It's a sad day when you want to visit Japan (so, so bad — we know) but you can't find sale flights that match up with your annual leave dates. Or you can't find sale flights at all. Or even if you could find sale flights, it's just not gonna happen. Luckily, Melbourne is one Australian city that's bursting with Japanese culture, but like many things in the city, finding the gold takes a bit of digging. You just have to know where to look to fill your life with Japanese-style ceramics, stationery, fabrics, furniture, kitchen sponges, Akari light sculptures, goldfish paper balloons and oh, a hidden city bath house. Here are a handful of the best spots to get you started. MADE IN JAPAN "We shape clay into a pot, but it's the emptiness inside that holds everything we want." Sounds pretty MIJ to us. No, that's not a typo for MUJI. It's short for Made In Japan, and that's one of their mottos. The warehouse that their houses their South Melbourne store has just enough emptiness to hold nearly everything you could want. Including rice paper floor lamps, hammered copper rain chains, flower spikes and the incredibly beautiful, seemingly weightless Akari light sculptures. Intrigued? That's only the beginning. It's tableware that brings most of their loyal customers to the store — the pieces imported by Made in Japan rarely appear outside Japan, and even then often only in homes and restaurants nearby to the makers' kilns. 276 – 278 Coventry Street, South Melbourne APATO Oh, how we love to namedrop Naoto Fukasawa. Simple yet innovative, many designs have flowed from this man's imagination into products that have in turn inspired some of the everyday shapes we know and love. Sleek white Apple products? That's right, even Apple cites Fukasawa as an influence. As beautiful as pictures are, it's worth heading into Apato to check out his designs in the flesh – or bent blonde wood, as the case may be. The Swan Street store hold some of the world's most beautiful furniture, from high profile designers like Fukasawa to emerging talents, all masters of their craft. 283 Swan Street, Richmond MR KITLY Not only is Mr Kitly a mecca for plant people, it's a haven for Japanese design-lovers. Store owner Bree Claffey lived in Japan for five years, so she knows her stuff. There's a big focus on artisanal crafts and ceramics, yes, many of which have beautiful plants growing in them. The store presents a range of international artists and artisans from countries including Australia, the US, the UK and France. But Japanese culture and aesthetics is definitely a focus, and Bree cites the tea room, ikebana films of Yasujiro Ozu, urban potted garden culture and organic buildings by Terunobu Fujimori amongst her key influences. Don't forget to check out the gallery works while you're there, too. 381 Sydney Road, Brunswick ONSEN MA If you wanted to design a place to relax completely, and wash away the endless chatter of the outside world, what would you create? A deep, marble bath in a light-filled converted warehouse, complete with soaring ceilings, decorative slippers and a tea house? Yep, that'd do the trick. Enter Onsen Ma. It's one of Melbourne's very best spa experiences. Follow the flight of stairs behind an unassuming door in one of the city's laneways and be led to reception – not before removing your shoes, naturally. If you haven't had a traditional Japanese bath before, the poised yet warm receptionist will tell you how it's done. And before you know it, you'll be soaking in the tub. Sauna, shower, and repeat. Judging by the tranquility of other bathers, this could be a good habit to get into. Level 1, 12–18 Meyers Place, Melbourne CIBI Head. Hands. Heart. Ours were full when we left CIBI. So were our bellies. CIBI serves up home-style Japanese cooking during lunch, and their weekend breakfast menu is not-to-be-missed. But first things first, the initial thing we noticed when we visited was the cutlery. Have you ever really studied the cutlery at a café before? Maybe you have, you're reading a design article, after all. But, design nerd or not, we'd wager you'll be well impressed by the smooth, characteristically Japanese shapes of the knives and forks next to your matcha latte. And everything — from panko-crumbed bowls of miso-mayoed goodness to the design treats inside. Did you ever imagine wanting a cedar pot stand? Chef's chopsticks? Ornamental porcelain elephant? Probably not. But, we challenge you to leave empty-handed — or without one of their delicate goldfish paper balloons. 45 Keele Street, Collingwood TOKYOBIKE No Melbourne x Japan design list would be complete without bikes, right? Tokyobike to the rescue. Founded in Tokyo's quiet Yanaka neighbourhood, their bikes were designed to bring enjoyment, comfort and lightness to people exploring the city on two wheels. They've now set up shop in Melbourne. As well as bikes, they've got all the accessories your heart could wish for, including the bike engineer pouches hand-crafted in Okayama, touchscreen gloves developed by Japan design geniuses, and a killer poncho (which looks Japanese but is actually made in London). Everyone's a winner. 5 Peel Street, Collingwood CHEF'S ARMOURY Like its Sydney sister store, the Melbourne Chef's Armoury is a must-visit for anyone who loves Japanese cooking or food, or just likes marvelling at the precision with which a knife can cut through that oh-so-hard pumpkin skin. Know the feeling? Probably not, because if you're anything like us, you've been hacking away at those hard-to-cut vegetables with a knife whose origins, and absolute bluntness, is a mystery. Carbon steel, ironwood, cast iron. All the good kitchen things. Check out their konro barbeques, too – filled with clean-burning white charcoal, they're said to imbue anything you cook with an incredible flavour. Add one of the many condiments for sale to your basket, and you're a match for any long weekend. 422 Church Street, Richmond MUJI If you're reading this article, chances are you're into Japanese design enough to know about MUJI. If you are, or if you read our article on Sydney's Japanese design gems, you'll know MUJI's name comes from the words 'Mujirushi Ryōhin', translated as No Brand Quality Goods. And the store's wares sure live up to its name. Linen aprons and acacia-wood chopsticks, anyone? Oh, and this is where you snag those ceramic ginger-graters. Level 2, Emporium Melbourne, 287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, and Lower Level, Chadstone Shopping Centre, 1341 Dandenong Rd, Chadstone KIMONO HOUSE Did you know that kimonos are made in different fabrics for different seasons and occasions? Cotton for summer, wool for winter and silk for special events. We're hanging out for a traditional kimono in linen, but maybe we'll have to wait and see if MUJI come up with a modern take on that. Tucked away in Melbourne's historic Nicholas Building, Kimono House has reams of kimono, in an almost unimaginable array of prints and colours (unless, of course, you've been to Kyoto). They also run craft and cultural classes, including an ikebana course that we're itching to try. Room 7, 2nd Floor, 37 Swanston Street, Melbourne Following your Japanese design addiction to Sydney? We can help. Top image: Tokyobike.
When you first hear it described to you, Tangerine doesn't exactly scream 'comedy'. Set on the streets of Los Angeles one day before Christmas, the breakout feature at this year's Sundance Film Festival follows a poor transgender sex worker who has just gotten out of prison, only to discover that her pimp/boyfriend has been cheating on her. Sounds pretty grim, right? That's where you'd be wrong. Working closely with transgender actors Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor, neither of whom had any prior screen experience, writer-director Sean Baker and his co-writer Chris Bergoch have crafted one of the boldest, funniest and most memorable independent features we've seen in quite some time — one that puts transgender issues front and centre without ever becoming preachy or resorting to cliche. As if that weren't impressive enough, there's also the story of how they physically made the movie, using little more than a pair of iPhone 5s. Originally a budgetary decision, it ends up being Baker's ace in the hole, lending the film a brash, in-your-face aesthetic that could hardly be more fitting. We spoke with Baker about what it's like to make a movie on your mobile, as well as the importance of giving narratives like these the spotlight they deserve. Tell us a little bit about how this project came about? I live about a half a mile from the intersection of Santa Monica and Highland, which is sort of an unofficial red light district. It's known, especially as of late, for transgender sex workers. That intersection in particular was always known for its drama, and I would pass it and wonder why there haven't been more films that have taken place there. I was also in a situation where I was trying to get money for a much bigger film, but it never happened. The industry is really upside-down right now, and I was waiting and waiting and waiting, and I knew that if I waited any longer I wasn't ever going to make a film again. So I turned to Mark Duplass and said, "hey, a couple of years ago you offered me a micro-budget. I think I'm in the position where I'm going to have to take it." So does that mean the decision to shoot on the iPhone was primarily a budgetary one? Yes. Or at least, it started off that way, and then of course it became an aesthetic. Were there other films that influenced you, in terms of the way the movie looks? No, that was the cool part about it — that it seemed to me to be a pretty original aesthetic. We combined a bunch of tools. This anamorphic adapter that we used allowed us to shoot in true scope; true widescreen cinema. Then there was an app called FiLMic Pro that has a bunch of bells and whistles and allows you to shoot at 24 frames per second. And then we used the Smothee, which is a handheld stabiliser that stabilises the iPhone. Then in post production we ended up pumping the colours through the roof, which really enhanced the LA sun. So all of a sudden you have these four tools working together creating this look that I'm really happy with. When you're on location, what are some of the advantages and/or challenges of shooting on a phone? What it did was that it allowed us to basically work clandestinely. If you saw us shooting from across the street, you'd never know we were shooting anything professional, except for the fact that we had a boom pole. We got permits, but we didn't have to announce that we were shooting, so we were able to capture real street life. Of course, then we had to ask them for their releases after I yelled 'cut', which is a risk because you then have to chase people down and beg. But for the most part people are pretty nice. From what we've read elsewhere, it sounds like a lot of research went into the film. How important was it that you immerse yourself in this world? I think it's the only way. I think it's best to allow the world to speak to you, as opposed to you speaking to a world that you're not a part of. That's just an irresponsible way of storytelling. Chris and I, we're cisgender white males who are not from that world whatsoever. So we needed to do a lot of research. We had to find a collaborator and put the time in. And the collaborators in this case were our leads. Mya especially. She was the first person we met who gave us the enthusiasm we were looking for. On its face, the film's subject matter sounds fairly grim. Was there ever a version of the script without the comedic elements that played like a more straightforward drama? It's funny that you mention that, especially with you being from Australia, because the cinema coming out of Australia has been incredibly influential on me. Snowtown is such an amazing masterpiece, and that's what I thought the film was going to be originally. Not the murders, but that social realist style with that really desaturated look. So then what changed your mind? Getting to know the women, and hanging out with them regularly, I saw that even though they were dealing with incredible hardships, they used humour to cope. And I knew that the film would be dishonest if I didn't incorporate that humour. It was actually part of Mya's request as well. She said to me point blank, "I've seen your other films and I trust you, and I want to make this movie with you, but you've got to promise me that it will be funny. You've got to make a film that is entertaining for the people out here. We don't want a 'plight of' film that's all drama, hitting people over the head and leaving the audience feeling terrible." And I'm really glad she sent me down that road. On that point, how has the transgender community reacted to the film? It's been really positive. I thought this film was going to divide audiences, but so far there's been a really nice amount of love given to us across the board. One of our first reviews from a transperson came from Australia, at the Sydney Film Festival, and she was very, very positive about it. And having travelled with the film a little bit already, I've been able to see how members of trans communities react in different countries. I was in Columbia, in Bogotá, and members of the local trans community came to the premiere, and they said to me afterwards through a translator that while there are lots of cultural differences, they really connected and indentified with the sisterhood between the two main characters, which was a real nice thing to hear. With television shows like Transparent and Orange Is the New Black, as well as all the recent media coverage surrounding Caitlyn Jenner, it feels as though transgender stories are finally getting attention in mainstream culture. How important is this, and are you pleased to be part of the trend? Most definitely. Setting down this road two and a half years ago, we had no idea it was going to be as much a part of the zeitgeist as it is now. Any time visibility and awareness is increased it's a positive thing. The unfortunate part of all of this is that the murder rate here in the United State has almost doubled from last year, assuming it stays at this rate. It's hard to get up-to-date statistics because of the fact that a lot of these murders aren't investigated correctly. But we're already up to 15 murders of transpeople here in the United States in 2015, and we're only at the end of August. The hope is that increased awareness and visibility will eventually lead to acceptance, but we still have a long way to go. I also think we need a number of these types of narratives. I'm making a film about a microcosm — about transwomen of colour who happen to work as sex workers in a very small area of Los Angeles. So this is only representative of a tiny, tiny portion of the transgender community. This has to be one of many, many different narratives that are being told. Tangerine is in cinemas in Sydney and Melbourne now.
Swish Japanese joint Sake is launching a pint-size spinoff specialising in build-your-own bowls. Opening this week on Bourke Street in the CBD, Sake Jr. will offer rice, noodle, salad and bao bun-based bowls, along with breakfast options, 'grab and go' items, smoothies, coffee, kombucha and beer. Open 7am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 8pm on Saturday, Sake Jr. sells itself on a healthy menu that is "honest, sustainable, affordable and convenient — and absolutely packed with flavour." For example, workers blazing through the CBD at breakfast time grab an acai, seasonal fruit or berry and yuzu muesli bowl, and wash it down with a cold press juice or smoothie. Later in the day, you can make your own lunch. Just choose a base (like mix greens, udon noodle sticks or brown rice), decide on a protein (be it grilled chicken, popcorn shrimp, wagyu beef or tofu and shiitake), chuck in some veggies (such as wakame seaweed, steamed edamame, charred corn with garlic shots or crispy Brussels sprouts) and your choice of sauce and garnish. Voila! Further beverage options include nut milk, craft beer, house wine on tap, and sake (of course) by the glass. And if you're not sold on the idea, why not try it for free? To mark their grand opening, the first 500 people through the door after 11am today (Wednesday, September 14), will receive a complimentary bowl. You can also swing past again on Thursday from 7am when the first 100 customers get a free coffee and porridge bowl, and again on Friday after 5pm, when another 100 customers get a free bowl and beer. Find Sake Jr. at 555 Bourke Street, Melbourne. For more information visit www.sakejr.com.au.
Trying to stay healthy while eating the food you love can sometimes feel like an exercise in futility. Basically, we want to have our cake, and eat it too, but to also have that cake not ruin any chance at being healthy as blazes. Luckily, the good folk at food delivery service Youfoodz have put together a couple of recipes that offer unexpectedly healthy takes on some of our all time culinary favourites. Say goodbye to the grease-sodden offerings from your local fish and chip shop because, for dinner, they suggest a healthy, homemade alternative, that subs out those deep-fried chippies for baked roast veggie chips and a good-for-you superseed crust instead of batter. Alternatively, if you've got a hectic sweet tooth, they've got the perfect protein packed recipe for blueberry pancakes with a light honey ricotta that looks every bit as good as it sounds. Add some extra berries on top for added antioxidants and deliciousness. Healthy eating ain't so bad after all. Check 'em out and enjoy the spoils. FISH AND CHIPS Ingredients (fish) 120g cod 1tbs almond meal 1tbs slivered almonds 1tbs quinoa 5g chia seeds 5g sesame seeds Lemon wedges Salt Ingredients (chips) 60g sweet potato 60g carrot 60g potato Paprika Ingredients (tartare sauce) 2-3 tbs of your favourite prepared aioli 2 large Gherkins (chopped) 1tbs Capers (chopped) Juice of 1 lemon Zest of 1 lemon 2tbs fresh dill (chopped) 2tbs continental Parsley (chopped) Method 1) Pre heat oven to 180 degrees. 2) Cut vegetables into chip shapes and sizes and combine with some paprika. Bake in oven until roasted and delicious. 3) Combine almond meal, nuts and seeds and mix well, sprinkle heavily on top of cod and bake for 12-15 minutes or until cooked. 4) Add chopped gherkins, capers, dill, lemon juice and zest and parsley to prepared aioli and mix well. 5) Garnish with lemon wedges and a sprinkle of sea salt. BLUEBERRY BAKED PANCAKES AND HONEY RICOTTA Ingredients (pancake mix) 4 eggs 1 cup almond meal Half cup gluten free flour 100g protein powder Lemon zest of 2 lemons 1.5 cups natural yoghurt Quarter cup white sugar 1tsp bi carb soda 1 cup blueberries Ingredients (ricotta and honey mix) Ricotta cheese Honey Method 1) Lightly beat eggs with sugar till combined well. 2) Add almond meal, gluten free flour, protein powder and bi carb soda and mix well. 3) Add yoghurt, blueberries and lemon zest, combine all ingredients and cook in medium hot non stick fry pan till risen and golden. Combine ricotta and honey, spoon over cooked pancakes with additional berries and honey. Want someone else to cook these for you? Youfoodz will bring them right to your door. To view the full menu, head to youfoodz.com.
If jungle vibes inside an inner-north warehouse sounds like your perfect outing, head along to Rumble in the Jungle on Saturday, October 28. It's the latest indoor plant sale from The Jungle Collective, an Abbotsford nursery that stocks all kinds of weird and wonderful species. Whether you're after a hanging pot plant, some palms for the garden or a giant Bird of Paradise, chances are you'll find it here. Have a reputation for killing your cacti? Overwatering your ferns? Don't worry — there'll be horticulturalists on site on the day to give you advice and chat through any questions you might have. Be inspired by the gorgeous green warehouse and learn to incorporate plants into your home and living spaces while soaking up some tunes. There's even a special deal for those who are brave enough to dress up, with a generous 15 percent discount given to all onesie-clad shoppers. Best get in quick though — the last sale sold out. RSVP via the Facebook event and get there early.
The best of Czech and Slovak cinema will once again make its way to Melbourne as part of the fourth annual Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia. From Wednesday, September 14 through to the following Friday, an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary titles will light up the screen at ACMI, showcasing the unique, sometimes strange perspective of filmmakers from Bratislava to Prague. This year's festival features nine new release films that will compete for a cash prize awarded by members of the Australian Film Critics Association. Features in competition include opening night horror film The Noonday Witch, big screen fairytale The Seven Ravens and the FIPRESCI prize-winning Eva Nova. Completing these films is an intriguing selection of films from the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Of these, some of the most intriguing include the strange, pulpy, Little Shop of Horrors-inspired comedy Adele Hasn't Had Her Dinner Yet, and the seminal adaptation of Dobroslav Chrobák's novel Dragon's Return. Below, check out our list of the five must-see films of this year's fest. THE NOONDAY WITCH This year's opening night film shapes up as an absolute cracker. Arriving in Melbourne straight from competition at the Czech Republic's prestigious Karlovy Vary Film Festival, The Noonday Witch is a unique horror film in that it takes place largely during the daytime. Jiří Sádek's feature film debut follows a mother and her young daughter as they relocate to a remote house in the countryside, only to find themselves haunted by a malevolent force from Czech folklore. The film has scored strong reviews, with many critics comparing it to the recent Australian spooker The Babadook. EVA NOVA The so-called First Lady of Slovak Theatre, veteran actor Emília Vášáryová stars in Eva Nova, the first fiction film from noted documentarian Marko Škop. Vášáryová plays Eva, a bitter, ageing, alcoholic screen star desperate to claw her way back into the limelight, while also hoping to reconcile with her estranged adult son. A grim but compassionate portrait of addiction and redemption, the film won a FIPRESCI prize at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, and stands out as a distinct dramatic highlight on this year's CaSFFA slate. SCHMITKE With a reputation brewing as the Czech Republic's answer to David Lynch's cult series Twin Peaks, the debut film of Štěpán Altrichter caught our attention right away. A deadpan comedy/mystery with a touch of the surreal, Schmitke follows a morose engineer sent to fix a noisy wind turbine near the Czech-German border. But odd things are afoot in the small town nearby, and soon our reluctant protagonist finds himself in the middle of something quite strange. One for fans of low-key humour and stories with more questions than answers. LOST IN MUNICH Chosen by Czech critics as the best film of last year, Lost in Munich is a bizarre political comedy that combines cheeky historical tinkering with a cautionary tale about the perils of movie-making itself. It begins when down-on-his luck journalist crosses paths with an elderly parrot, one who may or may not have belonged to former French President Édouard Daladier — a man despised in the Czech Republic for signing the 1938 Munich Agreement with Nazi Germany. That may sound weird enough already, but in truth it's just the tip of the iceberg. Petr Zelenka's film is a fascinating (and highly entertaining) closing night choice that needs to be seen to be fully comprehended. ADELE HASN'T HAD HER DINNER YET Crime, comedy and carnivorous plant life combine in this outlandish piece of late '70s pulp from filmmaker Oldřich Lipský. Michal Dočolomansky stars as a New York detective in Prague, who finds himself caught up in a case that gets stranger at every turn. An all-time cult classic of Czechoslovakian cinema complete with eye-popping animations from the legendary Jan Švankmajer, Adele Hasn't Had Her Dinner Yet recently underwent a digital restoration at the Czech National Film Archive, and will be presented at CaSFFA in all its newfound glory. CaSFFA will run from Wednesday, September 14 until Sunday, September 25. For the full program, visit casffa.com.au. Disclaimer: Tom will serve as an AFCA jury member at this year's CaSFFA.
Remember Mr Poopie, the giant inflatable turd emoji artwork that served up ice cream in little toilet cups at Splendour in the Grass last year? No? How could you forget. Or Nicholas Cage in a Cage? Or the giant inflatable Lionel Richie head? These are all real things, seriously. Hungry Castle, the Barcelona-based art team behind all of the above have outdone themselves this year. Announced as part of the SITG arts lineup, Hungry Castle will bring their giant inflatable Sad Kanye installation to Splendour. Didn't quite get that? Here it is again: a 10-metre-high Sad Kanye inflatable is coming to Splendour — a true headliner, in our opinion. Are LCD Soundsystem inflatable? No? Alright then. It's unclear whether you'll be able to bounce on Kanye's sad face or whether he will serve you ice cream in little Kanye vessels, but we literally don't care. It's a ten-metre-tall inflatable Sad Kanye and we're determined to turn his frown upside down. Here's the inspiration shot: More about this year's Splendour lineup over here. Image: Savannah Van Der Niet/Splendour in the Grass.
Hey Dad! Steve! Over here! Two of your favourites are playing Bluesfest this year! Let's go! Bluesfest Byron Bay's 2017 lineup came from somewhere back in our long ago, with two big mum and dad-friendly superstars being added to the lineup this morning: The Doobie Brothers and Santana. One of Australia's best festivals, the five-day Easter long weekend event has played to its core audience with their latest lineup additions. First up, the legend himself, groundbreaking, Grammy-nabbing, Afro-Latin-blues-rock fusion king, nay, sultan Santana is coming to melt faces and throw down elongated solos like the melodic monarch he is. Expect 'Black Magic Woman'. Then, takin' it to the streets of Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, California's harmonising head honchos The Doobie Brothers will make their triumphant return to Bluesfest. The Doobies have some serious fans at Bluesfest — do not try and push in front of them. This big ol' announcement comes just a week after Bluesfest added superstar Mary J. Blige to already heaving lineup. THE THIRD 2017 BLUESFEST ARTIST ANNOUNCEMENT: Santana The Doobie Brothers 2017 ARTISTS ALREADY ANNOUNCED: Zac Brown Band Patti Smith and her band perform Horses Mary J. Blige The Lumineers Buddy Guy (exclusive) Bonnie Raitt Mavis Staples (exclusive) Billy Bragg Jethro Tull Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue Rickie Lee Jones Gregory Porter Snarky Puppy St. Paul and the Broken Bones Corinne Bailey Rae Michael Kiwanuka Nahko and Medicene for the People Gallant Beth Hart (exclusive) Laura Mvula Andrew Bird Booker T. presents The Stax Records Review Roy Ayers Joan Osborne Turin Brakes The Strumbellas Jake Shimabukuro Dumpstaphunk The Suffers Nikki Hill Irish Mythen Bluesfest returns to Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm just outside of Byron Bay over the Easter long weekend (April 13-17, 2017). More info on the Bluesfest website. Image: Andy Fraser.
When Kevin Bacon stood up in Footloose and said, “This is our time to dance. It is our way of celebrating life,” what he didn’t say was “but only for skinny people”. And yet, that seems to be what we mean these days. 'Fat' dancers and performers aren’t often seen, and so many people seem to have so many opinions on fatness and how fat people move through our society. We look at fat people and assume things — that the person is lazy, slovenly, unhappy and definitely, definitely ungraceful and unconnected to their bodily wellbeing. Now fat activist and artist Kelli Jean Drinkwater and resigning Force Majeure artistic director Kate Champion are working together to broaden our outlook on the body and the act of dancing. After selling out shows at this year's Sydney Festival, Nothing to Lose is headed to Melbourne; a highly topical, audacious and — coming from dance-theatre masters Force Majeure (Never Did Me Any Harm, Food) — sure to be a powerful watch. Challenging as it is to our prejudices, it might even be the most important work you see at the festival. We spoke to Drinkwater and Champion about the thinking behind the provocative project. Read what they had to say over here. Preview: 11 March at 8pm. Season: 12-21 March — 12-14 March at 8pm, Mon 16 March at 6.30pm, 17-21 March at 8pm, Weds 18 March also at 1pm, Sat 14 and 21 March also at 3pm.
Controversial muso, New York Times bestseller and human energy ball Amanda Palmer is coming to Sydney for an intimate solo performance at the Sydney Opera House on January 21. Palmer's announced the intention of her down under trip is to strip things back to basics. She'll be on stage with "a suitcase, a piano, a ukulele and a baby" which sounds like a very Palmer-esque combo of bold, relatable and off-beat. It's been five years since Palmer graced the Opera House stage with Meow Meow and her partner, Neil Gaiman, so expect the unexpected. The Opera House is just one of her Aussie tour stops. She'll be setting up at the Gasometer for a residency between January 12 and March 9. She'll also be dropping by MONA in Tasmania, Woodford Folk Festival over New Year's Eve, Melt Festival at the Brisbane Powerhouse, Her Majesty's Theatre and Playhouse Theatre in Melbourne and the NGV — a prestigious venue lineup indeed. Image: Shervin Lainez.
Summer's definitely just around the corner — Melbourne’s Rooftop Cinema has dropped half of its 2015-16 programme. And the first session to have sold out is A Girl Walks Homes Alone At Night — the world’s only ‘Iranian vampire western’ (so far), showing on Tuesday, December 8. Missed out on the chance to mix your bloodsucking with your Persian? Despair not. There’s no shortage of thrills to come. Opening proceedings on December 5 is Ridley Scott’s The Martian, starring Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on Mars. The following evening, George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road will flood the screen with its post-apocalyptic desert car chase. Other adventurous flicks on the menu include Jurassic Park on December 19, followed by Jurassic World on the 20th, Everest on January 7, Aliens on January 16 and Interstellar on January 31. Meanwhile, several classics will get a good look-in. Warm up for Christmas with a December 23 showing of Home Alone and recover on the 27th in the company of Casablanca. Then there’s The Talented Mr. Ripley on January 10 and, for a fitting marking of Australia Day, Muriel’s Wedding on the 26th. Levi’s is also sponsoring a quartet of documentaries. See the film that made singer-songwriter Rodriguez world-famous on January 19 with Searching for Sugarman, learn about the frustrations with racial quality and police violence that inspired N.W.A.’s debut studio album on January 20 with Straight Outta Compton, find out what The National gets up to backstage on January 21 with Mistaken For Strangers and follow Amy Winehouse’s tragic life on the 22nd with Amy. Rooftop Cinema happens in the Melbourne CBD, on top of Curtin House, Swanston Street (between Little Bourke and Lonsdale Streets). The bar opens daily between 11am and 1am, with films starting at 9.30pm in December and January. The Feburary to April program will be announced in late January. Rooftop Cinema kicks off December 8. Check out the whole first half of the program at the Rooftop Cinema website.
Tents at the ready: when 2023 ends and 2024 begins, there are few better ways to spend it than dancing and camping at southeast Queensland's Woodford Folk Festival. This isn't just a fest. It's a pop-up Moreton Bay village filled with live music, arts and culture. And it's returning for another year with a heap of well-known Australian — and Brisbane — names. Throwing back to the late 90s and early 00s, Regurgitator, Custard and Resin Dogs will all take to the Woodford stage between Wednesday, December 27, 2023–Monday, January 1, 2024 at Woodfordia on the Sunshine Coast. Also hailing from Brissie, along with plenty of the festival's attendees each year: Kate Miller-Heidke. Woodford 2023–24's roster of talent includes Ben Lee, Gretta Ray, Isaiah Firebrace and Kasey Chambers as well, on a list that spans more than 400 acts and 1834 shows. So, across the fest's 27 performance spaces, there'll be no shortage of things for the expected 120,000 people attending to see at Woodfordia's 500-acre parklands space (which now boasts a lake) — whether they're among the 25,000 folks who can stay onsite or just hitting up the event for the day. Accordingly, whoever piques your interest, or even if you're just keen on a Woodford experience — for the first time, tenth or 36th, because that's how many fests the event has notched up now — prepare to catch a heap of bands, wander between arts performances and get a little muddy, all around 90 minutes north of Brisbane. As always, the fest's lineup also features circus, cabaret, yoga, dance, comedy, spoken word, poetry, comedy, films, workshops, bars, cafes and restaurants. Keen to have a chat while your clothes was at The Blak Laundry? Learn to weave baskets with Kris Martin? Get giggling to talents curated by Sandeep Totlani? Hit up the Queer Ball's third year? They're some of the other standouts. Tickets are already on sale, and you can check out the full list of acts and activities on the Woodford website. WOODFORD 2023–24 LINEUP HIGHLIGHTS: Regurgitator Custard Resin Dogs Ben Lee Kate Miller-Heidke Isaiah Firebrace Kasey Chambers Mo'Ju Gretta Ra Odette Yirrmal A.Girl AFRO DIZZI ACT Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham The East Pointers Haiku Hands Leah Flanagan Borroloola Cultural Songwomen featuring Dr Shellie Morris AO Bumpy FourPlay String Quartet Yirinda Charlie Needs Braces Mitch King DancingWater ALPHAMAMA Jack Davies & the Bush Chooks Charm of Finches Dougie Maclean Assynt Ryan Young Hannah Rarity Dallahan Lisa O'Neill Andy Irvine Making Movies Rizo Božo Vrečo Images: Woodford Folk Festival via Flickr.
Melbourne has scored itself another bottomless brunch, this time sporting a modern Japanese twist. Kicking off on August 5, Tokosan's new Sunday series will have diners rounding out their weekends in style, with a booze-optional bento box feast. The kitchen's designed both a vegetarian and a teriyaki chicken bento, filled with treats like gyoza, rice and sushi, each clocking in at $24 per person. On top of that, there's a beverage option for every mood, starting with a simple glass of wine or beer, which you can tack on for an extra $5. For a longer, lazier lunch, enjoy your bento matched to a bottle of wine for a total of $49. Otherwise, go the bottomless booze route — $59 will get you food, plus two hours of unlimited beer, wine, mimosas, bloody marys and spritzes, between 12-2pm. Catch Tokosan's new brunch offering between 11am and 4pm every Sunday.
Ain't no party like a MMW Opening Night Party, and anyone who went along to last year's Total Giovanni and Architecture in Helsinki affair last year can back us up on this one. In exciting musical news, Gypsy & The Cat have abandoned their hiatus for this auspicious occasion, and will be joined by sparkling alt-pop band Dorsal Fins and the joyous R'n'B and pop stylings of The Harpoons. It's also the first night the flagship venue will be open —and while the idea of partying in an old hospital basement may seem a little creepy at first, we can't deny we're aching to check it out.
Admit it. When you hear the words 'long weekend' you immediately picture yourself jumping on a plane for a tiny slice of adventure, reclining on the beach, or sipping a cocktail. Long weekends usually involve going somewhere different. The feeling of shucking the constraints of routine are invaluable, but hear us out on this one: you should stay in Melbourne for the Grand Final long weekend. We know it sounds crazy, but there are untold adventures right on your doorstep that will make you see your city a little differently. We've teamed up with Mastercard, and we're asking you to stay home. YOU CAN ACTUALLY WATCH THE GRAND FINAL Get a ticket to the game and enjoy the atmosphere. If you can't be there, watching from a packed and buzzing pub is the next best thing. The Rose in Fitzroy is the best of the best. Book a table and surround yourself with vintage memorabilia and décor and footy themed food and drink specials. YOU CAN FLOAT THROUGH THE CITY We did promise that you would see your city in a whole new way, so here it is. Glide over Melbourne and the Yarra Valley in a Global Ballooning hot air balloon at dawn and take in a new view of the city from the air. A balloon ride at this hour will stop you from sleeping away your precious long weekend, and you'll definitely have the coolest story to share in the pub that night. IT'S PRIME HOT SPRING TEMPERATURE While everyone else is nursing (or creating) their hangovers, take a day to get out of the city and pop down to the peninsula. This is the perfect time of year (before it gets too hot and while it's not arctic) to take a dip in the famous Mornington Peninsula hot springs. While you're in that neck of the woods, take a stroll along the beach or slog out a coast walk – we recommend the Millionaire's Walk, a cliff top walk with views across Port Phillip Bay and the Bellarine Peninsula (and take a sticky beak at some truly insane mansions along the way). PERFECT AMOUNT OF TIME FOR A ROAD TRIP The Great Ocean Road is one of those experiences that we all intend to do but sometimes postpone because of, you know, general life chaos. But the Grand Final weekend is the best time to get out there and make good on your promise. Check out the famous twelve Apostles, quaint seaside villages and the rugged beauty of the Victorian coastline while everyone else is glued to their TVs. If you don't have a car, jump on a tour and feel like you're overseas for the weekend. YOU CAN MINI GOLF, THEN YOU CAN PICNIC Nestled away in the rambling Yarra Bend park is the perfect long weekend activity: a mini golf course. Take on the full 36 holes course, complete with the perfect blend of ridiculous shots, moving parts and novelty sculptures. Make a day of it. Once you've battled it out, grab a couple of beers and have yourself a picnic in the park. Visit priceless.com to see a Melbourne long weekend itinerary from @emmakateco, and more priceless experiences in your city exclusive to Mastercard cardholders.
UPDATE Tuesday, August 3: Tickets are currently sold out for NGV's Friday Nights due to the current government restrictions, however, the NGV has stated that more tickets will become available to purchase as restrictions begin to ease over the coming weeks. The NGV has your winter culture fix sorted, with its much-hyped exhibition French Impressionism now showing. And, as has become custom with a seasonal blockbuster descending on the gallery, so comes a brand new season of NGV Friday Nights. The gig series is now a quintessential way to end a chilly winter week in Melbourne. And, thanks to a slew of pop-up bars, you'll get to enjoy this after-dark art excursion with a cocktail in hand. Having returned July 30, the series will now run all the way through to October 1, delivering a different curation of live bands and DJs from 6pm each Friday. Eilish Gilligan, Ali Barter, Solomon Sisay and Husky are just some of the acts set to make an appearance. As always, you'll get after-hours access to the gallery as well as the gigs, roving between the current exhibitions and out in the garden as you soak up the live soundtrack. Meanwhile, some great eats and drinks will come courtesy of three different pop-ups — think, fizzy delights from the Pommery Champagne Bar; cheese platters, charcuterie and crisp brews at the Asahi Bar; and Yarra Valley vino from the Yering Station Wine Bar. NGV FRIDAY NIGHTS WINTER 2021 LINEUP August 6 — Eilish Gilligan August 13 — Eternal Crush August 20 — Akosia August 27 — Ali Barter September 3 — Bananagun September 10 — Solomon Sisay September 17 — Akosia September 24 — Ali Barter October 1 — Olympia [caption id="attachment_821537" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Thandi Phoenix performing at NGV, by Tim Carrafa[/caption] NGV Friday Nights run from 6–10pm.
Traditional Japanese nosh meets on-trend superfoods at Armadale's newest cafe, Walk Don't Run. Opened by Vincent Conti and Mario Minichilli — the duo responsible for both The Merchants Guild and Prana Chai — the eatery is serving up what's been dubbed 'mindful gourmet' food according to Good Food. In other words, you get all the goodness of superfoods, but without sacrificing taste. The man making this happen is head chef and co-owner Ryo Doyama, who's previously worked at St Edmonds. Drawing on his Japanese background, he's come up with innovative dishes, like green tea noodles with poached chicken, green beans, nuts and tahini-ponzu dressing. All ingredients are organic, locally-sourced where possible, and put together to make sure that diners leave feeling well-nourished. "The focus is on ensuring customers feel nourished and energised when they leave, like they have been good to themselves," Minichilli said in a media statement. "We want a health conscious person to pick anything from the menu and not have to worry about what is in the dish — as it is all super good for you because if the fresh produce isn’t organic, it doesn’t make it onto the plate." Walk Don't Run's interior has been designed to complement the menu — simple, clean, beautiful and features one-off pieces from Please Please Please. It's the work of designer Wendy Bergman of Bergman & Co., who's lengthy resume includes Kong, Hello Sailor, Taxi Kitchen, Mr Miyagi, The Meatball & Wine Bar and Green Park. Find Walk Don't Run at 17 Morey St, Armadale. Open Wednesday to Sunday, between 7am and 3pm. Via Good Food. Images: WDR Instagram.
Film lovers of Melbourne, prepare to get square eyes and sore backs. Once you see the entire Melbourne International Film Festival lineup in all its 370-title glory, however, you won't be complaining about the prospect of either. Certain to make fans of Frances Ha squeal with glee, MIFF have slotted in Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's second co-written collaboration, Mistress America, as their closing night feature. Indeed, American indies are in the spotlight in 2015, with 7 Chinese Brothers and The Overnight starring Jason Schwartzman, Mississippi Grind from Half Nelson's Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, and Sleeping With Other People with Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis also screening. Still looking at the indie scene, MIFF will welcome filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie, as well as Chilean director and screenwriter Sebastian Silva, to the festival for retrospectives of their work. After wowing audiences at SXSW, the Safdies' drug drama Heaven Knows What is one of the picks of the fest, while Silva presents his latest effort, Nasty Baby, as well as earlier offerings such as Magic Magic and Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus. Going local, alongside screenings of Sydney Film Festival hits The Daughter, Sherpa and Holding the Man, a heap of Aussie-made flicks will receive their world premieres. They include the haunting and confronting Downriver, Melbourne-made off-kilter character study Pawno, and coming-of-age comedy Sucker, as written by comedian Lawrence Leung. There's also Early Winter, the English-language debut of former Cannes Caméra d'Or winner Michael Rowe, plus Neon's celebration of the science behind and beauty of the titular lights, and Colin Hay – Waiting For My Real Life, a star-studded tribute to the Men at Work frontman turned successful solo artist. From a program that's jam-packed full of them, other highlights include Takeshi Kitano's Yakuza comedy Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen, hip hop threads doc Fresh Dressed, and Speed Sisters, about the first female racing team in the Arab world. Then there's Romania's answer to Rear Window in One Floor Below, and sleep paralysis documentary The Nightmare, which is guaranteed to make you never want to close your eyes again. Avid cinephiles will want to flock to My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, a behind-the-scenes look at the filmmaker behind Drive and Only God Forgives, as well as Raiders!, the story of a fan-made shot-by-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark made by three 11-year-olds back in the '80s. All this is in addition to earlier announcements — a sneak peek back in May, a list of Cannes titles in June, and the David Wenham-starring Force of Destiny for opening night — and the program also includes a 12-movie tribute to psychedelic fare, an ode to Australian icon David Gulpilil, a spotlight on true crime cinema, and a special selection of shorts designed to be watched vertically. The problem facing fest-goers isn't what to see, but what they can live with missing. Yes, MIFF 2015 isn't just about film — it's also about FOMO. The Melbourne International Film Festival runs from July 30 to August 16. For more information and to book tickets, visit the MIFF website
Once the realms of Dahl-created Wonkahood, entire rooms dedicated to drinking chocolate are now a reality in our humble non-fiction lives. Melbourne-based drinking chocolate producer Mörk Chocolate have opened the doors on their new store — an entire liquid chocolate brew house, just in time for autumn. Founded in 2012, Mörk is run by Kiril Shaginov and Josefin Zernell. According to Good Food, the two were workmates at a Swedish coffee roastery back in 2009, bonding over the often underrated, non-coffee bev of dreams: the hot chocolate. Shaginov and Zernell decided to take it upon themselves to perfect the art of drinking chocolate with a bang-on recipe, high-quality ingredients and handmade integrity. They've now sold their secret recipe chocolate to the likes of Melbourne institutions such as Proud Mary, Long Shot, Bluebird Espresso, Seven Seeds and St Ali; Sydney's Reuben Hills and Harry's Espresso Bar; and Brisbane's Two Trees. Enough history, what of this magic chocolate dream palace that is the Mork Chocolate Brew House? Shaginov and Zernell found a '50s bakery warehouse on Errol Street in North Melbourne, and have converted the whole thing into a 16-seater chocoholic's dream. There are multiple blends to try, including the one we're all squealish about: Campfire Chocolate (smoked dark hot chocolate with smoked salt and served with marshmallow skewers, oh god). There'll likely be tastings, so make sure you're all over their Facebook page to stay on top of your addiction. Find Mörk Chocolate Brew House at 150 Errol Street, North Melbourne. Open Tues–Sat 8am–5pm; Sun 9am-5pm. For bookings or more info, ring 9328 1386 or head to morkchocolate.com.au. Via Good Food.
Hold onto your doughnuts and prepare to say ay, caramba! more than once, because the Sydney Opera House has just announced a huuuuge headliner for this year's GRAPHIC festival: Matt Groening. The comedic cartoonist genius responsible for The Simpsons and Futurama will make his way to Australia for the very first time to speak at the two-day festival this November, which celebrates pop culture and graphic storytelling, animation and music. Considering most of us probably acquired the large majority of our pre-Internet knowledge on global popular culture from Groening's work (well, when we could wrangle watching The Simpsons instead of the 6pm news), it seems like a brilliant full circle that we're now able to see him speak IRL as adults. He will deliver a talk titled Secrets of The Simpsons, and a Couple of Milhouse Fun Facts, which will delve into the making of the show, include hardly-seen clips and apparently even some full-frontal cartoon nudity. He will also join a session with his friend and fellow cartoonist Lynda Barry. "The most intense Simpsons fanatics I've met are from Australia, so I'm coming to Sydney to check out all you lunatics," Groening said. "I'm going to share stories of the making of The Simpsons and show embarrassing home movies and rarely-seen animation, including oddball outtakes and uncensored Itchy & Scratchy cartoons." Other highlights from the GRAPHIC 2016 program announced this morning include a screening of George Lucas' 1971 sci-fi epic THX 1138, which will be re-scored live by Asian Dub Foundation. There will be a heap of free talks from cartoonists including Leunig and First Dog on the Moon, as well as two film premieres from Nail Gaiman, who has previously called the festival "the smartest, wisest, most cutting-edge festival and celebration of narrative literature and its intersection with culture in the world". GRAPHIC will take place at the Sydney Opera House from November 4-5. Tickets go on sale on Friday, September 16 here.
If you've been looking for a reason to go away for the weekend, block off a couple of days in March and head to Canberra for Enlighten 2017. Touted as the original Vivid, Enlighten celebrates art, culture, music, performance and innovation. Held in Canberra's iconic Parliamentary Triangle, the event site is transformed into a buzzing hub of activity, with spectacular architectural projections on iconic national attractions and a programme of free and ticketed interactive performance and installation works. Over each weekend from March 3-12, the city will light up with live music, performances, events and exclusive exhibitions. Large-scale projections will bring to life Canberra icons including the National Portrait Gallery, Australian Parliament House, National Library of Australia, National Gallery of Australia and Questacon. Highlight events from the programme include Pedaleando Hacia El Cielo by Theatre Tol (a large-scale aerial act featuring performers, singers, video imagery and pyrotechnics), the amazing, interactive digital architectural projections splashed across the National Portrait Gallery, the pop-up wine bars, roving entertainment and Enlighten Night Noodle Markets (which based on Canberra's population should be significantly less hectic than the Sydney version, meaning you'll be able to jump in and eat as many dumplings as you can). There's also Sunset on the Roof — drinks, music and snacks at the Australian Parliament House's rooftop bar for two nights only (March 3 and 11). The festival's live music line-up features indie band Tigertown, Australian singer/songwriter Cleopold and electronic duo Mondecreen, as well as Cookin' On 3 Burners and Bustamento, who will bring the funk vibes to the stage. A glowing, black-light, industrial 'dance zone' is popping up in a high-security factory production corridor on March 3. DJ Robot Citizen will lead the charge in showcasing Canberra's underground dark-electronic music scene on the night (who knew), and high-vis vests and glow-sticks will be supplied. Visit Enlighten 2017 and delve into the whole programme.
Sushi is great. Burritos are great. Frankly, it was only a matter of time before some genius combined the two. Now, the gastronomic phenomenon that has been filling bellies in the US is on its way to Melbourne. Opening soon on Little Collins Street in the CBD, Josie Jo is the brainchild of entrepreneur Jessica Tse, and sushi burritos are her specialty. "Basically I just really wanted to eat one," she explains when we ask what inspired her to open her to open a sushi burrito bar. "I love sushi myself, and I think it's a great concept." For those of you who are still unsure about what's certain to be the country's next big food trend (with an unrelated sushi burrito place also slated to pop up in Brisbane in November), the culinary combo is exactly what it sounds like. "It's a massive sushi roll, the size of a burrito," says Tse. "Everyone who has tried it says that it's really yummy." Diners at Josie Jo will be able to choose from a number of different varieties, served either in burrito form or as a rice bowl or salad. Think fresh salmon with spinach, avocado, cucumber, furikake, flying fish roe, pickled seaweed and wasabi mayo, or king prawn with roquette, cherry tomato, coriander leaves, red onion, avocado, grated cheddar, cumin, paprika, sour cream and chilli flakes. There's also a vegan option with marinated tofu, baby spinach, avocado, sweet corn, edamame, pickled radish, roasted sesame sauce and crispy onion. Alternatively, you can ditch the menu and mix-and-match your own. Josie Jo will also stock a "refined collection of drinks," including coconut water, ginger beer, poke green tea and organic cola. Although it's her first restaurant, Tse comes well prepared, having grown up in a family of chefs. "My father was a restaurateur, my brother is also a restaurateur, and I've cooked since I was five," she says. "I just love cooking for people." In any case, she will have a little bit of assistance from the restaurant's namesake, her cat, muse and fellow CEO. "She says she loves the food," quips Tse with a laugh, before quickly reassuring us that she's not actually taking business advice from her pet. "I'm not crazy." Look for Josie Jo at Shop 10, 318 Little Collins Street, Melbourne in the coming months. For more information visit their website, Facebook and Instagram.
Molly Rose Brewery is best known for its beers and wicked brewery bar in Collingwood. But the team is now branching out into the world of distillation, playing around with a few small-batch gins, pastis, vodkas and vermouths (with its own version of a Campari/ Aperol currently in the works as well). To help introduce punters to the range — named Véraison — the Molly Rose crew is running a bunch of fun Apéritif v Aperitivo sessions throughout the week. Every Wednesday–Friday from 4–6pm, the team is slinging $8 house-made spirits (crafted as part of the Véraison distilling project), giving away free olives and serving half-price Pacific oysters ($3 each). Three-strong gin-tasting flights are also available whenever the venue is open for $35 a pop. But wait, there's more. The Founder and Brewer of Molly Rose Nic Sandery is even running intimate gin masterclasses ($95) once a month, where you can craft your own custom citrus gin with Nic before having a sit-down dinner. If you're a fan of Molly Rose's brews, consider trying out these new concoctions.
You could trawl every art gallery and every private collection on the planet and you'd only find 800 paintings signed by Vincent Van Gogh. That's the sum total of what remains of the Dutch genius's output. So, it's insanely, insanely exciting that 60 of his masterpieces will be travelling to the National Gallery of Victoria in 2017. Set to open on April 28, the blockbuster exhibition will be titled Van Gogh and the Seasons and is expected by NGV to draw one of the gallery's biggest audiences yet. You can expect around 40 painting and 25 drawings, collected from some of the world's top-shelf galleries, including Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum and Otterlo's Kröller-Müller Museum. The curating is being taken care of by Sjraar Van Heugten, author of a genuine bucketload of books about Van Gogh and ex-head of the Van Gogh Museum's collections section. What's more, you'll also get to see a bunch of Van Gogh's letters, as well as some of the artworks he collected during his 37 years on Earth. These will be arranged to give some insight into how various artists have responded to the seasons. "It's a huge coup for the NGV and another reason why Victoria is the creative state," said Martin Foley, Victoria's Minister for Creative Industries, when announcing the exhibition on Friday 16 September. "Van Gogh is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable and famous names in art history. His incredible work laid the foundation for modern art and influences artists to this day." Van Gogh and The Seasons is the 22nd exhibition in the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, which the former Labor Government set up in 2004, to treat Melburnians to the best art in the world at least once a year. Also in the 2017 series will be the NGV's inaugural Festival of Photography, featuring works from William Eggelston (US) and Melbourne's own Zoë Croggon. Van Gogh and the Seasons opens on April 28 at NGV International. It's part of the gallery's Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition for 2017. Image: Vincent van Gogh, Dutch 1853–90, Orchard in Blossom, Bordered by Cypresses (1888), oil on canvas, 64.9 x 81.2 cm, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, © Kröller-Müller Museum.
One of Broadway's hottest and most prohibitively priced tickets of the last five years, The Book of Mormon, is finally getting an Australian staging, making its Australian premiere at Melbourne's Princess Theatre this year. Written by South Park and Team America's notoriously puerile creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, together with Robert Lopez of genius grown-up muppet show Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon is probably one of the most lauded comedies ever to have centred on the Church of Latter Day Saints, African missions, AIDS, bum jokes and super ironic racism. If it wasn't so smart and so funny, few would forgive it. But since it is, The Book of Morman has picked up nine Tonys, four Olivier Awards and a Grammy since it debuted in 2011, and has been called "one of the most joyously acidic bundles Broadway has unwrapped in years". Directed by Parker with choreographer Casey Nicholaw, the show has a new local cast. If you've been among the throngs to see the musical in New York, Chicago or London, then you'll be plenty excited that your Melbourne friends will now get the chance to go learn all the idiosyncratic details of Mormonism, meet war criminal General Butt-Fucking Naked and know the true meaning of the hakuna matata-like saying 'Hasa Diga Eebowai'. If you're still deciding whether or buy tickets or simply waiting patiently for the day to come, get in the mood by watching this clip of Girls star and original Mormon cast member Andrew Rannells singing the ballad of religious faith 'I Believe' at the Tony Awards. UPDATE, JANUARY 6, 2017: The Book of Mormon has announced an additional preview show on Tuesday, January 17, a day before performances officially start. The best part? Tickets are only $20. But to get your hands on them, you'll have to physically get yourself to the Princess Theatre box office from 10am on Monday, January 9. We're betting you'll have to get there real early. All the details are here.
As many films do, The Space Between begins with a series of influential events that shake up an otherwise stagnant life. When his stint in New York came to an unplanned end through a family tragedy, Marco (Flavio Parenti) returned to his home town of Udine in Northern Italy, gave up on his dream of being a chef and carved out a routine existence — and just as he has somewhat accepted his fate, more hardship strikes. But at the same time, he meets Olivia (Maeve Dermody), an Australian in the country wading through her own family and career matters. A connection forms as the two try to find their path forward. The film's narrative isn't just an interesting story worth spending 98 minutes watching — it's also somewhat based on reality. In fact, The Space Between is partially inspired by the day that Melbourne-based writer-director Ruth Borgobello met her husband Davide Giusto (who also serves as one of movie's producers), and the bond they forged as he coped with his real-life grief. In turning the tale into a film (her first feature, no less), Borgobello has not only transported parts of her life to the big screen, but has also crafted the first-ever Australian-Italian co-production in the process. While the former feat has personal significance, the latter is no lesser of an achievement; indeed, a filmmaking treaty between the two countries was signed back in 1993. Just how did Borgobello draw from such intimate experiences? And how did she manage to make history with her debut feature? With The Space Between currently touring Australia as part of the Italian Film Festival, we chatted with the filmmaker about finding inspiration in Italy, working through trauma and turning an aspect of your life into a feature film. ON LETTING REALITY INSPIRE THE NARRATIVE "I met my husband the day he lost someone very important to him unexpectedly. We'd sort of already had this plan to spend a couple of weeks together, because he's a good friend of my cousin in Italy, and he was planning to come to Australia, and he had his visa ready. And so, in spite of this loss and grief he was going through, we spent a couple of weeks together, and I guess that always stayed with me as a very transformational moment for both of us. We were in our early 20s, so it kind of throws everything into question and makes you think very carefully about the life path that you want to choose when something like that happens. You tend to think you're quite invincible when you're that age, I think. Years later I kind of was developing another project focused more on a migration story of my family and my father, but I guess just spending time in Italy and thinking about that moment, I was sort of quite inspired and pushed to do something a bit more personal as my first film. And talking about contemporary Italy within that as well. So, it was inspired by that moment — but the actual characters and the journey that they go on is very fictional, and very, much more connected to Italy today than back in that time." ON DRAWING FROM EXPERIENCED GRIEF AND TRAUMA "When I set out to write this script, I was sort of basing it on my husband's experience of losing someone close to him — and I had never lost someone, especially not a close friend in the way that he had. So I tried to get inside his head, I guess, and his grieving process. And then also working with my co-writer who had lost his father when he was quite young, so he had gone through that. But then, strangely, in the journey of writing it — and it was something that really kind of terrified me when it happened — my best friend actually was in an accident, a very unexpected accident, and was in a coma for a few weeks hovering between life and death. Luckily now she's fine, she's got through it, but I guess it strangely sort of brought me very close to that experience, which can be quite challenging because when it happens to you — you don't know if you can actually go there to bring it into the script. But, I tried to write during that period just to tune into the emotion of it all. I guess with the grief, I think the lesson that came for us that was very powerful — it was that he left...but then someone else arrived in that moment that would be very important and play a similar role, I guess, in Davide, my husband's, life. Just that sort of interesting thing that someone leaves and someone else arrives, and I guess to trust in life sometimes that it will bring you support in those kind of moments, and then opportunity to maybe grow and evolve." ON MAKING THE FIRST AUSTRALIAN-ITALIAN CO-PRODUCTION "It's just enormous, and I think it's not just sort of all the relationships and paperwork and trying to make the two governments sort of work — or their rules — really work together. Also, then you've got to translate everything and every time it changes you've got to re-translate it. So it is an enormous amount of work. I guess, at the end of the day, it's just kind of willingness and determination to make it work. And we sort of sensed that if we could make it work, then there would be a lot of positivity that would come out of that — obviously for the film, but also creating future possibilities between the two countries. So it's worth it. When you know you're going to make history, it's worth it to persevere. And we had a lot of willingness from Italy and the Italian government too, that really supported us in wanting to make it work, so that helps." ON SETTING HER FILM IN ITALY — AND FINDING THE RIGHT LOCATIONS "We spent years of research looking at locations that are not the typical tourist locations. They're not the places you could open a book and find out where they are — they're all sort of quite hidden and you have to know people who know people. So it took a lot to find those places that would really serve the psychology and the narrative of Marco's journey, and with Olivia. So I spent time myself there in Italy, living for periods of six months or so, just to also really get to know the people and the place. And trying to perceive the current climate of today, and what's going on, and the relationship between the environment and this sort of crisis as well, which I always found quite contradictory because there's so much beauty and inspiration in what's been created in the past, but it feels very stagnant in the present. So it was about sort of being able to marry those two together." ON HER TIES WITH ITALY "I've got two projects that I'm working on, and both are connected with Italy again. One of them is also sort of connected to climate change, and I really want to do a sort of original creative story around that, kind of featuring nature as a main character — and it's positive, not fear-driven. So that's something that I'm heavily researching at the moment. And then another film, perhaps with Italy dealing with refugees and what's happening at the moment in Europe with that crisis, through quite a courageous character who goes out on a limb to help the refugees. So sort of inspired by a true story that we've come across. I think we've learnt so much, so it will make the next one easier. I'm sure it will always be challenging, but it feels like there's a clear path now." The Space Between is currently screening at the Italian Film Festival, which tours Australia until October 19. Check out our top five picks of the festival.
In recent years, we've encountered the likes of the cronut, the cruffin and even the macanut. Now, joining this ever-growing foodie family of hybrid frankenpastries is the baklava muffin, an outrageously logical invention by chef Peter Conistis for Sydney's acclaimed Alpha restaurant. Featuring a honey-spiced batter with roasted walnuts, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, cinnamon and dark chocolate, the muffin is topped with Alpha's signature chocolate hazelnut baklava, baked in filo pastry and drizzled with spiced honey syrup. What do we call you? A 'bakluffin'? A 'mufflava'? A 'bluffin'? Conistis' creation is a contemporary interpretation of traditional Greek food. "I wanted to create muffins for our Alpha Foodstore that are synonymous with Greek cuisine," he says. "They're an indulgent reflection of the dishes we serve at Alpha." Featuring on Alpha's breakfast menu alongside the already crowd-pleasing spanakopita muffin, the baklava muffin is bound to become a favourite amongst Sydney food lovers, so expect to see it all over your Instagram feed very soon. Find Alpha at 238 Castlereagh Street, Sydney. Open Monday to Sunday, 7.30–10.30am for baklava muffins, then 12–3pm, 6–9pm.
There is nothing quite like saluting the sun from a Melbourne rooftop. Taking full advantage their own high-flying, inner city location, Rooftop Yoga is hosting a series of Saturday yoga sessions, to be held in their studio in the sky. Beginners and well-practised yogis alike are invited to get bendy with a mix of Vinyasa and Ashtanga, under the expert guidance of two experienced instructors. As you stretch and relax, you'll look out over the city's sweeping skyline. If that's not motivation, then we don't know what is. Running from 8.30am to 10am on January 6, 13 and 27, classes cost $20, with attendees advised to bring a mat, towel and water.
If there's an Aussie film that's had everyone talking over the last few months, it's Down Under. You don't make a comedy about the 2005 Cronulla riots — and about racism in Australia in general — without causing some chatter. The fact that the flick has reached cinemas at a time when the subject of prejudice and discrimination has been splashed all over the local media has certainly helped. Actually, unless you're actor-turned-writer/director Abe Forsythe, you don't make a movie about either the horrific events of more than a decade ago or the pointless hatred behind them at all. Determined to create "a communal experience where we can all just share in just kind of how stupid and how scary everything has kind of gotten," Forsythe didn't hold back when it came to shining a light on the more problematic side of our multicultural country — and he spoke with us about his motivation, spreading a message through laughter and the timeliness of the film's release. ON DECIDING TO MAKE A FILM ABOUT THE CRONULLA RIOTS "I think the main thing for me personally was that I found that I was going to be a father, and there were two things in play. One was that I realised I didn't have much time to get the script happening because soon there was going to be someone that I was just completely responsible for, and I was kind of running out of time. And then the other was that I felt like I was bringing someone into the world and I guess I was concerned about that. This was six years ago that I wrote it. I was looking around, and going, 'This child that I'm bringing into the world has absolutely no say about it — and what kind of world is he going to be exposed to?' So that was all stuff that led me to the Cronulla riots. Because, I mean, I've got a son, and so much of the Cronulla riots, I feel, has to do with masculinity and displaced masculinity and the way males in our country — but also everywhere around the world — the way they can deal with certain things. So it was at a particular time in my life where everything just kind of bubbled up and just fell into place. And then it wrote itself very, very easily and quickly. I mean, I spent five years working on the script, but the initial draft just kind of poured out of me." ON TURNING A HEATED HISTORICAL SITUATION INTO A COMEDY "Before writing this script, [comedy's] what I had been working in. I had been working in comedy a long time ago when I made my first film [2003's Ned] — but the years preceding writing Down Under I'd been experimenting with telling these sorts of stories but in a comedic way in a couple of films I'd made for Tropfest and a couple of other things I'd been working on. "For me, it's really interesting to use comedy to take an audience into a subject matter which I guess can shine light on that subject matter in a different way. And also, it's my experience that if you can make people laugh, you're actually opening them up in a way to accepting other things. If you're laughing, you're opening yourself up emotionally, and if you're opening yourself up emotionally, then you're more receptive to, you know, a movie that's actually saying something about something." ON BALANCING HUMOUR AND TRAGEDY "To use an example, the opening two minutes where we have all that real riot footage, one consistent thing throughout every screening of this movie that we've had has been how shocking everyone finds the opening two minutes. And I think that's partly to do with the fact that it has been ten years — and when I wrote this six years ago, one of the reasons I wrote it was that I felt like we we hadn't dealt with what happened during the riots. So, it kind of feels like we've just brushed it away, and obviously recently everything's been changing locally and internationally as well. But people were shocked by — people have always been shocked by — that first two minutes. "We actually tested the movie without opening the movie with that footage, and when we didn't have that footage at the beginning of the movie, people actually had trouble with all the stuff that happens later in the movie because it kind of took them a little bit by surprise. But by opening the movie with all that footage, where you go, 'This happened, these people did this, and it's as bad as it looks,' we were actually kind of making people go, 'Okay, this subject matter, even though we're going to ease into comedy, there's going to be all of this other stuff which appears every now and then and eventually it's going to end this way too.' "So it was a tricky tonal balancing act to go from scenes where you're laughing at all sorts of different things and behaviour, but then it was always important that we were jolting back into the darker aspects and easing back into the comedy... It was tricky and it took a lot of time to get it right. But I felt like you couldn't tell this particular story and deal with this subject matter without having the darker aspects in there." ON THE TIMELINESS OF THE FILM'S RELEASE "I think it's going to make people question what we've done more, definitely. But it is one of those things — you can have a preconceived notion of what this movie is before you see it, but after you see it, I think it's pretty clear that we're trying to be respectful with how complicated this movie is and the issues are. "Even if we're going to get specific about it, the last couple of weeks with everything that happened with Sonia Kruger's comments on television and Pauline Hanson and everything — it is a little bit crazy that for me, writing something six years ago dealing with this issue, that it is getting released at a time that I could not have guessed with everything that's happening in Australian and also internationally." Down Under is currently screening in Australian cinemas. Read our review.
Thirty Eight Chairs has something especially comforting to it. It may be the warm bread that lands on your table straight after ordering, or the five types of pasta on the menu. Or it might have something to do with the hospitable waitstaff who take their time to entertain their guests, as opposed to plonking plates onto tables and leaving faster than you can say grazie. The team here are experienced, having dished out Italian food in South Yarra for years already. Constantly flying out of the corner of the restaurant are salumi boards piled with cured meats such as a 24-month aged prosciutto di Parma and porchetta arrosto — that is, roasted, rolled suckling pig. These all make for great grazing, but we suggest you visit for dinner for a complete course of its Italian cuisine. Pasta remains the frontrunner at Thirty Eight Chairs — it calls itself a pasta bar, so it's unsurprisingly the dish works its way onto most diners' dockets. The pappardelle duck ragu in Napoli sauce remains a crowd favourite for good reason. The monstrous wine list can be a little overwhelming, so we urge you to put your faith in the waitstaff, who are extremely well-versed with what wine will best accompany your food. The Gibele (a Moscato) from Sicilian winery Duca di Castelmonte matches almost anything — dry and aromatic, yet soft. And if you find a slither of room in that stomach for dessert, we suggest Thirty Eight Chairs's tiramisu, that achieves the perfect amount of sweetness, instead of being drowned in coffee. The volume of the space makes for a fantastic dining experience, hosting "about 38" chairs inside a high-ceilinged room. It's refreshing to feel comfortable, and not suffocated by dozens of tables in a space that simply can't take them. Appears in: Where to Find the Best Pasta in Melbourne for 2023
Movie fans, prepare for your first wave of film envy for 2016. On January 21, the Sundance Film Festival kicks off its annual celebration of cinema in the snow — and that means a host of celebrities are headed to Utah to party with Robert Redford, and a new batch of indie titles are about to premiere. Last year, we were so consumed with excitement about the program that we outlined the ten flicks we desperately wanted to see on Australian screens — and with Mistress America, The End of the Tour, Dope, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck and Sleeping With Other People on our list, we had a pretty good hit rate (if we do say so ourselves). So, what's got us buzzing this time around? Well, theres a few documentaries, a mermaid thriller and an all-star cast in a film named Wiener-Dog, to name a few standouts. Here's our picks of the films we hope Aussie audiences will get the chance to watch, either courtesy of a local release or a festival — plus a few more we've got our eye on. HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE There's plenty about this flick that appeals: its manhunt for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle storyline, and Sam Neil and Rhys Darby featuring among the cast, to name a few. However, most of our enthusiasm for Hunt for the Wilderpeople stems from the involvement of Taika Waititi. To date, the New Zealand filmmaker has brought us the charming Boy, directed episodes of Flight of the Conchords, and co-starred and co-directed one of the funniest flicks of the past few years, the vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows. With Marvel sequel Thor: Ragnarok coming up next, he's clearly bound for bigger things, but this eccentric comedy sounds like vintage Waititi. Also watch out for: Sing Street, another music-focused flick from Begin Again director John Carney — this time about an Irish teen in a glam-ish band. LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD More and more documentaries keep touching upon the topic of the technology we're all now unable to live without. The latest comes from none other than the great Werner Herzog, which marks his first factual effort since Into the Abyss five years ago. History and horror stories combine as he interviews a wealth of experts and tries to look at both the good and the bad of the online environment. And yes, the filmmaker provides the narration — because hearing his distinctive tones wax philosophical is all part of the Herzog doco experience. Also watch out for: Under the Gun, a dissection of the firearms debate that continues to divide America. WIENER-DOG When is a sequel not quite a sequel? When it takes one figure from a film and inserts them into a compilation of tales. That's the case with Todd Solondz's Wiener-Dog, with its title referring to the as dachshund at the centre of its stories, as well as the Welcome to the Dollhouse character of Dawn Wiener (then played by Heather Matarazzo, now by Greta Gerwig) it crosses paths with. If you're a fan of the director or the 1995 feature, this is all good news. Plus, there's the cast, with the ever-luminous Gerwig joined by everyone from Kieran Culkin and Girls' Zosia Mamet to Julie Delpy and Danny DeVito. Also watch out for: Maggie's Plan, also starring continued Sundance fave Gerwig, but this time contemplating marriage and children alongside Ethan Hawke and Julianne Moore. CERTAIN WOMEN Another film, another set of intersecting stories — however, don't let the format deter you from Certain Women. In one tale, Laura Dern is immersed in a hostage situation. In another, Michelle Williams copes with marital problems in her new home. In the next, Kristen Stewart plays a lawyer-turned-teacher. All three segments are tied to a vision of America's midwest that sees the women forge paths forward. If you're not already sold, knowing that the movie is directed by Kelly Reichardt — who previously worked with Williams on Wendy and Lucy and Meek’s Cutoff, and most recently helmed Night Moves — should take care of that. Also watch out for: Love and Friendship, which sees Whit Stillman reuniting with his The Last Days of Disco stars Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny for an adaptation of an unpublished Jane Austen novella. THE LURE If you think there's just not enough mermaid-related horror flicks, then The Lure should catch your attention. Aquatic sirens feature quite prominently in the feature debut of Polish director Agnieszka Smoczyńska, as does a tale of romance, some bloodlust and a neon-lit dance club. Yep, this is a musical affair as well as a scary one, coming together with what Sundance describes as "a knack for both burlesque and the grotesque". If it can live up to that description, consider us pumped. And even if it can't, it has to be better than one of the last films to chart this territory: the exactly-as-bad-as-it-sounds Killer Mermaid. Also watch out for: Convenience store clerks, Johnny Depp playing his character from Tusk, and plenty of silliness in the next Kevin Smith effort, Yoga Hosers. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA In 2012, Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret finally found its way to Australian cinemas. Problems and delays had plagued the film for years — the Anna Paquin-starring effort was actually made in 2007 — however if ever a film was worth the wait, it was this one. Thankfully, Lonergan's latest doesn't seem to be suffering the same fate — we're just hopeful that it will deliver. Here, a loner handyman has to take care of his teenage nephew and face a past tragedy. The underrated Affleck brother, Casey, leads a cast that also includes Kyle Chandler and Michelle Williams. Also watch out for: Belgica, the new bar-set, Soulwax-scored film from Belgian writer and director Felix van Groeningen, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his polarising The Broken Circle Breakdown. THE BIRTH OF A NATION If you know your film history, you should've already heard of a film with this title. Back in 1915, filmmaker D. W. Griffith made a silent, black and white chronicle of the American Civil War. The film is still considered ahead of its time in a technical sense, but was courted for its stance on race and depiction of the Klu Klux Klan. Now, actor-turned-director Nate Parker (Beyond the Lights) uses the same name for an effort charting a real-life slave rebellion in 1831 — and there's a statement in his choice of moniker, of course. He also stars on screen, alongside Armie Hammer as a slave owner. Also watch out for: The Office's John Krasinski steps behind the camera as director for The Hollars, a family comedy featuring Anna Kendrick, Margo Martindale, Charlie Day and Sharlto Copley. ALI & NINO He might be known for delving into the life and death of both Amy Winehouse and Ayrton Senna in two of the last decade's most powerful docos — that'd be Amy and Senna — however, Asif Kapadia also has a few narrative features on his resume. Ali & Nino marks his return to non-factual storytelling, adapting the novel of the same name. This time, he examines a clash of cultures in Baku between 1918 and 1920. Given that the film explores a romance that springs up between a Muslim Azerbaijani boy and Christian Georgian girl, expect plenty of tension between traditional and modern ways in this politically-charged love story. Also watch out for: Southside With You, a romance about a guy called Barack and a girl called Michelle. We know who you're thinking of — and yes, we mean those ones. HOLY HELL When Holy Hell was first announced in the Sundance lineup, it didn't list the director. Filmmaker Will Allen initially kept his identity a secret — which, considering the subject of his documentary, is more than a little understandable. For 20 years he lived inside a secretive spiritualist community led by a charismatic guru, filming everything that went on. That footage forms the basis of the doco, however Allen also shares his own recollections, and interviews fellow former members of the community. He ponders not only the organisation he devoted two decades of his life to, but the lengths people are willing to go to in search of happiness. Also watch out for: NUTS!, a doco that tells the so-crazy-it-must-be-true tale of the small-town doctor who tried to cure impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men. We're serious. THE INTERVENTION You've seen Clea DuVall in the likes of The Faculty, Girl Interrupted, Argo and TV's Carnivale — and now you can watch her directorial debut. In The Intervention, she stars as well as guides Cobie Smulders, Alia Shawkat, Natasha Lyonne, Melanie Lynskey, Jason Ritter and Ben Schwartz through a weekend trip that doesn't quite turn out the way everyone thinks it will. Four couples head away for what seems like the usual booze-soaked holiday, however, the apparently jolly jaunt also doubles as an intervention. Yep, this one is a dramedy, making the most of the dramatic and comic talents of its ensemble of performers. Also watch out for: Other People, which corrals Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford, June Squibb and Parks and Recreation's Retta into the big screen, feature-length debut of Saturday Night Live writing supervisor Chris Kelly.
Last year, Jungle’s unique brand of modern soul exploded worldwide, landing them prime positions at international music festivals and a Mercury Prize-nominated debut album to boot. Earworms such as 'Time', 'The Heat', and the triple j Hottest 100 shoe-in 'Busy Earnin' (it reached number #67) made everyone wake up and pay attention. But they're no mere studio cats — Jungle's live set is one of the best excuses to bust out your dancing shoes we've seen in a while. Not content with playing around with their laptops on stage, Tom McFarland and Josh Lloyd-Watson — more commonly known as J and T — will be joined by Jungle's live band, recreating their music in all its harmonic splendour. Opening the show will be Melbourne’s golden boy Oscar Key Sung, so arriving early to this gig has more advantages than just a prime position. If you're not content seeing Jungle in their set at St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, get along to their sideshow while they're in town.
Things are getting animated at ACMI in Federation Square, as Melbourne’s largest celebration of local and international animation comes rolling into town. For eight straight days, the Melbourne International Animation Festival will showcase hundreds of shorts from more than 35 countries, giving audiences the chance to get up close and personal with some of the brightest stars of the medium today. The festival begins on Sunday, June 21, with a special Australian Showcase on opening night. There’s more local content in the Australian Panorama and Australian Student Showcase sections, as well as a six-part symposium on the centenary of Australian animation. There are also a number of international streams, including specialised looks at Irish and Slovakian animation, plus the always bizarre late night program that is definitely not suitable for kids. This year’s festival will also see the return of the RENDER Animation Conference, a two-day event featuring an array of presentations from leading local and international animation experts. MIAF 2015 runs June 21 to 28. For the full program, visit www.miaf.net.
One of the best hidden secrets in Melbourne's CBD is finally trickling out into the mainstream consciousness, and you'd be smart to jump onto this bandwagon before the ever-delightful Captains of Industry becomes the next MoVida and you spend months waiting for your next reservation. Elegant yet unpretentious, the 'Gentleman's Outfitter and Café' is tucked upstairs along one of the many spiralling backstreets of Melbourne, and offers a surprisingly casual attitude despite its stylish clientele. Whilst you might have previously ventured into the old-world settings at the Captains for a barber or shoemaker, it's their new seasonal menu and reinvention of the bistro from fledging sandwich bar to finer evening fare that has really struck a chord with Melbourne's dining elite and looks set to catapult the versatile business to a new high. As multifaceted as their various services, the Captain's bistro transforms from morning coffee bar to elegant evening dining, with both a la carte and set menu choices available on Tuesday-Thursday evenings (with a view to adding Saturdays in the near future), and their Friday night's feature live jazz music with oysters for all, cheekily titled 'Get Shucked'. Whilst the bistro's former attention towards bespoke products and a casual atmosphere may have been tailored more towards distinguished gentlemen with a penchant for whiskey, it's adventurous new menu brings Captains of Industry's artisan approach to a high society setting, featuring inspired central dishes such as Coq Au Vin with asparagus, tarragon and truffle, or King Fish with ink, celery and vanilla. Topped off with perfectly sweet treats like the canelé pastries or a lemon tart it's the kind of dining experience that's uniquely Melbourne but manages to hold up to global fine dining trends. Whilst the prices are higher than in the old days of sandwiches and coffee (the dinner set menu is around $75 depending on how many courses you choose), it's worth saving your pennies for, and definitely worth supporting a truly local, finely-tuned artisan business, which is such a rarity these days and what's so memorable about Captains of Industry.
Well now, if this isn't the sweetest thing we've seen all week. CineFix have transformed Hayao Miyazaki's Academy Award-winning Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away into an adorable 8-bit 'video game'. You can't pop a quarter in to play it, but you can see the entire film summarised in five minutes with a delightful video game version of Joe Hisaishi's score. Follow Chihiro, Haku, No-Face and Yubaba through the 'levels' (No-Face's bathhouse fight scene is particularly great) below: Via Geekologie.
Get ready to chow down on mouthwatering Neil Perry hamburgers. Since opening in Sydney's World Square last October, the celebrity chef's high-end fast food joint Burger Project has become a favourite with local foodies, serving up a variation of his iconic Rockpool wagyu beef burger at a fraction of the price. Now, less than two weeks after announcing a second Burger Project location in Parramatta, Perry has revealed the details for not one, not two, but five additional restaurants, including three across the border in Melbourne. According to Good Food, Perry will open the first Melbourne Burger Project in March next year in the St Collins Lane development (formerly Australia on Collins), near the corners of Collins and Elizabeth Streets in the CBD. The licensed restaurant will operate between 11am and 10pm, and will seat around 100 people. Two additional locations will follow — one at Chadstone shopping centre in August, and another at Crown Casino at the end of 2016. He's also reportedly considering spots in the inner suburbs, including Richmond and Carlton. In Sydney, meanwhile, Perry is hoping to open a store in the MLC Centre in Martin Place by November, along with a Chatswood location in mid-2016. That's in addition to the Parramatta restaurant, although still no word on when we can expect that site to start cooking. He's previously expressed his desire to have as many as 50 stores nationwide, and told Good Food that he's also looking overseas — earmarking New Zealand, Singapore and the United States as possible areas for expansion. So, what exactly do they serve at The Burger Project, anyway? Well, assuming Perry sticks closely to the winning World Square formula, you can expect a variety of tasty burger including the Magic Mushroom burger, the Spicy Fried Chicken burger and of course the classic American cheeseburger. You can also get a bun-free burger served in a lettuce bowl, at no additional cost. Side options include chips with salt or chipotle chilli, and crispy hot wings with Sichuan pepper. And for dessert, dive into one of their decadent ice cream creations such as the Marsh-Cara-Mallow (salted caramel ice cream with hazelnut praline, burnt marshmallow and chocolate sauce) or The Bounty Hunter (vanilla bean ice cream with chocolate sauce, toasted coconut and crushed meringue). Don't act like you're not impressed. Via Good Food.
Already one of the best streets to eat on in Melbourne, Flinders Lane is adding another culinary notch to its belt. Opening next month just a few doors down from Chin Chin, Woody P. will serve up simple, tasty Mediterranean cuisine in a relaxed and sophisticated setting from May. So what Mediterranean nosh can we expect to be nibbling this autumn? Highlights on the Woody P. menu will include kingfish crudo with beetroot, fennel and horseradish, pork cheek croquettes with apple aioli and chorizo crumb, corn-fed duck with blood plum, and 48-hour beef ribs with roast onions and gremolata. If you’re wondering what some of those dishes might look like, have a bit of a perve on the delicious-looking Woody P. trailer: [embed]https://vimeo.com/123688387[/embed] The menu is the brainchild of Head Chef Clinton Camilleri, who has spent the better part of a decade working in kitchens across rural Victoria. His tenure as Head Chef at the Healesville Hotel helped earn the venue the 2014 Age Good Food Guide Regional Restaurant of the Year award. At Woody P. he’ll be assisted by Venue Manager Brent Scales, previously of Stokehouse Cafe and the Stokehouse City Bar. The interior of the restaurant was designed by Eades and Bergman, who can already lay claim to a number of Melbourne eating institutions including Kong, Mr. Miyagi and Flinders Lane’s own Meatball and Wine Bar. Expect exposed brick walls, textured glass and contemporary pendant lighting, as well as a large outdoor dining area with lanterns and bluestone floors. It'll be like summer never left. Woody P. is currently expected to open in May at 121 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. You can stay up to date via their Facebook. Image by Simon Shiff.
After spending so much time indoors in 2020, we're all keen to be outdoors as much as possible (while the good weather lasts). And one spot you can soak up the good vibes is Federation Square, which is transforming into a garden oasis this season. On January 15, the CBD space will unveil new grass zones, deck chairs, colourful beanbags and a jam-packed program of free happenings to keep you entertained (and comfy) for those lazy summer afternoons and evenings ahead. The roster of events includes live music, wellbeing classes — think yoga, cooking demos and life drawing — plus screenings of major sports events and an outdoor cinema screening classics like Muriel's Wedding, The Great Gatsby and Red Dog. In collaboration with ACMI, Fed Square will screen a silent film on the digital facade with a live score accompaniment on selected evenings, too. And, when you get hungry, you can get food delivered from any of the surrounding Fed Square restaurants and bars, including Riverland, Mama's Canteen and Atiyah Lebanese Kitchen. Image: Liam Neal
If you have reservations about eating non-traditional breakfast food before midday, Easey's may not be your scene. Or maybe it is. After all, if there was ever a good place to turn those preconceived Western ideas about what defines 'breakfast food' on their heads, it's a place that takes Frosties and Pop Tarts and pairs them with fried chicken. Having just opened for business on Friday night after many months of hype, Easey's is now flipping burgers and frying chicken at 48 Easey Street in Melbourne's heaving hospo suburb of Collingwood. The five-storey venue — where you can eat in the disused train carriages that sit on the roof — comes from Jeremy Gaschk and Jimmy Hurlston, the guy behind the legendary burger-reviewing blog, Jimmy’s Burgers. But it's not just the burgers that's got us intrigued — it's the breakfast menu, too. They're not the first to offer fried chicken in the early slot — Belle's Hot Chicken does theirs with waffles and a dusting of icing sugar for brunch on weekends, as do Bowery to Williamsburg — but they're certainly the the first to pair it with two of America's most celebrated sugary breakfast foods. The fried chicken is covered in finely crushed, crunchy bits of sugar-coated corn flakes (otherwise known as Frosties), and comes with a serve of deep-fried Pop Tarts. It's a double whammy in all senses of the word. But take note: this is strictly breakfast food, and it's only available from 8–11am. For all other times, you'll just have to be satisfied with Jimmy's all-day Easey Cheesy beef burger. And for the health conscious, Fare, a wholefoods cafe, will open on the ground floor of the venue shortly. Easey's is located at 48 Easey Street, Collingwood and is open Mon–Thurs 7am–11pm, Fri–Sat 7am–1am, and Sunday 7am–11pm.
Ever wanted to try your hand at those insane Gelato Messina laboratory cakes but haven't really know where the hell to start? Want to make your own Messina cake right at home, to create your own personal cake filled with the creamy goo of the gods? Well, gird thy loins Messina fans, your favourite iced confection wizards have just released a gelato cake cookbook. Founder Nick Palumbo and head chef Donato Toce have knocked up a sexy little creation named Gelato Messina: The Creative Department which features recipes for a collection of their gelato cakes. Messina have built a reputation for their cakes, not only because they’re crammed full of that quality gelato we know and love, but also because they look incredible and a little unreal. The Dr Evil’s Magic Mushroom cake, Hazelnut Zucotto or the Black Forest are our picks for the ‘Cakes most like to make us cry with delight and not share with anyone’ category. And yes, we know ours will probably end up looking like an inside-out duck when it’s done but heck, we’ve simply got to try it. If you’re looking for the recipe for the standard gelato, you can also check out the 2014 cookbook Gelato Messina: The Recipes which details instructions on how to make those beloved foundation flavours, such as dulce de leche, pear and rhubarb, poached figs in marsala and salted caramel and white chocolate. For your own personal information, we’ll add some advice on how to best consume the resultant gelato: tape a serving spoon to each hand and don’t stop them whirring until you’ve hoovered up all the gelato in range. Grab your copy of Gelato Messina: The Creative Department from today, at all bookstores who know what's what or from the Book Depository.
If you don't own a ute, find a mate who does and get your hands on as many eskys you can find. Because the Moon Dog brewery crew are inviting punters to fill up their ute trays and eskys with as many beers and seltzers they can fit on Saturday, October 21. A small esky will set you back $25, a medium $50 and a large $100. What determines these sizes? That's up to the staff working at the sale. Be nice, and they'll likely do you good. And if you bring a ute, you can fill up the tray for a bargain $500. Depending on how finely honed your Tetris skills are, you can potentially fit a huge amount of beer and seltzers into one of those bad boys. [caption id="attachment_844719" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Samantha Schultz[/caption] The Spring Warehouse Sale is running at Moon Dog World in Preston from 12pm–4pm (or until stock sells out), so you might want to get down early and wait in line. It's a first come, first served kind of sale. And even though Moon Dog's only slinging older drinks (to make space for new summer stock) everything is up to code. Expect a stack of favourites, including seltzers, a huge range of beers and a few barrel-aged specialty releases. If you're keen to stock up on drinks ahead of summer, this ain't a bad way to do it. And if the thought of a ute full of beer is too daunting, just team up with a group of mates and share the spoils among you. The Moon Dog Warehouse Sale is running on Saturday, October 21, from 12pm–4pm (or until stock runs out) at Moon Dog World in Preston. Cash payments only.
When your nine-to-five plays out like a well-oiled machine, it can sometimes feel like each week is a little same-same. But Melbourne is brimming with a fine bounty of things to experience and explore each and every day. So aside from casual laziness and a little lack of inspiration, there's really nothing stopping you from squeezing some adventure and spontaneity into your schedule. We've teamed up with Mazda3 to celebrate the landmark 40th anniversary of their iconic small cars, and in turn, help you celebrate the little things that bring that sense of adventure to life. Shake things up, as we give you seven different detours to take each week in Melbourne. From Monday to Sunday, enrich your everyday with one completely achievable activity that inspires you to take the scenic route as you go about your daily routine. This week, play mini-golf inside a pop culture-themed bar, break a sweat dancing it out like Beyoncé and stock up on crafty presents at the Finders Keepers markets. Plus, we've got your future detours sorted for the next few weeks here. All require no more effort than a tiny break from the norm — what's your excuse for not trying them all?
Earlier this year, over a frosty July weekend, Spencer Tunick staged his latest mass nude photography work. After months of controversy, the New York artist snapped 860 naked Melburnians on Chapel Street, as well as in the rooftop car park of the Prahran Woolworths — with a brightly coloured series of images entitled Return of the Nude the end result. If you've been wondering what the finished product looked like, Tunick has now revealed the final four photographs. The Return of the Nude installations feature participants donning pink and red sheer sheets for separate shots — and, in another, wearing a vibrant palette of body paint. That's not all that Tunick has in store. Art fans will also be able to experience the installation via virtual reality, thanks to the release of a location-triggered VR app. Available from this weekend from the Apple and Google stores, it'll enable anyone visiting Artists Lane in Windsor — aka where some of the photos were taken — to not only feel like they're in the image, but like they're surrounded by 550 nude people covered in paint. Explaining Return of the Nude, Tunick notes that "my work has long brought out the common themes of community, individual identity, and the challenges of making the arts an inclusive experience rather than an exclusive experience. Working within the Chapel Street Precinct provides an amazing opportunity to let the citizens of Melbourne become the artist themselves. I believe these final images have captured an extraordinary moment in the timeline of Melbourne." The images and app come after after Tunick experienced quite the tumultuous journey in his efforts to stage the piece. First he was given permission to hold a mass nude photoshoot on top of the Prahran Woolworths car park as part of Chapel Street Precinct's Provocaré Festival of the Arts. But then the store said that it wouldn't like to participate. The supermarket then reversed its decision a week later after a petition spearheaded by the Chapel Street Precinct Association (CSPA), the festival's host organisation, gained some momentum in the community. Return of the Nude arrives 17 years after Tunick assembled 4500 naked volunteers for a snap near Federation Square as part of the 2001 Fringe Festival. It also comes eight years after he photographed around 5000 nude people in front of the Sydney Opera House during the 2010 Mardi Gras. Images: Return of the Nude by Spencer Tunick.
Melbourne, you asked for it (sort of), and the Victorian government are delivering it (maybe). We're getting five new train stations. In unexpectedly great news, the state government has committed to funding the long-debated Melbourne Metro Rail project in this year's budget, which includes two new tunnels and five underground train stations. These new stations, should the project go ahead, will be located in Parkville, Arden Street, CBD North, CBD South and the Domain and create a new path into the city that doesn't rely on (but connects to) the City Loop. The idea is that it will ease congestion in the City Loop and allow more trains to be getting in and out of the city. It will hopefully help with that peak hour sardines in a carriage issue too. Here's what it will look like: Pretty cool, huh? But as we know, a budget proposal does not a train station make; it's still yet to be seen whether the budget passes in parliament unscathed. However, things are looking promising. The Federal government has just promised to sling Victoria some funds for the project (thanks boys) and this morning Premier Daniels Andrews tweeted the first artist's impression of the Parkville station. It looks super slick (check out all those yo pros making their way in the world, bless). Here's your exclusive first look at what the Metro Tunnel station at Parkville will look like. #springst pic.twitter.com/ZTs0D6jeGF — Daniel Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) May 11, 2016 Notice the big sneeze guards protecting the train? Not only will they prevent winter snot getting on train windows, but are also designed to organise passenger flow and prevent accidents. All train stations will feature the guards and — the most exciting news of all — trains will apparently run every two to three minutes, potentially leaving so much more time for activities. It doesn't completely solve the Melbourne east-west transport black hole, but it would sure help. Via The Age. Image: Global Panorama via Flickr.
The Melbourne Festival has hit the big three oh – and what better way to celebrate than with a two and a half week long party. The team behind Melbourne's flagship cultural event have pulled back the curtain on their 30th anniversary program, and it's every bit as exciting as we've come to expect. Clear your calendar and make room for more than 70 events, including 17 Australian premieres, featuring artists, musicians and theatre makers from all around the world. Headlining the event are a number of major theatre productions, including the smash hit West-End adaptation of George Orwell's seminal novel 1984. A nominee for Best New Play at the 2014 Olivier Awards, the timeless tale about the dangers of government surveillance and control will have its exclusive Australian season as part of the Melbourne Festival. Organisers have also programmed a number of supplemental events including a live reading at the Legislative Assembly Chamber in Victoria's Parliament featuring notable politicians, media personalities and actors, as well as a special film program at ACMI entitled Eyes Without a Face: Surveillance in Cinema. Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, meanwhile, has teamed up celebrated opera and theatre director Peter Sellars on Desdemona, a restaging of Shakespeare's classic play Othello, featuring music from award winning Malawi singer-songwriter Rokia Traore, that uses the story of its doomed heroine to explore questions of violence, class, race and gender. Israel's Batsheva Dance Company will take to the stage with a pair of works by preeminent dance maker Ohad Naharin, while Belgian company Peeping Tom present the intensely physical dance theatre show 32 Rue Vandenbranden. Also making its Melbourne premiere is the award-winning Spiegeltent production LIMBO, combining circus, acrobatics and cabaret. Leading the music program is a tribute to Patti Smith's iconic rock album Horses, which will be performed in full by Courtney Barnett, Jen Cloher, Adalita and Gareth Liddiard. UK folk singer Laura Marling will play Hamer Hall for one night only, while Flight Facilities will team up with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for a performance at the Myer Music Bowl. Also in the mix is master film composer Clint Mansell and electronic jazz pioneer John McLaughlin. There'll be more music happening at the Foxtel Festival Hub, a cafe/bar/performance venue on the banks of the Yarra. Over the course of the festival, the hub will host the likes of Icelandic techno duo Kiasmos, English post-punk band The Fall, French ten-piece Babylon Circus, local favourites Bombay Royale and Cut Copy, and many, many more. The 2015 Melbourne Festival runs from October 8 – 25. Ticket packages are available from midday today, while the full program goes on sale at 9am on Friday August 7. For more information, visit the festival website.
There's a new powerhouse partnership hitting Melbourne's hospitality scene, as Nic Coulter and Simon Blacher (Hanoi Hannah, Tokyo Tina) join forces with David and Michael Parker (the brothers behind Pastuso and San Telmo), on an ambitious new Windsor venture. Now open, two-level Neptune is a reimagining of the wine bar concept, sharing its focus between food, wine, and cocktails. With a considered assortment of stylish spaces and intimate nooks, the guys have created a year-round charmer that's seriously dressed to impress. We're foreseeing many a cosy night in the 'fireplace lounge', sophisticated sessions hidden away in the 'cocktail saloon', and evenings camped out downstairs, quaffing vino at the suburb's largest bar. Neptune's menu will have a Mediterranean vibe, with clever share plates backing up a solid grazing selection and a range of cured meats, fresh from the bar's slicer. Dishes like an absinthe bonito tartare and a classic 'fritto misto' will sit alongside an assortment of signature pasta creations, to be teamed with expertly-crafted classic cocktails and sommelier-picked wines. Find Neptune at 212 High Street, Windsor. Images: Steve Murray.
The essence of Venice has made its way to Melbourne in the form of delicious small snacks at bars and restaurants across the city. These bite-sized delicacies are known as cicchetti (chi-ket-tee, FYI), a popular dish found in the Italian canal city. The idea is you fill your tummy up throughout an evening of sipping good wine by steadily indulging in many, many of these bar snacks — which, most of the time, only cost a a couple of dollars each. So where exactly can you eat like a Venetian in Melbourne, you ask? Glad you asked. From cuttlefish arancini to pork and veal meatballs and crostini topped with all the good stuff, we've rounded up the best places for you to eat one cicchetto or many cicchetti. You can either spend your evening at any of these bars and restaurants, or bar hop them and nibble your way across the city. You can say grazie to us later.
Prepare yourself for a serious case of food envy. After months of hype and speculation surrounding the menu, Noma Australia is officially open for business, and it looks totally out of this world. Popping up for a ten-week residency at Sydney Harbour's new Barangaroo precinct, Noma Australia sees head chef Rene Redzepi and his world-renowned team working exclusively with local ingredients. The menu includes Kakadu plum, pepperberry, wattleseed and kangaroo, along with a vast assortment of Australian seafood. "On my many trips around Australia I’ve seen a larder that is so foreign to me," says Redzepi. "Foraging for abalone, eating fresh muntries, nibbling on pepperberries and cracking open a bunya nut — these experiences are so wild compared to what we're used to in Europe." Redzepi has also been influenced by local cooking techniques. "Spending time with indigenous communities in places like Arnhem Land have left the biggest impact on me and the Noma team," he said. "For instance, seeing the use of fire as the main way of cooking ingredients inspired us. Most of what we’re cooking at Noma Australia will be cooked over fire." Standout dishes on the Noma Australia menu include dried scallop and lantana flower pie, abalone schnitzel with bush condiments, a seafood platter of pippies, sea bounty mussels, strawberry clam, flame cockles, oysters and crocodile fat, and — the icing on the cake — a lamington made with rum, dried milk and tamarind. Oof. [caption id="attachment_557122" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Wild seasonal berries flavoured with gubinge[/caption] [caption id="attachment_557123" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Unripe macadamia and spanner crab[/caption] [caption id="attachment_557124" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Rum lamington[/caption] Now for the bad news: bookings for Noma Australia have long been snapped up, despite costing a whopping $485 a head. Still, we can dream. Noma Australia will be serving lunch and dinner at the Barangaroo pop-up until April 2. If you're optimistic, you can put your name on the waiting list at noma.dk/australia. Images: Jason Loucas
When it comes to Italian food in Melbourne, we're spoilt for choice. Our city has some of the best Italian food outside of the motherland itself — some restaurants are serving classic pasta, others are branching out with regional ingredients (wild boar ragu), and one is serving the best margherita pizza in the world. We've teamed up with Disaronno to celebrate Italian culture and bring you this list of the best Italian dishes in Melbourne. A classic Italian cocktail is the perfect accompaniment to an Italian meal, so toast to Disaronno Sour Hour by mixing 50ml of Disaronno (an amaretto-flavoured, Italian liqueur) with lots of ice, 25ml of lemon juice, 5ml of sugar syrup and an egg white (if desired) before digging in to one of Melbourne's best dishes. Buon appetito. TRATTORIA EMILIA: TAGLIATELLE ALLA BOLOGNESE Trattoria Emilia is the closest thing Melbourne is going to get to a Northern Italian trattoria, a casual eatery that is just a step under a restaurant. A trattoria is not as elaborate as a traditional Italian restaurant, but the food is never compromised and continues to speak volumes. Trattoria Emilia's dishes are made up of ingredients hailing from one of the most food famous regions in Italy – the north-eastern goldmine known as Emilia Romagna. One of the restaurant's most delicious dishes is its glorious ribbons of freshly made tagliatelle, livened by a decadent Bolognese and topped with cheese. TIPO 00: SQUID INK TAGLIOLINI AL NERO WITH SQUID AND BOTTARGA Tipo 00 is a true Melburnian gem that serves up some of the city's best Italian food. The menu depends on season, meaning it rotates regularly. A dish that has withstood the test of time is the squid ink tagliolini (a narrower version of tagliatelle) with squid and bottarga (cured fish roe). Tipo 00 proves the old, Italian culinary philosophy is that all it takes is three or four key ingredients to make an incredible meal. This minimalism is also reflected in the restaurant's physical space; slick chocolate timber furniture, marble counters and cool paint tones that make the dining experiences that much better. BAR DI STASIO: TRE GNOCCHI ALLA ROMANA (THREE ROMAN GNOCCHI AND WILD BOAR RAGU) Iconic institution Bar di Stasio (adjacent to Cafe Di Stasio) has been delivering quality Italian dishes since its birth. The restaurant's charismatic, old-school, marble-flushed Italian charm is exactly where you want to be seated while indulging in some Italian classics. One such classic is the restaurant's Roman gnocchi and wild boar ragu. What's the difference between Roman gnocchi and regular gnocchi? Think the Roman Empire — large and powerful, which explains why there are only three pieces in the dish. It tastes just as decadent as it sounds and looks, bursting with flavour thanks to some well-treated boar. TIPO 00: CARAMELISED PEACH, BUTTER BISCUIT AND LIME MOUSSE We told you Tipo 00 was great. Also serving up the sweeter side of life, after your pasta, risotto or fish you should definitely order the restaurant's brilliantly composed caramelised peach butter biscuit and lime mousse dessert. It honours the legendary Italian combination of fruit and nut, is sweet enough for dessert-fiends, yet not too rich for those of us who don't possess a sweet tooth. Even if you don't think you can handle dessert, this is too good to pass up. Believe. [caption id="attachment_510228" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: 400 Gradi.[/caption] 400 GRADI: MARGHERITA PIZZA You know this already, but Johnny Di Francesco of 400 Gradi clutched the title of 'Best Pizza Margherita' at the World Pizza Championships held in Parma, Italy in 2014. Melburnians couldn't believe it at first, that an Australian took out this monstrous award. From there, mamma mia. 400 Gradi's reservations shot through the roof as Melbourne foodies curiously flocked to indulge in Di Francesco's too-good-to-stop-eating Margherita pizza. The pizza base is exactly what you wish it to be — generous in elasticity, a perfect thickness, all while not overbearing the toppings of Napoletana sauce, melted balls of mozzarella, fresh basil, olive oil and a touch of salt. All of the ingredients sing as loudly as each other, as a soprano in an Italian opera. Visit Disaronno and mix yourself up a Disaronno Sour — it's the perfect accompaniment to a classic Italian meal. Images: Brook James.
What a slam dunk of year it's been for Bastille. The British four-piece have spent 2014 touring internationally, and casually celebrated a Brit Award win for British Breakthrough Act off the back of their UK #1 album, Bad Blood. Not too shabby. Singles 'Of The Night' and 'Pompeii' both reached #2 spots on the UK charts, and they’ve been working relentlessly on their second album to be released in 2015. Before we get to wrap our ears around their highly anticipated second effort, Bastille have released their third mixtape VS. (Other People's Heartache, Pt. III), featuring latest single 'Torn Apart'. The lads already visited Australia this year in June, and will be returning for Sydney's Field Day on New Year's Day. We managed to get hold of bassist Will Farquarson, and had a chat about the new album, the art of battling your friends and his unrelenting desire to go shark diving. The Second Album is Going to Sound REALLY Different Bastille’s first album, Bad Blood, is certainly going to be a tough act to follow, but the lads have seized the opportunity to do things very differently second time around. Firstly, there will be guitars in the new album. This sounds like an anticlimax, but guitars actually don't feature at all on Bad Blood. "On the first album, we got halfway through and realised we haven't really used any guitars. It became a little bit of a challenge to finish the record without putting any guitar on,” says Farquarson. "On this new one there’s loads of guitar stuff, which is cool because I play guitar, so it felt like a bit of a promotion. I get to stand on things and do solos at gigs which is all I ever really wanted to do." Despite the introduction of lead guitar, Bastille are conscious of not going too far in one direction; instead working to create a sound that mixes many different genres. "We didn’t want to suddenly sound like a guitar band, so we started to more electro, R&B and hip hop influences coming through. I think there will be quite a broad mix of musical styles," explains Farquarson. Any idea when it might be released? "We’re looking at the [European] summer, but these things can often take longer, so probably more like September. If it's not out by the end of the year we've done something horribly wrong, so hopefully it will come out!" We’ll keep our fingers crossed for. Mixtapes, Ryan Gosling and Side Projects Keep Things Fresh While recording original Bastille material, the band also brewed up a cheeky couple of mixtapes: Other People's Heartache and Other People's Heartache, Pt. 2. They've just released VS. (Other People's Heartache, Pt. III), but before you can accuse these lads of procrastinating the real album game, Farquarson is quick to point out that the mixtapes are not so much a distraction but more of a creative side project. "It gives us a chance to move away from the Bastille sound and the restrictions of having the band identity. It’s a Bastille project but it’s a collaborative thing. It’s not distracting but it’s a nice break." Another creative side project that they recently took part in was a rescoring of the Ryan Gosling-tastic film Drive, orchestrated by BBC Radio 1 DJ, Zane Lowe. "It was really nice to be asked to do that. It was quite interesting because we've not really set music to a film before, and it's quite different to just writing a song, says Farquarson. "We were in the studio and had the Drive scene playing, and we were trying to get a bit of a mood going. Working within the confines of a preexisting visual was an interesting challenge." Other prominent musicians also featured in the rescoring include Foals, Banks, SBTRKT, Jon Hopkins and CHVRCHES. They Enjoy Sporadically Battling Their Friends VS. (Other People's Heartache, Pt. III) will feature much collaboration and head-to-heads with Bastille's buds. "We don’t have any collaborations on Bad Blood or the second album," says Farquarson, explaining the mixtape offered up a great chance to explore new territory and test the waters of other genres. When Farquarson was asked who he particularly enjoyed working with, it was pretty clear he had difficulty choosing a favourite. "I personally was quite excited to work with Skunk Anansie because I'm from a generation that listened to that sort of music. Haim were wicked, we love them a lot. Angel Haze is a crazy rapper chick, and there's also Rag N Bone Man (who's also on the song with Skunk Anansie), who’s going to blow up really big and is a friend of ours. It's nice to get all your friends down." Previous mixtapes have included songs such as 'Of The Night' (a mash up of Corona's 'Rhythm Of The Night' and Snap!'s 'Rhythm Is A Dancer') as well as covers such as City High's ‘What Would You Do?' and reinterpretations ('No Angels' is TLC versus The xx). Interestingly, these songs are not exactly amongst the band's all time favourite tunes. "The idea behind them was to do songs that were not necessarily songs we particularly loved, but were just in our consciousness a lot," says Farquarson. "It's also kind of funny to choose songs that perhaps you wouldn't expect us to cover. Instead of picking a similar genre, we pick something completely different." They've Played Some Pretty Weird (and Somewhat Ancient) Venues Being in an internationally acclaimed indie band, you're bound to perform in some pretty whimsically novelty locations. Around the time their colossal single 'Pompeii' was released, the British Museum were curating an exhibition called Life and Death: Pompeii and Herculaneum. "I made a joke that we should play there because of the collection, and then they actually phoned us up, which was a bit strange, and we got the curator of the exhibition to give us a private viewing of it two days before it opened, which was amazing," says Farquarson. Bastille performed their hit single for the opening of the exhibition in front of an audience of press and leading archaeological figures. "We got to play our song 'Pompeii', we stood in a reconstruction of one of the rooms from the town of Pompeii which was slightly surreal." Funnily enough, the boys were asked to play at a French museum just a short while later. "For a bit it started to become a thing that we were the band that played in museums," chuckles Farquarson. They've Got a Soft Spot for Dangerous Creatures International touring this year saw Bastille performing to massive crowds over the Northern Hemisphere summer, including Glastonbury and huge shows in South Africa. Despite doing three 15,000 capacity shows in South Africa earlier this year, the highlight for Farquarson was going on safari. "We all got to meet baby lions. Holding a baby lion is the highlight of my life,” Farquarson enthuses. When they arrive in Australia for Field Day they also have similar animal adventures in mind. "I want to go shark diving. We went skydiving last time we were in Australia, and it seems like the most Australian thing we can do. Either that or have a barbecue,” he says. Sadly their New Year's resolutions don't include any more baby animal holding. "My New Year's resolution last year was to have more fun and drink more, maybe I should take that one back. I don't really go for New Year's resolutions, but I hope to release the second album, so maybe that can be it. Bastille are playing Sydney's Field Day in the Domain on January 1. More info right this way.
