Have you spent a lot of time playing mini-golf lately? The popularity of Holey Moley Golf Club would suggest so. Well, here's your chance to make back the money you've spent on 'practising': the inaugural (and, surprisingly, very lucrative) Holey Moley Masters. Holey Moley — which has eight mini-golf clubs across the East Coast, including one in Melbourne, one in Brisbane and two in Sydney — is launching what's set to be the country's biggest ever mini-golf competition. Kicking off with round one on March 28, the tournament will end with the best team from each Holey Moley venue battling it out for national glory and a cool $10k at a Melbourne final. A series of DJ-fuelled competition nights will be held to find the champion team from each Holey Moley course. Then, on April 19, the winners will be flown to Melbourne to represent their states at a huge final celebration, with the winners scoring their own 'Golden Jackets', a home-course party in their honour and, of course, that sweet, sweet cheque. It's all very official for something that is, at its core, a novelty. Nonetheless, it could be an easy way to make some cash. If you want a shot at victory, start working on your golf game and head here to register by March 18.
Get in the spring spirit and shimmy your way over to the annual Meyers Place Latin Fiesta. A vibrant street party organised by the traders of Meyers Place, this much-loved Melbourne event will become a temporary home to all things Latin American for one afternoon this October. From dynamic live music to some of the best street food in the city, a visit to the Meyers Place Latin Fiesta is a must. Enjoy an emporium of Latin cuisine with empanadas from San Telmo, cocktails from Lily Blacks and Loop Roof, as well as 'Latin-inspired' cheesy slices from Pizza Pizza Pizza. Latin crafts, dances classes and a live Latin music and performance will be taking place in the CBD laneway from 11am until 6pm. For the first time, they'll be charging an entrance fee — either $6 online or $5 on the door (if it's not full already).
The world said goodbye to Amy Winehouse in 2011, but that doesn't mean that the British singer isn't still taking to the stage. The 'Back to Black' and 'Rehab' songstress is the latest celebrity to get the hologram treatment, with a new technologically enhanced performance set to hit the road in 2019 — featuring the late talent crooning her hits accompanied by a live band and on-stage singers. Attendees can expect between 75–110 minutes of Winehouse's music, all thanks to the folks at Base Hologram, who are behind similar shows involving Roy Orbison and Maria Callas. Bringing back dearly departed music icons seems to be their new niche, in a trend that just keeps gathering steam since the Tupac hologram back at Coachella in 2012. Base Hologram states that the Winehouse show will utilise "new state-of-the-art proprietary technology" and feature "digitally remastered arrangements of her classics" as well as "theatrical stagecraft". Exactly where the production will be headed has yet to be revealed, although it's expected to launch towards the end of 2019. The Guardian also reports that the the tour will raise money and awareness for the Amy Winehouse Foundation. Via The Guardian. Image: Rama via Wikimedia Commons.
Everyone knows that, in 2016, the lowest thing you can do is spoil Game of Thrones for a poor soul first-thing Tuesday morning. Usually the spoiling is an honest mistake (and the result of too many feels) — but what if it was actually something more sinister? Well, someone's created a service that is just that. Inspired by this story of a woman who sought revenge on her ex-boyfriend by sending him GoT spoilers, Spoiled will text your unsuspecting friends all the main plot points after each new episode airs. Because people are jerks. All this amazing but truly horrifying new service needs to get spoilin' is the mobile number of the friend you want to never speak to you again and your credit card number. Then, straight after the episode airs, your mate will be sent spoilers — images included. Each spoiler sent will cost you a mere $0.99 USD, and can be sent to any mobile number around the world. It truly doesn't cost much to ruin someone's day/week/year these days. We definitely do not endorse signing up your friends to this service. That guy who spoiled Breaking Bad for you though? Go right ahead.
In time to come, we may well look back on the 21st century as the 'Age of the Bicycle'. We've run music festivals on pedal power, attempted to crowdfund the world's first flying bicycle, designed fashion for two-wheeling commuters, built cycle super highways and proposed the construction of sky-high bike paths. Nearly every week, it seems, someone, somewhere finds a way to extend the scope, relevance and fun factor of the humble bicycle. Now, a maverick composer by the name of Johnny Random has demonstrated its capacity as a musical instrument. Actually, not just an instrument, but an entire orchestra. He's written and recorded a song titled 'Bespoken' in which every single sound is generated via bicycle parts. As difficult as it is to believe when you hear it, no traditional instruments, synthesisers, samplers or drum machines are used. Instead, the spokes are tuned to various pitches, then plucked, picked and bowed to create melody, with other components employed percussively. "I remember my first time riding a bicycle," Johnny Random says. "It felt like freedom. I associate the sounds of a bike with this feeling. As a composer, I wanted to capture this through music, specifically by using the sounds of bikes and their components ... Through music, I want to change the way that people perceive their surroundings and I hope that this will inspire others to look at every day objects with more curiosity and wonder". Via PSFK.
We all know how boring wet weather is. Now, two women have developed a way to cure that boredom with an umbrella that makes 8-bit sounds when it is hit by rain. Alice Zappe and Julia Läger used 12 sensors, 2 speakers and an Arduino minicontroller to enable their umbrella to create sounds. The intensity of the rain changes the sound, surely making for an interesting compilation in a torrential downpour. Although the umbrella doesn't produce actual songs it could easily be modified to play pre-recorded tunes. It's a bit of fun while you are walking in the rain and will most definitely put some smiles on otherwise glum faces in the rainy street.
After taking the world by storm with her explosive brand hip-hop and pop, Nicki Minaj has solidified herself as a force to be reckoned with on the global music scene. Nicki hit Australian shores in May during her ‘Pink Friday’ tour, selling out venues in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Now her tour has been ‘reloaded’ and she is back for some more, bringing special guest Tyga along for the ride. 13 million Twitter followers and millions upon millions of YouTube hits can’t be wrong, Nicki Minaj is at the top of her game. If you are after equal parts aggressive frenzy and stylistic pop, look no further. Remaining tickets are now $70, get some before they are gone.
Fresh flowers. Just-baked cakes. The air just after a storm. Newly brewed coffee. They're all distinctive scents that not only smell nice, but conjure up warm and fuzzy feelings. And if you find that the odour of cracking open a new computer or gadget from a certain popular brand evokes the same kind of reaction, then you're going to want to order a Mac-scented candle. Replicating the smell of a brand new Mac, the hand-poured candles clearly answer an the age-old question: "what do you get the Apple fan who has everything?". They're made from 100% soy wax, cost US$24, and also conjure notes of mint, peach, basil, lavender, mandarin and sage. We have to say, if that's what you're sniffing out when you open your new laptop, you must have super olfactory capabilities. Sure, it sounds like something out of a Seinfeld episode, were the hit sitcom still airing — or a gag one of the many modern-oriented Twitter parody accounts of the show might come up with; however it really isn't a joke. Mac accessories company Twelve South has added the item to their store, alongside their usual lineup of docks, stands, covers, shelves, bass boosters, plug converters and keyboard extenders (you know, the standard computer, tablet and phone gizmos). One US Mac hosting solution outfit put the candles to the test, and decreed that they do indeed emit the apparently much-sought-after "new Mac smell". There must be a fair number of folks looking to fill their home with that particular scent, because the range has already sold out. Don't worry, Mac sniffers: more will be in stock at the end of the month. Via Fast Company.
Uber drivers may want to start thinking about a change of career. The ridesharing giant, whose relationship with its drivers has been turbulent in recent times, may soon reach the point where it no longer has any need for them at all. After all, why spend millions settling lawsuits when you can get the cars to operate themselves? That seems to be the thinking as the company rolled out its first fleet of self-driving cars in the U.S. today. After beginning testing back in May, the fleet of modified Ford Fusion Hybrids, complete with roof-mounted cameras, radar and Uber branding, took its first official outing streets of Pittsburgh on Wednesday — beating other tech companies to the punch. At the moment Uber is still sending a safety driver along in the driver's seat, so they can intervene if anything goes awry. The idea is that eventually those safety drivers won't be needed anymore — but, safety, y'know? "This pilot is a big step forward," said the company via a statement on their website. "Real-world testing is critical to the success of this technology. And creating a viable alternative to individual car ownership is important to the future of cities." They hope that driverless technology will, eventually, help to lower the number of traffic accidents, cut congestion and free up parking space in our cities. At the moment the self-driving cars are only available to "loyal" Pittsburgh Uber riders — if one of the cars is available when they request an uberX, that's what they'll get. That's all well and good, but will these self driving cars be offering their passengers complimentary mints? Where are we on that technology, exactly? By Tom Clift and Lauren Vadnjal.
Just look at that hair. This large-scale installation — which not-so-subtly resembles the dome of Donald Trump — is the work of Canadian-born visual artist Callum Morton. Titled Monument #32: Helter Shelter 2018, the giant protruding head is now on display along Barangaroo Wharf, and you're welcome to sit inside its cavernous fiery interior, too (if you feel comfortable doing so). Morton's thought-provoking and shelter-providing sculpture is on display along with two other works as part of Carriageworks' annual art fair, Sydney Contemporary. Joining the head is Cameron Robbins' installation Remote Sensor, which combines elements of nature, wind, the tides and light in a series of drawings, photographs and moving images that will take residence along the Barangaroo foreshore. If you visit at the right time, you might also catch Mel O'Callaghan's breath-based performance, Breath repertoire. O'Callaghan and Sydney Dance Company will perform an intense movement-focused performance that uses intersecting graphic lines as a language and musical score for the dancers at 12.30pm on September 6, 7 and 13 at Barangaroo's Exchange Place. All three installations are free to view and will be on display until September 24. Sydney Contemporary will return to Sydney for its fourth year on the weekend of September 13–16. The lineup is overflowing with performances, exhibitions, tours, talks and afterparties that celebrate both homegrown and international art. The installation works at Barangaroo for Sydney Contemporary are now open from August 31 through September 24. Check the website for more information.
The long, lazy weekend lunch is up there among life's greatest pleasures — and it's one that the team at Brunswick East's Etta will be celebrating right through winter. On Saturday, May 20, the renowned eatery kicks off its new Saturday feasting series, dedicated to top-notch seafood and champagne. The food lineup is set to change up weekly, though with shellfish season peaking, you can be sure of some sensational seafood no matter what. Each week's haul will be served as a tantalisingly stacked tower for $70 per person and enjoyed alongside the crackling fire from 12–2pm. That'll be brimming with the likes of king prawns done in fish sauce and fermented chilli butter, arrow squid skewers matched with lemon balm and calamansi lime sauce, and chilled bugs and blue spanner crab, with black peppercorn and garlic butter for dipping. And, since seafood and fizz are a match made in culinary heaven, Etta will be pouring out some primo champagne options to complement your lunch. Adding to the regular lineup of by-the-glass gems, there'll be a weekly-rotating champagne special pulled from the cellar just for the occasion. Etta's full wine list will be available, too. Images: Annika Kafcaloudis
Since 1987, if you've wanted to hit up South by Southwest, then you've needed to visit Austin in Texas. Come October this year, however, that'll no longer be the case. Across eight days, the acclaimed tech, innovation, music, gaming, screen and culture festival and conference will embark on its first-ever non-US event — and more details about its massive four-day music festival have just dropped. Unlike your standard music fest in The Domain or Centennial Park, SXSW will be creating a bustling precinct spanning Ultimo, Darling Harbour, Chippendale and Surry Hills, with over 300 performances popping up across 25 different venues. As with the Austin iteration, the festival is all about discovery and catching the next big thing before they're headlining other festivals, so you'll find a lineup stacked with local and international talent doing interesting, boundary-pushing things. Up until this point, you've only been able to purchase the festival's next-level all-access badges. But now, SXSW has unveiled more financially accessible options with the introduction of the music wristband. These passes start from $280 and grant you access to all 300 performances between Wednesday, October 18–Saturday, October 21. [caption id="attachment_903438" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alana Dimou[/caption] You'll also be able to pop into the showcases and parties being presented by brands like Laneway Festival, Dr Martens, Vans and Warner Music. And, you'll be able to hit up the country houses that've become synonymous with the Austin festival, including pop-ups from the British Music Embassy and Korean Spotlight. Some of the notable artist inclusions include frantic Japanese punk group Otoboke Beaver; Denzel Curry and JPEGMAFIA collaborator Redveil; First Nations trailblazers Barkaa, Kobie Dee, Jem Cassar-Daley and Dobby; TikTok sensations Ula and Flyana Boss; Indonesian jazz trio Batavia Collective; plus Dylan Atlantis and Friday*, both of who are members of the Western Sydney music collective Full Circle that were spotlighted in the SBS short film We Just Live Here. If you've been to see the new Australian horror movie that's taking the world by storm, aka Talk to Me, you would have caught the vocals of one of SXSW Sydney's artists IJALE opening the film with his song 'Ducks In a Row'. And, you can also catch a heap of beloved stalwarts of the Sydney and Australian live music scene as well, like Andy Golledge Band, These New South Whales, Andrew Gurruwiwi Band, Caitlin Harnett and the Pony Boys, and The Terrys. Expect more artists to be added to the lineup as the fest gets closer. Over in Austin, musicians big and small will often join the program all the way up until the week of the festival. All of these musicians will be popping up across Sydney venues like The Lansdowne, The Lord Gladstone, Hollywood Hotel, The Civic Underground, The Abercrombie, Phoenix Central Park, The Soda Factory, The Chippo Hotel, the Powerhouse Museum, Sneaky Possum, UTS Underground and Tumbalong Park. Plus, SXSW Sydney has partnered with the festival Someday Soon, which will be popping up at the University of Sydney on Saturday, October 21 with a stacked program featuring Peach PRC, What So Not, 1300, Northeast Party House, Royal Otis and Sly Withers. Platinum and music badgeholders will be able to attend the affiliate event as part of the week's festivities. [caption id="attachment_848402" align="alignnone" width="1916"] Barkaa, Luke Currie Richardson[/caption] Basically, you'll get access to a citywide party, at which established and emerging bands will be filling every stage across four different suburbs for four whole days — all for the price of a standard music festival. Of course, SXSW isn't all about the music. There will also be a film festival featuring the world premiere of the documentary Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles; a gaming strand with a massive esport competition and indie game showcase; and a conference with talks from Queer Eye star Tan France, the CEO of Coachella, Osher Günsberg and Layne Beachley. Each section of the festival has its own wristband system — with the music, screen and games tickets going on sale this Friday, August 25. You can get a full breakdown of the difference between badges and wristbands at the SXSW Sydney website. [caption id="attachment_889033" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maria Boyadgis[/caption] SXSW Sydney will run from Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22 at various Sydney venues, with the SXSW Sydney Music Festival running from Wednesday, October 18–Saturday, October 21. Music wristbands go on sale this Friday, August 25, with early bird prices starting at $280. Top image: Jordan Munns. If you're keen to make the most of Australia's first SXSW, take advantage of our special reader offer. Purchase your SXSW Sydney 2023 Official Badge via Concrete Playground Trips and you'll score a $150 credit to use on your choice of Sydney accommodation. Book now via the website.
Now in its 65th year, the annual Tesselaar Tulip Festival features over a million tulips planted across 25 acres of farmland. This huge collection of tulips is the perfect excuse to wander through endless fields of flowers to celebrate the start of spring. There's heaps of stuff happening at the tulip farm throughout the month, which sits on the cusp of the Dandenong Ranges and the Yarra Valley (east of Melbourne). For the food fans, we would highly recommend pencilling the Food, Wine & Jazz Weekend (September 27–29) into your eating plans. Boasting locally brewed beer, wine and a tasty snacks from the area — including warm, buttery fire-baked scones, mini dutch pancakes and loaded baked potatoes among the tulips. If you're still not convinced, entry includes complimentary wine and beer tasting. Similarly, the Dutch Weekend (September 20–22) will showcase the best that the Netherlands have to offer – other than tulips — with music, markets, unique crafts (wooden tulip-making, anyone?) and Dutch food available inside the festival. Or, head by on the Irish Weekend (October 11–13), where Irish pipers and dancing will perform (and plenty of Guinness and Kilkenny-drinking will take place) around the site's floral rainbow The Tesselaar Tulip Festival runs from Saturday, September 14 through to Sunday, October 13. Tickets are available at the farm, but you can buy them online in advance to skip the queue.
Here's some news worth slathering whichever type of food you love in McDonald's coveted Szechuan sauce: in less than a month, Rick and Morty will return for its sixth season. Anything can happen in the animated show's next batch of episodes, because that's the kind of dimension-hopping sci-fi series it is. Don't just take our word for it, though — the just-dropped full trailer for the upcoming season drips with chaos, unsurprisingly, and also paranoia. Well, actually, the sneak peek is set to the sounds of 'Paranoid' by Black Sabbath, but it's also a rather apt theme tune for the show's titular duo. When you're zipping around the galaxy and sliding through time, changing multiple worlds, making a whole lot of enemies and just generally causing interstellar mayhem in the process, being suspicious and mistrustful is bound to come with the territory. As for what'll occur from there, the trailer teases lectures about Die Hard, killer robots, vanishing from reality, alien armies, Wolverine-style claws, using Jerry as a human shield, arcade shootouts and exploding cars. So, just your usual Rick and Morty shenanigans. As always, anyone keen to get schwifty with the episodes can probably expect that Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith (both voiced by show co-creator Justin Roiland, Solar Opposites) will keep wreaking havoc, and that the series will keep zooming between as many universes as it can. And, because that's the way the news goes, Rick and Morty's hijinks will keep drawing in Morty's mother Beth (Sarah Chalke, Firefly Lane), father Jerry (Chris Parnell, Archer) and sister Summer (Spencer Grammer, Tell Me a Story). Everywhere across earth where television is screened and streamed — interdimensional cable, too — Rick and Morty is set to return on Sunday, September 4 in America. That's on Monday, September 5 Down Under, where the series beams into your queue via Netflix. And if you're wondering what kinds of chaos are in store this time around, Adult Swim, the US channel behind the show, has advised that the new season will pick up with its titular pair "where we left them, worse for wear and down on their luck". "Will they manage to bounce back for more adventures? Or will they get swept up in an ocean of piss! Who knows?! Piss! Family! Intrigue! A bunch of dinosaurs! More piss!" the network also teased. Check out the trailer for Rick and Morty's sixth season below: Rick and Morty's sixth season will premiere globally on Monday, September 5 Down Under. It streams via Netflix in Australia and New Zealand.
As if it wasn't stressful enough to get a ticket to Splendour, this morning potential festivalgoers were faced with an A-grade nightmare on ticketing provider Moshtix involving price glitches and what appeared to be an outside hack. After dutifully logging on at 9am to fight the virtual queues, many punters were led astray by a rogue link advertising tickets at a 50 percent discount. After providing details to finish the purchase, they were met with credit card fees upwards of $3,000. As Moshtix users began to flood the Splendour social media accounts, representatives became aware of the glitch and responded on Twitter in an appropriately panicked fashion. High credit card fees happening on invalid 50% off tickets - DO NOT PURCHASE THESE 50% OFF TICKETS! — SplendourintheGrass (@SITG) May 1, 2014 However there were numerous reports of the exorbitant fees occurring on full-priced tickets too. While some users powered on with the purchase either not seeing the price hike or being blinded with SITG ticket lust, most sensibly cancelled the purchase and attempted to restart the process. Unfortunately — because it's Splendour — by this point the ticket allocation was completely exhausted. Cue bouts of justified internet outrage and quiet weeping. Moshtix owner Harley Evans released a statement soon afterward saying anyone who bought tickets at the increased prices will still be eligible for tickets. "All of these affected orders will be cancelled today, and customers contacted to allow them to purchase at the correct prices," it read. However such actions don't accommodate those who backed out of the purchase and many are calling for an (incredibly unlikely) resale. Though the cause of the glitch is currently under investigation, many claim it could be a hack associated with infamous narcotics website Silk Road. While completing purchases many users cited suspicious links associated with the website, one of which even read 'mosh+hack'. .@moshtix_com_au hacked? Defaced w/ silkroad links, reports of strange credit card fees appearing. Now HTTP 503 #SITG pic.twitter.com/PGvAnsiZ3J — %256x%n (@justinsteven) May 1, 2014 The good news is, Moshtix have confirmed that no credit card information has been compromised during the ordeal so no need to rush off and cancel your cards if you got duped. The bad news is literally everything else. If you somehow got tickets, all your friends will now seethe at you. If you forgot tickets went on sale, it's too late — you will never get to sing 'Hey Ya!' with Outkast. And, if you were affected by the 'technical difficulties' this morning, you can look forward to a wonderfully entertaining complaint line over at their ticket support site.
Few actors in Hollywood are as baffling as Nicholas Cage. From his Academy Award winning turn in Leaving Las Vegas to his self-effacing double act in Adaptation, he's repeatedly proven himself an actor of incredible talents. And yet for every great film on his resume, there's a Wicker Man or Vampire's Kiss. Even some of Cage's best performances, such as in Kick-Ass or Bad Lieutenant, blur the line between brilliant and batshit. Then there are films like National Treasure and Bangkok Dangerous, where it seems like the only thing he cared about was getting paid. So which version of Cage is in the newly released Joe — the genius, the madman or the hack? As it happens, we're pleased to report that director David Gordon Green gets one of the actor's best performances in some time. A brooding shard of contemporary Southern Gothic, Joe stars Cage as a short-tempered ex-convict doing his best to stay out of trouble. Living in rural Texas, he makes his money leading logging crews, and is well liked by everyone who works for him. When 15-year-old Gary (Tye Sheridan) approaches him for a job, Joe takes the teenager under his wing. The dynamic between Joe and Gary provides the backbone of the film, recalling the surrogate father-son pairing in last year's critical darling Mud. The comparison is obvious, least of all because both films starred Sheridan, who grows increasingly more impressive with every passing role. But Gordon Green trades Mud's lyricism for a grimmer, more hard-edge tone. When Joe finds out that Gary's alcoholic father (played with chilling menace by non-actor Gary Poulter) is acting abusive, his own brutal temperament comes to the fore. In a way, it feels like the part Cage was born to play. Joe is a character of deep, internal contradiction — selfless, but wracked by a violent anger that he struggles to control. It's fascinating watching Cage play a man who is constantly trying to restrain himself, when as an actor he's best known for throwing caution to the wind. Certainly, it's among the most restrained performances in his more than 30 year career, and a reminder of how good he can really be.
Movember is un/fortunately coming to an end and men across the country have never felt more masculine or virile. On the other hand, women across the country are counting down the days until December when that upper lip of scuzzy peach fuzz is mercifully removed. As Nick Offerman from Parks and Recreation teaches us "Growing a moustache isn't easy. Nothing incredibly awesome ever is." And while we all know that there are thousands of grieving gentlemen out there whose poor excuses for a handlebar or Magnum PI knock-off leave much to be desired, there are certain men throughout history who give new meaning to the idea of a "lady tickler". So in the spirit of Movember and as a little inspiration for those poor fellas whose final week of furry, nose-warming bliss has fallen well-short of its glorious potential, here are thirteen of history's most magnificent mos that prove that often with great power comes a great moustache. Kaiser Wilhelm I Teddy Roosevelt Pancho Villa Genghis Khan Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain Walter Cronkite Wyatt Earp Friedrich Nietzsche US President William Taft Salvador Dali Mark Twain US Baseballer Rollie Fingers General Ambrose Burnside
Gaming and esports are coming to Melbourne in a big way. Come early 2020, the Emporium precinct will welcome Fortress, a 2700-square-metre centre devoted to computer, video, console and tabletop gaming. When it launches, it'll become the largest venue of its type both in the country and in the southern hemisphere. If you're eager to mash buttons with your mates somewhere other than your lounge room, you'll be able to do so in this sprawling two-level spot — which'll feature more than 160 gaming PCs, several suites dedicated to consoles, an entire lounge for online gaming, four streamer pods, and an area just for role-playing and board games. If you take your favourite pastime a bit more seriously, you'll also be in the right place. As well as an esports arena with grandstand seating for 200 people, Fortress will include an esports bootcamp room, a training space, and broadcast and production facilities. At least five big screens will grace the venue's walls, playing live tournaments and international playoffs. Elsewhere, function rooms with their own computer setups will be available to hire for private events and parties — and there'll be a merchandise store onsite as well. When it comes to kicking back after a few games, the esports area will boast its own bar, while the basement will be home to a 400-square-metre tavern that'll serve both drinks and food. Whether you're a Super Smash Bros lover or a Counter Strike fiend, Fortress Melbourne aims to appeal to everyone, catering for casual gamers, competitive gamers and esports diehards, as well as families and after-work crowds. A collaboration with US-based Allied Esports, which runs venues such as Las Vegas' HyperX Esports Arena, the Melbourne facility marks the first in a planned chain of similar spots across Australia over the next few years — although no date has been given as yet for the rollout around the rest of the country. Fortress Melbourne will open at Emporium Melbourne, 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, sometime early in 2020. We'll update you with a launch date when one is announced.
Port Melbourne is set to score its own taste of the 1950s jazz scene, when sophisticated cocktail lounge Clooney Kitchen & Bar opens on Bay Street later this month. Named not for the actor, but for his famous jazz musician aunt Rosie, it's a little dose of old-world Hollywood glamour down under. Heading up the bar are Shannon McFarland (The Rochester, Woodland House) and Will Crennan (Gin Palace, Collins Quarter), who have pulled together a collection of artisanal spirits, inventive signature cocktails, craft beers from across Italy and Australia, and a tidy, yet well-travelled lineup of wine. Dialling up the luxury will be lesser known Italian liqueurs, Scotch tasting trays and George Clooney's own Casamigos tequila. Meanwhile, McFarland's house-made liqueurs promise to add a unique edge to your drinking sessions. To match, Head Chef Leigh Stanicic (Melbourne Wine Room, The Fat Duck) has designed a menu of bar snacks and small bites drawing inspiration from across Europe and Asia, full of big, fresh flavours and boasting lots of raw dishes. Choose your own adventure, or settle in for the four-course food and cocktail degustation, a collaboration between McFarland and Stanicic. The space itself is dressed to impress, designed by Darren Kerf of Kerf Designs, with swanky plum velvet booths, art deco features and bold wallpapers full of 1950s elegance. To round out the experience, the team is matching that vintage sophistication with an old-school sense of hospitality, serving drinks carefully customised to guests' palates, and respecting the classics, while also embracing the new and innovative. Find Clooney Kitchen & Bar at 171 Bay Street, Port Melbourne, from late August.
Melbourne's newest after-hours pop-up isn't at a pub, an underground club, or even some repurposed warehouse space. Nope, the soon-to-launch Nocturnal event series is happening at a venue you've probably only ever seen in the light of day: Melbourne Museum. From July 7, the first Friday of each month will see the museum's exhibition spaces transformed into an after-dark playground, as Nocturnal swaps the school-uniformed tour groups for crowds of music-loving partygoers. Expect a space primed for Friday night revelry, complete with pop-up bars slinging cocktails, roving entertainers and spot talks from some of the museum's curators. Plus, there will be plenty of killer tunes, with a main stage set up in front of the Forest Gallery. It's all kicking off with quite the bang, too — the first of the Friday night festivities will showcase live sounds from nine-piece outfit, Dorsal Fins, and a DJ set courtesy of Jakubi. Nocturnal will take over Melbourne Museum from 6–11pm, on the first Friday of each month, starting July 7. Early Bird tickets are available here for $25, or at the door for $35.
Mount Buller's après-ski scene is about to become more vibrant than ever, as renowned hospitality group Tommy Collins heads to the slopes for a four-weekend season. Presented across exclusive dining events and gastronomic street parties, several Melbourne-based culinary hotshots will bring a little more warmth to the snow, taking over the beloved mountainside venues, Villager and Little Villager. Transporting their pots and pans to the summit, Grant Smillie (Marmont), Jason Jones (Entrecôte) and Frank Camorra (MoVida) will host a series of intimate, ticketed dinners, with each restaurant moving into the venue for a one-weekend-only dinner. Expect each session to ease into the evening with canapes and cocktails on The Villager Deck from 5.30pm. Then, the soiree moves inside for a seated feast guided by alpine flair, top-tier drinks and curated live entertainment that takes the mountainside ambience up a notch. With more dates to be announced, the festivities kick off on Thursday, June 5–Saturday, June 7, with Grant Smillie's California-inspired Marmont, featuring winter-warming dishes like slow-cooked lamb shoulder and a chocolate chip cookie with cognac ice cream. Next, MoVida takes over with innovative Spanish cuisine from Friday, August 1–Saturday, August 2, serving an expansive menu including smoked Skull Island prawns, roasted suckling pig and, of course, hot churros dipped in rich chocolate sauce. Finally, Prahran's Entrecôte arrives on Friday, August 15–Saturday, August 16, with its legendary steak frites, profiteroles au chocolat and all-around chic Parisian cuisine. With more to be revealed, each dinner is limited to just 120 guests per night, while diverse beverage programs will showcase standout wines, signature serves and cheeky surprises. With the owners of these restaurants a surprisingly musical bunch, you might just catch Jones tickling the ivories and Smillie in the DJ booth. Yet dinner is only one part of the reason to head to the alps. Après-Ski Street Parties will also shut down Mount Buller's Bourke Street every Thursday for an open-air celebration of cocktails, culture and connection. Think boozy sessions featuring curated drinks and icy alpine shooters set against world-class DJs spinning tunes from midday to golden hour. Slide into stylish outdoor lounges, soak up the open-air mountainside mood and break out your most glamorous après-ski outfit, as 200 revellers heat up the slopes. For those keen to get their winter started in the best way possible, Tommy Collins has put together the free but ticketed 'Party for the People' over the King's Birthday long weekend. Presented by Grant Smillie and friends, the snowfields will become a private playground from 1pm–5pm on Thursday, June 5, as this all-out alpine celebration combines live DJs with California-style eats and pyro-led performances. Tommy Collins' Mount Buller series kicks off on Thursday, June 5. Head to the website for more information.
The focus of yoga trends seems to be constantly changing — from beer yoga to hip hop yoga and rooftop yoga to farmside yoga, we thought we'd seen it all. Now, Dubai's Atlantis The Palm is bringing 'underwater' yoga onto the scene. Before you think about holding your breath while doing a submerged upward dog, the class isn't quite as complicated — or as cool — as it sounds. The yoga course is not held in the water, but instead it takes place inside a tank-like room called the Ambassador Lagoon. The Lagoon sits within the resort's Lost Chambers Aquarium, a 17-hectare openair marine habitat that boasts over 65,000 sea creatures within a massive maze of underwater corridors and passageways. The 250-plus salt and fresh water species include sharks, eels, rays and piranhas, as well as hundreds of exotic fish. That's a whole lot of marine life on call to sit audience to your meditation. The all-levels, 20-person class runs every Tuesday and Friday. Each ticket includes a yoga mat, bottle of water and valet parking, which we guess is what puts the price up at 120 Dirham (around $44 AUD). The lavishness of the course is no surprise coming from this 46-hectare luxury resort. Being in a darkened room surrounded by shimmering water and peacefully floating sea animals does sound quite relaxing, and, although there won't be any actual underwater feats involved, we don't think it would be quite as calming in practice anyway. Post-yoga, there's always the 18 million litres of fresh water which powers waterslides, river rides, tidal waves and pools to entertain yourself with. Underwater yoga is held at Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai. If you're heading there any time soon, visit their website for more information and bookings.
Everyone loves travelling overseas. No one loves the actual travel part. From airport queues to uncomfortable plane seats to lost baggage, getting from A to B is the ordeal you have to endure before the fun begins. Enter Elon Musk, and a plan to change that. In Adelaide for the International Astronautical Conference, the South African entrepreneur advised that he foresees next-generation spacecraft not only ferrying people beyond the earth, but across it as well. With his SpaceX company currently readying a rocket-powered trip around the moon in 2018, and preparing to head to Mars in 2022 and 2024, he wants to be able to use the same types of vessels to journey between continents. It all hinges upon the BFR — or "Big Fucking Rocket" — that's currently in development, and is being designed for multiple uses. Musk said that he envisions the system taking both crew and cargo into space, and then helping folks hop around the globe at 27,000 kilometres per hour. In an Instagram post after his speech, he explained that it would take 30 minutes to fly to most places and 60 minutes at most — all for the same full-fare price as current economy airline tickets. https://www.instagram.com/p/BZnVfWxgdLe/?hl=en&taken-by=elonmusk As futuristic as it might sound now, if anyone can make it a reality, it's probably Musk. He has already promised to revolutionise journeying between cities and across continents thanks to his Hyperloop system, a high-speed vacuum transport setup that'll never stop sounding like a sci-fi movie come to life. And, in preparation for SpaceX's rocket jaunts, he has also sent a zero gravity espresso machine to space. Travel and caffeine go hand-in-hand, after all. Via the ABC / Dezeen. Image: SpaceX.
Just about everyone has a friend or relative who would describe themselves as a "struggling artist". For this most beleaguered of professions, the frustrations of the world's most competitive and highly lucrative industry often turns "struggling artists" into "failed artists". Pippin Barr, one such dejected artist, has found a most unusual way of channelling his grievances and disillusionment with the art world: a part-personal, part-satirical, and entirely addictive online video game, Art Game. The monochromatic, 8-bit game takes place in the cutthroat, dog-eat-dog world of the New York City visual art scene. Players choose between three contemporary artists as their avatar: minimalist painter Cicero Sassoon (with his reference-heavy name), Russian sculptor Alexandra Tertanov, and video artists William Edge and Susan Needle. Within a style of gameplay modelled on the classic video games of Snake, Tetris, and Space Invaders, your task is then to create a piece of art worthy of display in an upcoming show at New York's legendary Museum of Modern Art. Your path to artistic glory is a far from smooth one, however, as before you can have your work showcased you must get past the deliciously snooty MoMA curator. The curator's selection of which of your artworks (if any) make the cut seems to be based on a fairly arbitrary and even random set of criteria, in a quite pointed dig at how "good art" is selected and endorsed within the art scene, with decisions handed down in a series of cliche-enriched tirades (another beautiful touch from Barr). The game is filled to the brim with knowing references to the art scene, from the inane chatter of the MoMA visitors to the stereotypical studio apartments of the artists. It is these details that transform the game from not simply being a form of light-hearted procrastination but also a very clever and totally unique piece of satire. The surprisingly heartbreaking experience of being told that your work is not up to scratch provides a fresh understanding of just how brutal and controlled the art scene can be. To see if you have what it takes to be counted amongst New York's artistic elite, click here to play Art Game. Via Hyperallergic.
If holidaying at sea sounds like your kind of vacation, then cruise ships boast plenty of attractions, including scenic journeys across the ocean, buffet meals, booze and a plethora of spots to laze by — or in — a pool. But there's one thing they haven't featured until now: onboard roller coasters. That's about to change thanks to one cruise ship company. Come 2020, Carnival Cruise Line will debut its Mardi Gras vessel, which will include a 240-metre electric roller coaster called Bolt. The ride will soar nearly 60 metres above sea level, using a two-rider, motorcycle-style vehicle. And, it'll navigate twists, turns and drops at speeds of almost 65 kilometres per hour. Basically, the vessel upgrades cruise ships from floating resorts to floating theme parks — so if you've ever visited Luna Park, Dreamworld or Funfields and wished that all of their attractions were on a boat, now you're in luck. If you're keen on the idea but not so fond of the zooming speed, you'll be pleased to know that the latter is adjustable. No matter how fast you choose to go, you'll have your photo taken mid-ride like on most coasters. Named after the cruise line's first ever ship from back in 1972, the 5200-passenger Mardi Gras will be based out of Port Canaveral in Florida — and just where the vessel's itinerary will take it, and how much a trip will cost, has all yet to be revealed. The company also has two other ships with SkyRide attractions, which involve pedalling around a suspended course in a go-mobile, as well as liners with water slides and aerial ropes courses. For more information, visit the Carnival Cruise Line website. Image: Carnival Cruise Line.
Osamah Sami has had an interesting life. Born in Iran to Iraqi parents, by the time he was a teenager he'd survived conflict and war, sold fireworks on the Iranian black market and run afoul of the country's religious police. Things didn't get any less complicated after his family emigrated to Australia, with Sami faking his Year 12 result so he could get into medicine, and later escaping an arranged marriage by literally running away on his wedding day. If that last part sounds familiar, it's because it was the plot of his recent film Ali's Wedding (one of our favourites of 2017). And we suspect it might come up in his latest project, a stage adaptation of his autobiographical novel Good Muslim Boy. On stage at the Malthouse Theatre from February 9 until March 11, the play chronicles Sami's extraordinary life as well as the struggles he faced trying to bring his father's body back to Australia after he died on a trip to Iran. Image: Zan Wimberley.
Before you complete that huge spring clean, chucking out all the 'useless junk' that is taking up space, stop and think for a second if it could be transformed into something of use. Upcycling is all about using old materials to create new, useful and often beautiful products. These pieces of upcycled furniture have taken pieces of trash and turned them into treasure, with inventive designs that will be sure to get you rummaging through your storage or local warehouses. Milk Crate Staircase Danish architecture firm Lendager Arkitekter created this milk crate staircase as a key feature of their million dollar 'Upcycled House', and is made entirely from milk boxes and OBD boards. Washing Machine Drum Stools Knit Knacks is the new range from the designers Junk Munkez - creative designers with a green conscience - located in Beirut. These nifty little creations emerged from washing machine drums to create colourful and fun embroidered stools. Ski Chandelier Helsinki-based travel agency Elamysmatkat were searching for an interior design that reflected their philosophy that snow travel should be fun and daring. Enter Dutch designer Willem Heeffer, who created this chandelier, created from skis donated by Heeffer's Facebook friends and fans. Magazine Stool This innovative design, The Hockenheimer by German company NJU Studio, provides an original piece of seating from a stack of old magazines. Sea Chair British designers Studio Swine collect plastic from the UK's most polluted beach, Porthtowan, and compress this waste to create a series of beautiful and functional Sea Chairs. Nautical Mat Sophie Aschauer founded SerpentSea in 2011 after a sailing trip in which she started weaving mats by hand out of reclaimed marine ropes. The mats use four style of knots each named after the most infamous pirates from the 17th Century - Bonnie, Drake, Morgan and Killigrew. Suitcase Medicine Cabinet Give an old suitcase new purpose by hanging one up on your bathroom wall and transforming it into a medicine cabinet. Add some shelves inside and a mirror on the outside and you've got yourself a fancy wall feature to store your toiletries in. Watering Can Shower Jazz up your shower to make the daily ritual more exciting with an old watering can. The Interweb Chair The Interweb Chair comes from BRC Designs, a studio in South Carolina fronted by mastermind Benjamin Rollins Caldwell. The 1cm blue plastic sheets that frame the chair were originally bathroom dividers in an old mill. Binary Table The Binary Table is an assemblage of old computer and electronic parts that were discarded in a warehouse and rendered obsolete. The table is decked out with motherboards, CDs, computer chips, hard disc drives and LED screens held together by sheet metal screws.
If your 2021 plans could use a little colour and liveliness from one of the best artists that ever lived, you're in luck — because the Art Gallery of NSW is delivering exactly that as part of its newly announced 2021 program. For four months from November 2021–March 2022, the Sydney venue will host the huge Matisse: Life & Spirit, Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou, Paris exhibition. It'll feature more than 100 of Henri Matisse's pieces spanning six decades of his artistry, it's only heading to Sydney and it'll mark the greatest single exhibition of his masterworks that's ever graced the NSW capital. Whether you're keen on Matisse's early efforts, including from his Fauvist phase, or you're more fascinated with how his talents progressed over his considerable career, you'll see something suiting your interests on display — with the exhibition running from November 22, 2021–March 13, 2022. Standouts include Le Luxe I 1907, if you're after one of his first pieces; Decorative figure on an ornamental ground 1925, from the middle of his career; and The sorrow of the king 1952, a self-portrait. If it all sounds a bit familiar, that's because it was originally due to happen in 2020 as part of AGNSW's Sydney International Art Series, but was postponed for obvious reasons. 2021 is now shaping up to be a great year for Australians to see European masterpieces, with Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra also showcasing works from the region — but only AGNSW will solely focus on Matisse. As well as Matisse's paintings, sculptures and cut-outs — all from the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which boasts quite the collection — AGNSW will also be hosting Matisse Alive, which'll reflect upon Matisse in a modern context. The gallery-wide event will kick off in October 2021, letting art lovers indulge in a free festival of Matisse. Think: art, music, performances and dance, all delving into his life, his creations and how his works have inspired artists today. Textile environments, huge paintings and video works are all on the lineup, including by artists such as Nina Chanel Abney, Sally Smart, Angela Tiatia and Robin White. [caption id="attachment_794669" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Henri Matisse. 'Blue nude II (Nu bleu II)' 1952. Gouache on paper, cut and pasted, on white paper, mounted on canvas, 116.2 x 88.9 cmCentre Pompidou. Musée national d'art moderne AM1984-276. Photo © Service de la documentation photographique du MNAM Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI /Dist RMN-GP. © Succession H Matisse/Copyright Agency.[/caption] Obviously, AGNSW won't be empty for the rest of the year, before all things Matisse hit. Back in mid-2020, it revealed its blockbuster summer 2020–21 exhibitions, so you might already be familiar with Streeton, Pat Larter: Get Axed, Archie Plus, Khaled Sabsabi: A Promise, Real Worlds: Dobell Australian Drawing Biennale 2020 and Joy. Joining them on the full 2021 agenda: the also previously postponed Margel Hinder and The Purple House exhibitions; the food focused The Way We Eat; and Brett Whiteley: Printmaker, featuring Whiteley's lithographs, etchings, linocuts and silkscreen prints. Or, you can scope out Longing for Home, which'll feature works by six Aboriginal artists; and The National 2021: New Australian Art, which will hero pieces from 39 emerging, mid-career and established Australian artists. [caption id="attachment_789423" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Installation view of the 'Streeton' exhibition at Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. Photo: Jenni Carter, AGNSW.[/caption] And yes, after 2020's delays, the Archibald, Wynne and Suleman Prizes are back as well, with the corresponding exhibition displaying from June–September 2021. There's an added bonus, too, with AGNSW also hosting a 100-year-anniversary look at the Archibald. Matisse: Life & Spirit, Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou, Paris will display at the Art Gallery of NSW, in Sydney, from November 22, 2021–March 13, 2022. Matisse Alive will run from October 2021–2. For more information — including about AGNSW's full 2021 lineup — visit the Art Gallery of NSW website. Top images: Sally Smart. 'The choreography of cutting' 2017. © Sally Smart. Photo: Fajar Riyanto, installation view OFCA, Yogyakarta. Henri Matisse. 'The sorrow of the king (La tristesse du roi)' 1952. Gouache on paper, cut and pasted, mounted on canvas, 292 x 386 cm. Centre Pompidou. Musée national d'art moderne AM3279P. Photo © Philippe Migeat - Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI /Dist RMN-GP. © Succession H Matisse/Copyright Agency. Nina Chanel Abney. 'Seized the Imagination', Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, New York, 9 November 9 – 20 December 20, 2017. © Nina Chanel Abney. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Playing with light and meticulously showing attention to detail are the biggest lessons to learn from this year's Australian Interior Design Awards. Entering its 11th year as one of Australia's premier design events, the Design Institute of Australia-backed awards handed their highest hospitality accolades to Melbourne's light-filled coffee roasters and Penfolds' stunning flagship outside of Adelaide. Competition was fierce for the Hospitality Design award, with commendations given to Melbourne's Chinese spot Ruyi and Canberra's sleek bakery bar A. Baker. Among the 31 shortlisted entrants were Woolloomooloo's Riley Street Garage, Surry Hills' Single Origin Roasters, Brunswick warehouse venue Howler, rustic Manly spot Donny's Bar, Prahran's Japanese gem Mr Miyagi, the new Sydney CBD chapter of The Local Bar, Bondi's groundbreaking Sensory Lab, buzzing live music venue Newtown Social Club, Degraves St's elegant cafe The Quarter, Southbank Japanese restaurant Gochi and more new additions to the Australian bar and restaurant family. But there can only be two top dogs. Taking out the award for Hospitality Design, Fitzroy's Industry Beans was applauded for turning a factory shell into a light-filled, timber-clad cafe and specialty coffee roastery. "The use of the ubiquitous timber pallet creates a strong and defined interior," said the jury citation. "The pallets give the cafe an overall industrial aesthetic and add a surprising amount of warmth to the design." Use of light won the jury over in the end, with winning design firm Figure Ground Architecture's louvres letting in the final votes for the top spot. "The quality of light in what could have been a dark and dreary space shows a consideration of the connection between the interior and the exterior," said the jury. "The designers have exhibited a simple and clear concept that has realized the interior’s true potential while weaving it into surrounding street life." South Australia's Penfolds' flagship Magill Estate Restaurant took out the restaurant top spot in the Hospitality Design category, with the jury applauding Melbourne-based archtiect Pascale Gomes-McNabb's All Boxes Ticked finish. "Beautiful lighting, sophisticated use of colour and a thoughtful composition of elements create a delightful and intriguing interior at Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant," said the jury, praising Gomes-McNabb's attention to detail, custom furniture and bespoke glass lighting. "The designer has tailored shapes and forms specifically to the space, creating a refreshing take on a winery restaurant." Co-presented by the Design Institute of Australia, designEX and Artichoke magazine, this year's awards saw more than 400 projects entered; increasing the entrants by 11 per cent from last year. Event manager Jacinta Reedy told The Australian that back to basics was highly favoured this year. “The jury recognised in these projects’ new directions in interior design, including clever use of raw materials, a love of simplicity and restrained approach to design,” she said. Check out the rest of the Australian Interior Design Awards winners over here.
Next time that you grab a drink in Melbourne or Sydney, you might want to get sipping at one of the globe's top watering holes. Those must-visit spots: Melbourne's Caretaker's Cottage and Sydney's Re, which just nabbed rankings in 2022 version of The World's 50 Best Bars extended 51–100 list. Each year, The World's 50 Best Bars does exactly what its name says, picking the best 50 bars on the planet — and 2022's top 50 will be announced on Tuesday, October 4 in Barcelona. But why stop at 50? This ranking doesn't, despite its moniker. That's where the longlist comes in, throwing some love at the next 50 venues worth checking out. [caption id="attachment_871415" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Caretaker's Cottage[/caption] Little Lonsdale Street's Caretaker's Cottage came in at 60th spot, and marked its first year in the list — while Re, Matt Whiley (Scout) and Maurice Terzini's low-waste bar in South Eveleigh, took out 87th position. For the latter, it marks a slip from 46th place in 2021, after opening last year. Caretaker's Cottage and Re are the only Australian bars to make the cut so far — sorry, folks in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and the rest of the country — with the 51–100 list including tipple-serving spots from 32 different cities in 25 countries, complete with 15 new entries scoring a place. The location with the most must-visit bars in this secondary rundown? Singapore, with eight; however, spots chosen elsewhere include bars in first-timers Kraków, Bratislava, Manchester, Playa Del Carmen and Bogotá as well. [caption id="attachment_871414" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Re[/caption] When the full list drops — being announced outside of London for the first time — here's hoping that Australia is well-represented. In 2021, Sydney's Maybe Sammy took out 22nd place, with The Rocks' venue making the top 50 list for the third year in a row. Fellow Sydneysider Cantina OK! came in at number 23 last year, Melbourne's Above Board earned a spot at number 44 and the aforementioned Re placed, too. In 2021's longlist, Melbourne's Byrdi nabbed 56th spot. Watch this space — we'll run through the winners of the World's 50 Best Bars 2022 list when they're announced next week. [caption id="attachment_871416" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Re[/caption] And yes, if you choose where to drink and eat based on these kinds of rankings, you've got a few spots to visit. So far this year, Melbourne's Gimlet at Cavendish House made The World's Top 100 Restaurant longlist for 2022, while Sydney's Josh Niland placed in 78th spot at The Best Chef Awards 2022. For the full 51–100 list of the World's 50 Best Bars for 2022 (and past years' lists), see the website. The top 50 rankings will be revealed from 8.15pm GMT on Tuesday, October 4 via Facebook and YouTube.
If you've ever needed a positive example of how one night can change everything, just chat to Nema Adel. He had no intention of becoming an artist. In fact, he had just completed a university degree in a completely unrelated field when he went to a Flying Lotus performance at the Sydney Opera House that sparked a new passion for real-time digital art. Four and a half years on, Adel is now a sought-after digital artist who has created activations for festivals such as Liveworks and Vivid. He is also one of the visionary artists to team up with Miller Design Lab in 2020 to celebrate our nightlife and its impact on culture to deliver exceptional moments to you and your home. Deciding to forge a career in a relatively new — and quite niche — artistic field has meant Adel's path has been anything but traditional, so Concrete Playground sat down with the artist to discuss his creative process. Read on to discover how he seeks inspiration and the importance of nightlife to his art, then check out the video above to see him in action. In addition to the Flying Lotus gig, Adel pinpoints one other serendipitous moment that propelled his career. At his first ever event in 2016, which involved digital projections on a bank of trees over a river, Adel met an artist from Germany who liked his work. What followed was a six-month stint touring Germany and Austria doing shows. "And that was my education," he says. Adel explains that because digital art is such a new and ever-evolving art form he is mostly self-taught. "If I go on Google, I won't get any answers to the things I want to know, because nobody has really done it before," he says. Instead, Adel relies on connecting with others around the world who work in similar artistic spaces, particularly through Instagram, to share ideas, new techniques and advice. In particular, he notes San Francisco-based company All Of It Now and its Creative Director Kev Zhu, who shares tutorials online and has worked with Drake on custom projections for arena tours, as a key source of inspiration and knowledge sharing. But mostly, "it's just loads of experimentation. Unlike fine arts and classical arts, where [there is a] technique that we've perfected over hundreds of years." Customisation is present throughout Adel's entire process. "The design mainly happens on the computer, but I don't know how that actually looks unless I set up the projection and understand it in reality. Then, I'll take it back to the computer, then back to reality, and keep ping-ponging back and forth." For that reason, Adel doesn't really have a traditional workspace. He has a studio at Marrickville's Create Or Die, a creative hub filled with artists that he loves to bounce ideas off or collaborate with, including graffiti artist Iro Kitamura. "He might be painting murals and I'll be projecting onto the mural painting. I really enjoy it as I don't have those fine art skills," he says. Adel also likes that his work takes him out and about. "I love my style of work so much because the space changes — different venues and different galleries — and that'll always inform how you're going to work." And he mostly works at night. "On the most basic level, I cannot do my craft in the middle of the day… the natural light will wash out my projection light. Without the nighttime, I don't have a craft." Beyond that, he acknowledges the symbiotic relationship art and nightlife have: "I work in a lot of events and I was able to keep practising through the nightlife that we have — whether it's working with musical artists or exhibitions. If you have an extensive nightlife, [artists] can keep rolling and keep becoming better". Of course, much of that has changed in the past few months due to restrictions on public gatherings. Adel has had many jobs cancelled and has made the decision to temporarily move out of his Marrickville studio for safety reasons. Though he knows many other creatives are trying to keep up the collaboration and creativity in this time, he isn't. For someone who believes that "creativity is a mirror" and will reflect the artist's mood or current situation, it makes sense that he'd prefer to pause on creating for now. "I've consciously decided to use this as a bit more of a rest period, and that's partly due to the fact that there is a lot less inspiration in my life at the moment," he explains. Instead, he is viewing this time as a "study period" by doing some online tutorials, perfecting techniques and keeping up to date on the software tools he relies on. But when normal life resumes and he is ready to boost what he calls his creativity "metre" again, Adel has a few tried and tested techniques for seeking inspiration. "Travelling or seeing a new place and taking photos — that'll always bring new ideas to me," he says. He also mentions going out to see live music as a huge influence, naming Freda's in Chippendale and Camelot Lounge in Marrickville as his go-tos. "When there are events on with artists from other countries, I love it. I have no idea what to expect… but their art has been formed in a different way. You want to get as many perspectives as you possibly can under your belt. "I'm also very inspired by the Studio Ghibli films…. They've managed to create rich stories from imagery, and I think for me that is the ultimate goal: not just creating things that look nice, but things which convey meaning. That's hopefully what I aim for in the next ten years." For more, check out Nema's collaboration with Miller Genuine Draft here. For more ways to celebrate your city's nightlife and recreate its energy in your own space, head this way. Images: Reuben Gibbes
2023 might be mere weeks in, but it's already the year of Pedro Pascal. His new HBO series, a spectacular adaptation of hit video game The Last of Us, has just started airing — and it's already one of the best new shows of this year. And, come autumn, he'll be back bounty hunting and hanging out with Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian season three as well. Hanging out for more of Disney+'s space western? Keen on another dose of Pascal as Din Djarin? Can't wait to see the adorable Grogu again? The new season will start streaming from Wednesday, March 1, and has finally unveiled its full trailer in the interim. Pascal narrates the just-dropped sneak peek, explaining that being a Mandalorian isn't just about learning how to fight, but also about being able to navigate the galaxy. Mando, as he should definitely be nicknamed, is also off to Mandalore to be forgiven for his transgressions — although, as viewers of the show so far will know, and just of all things Star Wars in general, little in this galaxy far far away ever goes smoothly. Season three promises to also follow the New Republic's struggle to move past the galaxy's dark past, reunite Mando with old allies and also throw new enemies his way. And, of course, to have Grogu back by his side, as viewers love. There's also multiple bounty hunters, and "may the force be with you" is indeed uttered in the new trailer. The Mandalorian's latest batch of episodes will arrive more than two years after the show streamed its second season back in late 2020, and after 2022's first season of Andor just became Star Wars' best TV series yet. If you've somehow missed it before now, the Emmy-nominated show follows the titular bounty hunter (Pascal, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent); however, it's his encounter with a fuzzy little creature first known as The Child, affectionately named Baby Yoda by everyone watching, and officially called Grogu, that's always had everyone talking. So, it comes as zero surprise that one of the Star Wars universe's best-ever double acts keeps being pushed into the spotlight — including when The Mandalorian dropped its first season-three trailer a few months back, and in this new glimpse. Check out the full trailer for The Mandalorian season three below: The Mandalorian's third season will hit Disney+ on Wednesday, March 1. Images: ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Memorable moments in David Wnendt's Wetlands include, but are not limited to: the swapping of home-made tampons, the use of an avocado seed as a masturbatory aid, multiple self-inflicted rectal injuries and an extended sequence of four men ejaculating onto a pizza, in 300-style slow-motion, all to the strains of Strauss' Blue Danube. If any of that sounds appealing, read on. An adaptation of Charlotte's Roche's controversial (and highly successful) 2008 novel of the same name, Wetlands concerns the escapades of 18-year-old Helen Memel — played with infectious, smart-alecky charm by newcomer Carla Juri. And boy, do we mean infectious. Proudly describing herself as a "living pussy hygiene experiment", Helen abhors personal cleanliness, and believes that the unique musk that emanates from her nether regions makes her impossible for men to resist. Early on in the film, an unfortunately anal shaving accident lands Helen in the hospital. Although annoyed at being bed-ridden, our heroine finds a silver lining in realising that the incident represents the perfect chance of getting her divorced parents in the same room together — at which point she's positive sparks will fly. In the meantime, she's perfectly content to flirt with her handsome nurse Robin (Christoph Letkowski) and reminisce about her various sexual and scatological adventures. There's no skirting around it: Wetlands is gross. But that certainly doesn't mean that it isn't entertaining. From as early as the opening credit sequence — a Fight Club-inspired tour through the untamed ecosystem of a pube on a public toilet seat — Wnendt's direction is loaded with energy and style. The soundtrack — a mix of German rock and pop music — has a similarly upbeat rhythm, and suits Helen's rebellious outlook to a tee. Indeed, while her behaviour will frequently have you hiding behind your hands, Helen's unshakably non-conformist attitude makes her an easy protagonist to like. As already mentioned, Juri's performance is terrific, while Letkowski is adorable as her hunky but mild-mannered beau. There's something delightfully twisted about the fact that Wetlands ends up boiling down to what is basically a standard girl-meets-boy story arc. Except that instead of chocolates and flowers, the key to Helen's heart are her own surgically removed haemorrhoids in a jar. Thankfully, whenever the film starts threatening to get romantic or, God forbid, sensual, Wnendt pulls the rug out with another revolting X-rated moment, reminding us just how unappealing the human body can be. Which is, of course, entirely the point. As Helen succinctly puts it, if you think bodily fluids are gross, you should just forget about sex altogether. Believe it not, Wetlands ends up making some pretty salient points about both society's unreasonable expectations of female beauty, as well as the unfair double standards surrounding sex. That it does so while squeezing in a POV close-up of someone applying ointment to their own asshole just makes it that much harder to ignore.
The place: earth in the near future. The situation: a frozen planet chilling at a frosty -119 degrees celsius, as caused by humanity's attempts to combat climate change. The only solution: a constantly hurtling 1001-car train that plays host to the world's only remaining people. But, instead of banding together on the speeding locomotive, the residents of Snowpiercer have transported society's class structure into the carriages of their new home. That's the story that drives Snowpiercer — on both the big screen and on TV. First came Bong Joon-ho's 2013 film, which marked the acclaimed South Korean writer/director's first English-language film, and one of the movies that brought him to broader fame before Netflix's Okja and 2019's Cannes Palme d'Or-winning and Oscar-winning Parasite. Then, unsurprisingly, came a US-made television series, which was first announced back in 2016, and then finally started speeding across screens — including Down Under, where it's available via Netflix — from May 2020. In both forms, Snowpiercer boasts a smart, immersive and all-too-timely concept — and unpacks its underlying idea in a thrilling and involving manner. While the TV version isn't as stellar as Bong's film (because, honestly, how could it be?), it takes the same dystopian concept, heightens the suspense and drama, and serves up both a class warfare-fuelled survivalist thriller and a murder-mystery. Think constant twists, reveals and reversals, cliffhangers at the end of almost every scene, and a 'Murder on the Snowpiercer Express' kind of vibe. Indeed, it's very addictive — and, ahead of its season two premiere on Tuesday, January 26 on Netflix, the streaming platform has dropped the full trailer for the show's next batch of episodes Once again, Hamilton's Tony Award-winning Daveed Diggs leads the charge, playing an ex-detective who has spent seven years in the tail end of the train and is dedicated to overthrowing the status quo to achieve equality for all. Also aboard is Jennifer Connelly as the engine's all-seeing, ever-present head of hospitality, with the likes of Frances Ha's Mickey Sumner, Slender Man's Annalise Basso and The Americans' Alison Wright all part of Snowpiercer's new world order as well. And, as first teased last year, Snowpiercer's existing cast are all facing a significant change in the second season. They're about to meet a new adversary, as played by none other than Game of Thrones' Sean Bean. Just how long he'll survive in his latest role is something you can start pondering right now. Watch the full Snowpiercer season two trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yZatBxIqVk Snowpiercer's second season will hit Netflix Down Under from Tuesday, January 26 — dropping new episodes weekly. Top image: David Bukach.
There'd better be room for another social network in your life, because today Twitter has launched new iPhone app Vine. Looking for more than filters and still images? Long to be the star of your own gifs? It's with you in mind that Vine is made, as it allows for the filming and sharing of videos up to six seconds long, complete with sound. The Twitter ethos of 'short is better' could be just the quality that makes this something we want to play with. First impressions show it to be a nice-looking app, with easy-to-use editing and options that allow you to explore the videos of others as well as integrate yours with existing social networks. Of course, that integration varies depending on which network you're talking. In Twitter, the videos embed seamlessly in your feed, even playing automatically as you scroll past them. Thoughtfully, sound is included if you're browsing on your mobile but not on your computer, so there won't be any of that frantic flicking through tabs trying to find where unsolicited noise is coming from. In Facebook, however, you won't have any sound, because you won't have video — just a still and a link you have to click to be taken through to the video. (You can embed the videos in other sites, too, but there are a few steps to the process.) It seems childish, but at least Twitter can say Facebook started it, when it first pulled the option for you to find Twitter contacts on Facebook-owned Instagram and then stopped Instagram shares embedding in Twitter feeds, so that somewhere along the line, we users have to click more links and do more waiting for stuff to load. And while Twitter may have tried to extend the hand of friendship (or appear as if doing so) by allowing you to search for and add your Facebook contacts, as of writing, that function isn't working. We got an enigmatic error message, but investigation by the Verge suggests that it's Facebook doing the blocking. So while Vine looks like a promising new diversion, it's also another irritating chapter in the Facebook versus Twitter wars, with users as collateral damage. Vine is currently available for free in the iTunes store. Right now it's iOS only, but we've got to assume an Android version at least is on the way.
Is the type of film festival that dedicates an afternoon and evening to a killer clown your type of film festival? If so, you should be excited about Monster Fest's return. In just a few short years, the Terrifier movies have become horror must-sees if you can't get enough of slashers splashing about gore aplenty. With the latest flick in the franchise on the way, Monster Fest is screening all three Terrifier titles, old and new — so, giving audiences an extended date with Art the Clown — as a key part of its 2024 program. The Australian premiere of Terrifier 3 will follow the OG Terrifier and first sequel Terrifier 2 on Saturday, October 5 in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. This year's Monster Fest is the first time that the event is running concurrently in all of its locations. The festival kicks off on Friday, October 4 in all five cities, running until Sunday, October 6 everywhere except Melbourne, where it finishes on Saturday, October 12. While getting creeped out by cinema's most-sadistic clown is a big Monster Fest 2024 drawcard, it's The Rule of Jenny Pen from Coming Home in the Dark filmmaker James Ashcroft that's the event's opening-night pick. At the other end of the festival, horror-comedy Frankie Freako by Psycho Goreman's Steven Kostanski is in the closing slot. Both pictures embrace puppets, the first with help from John Lithgow (Killers of the Flower Moon) and the second featuring a dancing goblin. Other highlights playing in all cities include the latest Hellboy movie, Hellboy: The Crooked Man, which heads back to the 1950s; Azrael, as led by Australian actor Samara Weaving (Scream VI), and telling of a woman's attempt to escape from mute zealots; New Zealand body-horror film Grafted; and documentary Generation Terror, which focuses on the horror genre from the late-90s to mid-00s. Some flicks are only playing a few locations, such as Occupation Rainfall filmmaker Luke Sparke's new film Scurry — plus Waves of Madness from The FP's Jason Trost, which brings sidescrolling to the cinema. Unsurprisingly given that it's on there for longer, Melbourne also has a number of exclusives such as Estonia's action-horror-musical-comedy Chainsaws Were Singing, French black comedy Ultimate Chabite, documentary Children of the Wicker Man, and retrospective sessions of The Final Destination 3D and Critters. Scurry and Waves of Madness are just two of the Australian movies on the bill, too. The former is on the program in Brisbane and Melbourne, the second in Sydney and Melbourne, and they have company in various locations. That's where fellow homegrown titles States of Mind (Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney), Fear Below (everywhere except Perth), An American Masquerade (Melbourne only) and Freelance (also just Melbourne) come in — ensuring that this Aussie genre fest embraces the genre at home. Monster Fest 2024 Dates Friday, October 4–Saturday, October 12 — Cinema Nova, Melbourne Friday, October 4–Sunday, October 6 — Event Cinemas Burwood, Sydney Friday, October 4–Sunday, October 6 — Event Cinemas Uptown, Brisbane Friday, October 4–Sunday, October 6 — Event Cinemas Marion, Adelaide Friday, October 4–Sunday, October 6 — Event Cinemas Innaloo, Perth Monster Fest 2024 runs throughout October around Australia. Head to the festival's website for further details.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations — giving you a little inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we take you to the multi-award-winning Saffire Freycinet on Tasmania's East Coast. We've also teamed up with Saffire Freycinet to offer an unforgettable two-night stay in one of its Luxury Suites. The exclusive deal includes three meals at the private restaurants, complimentary lounge and minibar beverages and a $100 voucher to use on the hotel's spa treatments and signature experiences. This is peak treat-yourself stuff. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? This Tassie hotel is like no other — from the panoramic views across the Hazards Mountains, Freycinet Peninsula and pristine waters of Great Oyster Bay to the hyper-personalised service, sleek design of the rooms and the long list of bespoke travel experiences. You'll pay handsomely to stay here, but it is totally worth it. Earmark Saffire Freycinet for the next time you're looking to spoil yourself silly. THE ROOMS This vast property has just 20 suites. Plus, the restaurant, bar and luxe spa are only accessible to hotel guests, so it often feels like you have the whole place to yourself. Each of the rooms looks out over the surrounding bay and mountains — seen through the floor-to-ceiling windows and private decks. Design-wise, the large suites are made up of an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary fittings, with locally made timber pieces sitting alongside mid-century classics such as chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames and Herman Miller. Super king beds (yes, they've super-sized the beds), double walk-in showers and deep baths, extensive complimentary mini-bars, bluetooth music systems, retractable LCD TVs, private courtyards and fast wifi are also on the menu at each accommodation. FOOD AND DRINK All things local are celebrated at Saffire Freycinet's two dining rooms. Palate Restaurant is home to an elegant degustation menu that changes every day depending on what's coming out of the nearby paddocks and waters. You always have the option to pair each course with a sustainably made Tassie wine, too. The Lounge is a little more laidback, offering up a space to chill with a book or quietly hang with your travel buddies. During the day, you can enjoy fresh local produce from the barbeque and outside terrace. And at night, the lounge livens up a little as guests mingle with evening canapes and pre-dinner drinks in hand. It's serving The White Lotus realness. THE LOCAL AREA This lavish hotel is set within Tasmania's Freycinet National Park, home to stunning vistas and a thriving local ecosystem — think koalas, roos and colourful birds rummaging around lush green forests. It is also home to some of the state's most famous beaches, mostly notably Wineglass Bay. The Saffire Freycinet team will help organise scenic flights over the area, guided hikes to some of the greatest vistas and boat trips for those wanting to sneak in some snorkelling and boat-side swimming. You can arrive at the hotel by air or via the Great Eastern Drive. During this road trip, you'll pass by several wineries with cellar doors and eateries such as Devil's Corner, Spring Vale, Craigie Knowe, Milton, and the famous Kate's Berry Farm in Swansea. Hobart is also just a 2.5-hour drive away, so you can easily stop by the city for a couple of days before or after your stay. THE EXTRAS Saffire Freycinet has won award after award for its extensive list of luxury travel experiences — easily added to any stay. Each of the 14 unique activities focuses on connecting guests to place through nature, culture and produce. You can do some beekeeping on the property, taste fresh oysters at its own oyster farm (with sparkling wine in hand, of course), join one of the small group (or private) cruises of the area, quad bike around the mountains with a guide and learn how to fly-fish in the Currawong Lakes. Follow these food, culture and adventure tours with a late afternoon spa sesh. Get a massage, scrub or facial before soaking in a bath overlooking the natural surroundings. This is an unbelievably dreamy place. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips to destinations all over the world.
Come October 2023, Disney fans Down Under can enter a whole new world, hitting the sea on the Mouse House's cruise line on its first voyages from Australia and New Zealand. Fancy sailing further afield, from Sydney to Honolulu or vice versa? In 2023 and 2024, the company is also launching its first-ever South Pacific cruises — one coming to Australia, the other heading to Hawaii. These legs are known as repositioning cruises, aka the journeys that ships take when they've finished their stints in one area and need to make their way to another for a new season. Of course, vessels don't make those trips without passengers, so if you're keen on spending a couple of weeks floating around the South Pacific surrounded by all things Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, now you can. Tickets go on sale at 8am AEDT on Thursday, October 13, with two voyages scheduled around the Mouse House's maiden 'Magic at Sea' Australian and NZ cruises: a 13-night voyage from Honolulu to Sydney departing on October 13, 2023, then a 15-night trip the other way leaving on February 16, 2024. Unsurprisingly, the 'Magic at Sea' legs between Australia and Aotearoa have proven as popular as Disney movies with, well, everyone, so expect these legs to attract plenty of interest. And yes, these lengthy South Pacific trips are only sailing to and from Sydney — so if you live elsewhere, you will need to factor that into your travels. Disney has been running cruises for nearly a quarter-century, taking fans of its ever-growing array of pop culture wares on themed vacations, all thanks to its Disney Cruise Line. Alas, setting sail to and from Down Under hasn't been a possibility until now. Onboard, you'll watch live musical shows, see Disney characters everywhere you look and eat in spaces decked out like Disney movies. Those musicals include a Frozen show; another production dedicated to the company's old-school favourites like Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Cinderella and Aladdin; and a Golden Mickeys performance, which is obviously all about Mickey Mouse. Or, there's a Mickey party set to DJ beats, nightly fireworks and a pirate shindig on the vessel's deck. The entertainment also includes Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Moana, Tiana, Cinderella, Woody, Jessie and more wandering around the ship. Plus Chewbacca, Rey, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and Thor as well, if you like hanging out around folks in costumes. The dining setup rotates, so each day of the cruise takes you to a different location with a different theme. One day, you'll hit up the Animator's Palate, which focuses on bringing Disney characters to life — including getting patrons to draw their own characters — and on the next, you'll get munching in a restaurant inspired by The Princess and the Frog, and serving up New Orleans-inspired dishes. Or, there's also Triton's, which offers an under the sea theme given it's named after Ariel's father, and serves four-course French and American suppers. For folks travelling with young Disney devotees, there's also a whole range of activities just for kids — but adults without littlies in tow are definitely catered for, complete with a dedicated pool for travellers aged 18 and over, an adults-only cafe, the Crown & Fin pub, cocktail bar Signals, Italian eatery Palo, and a day spa and salon. Room-wise, there's ten different types to choose from — some with private verandahs, and some with ocean views through portholes. Disney Cruise Line's 'Magic at Sea' cruises will sail from Honolulu to Sydney in October 2023, then from Sydney to Honolulu in February 2024, with bookings open from 8am AEDT on Thursday, October 13, 2022. For more information, head to the cruise line's website. Images: Matt Stroshane / Kent Phillips / Todd Anderson. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
For the past couple of years, Melbourne's food calendar has had a hefty gap where the Night Noodle Markets usually sit, with its smoky scents and the happy sounds of people feasting on a menu of Asian delights both absent from Birrarung Marr. We all know the reason, but thankfully 2022 will finally buck the trend — because, after an at-home version in 2021, the food festival is set to return IRL this November. Mark Thursday, November 10–Sunday, November 27 in your diary, and get ready to spend 18 spring nights tucking into a range of street food bites from hawker-style stalls. As well as confirming its return, the Night Noodle Markets has also unveiled some of its stallholders, all serving up delicious dishes to fill hungry Melbourne stomachs. On the list: perennial favourites Hoy Pinoy, Flying Noodles, May's Malaysian Hawker, Wonderbao, Gelato Messina and Twistto, mainstays of the Night Noodle Markets' tours around the country. So, that means you'll be tucking into everything from noodles and dumplings to bao and desserts, spanning options from local, interstate and nationwide eateries — and also including vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and Halal options. Also setting up shop for this year is Brendan Pang's West Australian dumpling spot Bumplings, courtesy of a Mazda x Bumplings stall. Due to the Mazda part, the dumplings will be paired with am exclusive Soul Red Crystal sauce that's inspired by Mazda's red body colour. Windsor's My Miyagi will serve up a bespoke Japanese menu, too, while Calabang's calamari, Bangkok Street Food's Thai wares and Roll Up's roti rolls are also on the lineup — with more stallholders still be be revealed. On the drinks list, there'll be a Stomping Ground Brewing Co beer garden, a Cointreau margarita kombi bar, an Aperol spritz spot and a Rekorderlig cider dome. Plus, you can get sipping without the future hangover at the Dan Murphy's Zero% Bar — following on from the bottle-o chain's alcohol-free Melbourne venue, and only serving up non-boozy beverages. Live entertainment and lion dances will go along with all of those stalls and pop-ups serving bites to eat and beverages to knock back. And, you'll be able to bring your pets along as well — there'll even be doggy noodle boxes for them to enjoy. The markets will be open from 5–9pm Monday–Tuesday, 5–10pm Wednesday–Thursday, 5–11pm on Fridays, 4–10pm Saturdays and 4–9pm on Sundays, giving you ample chances to head by. Melbourne's 2022 Night Noodle Markets will run from Thursday, November 10–Sunday, November 27 at Birrarung Marr, Melbourne. For more details, head to the Night Noodle Markets website.
If the end times were coming, and the antichrist as well, how would an angel and a demon on earth cope? That's the question that fantasy authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman explored in 1990 novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, winning awards and plenty of fans as a result. Now, what'd happen if Michael Sheen (Quiz) was that heavenly figure and David Tennant (Doctor Who) his demonic counterpart? That's exactly what the Good Omens streaming series dived into when it initially arrived back in 2019. Four years later, the Prime Video show is finally returning for season two. With Sheen back as Aziraphale and Tennant as Crowley, that key casting remains intact. Jon Hamm (Confess, Fletch) also returns as Gabriel, this time showing up at Aziraphale's bookshop with zero memory of who he is — sparking the show's new mystery. Cue hiding the archangel from all interested parties — below and above — and, as is Good Omens' custom, getting Aziraphale and Crowley leaning on each other. Cue jumping from before The Beginning through to modern times as well, including stops in the biblical and Victorian eras, and the Blitz in 1940s England. As the trailer for season two shows, divine chaos ensues, even though Aziraphale and Crowley thwarted the apocalypse in season one. How it all turns out, other than amusingly, will be revealed when the series hits streaming again on Friday, July 28. Also back for a second go-around are Doon Mackichan (Toast of Tinseltown) as archangel Michael, plus Gloria Obianyo (Dune) as archangel Uriel, while Miranda Richardson (Rams), Maggie Service (Life) and Nina Sosanya (His Dark Materials) return as well — but in different parts. They're all joined by series newcomers Liz Carr (This Is Going to Hurt), Quelin Sepulveda (The Man Who Fell to Earth) and Shelley Conn (Bridgerton), the latter as Beelzebub. And Neil Gaiman is back as executive producer and co-showrunner, helping guide a season that now expands past its source material. Check out the trailer for Good Omens season two below: Good Omens returns for season two from Friday, July 28 via Prime Video.
At the age of 22, Billie Eilish has nine Grammys, two Oscars, a couple of huge albums with a third set to hit in May 2024 and, ever since her first record When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? proved such a huge success, all-round music sensation status. She also has a brand-new just-announced world tour about to do the rounds, including to Australia in 2025 — with the 'Bad Guy' and 'Happier Than Ever' singer heading Down Under for three huge weeks. Eilish will spend close to a week in each of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, playing four shows apiece in all three cities. She's spreading out her gigs on each leg, doing two nights back to back, then taking an evening off, then doing two more consecutively. [caption id="attachment_952889" align="alignnone" width="1920"] William Drumm[/caption] The dates: from Tuesday, February 18–Wednesday, February 19 and then Friday, February 21–Saturday, February 22 in Brisbane; Monday, February 24–Tuesday, February 25 and then Thursday, February 27–Friday, February 28 in Sydney; and Tuesday, March 4—Wednesday, March 5 and then Friday, March 7–Saturday, March 8 in Melbourne. This is an arena tour, with Eilish heading to Brisbane Entertainment Centre when she's in the Sunshine State capital, Qudos Bank Arena in the Harbour City and Rod Laver Arena for her Victorian stint. [caption id="attachment_827919" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Crommelincklars via Flickr[/caption] Eilish toured Australia in 2019 and 2022, and her fame has only gotten bigger since the latter — hence the 12 Aussie shows announced off the bat. These are the only gigs that she'll be playing on her Aussie visit, with no others set to be added, so getting in ASAP when tickets go on sale is recommended. Pre-sales start from Wednesday, May 1, with general sales from Friday, May 3 at 1pm AEST for Sydney shows, 2pm AEST for Brisbane and 3pm AEST for Melbourne. Since her last tour for her second album Happier Than Ever, Eilish has acted in TV series Swarm and seen her track 'What Was I Made For?' from the Barbie soundtrack become one of the songs of 2023. Her third record Hit Me Hard and Soft, which her new tour is in support of, releases on Friday, May 17. Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour Australian Dates 2025: Tuesday, February 18–Wednesday, February 19 + Friday, February 21–Saturday, February 22 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Monday, February 24–Tuesday, February 25 + Thursday, February 27–Friday, February 28 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Tuesday, March 4—Wednesday, March 5 + Friday, March 7–Saturday, March 8 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Billie Eilish's Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour will come to Australia in February and March 2025, with ticket pre-sales from Wednesday, May 1 and general sales from Friday, May 3 (at 1pm AEST for Sydney shows, 2pm AEST for Brisbane and 3pm AEST for Melbourne). Head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Raph_PH via Flickr.
We've talked before about the rapidly expanding genre of films we like to call 'BDF', or 'big, bumb and fun'. And let's be clear, that label's in no way intended as an affront. On the contrary, when done right, we love the BDF because it satisfies that very basic need every now and then to be entertained without having to tax our brains. More often than not, the BDF rears its head around holiday seasons in the form of disaster and/or alien invasion movies, with San Andreas, Pacific Rim and perhaps even the first Transformers all finding the right balance between the three key ingredients. When it goes the other way, however, usually on account of too much emphasis on 'the big' at the expense of 'the fun', these films quickly become joyless affairs that achieve little more than wasting your time and money. Think Batman vs Superman, Suicide Squad or Independence Day: Resurgence. In the seventies-set Kong: Skull Island, we're happy to say, that balance is back. Obviously it's a BIG movie – afterall, this is King Kong were talking about. It's also undeniably dumb. The dialogue is consistently bogged down in exposition, there's not a great deal of plot to speak of, and the characters make some pretty bizarre choices throughout. I'm no helicopter pilot, but if I suddenly discovered a high-rise sized gorilla and watched it hurl seven other choppers to their fiery death, I'd probably get the hell out of there, not fly directly towards it. Most importantly, though, this is a fun film. The action is well-paced and easy to follow despite director Jordan Vogt-Roberts' heavy reliance upon special effects. The one-liners, meanwhile, are solid enough, and John C. Reilly's downed WWII pilot, who never escaped the eponymous island, steals every scene in which he appears. It is, in short, an old-school monster movie complete with heroes, heroines, clowns and grizzly old soldiers. Then, of course, there's the big guy himself, although in truth the word 'big' doesn't really do him justice. In stark contrast to the original film, there's no caging this fella. He's a sixty-story silverback with a menacing glare and a mean right hook. When Kong battles the island's many monsters, it's like a street fighter up against ninjas: brute strength and stamina versus speed, stealth and agility. The humans, by comparison, are rendered little more than spectators. Of those humans, Kong: Skull Island boasts an impressive cast including Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman and Samuel L. Jackson, all of whom lend their considerable weight to a script that probably deserved less. Interestingly, it also features Chinese star Jing Tian, who recently appeared in another film by the same production house: The Great Wall. Tian's inclusion, while only minor, allows Chinese distributors to smack her image on all their posters and, potentially, open up a giant market that might otherwise be inaccessible to a US blockbuster such as this. One suspects this trend will see a rapid surge in the coming 12 months. Hopefully they develop a more nuanced means of including international cast members than the awkward crow-barring that occurred here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAbI4w95cTE
Since its founding in 1989, the story of Bangarra Dance Theatre has been the story of First Nations culture and tales leaping, spinning, swirling and twirling across the stage via some of the best dance works that Australia has ever produced. Sometimes, including in the films Spear and Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, those stories and that unparalleled artistry has also swayed across the screen. Wherever Bangarra's talents have spread, the end results have always proven a must-see. In the organisation's 35-year history so far, however, it hasn't ever put together a show like Horizon before. Playing Arts Centre Melbourne on Wurundjeri Country from Wednesday, August 28–Saturday, September 7, this is the iconic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing arts company's first mainstage cross-cultural collaboration, expanding its focus to include tales from across Oceania. Joining forces: Māori choreographer and Arts Laureate Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, a veteran of Atamira Dance Company who is now the Chief Executive and Artistic Director at The New Zealand Dance Company; and Deborah Brown, a Helpmann Award-winning senior Bangarra dancer for 13 years with Torres Strait and Scottish heritage. In a production that takes its name to heart by pondering the space where the sky and sea meet, Patterson and Brown's The Light Inside pays tribute to the duo's respective countries while musing on what it means when we peer at the horizon looking for guidance and the way home. Beforehand, audiences are also treated to Sani Townson's Kulka, with an expanded form from its 2023 debut at Dance Clan opening Horizon. Images: Daniel Boud.
Whether you're committed to reducing your use of single-use plastics or dedicated to a vegan diet, it's easy to change your consumption habits for the good of the environment — while you're in your own home. Once you venture out, however, there's much that's out of your control. Sure, you've eliminated disposable plastic from your routine, but every business you patronise mightn't have done the same. And you've ordered a vegan meal at your local cafe, but does the place you're eating at use animal products in its decor? On the plastics front, plenty of organisations and brands are starting to do their part, with the likes of IKEA, McDonald's, Melbourne's Crown Casino and Coca-Cola Amatil phasing out single-use items, and one airline pledging to become wholly plastic-free. When it comes to living a vegan lifestyle, Hilton's London Bankside is joining in by opening the world's first entirely vegan luxury hotel suite. Now available for bookings, the room only uses plant-based substances, fibres and surfaces — so you won't find any leather, feathers and wool among its wares. With the suite designed by food artists Bompas & Parr, what you will find is a material created from pineapples. The bed's headboard is made from pineapple leaves, while vegan-friendly fruit leather piñatex features heavily. It's made from the cellulose fibres sourced from pineapples, and is not only used in the upholstered seats, footstools and cushions, but in the room's keycard as well. With no animal products to be found in any of the suite's materials or inclusions, guests will step onto cotton carpets and bamboo floors; sleep on pillows made from organic buckwheat, millet hulls, kapok or bamboo fibres (your choice); grab a snack from the complimentary vegan mini-bar; and use cruelty-free toiletries. When your room is cleaned by housekeeping, they'll also be using vegan products. Even when you're checking in, you'll be doing so at a plant-based counter. And if you're keen to order in, of course the vegan range extends to the in-room menu. Find Hilton London Bankside at 2–8 Great Suffolk Street, London, and visit the hotel website for further details. Images: Hilton London Bankside.
Oxford Street in Collingwood is not exactly buzzing with decent cafes. Look a little closer, however, and you'll find South of Johnston, err, just south of Johnston Street. Here you have a converted factory that's big enough for the masses of Melburnians who have taken fancy to the place. South of Johnston is the first solo project from Stuart McKenzie, one of the owners of Mart 130 in Middle Park. With more room to move, McKenzie has created a space where you want to be. With couches out back, free Wi-Fi and many a uni student in sight, we're going to dub this one a great coffice. For those of you a little pun slow, coffee shop office is what we mean. One of our menu favourites is the French toast, which they serve with organic brioche, caramelised banana, chopped walnuts and jocks gingerbread ice cream, or with grilled bacon and real maple syrup ($14.9). We'll let you in on a little secret: you'll get the whole bottle, yes the whole bottle of maple syrup to yourself, regardless of what way you order it. Not a fan of the aforementioned sugar overdose? You can't go wrong with the corn fritters with coriander, tomato relish, sour cream and grilled bacon ($15.9). Perfect portion size and they really pack some flavour. You will also find your regular Melbourne breakfast items like Bircher muesli with poached seasonal fruit, crunchy granola and vanilla bean infused yoghurt ($9.9) and sourdough with goat's cheese, crushed avocado, parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice ($8.9). Sitting for hours on end is welcomed here, and if you find yourself there for lunch try the herbed and crumbed chicken rolled in flatbread with salad and lemon infused mayonnaise ($19.0), or if you're in the mood for something hearty try the home made potato gnocchi with porcini, field and Swiss brown mushrooms, blue cheese and roquette ($17.9). South of Johnston packs some serious cafe punch in its wholesome brekkie offerings and is an accommodating fixture in the Collingwood traps.
Brightonites couldn't be more excited about 'Back To School' — and that's not just the yummy mummies talking. Brighton Schoolhouse has masterfully overseen the conversion of the heritage-listed schoolhouse accompanying St. Andrew's Church into a glorious institute of top coffee and wittily named brunch options. If the local consensus is anything to go by, it's gold stars all round. The menu places a strong emphasis on the origins of produce, with local and ethically sourced elements of utmost importance. The Schoolhouse features one of the best chai lattes in Melbourne; hand made and blended locally in Bentleigh, it's a combination of six spices with fresh cut ginger cubes and Australian bush land honey. When it comes to coffee, St Ali has devised a seasonal espresso unique to Schoolhouse, while premium fresh milk is sourced from St David Dairy and hand bottled in Fitzroy. The cafe is divided into two parts. The outside courtyard is positioned within a comfortable pocket of lawn, not too close to the schoolhouse as to obstruct the heritage street presence, and not too near to the street to be interrupted by Church Street's ongoing parade of four-wheel-drives. Inside, the original brickwork and exceptionally high ceilings are integrated with hip light fixtures and intimate tables for two to create a calm setting, perfect for catching up with the morning papers. It's a place where James Packer and Miranda Kerr publicly have breakfast together (as in, the Miranda Kerr Waffles with salted pistachio crumble ($18.50) and the James Packer Pancakes ($18) with maple glazed big boy bacon). Not straying too far from its schoolhouse origins, there's also a kids menu as well as colouring books and crayons on offer, making sure kids big and small are all well catered for. In an area where the choice of school is always a hot topic, Brighton Schoolhouse is easily a top pick.
Usually, Australia's own Four Pillars is busy filling our gin shrines — or gin shelves, gin sections of the liquor cabinet or wherever else you store your juniper-based spirits. But with its latest release, it wants you to pop a bottle in your freezer. Next time you want a gin martini, you'll be thankful that you did. Forget shaking or stirring — sorry Bond, James Bond — because with Four Pillars' new bottled cocktail, all you need to do is pour. It's made with gin, but it isn't just gin. Instead, it's a ready-to-pour Double Gin Martini. You simply add the olives (well, you'll want a glass to pour it into, too, obviously). This new bottled favourite features two Four Pillars gins: the savoury Olive Leaf Gin and the citrus-heavy Fresh Yuzu Gin. There's no vermouth, however, with the distillery opting for aromatic Lillet Blanc and Toji Daiginjo Saké, as well as yuzu bitters. The serving suggestion? Drink it cold — hence the use of your freezer — and in a glass that's just as frosty. Yes, that's your fuss-free spring and summer cocktails taken care of. If you're now hankering for a beverage, understandably, the new Double Gin Martini is available from the distillery's website for $60 per bottle, and also from Four Pillars' gin shops at its distillery door in Healesville and its Sydney Laboratory in Surry Hills. For more information about Four Pillars' Double Gin Martini, or to buy it from Saturday, October 1, head to the distillery's website.
In the 18 years that Gelato Messina has been in business, over 4000 special flavours have made their way through its 20 gelato cabinets around the country. To celebrate some of these oldies but goodies, Messina is dedicating an entire week to its top 40 greatest hits. From June 5–11, lucky Sydneysiders, Melburnians and Brisbanites will be able to treat themselves to an entire freezer-full of limited-edition gelato flavours. While last year's greatest hits were a buy-in-shop-only deal, this year it's all preordered tubs — so you don't have to worry about long queues and empty cabinets. You can preorder 500-millilitre tubs of the 40 flavours (we'll get to those in a minute) from 1pm on Thursday, May 21 and pick up from Sydney's Rosebery, Tramsheds, Bondi and Darlinghurst stores, Melbourne's Fitzroy store and Brisbane's South Brisbane store between the aforementioned dates. Individual tubs can be filled with just one flavour and will set you back $16, or you can get three for $45, six for $85, nine for $125 or — if you have the freezer space — 20 for $260. Now, we'll get to what you're all waiting for: the flavours. Jon Snow (white chocolate gelato with dark chocolate mud cake and almond praline), Fairy Bread (toast and butter gelato with 100s & 1000s), Mango Pancake (mango gelato with vanilla cream and pancake crunch), Old Gregg (Baileys and butterscotch sauce) and the Robert Brownie Jnr (milk chocolate gelato, chocolate brownie and chocolate fudge sauce) are all on the lineup. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAMtFiqA7Mp/ You've got two days to make a list of your favourites before preorders open, so we suggest you start making some hard decisions ASAP. Here's the full lineup: MESSINA'S 40 GREATEST HITS Fairy Bread Montgomery's Goldmine Triple Whammy Super Duper Dulce de Leche Hodor Twixed Gorgeous Dave True Romance Derelicte Cremino Old Gregg The Voicemail Have a Gay Old Time Lady of Winterfell Jon Snow The Hat Trick Drop It Like White Choc Mr Potato Head The Maltster Pavlova Super Flan Number Two Sticken To Me Date NYC Plus Milomiso Robert Brownie Jr Iron Born Just Like a Milkshake Musk Finger Bun Peach Bellini Baklava Oreogasm Duke of Earl The Boss's Wife Mango Pancake Messina's Momofukup Red Velvet Molto Bueno Alfajores Gelato Messina's Greatest Hits are available to preorder from 1pm on Thursday, May 21 with pick up between Friday, June 5 and Thursday, June 11 from Sydney's Rosebery, Tramsheds, Bondi and Darlinghurst stores; Melbourne's Fitzroy store; and Brisbane's South Brisbane store.
As a true suburban icon, the Northcote Plaza rocks a sort of daggy charm, holding a soft spot in the hearts of locals despite its weary looks and that random feature: two separate Coles stores. Heck, there's even a 7700-member Facebook group dedicated to the joint, dubbed The Northcote Plaza Appreciation Society. But this ageing shopping centre could potentially be in for a massive makeover, under a $500 million mixed-use redevelopment proposed by property developers LAS Group. Plans for its Northcote Green revitalisation project would see part of the site overhauled, scoring new residential and retail offerings, multiple outdoor community spaces, a cinema, a recreation centre, a bunch of new dining venues and 6500 square metres of extra green space. Design work from award-winning studio Woods Bagot would feature throughout, while a series of green corridors and a bike-friendly plaza would aim to complement the surrounding landscape, including that of the adjoining All Nations Park. LAS is also keen to pay homage to the area's urban heritage, using locally made bricks in a nod to the site's former life as the Northcote Brickworks. The company confirms it submitted an application for a planning permit for 25 Separation Street, Northcote, in early August. That's now undergoing preliminary assessment by Darebin City Council, with the details publicly available online. The application proposes a mixed-use development for the site, including the construction of six buildings ranging between four and 28 storeys high, housing a mix of retail stores, offices, residential dwellings and a library. Many locals have been quick to express concerns over the proposal on the Planning Alerts comments page, deeming the height "inappropriate", questioning the reduced car parking space and labelling the whole thing as "out of character for the area". Some commenters shared worries about the new towers blocking views and sun, though one resident pushed for more constructive criticism, reminding others that the site is currently "woefully underused". [caption id="attachment_782688" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Commander Keane via WikiCommons.[/caption] The Council has since set up a community page outlining more details and answering some of the main queries. Here, it says the proposal would see the southern half of the plaza completely redeveloped, with existing buildings demolished to make way for the six new ones. Despite the community page mentioning demolition, a spokesperson for LAS Group told Concrete Playground that "Northcote Plaza will remain operational throughout the proposed redevelopment timeline, meaning disruptions will be minimal" and that it is "committed to a seamless construction process that doesn't require the closure, permanent or temporary, of any existing stores within the centre". LAS also addresses some of the key concerns in its original press release. "Much care and consideration has gone into the design to ensure the proposed redevelopment is in keeping with the local area, including setting back any building massing from the street and ensuring no overshadowing of All Nations Park and Separation Street," it states. "Crucially, view-lines of the CBD from All Nations Park will be maintained, as well the park's access to sunlight." Whatever the outcome, locals will still have plenty of time left to shop their beloved Plaza. The council is currently assessing any issues with the application and can request further information, before a public notification period kicks off in December. A final decision is not expected to be made until early 2021. The Northcote Green plans have been submitted to Darebin City Council for 25 Separation Street, Northcote. You can find out more details over at the website.
