Anyone who's caught The Jezabels live can nod to a hoarse throat and an emotional upheaval at the close. One of Australia's best live outfits, the Sydney foursome sure pack a punch on stage, leaving festival crowds at St Jerome's Laneway Festival, Groovin the Moo and Big Day Out thoroughly uplifted and homeproud. After extensive UK touring and support slots for Depeche Mode and the Pixies, The Jezabels are back on home turf ready to blow minds at the Palais Theatre for their 2014 headliner tour. Following the release of their colossally successful debut release Prisoner, The Jezabels spent two years on a furious touring escapade; leaving fans generally euphoric at over 200 shows worldwide. Gradually refining their epic live presence, the Sydney locals are a long way from their university band comp days — rounding out 2013 by opening for Depeche Mode and the Pixies through Ireland and the UK. The crew based themselves in London, hooked up with UK Producer Dan Grech-Marguerat (Radiohead, The Kooks, Lana Del Rey) and crafted their second album, The Brink, which debuted at #2 on the ARIA chart. No biggie. For their first headline dates for 2014, The Jezabels will fill every eave of the Palais with Hayley Mary's supercharged vocals. Sydney power pop dudes Gang of Youths will warm up the Palais with their debut single 'Evangelists', fresh from recent UK support slots for Vampire Weekend and Frightened Rabbit. https://youtube.com/watch?v=pQ3fAMOz-Ic
While they’re among our closest neighbours, the cinema of Indonesia doesn’t get a whole lot of attention in Australia, save for the martial arts carnage of The Raid and its recent sequel. Yet there’s a lot more to the Asian archipelago’s movie industry than broken limbs and severed tendons, as is demonstrated by the program at this year’s Indonesian Film Festival. Although unable to rival other national film fests in terms of size, the IFF aims to showcase the diversity of Indonesia’s national cinema through a selection of films across a variety of genres. Amongst the most intriguing entries on the 2014 program are Something in the Way, a drama about a devout Muslim taxi driver who falls in love with a prostitute, and What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love, a coming-of-age story set in a school for the blind. The festival will also welcome several filmmakers, producers and actors as guests, with many screenings being followed by audience Q&As. For the full IFF program, visit www.iffaustralia.com
Hiatus Kaiyote will be taking up residency at Howler on Wednesday evenings for all of May. The contemporary soul outfit will be performing songs from their highly-acclaimed record Tawk Tomahawk, which is sure to enthral audiences with their unique genre blending sound. Lead singer Nai Palm's soulful vocals perfectly accompany rather than outshine her fellow band members Perrin Moss on drums, Paul Bender on bass and Simon Mavin on keys, and to witness these four come together live is something of wonder. With a Grammy nod last year for their song 'Nakamarra' featuring Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest, and accolades from modern soul royalty such as Erykah Badu and The Roots' Questlove, who are we to argue? Be sure to check out the support acts too. Not only is the lineup totally worthwhile in itself — Kirkis, Sex on Toast, Ainslie Wills and Low Leaf — but thanks to new initiative Support the Supports, you'll score some free wine if you get along early. Read more here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ozr4KsZBTvQ
What family dynamic holds greater prospect for drama than the one between a boy and his mother? From Norman Bates to Only God Forgives to Alex Winter's stepmum in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, movies are full of memorable mother/son pairings, not all of which have been entirely healthy. It's enough to make you think Freud might have been on to something. The latest picture to plumb the depths of maternal relations is Calin Peter Netzer's Child Pose out of Romania. Actress Luminita Gheorghiu gives a towering performance as Cornelia, a wealthy, overbearing mother who attempts to subvert justice after her negligent adult son Barbu (Bogdan Dumitrache) runs over a 14-year-old boy. As Cornelia bribes and bullies her way through the country's corrupt legal system, oblivious — or indifferent — to the pain that she leaves in her wake, viewers are offered a cynical portrayal of wealth and class in post-Stalinist Romania. Clad in expensive furs, Cornelia cuts an imposing figure, particularly in comparison to the impoverished family of the deceased teen and the overworked rural police force assigned to investigate the case. In both theme and style, Child's Pose is very much in keep with the emerging Romanian New Wave — currently all the rage amongst highfalutin film fans. Netzer adopts a minimalist approach to the drama that's acidified by bitter black humour. Handheld camerawork enhances the sense of realism, along with our feelings of outrage and discomfort. The truth is, it's an extremely unpleasant experience being trapped in the same room with Cornelia. Plenty of films manage to succeed in spite of their unpleasant protagonists, but Child's Pose isn't one of them. You can understand and to an extent even sympathise with Cornelia's actions, all of which are born out of a deep — if frequently controlling and occasionally downright creepy — love for her son. But that doesn't change the reality of her behaviour, which is appalling by any reasonable standard. The pacing, meanwhile, is unyieldingly slow, while also missing that sense of creeping escalation that makes the better films of the Romanian art house moment — Beyond the Hills, the unreleased Everybody in Our Family or the masterful Four Months, Three Weeks, Two Days — so dreadfully effective. Ultimately, Child's Pose has some insightful observations, but lacks the compelling quality of its contemporaries. https://youtube.com/watch?v=wQUh3hoGSfI
Fans of smoked meats, solid harmonica solos and all things Americana will love this; Melbourne just landed its very own specialised twang-fuelled shindig. Dubbed 'a celebration of Americana music, great food and fine booze' at Seaworks, Williamstown, brand new event Out On the Weekend promises to be one laidback folky affair by the water. A shiny new project developed from Love Police founder Brian 'BT' Taranto's fond country music memories and unfaltering love for Neil Young, the all-day, family-friendly October event hinges around a penchant for the dark desert highways of the US. "Ever since my first concert at the Wandong Country Music Festival in the mid '70s, I have had a fascination with the country sounds, the roots of it all, let's just call it Americana music," says BT. "I've lately wondered at staging an event that celebrates these sounds. One that offers great food with alcoholic drops of liquid gold at a cool space. Not a huge festival, just somewhere to get into it for a day with friends and likeminded folks." Just a few months ago, BT found a space for the event on the Williamstown shore and named the whole thing after his number one guy, Neil Young (quietly nicking his Harvest cover for the event logo). "Hey, I'm a giant Neil Young fan, and I reckon the one thing that will connect everyone at this event will be that they have all heard Harvest in it's entirety, and probably own that 1972 classic from which we take the name of track one." A hearty combination of music, food and top notch booze, Out On the Weekend fronts up a solid lineup of country, folk and roots (all undeniably tainted b a love for 'Muuurica. Right at the top sits acclaimed American singer/songwriter Justin Townes Earle (son of the legendary Steve Earle), who's just announced his brand new album White Gardenias set for release in September. Melbourne's own Henry Wagons and Friends are a natural addition to the Americana-inspired lineup, with Wagons having spent the majority of his time of late touring across the desert-dwelling watering holes of the States. Californian-based Texan Ryan Bingham, Bon Iver-meets-Jackson Browne singer Robert Ellis, smoky-voiced alt-country Canadian Lindi Ortega, Wanda Jackson-like wunderkind Nikki Lane, dreamy, gravelly duo The Delines, formerly-known-as-Johnny-Corndawg funster Johnny Fritz, Sydney folk darling Emma Swift, SA-raised multi-instrumentalist Chris Altmann, Melbourne alt-country foursome Raised By Eagles and raucous six-piece bluegrass band The Morrisons are also set to take things porchside on the day. But we promised food. With Melbourne's love for American cuisine in no danger of faltering any time soon, OOTW's nom lineup is quite the star-spangled menu. Sydney's leading renegade chefs Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahanowicz of Porteño/Bodega fame will be setting up a pop-up version of their acclaimed establishment, serving up all the smoked meats and potato salads you can fit in y'gob. Melburnians won't be outdone by a sizzling Sydneysider though, with street food legends Beatbox Kitchen, Taco Truck and All Day Donuts driving on in to satisfy every last taste bud. Further nosh and bevvy announcements are yet to come for OOTW, stay tuned for more lip-smacking, exclamation point-inducing news. Out On the Weekend will take place Saturday, October 18 at Seaworks, Williamstown from 11:30am — 10:30pm. Free entry for kids under 12 years old. Very limited Cripple Creek Ferry Packages available for $199 (inc. all fees) including return ferry transfer from Dockland to the event with live entertainment aboard, entry to Out on the Weekend, 2 x meal vouchers (for main dishes), 4 x beverage vouchers, limited edition 'Cripple Creek Ferry Package' screen printed poster (distributed to you on the return ferry ride after the event). https://youtube.com/watch?v=UCElUItrLZc
It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world. Luckily Alirio Zavarce is here to guide us through it. Co-founder of the South Australian theatre company The Border Project, the Venezuelan-born performer hits Melbourne on July 17, and he's bringing his award-winning one-man show with him. A hit at last years' Adelaide Fringe Festival where it scored a nod for Best Theatre Production, The Book of Loco charts lunacy in all its forms, from the madness of war to that crazy little thing called love. Mixing wry observations with deeply personal anecdotes, the show sounds like it'll either be brilliant or insane. Or maybe, with a bit of luck, both. Also, did we mention that the set is made entirely of cardboard boxes? Well, it is. About 2000 of them in fact. So yeah…there's that.
A woman enters a theatre, damp from wild weather and flustered from running late. The man she sees is polite but clearly put out from waiting, as his complaints make clear. She is actress Vanda (Emmanuelle Seigner); he is playwright Thomas (Mathieu Amalric); their shared purpose, an audition. From their meeting, Roman Polanski's Venus in Fur lays bare their dramatic tryout. But is a budding stage star simply showing her wares to the person who could make her dreams come true, or are their respective gender positions — sexual, societal and otherwise — on trial? That question and the film's complicated power dynamic stems from a complex, comprehensive history, most plainly its adaptation of David Ives' Tony Award-winning production. Ives took inspiration from author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's semiautobiographical novella, Venus In Furs, the 1870 work credited for coining the term masochism and making it stick. His book is the starting point for Thomas's material within the movie too, the characters attempting to interpret the text on stage in a feature based on a play that does the very same. The sensual themes of the source may shine through as the duelling duo of leads quite literally circle around each other, treading the boards, flitting through the aisles and weaving in and around the backstage ephemera; however, it is the second phase of its evolution that proves most influential to Polanski's film. Blatant describes the setting, and the structure as a dialogue-heavy two-hander more so. In the filmmaker's second effort in a row based on a stage property following 2011's Carnage, and third overall after 1994's Death and the Maiden, only a flurry of camera angles and flashes of visual trickery distinguish the tale as cinematic. Seigner and Amalric generate commandingly clashing energy worlds away from their last pairing in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, endeavouring to overcome the inherently staged nature of the content with their vivid verbal sparring. Fire burns between them in impassioned performances, but the spotlight truly belongs to the erratic wannabe turned formidable temptress, as the narrative demands. Whether the strength of her portrayal stems from a husband offering his wife an exceptional opportunity, or from her flowering under his loving gaze, the married team of Polanski and Seigner make a fine pair. By design, Amalric is cast into the shadows, a suitable everyman foil. In a work teeming with comedy, carnality and cleverness, what threatens to strip Venus in Fur of its potency is its repetitive persistence and overt theatricality. Though the point is entertainingly made, it is done so continually and without subtlety. Intrigue and inertia are the opposing results, contemplating the battle of the sexes in careening fashion yet cobbled by embrace of indulgence. https://youtube.com/watch?v=-gluI5-GLZLw
It’s interesting what happens when you throw a whole bunch of disconnected ideas into a skip and see what comes out. Let’s say you had an idea for a story about an isolated girl learning to connect with a family she’s never met before. Or you have an idea about what it’s like for a group of kids to survive in the country when nuclear war hits the capital. Or you have a forbidden love idea about cousins falling for one another. Or you want to write about a sullen teen with psychic abilities. Rather than writing four different books, why not just put them all in the same book and hope for the best? On the outside, How I Live Now looks like a mess. Part Tomorrow When the War Began, part The Shining, part 28 Days Later, it’s a hodgepodge of concepts that don't completely gel. So it’s weird that the film is actually quite good. Part of the reason it works is that it’s compellingly all over the shop. You genuinely don’t know where it’s going to go next, and that sort of haphazardness keeps your attention. Even when some of the storylines — hell, most of the storylines — remain unsatisfactorily unresolved, it still makes for a tale that’s far more than the sum of its parts. It’s directed by Kevin Macdonald, best known for 2007’s The Last King of Scotland, and he establishes an unsettling and powerful mood throughout. Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones, Hanna, The Host) is good as ever, creating a thoroughly unsympathetic moody teen and then making us sympathise with her. Young actors Tom Holland, George MacKay and Danny McEvoy acquit themselves very well, especially the exceedingly young Harley Bird (known to a very specific portion of the world as the BAFTA award-winning voice of Peppa Pig), who has to play an enormous range of emotions in increasingly difficult circumstances. The consequences of war — the violence, the sex, what happens when the rule of law collapses — are presented in an extraordinarily unvarnished manner. It’s almost difficult to believe this is based on a Young Adult book; it’s so intense at times that, were the protagonists all adults, this would surely be considered unsuitable for anyone under the age of 18. But make your characters teens, and it’s suddenly relatable. That’s the theory, at least. In practice, audiences will likely be divided. It will be an unsatisfying experience for those who require an explanation for some of the more outlandish setups this film gives us, but for others, the story’s uniqueness will overcome these issues. Its untainted look at the realities of war, and the suspense this creates, will make this a firm and enduring favourite.
Any self-respecting Melbournite knows the Docklands are a wasteland. It's always cold and windy, the bare concrete buildings act as a complex maze to which you can rarely escape, and the only people around tend to be depressed-looking businesspeople or gaudy drunks stumbling out of Crown. The Melbourne Star stands as watchman; a symbol of failure that hangs over the entire godforsaken place. This is the general impression at least. The City of Melbourne's newest art installation 5 Short Blasts is intent on changing minds. Asking audiences to "experience Melbourne as a waterfront city," 5 Short Blasts is an audio art installation enacted with the help of marine radios in electric floatillas that travel up the Yarra river from Collins Landing and Water Plaza, around the industrial shipping docks, under the Bolte Bridge, and back into the familiar Docklands. With five boats taking off at any one time, audiences embark on an intimate "choreographed listening journey" that incorporates the ethereal sound art of Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey as well as snippets of interviews conducted with people who have connections to the water you float on. From after-school rowing, to dock workers, to parables of seeking asylum; as you traverse this strange new space histories unfold in front of you. There is a calm upon the water that adds an importance to their words, and their stories become intensely relatable as you occupy a part of their world. For a steadfast land dweller like myself, the experience had a magical quality to it. Traversing this new world has an element of adventure, and in such an intimate setting (there's a maximum of five people per boat) that hour you spend on the boat feels intensely meditative. As for so many, the water becomes a zone of quiet contemplation. The river connects us to people, places and their histories. You finally understand what Tim Winton was getting at in Cloudstreet all those years ago. However, I could imagine finding the work quite condescending for someone who was already well-acquainted with the water. There's nothing exceptionally grabbing about many of the stories that are told, and if you're familiar with the Yarra itself the experience could come off as quite indulgent. Whenever my boat passed a set of construction or dock workers I became a little self-conscious. How strange we must look, floating by with these faces full of intrigue — a naive fascination with this ordinary aspect of our own city. Regardless, I enjoyed the adventure. With journeys commencing from 6am, the work does tend to cast a salty glow on the rest of your day. Everything becomes a little rose-tinted as you start to view the city as an assemblage of stories, and the title itself conveys this welcome sense of mystery. As they tell you upon boarding, "in maritime operations, communicating via a signal of five short blasts means 'I am unsure of your intentions — I am concerned we are going to collide.'" An ominous premise perhaps, but one with thought-provoking connotations nonetheless.
If someone emails you a link tagged NSFW — Not Safe For Work — you know to be cautious of it. So when Red Stitch’s final play of the year has this snappy 'nudity/grossness/weird shit ahead' warning as its title, it is only reasonable to expect something a little shocking. NSFW is a recent work from Lucy Kirkwood, best known for being one of the writers of TV show Skins but also a prolific young British playwright. It takes place in the oh so British world of trashy tabloids, from boob-happy lad mag Doghouse, to style-crazy women’s magazine Electra. Through a couple of set pieces — a scandal at the lad mag and a job interview with Electra’s editor — he exploitation on both sides of the gender fence is showcased. The edginess promised by the title and this enticing premise was not, however, realised on stage in Red Stitch’s production. Is it telling you anything new to say that lad mags are exploitative? Or that women’s magazines can be too? No, not really, and the play took an hour and a half to reiterate that familiar message with all the subtlety of a page three spread. While the script demonstrated a kind of sitcom competence, delivering gags and dramatic counterpoints in all the right places and including some truly good one-liners, it didn’t add anything new to the discussion of gender roles in the media. The characters were a roll call of familiar archetypes: the shifty sleazebag boss (Ben Prendergast), the eccentric ageing fashionista (Olga Makeeva), the arrogant trust fund kid (Mark Casamento) and not one but two young idealists (Matthew Whitty and Kasia Kaczmarek) driven by the economic climate to take work in an environment they secretly despise. We know these archetypes already and the play offered no fresh angles on them. The performances — mostly in British accents which were serviceable provided you didn’t question too hard which part of Britain they were meant to be from — were mostly one-note, with both gags and dramatic moments heavily over-played. Prendergast delivered a nervous blustery performance as the lad mag boss, with none of the comic nuance the script seemed to be crying out for, and while Okeeva had fun as Electra editor Miranda, her overboard battiness made the character a cartoonish parody. Actors noticeably dropped their lines or broke character by smirking at their own jokes with surprising frequency for the ensemble of an established company. NSFW promised edgy and incisive but instead delivered fluff. It was enjoyable enough to watch but ultimately not much less shallow than the magazines it was so savagely criticising. Sadly, the most shocking thing on opening night was nothing on stage but instead the behaviour of the audience who, having been generously plied with complimentary drinks, started to get a bit NSFW themselves. Several were raucous, one appeared to go to sleep (admittedly act two was kind of slow) and one randomly harassed your correspondent from Concrete Playground in the foyer afterwards. Obviously this experience wouldn't be common to all viewings of the show, but it did cast an unpleasant pall on my night. This on top of the pall already cast by an indifferent play depicting a bleak and sleazy view of the world. I came away feeling uncomfortable, disappointed in my fellow humans and thinking “I wish I hadn’t bothered with that.” Which admittedly is the same suite of emotions I’d normally get from clicking on a link tagged NSFW so I guess the show delivered what it promised after all. Image: Jodie Hutchinson.
Starting at the end of November and stretching into 2014, the legendary tales of Sleeping Beauty and Spartacus will light up the nation’s silver screens. But these aren’t the classic films we’re talking about, but rather the latest productions from Moscow's celebrated Bolshoi Ballet, broadcast into cinemas around Australia (and the world). The 2013-14 cinema program includes five ballets, each of which will screen twice in select theatres around the country. The first, in late November, will be of Aram Khachaturian’s Spartacus, generally considered to be among the greatest works in the Bolshoi’s repertoire. December will see encore screenings of the company’s acclaimed 2012 performance of Marius Petipa’s Sleeping Beauty. This will allow the season to grand jeté into the new year with a trio of more recent works, beginning with Jewels in February, followed by Lost Illusions in March and concluding with The Golden Age in May. For a full list of participating cinemas, click here.
Paradise is looking likely to live up to it's name, with their new-kid-on-the-block coolness and stellar all-Australian line up. The aim of the festival is to take Melbourne’s thriving music scene and plant it in the scenic alpine location of Lake Mountain in Marysville. The BYO event will be hosted over two stages – one for principal acts, the other for electronic acts. It will feature 45 performers and six visual artists who have been brought along to make the experience both visually and aurally delightful. The bill includes a lot of emerging talent such as Glass Towers, Client Liaison, Elisabeth Rose, Naysayer and Gilsun, Millions and plenty of other outrageously talented folk. Start the first weekend of Summer on a high note and hit the road for a musical adventure.
The performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle by Opera Australia is shaping up to be one of the most hotly anticipated events of Melbourne 2013 cultural calendar, inspiring a full-blown festival complete with art exhibits, lectures and even a boxing match. Not to be outdone, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image will present its own Wagnerian program consisting of two vastly different documentaries as well as a talk on the influence the composer has had on the movies. Lessons of Darkness, from director Werner Herzog, is a surreal 50 minute meditation on the first Gulf War that combines awe-inspiring images of Kuwait’s burning oil fields with Wagner’s evocative music. On the lighter side of things is Patrick McGrady’s Wagner & Me, wherein British comedian Stephen Fry chronicles the composer’s life, works and legacy. The third event on the program is a presentation by Dr. David Kram, musical director of the Melbourne Chamber Choir. An expert on Wagner, Kram’s talk will highlight the use of Wagner’s music in films such as Lars von Trier’s Melancholia and Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now.
"My whole life I got tangled up in complications. Today, I simplify matters," announces Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Michel Bouquet), and it seems director Gilles Bourdos tends to agree. Detailing the final years of the French Impressionist and those around him, Renoir falls short as a shallow and over-simplified biopic. In his Cagnes-sur-Mer retreat in the southeast of France, the 74-year-old Renoir is crippled by arthritis and tended to by a troupe of dedicated female servants who each began as a model for the late artist. After the death of his beloved wife (though apparently not beloved enough to keep him from infidelity), Renoir finds new inspiration when a 15-year-old model that "Titian would have worshipped" hits the screen. Sassy and ambitious, Andrée (Christa Theret), aka Dedee, refuses to meet the same fate as the models before her and for the most part sees through Renoir — basically just a self-absorbed tit — and his lack of genuine care for others. Though bratty at times, Dedee is otherwise the most likeable character and developed more than any other. But alas, her hyper-sensual representation lets the character down, occasionally reducing her to a frustratingly typical product of the male gaze. Nonetheless bewitching and enchanting, Dedee captivates both Renoir and his son Jean (Vincent Rottiers), who's returned home wounded from WWI. But the predictable love affair that ensues should have had a deeper focus. Jean promises that the pair will embark on a career in the burgeoning film industry. Though a far more interesting topic, we never learn how their relationship fell apart 16 years later and are left wondering how he died a prominent filmmaker — with titles Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game under his belt — and her alone in poverty. Unfortunately, a bare script that's self-consciously romantic and wannabe poignant leaves the actors with little to work with and viewers little to follow. In its 111 minutes almost no drama or tension unfolds and every word spoken is either meaningless or starry-eyed. Thankfully, Taiwanese cinematographer Mark Ping Bing Lee (In the Mood for Love) redeems Renoir with lighting and picture that's splendid and majestic. Despite a numbing script, Renoir is worth the watch just for its beauty. No, seriously, it's gorgeous; an impressionist artwork brought to life. https://youtube.com/watch?v=3Cv9KxLIHAE
Julian Assange. You might have heard of him? That Lucius Malfoy-haired, Peter Garrett-choreographed, Ecuadorian Embassy-ensconced hacker who almost certainly kisses and tells. Yeah, you know him? Of course you do, because thanks to years of media coverage, Robert Connolly's impressive biopic Underground (2012), Alex Gibney's excellent documentary We Steal Secrets (2013) and, of course, Mr Assange himself, the Wikileaks/Assange saga (now largely synonymous) is one of the most well-known, well-told stories of the decade. Accordingly, if you're going to make a new movie about that story, it had better offer up something new. Unfortunately, The Fifth Estate does not. Directed by Bill Condon (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn), The Fifth Estate sources much of its material from the two books Assange is least likely to ever recommend during cake corner, namely: Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange and the World's Most Dangerous Website (2011), and WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy (2011). Both were written by men who were about as close to Assange as one could get in the lead up to, and during, his infamous publication of hundreds of thousands of classified US military and government documents, and both detail how their initial infatuation with this quasi-messianic figure for openness and transparency gave way to horror at his apparent total disregard for consequence. In short, powerful stuff but nothing even remotely revelatory this far into the Wikileaks narrative. If there is a reason to see The Fifth Estate, then, it is unquestionably Benedict Cumberbatch. Few who are not Australian have ever mastered the accent, yet Cumberbatch wields both it and Assange's specific cadence and timbre with aplomb. So impressive is the feat, in fact, that it actually works against the movie. Assange's slow, measured and largely monotone articulation robs even the most dramatic moments of energy, both in real life and in this film, so much so that were it not for the consistently explosive content of his conversations, one suspects he'd be an unbearably boring man to meet in person. Stylistically, The Fifth Estate does what it can to make coding, reading and emailing something of a spectator sport; however, the only real drama occurs when the key figures engage in actual person-to-person (cf peer-to-peer) exchanges — most notably, the debates between Assange and his right-hand man, Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl), who wrote Inside Wikileaks, over what to release, and when. Everything else feels largely pedestrian, and — remarkably — the contentious allegations of sexual misconduct for which Assange has been indicted by Sweden appear only as a footnote in the credits. Ultimately, The Fifth Estate is an example of the whole being somehow lesser than its parts; a film easily outperformed by its performers and the real life players who inspired it. https://youtube.com/watch?v=YQOiS_l_0Jk
It's not just a tour. It's a mega-tour, starring three singer-songwriters and 29 dates. In October, Mia Dyson, Liz Stringer and Jen Cloher will depart their Melbourne homes for what's shaping up to be one really long road trip. They've released an EP on Milk Records to mark the occasion, of which only 500 hard copies (all signed) are available. Between them, the trio count ARIA Awards, several shortlistings for the Australian Music Prize and eleven albums in their collection. Dyson is still witnessing the impact of the international release of her 2012 album, The Moment; Cloher recently launched her third LP, In Blood Memory; and Stringer's just returned from a European tour on the back of Warm In the Darkness. "This is a once in a lifetime experience for me — touring with the finest songwriter-musicians who are also my best mates!" Dyson said. "I get to back them up while they sing and play their hearts out and they do the same for me. The road will not be tough and lonely on this tour."
Due to popular demand, Architecture In Helsinki are performing a second show at The Corner Hotel this December. AIH will be releasing their fifth album early next year, which includes their latest gem 'In the Future'. This is your chance to get a sneak peak at their new material, and we can assure you that they are nothing short of an absolute pleasure to see perform live. With their vibrant clothes, highly danceable tunes, and playful stage presence we can’t think of a better band to see on the first day of summer. Guest of the evening is the ever delightful Oscar Key Sung, making this an event of homegrown Melbourne heroes. AIH is pure pop perfection and their high-energy set is sure to have you flailing your limbs in uncontrollable excitement.
It's fifteen years since Elefant Traks started putting their weight behind independent Australian hip hop. In that time, the label has released scores of albums, organised a smorgasbord of gigs and taken home the Best Independent Label at the Independent Music Awards 2012. In October, Jimblah put out his first Elefant Traks album, Phoenix, to critical acclaim; Hermitude played New York City's CMJ Music Marathon; and both Urthboy and Horrorshow were nominated for ARIAs. To celebrate their 15th birthday, Elefant Traks will be hosting two massive, two-night parties in Sydney and Melbourne this month, featuring a selection of their favourite artists, including Horrorshow, Hermitude, The Herd, Jimblah and Sietta. In both cities, the second evening will be held in limited capacity venues (Melbourne's Northcote Social Club on 23 November and Sydney's Red Rattler on 30 November), so two-night tickets have already sold out. However, they're still on sale for the Corner Hotel (22 November) and the Metro (29 November).
Take a seat. Please, I insist, just so that you can jump out of it and celebrate in true headbanging style at the news that Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age are heading Down Under in 2014 for a co-headline tour. Okay, now take a seat again and continue to read on. Two of the biggest acts in alternative rock are set to arrive on our shores in March next year. This is glorious news to Oceania fans who haven't seen Nine Inch Nails since 2009 and Queens of the Stone Age since 2011. Both bands have teased since May about heading this way, when Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme told triple j's Tom and Alex, "Everybody who knows me knows that Australia is my home away from home. I also think it's time that we come and tell our own stories, so we're gonna skip the round of festivals and see you in your fall." Nine Inch Nails lead Trent Reznor then revealed his band's intentions to head down under when they turned down Soundwave in favour of a "better scenario" for fans. Well, there is no better scenario than seeing them combine with QOTSA for a tour that is sure to go down in legend. The tour comes on the back of Nine Inch Nails' and QOTSA's recent respective releases, the much-heralded Hesitation Marks and ...Like Clockwork, and they will be joined on stage by Australian-born Brody Dalle, Mrs Josh Homme, of The Distillers and Spinnerette fame. Which one of the two bands will play first each night? That will be left to a flip of the coin. Seriously.
Deerhunter's Australian tour caps off a stellar year for the Atlanta five-piece — one that's seen the release of their sixth album, Monomania, as well as a stint curating the final All Tomorrow's Parties festival in the UK. Their gig at Melbourne's Hi-Fi Bar is a sideshow from their appearance at the Meredith Music Festival, where they'll be headlining alongside Chic and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Fronted by lead singer Bradfod Cox — a man whose prolific catalogue of solo projects such as Atlas Sound have made him distinctive in his own right — Deerhunter's live shows are charged with a great kind of unstable energy that make this rare Australian show unmissable.
It's wise to approach modern French comedies with a sense of caution. Given legendary director Francis Veber (The Dinner Game, The Valet) sadly doesn't appear to be working on anything new, the majority of recent French comedic releases in Australia have been the likes of last year's interminable Le Chef, misfire Paris-Manhattan and the recent laugh-free Fly Me to the Moon. It's with utmost trepidation that I approach anything with the words 'comedy' and 'French' in the description. The Gilded Cage may not 'break' the curse as such, but it sure bends it. It follows a Portuguese family that has been living in France for the past 30 years, dreaming of one day returning to their home. The patriarch, José (Joaquim de Almeida) is a respected foreman for a construction company, and the matriarch Maria (Rita Blanco) is the concierge for a building of upper-class toffs. Both José and Maria have a reputation for being the most accommodating people, so willing to help others out that their friends and children suggest they are being taken advantage of. When José’s estranged brother dies, the family is given a will promising them a large property in Portugal, along with a healthy income from the deceased brother’s business. It’s too good to be true, but before they can make plans, the word gets out. Everyone discovers the nicest family in Paris is about to leave and embarks on a ridiculous series of lies and manipulations to keep them in their lives. Most of the gags aren’t necessarily laugh-out-loud, but it's at least amusing even when it’s not being hilarious. It’s not the most inspiring of distinctions, but given the recent state of French comedies, “amusing” is more than welcome. It’s interesting watching it with an Australian audience, because many of the jokes hinge on the difference between the French and Portuguese languages, and although some of the jokes hit, others only really make sense if you actually speak at least one of the languages. And ending the film on a gag that requires an in-depth knowledge of celebrity Portuguese soccer players probably isn’t the best way to ensure international crossover appeal. On the other hand, Dodgeball was filled with Lance Armstrong jokes (now largely outdated), and no prizes for guessing which is the more popular sport across the globe. Still, for all the odd cultural references, the film is charming and feelgood and pretty funny. If you’ve been burned by bad French comedies in recent times, this should certainly help mend those wounds.
What is better than Lily Blacks, great drinks, summer and a gin garden? Well, we can’t think of much else. For five days in November, Lily Blacks are turning their home ground into a Sipsmith Gin Garden. There will be specialty gin cocktails, games of chess and faux grass — we’re hoping for the last one anyway. To kick off the celebrations, Sam Galsworthy, a true Sipsmith will be joining the shenanigans on Monday, November 18 to talk all things gin. Meet you at the bar.
There are not many 78 year olds that could gather a serious crowd these days. Then again, there are not too many people out there who can claim classic such as 'Suzanne', 'Hallelujah' and 'Famous Blue Raincoat' as their own. Since returning to the stage in 2008, audiences have been lining up to hear the veteran sing 'Hallelujah' among his other tunes. This year, Leonard Cohen and his nine-piece band will play a total of 10 Australian shows, including two winery events and a Rod Laver Arena performance in November. We have to applaud that. We’re looking forward to seeing a legend in action.
Whiplash is a film about a drummer, and it might just be the scariest thing you see all year. It's not Annabelle scary, as in paranormal pant-soiling scary, nor is it Silence of the Lambs scary, aka psychological pant-peeing. It's more disturbing, a sort of 'do whatever it takes', Talented Mr Ripley kind of film, chronicling the terrifying lengths people will go to in pursuit of a goal. It's a 'jazz thriller', really, and it's an exceptional, engrossing movie. Narrow in its focus, Whiplash concerns an ambitious young drummer named Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller), a first-year student at a prestigious New York music academy. When the school's premier conductor, Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons), invites him to join the marquee jazz ensemble, Neyman quickly finds himself embroiled in a gripping, exhausting, unsettling and even violent clash of egos driven by Fletcher's unyielding pursuit of excellence and Neyman's own determination to be the next musical great. Chairs are thrown, punches are thrown, and in any given practice session the trinity of 'blood, sweat and tears' becomes almost mandatory. The one small mercy for panic-stricken viewers who found The Exorcist to be an exercise in endurance rather than enjoyment was that the terror occurred predominantly within the confines of the bedroom. You knew when to be afraid, and in Whiplash that room is Fletcher's rehearsal space. What ought to be the epitome of cool is instead the Roman colosseum, with Fletcher its sitting Emperor. One of the bad ones. More Caligula than Caesar. He rules through fear and exploits his students' aspirations as a means of ensuring his own reputation remains one of excellence and achievement. A few minor roles notwithstanding (Paul Reiser has a nice turn as Neyman's softly spoken father), this is a movie focussed on the performances by Teller and Simmons, and they're both first rate. Teller spent hours on the kit every single day rehearsing for the role, and his percussive skills are as impressive as his acting ones. Both arrogance and insecurity bubble just beneath his character's surface, and his descent into physical and mental ruin is painfully believable. Opposite him, Simmons is a powerhouse of brute force and bravura; a fedora-wearing, baton-wielding drill-sergeant right out of Full Metal Jacket. He bullies, he abuses and he hurls bigoted slanders so often it's almost as though that's how he breathes. The explanation he offers is as unapologetic as it is simple: greatness only comes from being pushed beyond the comfort zone and penetrating the unknown. For a jazz movie there's surprisingly little of it, and while the final performance is nothing short of extraordinary, the lack of jam sessions and gigs feels at odds with Neyman's professed love of the art and his dogged pursuit of pre-eminence. The film's conclusion, too, is troubling, for while it delights on the musical front, conceptually it appears to reinforce what is plainly a flawed and dangerous approach to nurturing talent. Still, this a showcase of two outstanding performances and a clear standout in what has otherwise been a largely mediocre run of films in 2014. Must see. https://youtube.com/watch?v=8J6JH-R-TN0
Dance music has a pretty iffy reputation. Though it may give you one of the best nights of your life, it's always hidden in dark city hideyholes — the kind of rank, sticky-floored joints that you accidentally find yourself in at 4am. If that's the case, chances are that you won't even remember the tunes. But trust us, it deserves a whole lot more. To celebrate this thriving scene in a whole new way, dance collective and party specialists Innocuous are dragging this music into the daylight as part of Melbourne Music Week. On Friday, November 21 these Melbourne locals will be hosting a huge laneway party at Somerset Place kicking off at 4pm. The space will be decked out with palm trees, packed full of likeminded music lovers, and boasting an independent record fair in Gallery One Three. Mokumo, Loose Joints, Move Your Feet and Out of Focus will be sharing the decks all afternoon, and then PWD, Baker St, Bacon Booty Disco and 6am at the Garage will be leading the afterparty from 11pm. Kick on from Thursday's Live Music Safari and grab your tickets here. For more events from this year's Melbourne Music Week, check out our top ten picks.
In Japan there is a deep appreciation for the iconic cherry blossom (sakura) tree. The prevalence of the tree in the Japanese landscape signifies the commencement of spring, and is worthy of a national celebration. Festivities commonly include parties and picnics under the cherry blossoms. In Australia, it's Sake Restaurant and Bar that's leading the appreciation for the cherry blossom, the spring season and a bit of Japanese feasting. For the month of September, they have organised a special food and drink menu and exclusive events. The festival includes executive chef Shaun Presland's signature spring menu ($88 for the likes of salmon sashimi with ponzu, steamed 'Glacier 51' black cod, and crispy salt and pepper bug tails with yuzu kosho mayonnaise), a shorter spring lunch menu ($38) and a $15 sake flight with suggested food matches. Try the special cocktail, The Kimono Doll ($17), which shows off the tantalising flavours of ichiko shochu, cherries and coco. The highlight of the month, however, may be the Harajuku Pop-Up Bar, a fun and casual incarnation of the restaurant happening on Friday, September 26. The Sake space will be temporarily taken over by DJs, Harajuku girls serving izakaya dishes ($12-18) and sakura-inspired exclusive cocktails. Nab your spot on the guestlist here.
In Theatre Works' final outing for the year, indie darlings Little Ones take on Wendy Macleod’s 1996 The House of Yes under the direction of the company’s leader, Stephen Nicolazzo. On face value, Macleod’s twisted story is perfect fodder for the company: at Thanksgiving, a prodigal son returns to his family’s Washington home to introduce his fiancee to his mother, brother and sister, the latter whom harbours an obsession with the Kennedy family that is only dwarfed by her love for her returning twin. But on the stage, it falls flat. Besides the strong set and costume design from Eugyeene Teh, that elegantly frames the family’s claustrophobic world in a way that opens it up for the audience, Genevieve Giuffre and Benjamin Rigby turn in standout performances as Jackie O and Marty, the family’s twincestuous brother and sister. The pair's success in capturing the inevitability of their embrace is hugely affecting, even if it’s achieved almost in spite of the surrounding production. But the effect of the show’s uniformly heightened, "high camp" performance style is somehow curiously flattening. It does allow for some extremely funny comic moments, especially from Josh Price, whose portrayal of the family’s matriarch Mrs Pascal towers over the play like a louche Lurch. But much like the company’s Salome at the Malthouse in 2013 (particularly in the use of music-laden set pieces and transitions) operating at this kind of stylish remove punctures any incipient tension that threatens to board the stage, rather than emphasising by contrast the dark sickness at the heart of the play. Intuitively, this feels less like Nicolazzo’s direction diminishing the stakes rather than intractable issues with Macleod’s script; one that ripples with devastating, finely-observed one-liners but ultimately comes across like an insubstantial treatment of taboo. Adrift in the nexus between incest, insanity and attraction, it’s certainly interesting, but in ways that don’t actually matter. Photo: Sarah Walker.
Is it just us, or does Halloween seem to get bigger and better every year? If you managed to catch any of the Melbourne Zombie Shuffle and you’re feeling inspired to gore it up this Halloween, Work-Shop are running a fantastic DIY Monster Makeup class. The class will be run by Mary Gurry from Centerstage Costumes in Brunswick; a woman who knows how to make you look downright disgusting, as she’s been teaching her makeup tricks for over 20 years. You’ll have the opportunity to work with latex, crepe hair and derma wax to create anything from burns and bites to bullet wounds and black eyes. Gurry will give you a full rundown on when to use what, how to apply it and — equally as important — how to get it all off. It’s going to get messy, and part of the stage makeup will also be on your arms so come wearing something short-sleeved. If you want to recreate these gore-tastic looks for the Halloween party of your choosing, you can purchase a Zombie Makeup Kit for $25 on the night. BRAAAAAIIIIINS.
Grey Ghost, The Herd’s Jane Tyrrell, and the good people of Hip Hop Karaoke will be getting your weekend off to an excellent start at Howler this Friday. Grey Ghost is currently working away on his debut album, but wants to come out of the recording studio and play. He’s put together a sweet little mixtape and not only will he be playing it live, he'll be giving away free copies on the door. Hip Hop Karaoke will open the night. If you’ve done HHK before, you clearly know that it’s the bizness, but things will be running slightly different this time around. You’ll need to sign up before the night, so shoot them an inbox message via theirFacebook page and lock in your spot. On top of that, Jane Tyrrell has been working on her debut solo album Echoes In The Aviary and she’s pretty damn excited to test out her new material. What a coincidence — we're pretty damn excited to have a listen!
Who can get everyone in a crowd to take one piece of their clothing off and 'smash it in the air'? Hilltop Hoods can. It's a measure of the respect and adoration they've come to command in the local hip-hop scene (and, let's face it, the Australian music industry more generally). It's not for nothing — they have a persistent, infectious, unbridled energy that comes across in their epic live shows, and they're constantly giving to their fans. Nothing shows that more than the massive 21-date national tour they're setting off on right now. The Cosby Sweater Australian Tour comes off the back of their seventh studio album Walking Under Stars, the second instalment of an ambitious three-piece project that started with previous album Drinking from the Sun and will culminate next year with something big and as yet top secret. Will the reign of these undisputed kings of homegrown hip-hop never end? Expect heaps of new tracks alongside those old crowd favourites. Advice is, wear multiple pieces of clothing. https://youtube.com/watch?v=X6G2fzPTwOA
They offer you frosty, cold refreshments and award-winning surroundings but now, much-loved bar and music venue Howler are giving you a month-long selection of movies. Tricking out the bandroom as a makeshift cinema every Tuesday of October, Howler are treating us to a series of sunny, light-hearted flicks to celebrate the newly blossoming spring. Kicking off on Tuesday, October 7, the Spring Break program will start with an art house gem that made its Australian premiere at MIFF earlier this year. Set in the '90s, L is for Leisure is a quiet comedy about a group of students on summer vacation. Once you're thoroughly in the mood for fun in the sun, week two will deliver some sweltering soul music with music documentary Charles Bradley: Soul of America. Down a few beers while watching infectious indie flick Drinking Buddies in the third week, or keep things hyper local with Autonomy and Deliberation at the end of the month. At just $15, these flicks give the major cinemas' Cheap Tuesday deals a serious run for their money. We think it's time to swap that overpriced movie Coke for a cold pint of beer. The films start at 7pm every Tuesday. Grab your tickets in advance via Moshtix.
If the Melbourne theatre scene was your family, MKA would be a hip cousin who was dismissed as a kid for being a bit kooky — the kind who's always wearing black clothing and listening to Bowie. But cousin MKA is making a name for himself now as one of the most exciting young companies dedicated to new writing, and everyone’s pretty proud. This year they bring us their inaugural HYPRTXT festival that builds on an already celebrated and award-winning seasonal program. It promises to be an exciting event, offering audiences more than just the new works to be performed over the next few weeks. MKA will be running a debate series, the first MKA ART CLUB and a funky festival hub at The Tuxedo Cat. To kick it all off from June 2-14, Like A Fishbone by UK-based Aussie writer Anthony Weigh will be telling the story of a murdered child’s mother and the architect designing the memorial. The tensions between the highly emotional and the highly calculated are sure to overwhelm audiences as the two women battle to define how a nation remembers. Mark Wilson also returns to Melbourne from June 11-15 to present Unsex Me. After a controversial season travelling Australia (featuring both sell outs and walk outs), Wilson brings the show back to Melbourne for one last time. Celebrated as a fantastically dark comedy, Unsex Me dissects the story of Mark Wilson as she confronts the prospect of her next job: being directed by her father to play Lady Macbeth. A contemporary queer performance work not to be missed. On the Grace of Officials by Emilia Poyhonen (Finland) will then be running from June 14-28. Presented for National Refugee Week and including a benefit night for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, this show is a tale of the immigration process told through politically scathing theatrical satire. MKA describe it as "1984 meets Wes Anderson"; if that doesn't intrigue you, we don't know what will. Concurrently Thank You, Thank You Love, by MKA Creative Director Tobias Manderson-Galvin will be running at the festival hub. Performing alongside Miss Burlesque Victoria, Miss Becky Lou Church, Manderson-Galvin tells five tales of dying on stage. And who doesn’t like to see stage deaths? Probably best not to bring your six-year-old niece to this one. MKA will also be presenting The Defence by Chris Dunstan from June 14-28 — a show we raved about in its debut at Sydney Fringe. Following this successful season, The Defence returns to the stage to present its "sensational deconstruction of a misogynist". Funny, satirical, sinister and provocative, this is one show sure to get you thinking. Sugar Sugar by Yve Blake will also celebrate its world premiere at HYPRTXT from June 17-28. Visiting the depressingly confusing time following school when you’re not sure whether to grow up or get drunk, Sugar Sugar promises to cover all of the epic feels felt by 18 year olds worldwide. There’s plenty of exciting theatre to indulge in, so get out and support cousin MKA as they pave the way for new writing in Melbourne. Check out the full program of works and events at the MKA website. Photo credit: Sarah Walker.
The creator of No One Likes Me, Darren Vizer, is best known for his extensive experience as a choreographer for companies like Sydney Dance Company and Opera Australia. But this play at the iconic La Mama Theatre — where it emerged from its Explorations Season last year — sees Vizer flex his theatrical muscles, creating a tightly interwoven piece that explores the interconnected impact of bullying upon our identity. This show was one of our top picks for Midsumma 2014, see our full list here.
One of the musical highlights of this year's Midsumma festival, Sweet Dreams is a one-man vehicle for the prodigious talents of Michael Griffiths — one of the stars of smash-hit Jersey Boys — that’s played to raptured audiences all over the world. The show, written and directed by Dean Bryant, reinterprets the work of Eurythmics songstress Annie Lennox into a modern-day cabaret performance with improvised dialogue. So much of the show is about Griffiths though, and in a testament to his abilities (and stamina!) the show is even double-billed with his own (In Vogue: Songs of Madonna). This show was one of our top picks for Midsumma 2014, see our full list here.
Easter weekend will from this moment on be known as Boogie Weekend due to the outrageously good times this festival provides. Musical acts to look forward to at Boogie 8 include Gary Clark Jr, Pond, The Frowning Clouds, Bad//Dreems, the Day Ravies to name a few. But the fun doesn’t end when the bands stop playing. The Boxwars is sure to be an event of total destruction worth watching, and shaking yo ass at the Hillbilly Clubhouse will be going off like a frog in a sock as per usual.
If Port Fairy Folkie is the festival to chill out to over the Labour Day Weekend, then Golden Plains is where you go for major party times. Golden Plains 8 is Meredith Music Festival’s little sister, so expect a similar no dickheads policy, pink flamingos, and excellent vibes radiating from every corner of the Supernatural Amphitheatre. The line up is once again the ultimate kaleidoscope of genres, with acts including You Am I, Public Enemy, Cut Copy, Flying Lotus and truckloads more. We’d raise a boot to that any day.
As we watch many other festivals fall by the wayside, St Jerome’s Laneway Festival just keeps on keeping on. In fact Laneway is going from strength to strength, with dates now being added in New Zealand and Singapore, as well as all the usual places. Organisers have also been said to have been adding in an impressive bunch of tweaks to individual venues, so that you can get from the mosh to a gozleme in record time, or grab a cider on the way back from the toilets without missing half the festival. Laneway 2014 will feature the likes of Chvrches, Cloud Control, Danny Brown, Jagwar Ma, The Jezabels, Haim and the Girl of the Moment, Lorde. Check out the full lineup here.
It's a little distressing just how good this band is, especially when the two brothers that make up Drenge look like they are only 12 years old. The first time I heard this record, I thought for sure that these were some grizzled old Manchester punks still hanging onto that glorious period of English post-punk in the late '70s and early '80s, still playing their Smiths and Wedding Present cassettes and raging against Margaret Thatcher. Maybe the bit about the cassettes is true, but as you can see, the Loveless brothers (Eoin and Rory) are anything but grizzled. They've been called "Sheffield's Black Keys" by some lazier critics, but rather than coming from a blues background, Drenge is a stripped-back, turned-up combination of all things metal and grunge, with elements of Black Sabbath and The Melvins everywhere — though mostly in the furious guitar overdrive on every track. Their debut album is all killer, and they are absolutely going to tear The Tote apart. If you're after a sweaty, thrashing headbang over summer, you couldn't ask for a better one than this. https://youtube.com/watch?v=8sqJIdcKsrs
Celebrate the new year in style with an absolute legend of hip hop. You might know Talib Kweli from the amazing album he made with Mos Def in the late '90s — Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star — but he has been making intelligent, insightful and lyrically rich music for almost two decades now. A born performer, Kweli comes armed with tunes from his new album Prisoner of Conscious, which features the likes of Miguel, Kendrick Lamar and Busta Rhymes. Tickets are on sale from The Espy now.
Nestled on the banks of the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals has played as big a role in the history of American music as Nashville, Chicago or Detroit. At a time when the South remained defiant to the civil rights movement, and the rhythm and blues scene was still very much in its infancy, this small Alabama town was the place where artists like Aretha Franklin and Jimmy Hughes first put soul to vinyl. Later, the Shoals’ became a sight of pilgrimage for major acts such as Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and The Rolling Stones, who used as it as a place to get away from the limelight and record some of their most iconic songs. Slickly made, Greg Camalier’s historical documentary of the town, simply entitled Muscle Shoals, focuses primarily on Rick Hall, the founder of the appropriately named FAME Studios. After a bumpy beginning, the recording venue soon became a magnet for high profile acts, many of whom were eager to work with Hall’s soulful backup band The Swampers — a band that no one could believe was made up of white guys. A part of the local music scene to this day, Hall makes for a logical central character, although his tendency to lapse into melancholic personal anecdotes doesn’t do the movie any favours. More interesting than Hall are the people that he worked with. Jagger, Richards, Winwood, Bono and Franklin are just a few of the famous faces to chime in with what the Shoal’s mean to them as Camalier mixes their interviews with archival footage of their much younger selves. Many of the artists (okay, so it’s mostly Bono) attribute the town a mystical quality, while the film also makes reference to a Native American myth about a woman in the river whose singing protected her tribe. Such romantic proclamations are nice if a bit hokey. Ultimately, they’re far less important than the music’s real social impact during the period, particularly in changing attitudes about race and segregation. Though Muscle Shoals can seem a little conventional, you could never say the same thing of its soundtrack. Camalier has the music to really pull it off— even if you don’t believe Bono, and don't think there’s something special in the water, you can’t deny the magic of tracks such as 'Free Bird', 'Steal Away' and 'Respect'.
Weekends in Melbourne are already impressively packed with markets, but held on the first and third Sunday of the month, Greville Village Market is the latest addition to the lineup. Set in Grattan Gardens, just off Chapel Street in Prahran, the market is focused on independent and emerging designers. At the moment they're looking to add to a collection of stall holders before they return from a summer break on January 19. The offerings in December included homemade ginger ale, handcrafted children's toys, brooches, jewellery, terrariums and furniture. Also, they have the sort of locally designed clothing that makes you want to buy lots of things, dress immaculately and go on wonderful holidays forever. This isn't the sort of market where you slop around with a sausage sizzle. Just before Christmas there were lobster sliders on the menu, with a pop-up cafe from Pardon Coffee. Greville Village Market is the market version of that friend who seems to have their shit together on Instagram. Both exist in a world full of spectacularly made coffee, ethical chocolate and well-dressed friends. What a nice way to spend a Sunday.
Suspended is an original site-specific dance work by choreographer and dancer Yahna Fookes, developed exclusively for the City of Melbourne Arts Program for 2013. Inspired by iconic American modern dancer Trisha Brown’s Roof Piece (1971), it seems only fitting for Fookes’ performance to be realised at Melbourne’s own beloved Rooftop Bar over three nights. This open-air space is as important as the piece itself, allowing the anticipated boundaries between audience, stage and performer to dissolve by encouraging a sense of equality and balance within these pre-determined roles. Through the integration of pre-recorded film, sound and design, Suspended pushes our traditional perceptions of dance, and pulls the complementary nature of these areas together to create a highly conceptual collaborative performance. Drawing from a curated selection of promising Australian talent, the piece embraces the creativity and expression of each individual response to the work from dancers Jessica Wong and James Shannon, sound designer Matthew Brown, costume deisgners and winners of the LMFF National Designer Award From Britten, cinematographer Rudi Siira and post-producer Ana Jimenez. This harmony of creative fields is an aspect of the performance that is bound to elevate — or suspend it — to a place of heightened sensory experience. Suspended will be performed over three nights at the Rooftop Bar. Check out a sneak peek of the show here.
Digital Outlawed is a new media exhibition presenting an imagined future of a world without computers. By removing digital media from the work itself the exhibition forces the visitor to face an uncomfortable question: is using this kind of media a necessary part of contemporary art? In a piece curated and produced by Arie Rain Glorie, the artists set out to prove that new art doesn't have to be made in new ways. Read the rest of our top ten picks of the Melbourne Fringe Festival here.
The divide between moving image installation and cinema is continuously being manoeuvred and eschewed, and Screen Space's latest exhibition, Transformer blurs this boundary further. The exhibition features video works from Benjamin Ducroz and creative duo Ms&Mr. Benjamin Ducroz’s stop motion animation will have you flying through the clouds, and his work 'Cumulo' will explore remote landscapes to a haunting soundtrack. Ms&Mr will be mashing up old home VHS footage with more recently filmed footage in 'Amputee of the Neurotic Future', which is part of their ‘Videodromes for the Alone’ series. Ms&Mr will be rewriting their history according to JG Ballard's dictum “nothing is real until you put it in the VCR". Transformer is part of the Channels video art festival, which runs from September 18 - 21. Artwork: Benjamin Ducroz.
Ever thought about how we got our kicks before the days of Fifty Shades of Grey? Or what Big Ted and Jemima get up to when those Play School cameras aren’t rolling? A thriving internet subculture, fan fiction has gained momentum over recent years. But lesser-known is erotic fan fiction; a guaranteed crowd favourite which sees the recognisable characters of popular culture – movies, books, TV shows and sport – become the subject of weird and wonderful stories, all in the name of comedy. In a night of sex and scandal, four established writers will put their respectable reputations on the line and manoeuvre well-known stories and prolific celebrities; turning what we know and love of fiction on its head with the clever work of their pen. Set to be held at The Wheeler Centre — home of Melbourne’s finest literature and cultural events – this is about the only night where it’s acceptable to make Play School characters talk dirty. Or perhaps where the sexual tension between Margaret and David will be quashed. On the menu for the evening are smut extraordinaires: Wes Snelling, Zora Sanders, Van Badham and Travis Cotton. With host Virginia Gay, this event is geared up to be the most outrageous, entertaining night out you’ll have this September. Leave your inhibitions at the door and get ready for some serious literary action.
Music, photography and crime weave a delicate web as City of Shadows — A Song Cycle of Murder, Misfortune and Forensics takes the stage in Melbourne. On a backdrop of forensic and police photography, a string quartet and vocals deliver a collection of songs that honour the images of the forgotten, all the while making you step back and think. Think about those who’ve committed such crimes, those that could, and the human capacity for weakness. The graphic images come from the Justice and Police Museum’s photography collection and tell tales of mystery and danger. Conceived, written and directed by Rachel Dease, this one is set to be hauntingly beautiful.
Formerly known as Beechworth Honey Experience, the Honey Shop by Beechworth Honey is where you can buy locally made honey, taste test more than 30 100-percent Australian honey varieties, see live working bees up close. Following this devastating bushfires of 2019/2020, Beechworth Honey has created a Bee Rebuild and Recovery Fund to support bees and beekeepers over the next decade as they recover from the crisis. The generations-old beekeeping company is always worth a visit to stock up on its award-winning honey, honey-based sodas and honeycomb chocolate bars, and to learn about the importance of bees to our agricultural system. It's open daily and, though unstaffed, the Bee School also welcomes visitors for drop-in opportunities to learn more buzzy facts. Image: Robert Blackburn, Visit Victoria
Every community needs a local grocer — and Yarraville residents definitely don't miss out. Plump Organic Grocery has been supplying the area with the freshest fruit and vegetables since 2002 and it continues to be one of the most popular shops in the Yarraville Village. People are more conscious than ever about where their food comes from, and Plump Organic Grocery always guarantees great quality produce from both wholesalers and a select group of farmers, and the store has a massive range of organic and bio-dynamic products. Plus, you can pick up everything from a bag of pasta to a block of chocolate, making it a very convenient stop on your way home from work.
Purchasing a pair of Dejour jeans is a rite of passage for every Melburnian. But this isn't any mere pop-in, pop-out trip to the store — each item is personally altered for you on site by owner Nam Huynh. Once you've chosen from a range of cuts and colours in store, Dejour will properly fit and pin your garment in place to make that good pair of jeans great. Though it seems tedious, Huynh and his team have got this down to a science sometimes sewing up your purchase while you wait. Better yet: it'll only set you back around $40. Cheap Mondays don't look so cheap anymore, do they?
We know, driving for pizza is sometimes a drainer, especially when delivery is a few mobile clicks away. However, we strongly — very strongly — suggest you put La Svolta on your list. The reason we say so is La Svolta often has live music playing, lifting the ambience to a level that you won't get at home in front of the TV. The Hampton Street restaurant serves up some of the best pizza in the city. The base has perfect elasticity and thickness, and reliably carries toppings without getting soggy. La Svolta's menu caters for those who need direction and clarity when they dine out — the pizza section is separated into red base and white base pizzas making ordering even easier. If you're not in the mood for pizza, the homemade gnocchi is also stand out – on our visit, we indulged in a rich ragu variation, but the toppings change. Other times you may find a blue swimmer crab version.
