroses and humiliations (you'll never think about cherry tomatoes the same way again); however, The Curse's name is also literal. Being filmed for B-roll footage for the pilot at Dougie's suggestion, Asher gives primary schooler Nala (debutant Hikmah Warsame) a $100 note while she's selling soft drink in a carpark with her father Abshir (Captain Phillips Oscar-nominee Barkhad Abdi). Then, when the shot is over and his performative compassion is no longer needed, he snatches the money back. The girl's response, as accompanied by a steely gaze and the unfettered anger of a child wronged by an adult: "I curse you". As bad luck springs for the Siegels afterwards, arriving in both big and small ways, those words keep lingering. Again, Fielder ponders what is real and isn't, finding another way into his favourite topic. Whitney already oozes must-do-now urgency — served with a wide Stone smile — about anything that could stymie her quest for television domination, and Asher is a walking portrait of please-accept-me torment from the get-go; then comes the hex and the fudging of lines between what's a mess of their own making, what springs from paranoia and what may be supernatural. Aptly, when The Curse's title appears on-screen at the start of each episode, it shimmers with wavy lines looking glass-style to kick off this streaming mirror mirror, distorting and disorienting in the process. Birds sometimes fly directly into the Siegels' shiny houses, meeting their ends after not spotting what's looming right there in front of them, which also makes a fitting metaphor. Squirming and watching Fielder might go hand in hand, but the experience has rarely been better than in The Curse. Neither has Fielder. His familiar directorial instinct to let moments persist to the point of aching mortification continues here, sparking his most purposefully perturbing performance yet — because watching someone this bumbling yet authoritative, and this muddled and self-conscious in everything they do yet bolstered by their status, race and bank balance, is meant to be this incisively agonising. With the show often shot like it's spying, including through windows and doorways, Stone and Safdie are equally exceptional and difficult to look away from. The yearning to be worshipped and praised non-stop, and the fear of her carefully constructed do-gooder facade being cracked, is weaponised in Stone's portrayal. Meanwhile, Safdie plays the kind of shifty that can't be shaken devastatingly well. In a plethora of ways, The Curse ticks all the boxes that it was always going to, especially via Fielder, the Safdies and Stone's exacting involvement. Throw in the fact that A24 is behind the series, placing it on a slate alongside Beau Is Afraid, You Hurt My Feelings, smash-hit Australian horror movie Talk to Me and fellow TV series Beef from 2023 alone — each of which could pair with The Curse for different reasons — and that truth only grows. And yet, no one can pick exactly where this show is heading while watching, even when you're sure that you have and those predictions come to fruition in an exchange, plot point, theme or revelation. Consider it a funhouse hall of mirrors, then: you know that something warped will confront you wherever you look, but you can never be confident of what it'll be. Consider The Curse one of the best new TV shows of 2023, too, and the type of unique viewing that's a glittering treasure even it inspires non-stop dread and horror that threatens to swallow you whole. Check out the trailer for The Curse below: The Curse streams from Saturday, November 11 via Paramount+. Images: Beth Garrabrant and John Paul Lopez/A24/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.
Development in the lead-up to the Olympics often means catastrophe for the homeless. In 2008, Beijing attracted criticism following the announcement of an intended 'social clean-up'. A 2007 study by the UK Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions demonstrated that, since 1988, more than 2 million people worldwide had been forced out of their homes to provide space for the games. Journalist George Monbiot has described the Olympics as 'a licence for land grabs'. He recalls that, in Seoul, 'homeless people, alcoholics, beggars and the mentally ill were rounded up and housed in a prison camp. The world saw nothing of this: just a glossy new city full of glossy new people.' Last year, in London, the Manor Garden Allotments, which had been in use for a century, 'disappeared for good behind the Blue Wall', despite protests. The recent decision to transform London's Olympic Village into low-income housing is, therefore, a welcome one. It does not justify or ameliorate repeated disregard for the homeless, but it's an effort in the right direction. Having provided beds for 17,000 weary athletes, the area is being taken into the hands of a developer based in Qatar. Fifty per cent of the buildings will be up for private rental, with the remainder run by a local housing authority. Six-month contracts promise flexibility to tenants in need of short-term accommodation, and communal and commercial facilities, including schools, a medical centre, offices, stores and eateries, will be available. At least 100 houses will welcome their first residents this August. [via PSFK]
In Red, White and Blue, one of the five films in the Small Axe anthology, the force isn't with Star Wars' John Boyega. The police force, that is — although his character, Leroy Logan, gives up his job as a research scientist to fulfil his dream of becoming a cop. Logan wants to make a difference, and to drive change from within. He's committed to his task, even going through with his plan to enlist with London's Metropolitan Police after his father (Steve Toussaint, Doctor Who) is harassed and beaten by local officers because they can, and because they don't like the colour of his skin. But, while Logan excels at training and is quickly chosen to front a diversity campaign, British law enforcement in the early 80s wasn't welcoming to a Black man. Playing Logan — a real-life figure, like many within Small Axe — Boyega's eyes simmer with the intensity of someone who knows they're actively defying everything around them at each and every moment. Viewers can't help noticing this determined and resolute stare, just as they can't escape the Star Wars reference included by Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave and Widows filmmaker Steve McQueen and his co-scribe Courttia Newland either. Red, White and Blue is the third film in the series, however, so its audience has already spied this particular gaze several times over. Boyega and the character of Logan only appear in one movie, but the same look blazes across many of the faces seen across the entire 60s, 70s and 80s-set anthology, which places London's West Indian community firmly at its centre. In Mangrove, that same fervent expression is evident far and wide as the film tells an infuriating true tale about a police campaign to target a Caribbean restaurant in Notting Hill. When the Trinidad-born Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes, Lost in Space) opens the titular establishment, he wants to give his community a taste of home and a place to gather, but the cops quickly make their presence known. After protests about heavy-handed and racially targeted policing, nine activists — known as the Mangrove Nine, and including Black Panther leader Altheia Jones-LeCointe (played by Black Panther's Letitia Wright) — are arrested for inciting a riot. Co-scripting with Trespass Against Us and Tomb Raider writer Alastair Siddons, McQueen turns this heated situation into a gripping movie of two expertly crafted halves, with the first detailing the events from 1968 leading up to the trial, and the second showing how the defendants are treated while they're fighting for their freedom. [caption id="attachment_789616" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Mangrove[/caption] Of course, every Small Axe film is about that same fight, just in different manners. McQueen wants everyone watching to see the toll such a battle takes, especially when it has to be waged day in, day out — and the images in his work, as has proven the case across his filmography, are repeatedly concerned with people trying to navigate stress, then internalising all the pain the external world throws their way. Oscar-nominated for 12 Years a Slave, he's a master at conveying that pain and tension, often by peering intimately and empathetically at his characters. That's a skill that can't be underestimated, and that few filmmakers possess in quite the same way. Indeed, it's one of the reasons that McQueen's features always stand out. Lovers Rock, the second Small Axe entry, overflows with faces and bodies — at a West London house party in 1980, where Martha (debutant Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) and Franklyn (Micheal Ward, The Old Guard) cross paths. As the genre of reggae that shares the film's name echoes through the soundtrack, this pair of strangers lock eyes and more, with the film lovingly and tenderly showing Black Londoners just being themselves. Martha and Franklyn swoon over each other, and the movie swoons with them, its warm and sensual visuals helping to spin the only wholly fictional entry in the anthology. This tale is perhaps the most crucial part of the set, even though it departs tonally from its fellow features; the happiness snatched and shared by its two central characters feels all the more affecting and important when contextualised against the unwelcoming city around them. [caption id="attachment_797060" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Lovers Rock[/caption] Small Axe's fourth and fifth films don't leave any doubt that simply existing is often a political act for people of colour, and that trying to counter engrained discrimination and oppression is an ongoing effort. In Alex Wheatle, the series jumps into the life of the award-winning writer of the same name (as played by Ted Lasso's Asad-Shareef Muhammad as an eight-year-old, then by first-timer Sheyi Cole), who spends the bulk of his childhood in institutionalised care. When he later finds a place where he feels like he belongs, he's subsequently imprisoned during the Brixton Uprising of 1981. Unsurprisingly, Education also explores a character's formative years, using fictional figures to tell a story drawn from reality. Twelve-year-old Kingsley (Kenyah Sandy, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey) is singled out at his school, told he's underperforming and that he's being sent to another for kids with special needs — as part of an unofficial segregation policy his mother Agnes (Sharlene Whyte, We Hunt Together) learns is far too commonly applied to West Indian children. Before this anthology, McQueen hadn't directed a bad movie. That isn't changing now. Here, he gifts viewers a quintet of films that are as exceptional as anything he's ever made — and as potent, impassioned and probing as well. There's no weak link here, only stunning, stirring, standout cinema that tells blistering tales about Black London residents doing everything it takes to resist their racist treatment and live their lives. Every feature is sumptuously shot, too, thanks to the awards-worthy work of cinematographer Shabier Kirchner (Bull), which transports viewers into the five movies so vividly it's like you've been whisked back in person. McQueen's soundtrack choices also add yet another layer, including the pitch-perfect use of Janet Kay's 'Silly Games' in what might be the series' best sequence — as well Al Green's cover of the Bee Gees' 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' that cuts deep, as everything about Small Axe does by design. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcqItifbNUA&feature=youtu.be All five Small Axe films are available to stream via Binge. Top image: Red, White and Blue.
They first toured Australia in 1982. They've returned plenty of times since, including on the Big Day Out and Vivid lineups. When they were last here in 2020, the pandemic got in the way, causing them to cut short their plans — and now New Order are making their latest visit Down Under five years later. 'Blue Monday', 'Temptation', 'Bizarre Love Triangle' — more than four decades after forming, the group are playing them all on a four-city Australian tour, including at the Riverstage in Brisbane on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner started New Order out of Joy Division, following the tragic death of the latter's lead singer Ian Curtis, and helped pioneer the synth-pop sound that not only helped define the 80s but has been influential ever since. If you've seen the films Control and 24 Hour Party People, you've seen part of New Order's story on-screen. And if you've caught them live before, you'll know that they're always a must-see. Top images: Erin Mc via Flickr, RL GNZLZ via Flickr.
The holy trinity of a successful hospitality venue is food, drink and fit-out — though nailing this trifecta is no easy feat. Australasia's 2018 Eat Drink Design Awards covers the interior element in a celebration of hospo design across Australia and New Zealand in eight categories: best restaurant, bar, cafe, hotel, retail space and temporary installation (pop-up). Victoria (and more specifically Melbourne) is the clear winner this year — snagging five of the eight awards, plus additional commendations in seven categories. Birregurra's luxury farmstay Brae Restaurant Accommodation won Best Hotel Design (Six Degrees Architects); Melbourne CBD's tiny Japanese den Ishizuka won Best Restaurant Design (Russell & George); Fitzroy's heritage cafe Bentwood won Best Cafe Design (Ritz & Ghougassian); Yarra Valley's Chandon Australia — a tasting room and boutique – won Best Retail Design (Foolscap Studio); and Swanston Street stalwart Cookie was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The 2018 Best Bar Design went to Adelaide cocktail bar Malt & Juniper (Sans-Arc Studio), and Canberra nabbed a win in the Best Installation Design category for Pop Inn — a mobile wine bar (Daryl Jackson Alastair Swayn Architects). While Sydney did not come home victorious, the city did receive a good number of commendations, including two for Barangaroo House, which earned commendations in both the best bar and best restaurant design categories. The Imperial Erskineville and Edition Haymarket also received best bar design commendations and Fonda Bondi received a best restaurant design commendation, too. In the best retail design category, Little Bonny's received a nod, which was designed by famed studio Luchetti Krelle (Manly Greenhouse, Terminus Hotel, Banksii, Acme). Luxuriate in the sleekness of the top designs below. [gallery ids="697870,697865,697866,671311,691780,651134,662281,697859"] For the full list of winners and commendations, head to the Eat Drink Design website. Images: Ishizuka by Felix Forest, Brae by Trevor Mein, Chandon Australia by Tom Blachford, Bentwood by Kate Shanasy, Edition by Trent van der Jagt, Barangaroo House by Kitti Smallbone, The Imperial by Trent van der Jagt, Cookie.
As we all watched London burning, most of the furious debates were concerned with political squabbling and vigorous finger pointing at wasted British youth. But one of the things least discussed was the impact on creative communities. While the riots may have started off as a response to police brutality, the only thing they seem to have accomplished is making people more upset while completely screwing over small businesses and independent artists, who, let's face it, weren't really doing all that well to begin with. Hip-hop artist Scroobius Pip pretty much summed it up when he said, “This is Britain punching itself in the face. Repeatedly.” While the riots were going down, theatres all over London were forced to cancel shows and performers including Patrick Wolf postponed gigs while the city was in lockdown. Then there were the art galleries, who, with all those big glass windows ripe for smashing, didn't fare so well and have thwarted several exhibitions. But the biggest impact on artists has come as a result of the fire lit at the SonyDADC warehouse in Enfield, which was holding the UK's stock of a significant number of independent music labels including Sub Pop, Warp, 4AD, Matador and XL. These companies had much of their stock destroyed, and that's not to mention the smaller companies who probably never had a huge amount to splash out on tight and all-encompassing insurance policies. In an interview in NME, Spencer Hickman of Rough Trade East explained, "There’s maybe a hundred labels affected. We’ve got no idea how much stock they’ve got elsewhere. I’m convinced that some labels will go under." In addition, the warehouse was holding a a lot of the DVD stock of independent film distributers like BFI, and because much of the income film companies receive comes through DVD sales, it looks like some companies are going to have to lay off staff. A campaign entitled LabelLove has been launched to generate some money to try and keep independent artists and labels afloat during the rough times ahead. On the bright side, artists have almost immediately begun responding to the riots, with graphic designers Nick Scott and Neil Walker designing posters which pretty much sum up exactly what everybody was thinking. Check them out below.
The flash mob has become synonymous with making a statement, a bold one at that. It isn't everyday that a group of people randomly assembles in a public place to perform a silly choreographed dance number, so on the rare occasion a flash mob does take over the streets, passersby pay attention. American Airlines took advantage of this increasingly popular public display to make a statement of their own. The airline broke away from traditional methods of advertising and organised a flash mob at the U.S. Bank Plaza in downtown Los Angeles to promote the launch of their new flight services. The performance began with a single man dancing past a father and his daughter, and he was soon joined by 40 dancers descending the steps of the public plaza. After shocking onlookers with their meticulously choreographed routine, the mob created the American Airlines logo with their travel bags above their heads and then nonchalantly dispersed. Few things grab attention quicker than a flash mob, but this form of marketing has surely been done to death. And what are the new services that this quirky advertisement was meant to showcase? The airline now offers daily non-stop flights from LAX to Shanghai as well additional flights to nine new U.S. destinations. https://youtube.com/watch?v=a_w0lX3NIOk
Courting might have been sweet back in your grandparents' day, but with the advent of Facebook, relationships have taken on a whole lot more complexity. Admit it - if you like someone, you'll periodically check out their Facebook profile, click through their photos, ascertain their general whereabouts and any signs that their lack of obtainability might be about to take a turn for the better. This practice, commonly referred to as Facebook 'stalking' - with all the overtones of obsession and garbage-bin rifling the word implies - is perhaps coming closer to the world of real-life courting, with the release of the BreakUp Notifier, the app most likely to get you laid by someone on the rebound. Using the app, you can bookmark the profiles of people in a relationship, and then you'll be automatically notified should that status change in the slightest. As the app itself explains,"You like someone. They're in a relationship. Be the first to know when they're out of it." Woe betide the person chasing after someone with the enigmatic 'It's Complicated' relationship status. Or those who refuse to divulge their status at all. While the Breakup Notifier is perhaps another step down the road to normalising creepy behaviour, you know that thousands of people are going to be downloading this app and making damn sure their's will be the first attractive and available shoulder to cry on. BreakUp Notifier
On February 17, 1936, when Sir Reginald Ansett first took flight in his Fokker Universal passenger plane from Hamilton, Victoria, he wasn't to know that his would be a legacy in two acts. A legacy not just of iconic Southern Hemisphere aviation, but also of the dankest wearable swag this side of that $19 Bunnings cap with the built-in torch. Yet, some 82 years later, in a rural tin shed-cum-hangar-cum-museum — located at the birthplace of the aforementioned national aero-identity — lies, in mint-ish condition, the most complete collection of Ansett Australia paraphernalia you never knew you were in grave spiritual free fall without. And much of which money can buy. Because we're suckers for nostalgia and weird experiences accessible from the city, it was time to beeline — nay, V/Line — 288 kilometres west to the good township of Hamilton (town slogan: "One place, many possibilities") and examine the loot. But first: the 'museum'. There she blows. If you're not familiar with Ansett Australia, it was an airline — much like Qantas is currently an airline — until 2001 when it was placed into administration following a gnarly financial collapse. At its peak, it sponsored the cricket, provided Winnie The Pooh pencil cases and colouring books for kids, and served hot food on board when the competition bothered not to. It was the official airline of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, flying the torch from Auckland to Uluru, and it sponsored Neighbours during the iconic Kylie era of the late 80s. The museum tells of the erstwhile airline's rise and fall (mostly the fall) and houses a neat grab of quintessential airline detritus. It also houses a heap of derelict (and creepy) mannequins — perhaps the most complete collection of derelict mannequins in the entire Southern Grampians region — cracking out in costume, for your pleasure. Some are more headless than others. About halfway through the museum, we hit a room covered with testimonials from former employees penning some pretty deep plane's-going-down truths. Some were undyingly positive — "It should not have gone down / We were fabulous / We could have blasted QF and VG out of the sky" — others more sombre — "To everyone, for everything, thank you" — and some a little bit extraterrestrial: "We might all be gone but our spirits will last forever". Also in the room was this scary unexplained bus. Aside from the reminiscing and the scrutinising decaying mannequins, what you're really here for is that euphoric airline swag of yore. Like this 90s schoolyard must-have. What a ride. If you're not ready to go home, or you can't for whatever reason, a volunteer — let's call him Gary — who'll put on a historical Ansett Australia DVD in the headless mannequin room. It's ok — two stars. Otherwise it's an exit through the gift shop, where you'll find many things you can buy with your money and wear to cool nightclubs. You can buy this stubbie cooler ($8). That you can pair with this beanie ($10). Or this fresh self-mulleting legionnaires hat ($10). And put it all in this nightclub-essential bum bag ($9). Probably drape one of these ($5) around your best finger, too. It all feels a bit like when an elderly relative dies and you have to spend a weekend going through their things — only the deceased was an airline and owned more stuff. But, hey, treasure is treasure. The Ansett Australia Museum is located just three and a half hours from Melbourne in Hamilton, and is weird and good. Did I say good? I meant strange. Entry is $10 for adults, $8 for concession, but you can also not go into the museum and just go to the gift shop — though you'll have to explain that to Gary. You can also just go to this website and buy heaps of this stuff online, but you would really be missing out on the whole experience. Ansett Museum is located at the corner of Ballarat Road and Riley Street, Hamilton, Vic. It's open daily from 9am–4pm. To book a visit call (03) 5571 2767. Images: Frank Sweet.
Join Metro Arts as they attempt to re-write history, re-imagine culture and re-define our Australian identity in their latest Cross-Stitch event, Invasion, Take 225. In true Metro Arts form, Artistic Director Lisa Fa'alafi and her team have whole heartedly invested their time and imagination to ensure this two-night party is nothing short of a riot.Through the rich combination of dance, video, performance and music, participants will join in a celebration and mock-media campaign to re-imagine the Australian culture. On arrival audiences will be handed a fresh passport to a New Australia, will join a campaign and in turned be forced to rethink what is means to be a 'true blue Aussie'. Cross-Stitch: Invasion, Take 225 is not only a chance to witness the dramatic collaboration of various art forms, but also one to re-evaluate the stereotypical and often over-dramatised depiction of what it means to be Australian.
Under current COVID-19 restrictions, you can't go on a holiday (locally or overseas). But, the government has hinted travel between Australia and New Zealand may be allowed in the near future, so it's time to start dreaming. Bookmark this for when you can explore once again. New Zealand's South Island has more nature than you can throw a stick at. Just over 17 percent of the island is dedicated national park, within which there are countless hikes for both multi-day trekkers and half-hour stroll-takers. While the South Island is consistently amazing and pretty much any walk you go on will exceed expectations, we've handpicked these five as our particular favourites. When you need to quiet your mind, they'll be there for you. [caption id="attachment_687371" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Miles Holden.[/caption] ROUTEBURN TRACK With waterfalls, snowy mountains and views in spades, Routeburn is an absolute show-off in the nature department. Open to the public since the 1880s, the 32-kilometre track winds along the glacial Route Burn river and up past both the Routeburn and Earland Falls. It's an easy South Island favourite and has truly earned its place as one of New Zealand's Great Walks. The Fiordland National Parks-based track takes about two to four days to finish depending on your fitness level and how long you want to spend taking in the various majestic views. The track is only open from October through to April, and it pays to reserve a spot at one of the Department of Conservation huts or campsites early, as the department has a monopoly on park accommodation and spots are guaranteed to fill up fast. HEAPHY TRACK Based in the Kahurangi National Park, the Heaphy Track spans across the Nelson-Tasman and West Coast regions, taking hikers through dense Nikau palms and forest and out towards the beautiful, choppy Tasman Sea. The track also has quite a few cute little side trips, including a small expedition through an "enchanted forest" filled with beech trees and the remains of old caves. Take a torch and go exploring inside the caves a little, especially the one that has a small waterfall pouring out of it. The Heaphy Track totals 78.4 kilometres, so should take you between four and six days. The track's open all year but use your common sense and check the Department of Conservation site for up-to-date alerts before embarking on your trip. [caption id="attachment_687373" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Will Patino.[/caption] MILFORD TRACK The Milford Track was historically used as a practical route for Maori to traverse the Fiordland area, but British immigrants quickly cottoned onto the four-day track's potential as a recreational walk when they stumbled upon it. By the early 1900s the news had even spread to London about this beauty-saturated route, the poet Blanche Baughan describing it as "the finest walk in the world" in the London Spectator in 1908. The 53.5-kilometre track is still the most famous of all New Zealand hikes due to its iconic and varied Kiwiana landscape and views. But with fame comes the necessary bureaucracy; to walk the track, hikers need to book months in advance. [caption id="attachment_687375" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Corey Parsons.[/caption] MUELLER HUT TRACK According to Reddit rumours, Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant wrote 'Stairway to Heaven' after going up to the Mueller Hut. The ten-kilometre return hike starts with a gentle incline to the Sealy Tarns, where on a sufficiently bluebird day you'll be blessed with a view of Aoraki/Mount Cook. This is about your halfway point. After that, the two-hour alpine track through the tussock to get to the hut begins. The view from the Mueller Hut itself is a combination of glaciers and New Zealand's highest peaks in all directions. A stairway to heaven indeed. [caption id="attachment_687374" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Julian Apse.[/caption] ALEX KNOB TRACK Alex Knob is a track that will give your quads a baptism of fire, with about a four-hour steady climb. The Rata Lookout over what is just an absolutely glorious view of the Franz Josef Glacier will make it worth though. The track is for experienced and well-equipped trampers only, so stay below the snow line if you don't have alpine hiking experience or crampons. Don't be that guy in the news for getting seriously injured or lost in one of our national parks. Start planning your trip to New Zealand's south with our guide to the South Island journeys to take here.
Hellenika might be your favourite eatery in Brisbane, Greek or otherwise. Perhaps you can't go past sAme sAme's Thai dishes and two-storey venue. You could be fond of ESSA's moody space, the wine and people-watching at Cru Bar and, of course, the frosty sweet treats at Gelato Messina. Congratulations — you're a fan of James Street, which fills a stretch from Fortitude Valley to New Farm with impressive culinary options galore. You should also be a devoted attendee at the precinct's annual food and drink celebration: the James Street Food and Wine Trail. Thanks to the event, which attracted more than 20,000 people in 2022, nothing says classic Brisbane like spending four whole winter days eating and drinking your way up and down this patch of the River City. Indeed, if you're a Brisbanite with a healthy appetite, there's only one place to be between Thursday, July 27–Sunday, July 30. Take your rumbling stomach and its yearning for something scrumptious down to the well-known stretch of shops — and then fill it with tasty treats from everywhere from Gerard's Bar and Harveys Bar + Bistro to Jocelyn's Provisions and Mosconi. Over JSFWT's 2023 run, James Street will become a culinary wonderland again, and highlight the gastronomic delights of the area. That includes devouring delicious dishes and drinks, of course, regardless of what kind of food, beverage or event takes your fancy. And, it also boasts a whole day of market activity. Whenever you decide to head by, you can hop on the trail. Follow the roadway to a feast of dishes and drinks; think: the returning favourite that is Gerard's Bar's Lebanese pizza party to start things off on the Thursday, Jocelyn's launching a funfetti cake sandwich on the same date, The Green doing a Friday-night dinner and Cantinho cooking up souvlaki to end the working week. Come Saturday, champagne menus and rooftop garden shindigs join the spread at ESSA and The Calile, respectively. Then, on Sunday, 33 businesses will unleash their wares on Market Day, which'll take over the entire street. Even though Gerard's Bistro will be closed for refurbishment, it's even hosting a stall. So is Mexican newcomer Carmen, plus The Nixon Room, Sunshine and more. Also on the agenda at the picnic-style Market Day event, which turns the roadway into a 300-metre-long outdoor dining room: live performances and live music. Yes, the street will be shut between McLachlan and Arthur Streets, to make room for five live music stages, tables and dance parties. Across the trail's full duration, one-off menu pairings, set menus and tastings at James Street's residents remains a big highlight. So does Messina's contribution: five limited-edition flavours, with one per day from Thursday–Saturday and two on Sunday. James Street Food and Wine Trail returns to James Street, New Farm from Thursday, July 27–Sunday, July 30. For more information, head to the JSFWT website. Images: courtesy of James St.
Ah, the joy of gift-giving. And by 'joy,' we mean the stressful task of finding the perfect present for your loved ones who seem to have it all. But fear not, fellow gift-giver, we've got a guide that's as picky as your loved ones. Together with House of Suntory, we've put together this handy guide so you can find something perfect, no matter how niche. FOR LOVERS OF JAPANESE CRAFT SPIRITS There are scotch buffs and bourbon fans, but nobody is more discerning than a Japanese whisky enthusiast. People who have great respect for Japanese culture can be pretty specific when it comes to their spirit preferences. Nothing says "I appreciate your refined taste", like a bottle of Toki Whisky from House of Suntory. Toki means time, and this dram aims to combine different eras in one effortless blend. It combines whisky from three Japanese distilleries: Chita, Hakushu and Yamazaki. The palate is brimming with grapefruit, green grapes, peppermint and thyme with a subtle sweet and spicy finish with hints of vanilla oak, white pepper and ginger. It's ideal in a classic highball. Want to go all out with craft spirits? Suntory has just released its Hibiki Japanese Harmony 100th-anniversary edition. It's a delicate blend of malt and grain whiskies that promises a honeylike sweetness of candied orange peel and white chocolate on the palate and a nose bursting with rose, lychee, rosemary and sandalwood. FOR THE ONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE ANY PROPER GLASSWARE There's no point gifting an awesome whisky if they are just going to sip it out of some crappy mug they got for free at a festival three years ago. Level up their glassware with some luxury high-ball super-thin (but durable) glasses, like these Usuhari High-Ball Glass Set from Bokksu. Made in Japan and sent in a classy wooden case, they are a perfect gift for the whisky-lover who desperately needs some high-quality glassware. FOR YOUR MATE WHOSE VINYL COLLECTION IS TAKING OVER THEIR HOME Vinyl collectors are on another level and living in another era. Given the heaving shelves in their living room, there's little point trying to source their next favourite vinyl — because, likely, they already have that planned out. Instead, think outside the box for something that showcases their love for vinyl but is also useful, like Vinyl Coasters. It is ideal for the vinyl-lover who loves coffee or whisky and cares about protecting their coffee table. There are many options out there, but these novelty nostalgia ones from Retro Room have titles on the vinyls like Tea Time (Don't Spill This) and Topo Hot To Handle by The Nostaligics. Want to go further? Get them a vintage-inspired suitcase record player from Crosley to add some retro charm to their place. FOR THE FASHIONISTA WHO ALWAYS DRESSES THEIR BEST We all have that one friend who looks effortlessly fabulous. Who buys high-end wardrobe staples and with the addition of classic accessories like a silk scarf, stunning jewellery, or even on-point makeup can elevate even the most relaxed sweatpants look. If your fashion-forward bestie is in need of classic footwear, look no further than Onitsuka Tiger, currently having something of a resurgence in the fashion world. And what's a completed outfit without a signature fragrance? Check out Comme des Garçons (CDG) unisex scents, the brainchild of Japanese fashion rebel Rei Kawakubo. The range is inspired by 'anti-perfumes', like the scent of gunpowder or laundry — we're partial to the concrete fragrance. FOR SCREEN BUFFS WHO LOVE A TIPPLE WITH THEIR FAVOURITE MOVIE OR TV SHOW Lights, camera, action...and a good cocktail. If your mate can't go five minutes without referencing a movie or television show, then Cocktails of the Movies and Cheers to TV are two deep cuts to gift them. These books are the perfect blend of screen magic and mixology, ensuring your friend's movie night is Oscar-worthy, even if their cocktail skills are still in the supporting actor category. The movie book includes iconic cocktail recipes from Marilyn's Manhattan in Some Like It Hot to The Dude's white russian in The Big Lebowski, whereas the television version includes cocktails inspired by Game of Thrones, Fleabag and Jerry Seinfeld. They're the ultimate pop-culture accessory and make for excellent coffee table books, with each cocktail accompanied by a history of the beverage, some movie or television show insight and original artwork. [caption id="attachment_862472" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Luisa Brimble (Unsplash)[/caption] FOR THE PLANT PARENT WHO HAS COVERED EVERY SURFACE Normal planters are so last season, and your green-thumbed friend has probably used up all their surfaces with devil's ivy vines and monstera cuttings. Help them spruce up their home and their plant collection with a hanging disco ball planter. Now your friend can turn their house into a disco jungle, where even the plants groove to the beat of the water droplets. FOR THE TRAVELLER WHO IS PROBABLY ALREADY ON THEIR NEXT ADVENTURE If your mate returns from one adventure only to start planning the next one, their passport probably needs some protection. And what better way to keep their most treasured item than by gifting a luxe leather passport holder embossed with their initials? Perfect for the seasoned globetrotter, it's like a first-class ticket for their travel documents. Toki Whisky is available from all premium liquor outlets. For more information, check out the website.
When Brisbane was initially started to make a name for itself in the craft beer world, Newstead Brewing Co was one of the driving forces. Just over a decade later, the early pioneer in helping ensure that the River City wasn't just known for XXXX has closed its doors. The brand was no longer based in the suburb that shares its name, but said goodbye to its Milton site — just down the road from XXXX, in fact — before Tropical Cyclone Alfred. As Brissie was closing down ahead of the wild weather, so was this favourite — but permanently, sadly. Newstead Brewing Co announced the news afterwards, via a social media statement on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. "It's a sad time for Brisbane craft beer and our beloved industry," the message begins. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Newstead Brewing Co (@newsteadbrewingco) In its farewell, the Newstead Brewing Co crew looks back fondly on its beginnings, plus what came next, then notes the impact of the 2022 floods, and how it avoided closure at the time but is now saying goodbye. "Thirteen years ago, the beginning of the craft beer movement in Brisbane was wild. Discovering what hops in beer were was total transcendence; it was new and exciting. Filled with optimism, incredible collabs with international icons and style exploration, along with its fair share of ego. Being an OG of an industry, you aren't immune to being taken advantage of nor making mistakes." "Be it our generosity and trust sometimes besting our common sense, the great brand confusion of 2021 or a mid-strength lager with a big cow on the can, we have certainly learned some lessons along the way. While I'm sure all Brisbanians will have a Newstead story to share, Newstead Brewing's story certainly isn't singular. Where it does walk the line of uniqueness though, is in its shear grit," the message goes on. "Three years ago, after a crippling pandemic that bought the industry to its knees, we flooded. The humbling of that moment sparked a massive focus on integrity and authenticity. It was do or die. So we dug deep and did!" "At our core, we have always been a small family business. Built on a deep passion for pushing boundaries and exploring possibilities. With an enthusiasm to be a part of something wonderful and contribute to building a community and an industry. We could have been forgiven for closing the doors after the floods of 2022 and the experience of watching nine years of our hard work go under water. But something amazing happened. Those who were 'meant' to show up didn't and those who did show up, were meant to." Of the period since those floods, "it's been an inspiring three years and every single one of our team were integral to every breath Newstead took, so it's heartbreaking for us all, that in these times of industry crisis, we just couldn't weather this final storm," the crew advises. "The old girl is done." "We leave with our heads held high. All of our work was not for nothing. We kept the heart beating of an industry that needs help from its friends right now and we proved that passionate authenticity, heart and sheer grit truly do make an impactful difference." In its prime, Newstead Brewing Co not only boasted its original location on Doggett Street — which it left in 2023 — and its second home in Milton, but also a taphouse inside Brisbane Airport's domestic terminal. "From Doggett Street to Milton, it has been an honour serving you all. If anything can be taken from Newstead Brewing's story, it's to remain humble, keep evolving and bettering yourselves and please support your mates," the closure statement continued. [caption id="attachment_994852" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Newstead Brewing Co has closed its doors at 67 Castlemaine Street, Milton — head to the brewery's website for more details.
Same iconic facade, big changes inside: that's the vibe at the Fortitude Valley General Post Office building, aka GPO Hotel. Earlier in 2022, it was announced that the Ann Street locale is getting a $7-million-plus revamp behind its heritage-listed exterior, with Artesian Hospitality doing the honours. Now, you can look forward to hitting up the renovated spot sometime in early 2023, including eating and drinking at its new food and wine venue. Clearly, it's a significant makeover for the site, which dates back to 1887. An exact opening date hasn't yet been announced, or much in the way of detail about the site's changes, but sommelier Alan Hunter — also ex-General Manager of OTTO Brisbane — will oversee the new contemporary dining venue. He'll be joined by Executive Chef Richard Ousby, who'll use his experience overseas and locally to shape the restaurant's menu. Hunter comes to the new GPO with plenty of accolades, including being named the Pol Roger 2013 Sommelier of the Year, and helping lead OTTO Brisbane to nabbing the Wine List of the Year award in the Good Food Guide in 2019. As for Brisbane local Ousby, he'll draw upon his time in England at Michelin three-star restaurant Waterside Inn, in Sydney at Sous Chef at Quay, and as Executive Chef of Stokehouse restaurants's in Melbourne and Brisbane. "I am thrilled to join Artesian in delivering a truly exceptional venue offering to a place that is close to the hearts of so many Brisbanites," said Hunter. "It's a really exciting project to be a part of. The GPO revival is set to create a new benchmark for Brisbane's burgeoning foodie scene and I can't wait to welcome guests through its doors next year." [caption id="attachment_866375" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Artesian will make its Brisbane debut with the revamped GPO, with Cali Beach Club, Surfers Pavilion, White Rhino, Saké Sisters and Havana RnB on the Gold Coast on its resume so far. "We are delighted to have Alan and Richard join the group. They're the perfect team to lead us into a very exciting new era for Artesian and for one of Brisbane's most beloved establishments," said Matthew Keegan, Artesian Hospitality's Founder and Managing Partner. "The talent and experience of Alan and Richard epitomise the nature of what will be unveiled within the new GPO precinct. We're so excited for what's to come, and can't wait to cement the precinct's status as a staple within the Brisbane social scene, while introducing it to a broader audience of sophisticated food and wine lovers." The Fortitude Valley General Post Office building is located at 740 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley, and will reopen in early 2023. We'll update you when Artesian Hospitality announces an exact launch date. Top image: Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons.
Maybe you're always on the hunt for new experiences. Perhaps you can't go past a meal with a view. You could be keen to indulge your adrenaline-junkie side any way that you can. Or, you just might want to see Brisbane from a different perspective. All of the above is on the menu at Vertigo, as is dinner. Sure, a great bite to eat should satisfy your tastebuds and your stomach; however, this one will also get your blood pumping and pulse racing. Initially announced in August and now serving sky-high diners Thursday–Sunday weekly, Vertigo is a brand-new addition to the River City's iconic Brisbane Powerhouse. The twist: it isn't just located on top of the riverside New Farm venue, but hangs off of the site's industrial facade. Forget just living on the edge — this is dining on the edge, and literally. Obviously, the views are spectacular. Given that patrons climb out to their seats while donning a safety harness, then eat four stories (and 17 metres) up, so are the thrills. An Australian-first vertical dining experience, Vertigo's levelled-up dinners welcome in tables of two to peer out over Brisbane. It comes with a big caveat, however, with the restaurant at the mercy of the weather. That'll certainly play a factor over Brissie's stormy summers, but the night's sitting will still go ahead if it's only lightly raining. Once you're seated, Brisbane Powerhouse's Bar Alto downstairs provides Vertigo's food across its eight tables — and each reservation's two-hour sitting — with the two-course menu featuring local ingredients to go with what's certain to become a local attraction. Unsurprisingly, a visit here doesn't come cheap, costing $250 per person. Another caveat: you can't head up if you've been drinking, with everyone breathalysed first and required to return a 0.00-percent blood alcohol reading. That said, while you need to be sober to climb over the edge, a matched glass of wine will be served with dinner. You'll also get a post-descent champagne, beer or soft drink. If you're not fond of heights, this won't be for you. But if you're fine with towering not just atop but over the side of an old power station-turned-arts precinct that dates back to the 1920s — whether you're a Brisbane local or a tourist — you'll be in for quite the unique experience. To make the evening even more dramatic, diners can also choose to come back to earth post-meal via dropline down the facade. Or, if that's too much adventure for you — especially after eating — you can just head back to the ground through the venue. If star chef Luke Mangan achieves his dream of setting up a restaurant on the Story Bridge, too, Brisbane might need to rename itself the Sky-High City. "Vertigo is unlike anything else in the world, it is an unexpected combination of adventure tourism and fine-dining on a heritage site," said Brisbane Powerhouse CEO/Artistic Director Kate Gould when the restaurant was first announced. "Stepping off the roof of Brisbane Powerhouse to take a seat suspended at your table, four stories above the ground, will be the ultimate thrill. Experience silver service dining — albeit one with unbreakable crockery and cutlery attached to the table!" "We are creating a uniquely Brisbane dining experience, at height. You will be on the edge of your seat in the open air before descending via an unforgettable exit," added Riverlife creator and co-founder John Sharpe, with the outdoor tour operator partnering with Powerhouse on the venture. "Vertigo will inspire fear but with the knowledge that safety is the priority of our experienced team of adventure tourism guides." Find Vertigo at Brisbane Powerhouse, 119 Lamington Street, New Farm, Brisbane, operating from 5pm Thursday–Sunday — head to the venue's website for further details and bookings. Images: Markus Ravik.
Money can't buy you love, as four mop-topped Brits first sang 59 years ago, but it can buy you tickets to see the music legend who wrote one of the catchiest pop tracks ever released — and co-performed it — play it live in Australia. When Paul McCartney heads Down Under this spring, he'll have a wealth of material to choose from. One of his favourite openers: 'Can't Buy Me Love'. Hitting our shores for the first time since 2017 on his Got Back tour, McCartney will work through a massive catalogue of hits from his time in The Beatles, Wings and also across his solo career on a six-city stint around the country. Arenas and stadiums will welcome Sir Paul, starting at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Wednesday, October 18, then heading to Melbourne's Marvel Stadium, Newcastle's McDonald Jones Stadium and Allianz Stadium in Sydney before the month is out. Then, to kick off November, McCartney will take over Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium and finally Heritage Bank Stadium on the Gold Coast. This tour will mark the Beatles icon's first-ever Newcastle and Gold Coast shows, and also commemorate almost six decades since the band that helped McCartney make history famously toured Australia in 1964 amid a wave of Beatlemania. In Adelaide all of those years back, it's estimated that 350,000 people lined the streets to get a glimpse of the group, packing the stretch between the airport and Town Hall. McCartney's Got Back setlist has featured everything from 'Hey Jude', 'Let It Be' and 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' to 'Love Me Do', 'Blackbird' and 'Got to Get You Into My Life' from The Beatles across its stops so far. Yes, 'Get Back' gets a whirl. Wings tunes 'Live and Let Die', 'Band on the Run', 'Letting Go' and 'Junior's Farm' usually pop up, too, as does McCartney's own 'Maybe I'm Amazed'. The Got Back tour kicked off in the US in February 2022, wrapping up last year's run with a massive Glastonbury set. McCartney now brings his usual band — keyboardist Paul 'Wix' Wickens, bassist and guitarist Brian Ray, fellow guitarist Rusty Anderson and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr — our way after picking up a Helpmann Award for Best International Contemporary Concert for his last visit. PAUL McCARTNEY 'GOT BACK' TOUR 2023 DATES: Wednesday, October 18 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Saturday, October 21 — Marvel Stadium, Melbourne Tuesday, October 24 — McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle Friday, October 27–Saturday, October 28 — Allianz Stadium, Sydney Wednesday, November 1 — Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Saturday, November 4 — Heritage Bank Stadium, Gold Coast Paul McCartney tours Australia in October and November 2023, with Telstra Plus members pre-sale tickets from Thursday, August 3, Frontier members pre-sale ticketing available from Wednesday, August 9 and general tickets from Friday, August 11 — all at staggered times. Head to the tour website for further details. Images: MPL Communications.
Australia has been welcoming a steady stream of stunning new hotel properties from local brands, from dog-friendly boutique stays to history-filled inner-city escapes. But that's not the case for our latest grand arrival, which officially opened today, Thursday, March 23, towering above Melbourne CBD's Lonsdale Street. After much hype, the Ritz-Carlton Melbourne has finally been unveiled in all its luxurious 80-storey glory. It marks the second Aussie property for the international Marriott-owned brand after an existing site in Perth, with the next slated to open on the Gold Coast by 2026. The new 257-room hotel is a high-end affair, with renowned Aussie architects Cottee Parker behind the build and BAR Studio to thank for the elegant interiors. Here, they've flipped the script on the usual hotel formula, placing the impressive Sky Lobby Reception way up on Level 80, where lofty ceilings and huge windows offer panoramic views to greet its guests. Rooms are kitted out with hand-made glass panels, dark timber and gold finishes, while artworks pay tribute to both the city location and the area's indigenous heritage. Splash out to stay in the enormous Ritz-Carlton Suite and you'll enjoy your own in-room sauna, walk-in wardrobe and private pantry. Last year, the hotel named Michael Greenlaw (London's Bibendum, Vue de Monde) as Executive Chef and Mark Best (Peninsula Bistro, Marque) in the role of Culinary Advisor, hinting at some buzz-worthy food and drink offerings to come. That looks set to be the case, with three onsite venues now unveiled — Atria is the innovative fine-diner celebrating hyper-seasonality, Cameo is the glam cocktail bar promising top-shelf sipping and the Lobby Lounge is the more casual counterpart that'll also play host to high-tea sessions. All of these sit at the top of the hotel, showcasing eye-popping views across the city. Of course, with all that luxury there had to be a standout wellness offering involved — and the Ritz-Carlton Spa promises not to disappoint. Here, you'll find six treatment rooms and a hefty menu of therapies, as well as a soaring infinity pool, yoga studio and fitness hub. The hotel is also home to no less than 2500 square metres of event space, including the expansive Ritz-Carlton Grand Ballroom, which boasts space to sit 550 guests. Find the Ritz-Carlton Melbourne at 650 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. 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.
Dry July hasn't turned out how many Australians would've liked, thanks to lockdowns in Greater Sydney, Victoria and South Australia. But whether you were trying to take a break from booze for a spell, you've been cutting down on your drinking in general or you don't touch the hard stuff anyway, gin brand Gordon's has released a new tipple you'll want to sip even when ditching alcohol isn't the centre of attention for an entire month. The popular gin label has unveiled its own booze-free version, Gordon's 0.0% — and yes, that moniker makes its alcohol content clear. It still heroes the usual juniper flavour, and is still distilled using the same botanicals, but pairs it with zero booze. Two options are now available in bottle shops: Gordon's 0.0% in 700-millilitre bottles, so you can mix your own alcohol-free G&Ts and other cocktails; and 330-millilitre ready-to-drink gin-and-tonic mixes that come in four-packs. Whichever you choose, one thing is certain: however much you drink, you won't have a hangover the next day. Whether you're new to cutting out the sauce or you've always preferred your beverages sans booze, the alcohol-free drinks industry has been expanding in a big way over the past few years. Melbourne has its own booze-free gin joint, Sydney has a bottle-o dedicated to the concept, and actually decent mocktails are available on plenty of bar menus around the country now. The range of wines and beers with low or no alcohol has also been growing, too, so having a drink but skipping the headache — and not just sipping orange juice, sparkling water or soda — has never been easier. Gordon's 0.0% is now available in Australian bottle shops — in 700-millilitre bottles (RRP$34.99) and 330-millilitre ready-to-drink gin-and-tonic mixes (RRP$14.99 for a four-pack).
Cyclists in the city could soon find themselves with their heads in the clouds, with Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday announcing that the State Government will build an elevated bicycle highway in Melbourne's inner west. If you're a regular commuter cyclist from Footscray, Yarraville or Werribee, this should be music to your just-beeped-at ears. The proposal — which was floated by the government in June last year — is set to come to life as part of the West Gate Tunnel Project, which will see a four-kilometre tunnel and freeway above Footscray Road be built as an alternative to the always-congested West Gate Bridge. The two-and-a-half-kilometre cycling 'veloway' — starting at Footscray's Shepherd's Bridge and finishing on Dudley Street in Docklands — will sit above Footscray Road, elevated from street-level and underneath the future flyover. As well as allowing cyclists to skip traffic lights and get to the city much faster, the separation of cyclists and motor vehicles will significantly increase the safety of those on their bikes. While Footscray Road does have a bike lane, the new elevated infrastructure will allow cyclists to bypass dodgy intersections (like at Sims Street and Shepherd Bridge) and more fluidly connect with other major bike paths, such as the Capital City Trail. The Footscray Road bike path won't be disused though — in fact, it will be widened. And with the new flyover road and the 24/7 truck ban that is set to be instated on surrounding Francis Street, Somerville Road, Buckley Street and Moore Street, we're guessing it will be a bit less precarious too. The West Gate Tunnel Project now has to be assessed through an Environment Effects Statement (EES), with construction set to start in early 2018. It's very focused on car transport, so we're happy to see that cycling infrastructure is getting a look-in too. The more we can do to encourage people to give up their cars for a healthier, more environmentally-friendly form of transportation, the better. Via The Age. Image: Yarra River Business Association. By Tom Clift and Lauren Vadnjal.
