Dubbed as the biggest night of year for Sydney, the Mardi Gras Parade will fill the streets of Darlinghurst and Surry Hills on Saturday, March 2. Join in on the celebration of LGBTQI+ culture and communities and watch the colourful array of floats and performers as they make their way down Flinders and Oxford Streets from 7pm. Tickets for seats in the viewing area are sold out, so if you want to cop a view, you'll have to arrive (preferably with a crate in-tow) early. Plus, the party is set to continue after the parade at the official after-party. Featuring a diverse lineup of local and international artists including dance trio Pnau and pop sensation Kim Petras, you can enjoy the tunes while exploring three fantasy worlds set up around the Entertainment Quarter — with 12,000 other Sydneysiders. This one is ticketed — you can pick up final release tickets from $186. The full Mardi Gras program has lots of other fun stuff in it too, and it runs from February 15. Looking for a bar for before, during or after the parade? We've got you covered.
The owners of Newtown's Union Hotel have ripped out their old lounge bar. But don't think for a second that they're leaving you without a place to drink. Instead, general manager Luke Hiscox has teamed up with ex-El Loco manager Wil Eastley on a laidback new back bar they're calling Big Arties. Now open at the back of the Union at 576 King St, Newtown, Big Arties offers a total of 20 craft beers on tap along with a number of wine options and some killer looking cocktails – including a banana milkshake made with butter and coffee flavoured vodkas. But their big focus is on Australian-made craft spirits, and particularly local gins. They've also launched an epic new food menu, with plenty of snacks and sandwiches inspired by New York City delis. You can grab hot slabs (they're literally called hot slabs) of soy caramel glazed chicken, black rice marinated pork belly, and slow roasted lamb shoulder, or enjoy share plates packed with cold cut meats, antipasti or cheeses. Sangas include a spicy meatball sub, a corned beef and cheese option, and a lamb roll with mint jelly and pumpkin. Best of all, you can double the amount of meat in your sandwich for just four extra bucks. They call that option going 'Big Artie Big'. Big Arties can be found at the Union Hotel, 576 King Street, Newtown. For more information, check out the Union Hotel on Facebook.
In words attributed to everyone from Mark Twain to Alexisonfire, we should dance like no one is watching, and Glitterbox gives you the chance to do pretty much just that. Returning to Sydney Festival for the second year, Glitterbox is the work of Sydney artist duo Harriet Gillies and Roslyn Helper (aka zin) — and it's exactly what it sounds like. So what do you do? Pick a song, head inside the giant colourful cube that's pulsating with glitter and dance like no one is watching. Except they are. But you won't care. It's so much fun that you'll forget all about the other festivalgoers around you. Glitterbox will be located in the Meriton Festival Village at Hyde Park, which is open from 4.30pm will late every day of the festival except Mondays. Image: Jamie Williams.
Even the most adventurous of foodies have their limits, don't they? New documentary Bugs aims to put that idea to the test — and to make audiences squirm in the process. You don't make a film about two researchers from René Redzepi's experimental Nordic Food Lab exploring the culinary value and environmental benefits of eating insects without causing a reaction, after all. The eye-opening doco is one of 12 titles set to screen at the Antenna Documentary Film Festival from October 11 to 16, with the Sydney fest revealing a selection of highlights before their complete program announcement on September 6. Regardless of how experimental your eating habits are, the flicks unveiled should whet the appetite of factual cinema fans thanks to a wealth of thought-provoking content. When the fest isn't trying to get viewers pondering their next meal, it'll be inspiring discussions about everything from a ladies man living with HIV to the impact of nuclear waste in a small Russian town. The former comes courtesy of moving opening night film The Charro of Toluquilla, while the latter informs documentary City 40, which examines the people trying to survive in one of the most contaminated places on earth. And for a change of pace, anyone keen on an Italian holiday without the cost of an airfare should put Rome-set road movie A Present from the Past on their must-see list. Aussie effort A Mother and A Gun, which has its world premiere at the festival, is also certain to get attendees talking as it explores the life of Shelly Rubin, the woman who fell in love with the leader of the Jewish Defense League. Elsewhere, environmental effort The Islands and the Whales, a tribute screening of Abbas Kiarostami's Close Up, and the latest chronicle of Bobby Sands and his famous hunger strike — as previously brought to the screen in Steve McQueen-Michael Fassbender collaboration Hunger — also feature among Antenna's initial list of films. Yep, they might've only given viewers a taste of a dozen titles so far, but the fest's 2016 lineup looks as varied as it is interesting. The 2016 Antenna Documentary Film Festival screens at Palace Cinemas Paddington from October 11 to 16. The complete lineup will be announced on September 6. For more information, check out the festival website. Images: Lloyd Dirks, Tom Truong.
Imagine a fully immersive theatre experience with a choose-your-own-adventure twist and lots of macabre nods to Edgar Allan Poe, and you'll have some idea of what to expect when A Midnight Visit takes over an abandoned Sydney warehouse this spring. Unlike any theatre offering the city has seen before, this captivating experience is part performance, part playground and part film set. And it's being brought to life across 30 rooms of an eerie, two-storey, 3500-square-metre Newtown warehouse before it's demolished to make way for apartments. Audiences will find themselves transported into a dream world that takes its cues from those notoriously macabre works of Edgar Allan Poe, as imagined by a team of local actors and a crew of innovative sound, film-set and costume designers. Expect an air of David Lynch and some Stanley Kubrick vibes, with a spot of steam-punk thrown in for good measure. "The experience explores themes of madness, guilt, death, impermanence and memory — just the small things in life," explains director and co-creator Danielle Harvey. "It's sometimes funny, sometimes sexy, sometimes wistful, and yes, sometimes a bit scary." It won't be for the faint-hearted, with hints to uneven floors, suffocatingly small spaced and many 'troubled characters'. If you're thinking you might need some sort of tipple to calm your nerves before all of that, or after, you'll find yourself in good hands at The Ravens Rest pop-up bar, curated by Studio Neon. Preview performances from September 19 will also be available for $25. Images: Anna Kucera and Tim Da-Rin.
Does checking your Instagram on the weekend give you a serious case of brunch jealousy? It's time to get back at your friends with what can only be described as a mega-brunch, happening just across the road from the monthly Pyrmont Growers' Market. You know it'll be good when Ruby's Diner, Pinbone, Hartsyard, West Juliett and LuMi are behind the menu. Prepare yourself for the likes of chicken and waffles, strudel and Single Origin Roasters coffee. This event is one of our top ten picks of Good Food Month 2015. Check out the other nine. Image: Pyrmont Growers Market.
Musicians dream of many things: playing packed-out gigs, releasing a hit album that rockets up the charts, and attaining Kanye-levels of fame and fortune, just to name a few. Getting your own beer has to be on the list as well — and that's a rockstar achievement DZ Deathrays now has covered. No, bandmates Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley haven't cooked up a batch of homemade ale (well, that's not what they're unleashing upon the world right now, at least). And no, there's no rum involved, even though the duo both hail from Bundaberg. Instead, the ARIA-award winning Brisbane outfit has teamed up with the fine folks from Sydney brewery Young Henrys to make their very own brew. If Queen and Pearl Jam can have their own tipple, why can't they? Called Pils 'n' Thrills (Wellington's Garage Project will be raising a few eyebrows, they've already released a beer called Pils 'n' Thrills), DZ Deathrays' beverage of choice is a Czech-style pilsner complete with a stripped-back, classic, compact malt bill and a surprisingly hoppy palm to the nose. If you don't speak beer speak, that means that it's flavoursome, tasty and refreshing, i.e. all the things you want in a pint. Of course, Pils 'n' Thrills is a limited-edition affair, so you'd best head to your local stockist to get your fix quick smart. Then, next time you indulge in one of life's simple pleasures — aka enjoying an ice-cold beer while listening to your favourite band — you can do it with DZ Deathrays' very own drinks in your mitts. For more information about Pils 'n' Thrills, check out the Young Henrys website. Image: Luke Henery.
After spending the last few years in the grasp of tweens and sexless Mormons, it's good to see the vampire movie finally biting back. From the ingenious goofiness of What We Do in the Shadows to the eerie urban decay of Only Lovers Left Alive, it's been a banner year for big screen bloodsuckers, a trend that continued in 2014 with the most fascinating shakeup to the genre yet. Sexy, scary and fearlessly subversive, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night became a last minute contender for one of the best films of 2014, and this Halloween, it's coming back to the big screen at Golden Age. Billed as the world's first Iranian Vampire Western, the debut film from writer-director Ana Lily Amirpour takes place on the outskirts of an industrial ghost town, ominously named Bad City. It's here that an aloof young vampire in heavy eye makeup and billowing chador (Sheila Vand) stalks the streets in search of victims to devour. What she doesn't count on, however, is the romantic attention of a handsome local drug dealer (Arash Marandi), who unwittingly presents her with a difficult choice: pursue a relationship or eat him for dinner. If the plot sounds thin, that's probably because it is. A spiritual descendent of David Lynch and Jim Jarmusch, the California-based Amirpour is far less concerned with narrative than she is with style and atmosphere. The moody black and white cinematography further enhances the film's already palpable sense of menace, while also calling to mind prototypical vampire movies such as Vampyr and the original Dracula. The eclectic soundtrack is equally evocative, Amirpour spinning a Tarantino-esque blend of European and Iranian pop music combined with the rousing strains of an old school Spaghetti Western. Yet despite her aesthetic self-consciousness, Amirpour's film is in no way lacking in substance. While vampire stories are traditionally about sexuality, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night reframes the discussion to focus more on gender. It's obviously not a coincidence that Vand's vigilante vamp feeds exclusively on misogynistic men. Likewise the pointed choice of costume: her traditional head-to-toe black garb, so often viewed as a sign of oppression, re-appropriated as a symbol of her power. Even the film's title is misleading. Amirpour sets us up to expect a helpless victim, only to deliver something very different indeed. Bold and surprising, this is a truly stunning debut. See it on the big screen.
The Kings Cross Hotel is about to be transformed into an immersive wonderland as part of this year's Vivid Sydney festival. As part of the truly epic Vivid Music program (which includes the world premiere of Björk's digital project), the hotel will be in full swing with a slew of live music, theatre and cabaret throughout the three weeks of the festival from May 27 until June 18. Along with five-storey dance parties and cabaret performances, from June 1 the venue will go into immersive theatre mode on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Visiting Hours will see the Hotel become a mysterious old hospital with performances taking place across the five floors. It's been produced and directed by bAKEHOUSE Theatre, so you know it's going to be legit. And a little creepy. Running over six nights, the theatrics will kick off at 7pm. Groups will be staggered at 30 minute intervals to keep space uncrowded and make sure you're totally immersed, from start to finish. [competition]574883[/competition]
Is this vogue? Or bogue? It's the eternal question pondered by Big Ego Books founders, artists and all-round hilarious bloggers Raquel Caballero and Emily Hunt. On their insanely funny blog, these two wonderfully opinionated Australians weigh up the great and shit bits of our lives. Magic Eye? "I wish I had the skill of Magic Eye so I could write it on my resume." Vogue. Macarons? "Why are people still eating them? And why are publishers still publishing books about them? They taste like shit and they're really annoying to look at." Bogue. You'll find Raquel and Emily's latest greatest iratest Vogue/Bogue rant in the latest issue of Sturgeon. In case you've not met Sturgeon yet, it's a bi-annual Australian arts and culture publication published by Artbank — and boy is it pretty. The first issue was launched in November 2013 and this will be the fifth issue, guest edited by Miriam Kelly (curator and collection coordinator at Artbank). There's even original artwork by Sydney artist Leo Coyte on the cover. It's available to throw a measly $15 at in newsagents, museum stores and bookshops across Australia from May 16. But before you go and buy yourself a shiny new copy of Sturgeon, we have a little surprise for you. We love Raquel and Emily's Vogue/Bogue, and make a habit of reading it aloud and giggling over bits in the Concrete Playground office. So we asked them to do a special guest post just for CP, just for Sydney. What a coup. Here 'tis! BOGUE R.I.P. THE MONORAIL We will never get over this. We haven't forgiven or forgotten! The monorail to us symbolised the future, Jetsons-style. It's clear this country was going backwards when they decided to tear down the monorail. Sure it wasn't an economically viable mode of transport but does everything have to exist just to make a buck? Can't we have cool stuff just for the sake of it? Well apparently only people with $$$ are allowed this luxury. We just read on Wikipedia that Google owns a piece of the old monorail carcass (AKA a carriage) and uses it as an office meeting room because of course they do! Google thinks they're sooo cool, those dorks. BROADWAY BERMUDA TRIANGLE Similar to Bermuda Triangle, the Broadway Shopping Centre is a portal to a negative supernatural vortex. The streets around BSC are also haunted, probably from the Scientologists and their creepy uniforms. We've seen people murdered, a bank heist, three fires, a suicide off the walkway, a naked woman throwing chairs outside Oportos, a guy masturbating in the bushes next to the bus stop, nearly being killed by a semi trailer whose driver was drunk and a old woman falling flat on her back holding a baby as the lights had changed. Enough proof! Some one needs to light a candle and de-Satan that zone asap! THE DEVONSHIRE STREET CENTRAL STATION TUNNEL A.k.a - The dreaded tunnel, the boring tunnel, bad busker tunnel, horrible mural tunnel, slippery tile tunnel. The walk seems endless once you're in. Walk in the right stream, no eye contact, spray-painted nightmares of City Rail as mural art, no air, murder in the air, no tract for footwear and over-takers. It is awful down there. We have a few suggestions for easy and fast improvements. One – hurry up and build a travelator in both directions like at the Domain Car park, it wouldn't cost much. People are TIRED before they go to work and after they come home from work. A super fast travelator would be a perfect people moving machine, in a horrible tunnel like this one. Two – improve the awful sad murals! They are not art. The council needs to organise a competitive-war-grant to improve the art down there. We're thinking a 'mural war'. In one night the artists have five hours to paint a mural (from 12am to 5am), and the winner gets unlimited Opal, Uber and free drinks at every pub in Sydney for one month — paid by Sydney City Council. Number of Instagram likes will decide the winner. GREEDY LAND GRUBBERS Greed in general is a BOGUE. So is being a scab (an example of which is when you bring weed to a party and everyone flocks to you to smoke a puff and then they all leave as soon as the joint is done! Seriously guys, soooo rude!) Anyway back to the point. Greedy land grabbers are a major BOGUE in Sydney as everyone knows. The government is greedy selling off all the TAFE campuses which are sitting on prime real estate (tut tut), destroying beautiful buildings like the Sirius in Miller's Point – and kicking out a whole community of elderly people while they're at it (but who cares about that when there's money to be had)! Not to mention Westconnex because more cars on the roads is exactly what this city needs – not. Oh sorry, we forgot that cities are for cars – not people! Property investors are greedy buying everything up and then charging impossibly high rents. Meanwhile all we can do is pray hard for, not a recession – but a depression. As our friend George always says, "I'll be happy when people are forced to sell chicken skewers on the street." Amen! As a P.S. We just want to say one word: BOOMERS. Everyone knows why, we don't need to explain it. RENDERED HOUSES While we're on the topic of incredible Brutalist masterpieces — how about all those hideous rendered properties? You know the ones we mean: those ugly, grey or beige — but mostly grey — buildings that are meant to look slick and modern but they're GREY so they just look depressing and dirty. They are everywhere we look now! Seriously, the other day we were driving around and every second house was rendered grey! And what we want to know is: who started it? Who invented this horrific look? Was it Colorbond®? We just had a look at their website and we're blaming them to start off. The second question we ask is: who the hell thought this looked good? Was it perhaps the BOOMERS? Those tasteless land-grabbing bastards! They think that rendering is going to add value to their shitty properties? Those idiots. They are totally devaluing their properties because they already look dated! Jokes on them! Actually jokes on us for still living in Sydney where we actually have to PAY them money to live in these abominations. VOGUE GOULDS BOOK ARCADE Aaah the day Gould's Book Arcade closes down and is redeveloped into a grey rendered apartment block is the day we leave Sydney for good. We've found so many incredible books here in the past, that we were worried about including it (scared other fellow book obsessives will start raiding it). But we got nothing to worry about – Gould's is not for dabblers. It is for HARDCORE scavengers only. Even we who get our nails dirty dealing in books EVERYDAY sometimes walk in thinking we're ready for the trawl, but stop short at the door like, "No way. We can't deal with this shit today." If you even think about going to Gould's you have to ask yourself this question: "Are you going to do it?" Because – as Emily's High School year book photo quote says – "If you're gonna do it, then do it. If you're not gonna do it, then don't do it." And usually you're like, "Nah I'm not gonna do it." Ok see ya! CHINATOWN FOOD COURTS Oh man, we're getting hungry just thinking about this. It's hard to even formulate the words when we're so hungry, so we'll just do this in dot points. The food is cheap The food is TASTY You can buy booze from those weird stalls that just sell drinks – nothing else. It's quick. You get your food quick. You eat quick. It's all QUICK. After that you're in Chinatown and Chinatown is fun because the bars are shitty and you can get cheap jugs (not saying where or people will start going there to ruin it). Cheers! ARTEXPRESS The annual exhibition held at the Art Gallery of N.S.W is like the baby brother of the Archibald Prize. Every year my mother would take me along to see artwork and it would BLOW MY MIND! Art Express is a total Sydney Vogue because it is aspirational! Everyone in year 12 Art wanted secretly to be chosen to show in Art Express, amiright? Coming across an old catalogue from 1997, my favorite one ever, and so many memories flooded by. Memories of Leunig, Crowded House and Brett Whiteley. Art Express is dork zone, but that's why it's so amazing. Also, the standard of painting, drawing and sculpture is so far superior to anything we've seen recently. SYDNEY FERRIES In the dire situation we are in, at least we are a city that exists on the edge of a beautiful harbor. Some of the lucky ones get to transit to their work place, on a daily basis via the peaceful ferry. The ferry is the best and only nice form of public transport that exists in this busty town. Rain is worst on buses and trains, because even on the water, more water is ok because nothing compares to traffic. And it's the same price to pay for travel as a train or bus. And sometimes when the waves are rocky and the seas are rough - you feel like you might die. Everyone needs to feel like they are going to die more than they think. LOCAL HISTORY Booooooring! You may be thinking…. but you are WRONG! Local history is incredible, we warn you of becoming an obsessed historian. Knowing your old studio at Sydney College of the Arts was once probably a lounge room for the mentally insane, or your studio at National Art school was a solitary confinement cell, you start thinking more about the past lives that inhabited the walls around you. You never really own a place. Local history can be melancholy too. Seeing old photographs of theatres past and Victorian mansions are hard to look at because they no longer exist. The worst is when a local council decides to place a plaque of a photo showing what used to be there. But! There are still gems to be found. Just look up, ignore the shops and look higher at the old buildings that no one notices anymore. Sydney does have beautiful architecture, its just hidden under all the shit. Read more Vogue/Bogue in the latest issue of Sturgeon magazine. Find out where to buy it near you at Sturgeon's website. Top image: Sturgeon.
Sydney's independent theatre scene has lost a significant voice, with the unexpected closure of the Rock Surfers Theatre Company. The company made the sad announcement earlier this week, revealing that "due to a shift in funding priorities," they no longer had the capital to remain open. "Ticket sales only cover a fraction of the cost of delivering an annual program for professional arts organisations. Support from foundations, individual giving and investment from local and government bodies are crucial in helping us to achieve our onstage ambitions," read a statement by Rock Surfers Chair Nell Schofield. "Every effort has been made to find alternative funding to bridge the gap and we have been incredibly well supported by the Waverley Council, but we feel now that winding down the activities of the Company is the only responsible form of action." Rock Surfers Theatre Company began its life as Tamarama Rock Surfers in 1996. In the almost two decades since they've produced more than 200 stage shows and helped launch the careers of numerous local actors and theatremakers, including Tim Minchin, Ewen Leslie and Sarah Snook. News of the company's demise has been met with dismay by local theatre lovers, with many expressing their feelings on the company's Facebook page. The closure marks the latest blow to Australia's independent arts community, which has been feeling the pinch of major budget cuts announced by the Abbott government last year. The Turnbull government has pledged to reassess their funding priorities, but for Rock Surfers at least, it appears to be too late. The company's Artistic Director Shane Bosher confirmed to ArtsHub that they unsuccessfully applied for Australia Council funding in September, and had been similarly unlucky with Arts NSW.
If you've walked past Crown Street Fish Shop lately, you'll notice that it's been cut in half. That's because the southern end of the Surry Hills eatery is now home to Cubby's Kitchen, a Lebanese pop-up restaurant from Sydney restauranteur Matt Yazbek. Yazbek is best known as the founding man behind the highly successful Toko restaurant empire, which boasts Japanese eateries in Melbourne and Dubai as well as Sydney. Now he's turned his hand closer to his family's Lebanese heritage, launching the long-term pop-up restaurant with his two sisters, Amanda and Diala. The family affair doesn't stop there though — the trio have named the eatery after their mother Mouna's nickname, Cubby. In an extreme nod to authenticity, the whole family will be working side by side in the kitchen, pumping out Lebanese cuisine with a modern spin. Diners can expect traditional Lebanese dishes like smoked labne with crushed pistachio and pomegranate chilli oil, chicken legs with black garlic, basturma (cured beef) rolls and a falafel kebab. All is not lost in terms of Yazbek's Toko heritage — Japanese flavours sneak in on plates like the hummus with chilli edamame and babaghanoush with sweet miso. On the dessert front, there'll be the tantalising blend of Lebanese doughnuts with cinnamon and maple goats' cheese. Currently the restaurant is operating on a BYO licence (with $8 corkage per bottle), which has us jumping for joy. For the indecisive, Cubby's is also offering Cubby's Course, a nine-course feast for $45 per person. Crown Street is in the midst of a middle eastern resurgence, with rumours that an Arabic-inspired restaurant called Nour will be opening just down the road. This comes off the back of the announcement that Salts Meat Cheese will collaborate with Shuk, opening a new restaurant and rooftop bar in Circular Quay. While Cubby's Kitchen is technically a pop-up, we've been assured that it's here to stay. The restaurant will test out the space for 12 months, after which time they'll make the decision to remain in the space or move to another location in Surry Hills. Bring on the falafel. Cubby's Kitchen is now open at 500 Crown Street, Surry Hills. It's open Monday through Saturday from 5.30pm till late. For more info visit cubbyskitchen.com.au. Images: Nikki To.
The Kings Cross Hotel is about to be transformed into an immersive wonderland as part of this year's Vivid Sydney festival. As part of the truly epic Vivid Music program (which includes the world premiere of Björk's digital project), the hotel will be in full swing with a slew of live music, theatre and cabaret throughout the three weeks of the festival from May 27 until June 18. Relive the glory days of Sydney's late-night culture with the legendary '90s Sydney party night Sounds of Seduction returning for a special four-week run in the Kings' Cross Hotel's Dive Bar. This iconic Sydney party was started 20 years ago by beloved Sydneysiders Jay Katz and Miss Death as a Saturday night institution for much of the '90s. Think go-go dancers, rare images projected on walls, full d-floor. There'll be guest selectors, cabaret and more at this uniquely Sydney lounge revival. Sounds of Seduction is happening May 28, June 4, June 11 and June 18 from 9pm-3am. The Kings Cross Hotel's Vivid takeover will run for the length of the festival, from May 27 until June 18. For more information on what's happening at the Hotel, visit their website.
Though the world is obviously crying out for a play about a mausoleum brimming with leftover Christmas meat or a family grieving the death of a terrible actor, Australia's only Nobel laureate for literature did not see fit to furnish us with such a literally-titled masterpiece. It doesn't make the final product any less weird, though. Written in 1948, White's work traces the story of a young poet and the increasingly odd relationship he shares with his landlady, Mrs. Lusty after her husband dies suddenly. The result is a spirited, if unsettling pursuit of a young man by a grief-stricken, libidinous retiree, through a lavish post-funeral feast. The play was apparently inspired by a painting called The Dead Landlord, which William Dobell painted shortly after helping his own landlady heft her husband's corpse onto a bed. Infamously rejected by the Adelaide Festival in 1962, Griffin theatre and director and producer Kate Gaul have no such qualms.
A spiralling, futuristic community library is in store for Darling Square. Across its two floors, you'll find not only tens of thousands of books, but also a bunch of extra facilities, including a 'makerspace' and an 'Innovation Exchange Program' for creative startups. Designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and proposed by Lendlease, the building will have six storeys altogether, with another two floors occupied by a commercially-run childcare centre — as long as all plans get the green light. "I am very pleased that the City [of Sydney] has reached an in-principle agreement with Lendlease for two floors of the fabulous Kengo Kuma building," said Lord Mayor Clover Moore. "The contemporary library will include a flexible space for seminars and workshops, with technology to support entrepreneurs and innovators." The agreement means that the City of Sydney will lease the 2225 square metre space for 99 years. The rest of the terms are confidential at this stage, but we're expecting them to be ready to go by the end of 2016. And, if everything runs according to plan, the library will open in 2018. "The redevelopment at Darling Harbour includes a new residential and commercial area with 4200 new residents and 2500 new workers," the Lord Mayor said. "High-density living is an important part of our city's future, but to be a success it must be supported by great community facilities, which is why we're so pleased to see a project like this that meets the city's standards of design excellence." Find out more about Darling Square's new library and creative space on the City of Sydney's website.
All hail the sausage queen, long may she rein! The brains behind Chrissy's Cuts, Chrissy Flanagan has been serving snags to Sydney eateries and independent supermarkets since 2015. Now, the meat monarch finally has a keep to call her own, with the opening of what she's dubbed Australia's very first sausage cellar door. Located on New Canterbury Road in Dulwich Hill, The Sausage Factory will be Chrissy's Cuts' new permanent home. Flanagan and her partner Jim have added a cozy bistro-bar to the front of their butcher shop home base, which will be open from 6pm until 10pm, Thursday to Sunday. "We've loved seeing what chefs have done with our sausages over the past year and we've tried a lot of things on the Sausage Dogs at our pop-up events – but now we want to give it a proper crack," said Jim. Standout sausages include lamb shoulder with sumac and mint, and chicken with lemon and honey, plus a vegetarian option made with scarmorza, zucchini, almost and currant. Each banger comes with lemon garlic yoghurt with capers, house-made beer mustard with tarragon, pink and orange pickles, and apple in Poor Tom's Gin. Alternatively, you can get it as a 'dog' in bread with green onion and Handsome Devils Co tomato sauce. With the liquor licence still pending, punters can BYO or visit the bottle shop around the corner. They'll also be able to take home a little something for their pantries — be it Eat Me Chutney, Westmont Pickles or even Chunky Dave's Peanut Butter. And naturally, Chrissy's Cuts will be available by the kilo. Find The Sausage Factory at 380 New Canterbury Road, Dulwich Hill. For more information visit www.thesausagefactory.com.au.
The inaugural Sydney Solstice is going out with a bang — a bang that's not only delicious, but that's helping raise money for those in need, too. Third I Fest will see some of the inner west's best restaurants and bars open their doors, so you can go on a globe-hopping culinary adventure — without the plane ticket. You'll be able to buy a 'passport' that'll let you eat at restaurants, such as Colombo Social, with all money raised going to employment and career opportunities for asylum seekers and Indigenous Australians doing it tough. The three-day event will also feature pop-up art galleries, food and cocktail masterclasses, and an all-day music festival showcasing international, Indigenous and inner west artists (representing the event's three 'i's) on its final day. The music festival will take over the CBD's Metro Theatre with performances from boundary-pushing hip-hop artists Ziggy Ramo and L Fresh the Lion, alongside Kobie Dee, Thandi Phoenix and Becca Hatch. The festival will also give you the chance to catch exciting new East Arnhem Land band King Stingray in one of their first Sydney shows. The surf-rock band has released two critically acclaimed singles and are related to members of the legendary First Nation's group Yothu Yindi. Image: Colombo Social
Housed in the iconic Zetland space once owned and renovated by Ken Done, a selection of works by some of Australia’s most exciting emerging and established contemporary artists is on show. The exhibition celebrates the tenth anniversary of this successful local gallery, featuring works by Sydney Ball, Matthew Allen, Tony Albert, Karen Black, Joanna Lamb, Alex Seton and at least 20 more. Image: Swimming Pool with Reflection by Joanna Lamb.
The One Day crew just keep hitting their stride. A far cry from their humble 2013 pub beginnings as One Day Sundays, Sydney's favourite hip hop crew are getting bigger and bigger crowds with every event, throwing over 100 events across Australia in the last three years and blowing the roof of their monthly Factory mini-festivals, not to mention their biggest Sydney day party yet, One Day Only. For Vivid, they're back to their roots, with a huge One Day Sundays party at the Factory Theatre. Of course, One Day themselves will be leading the pack at this edition, with Adit and Nick Lupi to be joined by guests Aslan, Levins, Klasik and Liz Bird. In true One Day-style, there'll be live art aplenty on the day, with some of the country's best graffiti artists creating a live mural. It'll be a long day of dancing, so there'll be plenty of delicious food and drink to keep you fuelled.
Cinephiles, fans of on-screen dreams outside the norm and those with all-round offbeat tastes, it's time for your mosey through the movies that exist far beyond the mainstream. You know the ones — they won't be coming soon to a multiplex near you, and you wouldn't want them to. They're strange and sublime, odd and eccentric, and weird and wonderful. They're also the kind of fare that the Sydney Underground Film Festival lives, breathes, champions and screens, and has done for nine years now. And with efforts about a Finnish bunny with a genital fetish and the space where concepts become crimes in their 2015 lineup, there's no doubting that this year's SUFF is overflowing with off-kilter sensibilities. Accordingly, expect brain-exploding big-screen brilliance, raucous parties, a mind-expanding masterclass program and more, jam-packed into four days of film fun from September 17–20 at The Factory Theatre, Marrickville. Here are ten SUFF movies you won't want to miss. LOVE Say what you will about the films of Gaspar Noé, director of Irreversible and Enter the Void — they inspire a reaction. Perhaps his latest will make you mirror the emotion of its title. Perhaps it'll make you bubble over something completely different. Either way, the graphic, 3D, 134-minute exploration of the interplay between emotion and intercourse that is Love isn't something you'll walk out of not wanting to talk about. Whether you're immersed in the artistry of the real-life sex scenes, or finding fun in playing spot the reference to Noé's previous efforts, or itching to debate whether the porn-level bad acting is on purpose or not, prepare for your tongue to be wagging. CALL ME LUCKY In Call Me Lucky, comedian David Cross describes Barry Crimmins as "a guy you who you heard about before you actually saw". He's not a household name, so many are yet to even get to hear about him, but Bobcat Goldthwait's documentary will make you wish you had — and cause you to want to find out more. The Police Academy star turned filmmaker shines the spotlight on a comic legend who had more than a small impact upon his own career, as well as upon others who came to fame during the '80s. Making people laugh and mentoring other amusing folks comprise only part of Crimmins' story, though, with the funnyman morphing into a politically charged dynamo. ONE ON ONE Last time South Korean auteur and provocateur Kim Ki-duk made a movie, 2013's squirm-inducing Moebius, people reportedly fainted. Whether reactions to his next and 20th effort, One on One, will be as extreme is yet to be seen — but either way, you should always want to experience Kim's bold brand of filmmaking for yourself. That he's serving up another brutal, blood-soaked revenge classic this time around could be telling. That there's a statement lingering behind the twisted darkness and rampant ultra-violence could be as well. NINA FOREVER Admitting that you like your cinema-going with a hint of romance isn't really the done thing in movie-worshipping circles — but wanting your amorous on-screen affairs steeped in scarier stuff just might be. Nina Forever certainly tries to bridge that divide, offering a love story best described as morbid. When Rob falls for Holly, he's trying to get over the sudden death of his previous girlfriend, but the dearly departed Nina comes between them. In Chris and Ben Blaine's mischievous yet moving film, expect to take that rather literally. REALITY Showcasing the work of filmmakers that don't quite fall from the Hollywood mould is one of the things that underground film festivals do best. Quentin Dupieux certainly fits that bill, as anyone who has seen his 2010 cult effort Rubber — yep, the one about the people-killing tire with psychic powers — can attest. With Reality, he's playing with humans rather than objects, but that doesn't mean his latest offering makes more sense. It starts out telling the tale of a cameraman trying to craft his first horror movie, then charts the 48 hours he's given to find the best scream in the history of cinema — and that's just the beginning. REMAKE REMIX RIP-OFF In Turkey in the 1970s and 1980s, creating copies of Hollywood hits was big business. The nation's film industry, Yesilçam, survived by aping and appropriating all the well-known wares it could, including Star Wars, Rambo, The Wizard of Oz and The Exorcist, plus bizarre versions of the likes of Superman, Zorro, Tarzan, Dracula and James Bond. Given that his childhood and resulting cinema fandom was defined by such efforts, director happily Cem Kaya spent seven years watching thousands of movies, researching many more and cataloguing the phenomenon as an adult. If you think the love letter to unlikely films that results sounds like the kind of documentary tailor-made for an underground film festival, you'd be right. BACK IN TIME Delorean lovers, Marty McFly fans and everyone who ever dreamed that hoverboards would become a real thing, prepare to say "great Scott!". That's the only appropriate reaction to a documentary that dives into the 30 years of fandom spawned by one of the most beloved films of the 20th century. Packed with interviews and abundant in adoration, Back in Time celebrates everything that made Back to the Future great, and still inspires feverish love three decades later. What better way to commemorate the original movie's 30th anniversary, and to prepare for October 21, 2015, aka Back to the Future day. THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE If one of the joys of attending film festivals is to discover future classics — and it is, of course — then pencil in They Look Like People as a possible candidate for such a status at SUFF. When it premiered at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival, it garnered plenty of positive words and other praise; however, that's not the only thing giving the genre-bending effort some buzz. Comparisons to Darren Aronofsky’s Pi and Rian Johnson’s Brick certainly help, as do mentions of It Follows and They Live. Even if its apocalyptic tale of shape-shifting doesn't meet the hype, the ultra low-budget effort still promises something that's becoming all too rare: an horror movie based on an original concept. DEEP WEB Once upon a time — or back in 1989, to be exact — Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves teamed up to time travel their way through acing a high school history test. That wasn't their only stint as Bill & Ted, nor their only time working together. While rumours of a third excellent or bogus instalment persist, the on-screen BFFs have joined forces on Winter's latest offering as a filmmaker. Reeves lends his vocal tones to a documentary that delves into the Dark Web, the Silk Road and all the associated perils, problems and politics, and to an effort that deserves attention for much more than its famous talent. KNOCK KNOCK He's apprehended surfing bank robbers, learned kung fu in a sea of ones and zeros, and avenged the death of his pet puppy. As well as voicing a look at the underside of the internet, Keanu Reeves' next task is to survive the seductive thrills coming his way in Eli Roth's Knock Knock, which pits his suburban dad against two femme fatales in a throwback to the sexploitation genre. Roth's big screen efforts might be a bit hit and miss; however, his teaming up with Reeves is ample cause for enthusiasm. You can try to tell us that you're not excited about seeing the K man on screen again more often — or about it being socially acceptable to profess your enjoyment of his films once more — but we won't believe you. SUFF 2015 runs from September 17–20 at the Factory Theatre, Marrickville. Check out the festival website for the full program.
Plan those half-hearted New Years Resolutions, the 2015 Falls Music and Arts Festival lineup is here, announced by triple j this morning. Returning to Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron for another bout of end-of-year scullduggery, Falls is back with the likes of Foals and Disclosure at the top of the bill (both with shiny new albums to boot). Expect those beloved Brits Bloc Party on the bill as well, alongside a killer collection of international gems — we're talking Gary Clark Jr, Mac DeMarco, Kurt Vile and The Violaters, Toro Y Moi, Django Django, Young Fathers and The Maccabees to start with. Even Weird Al' Yankovic will headline the opening Boogie Nights party. Random. Australia's contingent deserves two thumbs way up, from international goakicker Courtney Barnett to dancefloor dominators RUFUS and the likes of the legendary Paul Kelly (with his Merri Soul Sessions), Hilltop Hoods, Meg Mac, Gang of Youths, Hiatus Kaiyote, Little May, Alpine, Birds of Tokyo, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Seth Sentry, Halsey, BØRNS and more. Enough chatskies, here's that lineup you're after: FALLS FESTIVAL 2015 LINEUP: Alpine The Avener Birds of Tokyo Bloc Party BØRNS Courtney Barnett Disclosure Django Django Foals Gang of Youths Gary Clark Jr Halsey Hiatus Kaiyote Hilltop Hoods King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Kurt Vile & The Violators Little May The Maccabees Mac DeMarco Meg Mac Oh Wonder Paul Kelly & Merri Soul Sessions feat. Clairy Browne, Dan Sultan, Kira Puru, Vika & Linda Bull RÜFÜS Seth Sentry Toro Y Moi Young Fathers and more BOOGIE NIGHTS LINEUP Art vs Science El Vez Fleetmac Wood 'Weird Al' Yankovic and more Lorne, Victoria (18+) December 28, 2015 – January 1, 2016 Marion Bay, Tasmania (all ages) December 29, 2015 – January 1, 2016 Byron Bay, New South Wales December 31, 2015 – January 3, 2016 Via triple j. Image: Falls Festival.
Anthony Albanese, Tim 'Rosso' Ross and Lord Mayor Clover Moore are among the public figures who'll be making their way to Customs House on Saturday, 17 September, to lead a massive public rally to save The Rocks' Sirius Apartments. Get there at 11.30am to show your support. The Sirius building, which was designed by architect Tao Gofers, is not only an important part of '70s history, a great example of Brutalist architecture and it is also public housing. For years and years, it has helped to even the score in this expensive, property-obsessed city of ours, but allowing people on low incomes to live in the centre, with harbour views. But now, the NSW Liberal Government under Premier Mike Baird wants to smash Sirius up and replace it with luxury apartments. That's why Albo, Rosso and the Lord Mayor are getting together to put up a serious fight."By selling out our communities and our history to make a quick buck, the State Government is undoing the very reason heritage legislation exists," said the Lord Mayor. "Selling off social housing in Millers Point and now demolishing Sirius shows the NSW Government doesn't think public housing tenants deserve to live in the heart of our city." They'll be joined by Alex Greenwich MP, Jamie Parker MP and the legendary Jack Mundey, a union and environmental activist who led the famous Green Bans movement, which saved Sydney from loads of unnecessary and environmentally damaging development in the '70s. In fact, his work might prove crucial to the saving of Sirius, for Brad Parker, the national assistant secretary of the CFMEU (the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union) will be announcing an interim Green Ban on the building at the rally. This ban prohibits all unionised work forces from working on the site, regardless of the State Government's instructions. "The government appears to have made no attempt to weigh the financial gains of a sell-off against the social losses involved in the devastation of a community," said Albanese. The rally will start at 11.30am outside Customs House, where Albo and Rosso will kick off proceedings. It'll then travel through The Rocks and along the harbour foreshore to Sirius. There'll be speeches from the back of the CMFEU truck, a performance by Sydney band The Cooks and a sausage sizzle. Images: Katherine Lu and Barton Taylor.
It’s Sydney Festival's 40th anniversary this year and to celebrate, the team are bringing us two masterful works — a special season of Shakespeare’s Desdemona and festival centrepiece, Georg Büchner’s eponymous Woyzeck reinterpreted as a dark musical. Both performances have critics frothing at the mouth and audiences champing at the bit and everyone in general acting like very sick horses (in a good way). For the first time in its long history, the festivities will extend beyond the summertime. Showing at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in October is Desdemona, the spinoff that posthumously reanalyses Shakespeare’s Othello and the character of Desdemona. The play was written by the Nobel and Pulitzer prize-winning American author Toni Morrison, scored by Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traore and directed by Peter Sellars. Working in tandem, the three have created an original perspective of the fiery character Desdemona; part-play, part-concert. The LA Times says of it, "In a ritual of spellbinding beauty, staged by Sellars, these two women, of different generations and continents, stand up to Shakespeare." The official piece headlining the festival, Büchner’s Woyzeck, will show in January. The stage play, originally written and left unfinished in 1837, has been completed and interpreted by a multitude of writers; dealing with the universally empathetic themes of obsession madness and murder. This iteration has been penned by musicians Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan as a 21st century musical. The basic plot goes something like this: Woyzeck, the archetypal outsider and solider, agrees to allow a questionable doctor to perform bizarre medical experiments on him and when the girl he loves starts to have feelings for another, he starts to spiral quickly in violent madness. The intrigue of Woyzeck is in the interpretation of the writers and they seem to have done something original with this one because critics are raving. “So beautiful, so devastating, so visually striking and of such visionary power, that we barely dare to breathe,” says Die Welt. These world-class offerings are just the first taste of what Sydney Festival will bring, with the whole 2015/16 program set to be announced soon. The 40th Anniversary Sydney Festival presents Desdemona, showing at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay from October 23-24 at 8pm and October 25 at 2pm. To book, call Sydney Festival on 1300 856 876. Woyzeck is showing at Carriageworks Bay 17 from January 7-12, 8pm (no performance on Sunday). To book, call Sydney Festival on 1300 856 87. If you get in early, you can book tickets to both Desdemona and Woyzeck for $170 at sydneyfestival.org.au/early.
They couldn't stay away could they? Melbourne's cult southern-style fried chicken joint, specialising in "really fucking hot" chicken, Belle's Hot Chicken, popped up in Sydney at Harpoon Harry, Bondi Icebergs, then back to Harpoon Harry with Bondi Icebergs. Now, they're opening a nine-month-long pop-up at Barangaroo, opening Wednesday, November 25. If you yet haven't experienced Belle's Nashville-style hot chicken, or you've wolfed it down at a previous pop-up, this time you won't have to squeeze your chickening into a couple of hours. The nine-month residency will see BHC pop up at the south end of Barangaroo‘s lifestyle hub, Wulugul Pop Up, alongside a bunch of casual eateries. They'll be showcasing a smaller version of their Fitzroy menu to Sydneysiders, featuring of course, dat hot chicken, alongside housemade lemonade, iced teas, kombucha and natural wine. “After witnessing an overwhelming positive response since opening Belle’s in Melbourne, and giving Sydneysiders a taste with the small pop ups over the last year, we knew it was only fair to bring some of the fried chicken goodness up to Sydney permanently, and the Barangaroo precinct felt like the perfect location,” says BHC founder Morgan McGlone. The brainchild of renowned Australian chef and former Nashville resident McGlone, Belle's has been combining spicy, spicy fried chicken with cool, cool natural wine and a bunch of hip hop since opening on Gertrude Street. They've since opened their own award-winning wine bar next door, Bar Clarine, because they know what they like, and a second Melbourne store. All hail BHC. Belle’s Hot Chicken pop-up opens on Saturday, November 20 at Wulugul Pop-Up, Wulugul Walk, Barangaroo and will be open seven days a week, eat in and takeaway. Mondays to Thursdays, 11am to 10pm; Fridays and Saturdays, 11am to 11pm; and Sundays, 11am to 6pm.
It's time to air out the tent and throw those novelty gumboots in your backpack, Bluesfest is here for another music-filled Easter long weekend. While The Black Keys, Ben Howard and Lenny Kravitz are no longer heading to Byron this year, Bluesfesters can placate their blues (ugh) with Alabama Shakes, Jurassic 5, the Zac Brown Band, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Sticky Fingers, Boy and Bear, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Paolo Nutini, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Angus and Julia Stone, Steve Smyth, The Black Keys' replacement British India and more. There’s more of an emphasis than usual on young blood and recent charttoppers this year. That said, the legendary George Clinton with his Parliament/Funkadelic will be delivering an ample dose of '70s psychedelic, roller-skating-worthy funk and Paul Kelly (who seems perpetually both classic and contemporary) will be serving up some Merri Soul Sessions, in the star-studded company of Dan Sultan, Kira Puru and Vika and Linda Bull. Then there’s Train, Xavier Rudd and the United Nations, Trombone Shorty and New Orleans Avenue, Rebelution, Soja, The Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Beth Hart, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Mariachi El Bronx, G. Love and Special Sauce, Pokey Lafarge, Band of Skulls and Rockwiz Live. The only difficult news in all of this is that ticket prices have crept up (you can’t say you weren’t warned!). BYRON BAY BLUESFEST 2015 LINEUP: The Black Keys Angus & Julia Stone Boy & Bear Sticky Fingers Frank Yamma Delta Rae Wagons Skipping Girl Vinegar Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders Kristy Lee Genevieve Chadwick Dewayne Everettsmith The Bella Reunion Luluc James T. Matt Andersen Shaun Kirk Eddie Boyd & The Phatapillars Hozier The Waterboys Switchfoot Hunter Hayes Fly My Pretties Music Maker Presents Super Chikan And Vasti Jackson Diesel Jeff Lang Phil Wiggins & Dom Turner Watussi (Final Performances) Nikki Hill The Rumjacks Lenny Kravitz The Gipsy Kings (feat. Nicolas Reyes & Tonino Baliardo) Rodrigo Y Gabriela Jurassic 5 (Now also performing on Thursday night) John Mayall Keb Mo Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin with the Guilty Ones JJ Grey & Mofro Tony Joe White Jon Cleary Trevor Hal Serena Ryder Jake Shimabukuro Music Maker Foundation (feat. Cool John Ferguson, Little Freddie King, Alabama Slim, George Stancell) Michael Franti's Soulshine Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals Paolo Nutini David Gray Ben Howard Counting Crows Jimmy Cliff Mavis Staples Gary Clark Jr Dispatch Ruthie Foster The Beat Keziah Jones Playing For Change The Black Keys Zac Brown Band Alabama Shakes Train Michael Franti & Spearhead George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Paul Kelly Presents The Merri Soul Sessions feat Dan Sultan, Kira Puru, & Vika And Linda Bull Xavier Rudd and The United Nations Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue Rebelution Soja The Chris Robinson Brotherhood Beth Hart Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls Mariachi El Bronx G. Love & Special Sauce Pokey Lafarge Band Of Skulls Rockwiz Live Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires Augie March Donavon Frankenreiter Melbourne Ska Orchestra Justin Townes Earle Declan Kelly Presents Diesel n’Dub (Featuring Emma Donovan, Alex Lloyd, Pat Powell, Radical Son, Tony Hughes) Ash Grunwald Blue King Brown The Beautiful Girls Steve Smyth Karl S. Williams British India Bluesfest 2015 will run April 2 – 6 2015 at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay. More details and ticket info here. Image: Bluesfest.
March can often arrive with a pang of seasonal realisation — summer's done. But there are some who resist the change, especially those intent on creating an entire beach festival in Coogee. You'll quickly forget any farewells to the sunnier months at the Coogee Foreshore Festival, a seaside celebration transforming Coogee Pavilion's ground floor into a burgeoning marketplace. It's just one tasty, beachy adventure amongst five weeks of March into Merivale. The new Coogee Foreshore Festival arrives on Sunday, March 15, running 11am to 4pm at one of our favourite openings from 2014. The $45-a-head festival will see Merivale pop-ups such as Papi Chulo, Mr Wong, El Loco and sushi e all taking their spot along the promenade, while roaming entertainment, a Deus surfboard-shaping stand and face painting bubbles inside. Summer might be done according to the calendar, but there's no reason to dwell in melted daiquiris and uneaten Christmas chocolate. Forward march to autumn.
Having completely sold out tickets, beloved two-day camping festival Secret Garden Festival boasts one of its biggest music lineups to date. With over sixty bands and DJs across four stages, Secret Garden is cranking things to 11 — without losing that intimate Secret Magic magic. Headlined by two huge international slam dunks — New York City's brutally honest story-weaver Sharon Van Etten and punk-as-fuck Parquet Courts — the Secret Garden lineup has gone next level this year under returning festival programmer Adam Lewis (Opera Bar, formerly Goodgod Small Club). Loyal fans of synth, beats and glitches have a lot to look forward to, with Client Liaison, Donny Benet, Hot Dub Time Machine, Fishing, Japanese Wallpaper, LUCIANBLOMKAMP, Willow Beats, UV Boi, Stereogamous ft. Shaun J. Wright (AUS/USA), NO ZU, San Holo (NL), Holiday Sidewinder, Frames, Juan Du Sol, Luen, Oisima, RY4, Total Giovanni, Yon Yonson, Tees, Softwar B2B Slow Blow. Gear up for spontaneous dance-offs with Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Levins, Shag, Mike Who, Ariane, Love Bombs, I Oh You DJs, Purple Sneakers DJs, Le Fruit DJs, Yo Grito! DJs and Heartbeat DJs. If you're down for tossing the feathers to a different type of harmony, the folk, roots and country element of the lineup is top notch. Sharon Van Etten is joined by Sydney's harmonic trio Little May, the likes of Pepa Knight, Heather Woods Broderick (USA), Steve Smyth, Jeremy Neale, The Morrisons, Wintercoats, Stolen Violin and Luluc. Hip hop-wise, Secret Garden have handpicked some of Australia's best; the names changing the game for Aussie hip hop — Remi, Baro and Milwaukee Banks, alongside Canadian producer Lunice. Garage, punk, psych, indie and alt-rock blares thick and fast at this year's festival, with those cheeky Parquet Courts heading Gooch Palms, Oh Mercy, Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders, Lake Street Dive (USA), Gang of Youths, The Griswolds, Devotional, Little Bastard, Joseph Liddy and the Skeleton Horse, Spookyland and Rolls Bayce. And if you thought call-and-response wasn't going to make an appearance at Secret Garden this year, Peter Combe and the Bellyflop in a Pizza Band are locked in to dredge up that nostalgia and have you washing your face with orange juice before you can clean your teeth with bubblegum. Secret Garden takes place 27 - 28 February on a 3,000 acre 'garden' on Sydney's fringe. Tickets are currently sold out. As always, the festival will be donating all proceeds to those who need it most, with all proceeds from ticketing and bar sales going to a range of charities. For more info on this year's festival, head to secretgardenfestival.com.au. SECRET GARDEN 2015 LINEUP (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER): Ariane Baro Client Liaison Devotional Donny Benet (Solo) Fishing Frames Gang of Youths Gooch Palms Grace Heartbeat DJs Heather Woods Broderick (USA) Holiday Sidewinder Hot Dub Time Machine I Oh You DJs Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders Japanese Wallpaper Jeremy Neale Joe Liddy & The Skeleton Horse JU?AN DU SOL Lake Street Dive (USA) Le Fruit DJs Levins Little Bastard Little May Love Bombs LUCIANBLOMKAMP Luen Luluc Lunice (CAN) Mike Who Milwaukee Banks No Zu Oh Mercy Oisima Parquet Courts (USA) Pepa Knight Peter Combe Purple Sneakers DJs Remi Rolls Bayce RY4 San Holo (NL) Shag Shantan Wantan Ichiban Sharon Van Etten (USA) Softwar B2B Slow Blow Spookyland Stereogamous ft. Shaun J. Wright (AUS/USA) Steve Smyth Stolen Violin Tees The Griswolds The Morrisons Total Giovanni UV Boi Velociraptor Willow Beats Wintercoats Yo Grito! DJs Yon Yonson
When we take that first sip of our barista-brewed coffee on a workday morning, a lot of us can't actually imagine living without coffee. But what about living without a roof over your head or a guaranteed meal? Unfortunately, this is what many homeless people around Australia face each day, but on Friday, August 7, you can help your fellow Aussies out simply by buying a coffee as part of CafeSmart. CafeSmart is an annual event from StreetSmart that raises money and awareness for the homeless and is back for its third year running. Last year, 415 cafes and 20 coffee roasters raised $120,000 to fund 91 community projects. Not too shabby. So how does it work? From every coffee purchased on August 7 at a participating cafe around Australia, $1 will be donated towards local projects. So if your go-to local isn't participating, shake things up for a day and head to one that is. Prefer a hot chocolate? You can also donate at the counter. Simply by aiming for a bighearted cafe, you'll be helping some of our country's most in-need humans, so treat yourself to a third or fourth coffee guilt-free. CafeSmart is happening around the country on Friday, August 7. Check the website for participating cafes near you. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
Frosted tips, mood rings, cargo pants — you know you owned 'em. Fish your best '90s gear out of the back of your parent's closet and head for a rather '90s New Year's Eve at The Bearded Tit. There'll be sets by Lorna Clarkson, Charlie Villas and the Tit's own Fleetwood Crack, alongside performances by Renny Kodgers and Captain Pipe, so expect this to be one eclectic affair. There'll be prizes for best dressed, so think big — you and five friends could easily pull a solid Spice Girl effort. There's no cover charge (which makes this a wildly affordable type of Sydney NYE), and there'll be '90s cocktails on the night.
Sydney abounds in whiskey bars, gin joints and wine libraries. But, until now, vermouth – that ancient potion of mystical, medical qualities – hasn't received its own shrine. Enter Banksii, a brand new bar-bistro, run by Bar H's cracking team and soon to open along the sparkling, harbour-side Streets of Barangaroo. On sommelier Rebecca Lines's drinks list, you'll find no fewer than 40 vermouth options. Drink 'em straight, drink 'em on ice, drink 'em while howling at the full moon and drink 'em in cocktails. In short, drink 'em anyway you like. "Vermouth has an exceptionally long history and by the 17th Century was incredibly popular in Europe and England as an aperitif," says Lines. "There has been a recent rediscovery of vermouth and we'll be focusing on it being served straight as an aperitif and in a tight cocktail list, focusing on classics such as martinis and negronis." What's more, she's organising a bespoke drop by the name of Maidenii, which you'll find on Banskii's taps, but nowhere else. Vermouth not your thing? Get into the 100-strong wine menu, emphasising both homegrown and Mediterranean wines. Meanwhile, chef Hamish Ingham — ex-Bar H, Pier, Becasse, Flying Fish and Billy Kwong, and 2004 Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year — has been busy coming up with contemporary dishes that combine Mediterranean influences with Australian botanicals. By the way, in case you're wondering, the name Banskii is not in homage to the homonym-nal street artist, but to Sir Joseph Banks, Australia's first European botanist. Ingham will be serving up his creations morning, noon and night. For breakfast, you'll be getting stuck into rosemary sheep's milk yoghurt with fresh honeycomb and brioche, or grilled Cumberland sausage, fried egg, organic chickpeas and tomatoes cooked in vermouth. Lunch and dinner will be all about keeping things light and fresh, with star dishes including vegetable crudité with sesame yoghurt and mountain leaf oil; and roast spatchcock, botanicals, fried bread and agro dolce. And, for sweet tooths, there's banksia flower trifle with banksia syrup, sweet vermouth, rosella jelly and burnt vanilla custard. Yep. Banksia flower trifle. "I can't wait to get into the kitchen at Banksii," said Ingram. "I'm really happy with how the menu is coming together. The Streets of Barangaroo is going to be one of the most exciting dining precincts in Sydney, with the likes of Belles [Hot Chicken] and Bentley as our neighbours, we're in extremely good company." Luchetti Krelle is taking care of design matters, incorporating indoor-outdoor seating for 200 people and drawing from 18th century ideas (because that's when Sir Banks was around). If you've ever hung out at ACME, Momofuku Seiobo or The Butler, you've luxuriated Luchetti Krelle's excellence. Banksii will open on The Streets of Barangaroo in September 2016.
Slip into a world of gangsters and glamour at a shindig inspired by one of Sydney's most notorious nightclubs. For two nights in October, The Festivalists will transform Sydney's Police and Justice Museum into a hive of shady activity, complete with go-go dancers, paparazzi and a backroom roulette table. Throw on your best '60s garb and leave your inhibitions at the door – they're not calling it Mayhem for nothing. Taking their cues from Chequers circa 1969, when the club famously hosted a party with Chicago mobster Joseph Testa in attendance, The Festivalists have teamed up with Sydney Living Museums on what promises to be the most scandalous ticket in town. On Thursday October 8 and Friday October 9, guests dressed to the nines will breeze past the photographers into a pop-up cabaret and bar, where Memphis Mae will take the stage for a 60s-style burlesque show. Maeve Marsden will emcee regular cabaret performances, while retired showgirl Elizabeth Burton spills her guts about life during Sydney's seedy hey-day. Venture a little deeper into the shadows and you'll find plenty more to get up to, including liquid light painting with Zender Bender, immersive theatre by The Jetback Collective, and pole-dancing 101 with Cody Cabana. There'll be prizes for best dressed – and if you're really feeling lucky, try your hand at the roulette wheel, or have a go at cracking open the club safe. In the meantime, The Festivalists' latest Hijinks event, a 007-themed cocktail party, is happening next Friday night at Madame Tussauds. Tickets to Mayhem: Chequers Club can be booked online or over the phone on 1300 488 849. $75 gets you in, and also covers food and your first drink of the night. Image by Brent Lederitz.
If seasonal change has left you in a dizzy headspin of brand new colours and fabrics and prints and jackets — or if, y'know, you just like some fancy new clothes now and then — you'll be pretty pleased to know that the Big Fashion Sale is coming back to Sydney for four days this March. The name pretty much says it all. This thing is big. You'll find lush items from past collections, samples and one-offs from over 40 cult Australian and international designers, both well-known and emerging, including Marni, Kenzo, Stella McCartney, Alexander Wang, Helmut Lang, Karla Spetic, Christopher Kane, Elke Jewellery and more. With discounts of up to 80 percent off and items for as little as $20, this is one way of upping your street cred with designer threads that'll leave your bank balance sitting pretty too. Prices this low tend to inspire a certain level of ruthlessness in all of us, though, so practise that grabbing reflex in advance. This is every man and lady for themselves. The Big Fashion Sale opening hours: Thursday, March 31 — 8am - 7pm Friday, April 1 — 8am - 6pm Saturday, April 2 — 10am - 6pm Sunday, April 3 — 10am - 5pm
George Miller has done the near-impossible and made car chases interesting again. Not just interesting, mind you. Sensational. Mad Max: Fury Road is electrifying, breathtaking, white-knuckle cinema at its masterful best, and — given the entire film is a car chase — that’s no mean feat. Consider the problem. Chase sequences become interminably dull as soon as you recognise they are restricted by just two possible outcomes: ‘pursuer catches’ or ‘pursued evades’. Subject to a few notable exceptions (French Connection and Ronin being the standouts), these scenes merely interrupt the narrative and contribute little or nothing to the character arcs or overall plot. The difference is the road movie. Miller, who practically invented the genre 35 years ago, understands that everything changes when the chase is the story. It's cinematic inverted spectrum, where action is transformed from interruption to character defining narrative — an extension of the their very lives and personalities. Traditional distinctions like age and gender become irrelevant, and how a person drives, fights, shoots and stares becomes more important than what they say. Demonstrating an astonishing paucity of dialogue, the action of Mad Max: Fury Road doesn’t just speak more loudly than words — it positively deafens. In a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland, earth’s survivors now exist in a collection of militarised tribes fighting over the remaining reserves of gasoline and subject to the tyrannical rule of self-appointed demigods like ‘Immortan Joe’ (Hugh Keays-Byrne). The chase begins almost immediately when a one-armed big-rig driver named Furiosa (Charlize Theron), attempts to liberate Joe's young wives from their servitude as ‘breeders’ and Joe goes all out to recover them. Caught up in the action is Max (Tom Hardy), a wasteland loner captured by Joe’s minions and being used as a living blood bank for one of Furiosa’s pursuers, Nux (an almost unrecognisable Nicholas Hoult). Plot wise, it’s far from innovative; effectively Waterworld on sand with the design aesthetic of Fallout. Cinematically, however, Mad Max: Fury Road is unparalleled. The action is choreographed to mesmerising perfection, offering a balletic pageant of destruction with a refreshing absence of CGI. The sound, too, is staggering, with the menacing roar of V8 engines mirroring the Inception-like ‘BRAMMM’ that seems an almost constant fixture throughout. The combined effect is ferocious and irresistible, encapsulating all that makes cinema a uniquely immersive and transportive experience. Miller has crafted something extraordinary here, a modern masterpiece that could very well redefine the action standard. Don't wait for DVD on this one. See it where it's meant to be seen, and see it now.
In the art world, getting your work seen is often half the battle. Competing with household names for gallery spaces can feel like a lost cause, leaving many to throw in the towel altogether. But what if there was an event designed specifically with emerging talent in mind? Imagine a festival open exclusively to the undiscovered, the hidden gems of the creative world, that promises to connect artists directly with buyers. Good news, The Other Art Fair is making this all come true. Established in the UK nearly five years ago and launched in Sydney last year, The Other Art Fair offers a one-of-a-kind experience, focused on demystifying the art buying process for all involved. Creating a direct link between artists and buyers, art industry experts hand-pick a top notch lineup of emerging talent to showcase to visitors across four days. Now in its second year, the Fair returns to Sydney in October to bring a fresh selection of contemporary works to art lovers, critics and collectors. And in 2016, the Fair promises an entirely new vision led by the new soon-to-be-announced International Fair Director. Plus, the Selection Committee director is none other than Tracey Emin — yep, the Tracey Emin. After the overwhelming success of last year's debut, the fair is currently on the hunt for a new crop of emerging artists to get involved. Think you might be the next big thing? Head to theotherartfair.com.au/applications and enter before submissions close Monday, July 11. For further information, contact Fair Manager, Zoe Edema (zoe@theotherartfair.com).
When we first meet Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) and her best friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor), it's over a doughnut in a dingy shop on the corner of Santa Monica and Highland, a notorious Los Angeles intersection known for its high numbers of transgender sex workers. Sin-Dee is back on the block after a month-long stint in prison, although she won't be getting back to the hustle right away. First, she's got to track down her pimp and boyfriend Chester (James Ransone), who according to Alexandra has been stepping out behind her back — and with a biological woman, no less. At first description, Sundance hit Tangerine sounds like it could be a bit of a slog to sit through — a micro-budget indie film about people on the fringe of society with no good options and no way out. Thankfully, that could not be further from the truth. What on paper has the makings of a despondent 'issues' movie is instead a loud, stylish, ultra high-energy romp — a film that is both uproariously funny and unexpectedly poignant without ever resorting to cheap tricks, condescension or cliche. Of course the first thing that makes Tangerine stand out is not its subject matter but its style. Director Sean Baker shot the entire film using tricked-out iPhone 5s, a cost-saving measure that proved to be a blessing in disguise. The jerky, unvarnished camerawork suits the film's characters to perfection, while filters added in post-production ramp up the colours to unnaturally vivid level; rarely has LA's ugly side looked so electric on screen. On a technical level alone, this is a truly exciting piece of art, one that raises the bar for low- and no-budget productions while at the same time demonstrating how technology is democratising moviemaking like never before. Still, even more so than its incredible aesthetic, the true success of Tangerine lies in the collaboration between Baker and his two leads. Despite a combined zero hours of screen acting experience between them, Taylor and Rodriguez, who Baker recruited from a local LGBT centre, give two of the best performances of the year. It's hard to imagine 'professional' actors bringing the same levels of authenticity – or attitude – to the film's immensely quotable dialogue, much of which was improvised on set. Indeed, the unvarnished, no-fucks-given edge that both stars bring to the film speaks volumes about the hardships faced by poor transwomen of colour. Tangerine, to its eternal credit, never shies away from these hardships. But it also refuses to paint its characters as helpless victims. These women don't want or need your sympathy, although they certainly deserve your respect. So too does this film. As transgender issues continue to get more of the spotlight, narratives such as this – unflinching and, perhaps more importantly, entertaining – have the power to alter public perception. Frankly, it's hard not to root for characters like these. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALSwWTb88ZU
The show must go on for the folks at the Moulin Rouge. 15 years after the release of Baz Luhrmann's smash-hit movie musical, the story of doomed lovers Christian and Satine is coming to the stage. The lavish adaptation is currently in its early stages, and will be directed by two-time Tony nominee Alex Timbers. "I first encountered Alex Timbers through the remarkable and inventive production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and the brilliance of Here Lies Love," said Luhrmann in a statement. "I immediately recognised the young director's creative spirit and felt we shared similar sensibilities and instincts." Writing duties will be handled by acclaimed playwright and screenwriter John Logan, whose resume includes the recent James Bond outing Skyfall as well as the Tony Award-winning play Red. "It's immensely gratifying to know that a new wave of artists will be leading Moulin Rouge! into its rightful theatrical realm," said Luhrmann. The show is being developed by entertainment group Global Creatures, who previously worked on the theatrical adaptation of King Kong and helped bring Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom to the stage. A premiere date and location for Moulin Rouge! has yet to be announced.
Disney and Marvel. When the union was forged, many wondered whether it would be death of both or the start of something special. Then The Avengers made about a trillion dollars and it looked like things might be okay. Key to the acquisition was Disney’s hands-off approach, guaranteeing the gritty Marvel world would not suddenly be required to include musical numbers like: “I’m a Wolverine and I’m the best you’ve ever seen”. The latest offering — Big Hero 6 — is a Disney movie based on a Marvel comic that perhaps 11 people in the world have ever heard of. That meant the Disney team could largely ignore the source material and simply ‘Frankengrab’ the parts they liked, which in this case was little more than the film’s title. The action takes place in the city of San Fransokyo, a portmanteau blending not just names but also architecture, with the iconic San Francisco Bay playing backdrop to a very aesthetically Asian metropolis. Living in it are the bothers Hamada: technology prodigies who direct their talents in wildly different arenas. Hiro builds robots for underground gambling, while his older brother, Tadashi, tries repeatedly to entice him to the prestigious Institute of Technology. When tragedy strikes, Hiro finds himself inadvertently partnered up with Tadashi's prototype robot ‘Baymax', and it’s here that Big Hero 6 hits its stride. Baymax is, quite simply, a revelation. Tender, naive and scene-stealingly funny, he’s a bulbous inflatable carer-bot, a sort of Stay Puft Marshmallow Man with a med degree. Voiced by Scott Adsit (30 Rock), Baymax is singular in purpose: he wants to help people. But with several kinks yet to be ironed out, his efforts often prove more troublesome than beneficial. Add to the mix a mysterious, murderous villain who compels Hiro to train Baymax in martial arts and you get a Kung Fu Panda adventure mixed with the traditional Disney themes of loss, love and learning. There is, of course, a video game undercurrent to the action, because tied into the release of Big Hero 6 is a video game; however, the blend of characters, comedy and carnage is in the right ratio. The animation is also spectacular. Speaking at the screening, producer Roy Conli showed us some of the new technology developed specifically for this film to be made, and none was more impressive than the world-building engine responsible for San Fransokyo. The city is enormous and unbelievably detailed. It feels real, which keeps the story grounded when it might otherwise stray too far into silliness. The star, though, is Baymax. Adsit’s ability to emote through an expressionless blob is a giant accomplishment, responsible for more than few tears and sniffles throughout. Big Hero 6 may not be quite up to the level of Pixar in terms of story, but it’s still a great addition to the Disney family of films and one that all members of the family will enjoy.
Time to wake your brain up from its summer slumber and get those mind grapes squeezing juice again, because Melbourne is getting a dose of none other than the inimitable Miranda July. In what can't be called anything less than a coup, the celebrated writer, filmmaker, actor, artist, app maker, handbag wizard and bona fide enigma will be gracing the stage with her talkher talk Lost Child! at Sydney Opera House's All About Women, then heading to Melbourne Town Hall on Monday, March 7. Recently read The Last Bad Man and wondered who the hell was this woman behind it? Or just fascinated by the whole persona of this wonderful woman? Well, she'll be talking through her very varied and unique works, from her time as an artist in Portland to where she is now. And we daresay she'll be answering a few audience questions — so get yours ready. Image: Miranda July.
While we suspect he'll always be remembered best as the world's most famous boy wizard, you certainly couldn't accuse Daniel Radcliffe of always playing in the same sandbox. Since wrapping up the Harry Potter series, the actor has played Alan Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings, taken the stage in Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishman, and most recently appeared as a flatulent corpse in the surprisingly heartwarming indie film Swiss Army Man. His latest project is an Off-Broadway play, one that is noteworthy not just for Radcliffe's part, but for its unusual policy when it comes to mobile phones. While whipping out your cell is generally considered sacrilege in the theatre, Privacy takes the opposite approach — actively encouraging audience members to take selfies during the show in order to explore questions of privacy and accountability in an increasingly connected world. As Radcliffe dives into the open world of social media, audience members are able to post their photos to the theatre website, at which point they're projected onto a giant screen behind the actors. Further chances for crowd participation come when a character types "is it wrong…" into Google, with viewers prompted to shout out possible autofill possibilities. Of course Privacy isn't the first time theatres have allowed or even encouraged the use of mobile phones. Theatres in Melbourne such as Malthouse and La Mama have experimented with special 'tweet seats' in the past, sparking furious debate as to whether the practice should be allowed. What's interesting in this case is how the play actually incorporates phone users into the performance. This could very well be the beginning of a brave new world. Via PSFK.
Announced as the very first headliner for the 2017 Vivid program, indie folk-rock band Fleet Foxes are making their triumphant return to Sydney — for the first time in five years. The US band will bring their bright dance-around-the-forest songs to the Sydney Opera House for four exclusive shows on May 26–29 this year. These will be the band's only shows in Australia, so tickets will be allocated via a ballot system. Those who miss out or can't make it to Sydney needn't despair, however — the final show will be live streamed on Facebook from 8pm on May 29. Fans of Fleet Foxes will know the band have been extremely quiet of late; they haven't released an album since Helplessness Blues back in 2011. The band is set to release their third album this year — which, according to Consequence of Sound, is called Ylajali — and has already locked in some European tour dates post-Vivid, meaning that we could potentially be the first to hear their new material.
Vivid Sydney is very nearly upon us and just when we thought it couldn't get any better — what with the lights and Bjork, Spike Jonze, Bon Iver and House of Cards creator Beau Willimon all coming out this year — they go and blow our wee minds by announcing this year's food hub, an all-star Sydney burger bar themed like a vintage arcade game. The pop-up, named 8Bits+Bytes, is a collaboration between local creative studios Motti+Smith and Paper Moose. They've got Sydney burg royalty on board to battle it out to get their name to the top of the leaderboard. Coming in to bat will be legends Mary's, Milk Bar by Café Ish, Pub Life Kitchen, Surry Hills' Bangbang Cafe, and Sammy's Burger Bar. Prepare your body. Aesthetics-wise, the pop-up will be styled to look like the inside of an 8bit arcade game with giant pixelated trees, burgers and storm clouds. A huge LED light wall (three metres tall by 30 metres long) will tell the tragic, pixelated tale of a burger's adventures through life. Be sure to play before you eat though, because the gaming is all interactive (hello motion tracking gaming technology). But onto the meat of the matter: the burgers. Each burg bigwig is in competition with the others to win your heart (and your vote) with a burger they've created especially for the occasion. Votes will be cast by hashtag across social media (as democratic elections have always been done), and will be tallied in real time on a digital scoreboard. So what's going to be on offer? Glad you asked. Mary's will be cooking up a Pac Man Burger, a tame twist on their classic with grass-fed beef, triple cheese, Mary's BBQ Sauce and onion rings. Café Ish has teamed up with the guys from The Jugernauts to create the Double Dragon: a milk bun filled with a double wagyu beef patty, double American cheddar, kimchi, green oak lettuce, miso sauce, seaweed, aioli and a milk bun (is your mouth watering yet?). Also teaming up with the food blog are Bangbang, who has designed the HACKRoulette (a cheeseburger topped with chilli con carne, more cheese and umami sauce served with a shot of pickle juice), and Sammy's Burger Bar on the Polish Pounder, a medium custom ground beef patty, cheese, sauerkraut, Polish slab bacon, horseradish mustard sauce and a dill pickle on a toasted brioche bun. Pub Life Kitchen have yet to announce their menu, but we're sure it will be just as enticing — there's some stiff competition after all. To be a fair judge, you will have to try all the burgers — perhaps several times each, and perhaps while playing motion tracking video games. Just to be fair. After all, you decide who wins, although what they win is unclear at this point...but really, at the end of the day, if we're stuffed full of burgers, don't we all win? 8Bits+Bytes will pop-up at Martin Place for the entirety of Vivid Sydney from May 27 - June 18. For more info on the festival, visit their website.
After years of popping up at farmers markets and on Sydney brunch menus, Brooklyn Boy Bagels has just opened their first Sydney bakery cafe. Claiming the title of 'Sydney's first true artisan New York bagel maker and bakery', BBB has now taken up a more permanent residence in a little shop on an otherwise unremarkable stretch of Bunnarong Road in Matraville. Previously only available through tracking down their pop-up stalls or by ordering delivery, BBB's delicious wares are some of the more authentic in Sydney. These bagels are about as traditionally New York-style as they get in Australia, made with the blood, sweat and tears of local self-proclaimed dough raiser and actual Brooklynite Michael Shafran, who first brought the power of the bagel to Sydney in 2013. With their slogan reading "If it ain't boiled, it ain't a bagel," BBB boasts traditional, handmade bagels. Shafran believes the most important aspect of creating is the boiling process, boasting on their website that they don't cut corners — rather, they go through the proper (and painstaking) kettle-boiling, hand rolling, cold fermentation process. Mastering the art of bagels is just the beginning for Shafran, who's slowly introducing his various other New York loves into the bakery, including Mecca coffee, NY-style pretzels, breves (coffee with half milk/half cream) and babaka, a Jewish rolled cake with his own personal spin of either salted caramel or the traditional filling of cinnamon and chocolate. Find Brooklyn Boy Bagels at 448 Bunnerong Road in Matraville, as well as at farmers markets, pop-ups and cafes around Sydney. Images: Brooklyn Boy Bagels.
UPDATE JULY 8, 2017: To mark the opening of their Westfield Burwood store on Saturday, July 8, Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart is giving away a free tart to the first 100 customers that visit between 1–2pm. You just need to follow them on social media to redeem it. We know. We've all done it. Home alone with a block of cheddar, a few scraps of brie and a lone Kraft Single. It all seemed so promising. When your mum/housemate/significant other returned, though, the truth became apparent. You'd made a cheese quagmire in your microwave, hadn't you? Hadn't you. Fortunately, the guys behind PappaRich, the ST Group, have been helping us realise all of our cheese dreams without the weird kitchen smell three weeks later — bringing Malaysian chain Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart to Australia last year. With multiple stores in Kuala Lumpur and other areas of the country, the cheese tart connoisseurs have been opening Australian stores over the last year — they currently have five across Victoria, one in Sydney's World Square. Now, they're opening two more Sydney stores, launching one within Macquarie Centre on June 16 and a Burwood store inside Westfield opening Saturday, July 8. Their namesake is the cornerstone of their offering: a savoury-sweet three-cheese situation encased in a shortcrust shell, designed to be eaten either hot or cold. The cheese, while made with local produce, is based on the distinct taste and texture of the dairy products of Hokkaido. The Japanese island is known for their dairy — it produces half of Japan's total milk and a huge 90 percent of their natural cheese — and HBCT have worked tirelessly to replicate it. Malaysia has gone nuts for it, and Australia has jumped firmly on board —people have been queuing out the door to get their hands on one (or 12). You'd better believe further expansion is planned for 2017 — they just announced plans to open inside Queensland's Pacific Fair in July too. Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart is now open at World Square, George Street, Sydney and Macquarie Centre, Kiosk MQ17, Herring and Waterloo Road, North Ryde. They're set to open at Kiosk K1, Westfield Burwood on July 8. For more info and to look out for an opening date, keep an eye on their Facebook page. Images: Tim Grey.
If one dancer can convey a range of emotions with movement, then how about two? Four? Ten? Twenty? Choreographer Stephanie Lake's latest dance work invites the audience to consider a superorganism of 50 bodies, all moving together as one. However, not always in perfect synchronicity. This way, we get to experience both the beauty and the ugliness of collectivism — very much an allegory for the times in which we live. Both chaotic and beautiful, Colossus provides an immersive experience that's sure to stay with you long after the final, lone dancer has left the stage. Image: Mark Gambino.
Gelato appreciation class. It's a thing. A real thing. It's not some fake class like 'Video Appreciation Class' at high school which is straight-up just watching Ten Things I Hate About You every Wednesday. It's legit. And of course, Gelato Messina are behind it. One of Messina's fastest-selling event every time, gelato class is an event worth jumping on right now. We mean now. Join the team at Messina HQ in Sydney or Fitzroy in Melbourne every Saturday and you'll find out what goes on behind the scenes of everyone's favourite gelato joint. What a bloody glorious way to spend your Saturday morning. Classes are now open for booking from January to April 2016. There are two types of classes: a Gelato Appreciation Class for $160 per person, a part gelato making class, part info session, part science lesson, and part gelato degustation with Messina's chefs; and a Hands On Gelato Class for $250 per person, where you'll learn the finer details of making gelato — and pasteurise and plate your own gelato or sorbet. Dear sweet mother of Benedict Cumberbatch, what a classroom. Book your delicious, delicious education at Gelato Messina's website.
You may have noticed the unusual name on tap at your local craft brew pub: Akasha. Brewed in Five Dock, Akasha Brewing Company is pouring across Sydney at the likes of the Banks Hotel, Royal Albert and Baxter Inn. The etymology of the name, a reference to the 'fifth element', goes much deeper than Bruce Willis and multipasses. Similar to earth's four elements, beer too has four main ingredients: water, grain, hops and yeast. So, what is the fifth, 'mystery' element that makes a beer great? Well, that's the brewer himself. In Akasha's case, Dave Padden is the man behind the curtain. Formerly of Riverside Brewing Company, Padden struck out on his own last year and has been contract brewing from the Rocks Brewing Company in preparation of the grand reveal. With 20 years' brewing experience under his belt, the public opening of the Akasha brewery has been the talk of town for the better part of 2015. Now, with brewing well underway in their the Five Dock location, the cellar door opens this Friday with much applause from locals and the craft beer community alike. Padden brings a love of American style beers to the Australian market, but isn't brewing big beers just for the sake of it. Akasha is all about accessibility and making hoppy beers that can be loved by both IPA and lager drinkers. Their four core beers (not so surprisingly named after the four elements) are each hoppy in their own right. "The Tradewind Lager is a gateway beer, using Australian hops that add flavour without the bitterness," says Padden. Even the Fire Within Amber Ale is clean and refreshing while being obviously hop forward. "We're all about creating beers that satisfy the need for sessionable, easy-drinking while also appealing to the beer nerds out there" says head of marketing and sales Ben Galanos. Along with co-founder and business partner Wesley White, these three musketeers go way back and are committed to brewing the beers they, and we, love to drink. As their slogan goes, "It's all about the beer." The tasting room will take the place of the brewing floor, transforming the weekday workspace with upcycled share tables made from reused pallets. The cellar door is also one of the few places you can get Akasha to go — they won't be selling in bottles until the New Year, so make sure to grab a growler during your visit. With beer that "awakens the soul", we're certain you won't be disappointed. The Akasha Brewing Company cellar door will open at 10A Spencer Street, Five Dock this Friday, December 4 at 2pm. Their regular hours will be Friday – Saturday from 2pm – 7pm.
Staying ahead of the curve in Sydney's constantly evolving food scene is difficult. New restaurants, bars and cafes pop up every week, and in Sydney, a city already saturated with food and drink options, it's incredibly easy for hospitality businesses to fall behind. In partnership with William Blue at Torrens University, we're asking the hospitality graduates who run our favourite Sydney restaurants to talk about how they got started in the industry. In 2015, Adelene Stahnke helped to open Bang Street Food in Surry Hills with her partner Tapos Singha and designer Nicholas Gurney. In 2016, the same team opened Bang Street Food spin-off Trunk Road in Darlinghurst. Stahnke is only 23 years old, so helping to start up two successful Sydney restaurants is no small feat. We asked her how it all happened, and if she has any tips to share. FIND A GAP IN THE MARKET (AND STICK TO IT) "Tapos kept talking about wanting to open a Bangladeshi restaurant in Sydney. I thought it was a great idea, and really inspiring because nobody had brought great, traditional Bangladeshi food to the city yet. I encouraged him to stick to his dream because I could see that there was a gap in the market, and I had a really strong feeling that a space would open up in Sydney. Tapos pitched the idea to his business partner, and once a space appeared in Surry Hills everything took off from there." LEARN EVERYTHING YOU CAN ABOUT THE CUISINE YOU'RE COOKING "Tapos went back home to Bangladesh for a few months to get some ideas flowing for the menu, and I went to Melbourne to cook at Tonka [an Indian-fusion restaurant] with Adam D'Sylva. I wanted to get some experience in sub-continent food because I didn't know much about it beforehand, and I think it's important to learn everything you can about a style of food before you start a business with it. I worked at Tonka with the goal to learn as much as I could and it was a really great experience. When Tapos and I both arrived back to Sydney, he showed me the menu and I understood the dishes in a way that I wouldn't have, had I not worked at Tonka. The menu was great, but it needed some refining, which is where I came in. I made sure that the menu would appeal to Surry Hills, while making sure that the Bangladeshi soul was still there." KNOW WHEN YOU'RE ON TO A GOOD THING — AND RUN WITH IT "At Bang we have a dish that people really love called 'Bang Boti Kebab', which is a roti kebab with steak filling. That dish really blew up so we thought we would take the opportunity and run with it. We said, 'let's do a restaurant based on that dish but in a smaller space, something cheap where we can do take-away as well'. That's how Trunk Road, our second restaurant, came about. We waited until we found the perfect space — a little terrace house in Darlinghurst — and the boys built the whole restaurant while my dad tiled it. I moved over to run the kitchen at Trunk once it was up and running. It's just a one-person, solo kind of thing in a really small kitchen, very different from Bang. We only serve four types of the 'roadie' kebab, a curry and some snacks." SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE THAT SHARE YOUR ASPIRATIONS "In order to establish a really good business you need to have a concept and stick with that concept. It's also very important to have people around you that can compliment you and share your aspirations. Stay focused, and as long as it's still your hobby, you can make money from it because you love it. Having your own business is a lot of work, there are long hours right from the start. It's very different when it's your own project as opposed to working for someone else. Work everywhere you can and get experience in everything. I've studied hospitality and worked in hotels as well as fine dining, breakfast spots in Darlinghurst and Indian restaurants. You never know what will come in handy." William Blue at Torrens University offers courses in Culinary Management, Event Management, Tourism and Hospitality. Find out more about the diverse career options in hospitality, and kick-start your career via the website. Images: Kimberley Low.
Sydneysiders showed their determination to keep their city open on Sunday, February 21, with more than 15,000 people rallying in the streets to #KeepSydneyOpen. Ironically, the protest happened the morning after Melbourne’s White Night, which saw more than 600,000 people pass through the Victorian capital between 7pm and 7am, drinking, eating and dancing till the sun came up. Drawing Sydneysiders young and older, casually interested or passionately engaged, the Keep Open Sydney rally crowd showed remarkable diversity. Not only young partiers marched from Belmore Park along Elizabeth Street to Hyde Park, but also baby boomers, long-time residents, students, creatives, live music fans and business owners alike. Numerous prominent Australian musicians and music industry figures turned up to voice their support through speeches and performances. DJ and radio presenter Nina Las Vegas quipped, “You can’t expect an Olympic swimmer to win gold without pools, right?” continuing, “These lockout laws are destroying Sydney nightlife.” Dave Faulkner of The Hoodoo Gurus said that the venues he’d cut his teeth in “couldn’t operate under the current lockout laws” and pointed out that, according to a 2011 Ernst and Young study, “live music in bars, pubs and clubs in NSW contributed nearly $400 million dollars to the state’s economy, with a net flow on of $200 million into the wider community.” Isabella Manfredi, lead singer of Sydney band The Preatures, said, “The most distressing thing about these laws for me is that the way they were implemented with no consultation with the community. It took a whole lot of different venues, small businesses and entrepreneurs both young and old and lumped them in together under one blanket culture. And they called that culture anti-social.” Both Royal Headache and Art vs. Science performed live sets, before Future Classic's Chad Gillard dropped Tom Budin's recently released banger 'Mike Baird'. The brains behind the rally, Tyson Koh, founder and campaign manager of Keep Sydney Open, spoke passionately and rationally to wrap things up. “We believe that safety and late night socialising aren’t mutually exclusive. With considered, innovative policies we can achieve a desired outcome together and keep Sydney open.” Images: Kimberley Low.
If December doesn't already boast enough reason to celebrate, this Saturday, December 19 marks Batch Brewing Co's second birthday. Public House Petersham is on the case and is throwing the Batch guys a beer birthday party, featuring six iconic Batch brews, birthday games, live music, and beer goodies. The brewery is known for its bold, American style beers that use unconventional ingredients with even more unusual names; think sours like the Chapeau Raspberry and a wheat ale named Tiny Coconut Bubbles. The must try for this celebration, though, is the Macbatch – a two-month oak aged ale. Two tasting paddles will be on offer ($12 each) so you can try the range — the 'Beginners' and the 'Adventurous', each recommended with a matching food tasting plate. Not sure which category you fall into? Come 'round for the free beer tastings with the Batch crew from 4.30pm – 5.30pm. Saturday 19th December from 3pm at Public House Petersham; 292 Stanmore Rd, Petersham
Pinbone's great Kensington pop-up might be gone, but the good news is that fans of its fare won't be left hanging any longer. The pop-up pros are ready to launch their next culinary pop-up this week in an unlikely space within the Tennyson Hotel. In collaboration with Merivale – who acquired the Botany Road pub for $37.5 million last year — Pinbone chefs Mike Eggert and Jemma Whiteman have transformed the pub's drive-through bottle shop into Mr Liquor Dirty Italian Disco. In true bottle shop-style, guests will be able to select their own booze — including over 150 wines — out of the walk-in fridge. What's not so typical is that they'll then be able to order food at the counter and pull up a chair at one of the 90 seats set up in the driveway. The pop-up will kick off on Friday, October 20 and run for six months. For this venture, the duo have turned their focus to American-accented Italian fare. They've promised a food situation that's "fun and fast, simple and delicious", with a menu that centres around bruschetta, pasta and meats from the woodfired oven and grill. "We went with the classic trio of bread/pasta, cheese and meat," says Whiteman. "That's going to be the strong nucleus of how this restaurant's going to fall in line because, to us, that's what makes Italian food: simple, uncomplicated, rustic." But while that menu sounds basic, Pinbone's history promises anything but. Eggert and Whiteman are known for adding in a wild ingredient or two to classic dishes — if you visited 10 William Street during their takeover, you'll know what we're talking about. Dishes on the Dirty Disco menu will include meat loaf with dill pickle, pastas and bruschetta topped with raw veal, whipped tuna with bitter greens. "We've been really inspired by the red sauce joints of New York," says Eggert. "We'll be pushing ourselves to get to their quality, but it'll have our essence, our touches. There'll be a little bit of seaweed here and there, a little bit of soy sauce. It's our take on the red sauce joint." The venture is another new direction for the Pinbone trio, who, after running their much-loved Woollahra eatery and doing a takeover at 10 William Street, were most recently doing exceptional Chinese food in a no-frills restaurant space on Anzac Parade. The collaboration with Sydney hospo giant Merivale is their first. Mr Liquor Dirty Italian Disco by Pinbone and Merivale, will pop-up at the Tennyson Hotel, 952 Botany Road, Mascot on Friday, October 20 for six months. It'll be open Wednesday to Friday 6pm till midnight, Saturday noon till midnight and Sunday noon till 10pm. For more info, visit merivale.com.au/mrliquorsdirtyitaliandisco.
