3D printing: is there anything it can't do? Given that houses, office buildings, custom bikes, portable living pods, cupcakes, pizza, food in general, pot plants, toothbrushes, casts and prosthetic feet for ducks can all be printed these days, it doesn't seem like it. And while piling different flavours of chocolate on top of each other mightn't be the most revolutionary thing the technology has gifted us, it's certainly one of the tastiest. Two Sydney companies, design firm Universal Favourite and sweet treat wizards Bakedown Cakery, have joined forces to create Complements. They're staircase-shaped for the easiest possible stacking, and they come in flavours that give Japan's Kit Kats a run for their money. Fancy shortbread, fairy floss, watermelon, blackcurrent or matcha — or a combo of a couple? Single origin dark, vanilla, cookies and cream, cherry, strawberry, lemon and pistachio pieces are also available. Which ones go best together? Experimenting to find that out is the whole point. Universal and Bakedown said that they wanted "to create something outside the box that could be paired in endless combinations" — which sounds like a great reason to eat more choccies to us. Sadly, the bad news is the modular chocolate creations aren't actually for sale. Sorry. In better news, you can win a box of them from the Complements website — all you have to do is come up with your best new flavour pairing. Get dreaming.
Since selling out two of Sydney's Oxford Art Factories in less than ten 10 minutes back in January, Foals have relased their third studio album, Holy Fire — a sweeping follow up to their sophomore effort Total Life Forever. Holy Fire is an uninhibited mix of emotion and instrument, and should give Yannis Philippakis and the crew plenty of juice with which to fuel their notoriously savage live sets. But while it doesn't stray far from Foals' addictive sound, a blend of riffy math rock and danceable electronics, the album does sound more cohesive than anything the band has released previously. Tickets for Foals Palace Theatre show go on sale Monday, 18 March at 9am. https://youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_PMvjmC6M
Lady Gaga doesn't shy away from innovation. Ridiculous costumes and outrageous hairstyles aside, the 25-year old artist has harnessed the power of the interwebs to reach over 10 million Twitter followers, 35 million Facebook fans and 1 billion YouTube views. Teaming up with Google, Gaga and her little monsters have created a 90-second ad for Google's Chrome browser. The underlying message? The web is what you make of it. Gaga's not the first musician to endorse Google Chrome. Late last year Arcade Fire released an interactive video clip which made use of the brower's extensive capabilities. https://youtube.com/watch?v=sDPJ-o1leAw [Via Engadget]
So, we survived the whole of White Night, and we were pretty smug about it. Just when we thought there was no cultural event we couldn’t conquer, The 24 Hour Experience announced itself. And if you’re thinking that means 24 hours of arts happenings around locations in Melbourne, you’d be right. Break out the caffeine and Red Bull, stat. From noon on March 29 until noon on March 30 a handful of Melbourne locations will be transformed into living artworks with 24 shows spanning the city streets. Think the State Library, the Magistrates’ Court, Melbourne City baths, Malthouse Theatre, the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Princes Bridge, the Queen Victoria Gardens and of course more. Intimate and experiential works characterise the whole experience, and audience members will be drawn on from time to time. Things will kick off at noon on Saturday with an interactive wheelchair based navigation of Melbourne’s CBD. Gather at midnight in Federation Square where a series of videos explore changing states and passing time will ring in the new day. At 11am on Sunday, the last show will begin. In the Alexandra Gardens audience members will be given a mobile headset, listening to pre-recorded love scenes from undisclosed movies as they watch two actors interacting with one another. The show demonstrates our ability to project love narratives onto any situation. What a romantic ending. If you buy a 24-hour pass, you’ll be given the inside scoop on food and drink and possible napping locations. 12-hour passes are available for those who prefer sleeping between art excursions. See the website for more details.
From writer and director Luc Besson (of The Professional and The Fifth Element fame), comes Lucy, a highly anticipated sci-fi thriller starring cinema legends Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. Johansson plays Lucy, who unwillingly becomes the centrepiece of an international drug trafficking scheme after a brutal kidnapping. After some drug residue leaks into her stomach, she is able to exploit the full potential of her brain capacity — surpassing the limited 10 percent urban legend tells us we usually have available to us. Suddenly, she has some pretty enviable superpowers: she can absorb information instantaneously, move objects with her mind and choose not to feel pain, among other handy skills. Lucy brings up ideas of cognitive enhancement, while exploring paradigms of mind versus body. The film is the epitome of an action thriller, complete with some pretty nifty special effects and a cargo pants-clad Johansson kicking some serious arse. Lucy (© 2014 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved) is in cinemas on July 31, and thanks to Universal Pictures Australia, we have ten double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au Follow Lucy at facebook.com/universalpicturesau and www.lucymovie.com.au.
We all know that the Mornington Peninsula is home to stunning natural wonders and hidden gems, but let's not forget about its booming industry of local talent. Packed with artists, designers and sustainable entrepreneurs, as well as brewers and winemakers, the Peninsula is a place ripe with creativity. To showcase this talent, Stoker Studio is bringing back its giant Design & Drink Market on Saturday, November 11, showcasing creative talent and craft bevvies. Head along from 11am–3pm and you'll discover all that area has to offer in terms of small-batch and sustainable products, as well as local cheeses, craft beverages and artisanal spirits. A plethora of stallholders will be there to tempt your wallet, including wares from Everwear Denim, Boatshed Cheese and Kate Bowman Ceramics. You can also expect live music, local DJs and great vibes suitable for the whole family (including the pups). Attendees are asked to come with some spare change as entry is via gold coin donation, with the proceeds going to Project Kick It. Top images: Yves Eyes Photography.
Keen for a relaxing Sunday session at the sauna? Well, this Melbourne Design Week you can do just that — sort of. This weekend, a prototype 'sauna' in the shape of a translucent white cabin will pop up at Fairfield Amphitheatre. Atmosphere is 24-hour design experiment that looks at the long-standing social tradition of going to the sauna and how it can have a place in our community. It will see a sauna suspended on an opaque body of water, with misty hot steam filling the floating structure. Visitors will be encouraged to enter the sauna and immerse themselves in the space, which will offer a variety of sensory experiences both inside and outside the structure — the program includes performances, soundscapes, tea ceremonies, scented infusions and 'mindfulness experiences'. Participant interaction with the installation will form the basis for this social research experiment, which will examine how a sauna-like environment can affect the dynamics of a communal space. The experiment hopes to demonstrate a form of public design that enhances shared wellbeing, which the creators see as a potential 'antidote' to the heightened anxiety and social isolation of our time. What about the sauna makes it a beneficial community space for so many cultures? That's what this collaboration between local creative practices Fresh Prince, Collective Futures and Studio RJM hopes to discover. The installation aims to improve communal welfare through the design of shared spaces, starting with this sauna prototype. The exhibition will open in the Fairfield Amphitheatre on Sunday, March 17 from 9am-5pm. All booked sessions have unfortunately sold out, but access to the sauna is open to the public from noon until 1pm and between each scheduled session.
It's always hard for us to talk about our own possible obsolescence. Journalists versus blogs. Paper versus iPad. Yeah sure, vinyl came back, but not everything will be so lucky. This free talk at the Wheeler Centre will debate which category arts criticism falls into. Does we still listen to the reviewer? Is anyone even reading this sentence right now? As the newspapers buckle under the demands of the new digital era, what is next for the arts section? Perhaps it has been cannibalised by our Twitter feeds — 'lol#fail that play sucked'. Maybe its modern day equivalent can be found in that annoying onslaught of personal blogs your friends are always spruiking. All these questions will be covered in more eloquent detail by an esteemed panel of industry experts on the night. Katrina Sedgwick, head of arts at ABCTV, will lead the discussion between international design critic, Alice Rawsthorn; freelance culture writer, Jane Howard; Korean theatre critic and professor, Yun-Cheol Kim; ex-arts writer at The Australian, Deborah Jones; and editor of Art Guide Australia, Dylan Rainforth.
Two men stare directly at the screen and tell their stories. Their expressions are open, their tone is matter-of-fact, and they speak of fact, not fiction. They are Palestinian Mosab Hassan Yousef and Israeli Gonen Ben Yitzhak. The tales they share start on opposite sides of the still-raging Middle East conflict, but don’t end there. Modest and unassuming perhaps best describes writer/director Nadav Schirman unfolding of a narrative that could easily furnish a Hollywood blockbuster. The director recognises, however, that the most powerful plots speak for themselves, presenting his film largely unadorned and unembellished. No bells and whistles, nor fancy footage or special effects, dress up a scenario already simmering with thrills and suspense. As the duo interweave their versions of events into one complete, complementary account, Schirman offers sparing glimpses of archival, re-enactment and surveillance vision as a break from talking heads — but in The Green Prince, it is the truth that matters, not the packaging. Mosab is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of Hamas’s co-founders and most outspoken leaders. Gonen Ben Yitzhak was a Shin Bet agent for the Israeli military, charged with cultivating intelligence and recruiting informants. When the former was a teenager, filled with anger at the treatment of his father in fighting for a cause he believed in, he was detained and approached with an offer to assist the other side. The latter was his handler during much of his decade-long stint colluding with the enemy. Mosab’s nickname in his undercover work: 'The Green Prince'. As the Errol Morris-style documentary relates their combined experiences, it focuses on the micro rather than the macro; this is a film about the impact of lives lived in the war-torn climate, and the deeds done in the name of survival, rather than the broader circumstances. Accordingly, the feature hones in on shame and subterfuge as recurring themes — the fear of disgrace that fuels actions and attitudes on both sides (most notably in driving Mosab to betray his upbringing and struggle with the aftermath) and the duplicity employed by him and Gonen alike. Plenty of questions are raised in The Green Prince, and never does it make the mistake of pretending to present all the answers. To say the film never satisfies is to recognise the unease that drives its real-life details, as Schirman astutely captures. Perhaps the inevitable fictionalised movie version will bring everything together neatly; reflecting actuality, the documentary couldn’t, shouldn’t and doesn’t.
It is 1988, and 15 years since president Salvador Allende committed suicide as Pinochet's military jets bore down upon the Chilean presidential palace. Under international pressure, Pinochet has agreed to determine his future by referendum. A 'yes' vote will see the continuation of the torture and 'disappearances' that have characterised his reign (today, over 1000 Chileans remain missing). A 'no' vote will mean the restoration of democracy. For four weeks, each side of the campaign has a daily 15-minute television segment with which to win over voters. Enter advertising creative Rene Saavedra (Gabriel Garcia Bernal). A composite character pieced together by director Pablo Larrain and scriptwriter Pedro Peirano, he has been raised outside of Chile by his exiled father and is expert at conjuring up slick commercials designed to sell Western-style products. It takes some convincing for socialist politician Urrutia (Luis Gnecco) to shake Rene out of his apolitical apathy and get him on board the no campaign, but once he does so, the action begins in earnest. No derives its dramatic tension from two sources: the intersection of advertising propaganda and political rhetoric, and the difficulty of reconciliating the private life with the public. The no campaigners believe that their aim is best achieved through graphic reminders of Pinochet’s brutalities, so Rene must convince them of his strategy: to present post-dictatorship freedom as one would a shiny commodity — symbolised by a rainbow logo, communicated by the slogan 'Happiness Is Coming', and accompanied by a jubilant jingle. Simultaneously, he must navigate his emotions over the departure of his wife, a hardcore activist who sees her husband as lacking courage and conviction. Bernal approaches Rene's character with an enigmatic composure, conveying his conflicting traits through subtleties — standing stock still amidst an erupting crowd upon announcement of the referendum results, or tearing up in silence as he walks away from his wife's door. Larrain's exploration of the power of advertising is not without its ironies. On one hand, we celebrate Rene's backing of justice; on the other, the success of his commercial-style simplification of a complex political situation is disturbing. Larrain touches on this uneasy contradiction through staccato stabs of humour, masterfully interwoven with darker moments. It is worth noting that a recent New York Times article revealed that the film has attracted criticism in Chile for downplaying the significance of the grassroots movement to the no campaign. Seeking an aesthetic reflective of the period, Larrain recorded No with a 1983 U-matic video camera. Flares and flashes are included deliberately. Archival material blends seamlessly with contemporary footage. Some may find this approach a little self-conscious, and it's certainly not pretty, but the intention is to transport viewers back in time. The third feature in Larrain's filmic study of Chile, No is a triumph, historically and dramatically. Sure, its verisimilitude may be questionable, but its study of at least one aspect of the referendum that toppled Pinochet is compelling.
Next to scoffing our weight in chocolate, one of our favourite things about Easter in Victoria is heading to Bruzzy’s farm in Tallarook for Boogie. Trade your coin for Boogie bucks, bring a beanie, BYO for when the bar closes, and let the good times roll. This year’s lineup, as per usual, has a little something for everyone and a healthy dose of emerging acts. From the USA, there's Pokey LaFarge, Justin Townes Earle, Tony Joe White and Strand of Oaks. Closer to home, some local hell-raisers we’re looking forward to include Drunk Mums, The Murlocs, ScotDrakula, The Peep Tempel and the brilliantly named Fuck The Fitzroy Doom Scene. For all the Bollywood fun times, check out The Bombay Royale, or hit up Los Chicos for some Spanish vibes.
Good Beer Week is back for its ninth year, taking over Melbourne and regional Victoria with a huge number of beer-related events running from Friday, May 10 through Sunday, May 19. And, this year, the annual craft brewing celebration is expanding to focus on live music, art and culture, too. It'll all starts with a free party at the Beer Deluxe Federation Square festival hub, where Melbourne's own high energy act Sugar Fed Leopards will help kick the festival off in its new direction. The following day, on Saturday, May 11, Moon Dog Brewery will host its own mini festival of music, art and beer at its new Preston brewhouse. Dubbed A Day on the Cans, the lineup includes British India, Ali Barter and Tumbleweed Watch, along with DJs, live street art and tattooing. A comedy festival will take over North Melbourne warehouse space The Third Day in a night of stand-up, brews and fine-dining — the latter two are thanks to famed Aussie chefs Matt Stone and Jo Barrett of Yarra Valley's Oakridge and Queensland's Balter Brewing, who just topped the GABS Hottest 100 List. Some more out-there entertainment includes East vs West, a collab between Reservoir's Hawkers Brewery and Western Australia's Cheeky Monkey. The night is part-zombie apocalypse immersive reality experience and part-brew-off, with plenty of beer-related prizes to be won. Plus, beer masterclasses will run out of the festival hub all week, this year aimed at both home-brewers and industry folk. And Boatrocker is hosting a full 'university program' at Whisky and Alement — punters can explore the world of wild ales and sour beers, learn how to pair beer with food and discuss the ins-and-outs of cellaring. Check out the full program here. As with previous years, many of the events are free, but ticketed events are selling out fast. Best get to scheduling out your week now.
A critical darling and the winner of numerous awards at festivals around the country, Yana Alana is used to baring her body as part of her daring cabaret performances. But this year at Melbourne Fringe, she's baring her soul instead. Yana Alana Covered will see Alana take to stage fully clothed with her regular band The Paranas, singing songs made famous by the likes of Shirley Bassey, Gnarls Barkley, the Scissor Sisters and Nina Simone. This event is one of our top ten picks of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Check out the other nine here.
Do you live and breathe art but feel totally fed up with not being able to afford things to adorn your sad, white walls? With the first ever Supergraph: Contemporary Graphic Art Fair coming to the Royal Melbourne Exhibition Building this Valentine’s weekend — yep, we just made it an entire weekend of love — all your woes are about to disappear. A celebration of art and design in all its lovely forms, Supergraph aims to display leading artists alongside the best emerging talent, while making sure these limited edition works are available for every taste and budget. With a program that also includes drawing throwdowns and expert masterclasses, this explosion of paper and cardboard might just be the most fun thing to happen to you all year. For more information, check out our interview with Director Mikala Tai.
Sweet tooths, assemble. Pastry chef Pierre Roelofs and his team of wicked enablers are resurrecting their legendary dessert evenings, shattering our halfhearted plans to cut down on the sweet stuff in 2019. Oops. After five years at Cafe Rosamond in Fitzroy and a few pop-ups around the traps, Roelofs' dessert extravaganzas are making a return to Collingwood. This time, however, they're taking place at Terror Twilight. The cafe will turn all things sweet for three nights in February, May, August and November. Luckily, there's still spots left for all of them — for now. We suggest snapping some tickets up quickly, these babies sell like hotcakes (or, should we say, like dessert-filled test tubes). If you haven't been to an evening before, you can expect a four-course degustation — the catch being that all four courses are dessert. The menu is top secret and changes every time. We can tell you that previous evenings have involved ridiculous concoctions of mascarpone, strawberry, honey, orange, cardamom and speculaas, as well as a deconstructed bread and butter pudding served in one of Roelofs' famed dessert test tubes. Tickets for the dessert feast will set you back $75 with non-alcoholic beverages able to be purchased separately on the night. To book your spot (quickly) head to the website. There are two sittings for Pierre Roelofs' dessert evenings each night: 7pm and 8.40pm.
Recently relocating to Windsor, the MARS gallery has undergone a renovation and the first artist to occupy the main space of the new gallery is Australian sculptor Jud Wimhurst. A year and a half in the making, the Safe/Sound exhibition features a series of handcrafted helmets, which Wimhurst constructed in his iron-shed studio in Kyneton. He utilises the helmets to grapple with notions of security and safety — the helmet signifying the false sense of security that comes with physical protection. The use of literal props is not uncommon in Wimhurst's artistic approach with previous exhibitions featuring objects such as skateboards and guns to make statements about consumerism, pop-culture and design.
Wesley Enoch directs Black Diggers, a new play written by Tom Wright that uncovers the contribution of Aboriginal Diggers to Australia’s First World War effort. Featuring an all-male, all-Indigenous cast, the play draws upon extensive consultation and recent research to bring to light some truly exceptional stories of heroism forged out on the battlefields of Gallipoli, Palestine and Flanders. Marking the eve of the centenary of WWI, the piece aims to share an overlooked moment in Australian history. Following its acclaimed world premiere at the Sydney Festival and a highly successful run at Brisbane Festival, Black Diggers is presented here by Arts Centre Melbourne and the Queensland Theatre Company, of which Enoch is the artistic director. It's a powerful piece of theatre that was nominated in the recent Helpmann Awards for Best New Australian Work.
Dave Graney has described The Murlocs as "a bunch of teens who got that 'Nuggets' sound that so many strive so hard for, so absolutely perfectly". Fans use words like 'tasty', 'maddogs', 'digganittt' and 'nifty' to express their admiration. However you articulate it, these boys, who hail from Victoria's surf coast, have come a long way since making their debut public appearance at the Piping Hot Chicken Ship in Ocean Grove. The Hoodoo Gurus invited them to performance at the inaugural Dig It Up! Festival in 2012, and with two EPs behind them, they're now about to tour with new single 'Rattle the Chain'. "Shot guns raise towards my window sill, I've been told they shoot to kill," wails lead singer and harmonic player Ambrose Kenny-Smith, who says he grew up "brainwashing" himself with his father's blues collection. It seems to have done the trick - his vocal delivers an authenticity that one doesn't hear too often.
Cutting shapes. Busting moves. Throwing down. Whatever you call it, dancing is mandatory at the newly renovated Railway Hotel in Brunswick this weekend. The venue will host Cutting Shapes' latest party, where 12 hours of good times awaits you. Edd Fisher of Wax’o Paradiso will be at the helm for the evening, playing everything from disco, soul, hip-hop, afrobeat and jazz. Other musical guests for the evening include Matt Priddy (Raw Wax), a live performance from Sibling, Chris Kings and resident DJs. The party will begin in the Railway's outdoor area and will slowly move indoors as the evening progresses. Did we mention that entry is free before 7pm and there are $9 jugs all night long? Well, there you have it. In other fun news, the Cutting Shapes crew are implementing a name tag system where attendees must write their name down on entry. The reason? To encourage fellow partygoers to look after one another if they see someone in need of water or positive reenforcement. That’s the spirit.
True crime and Cluedo collide with the launch of CluedUpp in Australia. The interactive detective game is coming to Melbourne on Saturday, November 23, and brings the classic board game to life on the streets of the city — with a slight twist. The outdoor adventure will take you back to 1960s London to solve the double murder of the famous Kray twins. While the Kray twins were very real, very notorious British gangsters, they were not murdered IRL, just in this murder mystery. Forget Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the study, this event will bring you and your friends closer to reality and out onto the streets to solve the case. The game will kick off at a secret Melbourne location at 10am and, depending how good of a detective you are, will finish between midday and 2pm. The best news of all, however, is that the event is dog friendly — and there are prizes to be won by both human and canine detectives. All you need to play is some friends and your phone. Dressing up as 1960s gangsters is encouraged, so you can really get yourself into character. A ticket will set you back $65 per team of six, but you only need two humans to play. With only 100 teams available, get in quick for your chance to solve the mystery.
The last few months have seen Melbourne caught in the throes of David Bowie fever – so it's little wonder that the Fringe Festival is getting in on the action. Complimenting the massive David Bowie Is exhibition at ACMI, this late night party at the Fringe Club in North Melbourne is the perfect excuse to whip out the face paint and dance. Musician, comedian and Bowie fanatic Geraldine Quinn will headline a long list of guest performers, in a psychedelic celebration of all things Ziggy Stardust. This event is one of our top ten picks of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Check out the other nine here.
In a city of great food, no Melburnian is hard-pressed to find an excellent feed. But as the battle of the cost of living crisis rages on, it is getting harder and harder to find an affordable one. Enter Melbourne Quarter, the inner city precinct that has heard our cries for a reasonably priced feed and is answering them with MQ Eats and Beats. From Tuesday, April 2 until Tuesday, April 30, Melbourne Quarter retailers will be offering $10 meals and offers to any and all diners alongside a pop-up MQ Beats Diner soundtracked live by local DJs and edible giveaways (while stocks last) across the dates of Thursday, April 4, Wednesday, April 10, Tuesday, April 16 and Wednesday, April 24. Those $10 deals include either the Dandenong Grammar beef burger or the divine Patrice chicken burger from Royal Stacks, vegetarian or spicy Salsiccia Ragu arancini from family-run salami and panini bar Saluministi, two hand rolls with a miso soup or bottle of water from Sushi Sushi, a coffee and danish of your choice from Peddler and much more. And, the best news? You can go in the running to win* a one-night stay at Hotel No, plus a Saluministi breakfast package and a restaurant voucher to Garden State's popular (and colourful) Italian restaurant, Tippy Tay. For more information on MQ Eats and Beats or to view the terms and conditions of the giveaway, visit the website. *Terms and conditions apply
If you've ever looked askance at your cookbook collection and thought "this does not speak to me on an emotional level," you're not alone. New York-based artist Automne Zingg feels ya — so much so that the artist, musician, and illustrator has recently published two cookbooks inspired by the thick, syrupy sadness of Morrissey and Nick Cave. 'Defensive Eating with Morrissey' and 'Comfort Eating with Nick Cave' are full of gems like "Boy with the corn in his side" and "Peas let me get what I want". Which, yes, are two great recipes for corn and peas. Oh, and if you hadn't guessed, the cookbooks are vegan. Zingg has provided the illustrations of sad Morrissey and Cave eating food, with Joshua Ploeg, of The Touring Vegan Chef, responsible for the recipes. But it's not all corn and peas, thankfully. Ploeg has unveiled some pretty sick vegan treat recipes like ice cream, cookies and cheesecake. Morrissey and Nick Cave were both almost involved, but in the end declined for different reasons. Of course, don't let that stop you from enjoying the below kind of sexy picture of Morrissey eating corn. We said kind of, remember.
A raw and defiant portrait of femininity through movement, Sara Pheasant's No Punchline immediately jumps out as one of the most intriguing circus shows at this year's Melbourne Fringe. Combining rope, pole and trapeze work with an "evocative soundscape" and the intense physicality of boxing, the hour-long show features six circus performers alongside Oceania Bantamweight Champion Bianca 'Bam Bam' Elmir. 'Bam Bam', incidentally, might be the most perfect boxing nickname we've ever heard. Get ready to rumble. This event is one of our top ten picks of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Check out the other nine here.
By now, it's probably been a good, long while since you last enjoyed an IRL booze tasting. And we can't think of a better way to make up for those lost months than having a crack at breaking the Guinness World Record title for the world's largest gin tasting. Yes, that's an actual thing that's happening this Sunday, November 22, at more than 60 distilleries and gin bars across the country. Helmed by online gin hub and retail store Gintonica, the record attempt will aim to see thousands of Aussies simultaneously enjoying an afternoon of tastings and other gin-related revelry. The world record is currently held by the Brits, who managed to wrangle a crowd of 796 gin-lovers back in 2016. If you fancy being a part of Australia's attempt this weekend, you'll find a handful of Melbourne venues getting their gin on, including Brogan's Way Distillery in Richmond, the CBD's Little Lon Distilling Co, and Patient Wolf's new South Melbourne HQ. Pick a favourite, nab a $75 ticket and head along for the ride. Not only will you experience an expert-led tasting of three craft gins with a selection of StrangeLove tonics, but you'll score a commemorative Spanish style 'Copa de Balon' gin glass, 30 percent off your next Gintonica order, and a host of other offers and discounts from your favourite gin brands. There'll be various other happenings unfolding at each venue, and you'll receive an official certificate of participation to prove your boss-level gin aficionado status, of course. [caption id="attachment_753566" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Patient Wolf by Dean Schmideg[/caption] Gintonic Ginormous Gin Tasting runs from 3–5pm. Image: Patient Wolf by Julia Sansone
The Lincoln Hotel is taking a stand against food wastage and giving leftovers a makeover for this special 'Rescued' charity dinner. On both Wednesday 11 and 25 of November, they'll be serving up a clever four-course meal crafted from imperfect produce, along with mystery wines, and beers made from leftover ingredients. With proceeds going to FareShare, each $75 ticket will feed 110 Victorians in need and you might just start to change the way you look at food.
The beautiful Domain House in the Botanic Gardens often plays home to contemporary art exhibitions you'd happily contend with Punt Road traffic to get to — and its new exhibition Border Lines is no different. With Linden New Art calling the house home while their Acland Street space gets a reno, the exhibition brings together a collection of celebrated painters from the Papulankutja and Warakurna art communities, as well as the fibre artists of the Tjanpi Desert Weavers. The exhibition focuses on the artistic foundations of the tri-state border of WA, SA and the NT and explore themes of country, community and culture — it's a reminder of the gravity and importance of indigenous art within Australian (and international) contemporary art. A meet the curator event will also be held with Juliette Hanson on August 24, where she will give a guided tour and talk in detail about the art centres of the tri-state area. Images: Courtesy of Linden New Art, shot by David Marks Photographer.
Each year the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art offers up some of the country's brightest emerging talent on a platter, commissioning a series of original work that captures the diversity of contemporary practice. Now that ACCA have given such an enormous amount of support to these young artists we get to swoop in and reap all the benefits with a fantastic free showing of all their work. Danae Valenza and Kenny Pittock are just two of the artists presenting work in NEW14. Valenza works primarily in music, often collaborating with artists across other forms to explore a notion of “visual musicality”, while Pittock has won numerous awards for his self-aware brand of painting. Even more impressively, Pittock claims to have once used his left foot to kick an apple through a basketball ring from half court. For the exhibition, Valenza is creating a colour organ out of a grand piano and coloured lights, with accompanying photographic “portraits” of the performances played on it; Pittock will showcase a large number of drawings and videos of Melbourne passengers in transit. Get along and spot yourself looking bored on the 112 tram! NEW14 will be overseen by veteran independent curator Kyla McFarlane from the Centre for Contemporary Photography, and other artists on show include Taree Mackenzie, Charles Dennington, Daniel McKewen, Andrew Hazewinkel and Jelena Telecki. Image credit: Taree Mackenzie, White Light Shadows: Circles (detail) 2014. Courtesy of the artist.
One of several sporting events on offer throughout Midsumma, Battle on the Bent Track sees teams from Queensland, Victoria, NSW, ACT, SA, WA and New Zealand duke it out in Australia’s only queer roller derby tournament. The Battle’s an offshoot of the Vagine Regime Australia, an international queer league founded in 2008. As well as enjoying a sport that’s high-stakes and fiendishly difficult you’ll be supporting the Regime’s work with LGBTI charities, with an afterparty to boot! This show was one of our top picks for Midsumma 2014, see our full list here.
The Yarra Valley Chocolaterie's Hot Chocolate Festival is back again this August. And it's just in time, too. To save Melburnians from these blustery days, they'll be churning out 31 hot chocolate flavours over 31 days. Eight new flavours will be introduced each week of the month, so make sure you plan your visit(s) carefully as to not miss out on the best. Fan favourite flavours like chocolate brownie and Nutella will return to this year's menu, along with the iconic Slam Dunk — a cinnamon and honey hot chocolate topped with skewers of mini doughnut balls. Highlights of this year's new flavours include The Wagon Wheel, topped with marshmallow and jam chocolate-coated biscuits, and the Hot Gaytime — a combination of caramel toffee and milk chocolate, topped with crushed honeycomb and served with a vanilla ice cream popsicle. The Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery created 6000 hot chocolates last year alone, so newcomers can trust they know their way around this winter-warmer. You can book a 45-minute tasting session, which includes a sample of eight hot chocolates for $18.
Getting engaged isn't meant to be bloody, but that's how Fair Play starts: with joy, love, passion and bodily fluids. What is and isn't supposed to happen is a frequent theme in writer/director Chloe Domont's feature debut, an erotic thriller set both within the heady relationship between Emily (Phoebe Dynevor, Bridgerton) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich, Oppenheimer), and also in the slick, fast-paced, high-stakes world of New York finance — familiar territory for its Billions alum filmmaker, who also has Suits and Ballers on her resume. The blood arrives via a bathroom tryst at Luke's brother's (Buck Braithwaite, Flowers in the Attic: The Origin) wedding. He pops under her dress, she has her period, he drops the ring that he was going to propose with, she says yes, and next they're betrothed and fleeing out the window to go home. Staged to feel woozily, authentically romantic, the occasion seems perfect to this head-over-heels pair anyway, even if it leaves their clothes stained. Yes, Domont is playing with symbolism from the outset. Lust isn't a problem for Emily and Luke, clearly, but they've become experts at keeping everything about being together away from work out of necessity. The duo each chases big dreams at the same hedge fund, which has a firm no-dating policy for its employees. So, when they wake up, dress and step out the door the next day, they go their separate ways to end up at the one place — and Emily's finger is glaringly bare. Then something that they've both been hoping would happen does: a portfolio manager sitting above their analyst positions is fired. Next comes a development that they've each felt was meant to occur, too, with the word spreading around the office that's led by the icy Campbell (Eddie Marsan, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre) and his yes-man flunkey Paul (Rich Sommer, Minx) that Luke is in line for a promotion to fill the new vacancy. Domont and cinematographer Menno Mans (Forever Rich) want viewers to watch Dynevor and Ehrenreich closely within Fair Play's glossy, steely frames, with the film taking on the cold and corporate hues of its main office setting, and also peering at its leads slowly and carefully. This isn't a strict two-hander, but frequently plays that way — and observing Emily and Luke's every reaction is crucial. One case in point: when Emily receives a 2am phone call from her higher-up Rory (Sebastian De Souza, Pixie), has no choice but to agree to his command that she meet him at a bar, but finds a life-changing conversation with Campbell over a whisky awaiting instead. Here's another: Luke's reaction when she returns home with stunning news for her, but a revelation that he visibly thinks wasn't meant to happen. That climb up that ladder is hers, not his, and he'll be working beneath her. Dynevor and Ehrenreich each possess a savvy talent for cycling through a storm of clashing emotions in mere seconds — and making the swift change feel not just understandable but believable — as Fair Play captures unblinkingly in its pivotal moments. She can go from dutiful to determined, caring to calculating, and cautious to confident; him from loving to withdrawn, supportive to passive-aggressive, and charming to menacing. Emily and Luke's relationship changes just as swiftly, its steamy days fading into sexless territory all thanks to that coveted job. Resentment seeps from Ehrenreich's pores, and exasperation from Dynevor's. Fair Play doesn't neatly box either Emily or Luke into easy categories, however. When everything shifts in an instant, the film's excellently cast stars ensure that viewers see every iota of complexity. At each point from popping the question onwards, the same proves true, and not just frame to frame and scene to scene. Domont's Sundance-premiering feature — Sundance bidding war-sparking picture, too, selling to Netflix for $20 million after getting the film festival buzzing — soon becomes an erotic thriller without that much physical slipping between the sheets. While the look is pure now and Donna Summer's 70s classic 'Love to Love You Baby' gets the soundtrack started, there's an 80s and 90s air to the movie, recalling the genre's heyday. That said, this isn't Fatal Attraction (which was just remade as a TV series, and reframed) or Disclosure meets Wall Street. Rather, the entire flick thrums with the heat and charge between its two protagonists, knowing that its psychological duel is all the more knotty because sex, intimacy and love are involved, while also pulsating with the pressure and stress of its high-rolling realm. The tension is palpable and unrelenting, as aided by Brian McOmber's (Hail Satan?) nervy score. Fair Play doesn't pretend that gender power imbalances don't exist in workplaces otherwise, beyond couples mixing the professional and personal in a cut-throat world and keeping it clandestine. Indeed, it shows that fact, too, and in grim detail. It's there in the salacious whispering by the other male analysts about how Emily got the job from, the strip club drinks and flat-out calling her a "dumb fucking bitch". This isn't a film that's afraid of getting uncomfortable. Fair Play also effortlessly carves into this wealth-chasing field's general soullessness, including with golf clubs being swung around in anger, public dressing-downs and humiliating begging. Still, it never escapes notice that square at the picture's centre sits the type of guy that's doting, encouraging and a dream until he doesn't think that he's on top. There's no one that's perfect in Fair Play's gaze, as its main performances superbly portray — the ever-reliable Marsan is also chillingly effective — but how men react to women doing well earns extra attention. Seeking power, losing it, trying to retain or reclaim it, forcing it back in the absolute worst way possible: this all bubbles up as well, and viciously. As the gripping film unpacks sexual politics in the workplace, it lays bare insecurities, jealousies and infuriatingly age-old rumours. Domont's movie is sharp, even when it's obvious. It's assured from its libidinous start to its increasingly lurid end, and riveting — even if it's never as gleefully OTT as its genre was famously known for back when Michael Douglas (and only Michael Douglas) would've been playing Ehrenreich's part. Fair Play screens in select cinemas from Thursday, September 28, and streams via Netflix from Friday, October 6.
If there's a greater joy in life than strolling through gentle hills intermittently snacking on wine and cheese, we don't want to know. The Morning Peninsula Winery Walk is a morning walk along a historic railway. First stop: Red Hill Epicurean for some sparkling wine and a bite to eat. Then you'll be stopping in at Paringa Estate and Willow Creek Wines for a drop of Chardonnay and some canapés. Then push onto a private vineyard to try some Allie's Wines Pinot and some Red Hill Cheese produce. If you can possibly fit more food and wine in, you'll head down to Merricks General Wine Store and then jump on a bus back to Lindenberry, happy and full. At $25, this might be one of the best value events in the whole festival, so get excited.
We Steal Secrets is the story of Wikileaks, and from the outset it fast becomes apparent how little you know of an organisation dedicated to transparency and the sharing of information. Directed by Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room), the documentary mirrors the real-world by focusing on two key individuals: Wikileaks' Australian founder Julian Assange and Bradley Manning, the US soldier whose disclosure of classified documents thrust Assange onto the world stage. The stories of the two men are told with surprising sensitivity, particularly in the case of Manning, who — on account of his ongoing incarceration — is represented exclusively by typed words on a screen. Sent over the course of his deployment in Iraq, the catalogue of Manning's brief online exchanges with various hackers reveals an extraordinarily lonely soul unable to reconcile serious questions about both his own identity and what he perceived to be the ongoing cover-up of atrocities by the US Government. "I want people to see the truth," he wrote, just before leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to Assange. "It affects everyone on earth." The altruistic tone of Manning's narrative seems entirely genuine, particularly when set against the supposedly similar motivations driving Assange. The now infamous 'hacktivist' refused to be interviewed for the film unless he was paid $1 million; however, his willingness to jump in front of cameras over the preceding years provided Gibney with more than enough material with which to paint a fascinating portrait of the Wikileaks founder. Coupled with interviews from the organisation's supporters, employees, detractors and pursuers, Assange emerges as a largely paranoid narcissist, championing free speech whilst doing everything he can to ensure no one speaks freely about him. And yet, as is pointed out during the film, Assange's paranoia isn't necessarily always unjustified. The rhetoric (and hypocrisy) of the US Government's condemnation of him is at best fascinating and at worst quite concerning. Both the New York Times and the Guardian collaborated on the publication of the leaked documents, yet neither of those organisations' editors have been indicted or even publicly criticised. In all, We Steal Secrets achieves a fine balance in its depiction of two men whose lives became inextricably linked and, thereafter, changed almost certainly for the worse. Assange sits seeking political asylum within a small room inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and Manning's trial has only now just begun in the United States. In attempting to justify his impending leak, Manning ultimately wrote: "I...care?" This documentary will compel you to do the same, though where you'll fall in your opinion will depend on who you choose to believe. https://youtube.com/watch?v=SdezJrNaL70
In 2013, three women escaped from a home in Cleveland, Ohio, then shocked the world by revealing they'd been kidnapped and kept prisoner by one man for over a decade. It's hard not think that their harrowing tale may have played a part in the conception of writer-director M. Night Shyamalan's latest thriller, Split, which begins in a very similar fashion. Three young girls, all in their teens, are drugged and abducted in broad daylight outside of a shopping mall, only to wake up imprisoned in a bunker with no idea where they are, who took them, or why. That is, until they meet Dennis. Played by James McAvoy, Dennis is a cold, meticulous and physically brutal force. He's nothing like Patricia, the matronly British lady (also played by James McAvoy), who assures the girls they'll not be touched or harmed in any way. Then there's Hedwig (played by...James McAvoy) who's just a small boy who loves to dance to Kanye, and Barry (James McAvoy) a fashion designer constantly reassuring his shrink that everything's under control and…well…you get the idea. Rest assured though, this isn't some sort of Eddie Murphy costume romp where he's playing every character. Rather, McAvoy plays a collective of 23 distinct personalities competing for 'the light' within the body of one man named Kevin. Within this extraordinary case of DID (dissociative identity disorder), some personalities want the girls freed, whilst others appear to be preparing them for the arrival of the yet unseen 24th identity which they refer to only as 'the beast'. The burden of carrying the film, unsurprisingly, sits almost exclusively with McAvoy, whose performance more than rises to the challenge. Shyamalan actually filmed each of Kevin's identities as though they were portrayed by a different actor and the technique absolutely pays off. Each one feels different, and you soon think of them accordingly. Some you fear, others you warm to and none feel at all like the man playing them. The other performance of note comes from Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch). Introduced as a loner from the opening scene, Casey resists the others' suggestions of attempting an escape in favour of befriending the more approachable identities within Kevin, sparking additional conflict within an environment already dripping with tension. Taylor-Joy's a terrific actress with a long future ahead of her, and it's her scenes with McAvoy where Split is at its best. Filmed almost entirely in extreme closeups – a device that leaves audiences wondering what unseen menace might be lurking just off screen – McAvoy's unpredictability keeps the levels of menace high, while Taylor-Joy's enormous, soulful eyes speak volumes when words aren't (or can't) be spoken. Ever since The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan has been plagued by the expectation that his films will feature an unpredictable twist, a promise on which he's been mostly unable to deliver. Depending on your perspective, the finale of Split either sheds itself of that expectation entirely or doubles down and hits you with something even larger. Maybe it's both. Either way, the end result is almost certainly Shyamalan's best film since his breakout; a welcome return to form and an exciting precursor to whatever comes next. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84TouqfIsiI
In 2023, for the 11th time, the wondrous cinematic world of Wes Anderson will expand. The beloved filmmaker's latest release Asteroid City is set to zoom into Melbourne picture palaces midyear, complete with all of the writer/director's trademarks — a star-studded cast, a quirky setup, symmetry aplenty and pastel hues all accounted for. And, it arrives just two years after The French Dispatch finally made it to screens in 2021. So, that's Anderson's new movie, plus his most recent one before now — aka what you're next eager to see from him, and likely what you last watched from his filmography. Because you can never have too much of a good thing from this filmmaker, 2023 is also delivering a retrospective of his work at Palace Westgarth: In Focus: Wes Anderson. On Thursday nights from Thursday, May 4–Thursday, June 22, cinema lovers can enjoy Anderson's distinctive visual stylings, compelling soundtracks and roster of familiar faces, with the venue playing seven of his flicks across the program's run. First up, catch the Jason Schwartzman-led hit Rushmore, then dive into the family dramas of The Royal Tenenbaums and wear matching tracksuits to The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. There's also the stop-motion animation delights that are both Fantastic Mr Fox and Isle of Dogs, because no one does animated cute critters like Anderson. And, The Darjeeling Limited is here with its chaotic train trip, too, plus the exceptionally cast The Grand Budapest Hotel and The French Dispatch as well. Each session starts at 8pm, with tickets costing $10 for Palace Movie Club members and $15 otherwise.
Forget every "find someone who looks at you" meme you've ever seen. When it comes to gazes that'll make you dream of being adored in the same way, Loving just can't be beaten. Jeff Nichols' latest film is affectionate by name and by nature, and so is its central couple. From the moment that the movie opens with the life-changing words "I'm pregnant", Mildred (Ruth Negga) and Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) are clearly head over heels. The looks that they direct at each other at every chance possible, make the extent of their feelings obvious. Neither gets weak at the knees; they're not that kind of people. They easily could though, as could those of us sitting in the audience. Of course, for anyone who has seen Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, Mud or Midnight Special, it won't come as a surprise that Nichols pays such keen attention to their glances. As he's demonstrated in all his films over the past decade, he's a filmmaker who trades in intimate tales that bubble with big emotions. What's more personal, devoted and overflowing with feeling than sending a yearning look someone's way or silently locking eyes? As you watch Negga and Edgerton watch one another, you'll know the answer: nothing. Indeed, as Nichols' delves into the details of the Lovings' real-life romance, it's soon apparent that his quiet, patient approach really couldn't be more appropriate to such an important story. Falling in love in the segregated state of Virginia in 1958 where interracial marriage was against the law, the pair made history with their fight to be together. That said, despite the threats of imprisonment and legal persecution, Loving isn't a big, fist-pumping courtroom drama, although it probably would've been in lesser hands. Instead, taking its cues from the couple at its centre, it's a contemplative, considered, sensitive and sincere account of a relationship attacked from the outside, but never under threat from within. That leaves Negga and Edgerton with a considerable task, though it's one they achieve with the same grace and tenderness that marks the movie from start to finish. Nominated for an Academy Award for her performance, Negga imbues Mildred with growing resolve — not about her marriage, which she never doubts, but about doing what she needs to live the modest life she wants with her husband. One of the many pleasures of the film is seeing Mildred grow more and more confident about taking action against inequality, and witnessing Edgerton's hard-working, plain-spoken Richard grow increasingly enamoured with her passion. They never discuss this, and they don't need to. As with everything in Loving, it's all there in their eyes. Throw in Nichols regular Michael Shannon in a brief but memorable part as a photographer, plus Nick Kroll leaving his usual comedic antics behind in his roll as a civil rights lawyer, and Loving couldn't be more convincingly cast. Add honeyed tones that layer the film's gentle sights with a warm glow, and it couldn't look any better, either. Both help make a subtle yet sweeping effort even more rich and resonant. Ultimately though, it's in conveying the power and significance of Mildred and Richard's love that Nichols' latest movie really shines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7YeyiNVHXY
Charisma forgives many sins. In film, especially, it can gloss over just about everything, from a dull storyline to glaring plot holes. Even terrible dialogue can be salvaged if the person delivering it has enough personality. And right now in Hollywood, there is no greater force of personality than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The man is a strategic reserve of charm, sweating out more charisma in a 20 minute gym session than most people possess in a lifetime. Alas, not even he can save Rampage. Based on the 1986 arcade game of the same name, Rampage is another entry into the Big Dumb Fun genre – except for the fact that it's critically lacking in Fun. Like the source material, the movie's story centres upon several animals being exposed to a genetic editing vapour that rapidly transforms them into giant, city-destroying monsters. Chief amongst these creatures is George, an albino gorilla rescued from poachers and raised by his protector, Davis Okoye (Johnson). It is during this duo's few quiet, tender moments that Rampage is at its strongest, giving the story heart and Johnson his only decent lines ("The poachers shot at us, and missed. I shot back…and didn't"). Mostly, though, Rampage is a movie about people shooting at massive monsters and those monsters fighting back. To be clear, blockbusters like this have their place. Kong: Skull Island, the original Pacific Rim and the most recent Godzilla film are three fine examples of the genre done right. They each embraced their absurd premise and treated it with the same care and consideration you'd see in a period drama, offering their audiences fleshed-out characters, coherent stories and dialogue that does more than simply tell us what's happening (or what's about to). In Rampage, on the other hand, nearly every piece of key character information is literally read off a tablet in a single scene, while the scientific and technical jargon is crammed into a few ludicrous sentences that no human would ever actually say. It's the laziest form of writing and embraces every cliché in the book, from TV news reports conveniently filling in plot gaps, to the absurd corporate villains spending most of their time simply explaining to each other what they're doing as if all of their years of prior planning somehow came together without an actual discussion. In the lead role, Johnson does his level best to keep things grounded, but finds himself consistently hampered by braindead dialogue that rarely rises above "dude this" or "bro that" (at one point he actually gets shot in the gut only to reappear moments later and pass it off by suggesting it "probably missed all of his vital organs". He then comfortably pilots a helicopter, flirts with the girl and sprints through collapsing skyscrapers). Naomie Harris, for her part, has one sincere bit of backstory that briefly elevates the plot into something compelling, while Jeffrey Dean Morgan (another charismatic powerhouse) can't be accused of holding back in his wildly over-the-top performance as the Texan cowboy turned secret government agent. Their combined scenes at least give Rampage some degree of credibility – although whatever good work they do is fast undone by Malin Åkerman and Jake Lacy as the inexplicably villainous villains high up in their penthouse office. Rampage is a movie about big things tearing down buildings, and that's fine. But unless you're made to actually care about the people inside those buildings, then the stakes are about the same as watching toddlers stomp on sand-castles: pretty soon you just want the tide to come in and wash it all away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coOKvrsmQiI
To mask up or not to mask up? Over the two years of the pandemic to-date, that's been a big question, and one that the Victorian Government has frequently changed the answer to. The rules around covering your face have tightened and loosened depending on case numbers, lockdowns and other restrictions, including bringing back in compulsory indoor masks in mid-December in response to the Omicron wave — but just in time for the coming weekend, that mandate is easing. At 11.59pm on Friday, February 25 — so practically on Saturday, February 26 — masks will no longer be mandatory in most indoor settings. Instead, as the Victorian Government announced today, Tuesday, February 22, you will only have to don a mask in certain scenarios. And if this sounds familiar, that's because Victoria has been in this situation plenty of times before. From the weekend onwards, you'll now just have to mask up on public transport, in taxis and rideshare services, on planes, and indoors at an airport — and if you're working in hospitality, retail and the court system, and either working in or visiting hospitals or indoor areas at care facilities. Masks will also remain mandatory for folks working indoors at an event with more than 30,000 people in attendance, for workers at justice and correctional facilities, for workers at early childhood centres and primary schools, and for kids in year three and above at primary schools. Also, if you have COVID-19 or are a close contact are you're leaving home in special circumstances, you'll need to keep masking up, too. While it won't be compulsory, wearing masks if you work in a job where you're serving or facing members of the public — if you're at reception, meeting guests or serving customers — is also recommended moving forward. As well as easing the mask rules, the Victorian Government is ditching the recommendation to work and study from home at the same time. So, you'll be seeing more people in general, as well as more of their smiles. For more information about the status of COVID-19 and the current restrictions, head over to the Victorian Government's coronavirus website.
Make the most of that glorious spring sunshine, with a Sunday session of a different kind. On November 29, Richmond's National Hotel will be transformed into a tropical oasis, as the pub serves up a Jamaican celebration to top them all. Soak up some rays as you enjoy jerk chicken, reggae tunes and an abundance of rum-infused cocktails. Entry is free, so take your friends and make a day of it.
It's time to press play for Melbourne's new, biannual celebration of video art, which will officially occupy our screens and streets from September 18-21. Directed by Jessie Scott (Tape Projects), Rachel Feery (Short Play) and Eugenia Lim (Assemble Papers), with program input from Ghita Loebenstein (Speakeasy Cinema), this artist-led collaboration provides an opportunity for more than 70 Australian and international video creatives to interact with a diverse audience, through a program of screenings, talks, workshops and forums. Highlights of the three day program include Memory Screens: an exploration of the convergence of live and on-screen performance by artists Hannah Raisin, Emile Zile, and Salote Tawale; the Video Art in the Internet Era forum which examines the field of video art within a world dominated by smartphone technology; and the Videodromes closing party: a feast of audio-visual performance, projections, installations and good tunes. Channels will kick off with an opening party at Screen Space on September 18.
Beauty pageants can be a tired business. More and more, the women end up looking eerily similar, everyone seems to be an expert at baton twirling, and then eventually someone mentions world peace and the audience's eyes roll out of their heads with boredom. Miss Gay and Miss Transexual Australia is exactly the alternative we might need. Now in its fourth year, this show is providing a fresh take on the medium featuring the most beautiful and stylish gay men, cross-dressers, drag queens and transexuals from across Australia. This year's theme, 'Dreams and Fantasy', may sound familiar, but with this new take the average show may be in for a much-needed shot of diversity. This show was one of our top picks for Midsumma 2014, see our full list here.
Starting life in St Kilda in 1955 before relocating to Brunswick in 2012, Record Paradise more or less does what it says on the tin. The Sydney Road store is a veritable haven for both casual listeners and audiophiles alike, and stocks a huge range of new and recycled vinyl, CDs and cassettes, as well as books and turntable equipment. Music-wise, the specialty here is local independent releases, while the selection — which totals into the thousands — also includes a wide range of genres from artists and labels across the globe. This northside gem also plays host to events such as the occasional music trivia night, or the odd in-store gig showcasing local talent. Images: Julia Sansone
Even if you've lived in Melbourne for years, you can always discover new things in nooks and crannies around the city. Blender Lane is the perfect example of one such nook. Housed just off Franklin Street this cramped little alley — even by Melbourne laneway standards — is an epicentre of the city's famous street art scene, and home to this weekly market every Wednesday night. The market was launched by the acclaimed Blender Studios, whose artists have played a vital role in cementing the place of street art in the city’s folklore as well as giving birth to iconic labels like Everfresh. Together with artists' stalls there’s also live music on offer each night, and with the wares on offer ranging from handcrafted wallets to bespoke fashion it's the perfect place to track down a Christmas present for those particularly artsy friends or family members.
Another major up-and-comer on the local comedy circuit is Steph Tisdell — she won Deadly Funny in 2014, earning her the mantle of Funniest Aboriginal Woman in Australia. Her show Identity Steft draws on her Indigenous heritage, and will tackle racism, identity and mental health. In addition to her own show, Tisdell will perform as part of the Aboriginal Comedy All Stars showcase alongside Kevin Kropinyeri, Sean Choolburra and Andy Saunders.
Kombucha on tap, halva ice cream and house-made falafel. No it's not a new music festival, but rather a pub in Carlton. Meet The Green Man's Arms, a 100 percent vegan and vegetarian establishment owned by legendary publicans and artists Alison Whyte and Fred Whitlock (The Terminus, Yarra Valley Grand). "We have one vegan child, one vegetarian and one omnivore," says Fred. "As a family, we hardly ever eat animal meat protein anymore. We just want to create a friendly little place that has food that is fast, fun, fresh, affordable, delicious and healthy. A place that is full of our crowd, our crew." In collaboration with Israeli chef David Raziel, the duo has created an animal-free menu, based on ethically-sourced seasonal produce. For pub snacks there's house-made falafel; pan-baked Yemeni lahuh bread; fried eggplant with soft egg, Israeli salad and tahini; and green beans with mushroom and creamed corn. Among the mains are a grilled vegetable salad with beets, red cabbage, onions, almonds, labne and pomegranate dressing; and house-made couscous with rich stock and roasted vegetables. Dessert offerings include house-made halva ice cream and knafeh pastry with ricotta, pistachios, pickled grapes and syrup. Punters can feel even better about their cruelty-free feast by matching it with a vegan wine. You'll find both De Bortoli's Vinoque Yarra Valley Nebbiolo Rosé, and Lobethal Road Pinot Gris on the list, while local brewers are well represented too. Look out for Hawkers Pilsner, Stomping Ground Saison and Holgate Mt Macedon Pale Ale. Designated driver? Get all the bubbles and none of the headaches with a glass of sparkling kombucha served on tap.
Northsiders love good coffee as much as they do new cafes. Fairfield is no exception. There has been a new addition to Station Street, and it comes from a family that understands the world of hospitality and, more importantly, coffee. Mamma Says is from the previous owners of Station Lounge, and they've promised regulars that some of the old favourites will feature on the new menu. The new space is homely and familiar. Wooden furnishings sit next to greenery and hanging lights. The best part of the interior? The wall of Banksy prints watching you munch on your poached eggs. Speaking of poached eggs, the menu reads as familiar cafe fare. Buttermilk pancakes are served with maple syrup ($9) or apple and rhubarb ($12), avocado smash comes with a poached egg and jalapenos ($16.50), and the eggs Benedict is just how you expect it to be ($14.50). Lunch sees nachos ($11.90), chicken Waldorf salad ($18.50), a chicken parma ($19.90) and a linguini marinara ($16.90), among other like dishes. The coffee, roasted by Mamma Says themselves, is smooth. It could do with a bit more punch, but is pleasant nonetheless. A juice, milkshake and smoothie menu gives a nod to nostalgia with a blue heaven milkshake ($5) as well as embraces today with the Health Freak — strawberries, peach, pineapple juice, sorbet, ginseng and Ginkgo biloba ($6). A cabinet of arancini, pies, lemon tarts, caramel slices and many more baked treats give a whole other range of options for any time of the day. Dessert anyone? The newest addition to this Fairfield strip, Mamma Says is going to be one for the locals.
When The Simpsons first found its way into viewers' hearts, it also made its way to the top of the charts. Yes, back in 1991, 'Do the Bartman' hit number one in Australia. Both before and since, the hit animated sitcom hasn't shied away from crooning a tune or two — and if you've now got "Dr Zaius, Dr Zaius, ohhhhh Dr Zaius" or "Who holds back the electric car? Who made Steve Guttenburg a star?" stuck in your head, then you know what we're talking about. The show has sung many a song, and also released many an album — and it's 1997's Songs in The Key of Springfield that's in the spotlight at this Melbourne show of the same name. One night. One huge record. So many catchy songs. That's what's on the agenda from 8pm on Saturday, September 28. Sing along to everything from 'Can I Borrow a Feeling?' to 'See My Vest' to 'We Put The Spring in Springfield' as they're performed live by Boadz. Tickets cost $15 online, with the tunes going down at The Toff in Town.
