Cyclists, you'd better have your ID on you at all times next year, the NSW Government has some harsh new rules in play. Rolling out on March 1, 2016, a brand new set of laws for cyclists will hit the road, and will mean a few big changes for all the bikers amongst you. Primarily, it will mean an increase in the cost of fines. Currently in NSW, most cycling offences rack up a $71 fine. Under the new laws, riding without a helmet will incur a hefty $319 fine, running a red light will incur a whopping $425 fine — the same amount for 'riding dangerously' and failure to stop at a pedestrian light. And don't even think about hitching a ride, it's $319 for holding onto a moving vehicle. But the new laws aren't just focused on road rules. From March 1, 2016, all NSW cyclists must carry photo identification at all times — so all those fine notices are sent to the right address, we assume. The fine for not carrying photo ID? A cheeky $106, the same as drivers — with a 12 month grace period from March 2016. Casual riders will be pleased to know the government considered and rejected a bike licensing and registration system, so that’s one good thing. And another win for riders, as we’ve seen introduced in other states, a compulsory minimum distance of one metre between cyclists, cars and pedestrians will be introduced — 1.5 metres when travelling faster than 60km/h. Drivers will risk a penalty of two demerit points and a $319 fine — so back the hell up. So why the main focus on pesky, eco-friendly, space-saving cyclists instead of drivers with the new legislation? The NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay, instigator of the cycling package, isn’t giving much away. Perhaps the big problem in the government's eyes is that cyclists aren’t paying enough money to use a vehicle — the reforms are primarily fine hikes, and fear of a $400+ dollar fine sure is a good motivator for safe driving, apparently. The scheme has been criticised for its blatant revenue raising agenda, failure to improve safety for cyclists and that the mandatory identification rule will discourage cycling. We'll see how this one pans out next year. Via SMH. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
An exploration of an exiled poet. The Australian premiere of legendary filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky's latest feature. An effort that's being called Peru's first bona fide horror movie. They're just three of the films in the freshly unveiled, first-ever Cine Latino Film Festival lineup, as Australia's first national fest dedicated to showcasing the best in Latin American cinema prepares to tour the country in August. While the complete program features more than 30 movies from Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala and Puerto Rico, there's a reason that the first of the flicks mentioned above, the Pablo Larraín-directed, Gael García Bernal-starring Neruda, has been plucked straight from Cannes to open the festival. The last time the filmmaker and actor worked together, the excellent No was the end result, so expect another insightful look at Chilean politics from their second collaboration. Jodorowsky's Endless Poetry should rank among the festival's just-as-eagerly-anticipated titles, especially by fans of the director's '70s cult classics El Topo and The Holy Mountain and his most recent effort The Dance of Reality — or anyone who marvelled at what could've been when they watched the entertaining documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. And while The Womb doesn't come with quite the same pedigree, it does boast a chilling storyline involving one of the horror genre's favourite topics: motherhood. Elsewhere, a chronicle of the pop star known as the 'Mexican Madonna', an insight into current state of a formerly luxurious Havana hotel, and more than a couple of soccer-themed efforts all feature among the feast of Spanish and Portuguese-language fare, as do Peruvian road movie Solos and Venezuelan beauty queen black comedy 3 Beauties. Just perusing the program is enough to make you want to jump on a plane for Latin America, however for those who can't enjoy an overseas holiday at the moment, immersing yourself in the films of the region really is the next best thing. The Cine Latino Film Festival screens at Sydney's Palace Norton Street and Verona from August 9 to 24, Brisbane's Palace Centro and Barracks from August 11 to 24, and Melbourne's Palace Como and Westgarth from August 17 to 31. For more information, visit the festival website.
In huge art news, the National Gallery of Victoria has announced that a massive exhibition will be hitting our shores in June 2018, coming direct to us from New York's Museum of Modern Art. Over 150 works from some of the most renowned modernist artists, sculptors, photographers, furniture designers, graphic designers and illustrators will be shipped over for the exhibition, named Masterworks from MoMA (literal and direct, we likey), showing exclusively at the NGV. The exhibition will run from June 8 – October 7 2018 and feature pieces from seminal artists, including Paul Cézanne, Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, Edward Hopper, Jeff Koons, Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Lyubov Popova, Mark Rothko and Vincent van Gogh. It's a big deal for the Australian art scene, as we often miss out on international blockbusters like this due to the logistics and cost of transporting priceless art halfway around the world. But not this time. So which works are coming? In goes without saying MoMA has a world-famous collection of works to select from including Dali's The Persistence of Memory (arguably his most well-known piece), Pollock's infamously divisive drip painting Number 1A, Mondrian's controversial Compositions series and Vincent Van Gogh's outrageously famous The Starry Night. It's not clear exactly which pieces will travel with the exhibition but with this catalogue, expect masterpieces. While 2018 is a distant dream right now, but modernist art lovers can get their fill this winter at the NGV's epic Degas exhibition, which starts on June 24. Masterworks from MoMA will show at the NGV International, ground level, from June 8 - October 7 2018. Image: Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory, WikiArt.
Prancing through fields laced with the charm of provincial France? Casual summer weekendery. Returning for its fifth year, the ever-popular So Frenchy So Chic in the Park is waltzing back to Melbourne's Werribee Park Mansion and Sydney's St John's College for an entire afternoon of French-inspired niceties — think gourmet picnic hampers, tortes and terrines, offensively good wine, furious outdoor chess, casual gypsy beats. So Frenchy hinges around a solid lineup of eclectic artists you may be yet to meet. There's Moroccan-born folk-blues artist Hindi Zahra, who's been described as a North-African Patti Smith and likened to a modern day Billie Holiday, lounge pop '70s-like diva duo Aurélie Saada and Sylvie Hoarau, aka Brigitte, and talented chanteuse Lou Doillon makes her highly anticipated So Frenchy debut. Last, but in no way, shape or form least, Balkan-electro collective Soviet Suprem bring their light punk, Bolshoi gypsy beats, hip hop and OTT iron curtain theatrics to get everyone up off their picnic rugs and dancing the blazes out of that lawn. If you're not the most organised of picnickers, So Frenchy is putting on the works again with their beloved picnic boxes and cheese plates from Bright Young Things and Simmone Logue. Filled with crusty baguettes, salad jardinière and petite four chocolate ganache tarts, the picnic boxes are one to preorder if you don't want to miss out. But So Frenchy won't let you go hungry; there'll be a huge banquet of seafood, crepes, macaroons and ice cream available on the day. And of course, there'll be plenty of Laurent Perrier Champagne, French beer, Provence rosé, Bordeaux reds and whites, and special cocktails at the SFSC vintage caravan. Don your best floral-headband-and-sundress-combo and gear up for un merveilleux après-midi. SO FRENCHY SO CHIC IN THE PARK 2016: Sunday, January 10 — Werribee Park, Melbourne Saturday, January 16 — St John's College, Sydney Tickets via Ticketmaster and SFSC, on sale from 9am, Wednesday, September 23 to Monday, September 28 or until sold out. Earlybird tickets $69, standard $89, on the door $99.
Masters of block colour boardies, brewers of insanely good coffee and actual surfing enthusiasts Saturdays NYC are finally opening their very first Australian flagship store — in Bondi, where else? Until now, Saturdays NYC has only been available at stores like Incu around the country. Saturdays started their empire in 2009, selling boards, wetsuits, art and other lifestyle accessories in SoHo. Their wooden-floored Crosby Street digs became New York's go-to downtown surf shop, evolving into the coffee bar-fronted menswear Mecca it is today. After opening another NYC venture in the West Village in 2012, the crew expanded to Tokyo, Kobe, Nagoya and Osaka (featuring Saturday's first foray into cafe food). Opening in December, the Bondi store will continue the tried and true Saturdays store-and-cafe formula, one that's sure to flourish in the beachside suburb. Sitting on Gould Street, the fitout is inspired by Saturdays NYC's Japan stores, inspired by surf shops of the '50s and '60s with a minimalist finish — we're talking breezy, light-filled spaces with blonde wooden floors and detailing. Like their international chapters, there'll be a coffee bar up front brewing up Surry Hills' own Artificer beans (a Sydney alternative to their signature Saturday blend, which New Yorkers will cross Manhattan for). And what will you be spending all your Saturday pocket money on? Saturdays specialise in weekend-y essentials, from bright boardies to printed cotton tees, sunglasses to wetsuits, surfing coffee table books to Mr. Zog's Sex Wax — not mention their own magazine. It's basically beachwear and accessories for people that can't always get to the beach — bringing a little Saturday into the boring, boring, suit-wearing workweek. Importantly (for Bondi especially), Saturdays NYC aren't just a brand that talks the surfwear talk, they also actually want you to get in the damn waves (just down the road). There'll be a unique range of surfboards to buy from both local and international shapers. Saturdays NYC will open on Gould Street, Bondi early December.
Every present you buy at this event will go straight to helping a puppy. Yeah, you're already making plans for this one aren't you. This December, a pop-up shop has made itself comfortable in Martin Place, selling Christmas gifts for the sole purpose of raising money to train Guide Dog puppies. It takes $35,000 to train one Guide Dog, so every little bit helps. Open every day, 11.30am to 2.30pm, this pop-up shop is the perfect place to shop for the pooch-lovers in your life. Maybe you'll even get to pat one if you're lucky.
Sydney is home to some serious local distillers and we're finally getting an event that pays homage to this growing craft. Indie Tasting exclusively features independently-made spirits and this year it is open to the public for the first time. On Sunday, September 18, Frankie's Pizza will host both local and international makers of craft spirits in a day of talking, learning and, of course, boozing. The event will see 120 boutique spirits on offer from 40 suppliers. Young Henrys will of course represent, showcasing their Nightsweat Moonshine and Noble Cut Gin, as will Marrickville talent Poor Toms Gin. On the international side of things, six distilleries from North Carolina are trekking their spirits to Sydney, many of which are making their Australian debut. Ticketholders should keep an eye out for Covington's yam vodka, one of the stranger sounding on the list. Each ticket will include six free masterclasses, which include a journey through mezcal, a rum tasting and a class called 'Here's what you should ask a craft distiller'. Indie Tasting is being held as part of Sydney Bar Week 2016, so this tasting is just a highlight of what drinks may come mid-September.
He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. Christmas horror movies aren't a widespread genre, with holidaying folks ditching titles like 2010's Rare Exports (in which a homicidal Santa Claus was unearthed in an archaeological dig) and 1974's Black Christmas (college dorm slasher, set at Christmas) and preferring to pick up Home Alone for the hundredth time or anything starring Tim Allen. But this year, Christmas movies take a turn for the hilariously terrifying. Krampus is your unlikely new Christmas nightmare, directed by Michael Dougherty (who gained a cult following for his 2007 holiday horror film Trick 'r Treat). Set for release December 3, the film stars Adam Scott, Toni Collette and David Koechner as your regular family holed up, snowed in and arguing over shitty turkey at Christmas time. But when they lose their Christmas spirit, a scary-as-shit Christmas spirit, Krampus, decides to pay the family a visit — the ancient hoofed, horned antithesis to jolly ol' Saint Nick. Go on, give it a watch. You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry.
Žalec, Slovenia just jumped right to the top of the list of our must-visit holiday destinations. Located roughly an hour outside of the capital of Ljubljana, the small town of just under 5000 people is known for its natural wonders including an underground waterfall, and historical sites such as an ancient Roman necropolis. And yet we kind of suspect these attractions will be somewhat overshadowed by the local government's latest plans to bring tourists to the area: Europe's first ever public beer fountain. The €340,000 fountain, which currently has no set completion date, will reportedly spout a variety of Slovenian beers. For six euros, visitors will be able to try three 300mL samples, served in a commemorative mug. The project was apparently inspired by a drinkable mineral water fountain in the nearby town of Rogaska Slatina (whose own local government members must be kicking themselves for not having thought of this clear improvement first). The fountain did face some opposition from people who thought that taxpayer money could be put to better use. Thankfully, common sense prevailed, and a motion to cancel the project was defeated in a two-to-one vote last week. Democracy wins again! Via Fox News. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
Time is running out for those of you us who are yet to organise a present for Father's Day. Yes, you could go with socks, but that's kind of a cliché, and frankly he might be getting sick of all those Bunning's Warehouse gift cards. Instead, why not treat your Dad to the kind of classy gift he deserves, in the form of a limited edition ice cream cigar from the team at Gelato Messina. Let's see your stingy siblings do better than that. Available from Monday at select Messina locations, the Juan Hernandez Big Smoke package is named after Messina's head chefs Nelson Hernandez and Juan Camelo. Each box contains four hand rolled ice cream cigars in two extravagant flavours. The Sugar Daddy is full of salted caramel and orange gelato plus whisky cream and maple syrup honeycomb, while Fidel's Fatty consists of chocolate gelato, rum anglaise and coconut biscuit. The 'smokes' are wrapped in chocolate paper, and should make for a truly spectacular Father's Day gift – assuming you can resist devouring them yourself. Of course, you can always tell your Dad the box was only meant to contain three cigars. Not that we'd ever suggest anything so sneaky. Messina has only produced a limited number of these sweetened stogies, and as with everything they make you can expect them to sell out fast – especially if people order multiples which, full disclosure, we might be planning on doing ourselves. Each box of four costs $39 and is available from Messina's Darlinghurst, Miranda, Parramatta and Rosebery stores in Sydney, as well as Fitzroy in Melbourne and Coolangatta in Queensland. You can reserve yours online starting Monday, to ensure that you don't miss out.
The Fat Duck may have migrated back to the UK, but Heston Blumenthal isn't finished with us by a long shot. The celebrity chef and collector of Michelin stars revealed in July that the old Fat Duck site at Melbourne's Crown Casino would be reinvented as Dinner, an offshoot of his London restaurant of the same name. The venue is set to open on October 20, but don't bother marking your calendar just yet. Within hours of priority booking opening on Thursday, the first few weeks of service had already been locked up. According to Good Food, the priority booking option is currently only available to people who unsuccessfully attempted to secure a table at Fat Duck last year. That's about 75,000 potential diners, so don't be surprised if the rest of us are waiting for a table for quite some time. Dinner is yet to confirm when bookings will be open to the general public, although Good Food believes it will be around September 17. Like its English counterpart, the menu at Dinner in Melbourne is supposedly inspired by "the fanciful dramatic dishes of the Royal courts of King Henry VII," offering modern interpretations of historical British cuisine. Dishes may include powdered duck breast with smoked confit fennel, spiced blood pudding and umbles; Earl Grey Tea cured salmon with lemon salad, gentleman’s relish, wood sorrel and smoked roe; as well as Heston's notorious 'meat fruit,' comprised of chicken liver parfait within a mandarin jelly skin. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal opens on October 20 at Crown Melbourne, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank. Open for lunch Friday and Saturday, and dinner daily. For updated booking information, keep an eye on www.dinnerbyheston.com.au. Via Good Food.
Holy. Crap. We thought it was a big ol' publicity farce. No way, man. There ain't no Lexus hoverboard, that's just delicious social media bait for the Young People. But nay, Marty McFly's futuristic skateboard is an actual, physical thing, really made by Lexus and frothed over worldwide. A concept made famous by Robert Zemeckis’s 1989 Back to the Future II, the 'Slide' hoverboard has been realised by the Lexus team. Lexus first put out teasers for the hoverboard back on June 23, making everyone angry they’d even get our hopes up like that. But today, August 5, they've released their model 'publicly' — although you can only skate at their custom-built skate park in Barcelona. Yep, there's the switch. This isn't the first time hoverboards have been bandied about in reality. The Hendo Hoverboard's Kickstarter campaign promised to send out $10,000 hoverboards this spring. How did Lexus make it work? According to CNET, lots and lots of magnets. Well, it’s a little more complicated than that, involving supercooled superconductors, but essentially, magnets. Lexus have built this anti-gravity device into a deck (this was the tricky part, finding a way to cheaply make such a seriously epic device teeny), so you can skim across water without breaking a sweat. So yeah, you can't buy one yet. And when you finally can, you'll only be able to skate at Lexus's custom-built Barcelona skate park. But we're hopeful. Watch pro skateboarder Ross McGouran spin some McFly moves on the Lexus hoverboard here, with all the sexy, sexy liquid nitrogen you could ask for. Via CNET and Quartz.
Australia has been responsible for many important inventions. The black box flight recorder. The ultrasound machine. Even the electric drill. Yet one Aussie contraption towers above the rest. We’re talking, of course, about the goon bag. A simple silver sack in a durable cardboard exoskeleton, for decades this unsung alcohol container been a symbol of our fair country’s greatest attributes: innovation, inclusiveness and fiscal responsibility, as well as our overwhelming desire to get pissed as quickly as humanly possible. In celebration of this national icon, The Lord Gladstone Hotel in Chippendale, Sydney is hosting its very own goon bag festival. Boxfest: A Festival of the Goon Bag kicks off at 2pm on Sunday, July 5, and will feature top vintages from such box wine all-stars as Yalumba, Stanley and Berri Estates. There will also be food available throughout the day, including a killer selection of cheese and cabanossi plates. Classic. This being a classy affair, you’ll obviously want to pair your food and drink appropriately. For brie we recommend a nice chardonnay, while sauvignon blanc goes best with a gruyere. And of course we don't have to tell you that, to guarantee that traditional heady sensation, the goon should be consumed straight from the bag. Music will be handled by Money for Nothing DJs, who’ll make sure that you’ve got something fun to stumble around the dance floor to as the afternoon wears on. And before you assume that this whole event is just one big excuse to get sloshed, we should point out that money raised from tasting tokens throughout the day will be donated to charity. So basically the more goon you inhale, the better you are as a person. If that’s not a philosophy to live your life by, then we don’t know what is. Boxfest: A Festival of the Goon Bag kicks off at 2pm on Sunday, July 5 at the Lord Gladstone Hotel, 115 Regent Street, Chippendale. Via The Brag. Image: 8 Tracks.
You already know them, you already love them — and you've already had a religious experience while eating them. So it will delight you to hear that Grumpy Donuts (makers of the above God-like alluded-to doughnuts) is opening an IRL store later this month. Best hit the gym now while your face isn't full of fried dough and bacon bits. It was inevitable that the Sydney doughnut geniuses would eventually put down some roots because their delivery system has been going gangbusters for the last year and a half. Their new store will open at an as-yet-unconfirmed Camperdown address later this month with an in-store barista brewing coffee to counteract the sugar crash of your inevitable hedonistic doughnut spree. If you're acquainted with Grumpy's creations, you'll be happy to know their regular flavours — like original glazed, buttered toast, sour patch jam and dark choc mint — will be available along with weekly changing specials. Currently, Grumpy only deliver their decadent creations on Thursdays and Fridays (and occasionally head up a stall when the Flour Market is in town), but the store will be open for longer trading hours, meaning no day of the week is safe from a maple bacon doughnut attack. But you'll have to get in quick because the teeny store will only seat nine lucky customers at a time. Watch this space for an opening date and address. While you wait, plan your TGIF doughnut order. Will it be s'mores or choc Oreo peanut butter? The hardest choice of all. Grumpy Donuts will open later this month in Camperdown. For more details as they're announced, keep an eye on their Facebook page. Images: Alana Dimou.
Whether you're on a date, catching up with your friends, or just looking for a way to kill a few hours on a Tuesday night, there are few modern indulgences that beat settling into a dark cinema and letting your worries escape you as you slip into another world. Spies, superheroes, lovers, musicians, presidents, dictators, robbers and cops: you'll encounter them all as the lights go down and the projector begins to whir. There's plenty afoot a the pictures this month, so we're here to give you a little bit of help with choosing tonight's movie. See you at the candy bar. ALIEN: COVENANT "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair." The fingerprints of Shelley's timeless poem Ozymandias are all over Ridley Scott's latest foray into the Alien franchise. Perhaps more so than he intended. While the inexorable decline of leaders and their empires forms the central theme of Alien: Covenant, it also feels neatly appropriate for a franchise in dire need of an original idea. Read our full review. SNATCHED When Amy Schumer starred in Trainwreck back in 2015, audiences may have felt a sense of niggling deja vu. If you'd watched Inside Amy Schumer or any of her standup shows, you knew exactly the kind of character you were getting — not that that was a big problem, necessarily, since seeing the comedian and actress take her usual persona to the big screen was part of the appeal. But even the funniest folks can only coast on the same material for so long. Read our full review. https://youtu.be/AHEl7Pji0f8 GET OUT What's so great about Get Out is how it defies easy categorisation. It's smart and oh-so-timely in the way that it highlights what it's like to be black in "post-racial" America. It's also genuinely unsettling and tense in an edge-of-your-seat manner, and never stops making viewers question what it is they're seeing. Last but not least, it's frequently hilarious, which given the director's background shouldn't come as a surprise. Add all of that together, and you're gifted one of the most assured, astute, entertaining and intelligent horror movies to creep out cinemas in years. Read our full review. https://youtu.be/elM9HxIlDnQ THINGS TO COME In Things to Come, writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve's sensitive observational style lends itself to lingering on the details — to building a picture from the smallest elements, rather than the broadest strokes. It's what makes Isabelle Huppert such a perfect fit for the lead character, and it's also what makes the filmmaker's patient approach so rewarding. Every close-up of Huppert's face tells a story. Every handheld camera movement does as well. They're small, unobtrusive and delicate ways of painting an involving portrait of life going on, and of all the things that will come. Read our full review. https://youtu.be/8Ibf46kh2Ec THE ZOOKEPER'S WIFE There's much about The Zookeeper's Wife that follows the expected path. Whale Rider director Niki Caro brings the non-fiction book of the same name to the screen with handsome images and a solemn tone. There are grim scenes of cruelty and carnage, although the darkest deeds are alluded to rather than shown. The movie charts acts of hidden resistance that saved lives, and paints its otherwise ordinary protagonists as extraordinary heroes. Not unlike the recent Their Finest, it also provides an unmistakably female-aligned view of war, from the nurturing urge that sees Antonina shelter as many escapees as she can, to the clear threat of sexual violence that lingers every time Brühl's villainous character makes his intentions known. Read our full review. https://youtu.be/wPJpLfKG1AI PORK PIE Back in 1981, Goodbye Pork Pie saw a ragtag bunch of misfits careen across the country's two islands in a tiny yellow vehicle. Driving into remake territory with a newer model, Pork Pie takes the idea out for another spin. Writer-director Matt Murphy boasts a significant connection to the original — it was helmed by his father Geoff Murphy, and Matt was part of the crew. It shouldn't be surprising then that the remake focuses on two things that made the first outing memorable: stunts and humour. In terms of the former, prepare for a standout dash through Wellington that happens to involve a coffin, and cars and trains colliding (but not in the way you might expect). As for the latter, it's more warm smiles and light chuckles than belly laughs. The gags are mostly conventional, but then that's Pork Pie to a tee: affable, enjoyable, but not quite as freewheeling and frenetic as it thinks. Read our full review. https://youtu.be/oDD3I0uOlqY FREE FIRE How entertaining you find pitch-black action comedy Free Fire will largely depend on how much you can laugh at people getting killed and/or maimed. Although considerably less nasty than some of Wheatley's earlier films such as Sightseers and A Field in England, this is still a decidedly dark affair. It's probably for the best that it only runs for an hour and a half. You can only go so long with a concept like this before the laughs are replaced with a sense of unease that's not anywhere near as fun. Read our review.
After months of anticipation, the revival of Chippendale's Old Clare Hotel has at long last been completed. Spearheaded by Singapore-based hotel and restaurant entrepreneur Loh Lik Peng of Unlisted Collection, the revamped watering hole as boutique hotel on Kensington Street is finally open for business — and from what we can tell, it looks pretty bloody spectacular. Reborn from the (metaphorical) ashes of the historic (and dearly beloved) Clare Hotel and adjoining Carlton United Brewery Administrative Building, the newly-opened hotel boasts 62 rooms and suites featuring high ceilings, heritage timber panelling and exposed brick walls, furnished with PSLAB pendant lighting, vintage furniture and cushions 'inspired by Australian flora and fauna'. Further hotel amenities include a rooftop pool and bar, private gym and a heritage meeting space, as well as a day spa expected to launch early next year. Guests can also take advantage of custom-made bicycles to explore the surrounding neighbourhood, or simply relax at the indoor bar near reception and enjoy the honest-to-god bespoke scent created by local perfumed candlers Maison Balzac. That being said, the biggest drawcard might be The Old Clare's three new high-end restaurants. Automata, the first solo venture from Momofuku Seiobo sous chef Clayton Wells, opened earlier this week, with a rotating five-course menu laden with such extravagances as storm clam with rosemary dashi, cream and dulse, and partridge with witlof, burnt apple and caper. Noma alumnus Sam Miller, meanwhile, will open Silvereye on September 22, offering short and long seasonal tasting menus featuring young coconut and mud crab, pumpkin with pomello, leeks with pig feet and white beer, and a plum and coffee tart. Last but not least, there's the Kensington Street Social, by Michelin-starred globetrotter Jason Atherton. No word on their launch date or menu as of this writing, although based on the competition, we have to assume they'll be bringing their A-game. The Old Clare Hotel is now open and taking bookings at 1 Kensington Street, Chippendale. For more information visit the website
Taco King at The George Hotel may be no more, with the Waterloo pub recently reopening under the direction of new operators, but the Taco King himself Toby Wilson is pressing on with a new tortilla venture: Ricos Tacos. The Taco King is dead, long live the Taco King. So far, Ricos Tacos has popped up for two days at the Grifter Brewing Co, and set up a (slightly more permanent) shop in the car park of Gelato Messina's Rosebery HQ as well. Now, Wilson is heading over to Rocker in North Bondi for the eatery's next venture — and taking over the menu for a taco Tuesday collaboration. From 4.30pm each Tuesday between November 24–December 15, Wilson will be serving up a bespoke range of dishes, turning Rocker into a once-a-week taqueria. You'll be able to tuck into kingfish ceviche, avocado, citrus, soy and sesame tostadas ($7), or opt for chicken chipotle and tomato tacos ($6). Among other options, there'll also be tempura mushroom tacos and Ensenada-style fish tacos, too. And, for dessert, you can expect churros topped with lemon zest, chamomile sugar and dulce de leche ($9). Rocker will also be pouring frozen margaritas, Arquitecto tequila, Estrella beers and other cocktails, should you need something to wash your tacos down with. Bookings aren't necessary, but they are recommended — and you'll have an hour-long slot to munch away. If you didn't try Wilson's tacos at The George, you may've encountered them at the various guises of Ghostboy Cantina (including at Dixon House and inside Tio's Cerveceria). Missed those, too? We suggest you make a beeline to North Bondi come Tuesday. [caption id="attachment_635514" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Katje Ford[/caption]
If you've been one of those savvy, savvy Opal users, who's been rollerblading between light rail stops, to 'Opal mine' and rack up your weekly cap on the cheap, we're afraid your halcyon days are over. Up until today, Opal (albeit pretty much accidentally) enabled one of the sweetest public transport deals on the planet. Once you'd used your Opal card to take eight paid trips — of any distance and cost, but at least an hour between each 'trip' — you'd then enjoy free travel for the rest of the week. One of the most common methods for taking advantage of this was spending a couple of hours on a Monday, tapping on and off between Pyrmont Bay and The Star light rail stops. They're only 200 metres apart and a one-way journey between the two sets you back only $2.10 (or $1.05 for students). So, for 15 bucks, you could ride trains, buses and ferries to your heart's content until the following Monday. Back in September 2014, then transport minister Gladys Berejiklian acknowledged — and encouraged — such cheeky behaviours. "I want people to beat the system," she told SMH. "I want people to find the savings because they are there to be had." But the NSW Government has now changed its tune. On Monday, March 21, current transport minister Andrew Constance announced that the meaning of a 'journey' or 'trip' on Opal has been redefined — and can now include up to seven transfers. So, where the aforementioned Pyrmont Bay-The Star stunt could be achieved in two hours, it'll now take as many as five. So, theoretically, you could still make it happen, but not without some serious dedication — and plenty of hours to spare. Via The Age. Image: Beau Giles.
Heads up, Mother's Day is just around the corner. Yep, you can pucker up on our tootsies later. But there's pressie planning afoot, and we've found quite the showstopper for your dear ol' Mumsie this year thanks to Gelato Messina. Never one to miss an opportunity to experiment with new ways to inhale gelato, Messina have been cooking up quite the delicate novelty dessert for Mum: a Italian-inspired chocolate box of gelato-filled nibbles. These brownie point-winners launched in 2015, and are sure to bring it home again this year. Each box comes with nine handmade chocolate and gelato bon bons; best enjoyed with opera blaring in the background, with a strong, black cup of coffee and a shoulder massage. Go on, your mum put up with you through puberty, you owe her one massage. So which crazy tell-your-friends flavours have Messina come up with for their bitty bon bons? There's five in total, each more decadent than the last. Ready? There's orange custard gelato, Baileys and caramel milk chocolate fudge in a dark chocolate shell with ruby pearl dust. Shut up. There's gianduia gelato with caramelised banana and lime sable in a milk chocolate shell with gold dust and hazelnut praline. Huh? How about blood peach and marsala sorbet with pistachio ganache in a dark chocolate shell rolled in crushed pistachios? NUP. Or cream cheese gelato with blueberry gel, almond crunch in a white chocolate shell and wrapped in gold foil. If you can find us something that says 'perfect Mother's Day gift' better than cream cheese gelato covered in gold, we'll eat this empty bon bon box. The Messina chocolate and gelato bon bon boxes are going for $35 a box, available to order now. They're available for collection from May 5-8 from Rosebery, Darlinghurst, Bondi, Miranda and Parramatta stores in Sydney, as well as the Fitzroy and Windsor stores.
Here at Concrete Playground, we travel a lot. And because we travel a lot, we have a lot of handy little tips that can take going on an aeroplane from a chore to a delightful, exciting experience that you go through before heading off on the holiday of a lifetime. After extensive research, we're proud to say that none of these travel hacks are as simple or obvious as roll your clothes in your suitcase. In partnership with Expedia, here are ten tips to make your travel process easier this summer. We're going on holiday. 1. PICK AN AIRLINE AND STICK WITH IT If you finally find an airline that has comfortable seats, suitable prices and good service — stick with it. Most airlines have their own frequent flyer program, which despite any preconceptions you might have, are actually really easy to join and get rewards from. Flying with the same airline every time makes your flight choice easier, and even when you're booking through online travel agents you can still enter your frequent flyer number. It might cost you a little more to fly Qantas, but the extra money you fork out will end up in your pocket (in the form of business class flights, members only prices and free upgrades). Virgin Australia use Velocity, and Qantas have their own Frequent Flyer program. 2. CLEAR YOUR BROWSER COOKIE HISTORY IF YOU'VE BEEN FLIGHT HUNTING The incognito window is your best friend. Often if you're returning to a website every day to check the price of the same flight, the company knows and can potentially adjust prices accordingly so you hit that 'buy now' button. Maybe you procrastinate on booking and the next day go back to your flight and find it has gone through a significant price rise. At that point you're likely to book before it gets any more expensive. Nice one, corporations. Combat this by opening an incognito window and hiding your cookies. Sometimes cookies can work in your favour (by saving your shopping cart, sending through deals to flights you've searched for), but they can potentially be used for evil too. Best be safe and clear your browser history. 3. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, THINK AHEAD AND AVOID BAGGAGE FEES For reasons unknown to us and the rest of world, most Australian airlines now have a measly 7kg cabin baggage allowance. That's barely enough for a laptop, phone, charger(s), bottle of water and change of clothes. It's true that airlines don't always weigh your carry on before you get on the plane, but they MIGHT. Which means you could be charged $60 for packing that extra pair of shoes you didn't really need. Be smart and pack light. If you know you have more than 7kg, check in a bag. On most airlines it costs about $20, and it will save you the stress of pleading with airline attendants and crying at the terminal. Virgin and Qantas included checked bags in the ticket price, which in peak times is often worth the extra money. Travel with a duffle bag rather than a suitcase — heavy roller bags will do you no favours. 4. SEAT CHOICE TACTICS When choosing your seat on the plane, don't choose the empty row. Instead, choose the row that has one other person in it, because the next person that comes along won't want to squeeze between the two of you, will they? Another tactic is to wait with your seat selection until the very last minute (before check-in closes), then you'll easily be able to see what's been taken and what's still available. For shorter flights, sitting at the front of the plane means you'll likely get off the plane 10-15 minutes earlier. [caption id="attachment_580107" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Levi Morsy.[/caption] 5. BOOK AT THE RIGHT TIME The best time to book an international flight is four to six months before you fly — that's when the airlines have a better idea of how quickly, or slowly, a flight will start to sell out. For domestic tickets, book between one to two months. Travel on off days and seasons, typically Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Red eyes, the New Year period and flights that leave just after work are a no-go. Keep an eye out for sales — the best ones happen around Boxing Day, January and the mid-year period. 6. AND IN THE RIGHT PLACE Everyone hates booking fees. This unexpected surprise is particularly bad when booking direct through airlines — there's often a booking fee of up to $14.95 just for using your credit card. Avoid this by simply using a debit card instead, or booking through an online travel agent (like Expedia) that doesn't charge booking fees. If you're organised enough, book your flights and accommodation at the same time and you'll often get special deals so you can save yourself a bunch of money. 7. ALL THE REWARDS PROGRAMS It seems like every airline and website is trying to make you sign up to their own loyalty program. As annoying as email spam can be, if you're a frequent traveler (or daydreamer) these programs are often worth it. You'll often get members only flights, VIP hotel bookings, double frequent flyer points and the ability to pay with your rewards points. That means potentially free flights and accommodation, and access to the best deals as soon as they become available. The more you use the same website, the more rewards you'll accumulate. So just like we mentioned above about airlines — stick to the same website. 8. THINK BEFORE YOU BOOK Nothing is more disheartening to a holiday than being slammed by unnecessary airline fees. Changing the time, or name on your ticket can attract a fee up $175 per ticket in Australia. Put more thought into that ticket you're about to buy — are you sure this is exactly when you want to fly? If you're unsure about dates but need to book, look into travel insurance. It's the only thing that will save you in this situation. Put a few dollars aside for a good policy that covers you for change fees and you'll be sort of sorted. 9. DO YOUR RESEARCH AND PRICE MATCH Most airlines, booking websites and online travel agents have some form of price matching function which can often be of great benefit to you and your wallet. Do some hunting around for flights, accomodation and packages on different websites, and then do some hunting around for price match policies. Jetstar use Price Beat Guarantee — they'll beat the price of any flight on the same day within the same time frame by ten per cent. Expedia will price match hotels and packages (flights and hotels booked together), and you'll get a $50 voucher for the trouble. 10. CREDIT CARDS CAN ENABLE YOUR TRAVEL HABITS If you've been brave enough to get yourself a credit card, you may as well get one that really helps you out and saves you some money when it comes time to travel. Most credit cards come with benefits, but some come with travel specific benefits — like travel insurance and special deals that practically pay for the annual fee attached to it. The American Express Explorer card partners with Qantas. It's a little pricier ($395 annual fee), but you get $400 travel credit to spend on the American Express travel website, travel insurance and smart phone screen repair insurance included. Virgin Australia have their own credit card and you get a $129 voucher every year, and the 28 Degrees credit card is particularly good for international travel (no fees on overseas purchases). If you're a regular traveller, the annual fee on a travel credit card pays for itself. Become an Expedia+ member and book your summer holiday in the January sale — you'll have access to prices that others don't see.
It has been four years since Alaska first made a splash in Sydney’s art scene. From humble beginnings, the lonely janitor’s office in Kings Cross car park has transformed into one of the city's most adventurous galleries, facilitating a diverse range of multidisciplinary art practices. That’s why this month’s group show, filled with Alaska all-stars, will double as birthday celebration. The exhibition is drawn from artists working in Alaska Studios, which opened in partnership with The City of Sydney earlier this year to provide subsidised studio spaces for emerging artists. It will feature Biljana Jancic, Daniel Mudie Cunningham, Elliott Bryce Foulkes, Kate Scardifield, Marian Tubbs, Nell, Phil James, Samuel Hodge and Tara Marynowsky.
From Stripes to Ghostbusters to Groundhog Day to Zombieland, Bill Murray has been entertaining us for decades. He’s also apparently the world’s greatest party crasher, although whether half those stories are true we’ll probably never know. Murray’s most recent role is as the titular character in St. Vincent, a comedy about a bitter old New Yorker who becomes the reluctant babysitter to his 11-year-old next-door neighbour. It may sound a little cutesy, but it’s actually one of our favourite films of the summer. In fact we like it so much that we’re presenting a screening of it at Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinema. So head down to Bondi on Friday, February 6, to celebrate everybody’s favourite movie curmudgeon. Gates open at 6pm. There'll also be a live set by local DJ MK-1, and because it’s a Friday, everyone above the legal drinking age gets a complimentary Aperol Spritz.
You might've missed out on a Splendour in the Grass ticket in yesterday's ticketing tornado, but that doesn't mean the show's over. This morning, ten Splendour artists announced sideshows in cities around Australia. For a start, Sigur Ros will be touring the Australian debut of their show, An Evening with Sigur Ros. There's no support act, which means you're in for two sets, covering material old and new. Catch the Icelandic trio at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion on Tuesday, July 25 and Melbourne's Margaret Court Arena on Thursday, July 27. Meanwhile, Two Door Cinema Club will be hitting Australian capitals with their third studio album, Gameshow, recorded in Kopanga Canyon, California with producer Jacknife Lee. Get a dose of their electro-indie-pop at Metro City, Perth, on Wednesday, July 19; Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, on Friday, July 21; and Festival Hall, Melbourne, on Tuesday, July 25. Supporting them will be triple j favourites Last Dinosaurs and The Creases. To catch HAIM outside of Splendour, you'll have to get yourself to Sydney's Enmore Theatre on Thursday, July 20 — it's the only show they're doing. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana scored a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist for their 2013 release, Days Are Gone, and have been working on their hotly anticipated follow-up. 23-year-old English singer-songwriter George Ezra is returning to Australia after selling out his 2015 tour here. His debut album, Wanted on Voyage, sold three million copies and, yes, you can expect to hear hits 'Budapest' and 'Blame It On Me'. Ezra will be at Sydney's Enmore Theatre on Tuesday, July 18 and Melbourne's Forum Theatre on Wednesday, July 19. Another songwriter to catch is Sweden's Tove Lo. She's been writing hits — for both herself and others — for more than ten years and inspired one million album sales in the process. Her latest album Lady Wood is best known for single 'Cool Girl'. She's also lent her pen and ear to a bunch of chart toppers, including Flume's 'Say It', Coldplay's 'Fun' and Broods' 'Freak of Nature'. See Tove Lo in Sydney at the Metro Theatre on Wednesday, July 26 and in Melbourne at the Prince Bandroom on Friday, July 28. English blues man Rag 'n' Bone (Rory Graham), who mixes the blues tradition with hip hop and beats, will be making his Aussie debut at Splendour, before setting off for Sydney's Metro Theatre on Friday, July 21 and Melbourne's 170 Russell on Monday, July 24. Meanwhile, Maggie Rogers, discovered by Pharrell Williams at an NYU masterclass last year, will be playing her headline shows at the Corner Hotel, Melbourne, on Sunday, July 23 and the Factory Theatre, Sydney on Tuesday, July 25. Her debut EP, Light is Fading, is out now and its single 'Alaska' has racked up 31 million views on YouTube. LA-based songwriter Bishop Briggs, known for her gritty vocals and unique songwriting, will be at Sydney's Oxford Art Factory on Thursday, July 20 and Melbourne's Howler on Friday, July 21, while rock 'n' roll duo The Lemon Twigs will be landing in Australia after appearances at Coachella and Glastonbury, to play the Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, on Saturday, July 22 and The Curtin, Melbourne, on Tuesday, July 21. Finally, catch LANY from LA, whose track 'ILYSB' won hearts and minds online, at Max Watts, Melbourne on Friday, July 21 and Metro Theatre, Sydney, on Saturday, July 22.
Two of life’s greatest pleasures are joining forces, thanks to the ever-publicity stunt savvy crew at Ben & Jerry’s. Not content with their dominion over the world of iced confectionery, the company have just announced a partnership with New Belgium Brewing Company to develop an ice cream flavoured beer. Continuing the company’s long tradition of absurdly decadent flavours, the name of the brew has been announced as Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale. Details are still relatively scarce (and we're still unsure whether this taste sensation will taste of dreams or outright devilry), although we do know that the drink will contain 6.3 percent alcohol and is set to be released in the United States in the latter half of the year. No word yet on whether it’ll make the journey to Australia, although we’re definitely keeping our fingers crossed in weird, weird curiosity. While it may be a while until we get ice cream flavoured beer, take some comfort in the fact that beer flavoured ice cream is already totally a thing. Molecular ice creamery Nitrogenie released a Pale Ale Caramel flavour in time for last year’s Oktoberfest Brisbane, while Gelato Messina previously produced a VB sorbet for Australia Day. And now Young Henrys are making ANZAC biscuit flavoured beer, we can't really complain. According to The Huffington Post, the partnership between Ben & Jerry’s and New Belgium will benefit Protect Our Winters, an environmental organisation committed to combating climate change. A spokesperson for New Belgium said that the collaboration will “raise awareness around issues we are passionate about, and that the results will be delicious.” This isn’t the first time that Ben & Jerry’s have toyed with mind-altering substances, with the company previously floating the idea of a marijuana-infused ice cream flavour in territories where recreational cannabis use is legal. Via The Huffington Post.
You can ring in New Year's Eve from the fancy fancy Opera House, you can crowd underneath Millers Point, there'll inevitably be a hectic mass heaving on Barangaroo Point this year. But there's a brand new harbourside NYE party throwing its hat in the end-of-year ring, a brand new event called New Years Eve Above the Harbour. Think Young Henrys, picnic rugs, smoked meats, massages and an entire dessert garden by Anna Polyviou. Taking place at the south-eastern side of Circular Quay in the Tarpeian Precinct, NYEATH will take over a spacious site adjacent to the Royal Botanical Gardens, with a big, green, rolling lawn and those highly Instagrammable views, perfect positioning for those multi-million dollar Sydney fireworks. The team is positioning the event as a more laidback NYE party on the harbour, with picnic rugs, frolicking and a lavish outdoor dining experience from the culinary team behind the five-star Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney. Ticketholders can feast all evening, with four pop-up food stands planned for the night. There'll be Asian-inspired street food, American-style smokehouse meats, fresh seafood and salads, and (the clincher) an entire dessert garden by the hotel’s celebrated executive pastry chef Anna Polyviou. Of course, you'll be after a bev or two to ring in the new year, and everyone's favourite Newtonian brewers Young Henrys are on board with their beloved craft beers. The YH crew will be serving a special batch of 'Above the Harbour' Lager, exclusively available on the night. If you're after something a little more bubbly, there'll be top tier Australian wines and bubbles available, and arrival cocktails to get you all festive. The event's meant to take the stress out of hectic Sydney NYE parties, so you don't have to get there early, fight crowds, pack picnics or smuggle booze. There'll be a hair and makeup station for both ladies and gents, alongside masseuses available all the way until midnight. You'll probably see midnight more invigorated than when you arrived — instead of drunkenly, tiredly missing the whole bloody thing. For the big midnight clock strike, you can either nab a good spot on a picnic rug or book a spot in the premium seating area (armchairs, drink tables, sounds pretty baller). The night will be hosted by Smooth FM's Cameron Daddo and there'll be DJs all night — of course there's an openair dancefloor. New Years Eve Above the Harbour is happening at Tarpeian Way, The Domain on December 31 from 6pm - 12.30am (doors open 5.30pm). Tickets (on sale Tuesday, September 22) are $395 +BF (GA), $495 +BF (reserved seating), children under five get in for free (limited to 200). Capacity is strictly limited so book your tickets early here.
Billionaire entrepreneur and possible mad scientist Elon Musk is one step closer to making his Futurama-style transportation system a reality. After first proposing the high-speed, compressed air-powered Hyperloop back in 2012, the Tesla, PayPal and Zip2 cofounder has just put down a lease on a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, establishing the headquarters for Hyperloop Technologies Incorporated. Described by Musk as a "cross between a Concorde and a railgun and an air hockey table," the proposed Hyperloop system would consist of a long route of elevated vacuum-sealed steel tubes, through which pressurised capsules ride cushions of air at speeds of up to 1220km/h. Designed to transport both freight and brave human passengers, Musk’s first proposed route would run from LA to San Francisco, cutting the roughly six and a half-hour drive time to just 35 minutes. If you think that this idea sounds awesome, then you’re right — it's straight-up awesome. There are however still a few small details to work out. Despite Musk’s initial assertions that the project would cost a 'mere' US$6 billion to complete, several economists have put the price tag closer to ten times that, if not more. There’s also the possibility that people might be a little reluctant to seal themselves inside a windowless metal pod travelling at breakneck speeds through the desert — although if the proposed US$20 ticket price holds true, it may be a preferable alternative to flying. For those of you who geek out over science, Gizmag published a pretty comprehensive breakdown of Musk’s 2013 proposal over here. The next step in the system’s development will involve an 8km test track, with Musk identifying Texas as a possible location. Hyperloop Technologies CEO Dirk Ahlborn last year estimated that a commercially operable Hyperloop “can be built within the decade.” Via LA Times.
Mona Foma, MONA's wild and weird summer music and arts festival, is back for 2018. And this time around, it's set to eclipse all previous incarnations, with the festival adding a program of Launceston events to its usual Hobart lineup. Further to the announcement of the MONA hotel and the move to Launceston back in July, this beefed-up presence also heralds the festival's biggest, most eclectic program to date, thanks largely to funding from the State Government. Unveiled today, the Mofo 2018 lineup is a cracker, delivering 11 days of thought-provoking art and music to Tasmania's two largest cities and celebrating creativity and personal expression in all forms. Running from January 12 to 14, the Launceston leg will see singer-songwriter Gotye join the Ondioline Orchestra to pay homage to renowned French electronic composer Jean-Jacques Perrey (January 12 and 13), as well as a dance performance by Canada's The Holy Body Tattoo, scored live by post-rockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor (also January 12 and 13). Mofo's northern run will culminate with a huge, free party on January 14. To follow, January 19 to 21 will mark Mofo's final MONA appearance for a while, so it's exiting with a bang. The museum's outdoor stage will feature performances from the likes of punk poet Moor Mother, all-female Argentinian act Fémina and a collaboration between Tassie bassist Nick Haywood and The Hobart Liberation Orchestra. Martin Blackwell will deliver a 24-hour continuous performance soundtracked by an array of global instruments, while the MONA tennis courts play host to a challenging fashion runway courtesy of SAAKA's Hunger for Gluttony. Elsewhere in Hobart, the Violent Femmes will perform with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, a one-day mini-Mofo will pull together local acts like Comrad XERO, Crypt Vapor and Phillipa Stafford, and the festival's official after-party Faux Mo will take over a huge new waterfront space at MAC2. Mona Foma 2018 will take place at venues across Launceston from January 12–14, at MONA from January 19–21 and across Hobart from January 15–22. Tickets are available here from Monday, October 16.
You probably think about The Dolphin pub in Surry Hills in the same way you think about your local Starbucks chain… has various amenities, there when you need an average bev, not explicitly offensive but is taking up some valuable real estate that could be used for something much more creative. Well, that something is coming to The Dolphin (you'll still have to put up with Starbucks though). Stepping up to the pub reno plate? Restaurant mover-and-shaker Maurice Terzini. One of Australia's influential foodie heavyweights, Terzini is reinvigorating the Surry Hills pub (we gave you the heads up back in March). He's had a hand in some of Australia's biggest culinary successes, including Icebergs and Da Orazio Pizza and Porchetta, so we have faith that The Dolphin (who, like all contemporary babes is keeping its name) can only get better from here. The tentative reopening date is June, pushed back from its original April soft opening date. The Dolphin Hotel now features three distinct spaces: the 'Dining Room', 'Wine Room' and a public bar with an openair terrace. Friend and artist-in-residence Beni and sculptor/installation artist Tracey Deep have revamped the space, which is apparently inspired by George Livissianis's design philosophy — he did Apollo, Cho Cho San, Billy Kwong, so he knows what he's talking about. Executive chef Monty Koludrovic leads a team of more than 30 chefs, including Dan Medcalf (Icebergs) as head chef of the Dining Room, and Sam Cheetham (ex-Becasse and Victoria Room) as head chef of the Wine Room. Terzini and his team have said they'll be trading in the old menu (which was packed with upmarket pub staples – chicken schnitty, burgers and steak) with modern Australian-Italo fare including some famous dishes from Terzini's Caffe e Cucina. We'll also keep our fingers crossed for Da Orazio-style pizza. Drinks-wise, James Hird (2015 Sommelier of the Year) is now wine director at The Dolphin, Icebergs, and Da Orazio, and Lenny Opai (Icebergs/Bayswater Brasserie) is in charge of cocktails. The Dolphin will open early June. Images: Tom Ferguson.
Birds chirp, rainbows form and the sun shines a little brighter over Moore Park — the award-winning Sydney Dog Lovers Show is returning to the Royal Hall of Industries and Hordern Pavilion for a second year of pats, licks and parades. And yes, the dedicated puppy cuddle zone is returning. Bounding into Moore Park's two biggest venues on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August, the Sydney Dog Lovers Show will see thousands of dedicated pooch fans celebrating the noble four-legged monarch of human companionship. There'll be dozens of furry friends available for adoption from rescue groups across NSW in the CANIDAE Rescue Dog Zone, where you can learn up on what's actually involved with adoption. Champion canines, including Dr Katrina Warren’s admittedly kickass Wonderdogs, will throw down their mad skills in live doggy demonstrations including agility, flygility (whatever that means) and frisbee shows. Plus, there's going to be an Explosive Detective Dog (EDD) demo presented by the Australian Defence Force simulating a mock checkpoint in a war scenario, alongside a special tribute to Australian military working dogs over the decades. Dogs, amiright? But hold up, you came here to cuddle pooches. We're getting there. Punters can make their way to the Pat-A-Pooch zone, where you can cuddle up to over 30 of Australia’s most lovable and popular breeds from puppy to adult dogs — we're talking uppity Dachshunds to fluffball Samoyeds, all up in your grill. This was undeniably the main attraction of last year's event, and gives kitten cafes a run for their money. Probably unlikely to look like this, but we'll keep 'em crossed. There's plenty more happening over the two days of furry friended fun. Not sure which type of schnoochie is perfect for you? Sign up for a Perfect Match session where you'll be paired with your ultimate dog breed. Already found your tail-waggin' soulmate? Get some expert tips on training, behaviour, first-aid and nutrition in seminars by some of Australia's big name vets: James and Anthony from Village Vets Australia on Foxtel’s The LifeStyle Channel, Bondi Vet Dr Lisa Chimes, LauraVissaritis and Dr Katrina Warren. Plus, there's going to be a doggie kissing booth. Yep, pucker up. Here's hoping for one of these unforgettable, majestic performances on the day: Sydney Dog Lovers Show returns for the second time at the Royal Hall of Industries and Hordern Pavilion in Moore Park on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August. Open both days from 10am - 5pm. Tickets are $20 online or $25 on-site (Adult, ages 16 and over), $9 online or $12 onsite (ages 5 to 16, kids under 5 FREE). Everything is free (including cuddles) once you have purchased your ticket, obviously excepting food and drink. To book tickets or for more info and adorable dog pictures, head to the website. View all Sydney Events.
For Benjamin Law, it all comes back to family. One of five children born to immigrant parents from Hong Kong, Law made a name for himself as a columnist for Frankie, where he frequently wrote about his large, dysfunctional family. It's a habit he'd continue in his best-selling memoir The Family Law, which in turn became the basis for his brand new sitcom on SBS, the first episode of which premiered last week. In an unprecedented move, the network chose to release the first episode on Facebook ahead of its television premiere. Yet perhaps even more significant is the fact that the show puts an Asian-Australian in the spotlight — an all too rare occurrence on Australian TV. In the lead-up to the release of the show's second episode, Law gave us his two cents about the origins of the program, their groundbreaking release strategy and the importance of diversity in entertainment. ON BRINGING PAGE TO SCREEN "The book [The Family Law] came out in 2010. It's about growing up gay and Asian in coastal Queensland in the 1990s as my parents' marriage falls apart. It's a classic Australian story! So that came out, and I kind of fret that no one will really get it, because it seems to me to be such an obscure story. But what happens is that a lot of people relate to it for all the reasons that I just talked about. A lot of Chinese-Australian and Asian-Australian people relate to it, a lot of people who grew up in Queensland relate to it, a lot of people who grew up gay relate to it, and a lot of people whose parents' marriage busted up relate to it. So it kind of exceeded my expectations. "From there it landed in the hands of Tony Ayres, the filmmaker, who has made some of my favourite films of the last few decades. He's just this powerhouse, and as soon as I heard that he was interested I had to stop myself from squealing like a fan-girl. I'd seen his film The Home Song Stories maybe a year before. My whole family did, and we came out of the cinema crying buckets. I was like, if you can make something like that, I'd love to see what you could do with The Family Law. So we signed up with Matchbox Pictures, and Tony curated this incredible production team...[and] we all came together and started working." ON TURNING YOUR FAMILY INTO SITCOM CHARACTERS "I think [my family] are always kind of nervous. Hell, I write the stuff and I'm always nervous about their reaction. But I've been writing about them in columns and in my book, for quite some time, and I kind of know where the boundaries lie. And the good thing about this show is that we weren't writing a documentary. All the characters are based on people in real life, but we wanted to write a comedy with a lot of emotional truth, and in order to do that we had to be wildly promiscuous with what actually happened. "Funnily enough, as time goes on and more and more people see the show, so much of the feedback is, 'Holy crap, that's my family, that's my dad, that's me!' And that's pretty sweet. It's the best reaction you could hope for really." ON THE WHITE FACE OF AUSTRALIAN ENTERTAINMENT "The show isn't about race, or race relations, or racial tensions, or finding your racial identity... but we were completely aware and happy to acknowledge the fact that this was addressing something that has been lacking in Australian TV for a long time. One in ten Australians has a significant Asian background, but we just don't see that diversity on television. And it's not just about Asians either. It's about brown Australians and black Australians, and seeing our actual racial makeup. Why we remain one of the whitest TV environments is just baffling. A 2016 show about a Chinese-Australian family is groundbreaking. And I'm really glad that it's breaking new ground, but it's kind of astounding that it's taken so long. "I think it's more to do with the television landscape and how frighteningly mono-cultural it is. All the commercial breakfast networks are white. The main cast of Home and Away [is] completely white. How many of the panel shows we watch are all white? You start noticing it constantly. "I didn’t grow up watching any show that resembled The Family Law... and the way that it manifests can be pretty toxic, when you don't see your own face reflected in your own media. I've been reading some essays lately that people have written in response to the show, saying 'I sort of grew up a bit self-hating and wanting to be white, because anything else was undesirable. My own face was undesirable and not legitimised by how we reflect ourselves in media and television and the arts.'" IS FACEBOOK THE NEW TV? "SBS proposed it. They'd never done it before, and as soon as they said it, it just made complete sense. Nearly all of us are on [Facebook], it's a part of our daily lives, and it gives the opportunity to click on something and watch a full episode of something that's already in our face. Not only that, but you can share it, you can interact with it, you can tag people and tell them about it. So we put it up there for a really limited amount of time, from Friday afternoon until the end of Sunday. At least two million people saw it, at least 1.1 million people had a good look at it, and thousands and thousands of people watched the episode in its entirety. "It sounds revolutionary, but when you're doing it you're just watching a show on another platform. Television is so many things nowadays ... so I'm really stoked that we went with that. People were wondering if it would affect our ratings, but I suspect that it might have even boosted them, because we far exceeded the expectations of what the show would rate once the TV broadcast went to air." Watch The Family Law on Thursday nights on SBS at 8.30pm.
Sydney's multi-faceted arts precinct Carriageworks has released their 2017 program — and, as we've come to expect by now, it's killer. Director Lisa Havilah last night revealed the line-up at the Eveleigh space, saying "the stories we tell through our collaborations and our programs is the story of contemporary life, contemporary urban Sydney of an imagined future driven by always remembering and acknowledging our shared histories". It's a poetic summary of the 2017 program, which is an interesting mix of 67 forward thinking and retrospective pieces. The big ticket item is the inaugural year of the huge citywide The National: New Australian Art, which will launch on March 30. It's the first exhibition of the six-year partnership between Carriageworks, the Art Gallery of NSW and the MCA that was announced earlier this year. Aussie artists included in next year's exhibit include Archie Moore, Justene Williams and Richard Lewer, but about the structure and content of the exhibition, they're remaining tight-lipped. Carriageworks is also collaborating with the City of Sydney to present a show based on the industrial strike in 1917, which happened on the current site of the precinct. With a mix of historical objects and new commissions to be included in the exhibition, artists include are Sarah Contos, Franck Gohier, Will French, Tom Nicholson and Raquel Ormella. They'll also continue their commitment to indigenous projects, bringing back Klub Koori and extending their Solid Ground partnership with Blacktown Arts Centre. For January's Sydney Festival events (of which they are hosting 12), they'll once again bringing the wildly successful Night Market back, this time in collaboration with chef Kylie Kwong. As it will coincide with the Sydney Chinese New Year Festival, this one will be inspired by the streets of Harajuku in Tokyo, Hongdae in Seoul, and AnFu Lu in Shanghai. Other shows include large-scale performance Lady Eats Apple from Back to Back Theatre, a Bangarra triple-bill called Ones Country – the Spine of our Stories, and MDLSX, a show that's part performance art, part DJ set from Italian company Motus. The space will once again host Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and Semi Permanent in May. Music events include Open Frame — curated by Lawrence English and featuring Xiu Xiu Plays the Music of Twin Peaks, Elysia Crampton, Klara Lewis and Alessandro Cortini — and an operatic performance of The Rape of Lucretia by Sydney Chamber Opera under the direction of new artistic director Kip Williams. We could go on. But in the interest of keeping this short, we'll just point you to the full program and let you get excited for 2017. Image: MDLSX, by Diane Ilariascarpa.
You might be familiar with Lululemon from that one time you were convinced to give bikram yoga a go, and its logo on that super fit girl’s yoga pants was in your line of sight while you were swearing this would be the last time you touched a yoga mat, and then you went straight home and had a drink. Next time that happens, take comfort in the fact that your beverage can be Lululemon too. Step out of downward dog for this one: news has dropped that the yoga giant is brewing its own craft beer. In addition to their frequent, high-profile publicity gaffes (like the time its CEO said making yoga pants for plus-sized people was too expensive), Lululemon is well-known for the cult-like devotion of its inner circles and weird in-lingo. (They also do a bunch of wacky brand promotions, which is why this new ‘Lulu goes to the brewery!’ thing might not seem so bizarre to the initiated.) Called Curiosity Lager, the beer is a “crisp, bold session lager” (4.6% ABV), featuring lemon drop hops and chinook hops — but you’ll have to plan a trip to Canada to get a taste. It’s the official beer of SeaWheeze, a half marathon and yoga festival produced by Lulu that happens in Vancouver in August, and just 80,000 cans will be sold in liquor stores around the city. But the question still stands. Why? Speculation is that it’s a move intended to draw in a larger male crowd. But who knows if that will work, as Lululemon doesn’t believe in market research. They’re very future driven, you see, and apparently interviews and focus groups draw too much on the past. Which leaves us wondering, how did they come up with this one? You can almost see the thought process. "Big Manly Men not buy Lulu. Manly men want beer. How get them?" … "Lulu beer!" Good. Via Yogadork.
These days, when a fine dining institution announces a temporary closure and a 'refresh', it usually means they're ditching the white tablecloths in exchange for more accessible, casual fare. Rockpool Est. 1989 just did it, reopening as Eleven Bridge (although, admittedly, the word 'casual' is used subjectively), Bennelong took things down a notch last year, and in February Sepia announced they'll be closing and moving onto a more casual venture when their lease runs out next year. But that isn't the case with Matt Moran's ARIA, which has now been unveiled after shutting for a mammoth ten-week refurbishment. Announcing that his harbourside restaurant would be shutting up shop for ten weeks in August, Moran assured punters that he wouldn't be pulling away from fine dining. In fact, he'd be doing just the opposite. "When we opened ARIA just before the Sydney Olympics, we made sure we had a design that was contemporary, cutting edge and would last." said Moran. "We won't be moving away from fine dining at all, if anything, we'll be upping the ante." What's in store for the freshened up Aria? Seasonal ingredients take centre stage in classic Moran style, and head chef Jason Staudt, who's trained with Moran since 2013, has co-crafted quite the new menu. Think opulent dishes like Champagne lobster French toast with caviar and finger lime, mud crab with kombucha and white Alba truffle, or Marmande tomato tartare, alongside a significant grilled meats section. Plus, sides include mashed royal blue potato. Aria's wine list will remain top tier, but a little reworked, as group sommelier Matt Dunne teams up with new head sommelier Alex Kirkwood (Quay) for a mostly Australian menu. While the food and wine are staying close to classic Aria style, the interiors have changed. Moran and co-owner Bruce Solomon have brought interior architect George Livissianis — responsible for the black and white cake icing interiors of the newly-renovated Dolphin Hotel, as well as other institutions like Cho Cho San and Apollo — on board for the revamp. Making strong references to the old Aria, and keeping that Sydney Harbour view intact, he's fitted the 170-seat venue out with a new colour palette, soft leather walls, Henry Wilson lights, Saairinen and Grant Featherston Scape chairs, artwork by Australian artist Christian Thompson and sculptures by Tracey Deep. "The design when we opened was contemporary and cutting edge, and George's new design has taken that ethos and brought it into 2016," says Moran. "The new kitchen is incredible, built to our specs to be able to deliver the best fine dining experience we can, and to really up the ante." Aria Sydney on the eastern side of Circular Quay, open for lunch and dinner, seven days per week. For bookings, head to ariarestaurant.com/sydney. By Lauren Vadnjal with Shannon Connellan.
The process of making sourdough is a complex one, and the Swedes talk it as seriously as they take their creamy meatballs and minimalist furniture design. If you're doing it by the book, creating one loaf is a very long and complicated task, and like the art of making whiskey, ramen, craft beer, cold drip and growing a beard, it has amassed a devoted niche following. But in an adorable move, Sweden has opened its own 24-hour hotel, just for sourdough. You'll find this adorable land of loaves in the Arlanda airport in Stockholm, run by the RC Chocolat bakery. You can check in your sourdough any time of day, 24/7, for about 100 Swedish krona [about $17] a week. They'll keep your sourdough, care for it, feed it with an organic flour of your choice and massage water into the dough, then hand it back, all ready for baking. But why the need for a hotel? The process of making sourdough involves ‘refreshing’ or massaging the dough and, depending on a host of factors, may need to happen every 24 hours for two weeks. So if you’re a hip Swede, living in an airy loft apartment in Stockholm, cultivating a batch of pungent sourdoughs but you need to travel to a typography convention, what do you do? Before, you had to stay home with the loaves and tend to them lovingly, like they were your children, and then eat them with jam while sad-drunk because you’ve spent your youth raising loaves of fashionable bread instead of a family. But now you can check your dough-children into a hotel while you jet around the world and know they’re receiving top-class care and attention. Charlotta Soor, the owner of RC Chocolat, told Munchies that the Scandinavian love of food with an acid component (such as sour milk and yoghurt) might explain the nationwide obsession with sourdough. She also added, “One has to remember that a sourdough can live for generations as long as you take good care of it, which is pretty amazing.” You’re not wrong, Charlotta, this is all pretty amazing. Well there you have it folks, a hotel for bread. Now back to the studio. Via Munchies. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
Bernard Salt's concerns about millennial weakness for smashed avo should rise this week — a new gourmet toast bar is opening in Bondi. Mr Topper's, which launches on Campbell Parade on Monday, November 14, has arrived to spruce up your takeaway brunch game, offering that smashed avocado favourite as part of a range of on-the-go toast creations, all priced at $11. Now, you can bid farewell to that uninspiring chia pudding and opt instead for a satisfyingly fat wedge of toast, loaded with an Instaworthy topping. The nine menu staples and weekly-rotating special offer reworkings of brunch classics, each sitting pretty atop your choice of gourmet toast. There's the Fancy Pants, featuring smoked salmon, crème fraiche, dill, and cucumber, and the Homestyle, a jumble of crispy bacon, sweet tomato chutney, and muddled egg, that's bound to put your usual bacon and egg roll to shame. Even sweet tooths and vegos are well-represented, as mushrooms meet hummus, and strawberries jump into bed with honey and clotted cream. The space itself borrows from old-school New York diners, the fit-out's retro charm reflected in the cold drink menu, which runs from sugar-free sodas to traditional iced coffees. And while the takeaway trade is the main focus, there's a scattering of seating, too — perfect for any avo smash-er who needs to take a load off while they ponder their future as a home owner. Expansion plans for the Sydney CBD, Melbourne CBD and New York City are already in sight. Mr Topper's opens at 222 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach on Monday, November 14. Open Monday to Sunday 6.30am to 4pm.
We thought Pikachu-themed pop-ups were the pop culture pinnacle for Japan. But once again, the country's beating us all at the cool, novelty shit game. This one truly levels things up, with a new pop-up inspired by Super Mario Bros.. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the immortal video game, Tokyo is getting an adorable Mario-themed pop-up restaurant. Running June 22 to July 5 and run by Tower Records, the pop-up will serve up a menu inspired by our plumbing video game hero and his crew (yep, even that dastardly Bowser). Punters can chow down on Peach Panna Cotta, a Piranha Plant Soda, Bowser Castle Drink or Ground Stage Waffle, all of which are guaranteed to double your size and allow you to jump on Goomba heads like a boss. But no giant mushrooms to eat? Come on guys. Anyway, let's peruse the menu shall we? First, pick up your Super Star Omelette (and run madly around the pop-up for ten seconds): Slam a cap with Mario latte art: Give it back to the Koopa Troopas with whatever comes out of this Question Block Tiramisu: You could battle it out with Bowser Taco Rice: And finish things up by rescuing the Peach Panna Cotta from going uneaten. The Mario-themed pop-up restaurant runs June 22 to July 5 in Tokyo. Via Grub Street and Rocket News24. Images: Tower Records.
May 5 isn't just May 5 — it's Cinco de Mayo. That's when the spotlight shines on Mexico; however, despite beliefs to the contrary, it isn't the country's Independence Day. Instead, the celebration marks the nation's 1862 victory against French forces in the Battle of Puebla. Back then, the day was declared a holiday. These days, the occasion is actually a bigger deal in the US. That said, it's still a great chance to appreciate Mexico's culture and heritage. There are plenty of ways to do this, although we suggest taking the traditional path: a party. So just how do you throw your own Cinco de Mayo gathering? What should you eat, drink and listen to? Follow our guide, and you'll be having a fiesta in no time. AVOID STEREOTYPES Starting on a serious note, Cinco de Mayo should celebrate Mexican culture, not stereotype it. Avoid the easy route when it comes to theming — so that means no sombreros, no fake moustaches and no Day of the Dead (which actually happens in October, so the timing doesn't work anyway). In fact, just discourage people from dressing up altogether. You'll be more likely to avoid accidental cultural appropriation. Focusing on the colours of the Mexican flag is one good option, with splashes of green, white and red certain to look festive. Or, you could champion the country's creative talents. Frida Kahlo deserves many parties in her honour, with her paintings considered iconic for good reason. Mexican cinema is among the world's best (think: Del Toro, Inarritu, Cuaron, Rodriguez), so if you have screens or projections going, look to these guys. Or just bring a splash of summer to your bash — grey, late-autumn Australia will thank you. FIND YOUR HERO FOOD This might be the easiest part of the party-planning process, but you don't just want the food to be good — you also want it to be authentic. That means tacos made with corn tortillas, chorizo, guacamole, salsa, onions and coriander, and quesadillas filled with stringy Oaxaca cheese. Put your focus into the central component of the dish and no one will notice if you go with store-bought stuff for the rest. A good option is always to take your cue from Neil Perry — his chicken (or pork) adobo for tacos sings with chipotle, honey and vinegar. You might also have time to try making your own churros for dessert. Yum. You can also get your guests in on the action (and take the heat off yourself) by asking them to bring their own homemade guacamole or salsa. Add a competitive element, and call it a guac off. The chef behind the best wins bragging rights, and everyone else wins by getting to eat it. Just stock up on corn chips beforehand, because there's going to be plenty of dipping to do. THREE DRINKS TO COVER ALL BASES When it comes to Mexican beer, it's an easy choice. Chill some Coronas in as big a bucket as you can find, and make sure you have plenty of extra lime slices lying around for people to pop in the tops. If you want something stronger, it wouldn't be Cinco de Mayo without margaritas making an appearance. Just combine 2 parts tequila to 1 part Cointreau (or another triple sec) and 1 part freshly squeezed lime juice. Choose a silver tequila, and look for the words '100% agave' on the label. That means it's the real stuff. Pour over or blend with ice, but don't forget the glass rimmed with salt. For a non-alcoholic option, agua fresca is your beverage of choice. It couldn't be easier to make or tastier to drink. Watermelon is a popular flavour, and all you need to do is blend cubes of the fruit then mix it with the juice of four limes, three quarters of a cup of castor sugar and a cup of mint leaves. Stir, stand for an hour, strain and top up with sparkling water. GO TO CONTEMPORARY MEXICO WITH YOUR PLAYLIST A party isn't a party without a soundtrack to match the occasion. Here you have multiple options, but we're only going to recommend two. Acoustic guitar fans need look no further than Rodrigo y Gabriela (fans of nuevo flamenco, rock and heavy metal too). The duo's sound is certainly diverse, which isn't surprising given that they mix traditional Mexican music with European influences over their five studio albums and three live records. For a more unpredictable playlist, there's always Spotify. Any one of their hundreds of Mexican playlists will spit you out a party-ready concoction of mariachi music, contemporary Latin songs and questionable Ricky Martin numbers. HIT THINGS WITH STICKS There's one party staple that never gets old, even as you get older. That'd be the piñata, something that the Spanish brought to Mexico, and also links in with Mayan culture. You know how it works: you wear a blindfold, swing a stick and try to break open a suspended, decorated container filled with goodies. That's the fun part — but making your own is just as fun, too. Papier mache away using newspaper scraps and a paste made from equal parts flour and water, plus a tablespoon of salt. Balloons work well as a sturdy base, as you might remember from primary school. Once everything has dried, decorate it with paint and crepe paper, and then stuff it full of goodies. Lollies are fine, but you might want something a bit more age-appropriate. We were thinking mini bottles of tequila or hot sauce, individually packaged T2 teabags, discs of pour-over hot chocolate, playing cards or obscure Mexican lollies — or a combination of the lot. Top image: Dollar Photo Club.
One of the most buzzed about titles of this year’s Cannes Film Festival has just dropped its first official trailer. Adapted from Shakespeare’s seminal play, with Michael Fassbender in the title role and Marion Cotillard as his ambitious wife, Macbeth has been described in early reviews as “towering,” “haunting” and “intensely compelling.” If this first glimpse of footage is anything to go by, the critics appear to be right on the money. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgH_OnrYlCk Turns out when you take two of the greatest actors in the world and give them one of the best scripts ever written, the results tend to look pretty impressive. Getting a definite Game of Thrones vibe from this one, although to be fair, when it comes to sword and sorcery scheming, William S. pipped George R. R. Martin by a margin of about 400 years. Still, what’s perhaps most impressive about this trailer are the visuals. Australian director (represent!) Justin Kurzel has made just one feature film prior to this — in the form of 2011’s highly disturbing true crime thriller Snowtown — but his work here looks extraordinarily polished. Directors that have previously tackled the Scottish play include Roman Polanski and Orson Welles. Talk about big shoes to fill. Macbeth is yet to receive an Australian release date, but should hopefully be in cinemas by the end of the year.
It wouldn't be Sydney Craft Beer Week without a big blowout at Frankie's. This year, the venue has collaborated on nine brand new beers (including the official SCBW beer) from some of the best Australian and New Zealand brewers around, from Grifter and Garage Project to Big Shed and Brewcult. Frankie's house band will also be rockin' from 9pm to 3am. You'll have to make it to this event to see what these masterminds have come up with.
When the Vivid lineup was announced a good few weeks back, squeals were heard and hashtagged citywide. Since then there's been time for the dust to settle and tickets to be snapped up, but you're still sitting on your hands. Vivid kicks off on May 27 y'all, time to turn those circled program guides into reality. Don't attend Vivid through your smartphone, get amongst the beats and get to one of these must-see rambunctious gigs and epic concerts. Choose your own Vivid adventure through sound with these top picks. By Jasmine Crittenden with Shannon Connellan.
With technology smashing down the barriers between real and pretend, a bunch of Aussie and Korean artists take a look at what it means to be human — right now and in the future. The results include crossbred cacti, LED books, dancing robots and a pneumatically-powered blender that mixes human biomaterials. Yep, it's pretty much a mind-bending combo of Star Wars, Blade Runner and an ordinary day with Bompas and Parr (who, sadly, aren't in this exhibition). But never fear, artists tackling the future include Perth's Rebecca Baumann, who's obsessed with the relationship between colours, materials and feelings; Seoul's Airan Kang, who's presenting her ongoing Digital Book Project, which explores the future of the mighty book; and Sydney's Justin Shoulder, who'll be creating some mad performance art in the MCA Lecture Theatre on August 8, 9 and 10. New Romance: Art and the posthuman will be bringing a dose of weird and wonderfulness to your winter until September 4. And, by the way, it's free.
Become starry-eyed this Valentine's Day at the Sydney Observatory with their astronomical, stargazing event, coupled with delicious canapes and seductive jazz music. Catch a glimpse of Venus (weather permitting), the planet of love, through the North Dome telescopes, and get lost in the night sky through the various courtyard telescopes. This event is the perfect backdrop for kindling a burning love, or simply indulging your space-travel fantasy.
The Wheeler Centre is renowned for their innovative programming, but the project they're cooking up now is a doozy. Named after that most endearing punctuation mark, The Interrobang: A Festival of Questions is a festival that is calling on you to decide the topics of conversation. The idea behind the festival is a democratic one: using crowdsourcing techniques, the program is being written around questions submitted by the public and presented to a Brains Trust of writers and thinkers over the two-day festival in Melbourne on November 27-28. Emily Sexton, the head of programming at The Wheeler Centre, says that as well as creating a festival made from publicly sourced questions, she also wants us to question the question. What makes a good question? Can the right question change the landscape of discussion for the better? As well as submitting questions, the public are invited to vote for the best questions. “The way we imagine it is a combination of very potent, political, urgent questions of our time, like 'what is the future of European democracy and what will happen to organisations like the UN or the EU that were founded on a collective idea? Is that still relevant for contemporary life?' But also really inconsequential, playful questions like 'where are all the baby pigeons? Why don’t we ever see them?' I hope there’s a really great mix of personal or political questions,” she says. “There’s no question too big or too small.” There’ll be no shortage of answers either. The Interrobang has assembled a Brains Trust of 25 artists, thinkers, writers and doers from around the world to tackle the questions posed. Included is Wild writer and 'Dear Sugar' advice columnist Cheryl Strayed, cult sci-fi author and tech activist Cory Doctorow, Australia’s sweetheart Benjamin Law, the former Greek Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis, playwright and Twitter hero Nakkiah Lui, journalist Geraldine Brooks, broadcaster Mark Colvin and chef and presenter Adam Liaw. The prerequisite for all the panellists was the need for pluralism and enthusiasm about a range of topics. Don’t expect any sales pitches or pre-made answers here; with such a diverse panel, the aim is to explore the topics from every angle. Emily promises that every question, big or small, will be used in some way in the program. “It’s a significant democratic exercise in a way of handing over control and exploring what people really want to know,” she says. We, for one, are intrigued and would very much like to know where the baby pigeons are. We’ll have to wait until November to find out. Submit your question to The Interrobang via the event website. Tickets for the festival go on sale October 12.
Archie Rose, Sydney's first commercial distillery in 160 years, has a new, more personal offering in the works. Well, technically it would be your offering. Rosebery's gin whizzes have launched a new project where you can tailor your own spirit and have your name printed on the label. It's a dream you might not have even known you had. Archie Rose founder and owner Will Edwards wants the project to "give people the opportunity to get really involved in the distilling process." Currently, the spirits available to be tailored are gin, vodka and whisky. After choosing three to five of the distillery's unique botanicals for your Signature Dry Gin or Original Vodka, you can customise the intensity of each flavour and personalise the bottle with your name. If you're gifting these, you can add your lucky mate's name to the label. A tailored bottle of vodka will will set you back $84, or $89 for gin. Once your chosen spirit's matured and bottled, you'll receive it in the mail in a handmade crate with full brewing and distillation notes. Archie Rose's tailored whisky, on the other hand, is not for the faint-hearted (or the tight-budgeted). It will set you back a whopping $4000 (at least) but get this: it's a 20L cask. You can customise everything from the type of wood used to the level of smoke influence and ABV. You'll receive a 200ml sample annually to check how your baby's maturing, or you can visit on appointment. There's even an option for you and four friends to assist in the actual making of your whisky. If you're preparing for an apocalypse, Archie Rose also offers a 50L and 100L cask. Just in case. How many chances will you get to have an award-winning distillery make your custom blend? An Archie Rose tailored spirit a pretty perfect gift and as soon as your custom bottle (or case) is unwrapped at the family Christmas party, the 'best gift giver' trophy will be yours. Better get your acceptance speech ready. Tailor your own spirit at the Archie Rose website.
Summer is just around the corner, and what better way to prepare your body and mind than a weekend of wellness? If a Saturday of meditation workshops, exercise classes and wellness sessions sounds like your cup of tea (or bottle of coconut water, as the case may be) mark your calendar for The Wellness Festival. After a sold-out debut in Melbourne in April 2016, this health-focused festival is coming to our fair city for the first time. This relatively new festival is the creation of health enthusiast Lauren Pell, founder of wellness-focused event production company Colour & Coconuts. Hosted by Australian model and presenter Laura Dundovic and featuring speakers such as international health blogger Jessica Sepel, The Brown Paper Bag founder Jacqueline Alwill, Mastering Your Mean Girl author Melissa Ambrosini and more, The Wellness Festival offers a full day program that includes a lunchtime workout, talks by successful entrepreneurs and health experts, and a Wellness Market. And, once all the festivities have helped you work up an appetite, refuel with a wide selection of healthy snacks and meals. Don't wait to buy your tickets: the first 100 ticket holders will nab a free gift.
If you haven’t made it along to a Soul of Sydney gathering yet, you’re still to discover where the city's best parties are at. Creating a one-off festival instalment especially for Vivid, the music and dance devotees are throwing a bash to outdo all bashes. Headlining the whole hootenanny, The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra — a 19-piece funk, soul and afro-beat band from Melbourne. This isn't going to be a quiet cheese-and-wine shindig, that's for sure. Expect intense, infectious Fela Kuti-style rhythms mixed with hip-hop and tribal chants. Of course, Soul of Sydney's own DJs and favourite guest acts will be on the scene as well. The afternoon-to-evening party will be happening on May 24 at a secret location, only divulged to ticketholders. But with tickets starting at ten beans and if we're making predictions based on previous Soul of Sydney parties, this could be the best deal at Vivid this year.
The one and only Marina Abramovic will be settling down in Sydney this week. Her 12-day-long Kaldor residency will begin on June 24, transforming Walsh Bay’s Pier 2/3 into a public art laboratory. Abramovic is the undisputed “grandmother of performance art”. She gained notoriety in art circles for her daring and death-defying performances from the ‘70s onward; however, it was her 2010 retrospective, The Artist Is Present at MoMA which catapulted her into the cultural mainstream. Following high-profile collaborations with the likes of Lady Gaga and Jay Z, Abramovic has reached rock-star levels of popularity herself. If it feels like Abramovic sprung out of obscurity around five years ago, you might wonder how she came to be the world’s most famous performance artist. Let's journey back. PERFORMANCE ART AS (DANGEROUS) EMPOWERMENT As a bright-eyed Serbian student, Abramovic took the leap over to Western Europe during the '70s and became a key player in the genesis of performance art. One of her earliest and most significant achievements has been reconfiguring the relationship between artist and audience. These were the first steps into participatory artworks, upending the standard passivity of the spectator. Her self-objectifying performance Rhythm 0 (1974) gave power to a particularly masochistic swarm of gallery-goers. Abramovic lay naked on a table next to a whole range of objects, including perfume, a rose, a feather, scissors, a scalpel and a gun loaded with one bullet. From decorative to sinister, these objects were used at the whim of participants who were compelled to decide whether to act or prevent an action. The situation escalated when Abramovic was cut with razor blades, the gun was held to her head, and rose thorns were pressed into her stomach. She is not being melodramatic when she claims that art is a matter of life and death. Over a period of decades, she has subjected herself to demanding physical conditions, cultivating an ability to push through pain barriers and enter a trance like state during performances. This has allowed her to build a strong sense of power and resilience. Image: Marina Abramovic, Rhythm 0 (1974) PERFORMANCE ART AS TRUST AND ENDURANCE Abramovic began performing with artist and former life partner Ulay (Uwe Laysiepen) in 1976. They became the power couple of the ‘80s art world, united by a compulsion to examine consciousness. They also shared the strength-through-pain ethos that Abramovic had been working on as a solo artist. Many of their works come across as if they are trying to fuse themselves together or create a combined self. In one performance, Relation in Space (1976), they ran at each other repeatedly, violently knocking bodies. After 12 years of artistic and personal companionship, Abramovic and Ulay parted ways in an epic gesture of farewell. Beginning their journey from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China — Abramovic from the Yellow Sea and Ulay from the Gobi Desert — they travelled for 90 days before officially ending their relationship. PERFORMANCE ART AS ARTEFACT As Abramovic stepped up as a solo artist for the second time, she became passionate about preserving the craft of performance art, experimenting with alternative methods of documentation. At one point, she stated that there are to be no repetitions of this kind of art — you cannot have a substitute for the real experience. However, the artist broke this rule when staging the spectacular series Seven Easy Pieces (2003), which paid homage to the pioneers of performance art. Piecing together fragmented records, Abramovic recreated ephemeral performances by Bruce Nauman, Vito Acconci, Valie Export, Gina Pane and Joseph Beuys, putting her own individual spin on them. The re-enactments took place over seven days at the Guggenheim Museum. Of course, the relationship between art and the archive can be tricky business, particularly with regard to preserving the spontaneity and integrity of the original event. In any case, Abramovic’s pedagogical project is ongoing. The Abramovic Institute was a Kickstarter-funded initiative which took off in 2013, dedicated to durational performance and interdisciplinary research. Image: Marina Abramovic performing Gina Pane's The Conditioning in Seven Easy Pieces (2003). PERFORMANCE ART AS MINDFULNESS From 2010 onward, Abramovic seems to have a newfound subtlety and quietness. More recently there have been fewer clanging bodies and life-threatening situations. Unlike her earlier performances, she is expending energy in a different way, deeply influenced by Eastern spirituality and mindfulness. A good example of this would be the massively hyped retrospective at MoMA drew in approximately 750,000 people. Spread across six floors of the gallery, the 2010 exhibition was unprecedented in scale. The centrepiece of the show, The Artist Is Present, showcased the shamanistic Abramovic, silently projecting energy into her sitters for eight hours a day, every day. Surely, there is an element of narcissism here. While Abramovic has built a solid legacy of groundbreaking performances, she may be coasting on charisma these days, inviting the public to bathe in her superstar status. Regardless of this cynical thought, there is something compelling about The Artist Is Present. It is testament to Abramovic that a piece which could have easily lapsed into tacky sensationalism turned out to be profoundly moving. Image: Marina Abramovic, The Artist Is Present (2010) PREFORMANCE ART AS A BRAND Today, Abramovic has become a brand in and of herself. However, contrary to her popularity, performance art isn’t the most lucrative trade. Her works don’t actually fetch much — a mere fraction of the kind of money thrown at Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. While criticism levelled at Abramovic may strike the occasional chord of truth (mainly in regard to her potential narcissism and theatricality), some of it seems like the product of stuffy art world insiders who see celebrity collaborations as tainting the intellectual heritage of performance art. They're quick to denounce 'sell-outs', but that very term seems to imply a big divide between high art and popular culture. Abramovic is responsible for pioneering some of the most significant aspects of performance art — arguably she has a degree of ownership over them. So why shouldn't she be able to use these techniques however she sees fit? Why not use Lady Gaga as the face of The Abramovic Method? If Marina Abramovic has made performance art more accessible for a new generation, that’s a good thing. Marina Abramovic: In Residence is on at Pier 2/3 in Sydney June 24 to July 5. It's free to attend, but be prepared to queue.
After yesterday's Oscar snub, Richard Linklater could be looking at another go at Boyhood. Maybe. According to a probably-too-hopeful Flavorwire, the director has tossed up the epic idea of creating a sequel to the Best Picture nominee 12-years-in-the-making. In a recent podcast interview with Jeff Goldsmith, Linklater was asked about a potential sequel; an idea he had blatantly discarded until recently. But there could be a glimmer of possibility for the already Academy Award-winning director. "To be honest… this film first met its audience exactly a year ago and for the first six months of the year, my answer to that was absolutely not. This was 12 years, it was first grade through 12th grade; it was about getting out of high school. I had no idea about another story, there’s nothing to say. It hadn’t crossed my mind. "But I don’t know if it’s been a combination of finally feeling that this is over or being asked a similar question a bunch over the last year, that I thought, well, I wake up in the morning thinking, 'the 20s are pretty formative, you know?' That's where you really become who you’re going to be. It’s one thing to grow up and go to college, but it’s another thing to… So, I will admit my mind has drifted towards [a sequel]." Sure, this isn't a confirmation, but we can dream. Could we see another Before trilogy set-up happening with Boyhood? Poor Ellar Coltrane thought he was out of the water. Via Flavorwire.
There's not many a cover artist can teach David Bowie about music. But when the art-glam-rock king heard Seu Jorge perform his hits acoustically, in Portuguese, for The Life Aquatic, he said he heard a whole "new level of beauty". That's certainly no easily-earned praise. Jorge, who cut his deep yet irresistibly tender voice in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will make his debut Australian performance at Sydney Festival. He’ll be playing an array of his famous, unique interpretations, as well as a bunch of originals, accompanied by a delicious mix of Latin and Caribbean beats, in both live and electronic form. Seu Jorge is one of our top ten picks of the Sydney Festival. Check out our other favourite events over here.
