Here's one way to warm up your winter: heading to Northshore Hamilton for wild nights filled with everything from cabaret, burlesque, circus and music to magic and a Shinjuku-inspired bar. From Wednesday, July 27, that's on the bill thanks to a new entertainment precinct pop-up called Twilight Electric. Yes, heading by when the sun is setting is highly recommended. This luminous limited-time venue will boast two big drawcards: Blanc de Blanc Encore, which has proven a Brisbane Festival favourite in the past; and a Brisbane season for Maho Magic Bar. And if you're wondering why, it's all happening in the lead up to this year's Bris Fest — which'll unfurl its jam-packed 2022 lineup, moon-focused events and all, in September. With the return of Blanc de Blanc Encore comes the return of the Spiegeltent, which'll be filled with the kind of party that'd make Jay Gatsby envious. Think: glamour, hedonism, opulence, an OTT vibe and extravagance aplenty, all thanks to Strut & Fret, who've also brought Feasting on Flesh, A Company of Strangers, Cantina, Dream Menagerie, LIMBO, Blanc de Blanc and Limbo Unhinged our way in the past. Blanc de Blanc Encore combines tunes, big dance numbers, acrobatics and other circus tricks, risqué humour and a vintage French aesthetic — so, there's a little something for everyone. The vibe is pure cheekiness, so if you're a little sensitive, this mightn't be for you. As for Maho Magic Bar, it's a bar, a performance space and a show all in one — all thanks to Broad Encounters, aka the folks behind that eerie Edgar Allen Poe-inspired warehouse experience A Midnight Visit that creeped out Brisbane in 2021. Here, neon lighting sets the mood, cherry blossoms hover above, and sake cocktails and shōchū lead the drinks menu. Also, magic shows happen at your table. An immersive event from the moment that you approach its glowing exterior, it's designed to replicate a night out in Shinjuku in Tokyo, and conjure up an 'anything can happen' feeling. The ace thing about the setup: whether you adore magic or don't think it's your thing, you'll still be entertained given the atmosphere (and the drinks and those lights) are a massive part of the allure. Still, magic is nonetheless a big part of it. Busting out illusions: Osaka's Shohgo Yamashita, the gender stereotype-busting Kaori Kitazawa and close-up magician Sarito. Find Twilight Electric at Northshore Hamilton from Wednesday, July 27. For further information and to buy tickets, head to the Twilight Electric website. Top image: Maho Magic Bar, Trentino Priori.
Restrictions on how many people can attend restaurants, entertainment sites and other venues have been a regular part of managing the COVID-19 pandemic, but they're about to become a thing of the past in Queensland. When the state reaches the 80-percent double-vaccinated mark, venue caps and density rules will no longer apply — because all of these places will only be welcoming in double-jabbed patrons. If you've already rolled up your sleeves twice by the time that 80-percent threshold is hit — which is expected around Friday, December 17 — you'll be able to head to all hospitality and entertainment venues, as well as stadiums, festivals, libraries, galleries and museums, all without needing to abide by any other density or patron restrictions. If you aren't double-vaxxed by then, however, you won't be able to go to any of these places at all. BREAKING: Fully vaccinated Queenslanders will be rewarded to keep our freedoms from 17 December or when we reach the 80% double dosed milestone. #covid19 pic.twitter.com/WICAlLvxl0 — Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) November 9, 2021 Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the change today, Tuesday, November 9, in her second big piece of COVID-19 news for the day — after revealing that wearing masks indoors will be ditched at the 80-percent single-vaxxed mark, which should be reached either today or tomorrow. The new double-jabbed-only rule could kick in earlier than December 17 if the 80-percent double-vaccinated threshold is reached before then, too. The Premier noted in a statement that it'll "take effect from December 17 or once the state reaches 80 percent of eligible Queenslanders fully vaccinated, whichever comes first". It'll also affect everyone 16 years of age and older. Here's where it'll apply: at hospitality venues including pubs, clubs, hotels, bars, restaurants and cafes; at entertainment venues including cinemas, live music and karaoke; at both indoor and outdoor music festivals; and at government-owned galleries, museums and libraries. It'll also be in effect at all Queensland government stadiums — such as Suncorp, The Gabba, Queensland Country Bank and Metricon, and covering Big Bash, T20, One Day Internationals, NRL, AFL, State of Origin and concerts — as well as at weddings. And, it'll apply at hospitals, disability services, aged care and prisons as well, except in end of life, childbirth or emergency circumstances. There is another requirement for venues, however, with all staff needing to be double-vaccinated as well. Performers need to be double-jabbed at music festivals, too. #BREAKING From 17 Dec, only Queenslanders who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to enter: 🍽️ Pubs, restaurants & cafes 🎥 Nightclubs, live music venues & cinemas 🏈 Sporting stadiums & theme parks 🎨 Gov owned galleries, museums & libraries Full details to come. pic.twitter.com/hzwXgqRonp — Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) November 9, 2021 The change will kick in at the same time that Queensland will let double-jabbed interstate travellers arrive by either road or air and, if they've received a negative COVID-19 test result in the 72 hours before arriving, ditch quarantine as well. And yes, it looks like this summer in Queensland is going to be mighty bright. This is the Sunshine State, after all. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the QLD COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website. Top image: Somefx.
If you're a dinosaur fan in Australia, life keeps finding a way to indulge your interest in prehistoric creatures. In Brisbane, the Dinosaurs of Patagonia museum showcase is currently displaying impressive fossils. In Melbourne and later Sydney, Dinos Alive: An Immersive Experience is about to hit. And also in the Harbour City, Jurassic World: The Exhibition will soon roar into town with its own critters, as well as a celebration of 30 years since the first Jurassic Park movie initially rampaged across the big screen. Yes, it's a great time to fascinated with dinosaurs right now — we've seen two seasons of Prehistoric Planet on streaming in the past two years, too — and this latest exhibition arrives as part of a global tour. A showcase with the same name displayed in Melbourne back in 2016, but this visit comes after stops everywhere from London, San Diego, Paris and Madrid to Seoul, Shanghai and Toronto. On offer: life-sized, lifelike versions of the movie franchise's animals. Expect to feel like you've been transported to Isla Nublar, complete with a walk through the big-screen saga's famed gates. From there, you'll walk through themed environments featuring dinos, including a brachiosaurus, velociraptors — yes, get ready to say "clever girl" — and a Tyrannosaurus rex. Also linking in with the animated Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous series, there'll be baby dinos, including the show's Bumpy. Sydneysiders and visitors to the New South Wales capital will be able to get roaming, and staring at animatronic dinos, from Friday, September 22 at the 3000-square-metre SuperLuna Pavilion at Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park. Exactly how long the exhibition will hang around for hasn't been announced, except that it'll be a limited stay. If it'll head to other Australian cities afterwards also hasn't been revealed. Now, all that's left is to decide which Jurassic franchise character you want to emulate (the best choices: Laura Dern's palaeobotanist Ellie Sattler, Sam Neill's palaeontologist Alan Grant and Jeff Goldblum's mathematician Ian Malcolm, of course). And no, when Michael Crichton penned Jurassic Park in 1990, then Steven Spielberg turned it into a 1993 film, they wouldn't have expected that this'd be the result three decades — and five more movies — later. Jurassic World: The Exhibition will display at SuperLuna Pavilion, Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park from Friday, September 22 — head to the exhibition's website to join the ticket waitlist.
UPDATE, November 11, 2020: Goldstone is available to stream via Stan, Netflix, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Australian cinema has a new hero — or heroes, to be exact. In case 2013's neo-western crime thriller Mystery Road didn't make that apparent, Goldstone shouts it across the outback. On screen, Indigenous police detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen) stalks through another remote desert town searching for the truth. Behind the camera, writer-director Ivan Sen guides another insightful examination of race, prejudice, inequality and exploitation inextricably linked to the Australian landscape. Indeed, across their two features to date, both the character and the filmmaker confront not only the challenging reality of present day Australia, but the deep scars left by the past. Accordingly, as much as Goldstone is a follow-up, it's also far more than just a narrative sequel to Mystery Road. Instead, the companion piece expands upon its predecessor's themes to explore a host of different topics, including human trafficking and the government-sanctioned mining of resources, in order to further push Sen's ongoing cinematic conversation about the state of his country today. Swan isn't quite the same no-nonsense cop viewers will remember from the previous film. When he's first spied driving drunk on the outskirts of the titular mining community, local officer Josh Waters (Alex Russell) is surprised to find a police badge stashed amongst his belongings. Reports of a missing Chinese woman, possibly linked to the town's brothel, have sparked Swan's visit, but he's hardly given a warm welcome. Josh is reluctant to help, mayor Maureen (Jacki Weaver) oozes malice behind her big smile, and goldmine boss Johnny (David Wenham) is clearly unhappy about strangers rolling into town. Given all that, it's hardly surprising when bullets start flying in Swan's direction. With the narrative also exploring Swan's links to his heritage via Aboriginal elder Jimmy (David Gulpilil), as well as the dynamic between a madam (Cheng Pei-pei) and her reluctant workers, Goldstone dives into complex territory. And yet, with Pedersen always front and centre as the unflappable Swan, the film filters its many threads through a confident, commanding central presence. Amidst an excellent cast, Pedersen demonstrates why he's one of the country's most talented actors, in a portrayal that conveys more through glances and body language than most say with words. His is a performance of quiet determination, and of breaking through pain to find a way forward. In fact, Pedersen is so convincing that Sen's decision to drop back into Swan's story after significant unseen turmoil feels completely natural. And just as the character refuses to give up, the writer-director (who also serves as producer, editor, cinematographer and composer) refuses to underestimate the audience's ability to piece the necessary parts together. Some of the dialogue is a little bit blunt, but sometimes both force and nuance are required to make a strong statement. It's how Sen balances the two that's pivotal. As it alternates between intimate close-ups and vast aerial shots, punctuating a contemplative pace with expertly choreographed gun battles, Goldstone proves a masterclass in maintaining that balance.
Call it fate, call it destiny, call it feeling so deeply that you were always meant to cross paths with another person that no other outcome could ever be conceivable: in Korean, that sensation is in-yeon. Call it having a connection that sprawls yet binds like an endless piece of string, always linking you to someone no matter how far apart you each wander: stretch that out over many, many lifetimes and, yes, that is in-yeon as well. Watching Past Lives, which references the kismet-esque concept both in its three-part story and its title, gives viewers a brush with in-yeon, too. Writer/director Celine Song's feature debut is that affecting; that vivid, evocative and haunting; that alive with been-there-lived-that energy. Wading through layers of love, identity, roads taken and not, and the versions of ourselves that we are at each fork, Past Lives is that acutely able to make a very specific experience mirror everyone's experiences. Partway through the film, aspiring playwright and writer Nora (Greta Lee, Russian Doll) talks through in-yeon with fellow scribe Arthur (John Magaro, The Many Saints of Newark). She shares that in-yeon lingers with everyone that you meet, the very act of making one's acquaintance signifying that you've done so before — and if two people become lovers, it's because they've kept falling into step in life after life. As Nora speaks, Past Lives' audience are well-aware of an unshakeable truth, as is the movie's central figure: that she knows in-yeon in her bones. Indeed, this is what Song's sublime feature is about from its first frames to its last in every way that it can be. With Arthur, Nora jokes that in-yeon is something that Koreans talk about when they're trying to seduce someone. There's zero lies in her words, because she's working that move right there and then, and she'll end up married to him. But with her childhood crush Hae Sung (Teo Yoo, Decision to Leave), who she last saw at the age of 12 because her family then moved from Seoul to Toronto, in-yeon explains everything. That one perfect term sums up Nora and Hae Sung's firm friendship as kids, as chronicled in Past Lives' first third. As pre-teens, the duo (Voice of Silence's Moon Seung-ah and Good Deal's Leem Seung-min) are virtually inseparable — walking home from school together daily, competing over grades, bantering with effortless rapport — until half a globe separates them. Then, when they reunite in their 20s via emails and Skype calls after 12 years without each other, Past Lives' crucial word also describes their instant spark and pull. The latter is so magnetic that they're basically dating without saying it, and while he's still in South Korea but she's now in New York. Next, it captures the complicated emotions that swell when Nora and Hae Sung are finally in the same place together again after decades. Arthur is in the picture by then and, ever-adaptable, in-yeon even encapsulates that development. If Past Lives didn't leave its viewers certain to their core about its emotional authenticity, that'd be a greater surprise than how strongly and tenderly it resounds. The Korean-born Song also emigrated to Canada with her parents at the same point in her life as Nora. While she hasn't made a strictly autobiographical work, there's fact dwelling behind this fiction. Her picture would pair astoundingly well with Minari and Aftersun, in fact. In its way, leaping in souls and minds rather than through realms, it's a multiverse tale and companion to Everything Everywhere All At Once also. Feeling so intimately applicable to the characters loving, living, immigrating, yearning and growing within its frames, and yet echoing so universally, is that always-sought-after holy grail of storytelling feats. Although her film hones in on the heart — on-and off-screen alike — as it gets poetic and philosophical (and delivers a Big Apple-set Before Sunrise/Before Sunset/Before Midnight sequence), that Song studied psychology and once planned to become a therapist isn't astonishing to learn. Each time that Nora and Hae Sung slide back into each other's existences, a dozen years have passed, but it feels no time at all for both. Still, that sentiment can't and doesn't smooth their way onwards. Fittingly, Past Lives is crafted to resemble slipping into a memory, complete with patient looks and visuals (Skate Kitchen and Small Axe cinematographer Shabier Kirchner lenses) and a transportingly evocative score (by Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear, which gives the picture a bond with the also-heartwrenching Blue Valentine and its own knotty romance). This feature knows every emotion that springs when you need someone and vice versa, but life has other plans. It feels the weight of the trails left untrodden, even when you're happy with the route you're on. It understands what it's like to be see your past, plus the present and future it could've influenced, shimmering in front of your eyes. Past Lives is a film about details — spying them everywhere, in Nora and Hae Sung's lives and in their faces, while recognising how the best people in anyone's orbits spot them as well. Of course every second appears meticulous, then, but also equally dreamy and ripped from reality. Of course Lee, Yoo and Magaro are each magnificent, as is this entire sensitive, blisteringly honest and complex masterpiece. Lee charms Nora's two love interests and Past Lives' viewers in tandem, in a sincere and sharp performance as a woman who is as witty as she is wistful while grappling with who she is. Yoo hops from the best movie of 2022 to what'll be difficult to beat as the best of 2023 with quiet dedication and potency. And Magaro plays adoring, accepting but never elementary; Arthur knows how intricate the situation is, so his way through is just that, through, gleaning his part in helping Nora and Hae Sung be who they need to. Contemplating what's written in the stars also involves contemplating beginnings and endings, even when in-yeon has cycles and reincarnations all a-fluttering. Again, Song fashions Past Lives to embody all that it muses on, including via an opening that's utterly immaculate and a closing scene that's breathtakingly divine. Both are also unforgettable. To start, jumping forward before going backwards, Nora, Arthur and Hae Sung sit at a bar. Her body language is all about her lifelong friend, as fellow drinkers peering on comment on; regardless of how things appear, though, only Nora, Arthur and Hae Sung can ever truly grasp their own full story. To wrap up, simply walking and waiting is so impeccably considered and staged, down to the direction that events flow in across the screen, that they say everything about advancing, retreating and wishing you were doing one while going through the other. Past Lives is a movie to lose yourself in, and gloriously; a film to fall head over feels for, and fast; like it feels fated to be, it's also just extraordinary.
Not every ballet features dancers forming constellations, gramophone-shaped mirrors creating kaleidoscopic visuals, refractive and reflective surfaces making it appear as though performers are overlapping, and choreography created for every leaf in a 134-page text — but, not every ballet is Tree of Codes. Stemming from a dream team of creative forces, the production is currently wowing crowds in London, and for good reason. Music, dance, art and literature fans, hold on to your hats: Tree of Codes is a collaboration between Jamie xx, Royal Ballet choreographer Wayne McGregor, Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and novelist Jonathan Safran Foer. First previewing in Manchester in 2016, it's named after and based on the latter's book-based artwork of the same name. Also described as a "sculptural object", the printed work took Bruno Schulz's Street of Crocodiles, cut out the majority of words and fashioned what remained into a new post-apocalyptic story. So, how do you turn that into a ballet? Foer's "blurred and disorientating worlds provide a powerful point of departure for our collaboration on stage — where constellations of light, shadows, bodies, objects and sound dance at the edges of darkness," says McGregor. "Lights panning over the audience cause its spectral image to appear on the stage's reflective, coloured scrims, integrating the viewers with the activity on the stage," states Eliasson's website, while Jamie xx created an algorithm to vocalise words from the book, transforming them into melodies. Tree of Codes' season at London's Sadler's Wells ended on March 11, and we'll keep our fingers and toes crossed that it turns up on our shores. Via Dezeen.
UPDATE, April 1, 2021: The Little Things is currently screening in Australian cinemas — and it's also available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and Amazon Video. Before you've even seen a single frame of a film, much can sometimes be gleaned by merely knowing who's in it — if they've been cast to type. The Little Things features Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto, which means it can brag that it stars three Oscar winners, as its trailer does. The movie has also happily deployed its trio of main players exactly as you'd expect. So, adding yet another cop to his resume, Washington plays unflinchingly dedicated and determined, as well as a character who's far from perfect. Malek has a much shorter acting history, but once again combines the blend of awkwardness and meticulousness that seeped from his pores over four seasons of Mr Robot. As for Leto, he's asked to mine not just his recent cinematic past, but also his overall status in popular culture. From his overcooked take on the Joker in Suicide Squad to the misplaced swagger that's defined his off-screen persona and his rock stardom with Thirty Seconds to Mars, he's hardly widely beloved. The Little Things wants everyone watching to remember that, and perhaps to even stoke the flames of their existing Leto hatred. Washington's Joe 'Deke' Deacon was once a well-admired Los Angeles detective; however, when The Little Things begins, he's a deputy sheriff in Kern County. His current and former colleagues all see that shift as a step down, but he's just as dogged in his new job — and, when he's reluctantly sent back to LA to collect evidence for an important trial, then gets brought in on a new serial killer case by Malek's hotshot newcomer Jim Baxter while he's hanging about, he's downright unrelenting. A number of women have been found murdered, and in gruesome circumstances. Baxter doesn't realise it, but the details prove familiar to Deke from years earlier. As the pair's new investigation leads them to repair store employee Albert Sparma (Leto), neither Deke nor Baxter is willing to rest until they solve the case. Off-putting and unpleasant from the moment he's first seen, the creepy, possibly psychotic Sparma likes being seen as a suspect, though, and enjoys toying with the men following him. So far in 2021's awards season, Leto has been nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his greasy-haired turn as Sparma, and it's near-impossible to fathom why. Tasked with an overtly and explicitly unlikeable part, he simply leans in, makes the most obvious of choices he possible can and relishes the dismay he seems to already sense coming his way. He's so over-the-top that he's just operating in the same one-note register that plagued his work in Suicide Squad (and, presumably, is about to be witnessed again in the new four-hour version of Justice League). There are exactly two notable elements to Leto's performance in The Little Things, and neither do him any favours. Firstly, everyone with abhorrence already pumping through their veins whenever he pops up in a film will feel not just comfortable about but justified in having made that choice. Secondly, Leto plays such a caricature with such forceful commitment and utter lack of subtlety that it makes his fellow big-name co-stars look positively rich and nuanced in comparison. Neither Washington and Malek will add another statuette to their mantles for their efforts in The Little Things, but the film is at its best when it lets the pair share a scene (and to do so without Leto). More than just bringing a stock-standard chalk-and-cheese pairing to the screen, they infuse Deke and Baxter's dynamic with texture — demonstrating the similarities between the two men as much as the differences, which gives the characters' working relationship far more liveliness than it might've boasted otherwise. As written and directed by The Blindside's John Lee Hancock, The Little Things doesn't gloss over either cop's flaws, but it mightn't have interrogated them to the same extent if they'd been played by other actors. And, when the storyline takes its two detectives into murky territory — with Deke haunted by past choices from the feature's first moments, and Baxter destined to follow him despite his clear conscientiousness — it might've rung hollow without Washington and Malek to sell the specifically required blend of bleakness, ambiguity and inevitability. If it was easy to predict how Hancock was going to use his three stars before even watching the movie, it's just as easy to see how their on-screen fates encapsulate the film. When The Little Things is great, it does more than just hit its blatant marks. When it's terrible, it's grating to the point of being futile. For most of its running time, it sits in the middle, and in the shadow of far better police procedurals. Zodiac, this isn't, for instance — but there's no doubting that masterpiece's influence here, or the similar imprint made by cop flicks from the 90s, when The Little Things is set. Hancock actually wrote his screenplay three decades ago, so it predates David Fincher's multiple entries into the serial killer genre and many of the other movies it now seems to ape, but the passage of time has proven a double-edged sword. If the film had reached cinemas back then, it might've been able to carve itself a distinctive niche or at least felt like part of a pack. Now, it mainly reminds viewers that better pictures exist, and have for some time. Still, as well as Washington and Malek's memorable-enough performances, this moodily shot affair does tick another welcome box. As seen through the era-appropriate absence of mobile phones, the time spent stepping through traditional detective methods, the weight of investigating tough cases, and the fallout from making both wrong and right decisions, The Little Things revels in the physical and emotional labour of chasing a killer. That's not enough to make up for its generally routine feel, of course, but it makes the audience follow the title's advice and value the smallest of highlights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HZAnkxdYuA
Plenty of Aussies have found themselves captivated by US TV drama The Handmaid's Tale, and the image of a dystopian society that is — even 30-odd years after the book was published — a little too close to home. And now, you'll have the chance to dive even deeper into that world, as Margaret Atwood, author of the original books that inspired the show, heads Down Under for an exclusive Australian appearance. Taking the stage at the Sydney Opera House in March 2019 in the lead-up to International Women's Day, the acclaimed Canadian writer will speak as part of the UNSW Centre for Ideas 2019 program. Atwood, celebrated for her storytelling prowess, prescient imagination and thought-provoking ideas, will share her insights into how present-day behaviours might be used to foretell any grim futures coming our way — just like those fictional worlds that hit so close to home in the likes of The Handmaid's Tale and Atwood's other works like The Blind Assassin, Alias Grace and, more recently, the MaddAddam Trilogy. The author's set to dish up her thoughts on the key issues of today and the future realities they might herald, from extremist politics, to climate change. It should be an interesting, if not eyebrow-raising, talk — as well as being an obvious advocate for women's rights, Atwood came under fire this year for her controversial take on the #MeToo movement and her reluctance to call The Handmaid's Tale feminist. Maybe she can visit Gliead while she's here. Margaret Atwood speaks at the Sydney Opera House's Concert Hall, on Sunday March 3, 2019. Tickets are from $39, available here from 9am, November 8.
Given the current state of the world, it's impossible to dismiss historical accounts of power, conflict, bureaucracy serving the wealthy and the masses fighting to be heard as mere chapters from the past. The same applies to medieval-style television fantasies about squabbling over a throne, too, but true tales bite harder than Game of Thrones ever has. Peterloo is the perfect example. Chronicling an infamous clash between ordinary workers and the government-backed militia near Manchester in 1819, the period piece harks back to 200 years ago yet remains scarily, unsettlingly relevant today. Of course, that's part of filmmaker Mike Leigh's point — there's a reason that the 76-year-old veteran British director has just now turned his attention to this bloody battle for voting rights. After spending a dozen years tussling with Napoleon's armies, the British people were tired, poor and hungry as the 19th century neared its third decade. Work was hardly reliable, food was scarce, industrialisation was taking its toll, distressed ex-soldiers were a common sight and even the pettiest of crimes could see someone shipped off to Australia. To make matters worse, few had a say in the country's path, with less than three percent of the population eligible to cast a ballot. It's this agitated climate that Peterloo explores, all to show how its brutal namesake event came about. The rich, the religious and the ruling classes wanted to retain the status quo. Charismatic reformers riled up everyday folks to fight for their rights. In the resulting physical skirmish — during a peaceful demonstration led by orator Henry Hunt (Rory Kinnear) — 18 people were killed and up to 700 injured among the 60,000-strong crowd. Writing as well as directing, Leigh emphasises the scale and impact of the Peterloo massacre in an effective fashion, stepping through the wants, needs, emotions and motivations of the various players before unravelling the climactic confrontation. But there's a fire in his belly from the outset, as is made clear when he opens the film with the Battle of Waterloo, and those flames don't subside. Spending time with characters of all stations and piecing together vignettes of their experiences, he crafts a patchwork of a picture, each scene stitching on another crucial square with palpable urgency. Some of the people within his view scoff and laugh, while others struggle to get by. However it's the atmosphere of chaos, inequity, opportunism, exploitation and duplicity that was part and parcel of life at the time that earns the filmmaker's sharpest rebukes. That, and the eventual human fallout on the path to changing British democracy. For a film based around such a violent event, more talk than action results; of course, as Leigh knows, words can cut just as deeply as weapons. Indeed, it's because Peterloo takes the time to survey the state of the nation at the time — including clear-eyed, unsentimental dissections of both camps in the government-versus-workers divide — that the massacre, when it comes, feels so punishing and relentless. There's a difference between a slog and an onslaught and, while the movie clocks in at 154 minutes, its speech-heavy and fight-fuelled portions still fall into the latter camp. Likewise, there's a difference between wallowing in misfortune (or, worse, romanticising it) and showing it like it was, and again Peterloo finds the right side. What the film also finds is a fitting way to tell such a detailed and complicated story — not only in its narrative approach, but in its visuals. While Leigh's last release, the applauded Mr Turner, explored the life of a great 19th-century British artist, the term 'painterly' equally applies here. With cinematographer Dick Pope lensing his 11th title for the director, Peterloo's frames are alive with minutiae yet remain carefully composed. Pitch-perfect but never glossy costuming and production design helps. So too do solid performances across the board, including from the ever-reliable Kinnear, as well as Maxine Peake as a weary mother doing what's needed for her family. But it's Peterloo's look and feel that truly hammers home Leigh's intentions. To understand why the movie's real-life basis is so important, and to see the parallels between then and now, requires peering as closely as possible — staring steadfastly at the whole picture, warts and all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlvLWaueD_o
Playing an Australian freshly arrived in Florida in Rough Night, Kate McKinnon bafflingly calls everyone's favourite Italian meal "pizzer". When she's hungry, she pulls a jar of Vegemite out of her bag. And for some unexplained reason, she asks for toilet tissue rather than toilet paper. These are three things likely to make Aussie audiences cringe. And yet despite this, they're actually attached to the best part of the film. Much as she was in Ghostbusters, Masterminds and Office Christmas Party, McKinnon is in Rough Night a downright comic delight, the best part of an ensemble cast that also includes Scarlett Johansson, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer and Zoe Kravitz. If only the material matched her skills. Unfortunately this unremarkable comedy proves to be little more than a blend of Very Bad Things, The Hangover and Weekend at Bernie's, with a few familiar, sentimental musings about female friendship thrown in. Indeed, writer-director Lucia Aniello and her co-scribe Paul W. Downs — both Broad City alum — are happy sticking to a formula. If their script simply read "women behave badly, then hug", we wouldn't be surprised. You already know exactly how this film is going to play out: aspiring state senator Jess (Johansson) and her pals Alice (Bell), Blair (Kravitz), Frankie (Glazer) and Pippa (McKinnon) converge on Miami for 55 hours of drinking, partying, penis-shaped paraphernalia and selfie-worthy raucousness. That's all well and good, until they hire a male stripper and then accidentally kill him. Following in the footsteps of Bridesmaids and Bad Moms, it's great that female-led comedies are finally hitting cinemas in increasing numbers, albeit slowly. It's also great that Rough Night is helmed and co-scripted by a woman and features five ace ladies in the lead roles. Still, we can't help but wish that the film delivered more than just by-the-book observations and stereotypical characters. Sensible, envious, posh, feisty, kooky Aussie: the women here have about as much dimension as members of a '90s girl band. Outside of McKinnon, the biggest chuckles stem from cutaways to Jess' fiance's bachelor party, which involves a civilised evening of wine tasting rather than knocking back shots and snorting drugs. Of course, the fact that more amusement stems from the men in the movie than the women is an enormous problem. With most of its great ladies sadly underused, Rough Night feels like a wasted opportunity. What the world wants is more smart, funny, female-led flicks. What the world didn't need is lazy gender-swapped hijinks packaged as girls-gone-wild fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlDvkRYrIlU
Recently reformed to celebrate the release of their landmark 1998 album No Touch Red, Bodyjar bring their similarly titled tour to The Hi-Fi, with special guests One Dollar Short and By Amusement Only. A tour that almost didn’t happen, one of the band members got his arm broken after intervening when he saw a woman being hassled by a gang of guys, it’s already been met with rave reviews, from critics and fans alike. With their first album You Can’t Hold Me Down released in 1993 under the name Helium, Bodyjar have since put out six studio albums along with two live albums and four EPS. Counting members of Millencolin, Bad Religion, The Foo Fighters and NOFX among their fans the band are true aussie punk legends.
If your tipple of choice is a tasty local beer or homegrown spirit, the 2021–22 Federal Budget has served up some good news for your future drinking endeavours. In a push to support jobs and boost Australia's alcohol manufacturing sector, the government is set to offer around $225 million in tax relief for local small breweries and distilleries. Announced earlier this month and reiterated during this week's federal budget announcement, this move will allow eligible brewers and distillers to get back any excise tax they pay on the alcohol they produce, up to a cap of $350,000 each year. Previously, they were only entitled to a maximum refund of 60 percent, capped annually at $100,000. The Excise Refund Scheme changes will kick off from July 1, 2021, pulling the benefits for Australia's beer and spirits industries more into line with what the wine industry currently enjoys. It's expected that around 600 brewers and 400 distillers will benefit from the move. The tax relief should offer our local beer and spirits scenes a huge boost, according to Independent Brewers Association Chairman and founder of Sydney's Wayward Brewing Co, Peter Philip. In an interview with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg earlier this month, Mr Philip explained that small brewers and distilleries would be pushing this extra money into technology, capability, capacity and their people. "Consumers really want to support small, locally-owned independent beer in Australia. And this is just going to make that happen," he said. In the same interview, Bentspoke Brewing founder Richard Watkins called the excise change "one of the biggest things that's ever happened in the brewing industry", saying his Canberra-based brewery would be investing in new equipment and technology to make the beer even better and meet increased demand. [caption id="attachment_811815" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wayward Brewing's Camperdown taproom[/caption] The budget move will also prove a timely helping hand for two industries especially hard hit by last year's hospitality lockdowns. In a statement made last month calling for a drop in excise tax rates, the Brewers Association of Australia revealed its 2020 data showing draught beer sales had plunged by a third, compared to the previous year. According to the organisation, that translates to a drop of over $1 billion in beer sold by pubs and clubs in 2020 alone. For more information about the 2021–22 Federal Budget, head to the government's website.
Labour Day 2022 might be several public holidays away, but it's worth marking in your diary right now. Across the long weekend leading up to the May day off, southeast Queensland's newest music festival will unleash three days of live tunes on the Gold Coast — on Surfers Paradise beachfront, and with a jam-packed lineup. Between Friday, April 29–Sunday, May 1, Golden Shores will make its debut right by the water. Yes, it's making that moniker count. Attendees will check out Youngn Lipz, HP Boyz, Safia, The Presets, Vera Blue, San Cisco and more, all while getting some sand between their toes — and dancing against a killer backdrop. The new fest comes from Cross Promotions, the Gold Coast entertainment outfit who were originally behind festivals such as Beachlife and SummaFielddayze. And while giving music lovers a stellar three-day festival experience by the sea is one of the event's key aims, so is helping the local entertainment industry recover after a difficult couple of years. Tickets start at $89 per day, with Youngn Lipz and HP Boyz headlining the Friday bill, Safia and The Presets (doing a DJ set) hitting the stage on the Saturday, and Vera Blue and San Cisco doing the honours on Sunday. They're joined on the lineup by Triple One, Wombat, Lastlings, Motez, Winston Surfshirt and Last Dinosaurs — with the list going on. Check out the full details below. GOLDEN SHORES 2022 LINEUP: Day one: Youngn Lipz HP Boyz Triple One Wombat Day1 Jesswar Barkaa Skrub YNG Martyr Yung Gwopp Day two: Safia The Presets (DJ set) Lastlings Motez Stace Cadet Young Franco Dena Amy DVNA Day three: Vera Blue San Cisco Winston Surfshirt Last Dinosaurs King Stingray Teenage Joans Yorke Golden Shores hits Surfers Paradise Beachfront from Friday, April 29–Sunday, May 1, 2022. For more information, or to buy tickets from Thursday, November 25, head to the festival's website.
A hard day of wizarding deserves a fresh pint of butterbeer, and London could soon have just the spot for it. An eager Harry Potter fan is launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund what might just become everyone's favourite magical watering hole: The Cauldron. You can taking the leaking out of the enchanted bar's name, but you can't take the wonder, with the pub promising to use technology to emulate all of the tricks you've read about in JK Rowling's books and watched in the subsequent film adaptations. That includes touch-sensitive magic wands that can be used to light fires, turn on the lights and even pour drinks, plus moving photographs and levitating candles. There's no mention of paying for your drinks in galleons, but that idea sounds right up this place's Diagon Alley. Speaking of beverages, in addition to their own signature brew — the Cauldron Ale, which will be served in a specialty bottom-filling pint glass — The Cauldron will provide wizarding-inspired wines, spirits and soft drinks, as well as "spectacular science-based cocktails that look and behave like potions that are described in fantasy books." There's no word on just how they'll achieve that feat, but we like their confidence. As for food, The Cauldron once again pledges to fill its menu with dishes mentioned in all of those novels you love, with fans also able to make suggestions. Their ambition doesn't stop there, with shelves filled with texts, plug-in listening stations for audiobooks, book clubs, book readings, book signings, games meet-ups and wizarding trivia all on the agenda if the venue gets the go-ahead. It's the latest in a long list of HP-themed fun (including a pasta restaurant, a sleepover wizarding school, yoga classes and a market, plus Toronto already has a bar); however if that floats your objects of choice, The Cauldron's fundraising quest kicks off on June 26. The proposed pub is aiming for a March 2018 opening — for more information, check out their website.
Next time you slather your hands with sanitiser, you could be covering them with your favourite booze as well. With alcohol a crucial ingredient in the now-essential product — especially sanitiser that's effective against COVID-19 — distilleries and breweries are doing their part to help boost supplies. To the delight of rum lovers, that now includes Queensland's iconic Beenleigh Rum and Bundaberg Rum. While gin aficionados can splash their digits with Manly Spirits Co's gin-infused hand sanitiser — and plenty of other boozy outfits are jumping on the trend, too — fans of fermented and distilled sugarcane juice can look forward to freshening their fingers with their preferred tipple. Well, in a way. Australia's oldest distillery, Beenleigh Rum is whipping up its own sanitiser and selling it online; however, the end product doesn't feature any of its branding. Still, if you order a carton of Wheel & Barrow hand sanitiser, you'll be ordering sanitiser made by Beenleigh Rum — with online orders available now, by the carton, for delivery from Friday, March 27. Beenleigh Distillery owner Angelo Kotses originally just planned to start making sanitiser to keep the company's own workers safe, but decided to pump out more when asked by the Queensland Government. The distillery will also provide the state with a supply of the product for schools and frontline workers. If you're a Bundaberg Rum devotee, the Coral Coast-based operation is focusing on producing ethanol for use in hand sanitiser. It won't be making sanitiser itself — so you won't see bottles all over the place with Bundy Rum's bear logo — but it is donating 100,000 litres of ethanol to the Queensland Government to be used in making sanitiser, which will produce around 500,000 bottles. Although there's no word yet on how the government will be using the Bundy-infused sanitiser, fingers crossed that it'll be made available to the public — given how much Bundy Rum is drunk across the state, it's certain to be popular. To buy Beenleigh Rum-produced hand sanitiser, visit the distillery's website. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
Ever wanted to build your own community? And no, I don't mean spending every waking hour on The Sims renovating your virtual dream house. This big idea, straight from TED2011, could empower humans everywhere with the essential tools to create civilisations, DIY-style. TED fellow Marcin Jakubowski has identified 50 machines critical to our modern way of life — everything from tractors to ovens to brick-making machines. Determined to re-design these machines to be modular, long-lasting and made of local recyclable materials, Jakubowski began Open Source Ecology, a project uniting a community of farmers, engineers and supporters hell-bent on developing an open-source 'Global Village Construction Set'. In essence, it's a suite of machines that are essential for setting up any civilisation. The best bit? Machinery is made up of interchangeable life-sized LEGO-like parts, and has the potential to democratise industrial production and enhance supply chains to be more environmentally sustainable. Jabukowski says the Global Village Construction Set "lowers the barriers to entry into farming, building, and manufacturing and can be seen as a life-size lego-like set of modular tools that can create entire economies." https://youtube.com/watch?v=CD1EWGQDUTQ [Via GOOD]
Exploring your artistic side and indulging in a few beverages or two: everybody's doing it. Everybody isn't blending the two together in a watering hole, though — but Pub Painting is. First, let's answer the question we're all pondering. No, you don't have to actually paint the Stock Exchange Hotel, where the classes are held every Tuesday evening. In fact, we're guessing that they'd prefer you didn't create your masterpiece on their walls. And with all materials supplied — brushes, paints, canvas, easel, apron and expert tuition included — you won't have to. The theme of each session changes each week, with park scenes, a fox in the snow, moonlight birds, yellow daisies and more all on the agenda. Tickets cost $65 per class, and you'll get to take your own masterpiece home with you. Eating and drinking costs extra, but hey, that's what painting in the pub is all about.
Seven new hotels. Two new food precincts. A new European-style market (complete with personal shoppers). Two permanent large-scale light installations. Dozens of new bars, restaurants, cafes. Brisbane has had a big year, and it's the most fun and animated it has ever been. And we have, in part, these eight venues to thank. The following restaurants, bars, cafes, spaces and events have gone above and beyond. They combine originality, innovation, creativity and sustainability to bring something a little different to our city. Something that pushes us to keep being better and braver. Something that we love — and so do you. That's why they're the winners of Concrete Playground's Best of 2018 Awards. This year, we have awarded both a reader voted People's Choice and Overall award in each of the following six categories: Best New Restaurant Best New Bar Best New Cafe Best New Space Best New Event So, with no further ado, the winners for 2018 are... BEST NEW EVENT OVERALL WINNER: ARBORIA In April, Broadbeach on the Gold Coast played host to a fun new addition in Arboria — a huge, blow-up sculpture that featured a walk-through labyrinth of winding tunnels and lofty domes. On exhibition at Kurrawa Park as part of southeast Queensland's arts festival running alongside the Commonwealth Games, the inflatable structure took its inspiration from the forest. Incorporating tree-like spaces, stylised leaf patterns and a soundscape from Ecuador's Mindo cloud forest, it created an immersive, multi-sensory experience for visitors young and old. A maze of pods and domes lead to a stunning central space, where massive columns and soaring Gothic-style windows mirrored those of Chapter House at the UK's York Minster cathedral. It was the work of world-renowned group Architects of Air, who've created and exhibited a whole series of these 'luminaria' structures across the globe. [caption id="attachment_674088" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rachel Devine[/caption] PEOPLE'S CHOICE: SUGAR REPUBLIC A giant gumball machine that you could climb inside. An adult-sized ballpit in bubblegum-pink hues. A dedicated fairy floss room with its own swing. Throw in ice cream, sweet and snack tastings, plus the ability to jump out of a giant birthday cake — and Brisbane's pop-up dessert museum sounds like the kind of place that Willy Wonka might own. The Sugar Republic pop-up brought sugary delights to folks with a sweet tooth, boasting an array of spaces filled with all things chocolate, confectionery and dessert-oriented. If you weren't making yourself a soft serve and showering it in sprinkles, you were spinning a wheel o' treats. Other highlights included a sherbet-filled rainbow bridge, a 'press for confetti' button, an interactive sprinkles wall, a neon art wall and other dessert-centric art. BEST NEW SPACE OVERALL WINNER: NIGHT LIFE AT GOMA It has been 11 art-filled years since Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art first opened its doors, and the creative riverside hub just keeps going from strength to strength. As unveiled in July, GOMA is now home to an illuminating new permanent work: Night Life, a brand light installation by artist James Turrell. Brisbane's Turrell piece isn't a standalone structure like his other two Australian works. Instead, Night Life lights up GOMA's eastern and southern white façades from within the building, using an 88-minute-long shifting pattern of vibrant coloured light developed by Turrell especially for the location. When illuminated — which it will be from sunset to midnight each and every night from this point onwards — the gallery is visible from across the river and around South Bank's cultural precinct. PEOPLE'S CHOICE: WEST VILLAGE West End's massive West Village precinct continues to get bigger and bigger. While the project is still in development, it has held everything from ice cream festivals to weekend providore markets since it was approved in 2016. And, as of October, the $800 million project had some hefty new additions. The former Peters Ice Cream Factory site is now home to The Garden Pantry and The Common. The former is a casual dining precinct featuring multiple eateries, plus indoor and outdoor seating, while the latter is a 24-hour public space brimming with grass, trees, plants, a water installation and a field of light. In short, the inner-city development has gained a heap of new dining options and a lush place to hang out. Unsurprisingly, in terms of decor, the new spaces play up the garden theme — both in The Garden Pantry space, which is decked out tropical-style, and in The Commons' greenery-filled garden area. Later this year, West Village will open Factory Lane, and add a new arts and events studio called The Bromley Room #2. BEST NEW CAFE [caption id="attachment_697357" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dane Beesley[/caption] OVERALL WINNER: DICKI'S Vegan eats can't be hit and miss. You want a kitchen that sources fresh, high-quality ingredients and isn't afraid to experiment with taste combinations. In this, Dicki's certainly delivers. From an understated New Farm nook of sleek white wood with indoor and footpath seating, it offers plant-based meals bursting with flavour. Once you've had smashed avo with macadamia 'feta', you'll never look back. Bad memories of buckwheat? Try them as waffles with stewed apples, cinnamon crumble and salted caramel. Bright and fresh dishes like the Nurture Bowl and maple-roasted granola with seasonal fruit and coconut yoghurt are picture perfect, as is the decadent cake selection. Then, on Friday and Saturday nights, dinner and drinks are available till 5pm. Prosecco, local beers and refreshing cocktails are paired with tasty plates like tofu scramble, as well as the big house-made mushroom burger with fries. Trust us: you won't even miss the meat. [caption id="attachment_661621" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Grace Smith[/caption] PEOPLE'S CHOICE: FREJA'S Owning her own café had been a dream since childhood for Freja Rasmussen, but it took a move across the equator for this Danish pastry chef's dream to finally be realised. Together with her partner Nathan Dunnell (formerly of Stokehouse Q), Rasmussan created the Scandi-styled Freja's Café. After nine months spent looking for the perfect site, a former Indian restaurant in the heart of Wilston was secured, and lovingly transformed into a bright and spacious, 35-seat cafe. Rasmussan's meticulous handmade sweet treats can be seen on the front counter, alongside perfectly flaky croissants (flown in from France). The Strada coffee machine is one of only ten in Australia and is stamped with a stylised leaf pattern to match the dove grey takeaway cups. The summer menu is a deftly curated combination of decadent (pulled beef cheek croissant) and saintly (matcha pancakes with macadamia), with a sweet nod to Freja's Danish heritage also snuck in (smoked salmon and sous vide egg on light rye). With representation from some of our local liquid faves (Seven Miles Coffee Roasters and Mayde Tea), this inner-north brunch spot has had a very bright year. BEST NEW BAR [caption id="attachment_666258" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Grace Smith[/caption] OVERALL WINNER AND PEOPLE'S CHOICE: THE MALECON BAR Milton might be the unofficial beer capital of Brisbane, but in the shadow of the giant XXXX factory and just up the road from Newstead Brewing Co, another type of tipple is fermenting. That'd be rum, courtesy of Castlemaine Street watering hole The Malecón. As well as serving up plenty of it thanks to the 100-plus bottles lining its walls, the craft spirit and cocktail bar also turns sugarcane byproducts into booze onsite. As well as the bar's own tipples — including an aperitif made from organic waste — patrons are greeted by 105 different types of rum on the bar's shelves. Rum cocktails are also on offer, think daiquiris, piña coladas, the Malecón Treacle (with rum, some more rum and apple) and the Malecón Zombie (a house rum-blend with citrus, passionfruit, pineapple, orgeat spice and grenadine). And, a small selection of beer and wine is available as well. That relaxed atmosphere is by design, with The Malecón aiming to give Brisbane a cruisy, boozy hangout dedicated to a spirit that doesn't always get its time to shine. OVERALL WINNER AND PEOPLE'S CHOICE: DONNA CHANG The sandstone building on the corner of George and Elizabeth streets has been home to many things over the years, including Queensland's first radio station, government departments, offices, cafes and a bank. It's now the site of Brisbane's two newest places to eat, drink and hang out — a luxe underground bar and a new Chinese restaurant. Called the Boom Boom Room and Donna Chang, the duo are the latest ventures from the Ghanem Group, the folks behind Blackbird Bar & Grill on Eagle Street, Byblos Bar & Restaurant at Portside and chicken chain Lord of the Wings. Head upstairs to find Donna. Spread across both the ground floor and the mezzanine level, the Chinese fine diner fills its open space with pink, green and neutral-toned furniture, while group executive chef Jake Nicholson, head chef Jason Margaritis and head dim sum chef Sam Lie all endeavour to fill your stomach. Their focus: Chinese dishes with Sichuan and Cantonese flavours and influences, as they aim for that highly sought-after blend of the old and the new. As you're picking from the menu, you can stare at the live grouper and shellfish tank — and yes, you can order fish, crab and crayfish. Other food options range from crispy pork bao and roast duck dumplings in goose broth, to barbecue Peking duck, suckling pig and char sui pork. The list goes on for both lunch and dinner, as does the wine selection. Congratulations to all the winners. Our city is a better place with you in them. Top image: Donna Chang.
Everybody knows that Macaulay Culkin’s once adorable image has taken a bit of a hit since the good ol’ days of Home Alone and My Girl. But his latest charade is in a whole new league. A tribute band like no other, Culkin’s Pizza Underground was first heard of in December last year, with the band since performing a string of gigs across the New York anti-folk scene. With their only agenda being to spread the good news of pizza to the world, the group finally have a video to accompany their debut hit. And it certainly does not disappoint. Dressed all in black and donning matching, dark shades, Culkin and his musical counterparts (Matt Colbourn, Phoebe Kreutz, Deenah Vollmer, Austin Kilham) have delivered a clip both entertaining and bizarre. A mash up of amended hit Velvet Underground tracks including 'All Tomorrow's Parties' ('All the Pizza Parties') and 'Femme Fatale' ('Pizza Gal', obviously) and featuring killer lines like "Hey babe take a bite of the wild slice", this psychedelic ode to pizza and Lou Reed is a fusion of madness and hilarity. Notable highlights include pizza lining the walls and ceiling, and Culkin playing a kazoo solo through a cheesy slice. A star fallen from grace? Or Culkin’s greatest triumph yet? Either way, this vid can’t help but leave you jiving in your seat. As well as craving a slice. Via Huffington Post. Go behind the scenes on the shoot with Vice.
Have you been looking for some music to get lost to? Not in a mean sense, more like to lose yourself in; to submerge yourself within an all encompassing sound and to lose yourself between the sonic waves — that sort of thing. If the answer is yes, then listen to this. "That's really good!", I hear you say. "I know!", I reply. That is the new single from Brisbane band Morning Harvey. These lads have been producing some solid music for a few years now, and they have just returned after a brief absence from the scene to drop 'Girl Euphoria (Come Back To Me)'. As you might have heard, this is a song full of lush arrangements and some superb sonic soundscapes — which is Morning Harvey's calling card. In addition to dropping this beauty of a song in our laps, the band have announced a small East Coast tour to support it. We spoke to frontman Spencer White about the single, how it came to be and what is coming next. Morning Harvey have been playing for a couple of years now; how have you guys grown stylistically and musically from 2013's Well For Wishes EP? We now dress well and Jimmy has overcome his fear of heights. Now everyone pretty much devotes each day to writing and is generally feeding off one another's ideas. So I guess it's become more and more creative within the songwriting process. Our EP was a lot darker than the stuff we're producing now but I think generally, writing changes depending on your mood and where your mind state is during that time. Hah, that sounds pretty deep… Tell us more about the single! What was the inspiration behind it? The song started from a loop that Jimmy and I had come up with one day and just left it playing over and over again while we walked around the house until we came up with the chorus. I couldn't really say what the song was about; it's probably a touch risque. I'd probably say listen to the lyrics and make your own assumption. https://youtube.com/watch?v=iuPyA4adUmA I hear you guys went for self production on this release, rather than sending it to another party. Why was that, and how was the process? Is it something that you will continue in the future? If you don't really have the money to spend a decent amount of time in studios, then it's probably not worth doing so. I think it gets kind of stressful and nutty if your time is limited. It started to become really exciting for us to start recording everything ourselves and seeing how it turned out. Most of our friends are doing the same thing, so there's always help if something goes wrong or we need extra ears to listen. 'Girl Euphoria' is being listed as a stand-alone single. Any thoughts on what you guys will do next? We wanted to give everyone a look at what we've been creating and a feel of what's next. What's next? We're announcing that very shortly. About that whirlwind tour, what can audiences expect from a Morning Harvey live show? Have you ever watched GG Allin live? Morning Harvey has a few members that also play in other bands, so you all probably have a good feel for the scene. Tell us what is great about Brisbane music right now. There seems to be so much going on in Brisbane at the moment. Honestly I can't say I've been listening to much besides our circle of buddies. We have a pretty tight-knit group of friends. It's always great to hear what everyone is writing, I think it keeps all of us constantly on our toes. What bands would you recommend to someone wanting to experience good Brisbane music? Moses Gunn Collective, the furrs, The Belligerents, The Jungle Giants, Millions etc. Where are your favourite places to eat, drink and hang out in Brisbane? Besides our house, I guess The End (West End) is a great bar to drink at. Makanan Indonesian (West End) Trang Vietnamese (also West End) are staples in my diet. The Morning Harvey East Cast tour dates are as follows: Saturday, April 5 | Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane w/ Salvadarlings (Free Entry) Thursday, April 10 | Brighton Up Bar, Sydney w/ The Jones Rival & Dead Radio ($5 on the door) Friday, April 18 | The Alia Arthouse, Melbourne w/ The Citradels & The New Pollution ($5 on the door)
The future. What will it look, feel, sound, smell and taste like? What's the logical progression of everything that's happening today, in our rapidly changing technological and social landscape? Will the future be like now, only more so? Auteur film director Spike Jonze answers this question via the plaintive eyes and breaking voice of Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) as he wanders the Los Angeles of the near-future in Her. This future is a warm and technologically intuitive space, where highly evolved, Siri-like operating systems are capable of falling in love with humans. Watching the film, we found that despite its themes of loneliness and emotional surrogacy, there's a few predictions we hope do come true. Computers are basically therapists In the future, while artificial intelligence-based computers programs like Samantha (dreamily voiced by Scarlett Johansson) definitely listen to what you say, what really matters to them is how you say it. In classic psychoanalyst form, they listen for signs of hesitation, anxiety or affection. When his OS quizzes him about his feelings for his mother, Theodore's ambivalent tone tells the computer all it needs to know. Video games are just as savvy: Theodore spends a lot of time chatting with a funny little virtual creature with a bad case of Tourette's, whose needless rudeness greatly amuses him. So, what happens when an OS can sense and respond to your emotions? You end up getting entertainment, companionship, sympathy and advice from an entity that also has the power to sort through infinite data and provide all kinds of practical services. It becomes the 100 percent efficient bosom friend you never had. The pedestrian is king Today, Nobody Walks in LA, because everyone has a car. It's a proverbial truth well documented by SNL's The Californians. But Spike Jonze's' LA of tomorrow is one big, car-less New York Highline (he even consulted with the Highline's creators to get the feel right). Broad and tranquil sky walkways connect Theodore from work to home, and a metro system takes him from the city to the beach. What's the advantage of travelling through life on foot? Safer, more populated public spaces; a healthier body; and the end of road rage. Despite Her's overarching theme of loneliness, from developments here in Sydney we know that pedestrian spaces tend to attract food trucks, live music and events, making everyone feel happier and more connected to their local community. Something we didn't see in the film that we hope to see in the cities of the future, is a skyline of buildings carpeted with vertical gardens. Clothes, technology and interiors are kind of friendly-looking Do we see any robo-babes or steampunks in future LA? No. We see an affluent middle-class clad in garb that references the 1930s, with high-waisted pants and clean colour-blocking. No one's trying to look cutting-edge; just well-presented. The style is actually shoppable — check out Opening Ceremony's Her capsule collection. As for interior design and gadgets, there's none of the usual super-slick chrome interiors, overly stark minimalism and cold blue lighting that films usually use to represent the world of the future. Nor are there paleo-future aesthetics or dystopian ruins. Instead, we experience lights that gently illuminate when Theodore enters his apartment; a smart pocketbook that looks like an old-timey picture frame; an elevator whose walls display a moving silhouette of trees. It's a wholesome, comfortable environment accessorised with objects and furniture in shades of blush and ochre. In fact, the colour blue is largely filtered out of the movie, to create a feeling of warmth and comfort deliberately at odds with Theodore's personal isolation. While we can't exactly filter out blue IRL, we Spike Jonze's vision of a cosy, inviting built environment that isn't trying too hard to be cool. Communication is hands free and softly spoken In future LA, almost every appliance is a voice-activated Siri. From printers to video games to letter-writing computer programs, machines respond to softly murmured voice commands much like Google Glass today. Riding the metro home, Theodore discreetly instructs his smart pocketbook to show him nudie pictures of a pregnant celebrity. What's the upshot of this subtle way of communicating needs? People become more softly spoken in general. The trend carries into advertising: Theodore first hears about the new artificially intelligent OS from a slo-mo advertisement in which a soothing voice heralds a new era in technology. Machines themselves also speak enticingly, as epitomised by the husky Samantha . Her is in cinemas now. Read our review of the movie here.
Under current COVID-19 restrictions in Australia, there are restrictions on where Melburnians can travel. Check out the latest information on the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services website. You can also check out more figures and graphs on its Victorian coronavirus data page. But, this doesn't mean you can't start dreaming — bookmark this for when you can explore once again. If a winter trip to Tasmania is on your agenda — and plenty of stomach-warming wine, too — then a pitstop at Devil's Corner probably forms part of your plans. Thanks to its towering onsite lookout, the well-known winery is a must-visit east coast destination even if you're not fond of vino. But for those who are partial to a drop or several, you'll find yourself sipping and soaking in the view at the vineyard's new pop-up cellar door over the next few months. Usually, Devil's Corner's cellar door is a hive of activity — and, between now and summer this year, it's undergoing a big revamp. The winery is expanding the facilities, in fact, but it isn't leaving vino lovers hanging in the interim. Instead, you'll hang out outdoors, enjoying your wine while hovering around a roaring fire pit. Called The Little Devil, the pop-up cellar door is doing wine tastings — by the glass, bottle and paddle — seven days a week. It's serving up takeaway wine sales, too. And, to line your stomach, food van Governors Bicheno is also onsite doing snacks and coffee. Like Devil's Corner's vines, visitors to The Little Devil will be exposed to the elements during the expansion. So, consider a coat, hat and even a rug mandatory accessories. When the expansion is complete, the permanent cellar door will sprawl across more space — and include both more shelter fo0r future winters, and revamped food and wine experiences. Find The Little Devil at Devil's Corner, 1 Sherbourne Road, Apslawn, Tasmania — open from 10am–4pm daily.
The 2013 Sydney Film Festival is bringing out Jeff Desom's intense, insanely complex-looking video installation Rear Window Loop. Projected on a 10m-long surface, the panoramic piece allows you to see the world as it appeared to Jimmy Stewart's paranoid, wheelchair-bound photojournalist Jeff in Hitchcock's Rear Window — possible murders and all. The effect is created by splicing scenes together in After Effects, a process more complicated than it sounds in this sentence. "I dissected all of Hitchcock's Rear Window and stitched it back together in After Effects," says Desom on his website. "I stabilised all the shots with camera movement in them. Since everything was filmed from pretty much the same angle I was able to match them into a single panoramic view of the entire backyard without any greater distortions. The order of events stays true to the movie's plot." The three-channel projection runs for 20 minutes. You can get a good idea of the process as well as the finished product in this video, also from Dessom's site. Rear Window Loop won Best Remix in the Vimeo Awards and Golden Nica at Ars Electronica and will be installed at the Sydney Film Festival Hub at Lower Town Hall, which since last year has been the festival's route to incorporating art happenings, interdisciplinary works and playtime, acknowledging the role of film outside the cinema. It's curated by Sydney's favourite cultured revellers, The Festivalists (Jurassic Lounge). The Sydney Film Festival has also announced the first 27 films of its 2013 program as a taster. Most hotly anticipated is the neo-Gothic thriller Stoker from Park Chan-Wook (Old Boy), which stars Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman and Jacki Weaver. Other highlights include Wadjda, the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia (and by a Sydney Uni graduate no less, Haifaa Al Mansour); Miss Nikki and the Tiger Girls, a documentary about Burma's first girl band by Australian director Juliet Lamont; and Comrade Kim Goes Flying, a romantic comedy that's also the first North Korean movie to screen at the festival. The full program will be revealed on May 8. You can see Rear Window Loop at the Sydney Film Festival Hub at Lower Town Hall from June 6-14 at 5-6pm and again from 10pm-midnight. The SFF itself runs from June 5-16.
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 fifth year running — and, although it seems like we say this every festive season, this time it's especially decadent. In fact, it's a choc-hazelnut trifle that's topped with choc gold sheet, as well as a milk chocolate hazelnut globe that's filled with Messinatella — aka Messina's version of Nutella — and it also comes in a pack with a bake-at-home gingerbread and dark choc chip cookie pie. First, the epic trifle. In 2021, the 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 Messinatella crémeux, chocolate mud cake made with Messinatella fudge, caramelised white chocolate mousse, choc-coated puffed rice and candied hazelnuts, vanilla cream chantilly, hazelnut semifreddo and choc-hazelnut crumble. 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). With the gingerbread and dark choc chip cookie pie, it's exactly what it sounds like. Messina has been slinging cookie pies for a few years now, and you'll just need to bake this one for 12 minutes before eating. All of the above comes in a Christmas Coma mega pack, which costs $2s0 and can be pre-ordered from Monday, November 22 — with times varying depending on your state, as the gelato chain has been doing with its specials this year. That said, if you sign up on Messina's website in advance, you'll get access to pre-sale window before pre-orders open to everyone, too. You'll then be able to pick up your Christmas Coma between Tuesday, December 21–Friday, 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 super fast, so we suggest you don't wait on this one. The Christmas Coma will be available to order from Monday, November 22. Keep an eye on the Messina website for further details — or sign up to get access to a pre-sale window before pre-orders open to everyone.
We don't really think about garbage too much after it has been thrown into a dumpster or plopped out on the sidewalk ready to be picked up by trash collectors. The quicker the smelly bags of banana peels and egg cartons are out of our sight, the better. But what if we had to constantly live with the consequences of consumption? Outside of Cairo lies the small town of Garbage City, inhabited by a working community of the poverty-stricken Zabbaleen people. For the Zabbaleen there is no way of disposing of the never-ending flow of trash, making Cairo and its surrounds one of the most polluted areas in the world. Workers collect, reuse or resell the waste but the accumulated rubbish on every street corner and rooftop of the city remains. Mekano Architects have recently proposed a plan that could help the area use the trash to its advantage. The Seeds of Life project is a proposal to recycle the trash from Garbage City into material to build a multipurpose skyscraper. The building consists of an exoskeleton of "wind stalks" in which living and working units can be inserted, with floor plans including everything from family homes to basketball courts, terraces for agriculture and water collection, and designated areas to bury organic waste and produce electricity. Garbage City gone green seems a nearly impossible feat, but if accomplished could mean a significant improvement in both the standard of living in the outskirts of Cairo and cleanliness of the environment. Maybe the architects could even use TED's Global Village Construction Set to assemble the recycled skyscraper city.
After dinner, you're sure to need supper. Billed as "the ultimate nightcap", the Vivid Sydney Supper Club will transform Mary's Underground into a cabaret club on Friday and Saturday nights throughout the festival. Like any cabaret worth its salt, there's a wide range of entertainment disciplines on the roll call: musical theatre, dance, comedy, burlesque, jazz, DJing and more (think Mahalia Barnes with her soulful music and theatrics and singing from First Nations actress and singer Ursula Yovich). Legendary local drag artist Trevor Ashley (pictured above) has the unenviable task of keeping all the plates spinning and, according to the Vivid Sydney website, "he'll leave the stage door ajar in case special guests drop by for an impromptu jam". Quelle intrigue! Image: John McRae
Passion is a pivotal part of every cocktail enjoyed at the end of a long week, every glass of wine sipped with dinner and every cold brew cracked open just because. If you've made the choice to drink a particular tipple, you should be passionate about it. Life's just too short to waste it on average drops. Unsurprisingly, passion is also one of the driving forces behind every spirit, vino and beer before it even reaches your lips. No one dedicates their life to making standout beverages if they're not devoted to the field. And that passion has been particularly important in 2020, with drinks brands everywhere forced to adapt to quite the challenging year — as South Australia's Never Never Distilling Co, Paracombe Wines and Little Bang Brewing Company can attest. For the past few months, BWS has tapped into both of the aforementioned sources of passion — into the enthusiasm of Aussie drinkers, and into the excitement of those responsible for the country's favourite bevvies. Via its Local Luvvas initiative, the bottle shop retailer asked the nation to pick its top local drinks, with the three chosen companies receiving an extra helping hand with getting their products stocked in more BWS stores. That means you now have more excuses to pick up Never Never, Paracombe and Little Bang's wares. To celebrate the news, and the passion behind it, we've chatted to the committed folks behind the scenes at each. [caption id="attachment_789218" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Meaghan Coles[/caption] A PASSION FOR COMPLEXITY When you're pouring yourself some gin, then adding tonic and whichever garnishes you prefer, it all seems so simple and straightforward. But the juniper-based spirit delivers a complicated array of flavours — and it's that complexity, as well as a "huge passion for South Australia's incredible food and beverage industry", that actually sparked Never Never Distilling Co co-founder and managing director George Georgiadis to start the business in the first place. His fellow co-founders Tim Boast and Sean Baxter share that passion, obviously. Boast, who is also Never Never's head distiller, is a staunch believer in tipples made with purpose, too. "Assuming you can get the fundamentals right and build from a strong foundation, a spirit crafted with a purpose in mind for the end product will ultimately deliver a better liquid," he explains. If you need an example, he suggests Never Never's Triple Juniper Gin, which was specifically designed to be the best gin possible for classic cocktails and G&Ts. A drink made with passion — and complexity and purpose — inspires the same in return. Awards bodies have shown that by showering the McLaren Vale-based distillery with accolades, including in this difficult year. In March, Never Never picked up the Best Regular Gin prize at the San Francisco World Spirit Awards, in fact. But it's the passion of the brand's local supporters that has helped immensely in a period where the company has been forced to "quickly take stock of our focuses, and be brave in what our strategies needed to be," says Baxter. "South Australians are probably some of the most discerning drinkers — you look at the history of wine in SA and the producers who put Australian wine on the map. We're seeing it now in SA gin, where local punters have access to so many incredible smaller producers that they'll actively seek out what's new and what's the best". A PASSION FOR HISTORY When Kathy and Paul Drogemuller bought an old dairy farm in the Adelaide Hills more than three decades ago, they were clearly fond of a good drop. Neither had a background in growing grapes or making wine, but they decided to plant a vineyard at their property at Paracombe, which had been burnt out by the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983. They still kept full-time jobs outside of the farm; however, when they did some research on the area, they found a significant source of inspiration for their hobby. "We discovered that Paracombe had a history of wine going back to the mid-1800s," says Kathy. "There was a vineyard and operational winery exporting wine to England, and the first vintages of Penfolds Grange came from Paracombe. All this valuable history had died out, so we made it our mission to revive the district, raise it back from the ashes and put Paracombe back on the map." From there, the Drogemullers infused their passion into making the very best wine — and making the very best of their location in the process. "Great wine happens in the vineyard and should reflect a sense of place," notes Kathy, explaining how Paracombe Wines capitalises upon the area's ironstone, buckshot gravel and quartz-layered soils, as well as its cooler climate. The result, all these years later, is a range of wines across both whites and reds that locals love. "To start something from nothing, be involved in every process — growing, making, bottling, storing and distributing — all from our property and vineyard, and to produce a product that connects and brings people together around a table with food and family: that is a joy," says Kathy. And if anything was going to help Paracombe Wines "rise above adversity", as Kathy describes the company's journey in 2020, it's that local love. "We have seen that in these difficult times, people seek out to support local more than ever," she says. A PASSION FOR DELICIOUS AND CREATIVE BEER Asked how Little Bang Brewing Company came about, cofounder Ryan Davidson gives the most honest answer there is: "making things is fun, beer is delicious, beer costs money and we were unemployed," he says. But that was just the beginning of his beer-making journey with co-founder and head brewer Fil Kemp, with whom he worked in the games industry prior to starting their Adelaide brewery. "It was once we started brewing together that the fervour really kicked in. We're both rather obsessive when it comes to learning something new, and we encouraged each other a lot in those early days, seeking out every little bit of knowledge, history and expertise we could lay our hands on." That passion for learning has played a big part in Little Bang's 2020 journey, too, and in the kind of year that Davidson could never have imagined back when the company launched in 2014. "We've pivoted so much, we're getting dizzy. It's been a lesson in agility, that's for sure — keeping a constant eye on the news and being ready to redefine what we do, in almost every way, and at a moment's notice," he says. To the surprise of no one, Ryan notes that it has been exhausting. Still, he also says 2020 has been "extremely informative". He continues: "we've learned a lot about our customers, our business and ourselves that we wouldn't have had the chance to know otherwise". All those lessons — the early learnings when the brewery was starting out, and the new gleanings over the past ten months — help shape Little Bang's beverages. Davidson is passionate about something else, though. Naturally, he's still keen on free beer, but he's also enthusiastic about the local community that has blossomed around the company's brews. "We don't see Little Bang as just our business," he says. "It's just as much a creation of the day-to-day attitudes and ideas of all the staff here, and the huge variety of people who spend time at the taproom. We're just lucky enough to work here." To find these or other South Australian drinks as part of the BWS Local Luvva's initiative, head to your nearest BWS store.
When Riceboy Sleeps charts the passage of time from 1990 to 1999 partway into the movie, the Canadian film does so with Dong-hyun at its centre. As a six-year-old (played by debutant Dohyun Noel Hwang) navigating his initial taste of school from behind his large round glasses, he's shy, sensitive, and constantly reminded that he's different by teachers and classmates. As a 15-year-old (Ethan Hwang, The Umbrella Academy) with bleached-blonde hair and faux blue eyes, he's adopted a coping mechanism: trying to blend in. Riceboy Sleeps isn't just about Dong-hyun, who takes the anglicised name David in his attempts to assimilate. It's as much about his mother So-young (fellow feature first-timer Choi Seung-yoon), who relocates him from South Korea to North America after his soldier father's suicide. Writer/director Anthony Shim's sophomore release after 2019's Daughter hones in on the act of seeing, too — gleaning what's around you, who, why, the past that lingers, the stories that echo — as Dong-hyun and So-young survey where they are, where they've been, and how their history keeps dictating their present and future. In that aforementioned time jump, Shim — who helms, pens, edits and acts — and cinematographer Christopher Lew (Quickening) make eyes the focus. When Riceboy Sleeps dwells in the first year of the 90s, Dong-hyun's spectacles are frames within the frame, giving the boy his own windows to the world that he fidgets with, seems burdened by and, in an act of bullying by his peers, has dinged up and taken away. When the movie hits the end of the decade, Dong-hyun is putting in his contacts, therefore making the lens with which he perceives his existence invisible. Semi-inspired by his own childhood as a South Korean arrival to Vancouver Island in the 90s, including attending a school where he was the only Asian student, Riceboy Sleeps is this thoughtful at every level. The movement, and later lack thereof, of Lew's camerawork is just as loaded with meaning: in Canada, it's restless in long wide shots, careening around gracefully but noticeably and finding points to fixate on; back across the Pacific Ocean in the picture's bookending segments, it's still but just as observational. Riceboy Sleeps' opening unfurls a tale, with narration in Korean explaining that a baby girl was found at a temple in 1960. She'd grow up to be strong, flee the orphanage as soon as she was old enough, then fall for the son of a rice farmer. When her love took his own life, she had a newborn, wasn't married and attracted social stigma for both, hence shifting across the sea. The mountains and water that take centre stage during the film's introduction are dreamy and hazy. In Canada, even though greenery instantly awaits, the view is sharper and crisper. Again, Shim layers his 16-millimetre-shot feature with symbolism and significance everywhere that he can, ensuring that how So-young and Dong-hyun feel sweeps through every moment whether or not they're in sight — and especially when they're doing what settlers beyond their homeland do often, holding back their true thoughts and emotions. Inhabited with steeliness and deep-seated sorrow in equal parts by Choi, a dancer- and choreographer-turned-actor, So-young takes a job at a factory in her quest to give Dong-hyun the best life in their new surroundings that she can. She sends him to school with flavoursome Korean lunches. She makes his favourite kimchi at home. She's also anything but withdrawn when it comes to being treated fairly, reprimanding sexist colleagues at work and rallying against discriminatory decisions by Dong-hyun's principal. But with her son, she avoids answering when he asks about his dad. Alone, she scolds herself for her tears. She advises the younger Dong-hyun that there's only three times in a man's life that it's permissible to cry; being taunted by other kids in the playground, then singled out for punishment afterwards, isn't one of them. Shim spies the effort that's always coursing through So-young: to hide her pain, persevere, make the most of her new life, bring her boy up right, fit in but not be a victim and perhaps cement a fresh family dynamic with Korean Canadian Simon (Shim himself). He also spots the uncertainty streaming just as potently within Dong-hyun, who wants desperately to make sense of his place in the world, but isn't sure who he sees when he reflects upon himself. There's stubbornness to the boy as a child, as he ignores his mum when he's not getting what he wants and has tantrums in the car. Rebelliousness swirls in his teens, when getting stoned and tussling with fellow students are his forms of acting out. Riceboy Sleeps is patient in its pacing and visuals, even the latter frequently roams, and yet it's also a jittery film in its midsection to again mirror So-young and Dong-hyun's internal states. The Farewell, Monsoon, Minari, Everything Everywhere All At Once and Past Lives have probed the immigrant experience eloquently, expressively and weightily, not to mention recently, putting Riceboy Sleeps in excellent company rather than making it overly familiar. That the first two titles listed above also explore homecomings, complete with the intricacies and whirlwind of complicated emotions when the place that you're returning to isn't the place you really know, has the same impact. As with The Farewell, Monsoon, Minari and Past Lives particularly, this touching film never feels anything less than personal. That's accurate in its third act as well, when tragic news hits, South Korea becomes the movie's setting again and lingering hurt is confronted. There's a vast difference between trading in cliches and accepting life's inescapable reality — and when a feature is this lived-in, there's no tropes, just universal sensations. Riceboy Sleeps' dénouement is exceptionally affecting for its willingness to sit and contemplate. It's impossible not to garner that the frame stops roving and searching, as the characters do — and that valuing connection, time with the ones you love and small details, including in tough circumstances, comes tenderly to the fore. Of course, minutiae is important in every second of Shim's movie. Indeed, thematically, this is also a film about valuing what you have, and who, but mightn't properly understand or appreciate. It's a picture of acceptance and gratitude, too, and of realising when you're finally seeing the whole picture constructed from its various parts.
If you've worn that one summer outfit to death, are in need of a new set of sandals for all the beach trips you've got planned or are looking to start prepping your winter wardrobe, it might be time to pick up some new threads. Luckily, you can currently refresh your wardrobe with this huge 40 percent off sale over at The Iconic. There are hundreds of items on sale from a range of sought-after brands including Dazie, M.N.G and Commune as part of the site's Exclusive Edit Sale. Pick up a silky slip dress for your next night out, a tan overshirt that can slip over any autumn outfit or a black leather pair of sandals from Atmos + Here. You can browse the full selection of both women's and men's outfit as well as shoes, jewellery and accessories here. Once you find what you're looking for, the 40 percent discount will be applied on any sale items at the checkout. The sale is running through until 11.59pm on Monday, March 8. Find all the details here. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Brisbane's busy market scene loves an occasion. Mother's Day markets, winter markets, Christmas in July markets, spring markets, festive markets, Halloween markets — this city has seen them all, including in 2022, and will continue to do so. Accordingly, it should come as zero surprise that Christmas markets are a massive thing around town, including at Redcliffe's regular excuse to get shopping by the sea. Indeed, only the Redcliffe Christmas Twilight Market will take you browsing and buying by the Redcliffe jetty. Fancy a merry theme and an ace waterside location? That's on offer from 4–9pm on Saturday, December 10. Also on the bill: a whole Christmas wonderland set up, complete with fireworks, a sideshow alley, festive-appropriate decorations all over the place, and music and live entertainment to fit the mood. And, a heap of food stalls serving up bites to eat, and drinks, also to suit the theme. Entry is free, but you'll want your wallet for all that browsing and buying — there's usually hundreds of stalls to peruse. And yes, dressing up is welcome for this wander along Redcliffe Parade till 9pm.
If you're in the midst of a mid-life crisis, you might want to skip over this news: it's been 20 years since Placebo released their debut album. Yep, 'Nancy Boy' has been around since 1996. The album Without You I'm Nothing (which included 'Every Me and Every You') was released in 1998, and even 'Running Up That Hill' is almost 15 years old now. It's been so long since these songs were released that fans band of the UK band probably never expected to hear them live again. But this morning Placebo has announced they will bring their 20 Years of Placebo tour to Australia this September. And yes, they'll be playing old stuff. The worldwide tour kicked off this late last year — the band is currently touring Mexico and will head to Europe before coming to Australia in September. As well as Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, they'll make stops in Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle and Canberra too. It will be their first Australian appearance since Soundwave in 2014. 20 years is a long time and the band has a huge discography (seven albums) to pull bangers from — and they've promised to play all those songs you listened to on repeat as a teenager. "Let's just say there will be songs in the set that I've sworn never to play again," said frontman Brian Molko. "I think it's time that we purposefully acknowledged what a lot of Placebo fans really want to hear. They've been very patient with us since we rarely play our most commercially successful material. A 20 year anniversary tour seems like the right time to do so. That's our intention. This tour is very much for the fans and a chance for us to revisit a lot of our early material." Tickets will go on sale at noon on Monday, May 29 through Ticketek. Or, if you're a Telstra customer, they have a pre-sale happening this week. 20 YEARS OF PLACEBO TOUR DATES Monday, September 4 — Perth Arena Wednesday, September 6 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre Friday, September 8 — Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne Saturday, September 9 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Monday, September 11 — Brisbane Convention Centre Tuesday, September 12 — Newcastle Entertainment Centre Thursday, September 14 — AIS Arena, Canberra
Childhood cartoons painted a pretty impressive picture of what the future would hold – flying cars, robots, space travel, a three day work week… sure, we've got smart phones now, but we're still a long way from The Jetsons. So it's good to see that boffins are hard at work bringing those old sci-fi ideas to the real world, and have built a prototype car that you can control with your mind. Seriously. German researchers have used available-now technology to create BrainDriver, a car (VW of course) that can be controlled by thought alone. The electrical impulses of brain waves are picked up by an EEG headset, originally designed for gaming, which allows the 'driver' to order the vehicle to accelerate, brake, turn left or turn right by simply thinking it. Unfortunately, given the complexities of the human brain not everyone is capable of giving clear instructions, and the car is a proof of concept rather than something that will be available to all, so your X-Men fantasies will have to stay off the road for now. To date, they've taken the mind controlled car for a spin at an airport, but also plan a test in Berlin traffic later in the year. Now if only they could make it fold down to the size of a briefcase, we'd really be living in the future. https://youtube.com/watch?v=iDV_62QoHjY [Via Wired]
Spotify, the digital music service that allows you to instantly discover, play and share over 16 million music tracks on demand, has arrived on Australian shores. Available locally from today, Spotify allows music-lovers to enjoy music whenever and wherever they like. Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon developed the program in Sweden in 2008. Since its launch Spotify has risen to become the largest and fastest growing music service of its kind, now available in over 15 countries. Spotify allows its 10 million users worldwide to simply search for any artist, song or album on their phone, iPad or computer and immediately start playing without any buffering. Spotify tapped into the inherently social nature of music and that’s why users can easily share music with friends, create playlists and check out what their mates are listening to. The service's integration with Facebook makes sharing and collaborating easier than it’s ever been. There are three services offered by Spotify. A free (but ad-supported) option is available, as is an ad-free subscription for $6.99 a month. A premium service, which offers enhanced quality and exclusive content and offers, costs $11.99 a month. Spotify also offers a range of helpful apps, which open up a whole new world of discovery and enjoyment. Some of these include the Triple J app, which showcases all the music playing on Triple J's airwaves; Tunewiki, letting you sing along to your favourite lyrics; Rolling Stone Recommends, which provides reviews for users; and Songkick Concerts, to find out all the upcoming tours and shows in your area. Head to Spotify.com to register.
If you don't already have a date with Bluesfest in 2025, here are two new reasons to head along: ten-time Grammy-winner Chaka Khan and rains-blessing rock group Toto. The pair have joined the Byron Bay festival as part of a new lineup drop — the fest's fourth for this year's event — that showcases its commitment to variety. There aren't many fests in Australia where audiences will find the Queen of Funk and the yacht-rock favourites behind 'Africa' on the same bill. Across the Easter long weekend, so from Thursday, April 17–Sunday, April 20, 2025, Bluesfest will also welcome 'Sailing' and 'Ride Like the Wind' singer Christopher Cross — another yacht-rock inclusion — as well as the Polynesian tunes of Maoli. Clarence Bekker Band, Hussy Hicks, Eric Stang, The Steele Syndicate and The Royals round out the latest batch of artists. Khan is playing an Australian-exclusive set to celebrate 50 years in music, and returns to Australia two years after headlining the 2023 Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Among the Chicago-born singer's hits: 'I'm Every Woman', which was later covered by Whitney Houston; the Prince-penned 'I Feel for You'; and 'Ain't Nobody' with her funk band Rufus. As well as hearing the drums echoing tonight in 'Africa', Toto's discography includes fellow anthems 'Hold the Line' and 'Rosanna' — and its members are known for playing on a wealth of albums from other artists in the 70s and 80s, including 'Thriller'. [caption id="attachment_986631" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Michelle Brody[/caption] Bluesfest's 2025 lineup already features Crowded House, Ocean Alley and Vance Joy, plus Hilltop Hoods, Budjerah, Kasey Chambers and The Cat Empire — and Xavier Rudd, John Butler, Tones and I, Missy Higgins, George Thorogood & The Destroyers and many more. Before it started announcing its roster of talent in August 2024, the festival advised that it would bid farewell with its 2025 event, marking the end of an era — and coming at a time when Australian fests have been struggling and cancelling (see: Groovin the Moo, Splendour in the Grass and Spilt Milk, for just three high-profile examples). Bluesfest saying goodbye may no longer be happening, however, with reports that discussions are underway about the festival's future and also that artists are already being booked for 2026. [caption id="attachment_969986" align="alignnone" width="1920"] LD Somefx[/caption] [caption id="attachment_969990" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Joseph Mayers[/caption] Bluesfest 2025 Lineup: First announcement: Crowded House Vance Joy Ocean Alley Tones and I Gary Clark Jr Rag'n'Bone Man RY X Allison Russell Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram Brad Cox Here Come the Mummies The California Honeydrops Marc Broussard Pierce Brothers Taj Farrant Fanny Lumsden 19-Twenty WILSN Cimafunk Neal Francis Second announcement: Hilltop Hoods Xavier Rudd John Butler The Cat Empire Kasey Chambers Melbourne Ska Orchestra CW Stoneking Budjerah Lachy Doley Group Ash Grunwald Kim Churchill Miss Kaninna The Beards Velvet Trip FOOLS ROSHANI Sweet Talk The Memphis Three featuring Fiona Boyes, Jimi Hocking and Frank Sultana Third announcement: Missy Higgins George Thorogood & The Destroyers Rodrigo y Gabriela Nahko BJ The Chicago Kid Melody Angel Don West Fourth announcement: Chaka Khan Toto Christopher Cross Maoli Clarence Bekker Band Hussy Hicks Eric Stang The Steele Syndicate The Royals [caption id="attachment_969988" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Roger Cotgreave[/caption] [caption id="attachment_969989" align="alignnone" width="1920"] LD Somefx[/caption] [caption id="attachment_969987" align="alignnone" width="1920"] LD Somefx[/caption] [caption id="attachment_867504" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kurt Petersen[/caption] Bluesfest 2025 will run from Thursday, April 17–Sunday, April 20 at Byron Events Farm, Tyagarah. Tickets are on sale now — for further information, head to the Bluesfest website. Top image: Lachlan Douglas.
If there's two things that the end of the year always includes, it's Christmas decorations and plenty of drinks. They're both all well and good separately, but they might be even better combined — in a Christmas tree made out of tinnies, for instance. A real object that now exists ready for the merriest portion of the 2021 calendar, this Christmas tinnie tree isn't fashioned out of old cans. So, it doesn't merely celebrate the remnants of your past beverages. Instead, it gives you a place to stack new cold ones just waiting to quench your thirst. And yes, it comes with beers, as they're obviously essential to the whole concept. Craft Cartel is slinging these mighty jolly centrepieces this festive season, after giving beer lovers Australia's largest case of craft beer back in 2020. If you're keen to add one to your home — and to get sipping — it'll cost you $399, which covers a flat-pack tree that you then put together yourself, 48 brews ready to wet your whistle and delivery to your door. If you're wondering what you'll be drinking, those 48 tinnies span 24 different varieties — so, two of each. And, alongside cans from Ballistic, Slipstream, Sydney Brewing, Gage Roads, Modus Operandi and Brick Lane, there's seven limited releases among them, such as Stockade's The Mountie Maple Imperial Stout, Akasha's Korben Double IPA, Sauce's Caribbean Fogg Hazy Pale Ale and Moon Dog's Splice of Heaven Mango Ice Cream IPA. Design-wise, the tree itself uses sustainable timber, and is crafted to resemble a traditional pine tree — all thanks to Australian designer Ian Tran of Domus Vim. Who doesn't want to place all their presents around a tower of beer? No one, that's who. And if you decide it needs some tinsel as well, that's up to you. For more information about the Christmas tinnie tree, or to buy one, head to the Craft Cartel website.
You might have thought King George Square looked pretty fine during the day and maybe a tad finer at night, but it's at twilight City Hall really shows off its colours. And what better backdrop when you're shopping the evening away — especially when the King George is filled with some of Brisbane's best designers and makers, and you're looking for Christmas presents, The festive offshoot of the regular Brisbane Twilight Markets, this event will show off a sizeable array of stalls — usually more than 60, in fact — all staffed by some pretty nifty and talented local artists. Expect an eclectic selection of items, so prepare to browse and buy. You'll be perusing everything from handmade clothing, accessories and leather goods to paper goods, homewares, art and ceramics (and more). And seasonal gifts, obviously. [caption id="attachment_666947" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] BrisStyle[/caption] This market is all about sound, smell and sales — so live music will provide a soundtrack to the evening, and expect to be hit with that spring flowerbed smell that always lingers when there's a soap stall around. Food trucks are also on the agenda, with the market running from 4–9pm on Friday, December 15. So take along some cash and stock up on all things crafty. Top image: Brisbane City Council.
You've played the video games, bought the toys, collected the trading cards, enjoyed the anime and watched Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. When Pokémon Go was the only reason that everyone was picking up their phones, you caught 'em all then, too. So, we're guessing that Netflix's upcoming Pokémon series will jump straight into your must-watch list — with the streaming service reportedly working on a new live-action take on everyone's favourite pocket monsters. Yes, Detective Pikachu also combined all things Pokémon with flesh-and-blood humans, and it proved a big box office hit to the tune of $433 million worldwide. So, it is far from surprising that Netflix wants to give the concept a spin. The platform already streams a few existing animated Pokémon titles, with Indigo League, Sun and Moon: Ultra Legends and Journeys currently available via the service Down Under. And, it is known to like padding out its catalogue with, well, pretty much everything it can get its hands on. As reported in Variety, the new live-action Pokémon series doesn't yet have a name — and if or how it might tie into Detective Pikachu is also unknown. That said, writer and executive producer Joe Henderson is expected to be behind the project, hopping over from Lucifer, which is set to end this year following its sixth and final season. When the inherently nostalgic new series might turn up, how many episodes it will span and who else could be involved also hasn't been revealed, because that's how early-stage the show is. But Netflix does love bringing back childhood favourites, as it has previously done with She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and the just-released Masters of the Universe: Revelation — not that Pokémon has gone anywhere since first debuting in the 90s. Obviously, there's no trailer yet for Netflix's potential live-action Pokémon show, but you can check out the trailer for Detective Pikachu below: Netflix's live-action Pokemon series doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when further details are announced. Via Variety.
It's no secret that we live in a digital age. Most of the things we do involve staring at some form of a screen: replying to emails, reading news, Facetiming friends on the other side of the world, binge-watching Netflix on the train. Take away our screens and what are we? Lost! Fortunately, there's a simple solution to the problem of spending so much time online, and that is making sure you're getting paid for it. If you spend more time online than you'd like to admit, it's worth making sure you have the skills to make it your profession. Love playing video games? Learn how to design them. Always find yourself correcting people's Instagram post? A Bachelor of Communications will give you complete grammatical bragging rights. As it turns out, you can complete all of these courses, and more, online. Open Universities Australia (OUA) helps you find a degree to fit your goals and study it online with leading Australian universities. So, no matter your physical proximity to the university running the course, or your life commitments, you can make it happen. Check out these degrees that can help you carve a profession out of your screen loving ways — and they won't interfere with the time you spend online. YOU SPEND LOTS OF TIME: READING THE NEW YORKER ONLINE Consider studying: A Bachelor of Arts in either Creative Writing or Internet Communications and Professional Writing and Publishing with Curtin University. Have you ever imagined yourself sitting in a villa somewhere in southern France, fingers poised over a typewriter as you ponder your next plot twist? Fancied yourself the next J.K Rowling, or perhaps a modern-day Jane Austen? Do what E.L James never did and enrol in a writing course that's sure to get those creative juices flowing. Curtin University's Creative Writing degree will allow you to explore a range of writing styles, as you study everything from the poetry of Walt Whitman to the screenplays of Alfred Hitchcock. And, if you study through OUA, you can access online support at all hours of the day, so no matter when you're squeezing in your study time, you'll have someone to help you along the way. YOU SPEND LOTS OF TIME: IN YOUTUBE HOLES Consider studying: A Bachelor of Digital Media with the University of South Australia. Is keeping on top of digital trends your thing? The University of South Australia's Bachelor of Digital Media will help you curate your passion into an employable skill set. Always watched National Geographic documentaries with envy? This course will teach you everything to do with video and documentary production as well as digital humanities, so you'll be equipped to travel the globe with little more than a camera and a laptop. Perhaps design is more your forte? You'll have a front seat (figuratively) to the creative process of creating web design, coding, and multimedia and graphic design. If you've always wanted to live inside the digital world and have the skills to manipulate it, this course is for you. YOU SPEND LOTS OF TIME: LATE-NIGHT GAMING Consider studying: A Bachelor of Information Technology in Game Design and Development with Murdoch University. The saying 'do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life' has never been more true. If you find it hard to tear your eyes away from Call of Duty, Fortnite or Mario Kart (hey, whatever tickles your fancy) this degree is definitely for you. Have you ever shouted out when you spot errors in your favourite games, even when no one is around? Here's your chance to be the brains behind the screen, building a solid foundation in IT — as well as getting creative with new game ideas. YOU SPEND LOTS OF TIME: LIVE TWEETING ABOUT TV SHOWS Consider studying: A Bachelor of Communication with Griffith University. If you're that friend who narrates each episode of The Bachelor non-stop, claiming you can see through their fake words and even faker smiles just from their body language, you're perfect for a career in communciations. Griffith University's Bachelor of Communication can help you spend the rest of your life investigating, critiquing and gathering knowledge about all kinds of comms. It opens a realm of possibilities to sink your teeth into. You might work towards becoming the next Miranda Priestly (except, you know, nicer), or learn about communications in other countries so that you can spend your days travelling the globe helping people connect. Perhaps your new digital media skills can help you edit and produce video campaigns, or become a PR wizard and get loads of free stuff. The possibilities are endless. YOU SPEND LOTS OF TIME: SILENTLY CORRECTING PEOPLE'S GRAMMAR ON FACEBOOK Consider studying: Graduate Diploma of Writing with Swinburne University. Think you're pretty good at writing, but could stand to fine-tune your skills? Ever find yourself wanting to comment on grammatical errors on Facebook? It's no surprise. When we're online, we're absorbing information. After reading so many reviews on new restaurants or articles dissecting the latest Queer Eye episodes, no wonder some of us are drawn to the written word. Fortunately for you, a Graduate Diploma of Writing from Swinburne University is a surefire way to turn surfing the web into full-time employment. Whether you use your newfound skills to write press releases for the next big tech startup or to review every cafe that serves turmeric lattes in your city — well, that's up to you. Explore hundreds of degrees from leading Australian universities — available online through Open Universities Australia. You could get paid to spend more time on the internet before your know it.
Already an enormous success on Broadway, in London's West End and in Melbourne, Tony and Olivier award-winning musical Come From Away is touring its remarkable true tale around Australia's east coast. Based on real post-September 11 events, the acclaimed production has been back in Melbourne since January 2021 for an encore season of kind-hearted charm, before heading to Brisbane in March — to QPAC's Lyric Theatre from Friday, March 26–Sunday, May 2, in fact — for the first time. If you aren't familiar with the musical's plot or the actual events that inspired it, it's quite the exceptional story. In the week after the September 11 attacks in 2001, 38 planes were unexpectedly ordered to land in the small Canadian town of Gander, in the province of Newfoundland. Part of Operation Yellow Ribbon — which diverted civilian air traffic to Canada en masse following the attacks — the move saw around 7000 air travellers grounded in the tiny spot, almost doubling its population. Usually, the town is home to just under 12,000 residents. To create Come From Away, writers and composers Irene Sankoff and David Hein spent hundreds of hours interviewing thousands of locals and passengers, using their experiences to drive the narrative — and, in many cases, using their real names in the show as well. The result is a musical not just about people coming from away (the term that Newfoundlanders use to refer to folks not born on the island), but coming together, all at a time when tensions were running high worldwide. Since being workshopped in 2012, having a run in Ontario in 2013, then officially premiering in San Diego in 2015, Come From Away has become a global smash hit. After opening on Broadway in 2017, it was still running before the theatre district closed due to COVID-19. The musical wowed crowds in the West End, too — and, when it first opened in Melbourne in July 2019, it became the Comedy Theatre's most successful musical in the venue's 91-year history. Along the way, the show has picked up a Tony Award for best direction of a musical, six other nominations, and four Olivier Awards out of nine nominations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zmvy1p2FOE&feature=emb_title Images: Jeff Busby.
As summer kicks off in Victoria, the Victorian music industry is gearing up for its biggest event for the year: ALWAYS LIVE. This festival celebrates the diversity of music in Victoria, with a mix of international headliners and local musicians alike taking to stages statewide from Friday, November 22, to Sunday, December 8. When the festival nears its conclusion on the final weekend, some of the most anticipated events will be taking place. One of those is Garage Band, or rather the culmination of Garage Band since it's a longer-term initiative running as a part of ALWAYS LIVE, coming together for a free concert at Bunjil Place and Federation Square on Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8. Since its inception in 2021, the program has run yearly to find and elevate young musicians from across Victoria with professional coaching. The 2024 class of Garage Band includes 30 artists and bands, and as usual, every musician is between 16 and 21. The artists will refine their skills through workshops and mentorship during the festival. Ten artists will perform at Bunjil Place on Saturday, December 7, while twenty artists will be found on multiple stages in Fed Square on Sunday, December 8. With individual artists and after-school indie bands in equal amounts, it's the perfect chance to get up close with the next generation of Aussie musicians, and it's free, so really, there's no reason to miss it. Garage Band will take over Fed Square on Sunday, December 8. For more information, visit the ALWAYS LIVE website.
As first announced back in 2018, Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image will soon look rather different, with the screen culture-focused Federation Square site currently undergoing extensive $40 million renovations. When it reopens in 2021, visitors can expect revamped exhibition spaces, new immersive experiences and added interactive activations, including a permanent ode to Mad Max. Also part of the huge makeover: increasing the ways that everyone can engage with ACMI digitally, both when heading by in-person and from home. Yes, that sounds like a very 2020 move; however, the decision to implement a new experience operating system, or XOS, pre-dates the pandemic. The idea is to give visitors an integrated, multiplatform visitor experience, including before they arrive, as they're wandering around onsite and after they've left. And while some of ACMI's new additions will be familiar — an online exhibition space and its own video-on-demand service, for example — it has one particularly creative initiative up its sleeves. That'd be The Lens, a handheld device made out of compressed cardboard and featuring an NFC tag. Visitors will use it while they're physically moseying through ACMI's galleries, and can take it home with them as a keepsake. As you walk around and view the museum's exhibitions, you'll tap the device at around 200 different touchpoints to collect objects of interest — which'll then be available for you to explore on any device afterwards, no matter where you are. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=ez82jLMVpmM&feature=emb_logo Explaining ACMI's new push to combine the physical and the digital, Director and CEO Katrina Sedgwick notes that "we often consume the same stories via different platforms; we might read the comic book then watch the film adaptation and later play the videogame. Each platform brings out something new in the story. We have taken this concept of multiplatform storytelling and applied it to our museum. Thanks to our XOS, what we can now offer is a deeply integrated journey that extends, expands and enriches your visit, be that in person, or online". While no one will be able to get their hands on The Lens until next year, with ACMI's exact relaunch date yet to be revealed, the museum is unveiling some of its new digital additions before it opens. Online right now is The Story of the Moving Image, a multimedia exhibition currently focused on three main topics — Australian television, video games, Australian film — with additional sections on digital art, social video and Black women on-screen to come. It expands one of the site's forthcoming permanent physical exhibitions. Also, in November this year, ACMI will unveil its aforementioned online exhibition space and online viewing platform. Arriving first is Gallery 5, which will stream artwork and performances from November 11, launching with the premiere of Delusional World by Shanghai-based video, installation and performance artist Lu Yang. Then, on November 19, Cinema 3 will start rolling, with the VOD service streaming a curated range of classics and new movies. It'll kick off with a digital restoration of Claire Denis' 1999 standout Beau Travail, plus Toshio Matsumoto's 1969 Japanese drama Funeral Parade of Roses and 2019's acclaimed Romanian flick The Whistlers. The Australian Centre for the Moving Image will reopen its doors sometime in 2021, with an exact date yet to be revealed. Its The Story of the Moving Image exhibition is currently available to view online, while its Gallery 5 digital exhibition space will launch on November 11, 2020 — with its Cinema 3 video-on-demand service following on November 19, 2020. Top image: Field Carr.
“Industry has moved abreast of art & we now trade culture as capital, Enthusiasm is currency, and here is no better Petri-dish for new forms & expressions of the contemporary than the warehouse. ...a return to the village ...except the candlestick maker, the butcher & the blacksmith are now the zinester, the permaculturalist & community theatre director.” While the vast majority of us get up every morning, go to work, and earn money to pay the rent or mortgage, some others opted out. Inspired by artistic ideals and the bohemian movements of days gone by, artists, performers and assorted creatives have been reclaiming warehouses and setting up counter-cultural enclaves where they can work among like-minded souls, and by the looks of things, throw some pretty awesome masquerade balls. Bohemianism is thriving, especially in Melbourne. This City Speaks To Me is the work of British music photographer Luke David Kellet, who spent several years living among Melbourne's bohemian community. Inspired by the artists and their lifestyle, Kellet has created a photobook which is both a documentary of, and dedication to the raw, wild energy and enthusiasm of the culture and its characters. The fluid, gonzo-esque text from poet Si complement the images and give them a hallucinatory life of their own. It’s good to see that alternative art and culture are thriving, and even better to see it portrayed so eloquently. As well as the full, print version, a shorter version of the book is available as a free download (NSFW). This City Speaks To Me
Melbourne artist Sayraphim Lothian doesn't make art that hangs on walls in galleries. You're more likely to find her work hiding in a tree, resting on a bench or nestled under a bush. She likes to leave people little gifts, just to make their day that little bit more special and fun. This March Sayraphim's mission is to bring guerrilla kindness to Christchurch, which is still rebuilding following the horrific 2011 earthquake. Journey - The Kakapo of Christchurch is a two-week public art project that uses the Kakapo's journey to recovery as a metaphor for Christchurch's journey to regeneration. A native of New Zealand, the Kakapo is the world's heaviest flightless parrot. It's population dwindled to a mere 18 in the 1970s, and since then, the Kakapo has been on its own journey of healing thanks to conservation group Kakapo Recovery. Even though the Kakapo is still endangered, there are now 124 birds alive and well in the wild. "I want to do this project to celebrate the resilience and unity of the people of Christchurch after the earthquakes and the recovery of the Kakapo from near extinction," Sayraphim says. "Neither of these things could have happened without the resourcefulness and kindness of the people involved." From March 13-23, 2014, the artist will travel to Christchurch to install 124 soft sculpture Kakapos around the city. These birds will be left for people to find and move, hide, remove, adopt or throw away. Part participatory art project, part game, part scavenger hunt and part social media check in, Journey invites people to get involved with an art project on a personal level. Each soft sculpture bird will have a tag attached, introducing it to the finder as well as having Journey's website address to provide more information about the project. There will also be a hashtag for social media so people can follow the Kakapos' journey around the city. You can help make this project happen by contributing your own act of guerrilla kindness. In exchange for your pledge you will receive a reward, which could include your very own handmade Christchurch Kakapo.
Don't want a big New Year's Eve? Done partying for the year? Keen for something low-key instead? Avoiding the bigger, busier parts of the occasion doesn't mean hiding out at home watching Netflix — unless you want to, of course. If you're keen to send of 2017 with a feast — and an affordable one, too — Il Molo has the solution. They also have breezy river views at Bulimba as well. For $75 per person, you'll sip prosecco on arrival, then munch your way through three Italian courses by the waterfront. And, even if you have a hectic evening planned, you can grab dinner from 5pm for tasty sustenance.
The Preatures are back for their final national tour for the year. Not content with two critically-acclaimed EPs, the Sydney fivesome released their debut album Blue Planet Eyes late last year to many a raised plastic cup. The Sydneysiders have really been kicking goals as of late. After gaining serious momentum overseas, The Preatures are returning home for one more tour supporting Blue Planet Eyes before holing up and creating their much-anticipated second album. With applauded performances at this years Vivid LIVE and Dark MOFO festivals, The Preatures are taking their last Australian tour of 2015 with no holds barred.
When it rolls around each year, Eat Local Week serves up a massive incentive to wander through southeast Queensland's Scenic Rim, showcasing the absolute best in food and drink — and related experiences — that the region has to offer. Can't manage to fit in a trip south across its usual nine-day run? Always wanted to head along, but the end-of-June dates haven't worked? In 2023, there's a solution: expanding the festival to take place over a whole month. Goodbye Eat Local Week, hello Eat Local Month — which'll run from Thursday, June 1–Sunday, July 2. That actually means that it'll span across a huge 32 days this year. The festival turns 12 in 2023, and taking over an entire month is an ace way to mark the occasion. [caption id="attachment_852790" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Glenn Hunt[/caption] "In its 12th year and from now on, Australia's most authentic paddock-to-plate, food and farming experience in Eat Local Week will become Eat Local Month, which means more time to shine the light on the farmers, growers, producers, artisans, chefs and creators in our region, and on our spectacular local and seasonal produce," said Scenic Rim Regional Council Mayor Greg Christensen. "This expansion reflects the success and hard work of our entire community, and of the support of visitors from across the country," the Mayor continued. "Eat Local Week is a significant economic driver for the region, with the event pumping $2 million into the region, and playing an important role in placing farmers, growers and producers centre stage. We can't wait to celebrate for a full month in 2023." While it's too early to announce this year's Eat Local Month lineup, which'll drop in April, it'll still involve exploring, eating and drinking — all while showcasing Scenic Rim produce and the people behind it. 2022's bill spanned more than 125 events at 42 locations, in a region that was named one of the best places to visit in 2022. On offer last year: a winter harvest festival, street food festival and a carrot festival; picnics with alpacas among the vines and cocktails with camels; plus brewery brunches, jam sessions amid lambs and more. Expect an even bigger feast of festivities in 2023, from a fest that kicked off in 2011 with ten events attended by a few hundred people, then evolved to host 80 events with 15,000 attendees in 2014, before notching up almost 40,000 folks heading along in 2022. While 2023's lineup is still to come, Eat Local Month does already have the support of some impressive food names thanks to its ambassador chefs. Alison Alexander, Ash Martin, Brenda Fawdon (Picnic Real Food Bar), Cameron Matthews (Mapleton Public House), Caroline Jones (Three Girls Skipping), Glen Barratt (Wild Canary), Javier Codina (Moda), Josh Lopez (Monstera Group), Kate Raymont (Scenic Rim Farm Shop Café) and Richard Ousby (Ousby Food) are on the list so far, with more to be added this year. Scenic Rim Eat Local Month 2023 will runs from Thursday, June 1–Sunday, July 2 at various locations in the Scenic Rim. We'll update you with program details when they're announced in April. For more information in the interim, visit the festival's website.
Family dramas are always told best with a bit of humour, especially when wrestling is involved. Set in New Jersey, Win Win director Tom McCarthy delivers an offbeat comedy-drama about Mike Flaherty (played by Paul Giamatti), a family man who tries to stay afloat of financial and familial woes by volunteering as a wrestling coach at the local highschool. Flaherty attempts to keep his law practice from going under by posing as the legal guardian of an elderly client Leo Poplar (Burt Young) while coaching a team of high school wrestlers. But when the client's grandson Kyle Timmons (Alex Shaffer) shows up looking for somewhere to stay, Flaherty's plans are altered; Timmons proves to be an asset to his wrestling team. But things take another turn when Timmon's mother turns up to claim him. McCarthy's directing caliber includes indie films The Station and The Visitor and critics are calling his latest installment a funny and humane portrayal of American suburbia. Win Win opens on August 18. Concrete Playground has twenty double passes to giveaway to our readers courtesy of Fox Searchlight. To get your hands on one, simply make sure you're a CP subscriber then email us at hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ci_I6n2j5Uw
Are you the type of person who comes up with names for the animals you spot on your daily travels? Does the list of monikers you have for your pets outnumber the actual four-legged critters currently scampering around your house? Have you picked out titles for every dog, cat, bird, fish and lizard that could possibly share your home for the next five decades or so? Would you like to put your penchant for naming things to good use to support a worthy cause? Picking monikers for fluffy, feathered and scaly pals isn't a straightforward task, but it is fun — and, if you're particularly skilled at it, you can deploy your talents to help Assistance Dogs Australia. The not-for-profit organisation has teamed up with flea and tick treatment brand Bravecto to launch a 'name the pup' competition. You'll put forward your name for one of its puppies, obviously — and if your name is chosen, you'll win access to one of the organisation's puppy training sessions, a $500 Visa voucher and a one-year supply of Bravecto for your own doggo. Assistance Dogs Australia provides support dogs for people with disability, and trains them before they go out into the world. All of their pups are given names, usually chosen by ADA, before they're placed with a family to look after for around a year. After that, the dogs move on to their advanced training at ADA's national training school in Sydney, then graduate and become helpful four-legged companions. A few caveats apply to ADA's naming competition, unsurprisingly. The name you choose needs to start with the letter B, and have two syllables — so Boaty McBoatface (or Doggy McDogface) is out. You're also required to write a 25-word explanation outlining why your name should be selected, so you'll need to put more than a couple of seconds of effort into your submission. And, you'll need to follow the Bravecto Facebook page, too, and like the entry post. Then, you'll have to enter your suggestion via a comment on the post, and do so before 12pm AEST on Wednesday, May 19. To enter Assistance Dogs Australia's name the pup competition, head to the Bravecto Facebook page before 12pm AEST on Wednesday, May 19.
It's not exactly news that a beer and a barbecue represent one of the holiest unions known to man. But having a cold one in-hand while rotating the snags in the other isn't the extent of the pairing. It goes a whole lot further than that, my friend. We've already explored the beautiful possibilities of battering, stewing and baking with beer and made one killer beer, bacon and cheddar dip — and now, we're spiking our marinades. Yep, this summer we'll be making beer marinades for our barbecued meats. After all, the ultimate way to make your food more beery is to soak it in beer (come on, we know you've thought about it before). Not only does beer add a depth of flavour to your cooking, it also contains enzymes that break down the fibres in your meat, giving it that sweet, sweet melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. Willing to give it a go? We've collected four of the best beer-based marinades for you to try at the next barbecue you're hosting, collated by the crew at James Squire. [caption id="attachment_555155" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Dollar Photo Club[/caption] CHICKEN: GARLIC BEER MARINADE This little beauty from The Slow Roasted Italian is relatively quick and easy to whip up — but its true value comes from how long you leave it to marinate. While even half an hour will get you a decent flavour, if you can manage to wait a whole day like the recipe recommends, your tastebuds will reap the rewards when it comes to dinner time. Try pairing this one with a James Squire Swindler Ale; the light fruity aroma pairs well with lean meats like this, as the delicate flavours of each don’t overpower each other. [caption id="attachment_555157" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Dollar Photo Club[/caption] BEEF: BEER AND BROWN SUGAR MARINADE This recipe from Yummly is 100% guaranteed to get your mouth a little watery. With a mixture of sugar, teriyaki, salt and pepper, the marinade is sweet and salty with the added caramel of a dark beer. It's easy as anything to whip up, and will take your average barbecue steak to the next level. [caption id="attachment_555156" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Dollar Photo Club[/caption] SALMON: BEER AND LIME MARINADE If you really want to impress your mates, you can’t go past this beer and lime salmon from Food.com. Using the usual salmon marinade suspects — lime, soy sauce, ginger and garlic —this one steps it up a notch with the addition of your favourite beer. Chuck it on the barbie like it's a shrimp, cook for ten minutes and reap the rewards when you tuck in. These recipes were originally published by James Squire. Head to the James Squire website for more recipes.
In bringing their latest production to the stage, La Boîte didn't simply take their pick of modern and classic theatre greats, or commission an veteran or emerging talent to write something new. When you're tackling subjects as topical as the refugee experience and the plight of people seeking asylum, you delve deeper. So, they collaborated with refugee resettlement agency MDA Ltd to use the real stories of folks in those situations. In The Village, their tales are told verbatim. Taking over the La Boite Studio from May 15 to 26, the end result promises more than your usual piece of entertainment. Thanks to those who've shared their journeys, much more, in fact. Viewers will watch and listen, of course, but The Village has been dubbed "an interactive performance experience" because it immerses everyone right in the thick of the narrative. It's designed to celebrate Australia's cultural diversity and showcase the strength of people who made this country their new home in trying circumstances. Serving an educational purpose as well, expect to find students in the audience — but this is the kind of performance that everyone should attend.
