A sudden Nutella shortage has gripped the nation, leaving our pancakes dry and Melbourne is to blame. The supply of industrial-sized tubs used to fuel the Melbourne Nutella industry has dried up, forcing cafes to buy smaller tubs directly from supermarket shelves, leaving no Nutella for the little guys (the rest of Nutella-less Australia). Ferrero Australia has stated they will not be receiving new shipments from until August 7. That's like, a whole week. So this is it. All the years we’ve spent wondering how the end would come and here it is. Doooooooom. Listen Melbourne, we get it (FYI this is coming from a Nutellaless Brisbanite). You love Nutella. You slap that thick, creamy hazelnut spread on everything you can get your grubby little mitts on, from waffles to doughnuts to pizza. We know the second your sculpting classes pay off, you’re going to create a lifelike human form out of Nutella and live happily together for the rest of your life. We really have no problem with this; we wholeheartedly endorse your hazelnut love. But there’s one teeny issue: there’s no Nutella left for the rest of us. Yeah, so maybe we’re being a little dramatic. But for the time being you’ll have to get your Nutella fix from one of the many, many establishments that serve Nutella-themed treats. Desperate Sydneysiders, get your starved bodies down to Brewtown in Newtown for a Nutella cruffin (muffin-croissant, FYI). For Melburnians, try Peko Peko in Fitzroy and grab a Nutella dumpling; and Brisbane-based Nutella freaks can pick up a Nutella pavlova or Nutella lasagne at the Chester Street Bakery. Once you have your sweet hazelnut treat, take it home, lock all the doors and window, and savour every last morsel. Via Good Food. Image: ninacoco.
Launching the Open Frame Festival for 2012, Syncretism is a tempting double-bill that’ll tease and titillate the ears, heart and body. Peter Swanson, ex-member of Yellow Swans, is best known for his massive sound. His latest solo album is a rippling journey through a world of ridiculously accomplished musicianship, a world rich in densely-packed layers of rhythmic fury. Described by Pitchfork as being “like a caffeine-infused heartbeat, pumping blood into a mix of bussing tones, rising waves, and cutting noise” the LP is truly intense, a mind-rendering bag of sonic, pounding rhythm and cacophonic intensity. Joining Swanson on the Syncretism line-up, and making their Australian debut as a duo, Tujiko Noriko and her beat-master partner Tyme recently released their LP, Gyu, an inventive explosion of all things J-pop that goes well beyond the confines of the genre, and mixes things up in a blender of provocation and rhythmic ridiculousness.
Add another impressive name to the long list of shows, plays and musicals alike, that've been treading the boards across Australia in recent years. That roster has spanned everything from The Book of Mormon, Hamilton and Moulin Rouge! The Musical through to Come From Away, SIX the Musical and The Mousetrap — but only Choir Boy hails from the Oscar-winning writer of the famously not-La La Land drama Moonlight. Tarell Alvin McCraney's other queer coming-of-age play premiered in London in 2012, then did the rounds of the US before opening on Broadway in 2018. It might've taken more than a decade since its stage debut for the show to make its way Down Under, but fans of Moonlight are in for a tale about sexuality, race, hope and gospel music, all focused around a young gay man finding his voice, that's certain to prove worth the wait. Story-wise, Choir Boy follows Pharus Young, who is determined to be the best choir leader that the Charles R Drew Prep School for Boys has ever seen in its 50-year history. That's easier said than done, though, given the rituals that've long been a part of the school, and the masculine expectations as well. Filled with a cappella gospel tunes, Choir Boy scored four Tony Award nominations back in 2019, including for Best Play and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play — and won Best Sound Design of a Play, while also nabbing music director Jason Michael Webb a Special Tony Award. In Australia, it finally premieres Down Under as part of Sydney WorldPride, with four stops on its agenda from Tuesday, February 14: a month-long stint at Riverside Theatres Parramatta, then short stays in Brisbane, Canberra and Wollongong. Leading the cast is international musical theatre performer Darron Hayes, joined by Tony Sheldon (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert), Robert Harrell (The Shield), Zarif (Lonesome), Quinton Rofail Rich (Godspell), Theo Williams (Passing Strange), and debutants Gareth Dutlow, Abu Kebe and Tawanda Muzenda, while Dino Dimitriadis (Overflow, Cleansed) and Zindzi Okenyo (seven methods of killing kylie jenner, Orange Thrower) direct. CHOIR BOY AUSTRALIAN DATES: Tuesday, February 14–Saturday, March 11 — Riverside Theatres Parramatta Wednesday, March 15–Saturday, March 18 — QPAC, Brisbane Wednesday, March 22—Saturday, March 25 — Wollongong Town Hall Wednesday, March 29–Sunday, April 2 — Canberra Theatre Centre Choir Boy starts its Australian run from Tuesday, February 14 at Riverside Theatres Parramatta — head to the various venue websites above for further details and tickets.
Enjoying a glass of wine might come with plenty of medical benefits, but having a tipple isn't typically an exercise-heavy pastime. You sit. You drink. You get up, top up your beverage and repeat. You usually don't walk particularly far, let alone run. Then came the Grapest 5K run, a series of wine-tasting fun runs that kicked off around Australia in 2017. Asking participants to put in the hard yards before getting some boozy rewards, it was such a hit that it's coming back for yet another round in 2019. How does it work? Grapest consists of two sections. First, you sprint, jog or set forth at whatever pace suits you best, making your way through scenic vineyard surroundings. Then, you walk another kilometre — yes, in addition to the first five, or ten if you're feeling extra energetic — while stopping at tasting stations along the way and sampling the good stuff. The latter part, they're calling a "wine waddle". Don't worry, if you're not up to the active stuff and you're simply keen on wandering and sipping, that's an option (although it does defeat the idea of combining fitness with throwing back drinks). 2019's event is scheduled for May 18 at The Overflow Estate 1885 near Brisbane.
For Queenslanders, cricket is as synonymous with summer as beaches and barbeques are. Equally so, rugby league is a clear indicator that winter has well and truly arrived. And although regular fixtures keep many enthralled, it can be said with 95% authority that the annual State of Origin games have a special place in most maroon hearts. For ‘grown ups’ who enjoy the game however, finding sophisticated ways to enjoy a primarily rough and tumble game can be hard. This year, Cloudland has made the hunt easy, playing host to those who enjoy their sport on large screens with good company, cocktails and shared antipasto as accompaniment. This year’s final game is set to be a tough decider, but choosing where to view it is not.
UPDATE, MARCH 25, 2020: Due to cinema closures and other concerns around COVID-19, In the Heights will no longer release on its initially scheduled date of Thursday, June 25, 2020. At present, a new release date has not been announced — we'll update you when one has been revealed. 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. Over the past five years, Hamilton has become a cultural phenomenon — and, thanks to its fame and acclaim, so has the hip hop musical's creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. But that's not the only stellar stage show to the multi-talented composer, actor, singer and playwright's name. Before he took on US history (and before he helped bring Bring It On to the theatre, too), Miranda turned life in Manhattan's Washington Heights into four-time Tony-winner In the Heights. While every Hamilton fan dreams of the day that it's turned into a movie, In the Heights is actually making the leap to the big screen first — in 2020, with a stacked cast, with Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M Chu behind the lens, and via a film primarily shot on location in its titular spot. Quiara Alegría Hudes, who wrote the text for the stage version, has also written the feature's screenplay. And Lin-Manuel Miranda is involved, naturally, producing the movie, overseeing the music and popping up on-screen as well. On Broadway from 2008–11, Miranda played the lead role of bodega owner Usnavi de la Vega. In the film, that honour goes to Anthony Ramos — an alumnus of the original production of Hamilton who has also featured in Patti Cake$, A Star Is Born and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Usnavi works hard, saves everything he earns and strives for a better life. He also sits at the centre of a vibrant community just beyond the 181st Street subway stop, with In the Heights charting the lives, loves and dreams of the Latinx neighbourhood through colourful, energetic and — as seen in the just-dropped trailer — exquisitely choreographed song and dance numbers. Joining Ramos and Miranda (who plays Piragua Guy, the owner of a shaved ice dessert stand) are Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton), singer Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera (Vida), Dascha Polanco (Orange is the New Black), Marc Anthony and Jimmy Smits — plus original In the Heights stage star Olga Merediz, Rent's Daphne Rubin-Vega and Matilda the Musical's Gregory Diaz IV. Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Stephanie Beatriz also features, after Miranda made an appearance on the hit sitcom earlier this year. Check out the full trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0CL-ZSuCrQ In the Heights was due to open in Australian cinemas on June 25, 2020; however it'll now release on a yet-to-be-revealed date — we'll update you when one is announced.
Middle-earth is about to sprawl across your TV screen — or whichever other screen you use to access your streaming queue. And, after five years of talking about it, Amazon has finally given Lord of the Rings fans what they've been waiting for: a first look at its new JRR Tolkien-inspired fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Elves, dwarves, epic cities, leafy landscapes — yes, 2022's new Lord of the Rings streaming series ticks all of those expected boxes so far in its just-dropped first teaser trailer. A young Galadriel (Morfydd Clark, Saint Maud) climbs ice, and a young Elrond (Robert Aramayo, The King's Man) features as well. Also packed into the 61-second clip: elves catching arrows, humans stuck on rafts on stormy seas, cave trolls, raging fires and orc battles. If you're new to The Rings of Power, Amazon first announced the show back in 2017, gave it the official go-ahead in mid-2018 and set a premiere date of Friday, September 2, 2022 back in 2021. In-between, it confirmed that it wouldn't just remake Peter Jackson's movies. Rather, the series will spend time in Middle-earth's Second Age, bringing that era from the LOTR realm to the screen for the very first time. According to show's official synopsis, it'll follow "the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history," with the action set thousands of years before the novels and movies we've all read and watched. The series will also "take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness." If you're a little rusty on your LOTR lore, the Second Age lasted for 3441 years, and saw the initial rise and fall of Sauron, as well as a spate of wars over the coveted rings. Elves feature prominently, and there's plenty to cover, even if Tolkien's works didn't spend that much time on the period — largely outlining the main events in an appendix to the popular trilogy. Naturally, you can expect Sauron to feature in the new show, and to give its main figures some trouble. "Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth," the official synopsis continues. "From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone," it also advises. In terms of stars, The Rings of Power will feature an unsurprisingly large cast — and some impressive talent behind the scenes. Among the other actors traversing Middle-earth are Ismael Cruz Córdova (The Undoing) as Arondir, Nazanin Boniadi (Bombshell) as Bronwyn, Owain Arthur (A Confession) as Prince Durin IV, Charlie Vickers (Palm Beach) as Halbrand and Sophia Nomvete (The Tempest) as Princess Disa. There's also Tom Budge (Judy & Punch), Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (The Accountant), Maxim Baldry (Years and Years), Peter Mullan (Westworld), Benjamin Walker (The Underground Railroad) and comedian Lenny Henry. And, the series is being overseen by showrunners and executive producers JD Payne and Patrick McKay, while filmmaker JA Bayona (A Monster Calls, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) directs the first two episodes. Check out the first teaser trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power below: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be available to stream via Amazon Prime Video from Friday, September 2, 2022.
Children Collide are a hard working band. Mere weeks after releasing their third studio album, Monument, the band are embarking on a massive 19 date national tour taking in all capital cities and numerous regional centres. The year has been a turbulent one for the band, with drummer Ryan Ceasar saying farewell to the band earlier this year, and with lead singer Johnny Mackay’s imminent departure for a New York lifestyle, who knows what the future will hold for the band. One thing is certain; Children Collide will be rocking as hard as ever and are still dedicated to putting on a good show. The Monument tour is certainly shaping up to be monumental in its own right, so be sure to grab a ticket and get to The Zoo for what is bound to be a great show.
Dig out the Thai fisherman pants from the back of your closet, Woodford Folk Festival is back for another year. If you've never been, Woodford is the perfect place to disconnect from the daily grind, become one with nature (read: mud) and check out some of Australians best musicians with a chilled and festive vibe. This year's offering is no exception; the lineup has 'best summer ever' written all over it. Festival mainstays like The Cat Empire and Lior will be back once again. They will also be joined by an A-list crowd of Australian ladies like Kate Miller-Heidke, Bertie Blackman, and Mia Dyson. But the real crowdpleaser will come from The Violent Femmes. Who wouldn't want to listen to 'Blister in the Sun' while dancing in the wilderness in the height of summer? Bliss. Though The Violent Femmes may be a little past their prime, there will also be a bunch of up and coming musicians on stage. Husky and Hiatus Kaiyote will be representing Melbourne talent and The Cairos will be playing to what's basically a home crowd. With over 400 acts jammed into the full program, Woodford is all about discovering new sounds. As well as music, the festival covers visual arts, circus, comedy, vaudeville and dance. Set up camp, let your hair get knotty, and roam the makeshift tarpaulin towns of this super chilled festival. It's time to channel your inner hippy. WOODFORD FOLK FESTIVAL 2014 LINEUP: Archie Roach Bertie Blackman The Cairos The Cat Empire Christine Anu Darren Middleton (ex-Powderfinger) Del Barber The East Pointers Hiatus Kiayote Husky Jeff Lang Jenn Grant John Smith Kate Miller-Heidke Lau Led Kaapana Lior Matt Anderson Mia Dyson Nahko and Medicine for the People Shooglenifty Sticky Fingers Tiny Ruins The Topp Twins Violent Femmes We Two Thieves Woodford Folk Festival is on from December 27 - January 1. Tickets are on sale now.
Flight sales have been a big part of 2020, ever since domestic travel started opening back up in Australia (and even with borders closing and opening with frequency). Indeed, when Jetstar offered up a heap of discounted tickets in mid-June, it sold 70,000 seats in just five hours, with Aussies keen to travel when and where they can in this pandemic-afflicted year. The airline has launched several other sales since and, until Saturday, December 19, it's hosting its big Christmas affair. So, get your clickers ready. The Jetstar Christmas sale is already running, with discounted flights on offer until 11.59pm AEDT on Saturday — if it doesn't sell out prior. In the sale, you'll find cheap flights all around the country, starting at $29. That'll get you from Adelaide to the Avalon airport in Melbourne. For $59, a Brisbanite can get to Sydney and for $99, a Sydneysider can get to Cairns, too. Other deals include Brisbane to The Whitsundays for $55, and to Darwin or Uluru for $89; Sydney to the Sunshine Coast for $59, to Hamilton Island for $99 and to Launceston for $49; and Melbourne to the Gold Coast for $69, to Ballina for $97 and to Margaret River for $99. Yes, the list goes on. Tickets are for one-way fares, for trips between January–June 2021, with exact dates varying in each region. So, if you're keen to get away, book some now and start planning. This time, before you get booking, you don't need to do as much work researching the status of interstate borders — because most of the country is now open. At present, only Western Australia has any restrictions in place, with folks from South Australia needing to quarantine for 14 days. Of course, this can change quickly depending on any new COVID-19 cases and clusters, as we've all become accustomed to seeing this year. Jetstar's Christmas sale runs until 11.59pm AEDT on Saturday, December 19, or until sold out.
I’m sure the thought has crossed your mind. Your love affair with beer is momentous, and beer has never let you down, yelled at you in public or asked you to take the bins out. Beer encourages you to play the field and see other people, and doesn’t complain if you’re out too late. While marrying beer is not a reality, the next best thing is coming to Brewsvegas. Brisbane Brewing Co and Ekim Brewing invite all to join a day of merriment as they commemorate a special brewnion with fancy brews, food, prizes, wedding singers, hilarious speeches and more.
Think there's just one Hottest 100 in January? Think again. Indeed, the second important countdown of the month goes rather well with the music poll that just proclaimed Flume's 'Never Be Like You' the nation's best track of 2016. In the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers list, great brews are in the spotlight — and once again, Stone & Wood's Pacific Ale has come out on top. It's the second year that the Byron Bay brewery has been dubbed the country's best yeasty tipple, and their third win overall. With 1600 different beers in the running, winning is no easy feat. Run by GABS — or the annual brew fest also known as the 'Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular', the 'people's choice' poll is decided by booze-lovers around the country, and received its most amount of votes ever in 2016. In massive news for new bevs, 21 brews that first wet lips in the past year were included in the GABS Hottest 100, including the American Pale Ale made by Gold Coast-based, Mick Fanning-co-owned Balter Brewing. And recognising the strength of Australia's indie beer scene, a whopping 80% of drinks hailed from independent brewers. If you're thinking, "less background, more beer", here's what you've been waiting for: the rundown of the best beverages from the past year that just keep tempting tastebuds. Working your way through them isn't just a great way to show your appreciation for locally made brews — consider it research for the 2017 countdown. GABS HOTTEST 100 AUSSIE CRAFT BEERS OF 2016 1. Pacific Ale - Australian Pale Ale - Stone and Wood Brewing Co 2. IIPA - Double IPA - Pirate Life Brewing 3. Hop Hog - American Pale Ale - Feral Brewing Company 4. XPA - American Pale Ale - Balter - NEW 5. IPA - American IPA - Pirate Life Brewing 6. Little Dove - American Pale Ale - Gage Roads Brewing Co - NEW 7. Pale Ale - American Pale Ale - Pirate Life Brewing 8. Crankshaft - American IPA - BentSpoke Brewery 9. Former Tenant - American IPA - Modus Operandi Brewing Co 10. Pale Ale - American Pale Ale - 4 Pines Brewing Co 11. IPA - American IPA - Fixation Brewing Co. 12. War Hog - American IPA - Feral Brewing Company 13. Beechworth Pale Ale - American Pale Ale - Bridge Road Brewers 14. 150 Lashes - Australian Pale Ale - James Squire 15. Pale Ale - American Pale Ale - Little Creatures 16. Newtowner - Australian Pale Ale - Young Henrys Brewing Company 17. Indian Summer Ale - Australian Pale Ale - 4 Pines Brewing Co 18. Kolsch - Kölsch - 4 Pines Brewing Co 19. Barley Griffin - Australian Pale Ale - BentSpoke Brewery 20. Throwback IPA - IPA (Specialty) - Pirate Life Brewing 21. Sonic Prayer - American IPA - Modus Operandi Brewing Co 22. Taco - Specialty Beer - Two Birds Brewing 23. India Red Ale - American IPA - Prancing Pony Brewery 24. Golden Stout Time - Sweet Stout - Big Shed Brewing 25. Korben D. - Double IPA - Akasha Brewing Co 26. Single Fin - British Golden Ale - Gage Roads Brewing Co 27. Three Sheets - Australian Pale Ale - Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel 28. Cloud Catcher - Australian Pale Ale - Stone and Wood Brewing Co 29. Karma Citra - IPA (Specialty) - Feral Brewing Company 30. Atomic - American Pale Ale - Gage Roads Brewing Co 31. Coffee Ramjet 2016 - Wood-Aged Beer - Boatrocker Brewing Co - NEW 32. Tusk – Nov 2016 - IPA (Specialty) - Feral Brewing Company - NEW 33. Nail Red - American Amber Ale - Nail Brewing 34. Ramjet 2016 - Wood-Aged Beer - Boatrocker Brewing Co - NEW 35. Dark - Dark Mild - White Rabbit Brewery 36. Summer Ale - Blonde Ale - Mountain Goat Beer 37. Wild Yak - Australian Pale Ale - Yak Ales - NEW 38. Steam Ale - California Common - Mountain Goat Beer 39. Kosciuszko Pale Ale - Australian Pale Ale - Kosciuszko Brewing Company 40. Grizz - American Amber Ale - 2 Brothers Brewery 41. Small Ale - IPA (Specialty) - Colonial Brewing Company 42. Dog Days - American Wheat - Little Creatures 43. Footscray Ale - American Pale Ale - West City Brewing 44. Spearhead - Australian Pale Ale - Cricketers Arms 45. Vanilla Milk Stout - Sweet Stout - Thirsty Crow 46. Modus Pale - American Pale Ale - Modus Operandi Brewing Co 47. Furphy Refreshing Ale - Kölsch - Little Creatures 48. American Amber Ale - American Amber Ale - 4 Pines Brewing Co 49. Nail VPA - American Pale Ale - Nail Brewing 50. Californicator - American IPA - Big Shed Brewing 51. Freshie Salt & Pepper - Gose - Nomad Brewing Co 52. Mt Tennent Pale Ale - American Pale Ale - Pact Beer Co 53. Fat Yak - American Pale Ale - Yak Ales 54. Kung Foo - Pale Lager - 2 Brothers Brewery 55. KRUSH! - American Pale Ale - KAIJU! Beer - NEW 56. Windjammer - American IPA - Green Beacon Brewing Co 57. Reginald - American IPA - Blackman's Brewery 58. Pale Ale - American Pale Ale - Hawkers Beer 59. Session Ale - Australian Pale Ale - Mismatch Brewing Company 60. Calypso - Pale Ale (American-style) - Odyssey Craft Brewing Co. 61. 8BiT - American IPA - Stockade Brew Co - NEW 62. Hop Thief 8 - American Pale Ale - James Squire - NEW 63. The Chop - American IPA - Hop Nation Brewing Co - NEW 64. Sunset Ale - American Amber Ale - Two Birds Brewing 65. IPA - American IPA - Little Creatures 66. Rogers' Beer - American Amber Ale - Little Creatures 67. Watermelon Warhead - Berliner Weisse - Feral Brewing Company 68. Hop Culture - American IPA - Mornington Peninsula Brewery - NEW 69. Miss Pinky - Soured Fruit Beer - Boatrocker Brewing Co 70. Bright Ale - Blonde Ale - Little Creatures 71. Sly Fox - American Pale Ale - Feral Brewing Company 72. Hop Thief 7 - American Pale Ale - James Squire 73. Praline - Belgian Specialty Ale - La Sirène Brewing 74. Copy Cat - American IPA - Mash Brewing 75. Elsie The Milk Stout - Sweet Stout - Batch Brewing Co 76. Fancy Pants - American Amber Ale - Mountain Goat Beer 77. The Fox - Vienna-style Lager - Rabbit & Spaghetti Brewing Co. 78. Growler - American Brown Ale - 2 Brothers Brewery 79. IPA - American IPA - Hawkers Beer 80. Peanut Brittle Gose - Gose - Bacchus Brewing Co 81. Rare Breed: Pulped Fiction Blood Orange IPA - Double IPA - Mountain Goat Beer - NEW 82. Yenda Pale Ale - Australian Pale Ale - Australian Beer Co 83. Garden Ale - Australian Pale Ale - Stone and Wood Brewing Co 84. Hazelnut Brown - Brown Ale (UK-style) - Bad Shepherd 85. Bling Bling - Double IPA - Bridge Road Brewers 86. Beach Ale - Blonde Ale - Odyssey Craft Brewing Co. - NEW 87. Mornington Pale - American Pale Ale - Mornington Peninsula Brewery 88. Fred - IPA (American-style) - Murray's Craft Brewing Co 89. Imperial IPA - IPA (Specialty) - 4 Pines Brewing Co - NEW 90. F-Yeah - American Pale Ale - Big Shed Brewing 91. Session IPA - American IPA - Modus Operandi Brewing Co - NEW 92. Bling - American IPA - Bridge Road Brewers 93. Project #22: Bert (The Royal Albert Collab) - Australian Pale Ale - Colonial Brewing Company - NEW 94. Sourpuss - Berliner Weisse - Wayward Brewing Company 95. B.F.H. (Barrel Fermented Hog) - American IPA - Feral Brewing Company 96. 28 - American Pale Ale - Burleigh Brewing Company 97. Thanks Captain Obvious - American IPA - BrewCult 98. ALT Brown - American Brown Ale - Balter - NEW 99. The Chancer - Blonde Ale - James Squire 100. Hopsmith - American IPA - Akasha Brewing Co NEW — First brewed in 2016.
Thanks to the pandemic, it's felt like years and years since Australia scored itself a huge new music festival featuring overseas headliners that took its lineup around the country. Thankfully, that big gap is about to come to an end via Summer Camp, the country's newest pride festival — and only touring pride fest, in fact. And yes, the fact that Years & Years will lead the bill really couldn't be more fitting. Years & Years, aka British singer and actor Olly Alexander (It's a Sin), will headline the new fest's stopovers in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth in late February and early March next year, all as part of Summer Camp's four-city tour of the country. The event will also head to Darwin, where the lineup will be led by New Orleans' Big Freedia — who'll play every stop of the tour, in fact. Also on the bill: The Veronicas, Cub Sport and Confidence Man from the local contingent, plus Ladyhawke and Jess B from New Zealand. More acts are set to be announced; however, Kinder, Sycco, The Merindas, Halfqueen, Jawbreakers, Yo Mafia and Art Simone will also be taking to the stage. Summer Camp will tick a lot of firsts: not only is it Australia's first touring pride festival and the first fest in the southern hemisphere to welcome back international headliners, but it'll be the biggest ticketed LGBTQIA+ music festival in the southern hemisphere as well. In addition to live tunes from all of the above across two stages, the festival will feature dance, performance art and art installations, as well as food and beverage offerings. More than 200 artists will be involved all up, including over 150 DJs, drag queens, dancers and performance artists in each city. Given the name, it's clear what kind of vibe that festival founders Kat Dopper (creator of Heaps Gay) and Grant Gillies and David Gillett (creators of Red Mgmt, and former Sydney Mardi Gras marketing and international talent managers) are going for. So, expect a cruisy summer camp-meets-arts and music playground-type atmosphere that's also all about inclusivity and supporting young diverse artists. SUMMER CAMP FESTIVAL 2022 AUSTRALIAN DATES: Saturday, February 26 — Darwin Showgrounds Sunday, February 27 — Centennial Parklands, Sydney Sunday, March 6 — Reunion Park, Melbourne Monday, March 7 — The Ice Cream Factory, Perth SUMMER CAMP FESTIVAL 2022 LINEUP — FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT: Years & Years (Sydney, Melbourne and Perth only) Big Freedia The Veronicas Cub Sport Ladyhawke Confidence Man Jess B Kinder Sycco The Merindas Halfqueen Jawbreakers Yo Mafia Art Simone Summer Camp will tour Australia in February and March 2022. Pre-sale tickets are on sale from 9.40am on Tuesday, November 9, with general public on-sale starting at 10am on Tuesday, November 16. For further details or to nab tickets, head to the festival's website. Top image: Theatrepeople via Wikimedia Commons.
If you're the type of traveller who doesn't just plan where you'll be staying and what sights you'll be seeing, but also what you'll be drinking while you're there, then add Australia's latest accommodation option to your dream holiday list. A collaboration between caravan rental site Camplify and The Botanist Gin, Salty the Van is the country's latest gin-themed caravan — after the pair first teamed up to bring some juniper spirits to your getaways in late 2020. Yes, a bottle of gin will be waiting for you when you get there; however, that's not all that this holiday spot on wheels has to offer. Firstly, it has made its base in completely a different location — and different state — so you can add it to your list if a Gold Coast vacation is in your future. Painted in beachy blue and white hues, the vintage Viscount caravan comes with an outdoor table and chairs, and an awning, but it's the lineup from The Botanist that'll make you thirsty. During your stay, you'll be sipping from a complimentary 700-millilitre bottle of The Botanist gin and a four-pack of Fever Tree tonic waters. So, you just need to get mixing, sipping and sitting wherever you decide to park the caravan — which'll need to be within 50 kilometres of Tugun. If this sounds like your kind of getaway, the new Botanist Van is available to book from Friday, April 9 through until the end of June from $100 per night. It sleeps four people, and there's a three-night minimum stay during off-peak times and a five-night minimum in peak and school holiday periods. You will need to get cosy over a weekend to receive the gin pack, though, as it comes with Friday–Sunday bookings. To book The Botanist's new van — with prices from $100 per day, and rentals available within 50 kilometres of Tugun in Queensland until February 30, 2021 — visit the Camplify website.
The silly season is for cooking, decorating and creating napkin swans for Aunt Julie, who insists on tradition even though it is 40 degrees outside and everyone is already in a punch coma. Yes, DIY Christmases are where it's at. Join those who actually know what they are doing (and buy some gifts with the same amount of love) at this year's QAGOMA Store Christmas Design Market. Find jewellery, ceramics, textiles and pre-loved fashions for some of your favourite humans (or perhaps as a self-gift, because you're worth it) among the more stalls. The annual market always compiles a bunch of well-known names in the creative gifts department — and taking the time to peruse the GOMA collection of books and art is always recommended, as is checking out the edible delights to keep you going. The 2023 QAGOMA Store Christmas Design Market runs from 9am–4pm on Saturday, December 9–Sunday, December 10 on the GOMA forecourt. Expect more than 80 stalls — so, also expect to be spoiled for choice. Merry shopping!
When a huge global pride festival is heading Down Under for the first time — making its debut in the southern hemisphere, in fact — how do you celebrate? For Sydney WorldPride, there's a dazzling list of options. The LGBTQIA+ fest will hit town from February 17–March 5 with 300-plus events, and it's dropping its full lineup on Wednesday, November 9. It's also setting up a giant rainbow sand sculpture to help kick off the fun. On that very day, to add something else stunning to the program launch — other than the program itself, that is — a giant Sydney WorldPride rainbow sand sculpture will grace the Bondi Pavilion forecourt. The festival team are making a big deal of the occasion because it deserves it, and because it'll also be 100 days until the event itself kicks off, with this sandy rainbow taking up residence just from sunrise to sunset on the Wednesday. Head on down and you won't miss it. Expect it to feature in your social feeds heavily, too. The sculpture will measure 2.4 metres in height and 4.5 metres in width, and is apparently the largest rainbow sculpture of its kind. Spectacular sights and Bondi Beach naturally go hand in hand, of course. The famed Sydney stretch of sand is also known to host extra eye-catching attractions — a statue of Borat and a Stranger Things rift have all graced the spot in the past. Also, Sydneysiders have had plenty of rainbows to enjoy recently, all celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community. Darlinghurst is famously home to a rainbow crossing — and in Surry Hills, the City of Sydney implemented a lengthy path in Prince Alfred Park decked out in the same multicoloured stripes. Also, Coogee also has its own cheerfully hued monument, turning part of the suburb's beachfront into a rainbow walkway. Sydney WorldPride's one-day-only rainbow sand sculpture is the first in a whole heap of rainbow art and installations coming to the Harbour City, and Greater Sydney as well, courtesy of around 45 free public artworks spanning everywhere from the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney to the Scenic Skyway in Katoomba. Before the full lineup is announced, the fest has already unveiled big-name events like the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade to Oxford Street, Kylie Minogue headlining the opening concert, plus MUNA and G Flip doing the same at the closing gig. Find the Sydney WorldPride at the Bondi Pavilion forecourt from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday, November 9. Sydney WorldPride will run from February 17–March 5, 2023. For more information, head to the event's website. Images: Destination NSW. Thinking about Sydney WorldPride's big opening gig, Live and Proud: Sydney WorldPride Opening Concert, too? General admission tickets have sold out, with only Sydney WorldPride's affordability option left — but you can still head along thanks to Concrete Playground Trips. The Sydney WorldPride package includes tickets to the Domain Dance Party and Live and Proud: Opening Concert, plus three nights at the PARKROYAL Darling Harbour Sydney.
Those who go out on Thursday nights in the Valley can be called many things. But when the venue is Alhambra Lounge, the crowd is more than likely to be a combination of slightly alcoholic students who are dedicated to their music – or more specifically, local indie music. Fulfilling that brief and fronting this week’s Lambda will be Melbourne favourites World’s End Press. Performing their first headline gig for about a year, the quartet of attractive musicians are guaranteed to be very fresh and on game. Recent opening performances for Cut Copy and !!!, as well as jaunts to Splendour in the Grass and Laneway (amongst others), World's End Press are flush on talent. With their live shows renowned for electrifying music and infectious beats, this Thursday will be a good night for those looking to dance.
It seems just like yesterday that band Millions was a baby, born into this world ready to perform. Since then, the groups has achieved a lot in 18 months. Embarking on numerous Australia-wide tours and garnering plenty of love from Triple J, this group of guys exude hair, swag and talent. To add to that equation, Millions now have their very own EP, Nine Lives, Six Degrees. In celebration of this fact, they're headed off on their very own national headline tour to combine partying and press for the album. Hitting up Brisbane’s Alhambra Lounge almost a year after their first performance there, you can be sure the boys will be ready to celebrate all that the last year has given them.
When Bran Nue Dae started singing and dancing its way across Australia back in 1990, the production made history, becoming the world's first Aboriginal stage musical. In the years since, it has won awards, inspired a making-of documentary and been adapted into a film of the same name. Now, the show is returning to the country's stages for its 30th anniversary. In January 2020, a new production will open in Sydney, followed by seasons in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. While exact dates haven't been announced, the revival is being spearheaded by Australia's premier opera companies under the banner of Opera Conference — with Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, State Opera South Australia and the West Australian Opera all collaborating on the national tour. If you need a refresher on the story, Bran Nue Dae heads back to 60s-era Western Australia, with teenager Willie hitchhiking his way from his mission school back to Broome — all to reunite with the girl he loves. As written by Jimmy Chi and his band Knuckles, it also features two hippies, a wily Uncle and a German priest. While Chi sadly passed away in 2017, Knuckles will once again direct the musical component of the show. Original production director Andrew Ross is also returning, but just who he'll be gracing his stage hasn't been determined. Bran Nue Dae will feature a 15-performer cast, all except one of whom will be Indigenous, with auditions set to be held in Broome, Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. Check out the trailer for Rachel Perkins-helmed, Rocky McKenzie, Jessica Mauboy, Dan Sultan, Deborah Mailman and Ernie Dingo-starring 2009 movie version below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtLbLBi5Jyk Bran Nue Dae will play in Sydney from January 2020, then tour to Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, with dates yet to be revealed. For more information and to join the ticket waitlist, visit the production's website. Image: Bran Nue Dae, the film adaptation.
When a culinary figure branches out to a new city, one of two things tend to happen. They might take a concept and a name that's worked for them elsewhere, then expand it to another location. Or, they could conjure up something that's completely fresh that they haven't done before. If Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann pondered which path to take in Brisbane, "why not do both?" must've been the answer. Well-established Melbourne favourite Supernormal is on its way to the Queensland capital — but newcomer Bar Miette is already open. After revealing in 2022 that they were bringing their hospitality empire north with a Queensland outpost for Supernormal, McConnell and McGann announced in May 2024 that casual European-style haunt Bar Miette — a terrace cafe and a wine bar all in one, doing breakfast, lunch, cocktails, dinner and everything in-between — would beat it to launching. Supernormal Brisbane is now meant to open sometime before the middle of the year, after its sibling began welcoming in patrons to kick off July. Their shared Brissie address: 443 Queen Street in the River City CBD, perched between the Queen Street Mall and Howard Smith Wharves. While anyone who has visited Supernormal's OG site down south knows what's in store there — with the Brisbane outpost also plating up contemporary Australian dishes that also take inspiration from McConnell's time in both Hong Kong and Shanghai — Bar Miette is a new commodity. As McConnell explains, patrons can use it "as they wish and as the occasion dictates: for coffee and breakfast, lunch (early or late), snacks and dinner, a cocktail or a glass of wine". Letting customers enter via the riverside boardwalk as well as Queen Street, the location itself is a drawcard, hence the hospitality figure making the most of it by operating not one but two venues. Folks stopping by can enjoy views of the Brisbane River and the Story Bridge, with Bar Miette taking them in from street level, above Supernormal. On the menu seven days a week, from a range of dishes designed to hero local produce, are breakfast options such as tahini and cinnamon toasted granola, house-made spelt crumpets, croque monsieurs, a crispy bacon bap with gentleman's relish, and house-cured and -smoked trout to start off the morning. To wash all of the above down with, you can sip coffees, teas, tisanes, juices and sodas. Come lunch and dinner, anchovy gildas, raw Hervey Bay scallops, oysters and three types of caviar will start tempting your tastebuds. Or, dig into the marinated octopus with potato and aioli, wagyu bresaola, duck liver parfait, a mortadella stack on a milk bun, the charcuterie selection and crab mayonnaise on toast. And for dessert, créme caramel, affogatos, gelato and the cake of the day sit alongside four cheeses. If it's a cocktail that you're after, they join the lineup from 10am, starting with a bloody mary and milano fizz. The full range includes a signature martini, margarita frappé and tropical old fashioned among the highlights, as well as a number of aperitif picks, non-boozy concoctions, and five pages of wines from around Europe and Australia. Vince Alafaci and Caroline Choker of Sydney's ACME are on design duties for both Supernormal and Bar Miette, but are giving them each their own look and feel. For Bar Miette, that means skewing "classically European", McConnell explains. That said, the 86-seater — 16 at the curved bar, then 70 on the terrace — is also nodding to its place in Brisbane, gleaning inspiration from the city's Kangaroo Point and Howard Smith Wharves cliffs, and also the river. Find Bar Miette at 443 Queen Street, Brisbane from Monday, July 1, 2024 — open from 7am–10pm Monday–Friday and 8am–10pm Saturday–Sunday. For more information, head to the bar's website. Images: Josh Robenstone.
If the stones and shopfronts of Lygon Street could talk, they'd surely do so in Italian. Sometimes referred to as Melbourne's Little Italy, the iconic Carlton thoroughfare has played a major role in Australia's cultural and gastronomical development over the past 60 years, and it is now the subject of a new home-grown documentary: Lygon Street – Si parla Italiano. The story begins in the years following World War II, during which time millions of migrants left Europe in search of new beginnings. Of those that made the long journey to Australia, one in six were from Italy, many of whom came based on the promise of jobs that in reality didn't exist. At first, the government funnelled them into migrant centres (viewers are left to draw their own parallels to the treatment of asylum seekers today). The conditions were shabby and the means of entertainment scarce, but the biggest sticking point for the Italians was the terrible quality of the food. Soon, the migrants flooded out into the community in search of a place where they could call their own. As if by fate, they settled on a street named Lygon. Before long, the road was littered with restaurants, coffee bars, grocers and delicatessens, many of them with written signs in the window reading 'Si parla Italiano', meaning 'we speak Italian'. Locals were suspicious of the settlers at first, but were soon won over by the quality of their cooking. By the '80s, Lygon Street was one of the hottest night spots in the city, home to bars, clubs and theatres, not to mention, the scene of raucous celebration in the wake of Italy's 1986 World Cup victory. Silky narration by Anthony LaPaglia keeps the film from feeling too much like a history lesson. Directors Shannon Swan and Angelo Pricolo combine archival footage and traditional talking heads with a more flavoursome approach to storytelling by inviting some of the street's oldest pioneers — the owners of establishments like L'Alba and University Cafe — out for dinner. Over plates of pasta, the old friends recall stories from their past, laughing and shouting over the top of each other as they argue about which one owned the first espresso machine in Australia. It's an ingenious way of making viewers feel included — a Saturday night dinner in one of Lygon's bustling eateries. Admittedly, it's hard to imagine Si parla Italiano being as interesting to anyone from outside of certain areas of Melbourne (although the film has just scored a limited release nationwide). Locals will be thoroughly charmed, particularly when factoring in the rather surreal experience of exiting the theatre onto the boulevard they've just been watching. If nothing else, the doco is a savvy marketing tool for traders. No one's likely to walk out of the film not craving an Italian meal. https://youtube.com/watch?v=WOsIFtJTkiE
Sometimes, celebrating a big occasion means gathering the gang. This Lunar New Year, marking the Year of the Dragon, Brisbane isn't short on spots to party — and eat and drink — in a crowd. But if you're after a tasty two-person feast to usher in the new lunar calendar, Luke Nguyen's Fat Noodle has you covered. The Treasury eatery is serving up banquets for couples — whether you're dining with a date or a mate — starting with scallop dumplings. You'll also tuck into green mango salad with peanuts, chicken fried rice and seafood sour soup, plus caramelised pork belly. And for dessert? Vietnamese coffee tiramisu. Running from Thursday, February 1–Thursday, February 29, Fat Noodle's Lunar New Year banquets cost $88. The feasts are just one part of the full Treasury shindig, which also includes a wishing tree, so you can place your hopes and dreams for the year ahead; red packets containing special treats, as long as you dine at either Fat Noodle or Mei Wei; and lion dances from 7.30pm on from Friday, February 9–Monday, February 12, and also Saturday, February 24. And, dragon-themed cocktails are also on offer at Fat Noodle, Mei Wei and Ryan's on the Park.
There's a reason why Concrete Playground is Brisbane's down-to-earth, all-seeing guide who can be trusted with your precious weekend plans. We're here collecting and compiling the latest on festivals, events and restaurant and bar openings around our dynamic city and we pass this news right onto you. Brisbane's had so many glorious restaurants open up this year and it can really take some time (and money) to get through them all. But we don't want you to miss out altogether. So here's the deal: we'll alleviate this time/money tension and give you the chance to win a great night out at La Lune Wine Co, one of Brisbane's newest (and finest) restaurants. But we'd love your input to help us remain the trusted city guide that we are. Take our quick survey and you'll go in the running to win a $150 voucher to La Lune Wine Co. Just nine little questions stand between you and South Brisbane's latest Fish Lane addition.
Pubs, restaurants and cafes around the country have been forced to close, meaning the loss of many hospitality jobs — and it's all happened very, very quickly. According to website I Lost My Hospo Shift, at last count, 2585 Aussie hospo workers had lost their jobs and 13,195 shifts had been cut, which equates to over $2 million in lost wages this week alone. To help those impacted by the sudden changes — and those without access to Job Keeper, such as those on temporary worker visas — a bunch of top Aussie chefs, including Matt Moran (Aria, Chiswick, Barangaroo House), Luke Mangan (Luke's Kitchen, Glass Brasserie) and Neil Perry (Rockpool Bar & Grill, Rosetta, Spice Temple), are getting behind a new financial relief initiative: Help Out Hospo. Started by Sydney group Momento Hospitality, the 'by hospo, for hospo' program works on a donation basis, providing you with access to a bunch of how-to videos featuring culinary legends, so, you can take your cooking and cocktail game to the next level while you're stuck at home. In turn, your donation will go directly towards supporting bartenders, chefs and waitstaff in need. It's a win-win. Donations start from $10 per video course — a pretty small price to pay when you're learning how to master a roast porchetta, barbecue pulled pork, stir a mean negroni or dry martini, and whip up a big, comforting bowl of pasta that even nonna would approve. Taught by some A-class chef and bartenders, no less. So far, the initiative has raised over $35,000. While it was started by Momento, any venue can sign up, post a video and receive financial support, too. So if you're in the industry and would like to get involved, you can make an enquiry via support@helpouthospo.com.au. To check out the courses on Help Out Hospo and donate, head helpouthospo.com.au.
Everyone is swiping right and searching their screens for love — or lust — including Felix. His fondness for finding fleeting companionship through an app has meant that connections of the old-fashioned type have become rare, and when he finds himself set for a regular date, he’s a bit flustered. Felix is the alter ego of writer and performer Gavin Roach, with Confessions of a Grindr Addict telling his comical tale. After seasons in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Perth, Adelaide and Tasmania, the show finally makes its way to Queensland to provide an amusing, intimate and even awkward journey through the on- and offline trials and tribulations of modern gay dating. Confessions of a Grindr Addict is one of our top six picks of MELT Festival. See the other five here.
The distinction between American and Australian cop dramas is about as close to black and white as you can get before literally stripping them of colour. Thematically, the US genre is driven by 'heroism' — brave (and usually maverick) police officers who go above and beyond the line of duty to save anything, from a family member to an entire city. Not so in Australia. Here, it is 'corruption' that most frequently forms the basis of plot lines, reflecting either a sorry state of confidence in our law enforcement agencies, or acceptance that action films don't really work in Australia (ie: Mission Impossible II). The latest offering, Felony, takes place in Sydney's inner west and was written, produced and starred in by Joel Edgerton. Edgerton plays Malcolm Toohey, a hero cop whose near miss during a drug raid (he's shot by a fleeing suspect in the film's frantic opening scene) leads to a heavy night of drinking alongside the other officers involved. Later, as he drives home (narrowly avoiding an RBT arrest thanks to a 'cop to cop' password), he accidentally knocks a young boy off his bike and makes the split-second decision to lie about how he came to be first on scene. From that moment on Felony becomes a story about the toxicity of deception and its capacity for infecting all those who are touched by it. It's one of those films that almost immediately registers in that part of your brain where uncomfortable truths reside, refusing to let you dismiss the story as 'mere fiction'. It's all very real, and human and confronting in its simplicity. One lie builds upon another so quickly that you soon find yourself gasping for air on behalf of the characters, and you can never shake the feeling that it will all eventually come crashing down. Worse, you can't quite decide if you want it to. Edgerton managed to pull together an impressive cast to star alongside him, including Tom Wilkinson as the senior cop spearheading the coverup, Jai Courtney as Wilkinson's eager young partner and Melissa George as Edgerton's wife; however, it's Edgerton who most impresses. He neatly captures his character's confusion, fear, conflict and self-loathing without ever threatening to overplay any of it, and his performance is strong enough to rise above the occasional misteps in the script. The ending is unnecessarily symmetrical, certainly, and there's a subplot that goes confusingly AWOL somewhere in the third act, but overall it's a solid film with an excellent turn from its lead. https://youtube.com/watch?v=qjHvfnB8SRI
Once a year, Monster Fest treats cinemagoers to a weird and wonderful film festival filled with genre and cult movies — but that's obviously not often enough. So, behold Monster Fest Weekender, aka the fest that the Monster team hosts midyear when it's not rolling out the full shindig. Hitting Brisbane's Event Cinemas Myer Centre from Friday, May 13–Sunday, May 15, this three-day affair will screen the films you can't wait till later in the year to see — such as Sundance oddity Hatching, a body-horror flick about a girl nursing an egg: documentary The History of Metal and Horror, which spans everyone from Alice Cooper to John Carpenter; and monster- and OTT scientist-filled stop-motion effort Mad God. Other highlights: a 35th-anniversary session of Miami Connection, a cult martial arts movie that really has to be seen to be believed; a 4K restoration of 1985's Cat's Eye, a Stephen King adaptation starring a very young Drew Barrymore; and Pennywise: The Story of It, which takes a making-of look at the Tim Curry-starring TV miniseries that first brought the creepy clown to screens.
We see you, sweet human, hunched over your glowing screen, brow slightly furrowed. It's a warm day, isn't it? Probably lovely weather outside, too. And yet, lunch is fast approaching, and your fingers are already mentally tapping their way to another desk-delivered meal. Sigh, if only you could mobilise your troops and enjoy that lunch... outside? "No time," you insist. "Too hard," you scoff. "No Tupperware," you sulk. Well pack up that petulant pout, and get your picnic pants primed — we're going shopping. CHEESE, WOODBLOCK CHEESE Everyone (well, almost everyone) will tell you that cheese is the hero dish of any decent picnic. Don't listen to naysayers that insist a single wedge of cheap, supermarket cheese will suffice — it's just not true. Multiple cheese options must be available at any self-respecting picnic, and we have earmarked Woodblock Cheese (in Bardon) as our number one fromagerie. Got a low-key love of pungent cheese, but too scared to release the stink into your cramped office? Go wild, baby! The outdoors is nothing if not incredibly well-ventilated. BAKED GOODS, JOCELYN'S PROVISIONS Ughhhh we know… You were having a cute little fantasy where you effortlessly whipped up a jaunty picnic spread, weren't you? Something small, and chic, and vaguely French. Lots of artfully scattered produce. And then you snapped to your senses and realised that you didn't have any supplies. Total buzzkill, really. Well chin up, buttercup — Jocelyn's Provisions has you covered. These guys have been churning out butter cakes, brioche and brownies for more than twenty years. MEATS, CHEESES AND MORE, NEW FARM DELI Italian food has "picnic" stamped all over it. Delicious? Check. Transportable? Check. Cutlery-optional? Double check. So if you want to bang out a perfect picnic platter when you're stuck in a time crunch, New Farm Deli is a pretty solid bet. This Italian-style deli has a veritable smorgasbord of European treats to give your picnic some proper punch. Think endless varieties of cheese, meats, smallgoods, gourmet dressings, etc. Most importantly, they have a mind-boggling range of those famous Milanese panettone cakes that all your Italian friends rave about. Traditionally they are enjoyed around the festive season, but don't be scared to serve this sweet treat all year round. HEALTHY BITES, MISS BLISS WHOLE FOODS KITCHEN You're daydreaming about your picnic — all gooey cheese and luscious wines — when you remember that one of your potential picnic pals is currently going through a #CleanEating stage. You need to come up with some healthy options stat. Don't worry — Miss Bliss has you covered. It'll have you sorted with a bundle of sugar-free, additive-free lunch treats, faster than you can say "green juice". And it's much easier than having to unfriend Ashley, too. ALL-IN-ONE, POPOLO ITALIAN KITCHEN & BAR This one's for you, procrastinators of Brisbane. We see you. We know your ways. You've invited someone for a picnic at Southbank, haven't you? A lovely little romantic rendezvous right on the water. And that tidy lawn at River Quay Green? It's licensed until 8pm. But you haven't got any time to procure those picnic provisions, do you? You're in a bit of a (dare we say)… pickle? Fear not, Oh Panicked One. The team at Popolo will sort you out. Give them a bit of lead time, and they'll provide the entire picnic package: cured meats, cheese, bread, pizza, booze, baskets and blankets. EASY LUNCH, BOTANICA REAL FOOD Sometimes you just need to get away from your desk. Away from your laptop. Away from four walls and a roof and the constant whirring of the pedestal fan. Sometimes you just want to eat your lunch sitting outside on a park bench with your headphones on and not have to worry that your picnic isn't Pinterest-worthy. Because realistically, everything is totally negotiable, except for one key thing: the food must be good. You can eat it with a plastic fork, but it has to be freakin' delicious. We totally get it. So do the guys at Botanica Real Food. Their food is healthy and nourishing, and may be more tasty than that three-ingredient salad you packed for lunch.
You know the feeling. You’d like to relax with a beverage in hand, but the fridge is bare – and so is the liquor cabinet. Or maybe you've been mid-party when the unthinkable has happened, with every esky coming up empty, and all the nearby bottle shops closed. The folks behind Liquorun — former AFL teammates Joel MacDonald, James Strauss, and Rohan Bail — can certainly relate, and have come up with a solution. They'll bring alcohol to your door on demand within 60 minutes — a service already available in Melbourne and Sydney. Now Brisbane's joined the party. For the first time, Brisbanites can replenish their booze supplies at the touch of a button, and quickly. Sure, other bottle-os offer delivery, but they also make you wait much longer than an hour. And who wants to do that? The process is simple: head to the Liquorun website, select your preferred local liquor store and your tipple of choice, then expect a knock at the front door. It’s not just beer, wine and spirits on offer. You can even order food from local Brisbane eateries if you’re craving a delicious donut, hot pizza or juicy burger. They'll even solve the classic party facepalm — they'll bring that ice you forgot to buy. For those partying well into the night, it is worth remembering that this isn't a 24-hour service. A certain amount of forethought is required, with the service cutting off at 11pm — 10pm in Brisbane — due to licensing laws. For more information, visit the Liquorun website. Image: Walnut Studio.
Fans of the cult TV series Twin Peaks are in for a treat. Although the show was short lived (spanning two seasons in the early '90s), its allure and mystery live on as new generations experience this surreal serial for the first time. The show was renowned for exploring the nuance of small town doldrums and the darker side of life that can go along with it. The dual nature of surreal horror and campy comedy is one unique trait of the show that hyas made it something worth revisiting, and the folks at Southside Tea Room are hosting an art exhibition to do just that. Some of Brisbane’s best alternative and surreal artists are contributing work, as well as a Twin Peaks art zine and some live music performances by Pale Earth and Foxy/Moron. Artists on display include Sam McKenzie, Phoebe Paradise, Philip Dearest, Jon Weber, Nathan Smith and Rose Wadsworth plus more to be announced. Even if you have never watched Twin Peaks, this should be a great night out anyway.
Haunting strains of bluegrass music flow through Belgium's tear-jerking entry to last year's Academy Awards. Such mournful melodies are a fitting accompaniment to the story, about two musicians whose marriage begins to crumble after their daughter succumbs to terminal cancer. Despite the miserable subject matter, writer-director Felix Van Groeningen manages to mostly strike the right chord, eschewing unchecked histrionics for honest, bittersweet emotion. Actors Johan Heldenbergh and Veerle Baetens have devastating chemistry as shell-shocked parents Didier and Elise. A banjo-playing cowboy and a music-loving tattoo-artist respectively, they're a free-spirited pair brought crashing down to earth by six-year-old Maybelle's unexpected diagnosis. In the film's opening scene, we seem them stranded helplessly by her hospital bed. We don't need the doctor to tell us the prognosis is grim. From there, Van Groeningen flashes back seven years, to Elise and Didier's first meeting. After bonding over Didier's love of American culture, the pair embarks on a whirlwind romance — only for Van Groeningen to abruptly bring us back to their heartrending present. Backwards and forwards we're torn, through courtship, pregnancy, marriage, parenthood, the onset of Maybelle's illness and the unimaginable pain of her passing. The non-linear structure only heightens the emotional maelstrom, as scenes of tenderness and love clash against anger, grief and resentment. A dying child is a tricky narrative device. Do it wrong and it seems cheap and exploitative. Do it right and you've still got a movie way too depressing for most people to want to watch. Where Broken Circle Breakdown succeeds is in focusing on Elise and Didier's relationship. Heldenbergh and Baetens are both phenomenally good, turning in performances that are both natural and on occasion frighteningly raw. Van Groeningen does overdo the melodrama at times, particularly towards the end of the film when viewers may begin to feel fatigued. To his credit, however, it never feels insincere or calculated. The same is true for some rather on-the-nose political commentary about stem-cell research and religion. It's preachy, sure, but the film's heart is in the right place. Ultimately, the earnestness with which it's delivered makes it a whole lot easier to swallow. But the best moments in the movie are undoubtedly the songs; a mix of classics and original compositions performed in key scenes by Didier, Elise and their band. In these moments in particular, Van Groeningen finds his harmony between beauty, sorrow and joy. https://youtube.com/watch?v=raaHRyBtIEo
Each year, we all anticipate the arrival of December 25. Because of the day off, that includes the promise of an afternoon spent dozing in a hammock — and for dessert fiends, it also includes Gelato Messina's annual Christmas cake. We hope you like a certain quintessential Australian dish, because that's what is on the gelato chain's menu again. Yes, Messina is bringing back its version of the trifle. The Christmas Coma will return for its sixth year running — and, although it seems like we say this every festive season, this time it's especially decadent. In fact, it's a sticky date and toffee pudding turned into a trifle, combining multiple beloved desserts into one seasonal — and epic — treat. 2022's Christmas Coma will once again feature layer upon layer of everything that is good about Christmas — but instead of being soggy and slightly regrettable, this one will have you licking the glass bowl. So what's in it? Well, Messina is going with layers of caramel cremeux, that all-important sticky date and toffee pudding, crème fraîche chantilly and chocolate-coated biscuit crumble. On top? 'Tis the season to eat a handmade white chocolate and coffee chocolate wreath. Plus, it'll come with some Messina brandy custard to douse all over the mess. And, it all serves 20–30 (or less if you really commit). All of the above comes in a Christmas Coma mega pack, which costs $250 and can be pre-ordered from Tuesday, November 1 — with times varying depending on your state, as the gelato chain has been doing with its specials lately. Accordingly, folks in Queensland and the ACT are able to purchase at 9am AEDT, Victorians at 9.15am, and New South Wales customers are split across three times depending on the store (with Surry Hills, Bondi, Randwick, Circular Quay and Miranda on sale at 9.30am; Brighton Le Sands, Tramsheds, Parramatta and Darlinghurst at 9.45am; and Darling Square, Newtown, Norwest, Rosebery and Penrith at 10am). You'll then be able to pick up your Christmas Coma between Wednesday, December 21–Saturday, December 24, all within regular store opening hours — and from all Gelato Messina stores across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It comes in a Messina cooler bag and, if you keep it in there all sealed up, can survive for up to one hour. In each of the last few years, the trifle sold out ridiculously fast, so we suggest you don't wait on this one. The 2022 Christmas Coma will be available to order from Tuesday, November 1 for $250. Head to on the Messina website for further details.
Everybody likes putting things on walls. Particularly pretty things, and particularly well-designed things. Better still, the people at Ferm Living are now making removable vinyl wall stickers designed to adorn your home, which are also functional and educational. The products are designed in Denmark and made in Europe, so they have that lovely Nordic well-designed glow. The stickers can be either decorative or functional. If it's winter and the birds have stopped singing, put a flock up by the window to remind you spring is coming, or if you're longing for the forest, put up some tree trunks. The calendars come with their own sets of post-it notes and chalk, so you can wipe them down and begin again fresh next month, the to-do lists make the task of being organised neater and easier to access, and the period tables can provide your bedroom with that chemistry lab atmosphere it's been so sadly lacking. And while their map probably won't help you find Azerbaijan or help you figure out how many countries the Danube runs through, at least it provides a reference point for discussing current affairs when you bring home someone lovely of an evening. https://youtube.com/watch?v=zWoDOUE2X58 [Via Cool Hunting]
It's the moment that many a price-conscious Australian fashionista has been hoping for — the opening of our very own H&M. Yes, right here, Down Under, we'll soon be able to indulge in the highly trendy yet easy-on-the-budget range that shoppers across five continents have been enjoying for seasons. The store, to be launched during the first few months of 2014, will be occupying a space in Melbourne's illustrious 150-year-old GPO building. With 5,000 square metres of area and three floors, it will be a full concept flagship number, as well as one of the most expansive H&M shops to be found anywhere on the planet. What's that sound I hear? Your bank account heaving an enormous sigh? "We are very excited to announce that we will be opening the first H&M store in Melbourne, Australia during 2014," commented Hans Andersson, country manager for H&M Australia. "We look forward to bringing fashion and quality at the best price to Australian customers." Watch this space for more launch news.
Is it possible to make a heist movie that's inspired by detective fiction but takes some cues from reality, including riffing on the director's own mother's experiences and her work as a filmmaker? Then, can such a flick become a charming crime caper that's effortlessly fresh and oh-so French, and yet also could've been made during both the French New Wave and American cinema's glorious 70s era? With his latest feature The Innocent, consider actor, writer and helmer Louis Garrel 100-percent guilty. Consider the film itself an utter delight, too. And, consider it gorgeously shot (by César-nominated Les Misérables cinematographer Julien Poupard), smartly penned (by Garrel, gumshoe novelist Tanguy Viel and Garrel's The Crusade co-screenwriter Naïla Guiguet) and winningly cast, with the latter including Little Women's Garrel himself opposite Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Noémie Merlant, plus Roschdy Zem (Other People's Children) and Anouk Grinberg (The Night of the 12th). Actually, in his fourth stint as an actor-turned-filmmaker following 2015's Two Friends, 2018's A Faithful Man and 2021's The Crusade, Garrel hasn't just assembled a stellar core quartet of actors. In addition to that, he has them anchoring a movie that overtly explores the role of acting in everyday life. Sylvie Lefranc (Grinberg) is a theatre thespian and teacher, as initially observed showing imprisoned men the tricks of the board-treading trade. In her class is Michel Ferrand (Zem), who she swiftly marries — with Sylvie's thirtysomething son Abel in attendance but hardly approving, especially because this isn't her first set of jailhouse nuptials. He's worried about his mom and suspicious about his new stepdad, which gives him a distraction from grieving for his recently deceased wife and hearing about her best friend Clémence Genièvre's (Merlant) tumultuous love life. He knows that Sylvie's head-over-heels infatuation isn't a performance, but is the just-released Michel's claim that he's now on the straight and narrow all for show? To answer that question, Abel gets a-tailing throughout Lyon with the game and eager Clémence's help. This couldn't be a heist film if they found nothing amiss, of course, with ex-con Michel's plans linked in with the cute little florist shop he's opened to make Sylvie's dreams come true — claiming that a friend had rented them the space for free, which is obviously far too good to be accurate. So, Abel is faced with his own spate of acting to protect his mum. Michel can't do the job without assistance from him and Clémence playing decoys, and his mother will suffer if he doesn't aid and abet an armed robbery pilfering lucrative Iranian caviar. Yes, as well as being a heist movie, a romance, and a drama about parents, children, love, loss, moving on and second chances all in one, The Innocent is a delicious and hilarious farce. There's a clear contrast at the heart of The Innocent: women who love quickly and deeply, as Sylvie and Clémence do, and men who are hesitant and guarded, as Abel and Michel prove. In much lesser hands, that juxtaposition might be dated and cliched, not to mention needlessly and gratingly stereotypical. Thankfully, adding to the lengthy list of things that The Innocent manages to be, and breezily, it's also an intelligent, textured and savvily scripted character study. Even when they're overtly acting a part — for work, for each other and, in the widowed Abel's case, often with himself — Sylvie, Abel, Michel and Clémence are each lived in to the point of seeming ready to walk right off the screen. Crucially, every move they make is steeped in their fleshed-out stories and backgrounds, rather than mere convenience, too. Garrel, Viel and Guiguet have penned these characters with nuance, intricacy, and realistic emotions and motivations. Thoughtful touches abound around The Innocent's stars; see: Abel's job as a marine biologist at a local aquarium, where Clémence also works, which nicely stresses the difference between analysing and diving in — and also provides a dazzling setting for pivotal scenes and shots. The film makes wonderful use of Sylvie and Michel's florist in a comparable way, the space literally blooming with colour and life but its roots not what they seem. The Innocent's casting can't be underestimated, though, as particularly seen in Grinberg, Merlant and Zem's efforts. Grinberg steps into Garrel's IRL mother Brigitte Sy's shoes, given she too is an actor who got married in prison, and does so with a gregarious and yearning spark. With a sense of lightness here, Merlant keeps showing her exceptional range, boosting a growing resume that also includes Jumbo, Paris, 13th District and Tár. And Zem, a director himself — including of 2011's Oscar-shortlisted Omar Killed Me and 2016's Monsieur Chocolat — is sincere, determined and charismatic, and also helps turn a bit with a bowtie into something special. As for Garrel, he enlists himself for the fourth time as the fourth character called Abel (although in A Faithful Man and The Crusade, they're the same figure), and he's again ace under his own direction. When your godfather is Jean-Pierre Léaud, one of the faces of the French New Wave ever since starring in the movement's seminal film The 400 Blows, perhaps being drawn to spirited and soulful movies about emotional chaos just comes with the territory. Garrel keeps writing, directing and performing in them, with The Innocent his most entertaining instance yet. Cinema was always in his blood as well as his orbit, seeing that his father is French filmmaker Philippe Garrel, whose pictures he often features in (such as 2013's excellent Jealousy); Sy clearly has an acting history (including 2018's Invisibles); his sister Esther also pops up on-screen (as seen in Call Me By Your Name); and his grandfather is the late actor Maurice Garrel (César-nominated for La Discrète and Kings and Queen) — and it shows. As conveyed in celluloid dreams, heists, crime capers, mysteries and noirs frequently involve throwing an array of moving parts together in high-stakes circumstances, then seeing what fits, sticks, struggles and leaks. French greats Rififi and Bob Le Flambeur, both of which The Innocent feels tied to, knew this. US highlights The Long Goodbye and The Last of Sheila, which it similarly brings to mind, capitalised upon it as well. In all of their many guises, these narrative setups and mainstays strike a chord because they so vividly reflect life's mess, just in heightened circumstances — and Garrel is equally well-aware of that. The Innocent's French pop-synth soundtrack gifts the already fast-paced film with a marvellous sense of bounce, but also reflects exactly what the movie is: a supremely finessed, funny, endearing and engaging flick that echoes for everyone.
Everyone likes shopping and hanging out by the water, which Portside's regular markets know and understand — especially when festive season is approaching. If you really like browsing and buying, taking in the riverside air, and having a reason to stop for a bite and a drink, you'll want to head to Hamilton on Sunday, December 3. From 3–7pm, you can shop, stroll, sip and purchase gifts, which sounds like a mighty fine weekend itinerary. A heap of stalls will be offering up everything from art and plants to ceramics and accessories — and more. If you've been to markets at the Gasworks or in Fish Lane, you'll have a firm idea of what you're in for, because The Market Folk is behind all of the above and is running this Portside event as well. To give your shopping a soundtrack, there's usually piano tunes echoing through the Hamilton precinct. And, if those hunger pangs strike — or you're just keen on having a drink — the precinct has plenty of eateries onsite. Images: Claudia Baxter.
Pollution in big cities is a big problem, but thankfully there are people out there taking steps to make cities sustainable. Aluminium producer Alcoa has developed a building material which feeds on smog to clean itself and the surrounding air. Reynobond with Ecoclean is an aluminium panel coated with titanium dioxide which decomposes fumes and pollutants using sunlight as a catalyst. Only the smallest amount of rain is then required to wash away the now harmless particles. Pilot testing of the panels is taking place in Europe and North America. We all know trees have air-cleansing properties, but Alcoa claims that just under 1000 square metres of the panelling would be the equivalent to the power of 80 trees. And while the parts can be pricey, they will mean a reduction in maintenance costs for buildings. [Via Fast Company]
This Christmas, it's time to deck your halls with boughs of whichever greenery you'd like — and to give plenty of plants as gifts, too. That's on the agenda at VEND Marketplace, which is hosting an evening of Christmas Twilight Markets for the festive season. There'll be more than just succulents, cacti and indoor-friendly plants on offer; however, given that the northside spot is home to its own indoor greenhouse — aptly called the Greenhouse, naturally — that's definitely a big drawcard. Between 4–9pm on Saturday, November 30, you'll also be able to get festive at VEND's 130-plus shops, and at the array of pop-up stalls that it's setting up outside. And to keep your stomach satisfied while you're picking gifts — including for yourself — the VEND cafe will also be serving boozy beverages and Christmas dinner specials. Also, there'll be a cocktail bar. Plus, VEND is doggo-friendly — should you want to bring your four-legged pal with you for a stint of Christmas fun. (No good boy or girl wants to stay home while you're out during the merriest time of year.) Images: VEND Marketplace.
When it comes to food events, there's nothing quite like Sunnybank's Food Tours. Brisbane suburb's shopping hub has become a diner's delight with cafes and restaurants featuring a range of authentic, oriental cuisines. On the Food Discovery Tour, chef Tony Ching shows you the very best places to eat and shop, plus provides a few tips, tricks and pointers along the way. The 10am lunchtime tours include Yum Cha at Sunnybank's famed Landmark restaurant, and the 3.30pm afternoon tour finishes with a progressive dinner through the Chinese, Japanese, Hong Kong-style, Vietnamese, Korean and Taiwanese dishes on offer at the centre. With such an array of steaming soups and sizzling stir-fries on offer, we recommend arriving as hungry as possible. By Sarah Ward and Quinn Connors.
Yo guys, keep it on the down low, but there’s an event where you can “taste” (read: drink) free wine at the incredibly fancy Bacchus restaurant and rub shoulders with their head sommelier and maître d’frommage Andrew Giblin. Come along one Wednesday evening and learn how to actually tell the difference between good and bad wine. You'll be impressing/irritating your friends at house parties for years to come.
When you're in lockdown, you're only meant to go to the shops to buy essentials — and while creative cocktails may be crucial to your stay-at-home experience, gathering all the ingredients to make them doesn't really fit with the intention behind the rule. Thankfully, delivery services have been filling in the gaps. Cocktail Porter is one of them, bringing DIY kits to your door featuring everything you need to whip up inventive beverages. And yes, it's mighty handy even if your part of the country doesn't happen to be locked down at this very moment. Already, the service has delivered three different types of Gelato Messina cocktail kits — including summery concoctions, Easter cocktails served in Easter eggs and dulce de leche espresso martinis. The next packs on its list also feature a beloved ingredient, although Messina isn't involved. But hey, everyone loves Wizz Fizz, right? Yes, we know the answer to that question. Every Australian kid loves Wizz Fizz, and every Aussie that's ever been a kid, because that's something your tastebuds can never outgrow. Cocktail Porter's new DIY Tommy's margarita kits feature the little bags of sherbet alongside Tromba Blanco tequila, agave syrup and Listo Tommy's margarita mix. It also comes with chilli salt, if you'd prefer to spice up your drink. You can pick between two different-sized packs, with a small kit costing $75 and serving up six drinks — and a large pack priced at $135 and making 18 dessert cocktails. Cocktail Porter delivers Australia-wide, if that's your spring drinking plans sorted. The DIY Tommy's margarita kits will be delivered from Wednesday, September 15, and you'll need to have signed up for one by Sunday, September 12. They're actually part of Cocktail Porter's monthly subscriptions, which see a different kit sent to your door each and every month. To order Cocktail Porter's DIY Tommy's margarita kits, head to the Cocktail Porter website.
Food is usually the gift you give when you can't think of anything else. Come on, you know it's true. That said, anyone getting their dad Gelato Messina's latest special Father's Day creation can't be accused of that. Actually, anyone who buys it for their dad instead of just nabbing it for themselves deserves to be the family favourite. As it did last year — and for the past few years for Mother's Day, too — chocolates are on the brand's Father's Day menu in 2022. Chocolate biscuits, to be exact. Are mint slice biscuits a staple of your parents' pantry? Do they make you feel nostalgic for that exact reason? Well, now you can get your daad the Messina version. The gelato chain does love taking other beloved desserts and giving them its own spin; see also: honey joys, Bounty and Chokito bars, Iced VoVos, Viennetta and Golden Gaytimes, just to name a few. Messina's minty biscuits, as these bikkies are called, come in 12 packs, and feature chocolate sablé biscuits with a soft mint centre that are then covered in 65-percent single-origin Messina dark chocolate. They're being made at the brand's Rosebery headquarters, and you can only pick them up online, for $25 a box plus shipping, from 9am, Monday, August 22. Then, they'll be sent by Monday, August 29. If you really are ordering them for your dad and yours come early, try not to eat them, obviously. Gelato Messina's minty biscuits will be available to order from 9am, Monday, August 22.
December, 2005. Two cars circle the beachside Sydney suburb of Cronulla, each filled with hotheaded locals looking for a fight. In one vehicle, the aggressive Jason (Damon Herriman) and his Ned Kelly-worshipping pal Ditch (Justin Rosniak) take the well-meaning but not-so-bright Shit Stick (Alexander England) and his kind-hearted Down Syndrome cousin Evan (Chris Bunton) in search of folks of Middle Eastern descent to bash. In the other, Hassim (Lincoln Younes) tears himself away from his studies to scour the streets for his missing brother – though his pals Nick (Rahel Romahn) and D-Mac (Fayssal Bazzi) and his devout uncle Ibrahim (Michael Denkha) are all keen to cause some physical damage to the area's ocker residents along the way. It's a scenario inspired by reality, in a film filled with harsh truths. If you're feeling a little awkward or even confronted by a comic take on the Cronulla race riots, that's okay. You're supposed to be. Like British terrorism satire Four Lions before it, Down Under addresses a subject everyone is aware of but no one wants to talk about, in perhaps the only way that it can. Feeling like you shouldn't be laughing at what you're seeing is part of the point. Thinking about why you're laughing is as well. Accordingly, the plot of Down Under offers a peek at the ugly side of Australian life. Conflict, discrimination and violence is inescapable in this film, as is the sense of discomfort by those watching. In his polished, purposefully provocative return to feature filmmaking after 2003's Ned, writer-director Abe Forsythe revels in the controversial nature of a situation that no one in the country can claim is unrealistic. After all, we all saw the scenes that made the news just over a decade ago; in fact, that's the footage Down Under begins with. As the two groups spend a day and a night driving around searching for weapons and arguing amongst themselves, the film manages to find the delicate balance between making a statement and making you laugh. Gags that stress the similarities between both sides provide many of the film's funniest and most astute moments, while Forsythe's clearly committed cast ensures that the characters never feel like mere caricatures – even when they're spouting idiotic, bigoted crap. Ultimately, Down Under isn't simply attempting to get viewers cackling about an uncomfortable topic. Forsythe is primarily trying to highlight the nation's deep-seeded intolerance, as well as the pointlessness of spewing hate based on cultural differences. It's little wonder that the film that results isn't just a comedy, but a tragedy as well. And given the current political and media landscape, this movie and its message really couldn't be more timely.
Leaping from the screen to the stage in 2018, Mean Girls not only found a second life in the theatre, but did so with singing and dancing. Unsurprisingly, the production was a hit. With the musical's book written by Tina Fey, its tunes composed by her husband Jeff Richmond and its lyrics by Tony-nominee Nell Benjamin, the machinations of high-school cliques struck just as much of a chord with audiences when set to songs — and given that the show's tracks have highly appropriate names such as 'Meet the Plastics', 'World Burn' and 'Here (You Can Sit with Us)', that's to be expected. Also easy to predict: the musical's next leap, with Cady Heron's tale heading back to the cinema. No need to stress if you haven't seen the all-singing, all-dancing Mean Girls on Broadway, because a film version will soon be brightening up a picture palace near you. When the movie adaptation screens on a Wednesday, you'll want to wear pink. And, like the Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams-starring original film, as well as the stage musical that followed, you'll be basking in Fey's talents. She wrote the initial feature's screenplay and, as detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, she's now producing this new movie musical. So is Saturday Night Live's Lorne Michaels, although no other creatives — or cast, or a release date — have been announced. The story will stay the same, obviously, charting Cady's rough adjustment to American high-school life after spending the bulk of her childhood living in Africa — and her time spent with the resident popular clique, known as 'the Plastics'. If you're wondering how it all works as a musical, check out a clip from the stage show below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGmgEoOF7Gs Via The Hollywood Reporter.
On the lookout for a dope new denim jacket? Or do you want to be rid of that weird-looking lamp taking up space in the living room? Then, by golly, you're in luck. The Garage Sale Trail works with local council partners Australia-wide to get as many trash-and-treasure troves happening on the same day as possible. More than 10,000 garages are expected to open their doors to bargain hunters, selling two million items, when the event returns for its eight time — and it's first two-day, weekend-long stint — on October 21 and 22. Aside from the retro goodies up for grabs, the Trail is all about sustainability. Instead of ending up in landfill, unwanted clutter becomes a fantastic find. So get that tight pair of sunnies for peanuts and help the environment at the same time. The Garage Sale Trail began humbly in Bondi in 2010 and is growing bigger every year. There'll be a right slew of sales happening all around Brisbane, so keep your eyes on the event website — or register online to make a quick buck from your old junk and hang out with the friendly folks in your hood.
"You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?" Jack Nicholson's (How Do You Know) version of the Joker asked in 1989's Batman, just because he liked the sound of it. Here's another question: have you ever seen the Tim Burton (Wednesday)-helmed, Michael Keaton (The Flash)-starring classic caped-crusader movie on the big screen with a live orchestra playing its score? Whatever your answer to the first query, you can soon respond to the second with a hearty yes. To celebrate 35 years since the superhero classic initially reached cinemas, Batman is making a silver-screen comeback Down Under to see out 2024 and start 2025 — and in each of its six stops, including in Brisbane, it's giving the film's tunes the symphonic treatment. It's Batman in concert, with the movie playing the Queensland capital across Tuesday December, 3–Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at the BCEC Great Hall, complete with Foreman's Australian Pops Orchestra picking up their instruments as the flick screens. They'll be busting out Danny Elfman's Grammy-nominated score, which is just one of the feature's music highlights. The other: songs by the one and only Prince. As well as marking three-and-a-half decades since the picture debuted, these concert screenings also commemorate 85 years of the character on the page — and have been announced just as Burton and Keaton reteam again for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Keaton's stint in Bruce Wayne's slick suits by day and Batman's cape by night kicked off a big-screen four-movie series that ran from 1989–1997, and also saw Val Kilmer (Top Gun: Maverick) and George Clooney (IF) inhabit the role — a character played elsewhere by everyone from Adam West and Christian Bale (Amsterdam) to Ben Affleck (Air) and Robert Pattinson (The Batman). As part of a global tour of events, only Batman going the concert route so far, not Batman Returns, Batman Forever or Batman and Robin. If you're keen to dress up to attend, that's encouraged — and there'll also be merchandise on sale.
Usually, Betty's Burgers serves up exactly what its name suggests. Sometimes, though, the chain adds something a little different to its menu. Both last year and this year, it has whipped up indulgent but affordable lobster rolls. For Easter 2020, it went with a prawn roll. Now, it's cooking up a limited-edition steak sanga. Combining a piece of wagyu steak, cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles and the chain's in-house sauce — as made from onion relish and sriracha mayonnaise — all on a long bun, Betty's new steak sandwich is available for dine-in (where open), takeaway and delivery from its restaurants spotted across Australia. If your stomach is already rumbling, you can tuck into one for $16 — or order a 'steak night' package and get two sangas, two serves of fries and a bottle of shiraz for $55. You'll need to get in quickly, though — while Betty's hasn't provided an end date for its latest addition to its menu, it's definitely a short-term affair that's only available until stocks last. And, if it's anything like the aforementioned lobster roll, expect it to sell-out — fast. When it isn't making steak sangas, Betty's is known for its Shake Shack-style burgs and frozen custard desserts (called concretes). While you can now grab one of the chain's burgers at over 20 locations across Australia, including six Sydney outlets, four Melbourne spots, four Brisbane outposts, one Toowoomba eatery and one location in Adelaide, the company first began in Noosa, and then expanded to the Gold Coast. With the chain's stores open for takeaway and most of them offering delivery via UberEats and Deliveroo, you can get your steak sandwich to pick-up or brought to your door. To check which options your local has, head to the Betty's Burgers' website or download the app for iOS or Google Play. Betty's Burgers' steak sandwich is available at all Australian stores for a limited time. To order, download the Betty's Burgers app for iOS or Google Play.
Spend your next Saturday morning brunch session with the creature you love most: your furry, barking, four-legged best friend. You'll start the first day of the weekend with cocktails, while they can munch on doggo desserts. It's a win for everyone. Also on offer at Dog Brunch: plenty of cafe fare, tapas if that's what your stomach is hungering for, live tunes and a dog brunch photo wall. You can also learn how to make your pupper a 'fancy as' dog shirt, all thanks to Alice Nightingale. While entry to the brunch is free in general, tickets for the sewing session cost $60 for a three-hour class. [caption id="attachment_760495" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Alice Nightingale[/caption] Held in California Lane, and spearheaded by Froth on Brunswick and The Stand, Dog Brunch takes place from 10am–2pm on Saturday, February 15 — so mark it in your pooch's diary. While further dates haven't yet been announced, this is set to become a monthly happening too — which should cause your woofer to start wagging its tale with excitement.
UPDATE: MARCH 13, 2020 — Due to the current global situation surrounding COVID-19, My Chemical Romance has decided to postpone their trip Down Under. And, as a result, Download has cancelled its Sydney and Melbourne festivals. Ticket holders will receive a full refund — including booking and payment processing fees — and organisers are currently working with My Chemical Romance and Deftones to schedule separate headline shows in 2020. We'll let you know when these are announced. 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. The black parade is coming back to Australia, with the freshly reunited My Chemical Romance heading to Sydney and Melbourne for the 2020 Download Festival. The US group went its separate ways in 2013, but it seems you just can't keep this 00s emo outfit apart. Just last week, MCR announced that they're literally getting the band back together, and, after selling out their first reunion gig in Los Angeles quick smart, they're taking the show on the road. If you're keen relive your angsty emo teenage years and catch Gerard Way and co eight years after they last came to our shores for the 2012 Big Day Out, you'll need to head to the aforementioned festival — MCR aren't doing any sideshows on this tour. But, when Download hits Melbourne's Flemington Showgrounds on Friday, March 20 and Sydney's Parramatta Park on Saturday, March 21, the headliners will have plenty of support, including a heap of other rock and heavy metal standouts from the past few decades. They include Deftones, Jimmy Eat World, Clutch and Ministry — aka some heavy hitters in the worlds of alternative metal, punk-influenced rock, hard rock and industrial metal. Those keen on melodic metal will want to flock to Sweden's In Flames, while Scotland's Alestorm will get silly with pirate metal (yes, that's a thing), and Italy's Lacuna Coil will play their brand of rhythmic metal. And, no matter your tastes, Mongolia's The HU promise something you probably haven't seen before: hard rock combined with traditional Mongolian throat singing. Basically, if it's a type of rock or metal (of the musical kind), you'll find it on Download's lineup. Testament, Carcass, Baroness, New Year's Day and Venom Prism help round out the overseas contingent, while Australia is represented by local punk legends Bodyjar, plus Hands Like Houses, In Hearts Wake, Ne Obliviscaris and Clowns [caption id="attachment_749356" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Deftones[/caption] DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2020 FIRST LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT My Chemical Romance (only Aus shows) Deftones Jimmy Eat World Clutch (only Aus shows) Ministry In Flames Testament Alestorm (only Aus shows) Carcass Lacuna Coil (only Aus shows) Hands Like Houses In Hearts Wake The HU Baroness Ne Obliviscaris Bodyjar New Years Day Clowns Venom Prison SKYND Thornhill Disentomb Stand Atlantic Plini RedHook Dregg Download 202o was scheduled to hit Melbourne's Flemington Showgrounds on Friday, March 20 and Sydney's Parramatta Park on Saturday, March 21. Top image: My Chemical Romance performing by NBSTwo via Flickr
