New exhibition The Distance continues Tony Lloyd's fascination with cinematic imagery and its capacity to create anticipation and suspense. This series embraces the apocalyptic film genre (Lloyd is typically influenced by science fiction and film noir) and its heightened drama, with unsettling paintings of asteroids illuminated by car headlights mere moments before they hit earth. "We are all travelling through space. Earth is our vehicle, the orbital path is our highway," Lloyd explains of these asteroid works. Driving at night is an inherently cinematic experience for Lloyd, who says watching an external landscape unfold out of the darkness always reminds him of being at the movies. Despite the foreboding subject, there is also a quiet stillness and spooky level of beauty to the paintings, which place the viewer in the drivers seat, suspending them in what Lloyd describes as "the narrow instant before the distance between present and future is erased." Image: Tony Lloyd, Near Earth asteroid with highway (Ida) (2017).
Confetti cannons up, we've got something bloody huge to celebrate. Concrete Playground has been nominated for a 2016 Webby Award, in the category of General Website - Cultural Blog/Website. Look, we're not pulling your leg, here we are, with fellow nominees VICE, Nowness, Jazz at Lincoln Centre and Polygraph. So we're drinking prosecco for afternoon tea, what of it? Celebrating their 20th year, The Webbys have seen the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences handing out top tier awards since 1996, celebrating "excellence on the internet including websites, interactive advertising, online film and video and mobile content." Along with our mates and website designers Canvas Group, Concrete Playground is now celebrating our first ever Webby nomination. Concrete Playground founder and director Rich Fogarty was understandably excited. "FUUUUUUUUUCK!" he said in a statement. Fellow Australian/NZ nominees include triple j's Hottest 100 site for Music (they're up against Beyonce's official site, kudos), and Trusted Housesitters — based in Australia as well as globally — for the Community category. Best part of the Webbys? Once the nominations have been announced, the winners are internet-voted. So you can give us a hand! Used CP to find your never-fail date spot (with BYO)? Chase more waterfalls nowadays? Look, we told you what nap desks are, so show us some love and vote for us. How about some ol' fashioned incentive? We know you're short on time (and that you love transparent nudges like this one), so to sweeten the deal we're giving one reader a $1000 dinner at the restaurant of their choice. To enter, all you have to do is vote for us on the Webby's website, email us a screenshot of the vote confirmation screen to cpftw@concreteplayground.com. That's it. Get on it. VOTE FOR CONCRETE PLAYGROUND HERE
The co-founder of Sydney’s The Barber Shop is taking his whizz-bang bar-creating talents to Byron Bay. As of this summer, the north coast’s busiest hang-out will have a brand new drinking and feasting establishment, The Bolt Hole, thanks to one Mr Chris Mills. But there won’t be a tap or a beer bottle in sight. Instead, the bar’s craft beer offerings will be delivered in classic Aussie fashion — via tinnie only. Why? Well, to start, Chris sees tinnies as far more environmentally friendly than bottles. As for taps, the avoidance is more about aesthetics than being green. As anyone who's frequented The Barber Shop knows, Chris likes to keep his bar sleek and uncluttered. “Bottles have six times the carbon footprint of a can, when you consider volume, weight, production and transport — all those things add up,” says Chris. “We can fit 100 cartons of tinnies on a standard palette, versus 65 cartons of 330ml bottles, so it takes a lot less fuel to transport them.” Aluminium is lighter than glass, while a can’s tidy shape means more efficient packing and stacking. Second up, Chris points out that tinnies make beer taste better. “Canning is better because bottling lets in UV light, which affects the taste of the beer," he says. UV has a habit of breaking down the organic compounds that give a beer its unique flavour profile. Even though using brown-tinted glass can help reduce the damage, it’s no substitute for the light-impervious fortress that is an aluminium can. And thirdly, Chris adds, "Bottles let in more oxygen, which shortens the beer’s shelf life.” Then, of course, there's the can's total lack of smash-ability. As far as we know, The Bolt Hole will be the first bar in Australia to serve cans exclusively. But, more generally, the humble tinnie has been making a comeback — both here and in the US. Once the domain of drops like Tooheys and VB, it’s now being embraced by craft beer labels all over the world, including locals like Sydney’s Young Henrys and Melbourne’s Mountain Goat. This resurgence is in least part due to cans' lower carbon footprint, awareness of which has been growing for a while. Not everyone's on board though. David Suzuki's Queen of Green blog, for example, argues that beers shipped over long distances are better in tinnies, but when it comes to locally made brews, bottles win out, while others are pushing for all tap, all the time. With the Bolt Hole’s opening six weeks off, we can’t yet reveal exactly which craft beers will make the menu. But we can tell you that Chris has been chatting with some of Australia’s most talented operators. In addition to a stack of tasty brews, the drinks list, designed by Jason Crawley (The Drink Cabinet), will offer signature cocktails, vintage gins, artisanal spirits, boutique Australian and European wines, plus a whisky list to incite Dylan Thomas’s envy. Meanwhile, Jordan (Beans) Brannan (former sous chef at Bondi’s Panama House) will be producing dishes to match. A student of globe-trotting pit master Pete Daversa (London’s The Big Easy, New York City’s Pride and Joy, Hong Kong’s Blue Smoke), Jordan will be smoking up an American barbecue storm on a specially imported woodfired smoker, all the way from the US of A. He’ll be delivering a stateside culinary tour for carnivores, with grass-fed Angus brisket, Texas beef short ribs, Memphis BBQ pork ribs, Carolina pulled pork shoulder and maple glazed chicken. The American theme will continue in the fit-out, which is promising a dimly lit refuge from Byron Bay’s sun-dazed, crowded streets. Entering via a vintage church door, visitors will find themselves in a cosy, vintage haven, with references to hunting, steam trains and nautical escapades. There'll be green Chesterfields, handmade furniture, antique light fittings and a tarnished copper bar, supported by recycled railway sleepers. Tinnie image: Dollar Photo Club. Other images provided.
We hate to break it to you, but if you haven't yet spent an evening with Donny Benet, you haven't lived. Donny's undeniable sex appeal is the stuff of Sydney legend. Don't let his reputation fool you, though. His shows ride on more than his moustache and irresistible charisma. He's also a cracking singer and bassist and, in the Vivid Lounge, will be spending the evening with his equally genetically-advantaged brothers Dan (saxophone, cowbell) and James (drums), as well as friends Harry Sutherland (keyboards) and Ben Hauptmann (guitar). Donny has smashed out performances at Mona Foma, Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival and Secret Garden and, in 2013, won FBi Radio's SMAC Award for Best Live Act. His fourth album is on its way.
Mercado takes homemade to a new level, a brand new Spanish-inspired restaurant that's opened in Sydney's CBD this week. It's the newest addition to the Ash Street laneway in Angel Place, right beside newcomer Indu. The 'everything from scratch' mentality is no surprise from head chef Nathan Sasi (ex-Nomad), who just opened Potts Point's Good Times Ice Cream with the same motto earlier this year. Inspired by Barcelona's La Boqueria market, Mercado is focused around preserved and smoked smallgoods — think rows upon rows of cured meats, photos of which have been acting as mouthwatering teasers on the Mercado Instagram for weeks. "We're trying to implement the hustle and bustle visual aspect of these markets at our restaurant," says Sasi. "When you go to these markets you see meat hanging on stands, cheese everywhere, so we're trying to do the same thing with our restaurant and menu," he adds. To name a few, Mercado is making breads, preserves and cured and smoked meats all in house, along with condiments like house-made 'everything' vinegar and salt cod lemon mayonnaise. They're even wheeling around a cheese trolley of both homemade and imported varieties. The house-made aspect is something Sasi has been focused on as a chef for quite some time. "We're not trying to be arrogant, we just want to have a point of difference and be able to customise the ingredients we use at the restaurant", says Sasi. "At Mercado, we have control over every product in our recipes," he adds. The custom-made rotisserie is the star of the Moorish-inspired menu and is serving up whole cooked meat over charcoal and wood fire, including spit roast whole suckling pig and lamb ($50 each). "We work with a lot of small farms to source top quality produce and cook the meat for at least eight hours," says Sasi. That's some serious, succulent meat love right there. If you can pry your eyes away from the rotisserie menu, the share plates are decadent to say the least — think foie gras parfait ($29), truffle mortadella ($19) and smoked wagyu tongue on brioche ($14). Mercado is tucked away down the Ash Street laneway. Located a block behind the George Street chaos via Angel Place, this little district is becoming more of a foodie haven by the day. The construction on the heritage building may have delayed Sasi's planned 2015 opening, but it seems 2016 is proving to be a lucky year for the rising chef. Mercado is located at 4 Ash Street, Sydney. Open Monday to Friday (lunch from noon to 3pm, dinner from 5.30pm to 10pm), and Friday to Saturday from 5.30pm to 11pm.
You guys, the future is here. The future that has been rendered so many times in Tom Cruise sci-fi movies and '90s music videos is finally here. Although Marty McFly is not the prophet we once believed him to be and the hoverboard is still only a prototype, a new UK-based project will let us have electric cars that charge via the road as they go. Although electric cars in the UK are currently becoming more common, they can be tricky to charge if you live in a densely populated city and are bereft of a private parking garage. Electric cars can only be charged from home/special charging stations, so if you're an electric car owner with only on-street parking facilities, you might have to hang around for hours at designated charging spots. Annoying. Enter charging lanes, to save the day. Highways England have announced an 18-month plan to trial the feasibility of charging lanes before bringing them to public roads. Charging lanes are exactly what they sound like — lanes that charge your electric car as you drive along it. How? With black magic, of course (or electric cables installed under the road surface which generate electromagnetic fields, funnelled into a coil in the car and converted into useable electricity). And a nice little bonus for eco-warriors driving electric cars is the ability to zip up a dedicated lane, charge your car and skip traffic all at once — no regular cars are allowed in this lane. Charging lanes have already been implemented to great effect in South Korea, to charge electric buses in the public transport system, and — if the popularity of 'Gangnam Style' is anything to go by — it’s only a matter of time before electric charging lanes become standard across the world. We haven't been this excited about roads since this solar-powered genius. Via Mashable.
If you haven't heard of 28 Hongkong Street before now, don't feel too out of the loop. Sure, it's been voted Asia's best bar for three years running and knocks out some seriously amazing cocktails — but it also operates as one of those mysterious, super secretive, word-of-mouth-only venues, hidden away behind an unassuming 1960s shopfront. Plus, it's been hanging out all the way up in Singapore, 6000 kilometres and an eight-hour flight away. Until now. For three nights this month, 28HKS will be hitting our shores as part of Sydney Bar Week. The brief touchdown on Australian turf will see the Singaporean enigma visit Sydney and Melbourne to take over two of our own hidden cocktail bars and give lucky locals a whirlwind taste of all the cocktail magic. They're not cutting any corners, either. The Sydney pop-up — which will grace Darlinghurst's Henrietta Supper Club on Sunday, September 18 — will offer a bang-on recreation of the 28HKS concept. Expect those award-winning cocktails alongside a selection of the American-leaning share plates, all delivered by five of 28HKS's mixologists, floor staff and chefs. They're even bringing over the soundtrack to round-out the experience. It's not the first time Australia's had a fleeting taste of international cocktail greatness and, given the success of Attaboy's February stints at The Everleigh and Dead Ringer, and last year's Please Don't Tell pop-up at The Black Pearl, it's probably safe to say that this latest cocktail-wielding visitor won't be the last. There will be two 1.5 hour sittings on the night — one at 7pm and another at 9pm. At just $20 for a spot at the bar and a cocktail on arrival, these tickets won't hang around for long. Snap one up here for the Sydney pop-up.
UPDATE 16/2: Whisky Jerx are moving their pop-up from 231 Oxford Street to the basement of The Unicorn, 106 Oxford Street, Paddington. They'll now be opening February 25 from 6pm. Three Sydney bartenders are being total Babraham Lincolns and creating a Wayne's World-themed pop-up bar. SCHWING. Ben Blair, Reece Griffiths, and Lee Potter Cavanagh (all ex-Victoria Room) are taking cues from Mike Myers and Dana Carvey's immortal 1992 film for their temporary bar, Whisky Jerx — a project possible after winning 2014's nationwide Monkey Shoulder competition, according to Australian Bartender. The prize? Stock, marketing support and cashola to start your own pop-up. Zang. Whisky Jerx will find a temporary home from February 25 until April 22, in the basement of The Unicorn in Paddington (where Easy Tiger usually resides). The whole joint will be set up like Wayne's righteous basement. There'll likely be much 'Bohemian Rhapsody' on the soundtrack, but no 'Stairway', denied. Fingers crossed for posters of total robobabe Cassandra, and a gun rack, let alone many guns that would necessitate an entire rack. (Jokes, obvs.) So why Wayne's World, why now? (Aside from being a totally excellent, dreamwoman idea for a bar.) "Essentially we’re taking inspiration from the soda jerks from back in the day, that's where the name comes from. It's a little bit tongue-in-cheek," Cavanagh told AB. "We all had similar interests growing up, you know, we all liked rock and roll, we were all in bands, so we wanted to reference that as well. The music is pretty much inspired by the Wayne’s World era and our youths, so rock and roll, some punk — not this country, Americana worship." Party time, excellent. Find Whisky Jerx from February 25 until April 22 at The Unicorn, 106 Oxford Street, Paddington. Via Australian Bartender.
Vivid will score not one, but two, closing nights this year, with art-rock legends TV on the Radio smashing out two concerts in a row in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. Since forming in Brooklyn 14 years ago, the four-piece has created six albums. These shows will cover the entire songbook, from Staring at the Sun (2004) to Seeds (2014). Chronologically, theses releases cover a decade, but the music represents hundreds of years of history; drawing together gospel, post-punk and everything in between.
It's May and Sydney has gone a little mad with art. The Biennale is well and truly in full swing (make sure you check out our top ten artworks to see), and we've got world-class photography coming out our ears with both the Head On Photo Festival and the World Press Photo exhibitions in town. It's almost (almost) too much to take in, so we've picked out a few of our must-sees for the month, from a collection of wonders of Chinese history to a human dogwalk. By Jasmine Crittenden, Lucinda Starr, Tom Clift and Lauren Vadnjal.
You've just finished up in the clurb, you're headed home to solo feast on potato gems, when the call of nature moves from a low rumble to a panicked roar. Rather than exerting precious stores of your own personal energy, rather than politely asking a nearby establishment to use their facilities, you unleash a powerful gush of acidic gold on the nearest library wall, unsuspecting playground, residential rose bush. You wouldn't give it a second thought, you've got potato gems to demolish. But your neighbours and fellow residents would. And your local government and police force would. Taking cues from Hamburg's recently unveiled and straight-up genius solution to epic outdoor peeing stats, Gold Coast authorities are looking into bringing urine-repellent paint to the area, according to the Brisbane Times. Usually used on ships and designed to splash back any substance straight back onto the rogue slasher's shoes, the paint has been used heavily by fed-up residents in the German city's St Pauli nightclub district — complete with cheeky signs warning "Hier nicht pinkeln! Wir pinkeln zurueck" (Do not pee here! We pee back!). Now, looks like the walls of the Gold Coast could finally take their revenge. Gold Coast councillor Lex Bell told the Gold Coast Bulletin that Hamburg's idea had been passed on to the local authorities as a means to combat the area's high levels of public leak-taking. If Hamburg's example is anything to go by, drunken hotspots like Surfers Paradise would probably be targeted for trolling unknowing chumps draining the tank. Apparently it's not going to be a cheap process though, according to Reuters — it'll set the government back about $AUS700 to cover a six-square metre area. Yeesh. Maybe the ol' hosedown is cheaper for now. But it could be well worth it in the long run. Public pissers like their shoes dry as much as residents like their picket fences unsoiled. Just one question: what about the dogs? Via Brisbane Times.
What's better than spending your Sunday session at a block party at The Vic Enmore hosted by hip hop collective One Day? A Christmas Edition of that very same block party that gets into the festive spirit by raising money for charity, that's what. The inner west's favourite monthly hip hop party, One Day Sundays, is using its Christmas edition to help out disadvantaged youth during the festive season by sending funds to Youth Off the Streets. So if the chance for an afternoon of shooting hoops, devouring spit roast and soaking up great local hip hop long after sunset wasn't enough to get you out the back of the Vic, then donating to a good cause like you're a character in It's a Wonderful Life should pretty much do it for you. Featuring DJs Joyride, Lazer Gunne Funke and Finehouse, it's one great way to keep your festive spirit alive between Christmas and New Year's.
Once every year, a different kind of festival is held in Brisbane — one that doesn't market itself on glow sticks, or ironic henna, or even prolific recreational drug use. It's a festival more for the artists, their scene and the Australian industry itself: Bigsound. Over three days in September, an eclectic collection of musicians is given their shot to play not just some of Brisbane's best venues for some of its best crowds, but also for industry professionals, booking agents, and labels; the big-wig types that usually hang out exclusively in Sydney and Melbourne and are always searching for that 'new sound'. For the somewhat isolated arts scene of Queensland, Bigsound is the annual chance of a lifetime, and acts as a cross-section of Australia's up and coming. Although criticised in recent years for pushing a lineup that includes already represented and well established performers, Bigsound's 2016 bunch still has a few untapped talents and diamonds in the rough. Here are five new artists playing Bigsound this year, not to be missed if you want to claim 'knew-them-before-they-were-cool' bragging rights in years to come. MOSQUITO COAST Last year's triple j Unearthed High winners, Mosquito Coast are riding the Australian airwaves to 'household name' status, but given they are both only 18 years of age, they definitely warrant the title of a 'new' band. Playing music so beach-inspired its practically sunburnt, this duo is nothing if not very, very chill. Breezy guitar lines, hard to forget lyrics, friendly drums — everything you'd want on the radio on a day it's too hot to think. Their main track 'Call My Name' hit #101 on triple j's Hottest 100 this year, and if they keep doing what they are doing, they're guaranteed to sneak into Australia's biggest music pedestal next year. Oh Hello! on September 7. BEC SANDRIDGE Listening to Sydney's Bec Sandridge, it's hard to imagine that anyone else playing Bigsound will bring the same charm to the stage. To call this about-to-explode artist a 'girl-popper' is unfair — would you call Anna Calvi the same? Sure, Sandridge's got pop influences, and that makes it so fun. Her music's intrinsically complex and simultaneously easy to dance to. And on top of it all, Sandridge has a set of pipes you could shamelessly compare to Blondie, Nick Cave, Kate Bush, or maybe even Bjork. The Foundry, September 7. GOOD BOY Good Boy are Brisbane boys, and boy, are they good. Doing the whole dolewave thing, this trio unabashedly sing about living hard, below the poverty line, in the northern suburbs. With King Krule-like guitar lines, over Dick Diver-like lyrics, with a bit of that regional Queensland anger and edge to them, the boys know what they're all about. They've only been bumming darbs and singing about it for a year now, but they've already played Laneway Festival, and are looking at being the canonical band for 2016 Brisbane. Who knows, maybe it'll be the start of their career as Brisbane's next Go-Betweens? Oh Hello!, September 8. PRATEEK KUHAD Prateek Kuhad isn't exactly a fresh face — he's played SXSW, opened for Alt-J on tour, and has been a showcased musician not just in his home of India, but abroad. Despite all this, he's a fresh face for Brisbane. His minimalistic folk, and his punchy, almost quirky lyrics, give his songs a cinematic quality — he wouldn't be amiss juxtaposing a wide-shot for Wes Anderson film, for example. His music, be it his minimalistic combination of guitar and vocals, or his somewhat wider pieces — mandolin, tambourine — are all alike in their joyous momentum. September 7, Empire Hotel. MIDDLE KIDS Middle Kids (emphasis on kids, these guys have only been around since late February) are a Sydney trio- all about the music- tight harmonies and chill times. Dropping their EP Edge of Town, a distorted harmony of fragile vocals, steel guitar, and abyss inspired timbres, these kids might be young, but they are being seen and heard all over Australia. Playing Oh Hello! on 8 September, Middle Kids, have a good thing going-it's lo-fi, but it's kinda popping, with a little bit of folk, maybe an aftertaste of punk, there's something in their simple songs for everyone. Bigsound runs September 7-9 across multiple Brisbane venues. Find the whole Bigsound program on their website.
You've probably heard that iconic American street artist Shepard Fairey is coming to town for Vivid Sydney. He'll be installing his first Australian mural (visit 309 George Street between June 12 and 17 to see him do his thing) and giving a talk at Sydney Town Hall on June 17 as part of the Vivid Ideas Game-Changer program on his body of work and global street art. What you may not know is that he'll also be exhibiting 16 of his large-scale music-themed artworks at aMBUSH gallery's outdoor public art space, OPEN, in Darling Quarter from May 26. Showcasing his passion for music (Fairey DJs, is in a band called Nøise and has crafted album cover artwork for Led Zeppelin and The Smashing Pumpkins, no big deal), each artwork is printed on wood panels using his signature style. But as well as that, he'll be opening a newly-announced exhibition, Printed Matters, at Chippendale pop-up gallery from June 17 to July 9. First exhibited in LA in 2010, and slowly expanded with each city's showing, the exhibition explores the importance of printed material.
Another beloved Australian music festival is sitting 2025 out, with the Listen Out team revealing that the event won't be on the calendar this year. In 2024, when Groovin the Moo announced its dates then cancelled, and Splendour in the Grass sadly did the same, this electronic-meets-hip hop fest still toured the country. Now, though, it's "hitting pause on Listen Out as you know it", organisers announced via social media. "We've always tried to build something special — where the lineup reflects the culture and the energy flows both ways between the artists and you," the statement advises. "The last few years have been tough." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Listen Out (@listenout) Although Listen Out isn't going ahead in 2025 in its usual format, the crew is putting on a series of shindigs badged Listen Out Presents, however. Music lovers can expect "one-off, carefully curated parties in killer locations around Australia all year long" featuring "some of the best artists in the world", the festival team announced. No further details have been revealed so far. Skipping the big fest setup for a smaller affair yet still boasting impressive names was Spilt Milk's approach in 2024 — when it ditched its usual festivals but had Troye Sivan, Glass Animals and G Flip take to the stage Newcastle, Perth and on the Gold Coast. The fellow fest is returning in its full form in 2025, headlined by Kendrick Lamar. That said, Listen Out's cancellation this year in favour of parties comes after both Groovin the Moo and Splendour in the Grass failed to make 2025 comebacks following their year off. [caption id="attachment_957230" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Samm Venn[/caption] In 2024, Listen Out did the rounds for its 11th year with a lineup featuring 21 Savage, Skepta, Tyla and Flo Milli among its hip hop and R&B names, plus John Summit and Sub Focus on the electronic side. The year prior, in 2023, the fest held its most-successful event at the time in terms of ticket sales ever, with the crew behind it hoping to continue that trajectory by turning the fest into a 16-plus event, age-wise, which was a first for 2024. [caption id="attachment_957228" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Warr[/caption] [caption id="attachment_957224" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mitch Lowe[/caption] [caption id="attachment_957218" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jordan Munns[/caption] [caption id="attachment_957221" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sam Venn[/caption] Listen Out is not taking place in 2025, with Listen Out Presents parties set to pop up instead — we'll update you when more details are announced, and keep an eye on the festival's social media in the interim.
Just when you thought Petersham's nostalgia-tinged Daisy's Milkbar couldn't get any more sweeter, the Australiana throwback cafe has collaborated on its very own, cute-as-a-button line of accessories, teaming up with statement-making Newtown jewellery queen Kristy Dickinson at Haus of Dizzy. As can only be the result when two such fun-loving locals join forces, this little project is as playful as they come. Destined to fit right in with Daisy's usual curation of gifts and accessories, it's an upbeat, retro collection that includes pink daisy earrings, milkshake pins, an ice cream sundae brooch, and Daisy's own shopfront 'milkbar' sign reworked as a choker necklace. "I love collaborating with local artists and businesses and jumped at the chance to work with Daisy's Milkbar," says Dickinson. "HAUS OF DIZZY is a perfect fit with Daisy's — cute and quirky, a match made in heaven." All three designs are available online from the Daisy's Milkbar website, but for now you can pick them up from Daisy's — perhaps when you're next there kicking it old-school with a banana split and a pavlova milkshake. Find Daisy's Milkbar at 340 Stanmore Road, Petersham.
One of Sydney's best party events, Heaps Gay, started as a set of shindigs for the pleasure of Sydney's LGBTQI community, and over the years, the crew have turned out some of the biggest parties this side of the rainbow. Next up in this long line of happenings? Heaps Gay is throwing a street party which will shut down Garden Street in Marrickville on Saturday, February 11, with big beats, delicious barbecue meats, and copious amounts of frivolity. Live music-wise, expect reams of local artists all curated by Red Bull Sound Select, headlined by Sydney-based powerhouse Ngaiire, fresh from touring her latest masterpiece, Blastoma. She'll be joined by beat barons NO ZU and Broadway Sounds, as well as a whole bunch of other musical mischief-makers, artists and performers, including drag dissidents Gang of She. Heaps Gay has always committed to providing the most inclusive parties possible, all while supporting several charities, and the Street Party will continue this mission of fun and freedom. HEAPS GAY STREET PARTY LINEUP: Music Ngaiire (live) NO ZU (live) Broadway Sounds (live) Ariane Fascinator (live) Gaff E (live) Chanel Tyson Koh (Keep Sydney Open) Charlie Villas Hip Hop Hoe Jack Shit Art and performance Gang Of She Radha La Bia Canoe Ash Bell Honey Long & Prue Stent The Clittorati by Deep Sea Astronauts Doodad and Fandango Speed Gays Show Us Ya Teeth Ash Bell Spectrum perform Christine and the Queens The Love Board + more Image: George Sandman Popov.
The cities of the future won't be built. They'll be printed. Or at least that seems to be the idea, after Dubai unveiled its first office building created using a 3D printer. Located near the Emirates Tower complex, the 250 square metre building, dubbed The Office of the Future, was printed in just 17 days at a cost of around US$140,000. Now they just need to convince people it won't collapse around their ears. The building was constructed out of special cement mixture, using a custom-made printer measuring 6m by 36m by 12m in size. Only a single supervisor was required to oversee the actual printing process, although seven installers and ten electricians were needed to fit-out the structure once it had been assembled. Even so, the process represents an enormous saving in terms of labour cost, with the Dubai government saying it cut the total bill in half. "We implement what we plan, and we pursue actions not theories," said UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at the building's official opening. "The rapidly changing world requires us to accelerate our pace of development, for history does not recognize our plans but our achievements." Via PSFK.
If you've ever fantasised about amassing a seriously epic art collection you'll want to head to EuroVisions at NAS – an exhibition drawn from the enviable family collection of Lisa and Danny Goldberg OAM. The show's curatorial goal is to present a "vibrant cross-section" of the latest happenings in contemporary art, displaying the diversity, exuberance and innovation of the current European scene. So you'll see a whopping 100 works from 30 influential European contemporary artists — and by influential we mean seriously big names like Ugo Rondinone, Urs Fischer, Anish Kapoor, Sarah Lucas, Wolfgang Tillmans, Helen Marten and Rudolf Stingel. Seven of the artists on show have won the Turner Prize. You get the idea — the gang's literally all here. Also included in EuroVisions are several rising stars whose work hasn't previously been shown in Australia. Head along for the chance to directly experience these rarely seen, significant works and hey, maybe even discover a new favourite artist amongst the ones-to-watch. Image: Katharina Grosse, 'o.T', 2014
It's going to be a battle of bird and Budapest this year at the Academy Awards; the nominations for 2015 have been unveiled this morning. However, the nominations have been met with fierce criticism for a lack of diversity. The big guns at the front of the game: Richard Linklater's Boyhood nabbed six noms as did Clint Eastwood's American Sniper, but right out in front Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman each clocked up nine nominations each. Everyone's talking about the snub to Selma; the Martin Luther King Jr.-focused film missed out on nominations for lead actor David Oyelowo and director Ava DuVernay. Bradley Cooper's nomination for Best Actor in Clint Eastwood's American Sniper was another surprise, a nomination omitted from the Golden Globes. There's a few more Easter eggs in there; Jennifer Anniston missed out on a Best Actress nomination for Cake, the spot instead going to Two Days, One Night's Marion Cotillard. Guardians of the Galaxy is nominated for Best Makeup Design (#iamgroot). Christopher Nolan's Interstellar (one of 2014's most talked-about films that was tipped to possibly miss out) nabbed five nominations including Best Original Score. And Studio Ghibli's The Tale of Princess Kaguya nabbed a Best Animation nom, despite terrible box office figures and the closure of Ghibli's feature film department. And The Lonely Island's Andy Samberg was nominated for Best Original Song for The Lego Movie's Everything is Awesome'. So there's that. There's significant debate over the diversity of the Oscar nominations this year, observations that the Academy have been taking great pains to change over the years. It's been brought up by social media that all 20 of the nominated actors are white, leading to the trending Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. The Selma snubs have been constantly referenced. The dominance of white Academy voters was also pinpointed by this infographic; 94 percent of voters are white and 77 percent of these are male — black and latino voters made up just 2 percent each. Needless to say, debates are swirling webwide. All will be analysed, prodded, celebrated and scorned on February 22. AND THE NOMINEES ARE: Best Picture American Sniper Birdman Boyhood The Grand Budapest Hotel The Imitation Game Selma The Theory of Everything Whiplash Best Actor Steve Carell, Foxcatcher Bradley Cooper, American Sniper Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game Michael Keaton, Birdman Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything Best Actress Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything Julianne Moore, Still Alice Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl Reese Witherspoon, Wild Best Supporting Actor Robert Duvall, The Judge Ethan Hawke, Boyhood Edward Norton, Birdman Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher J. K. Simmons, Whiplash Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette, Boyhood Laura Dern, Wild Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game Emma Stone, Birdman Meryl Streep, Into the Woods Best Cinematography Birdman The Grand Budapest Hotel Ida Mr. Turner Unbroken Best Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman Richard Linklater, Boyhood Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game Best Original Screenplay Boyhood Birdman Foxcatcher The Grand Budapest Hotel Nightcrawler Best Adapted Screenplay American Sniper The Imitation Game Inherent Vice The Theory of Everything Whiplash Best Foreign Language Film Ida, Poland Leviathan, Russia Tangerines, Estonia Timbuktu, Mauritania Wild Tales, Argentina Best Makeup and Hairstyling Foxcatcher The Grand Budapest Hotel Guardians of the Galaxy Best Original Score The Grand Budapest Hotel The Imitation Game Interstellar Mr. Turner The Theory of Everything Best Costume Design The Grand Budapest Hotel Inherent Vice Into the Woods Maleficent Mr. Turner Best Documentary Feature Citizenfour Finding Vivian Maier Last Days in Vietnam Salt of the Earth Virunga Best Documentary Short Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 Joanna Our Curse The Reaper White Earth Best Film Editing American Sniper Boyhood The Grand Budapest Hotel The Imitation Game Whiplash Best Animated Feature Big Hero 6 The Boxtrolls How to Train Your Dragon 2 Song of the Sea The Tale of Princess Kaguya Best Original Song “Lost Stars,” Begin Again “Grateful,” Beyond the Lights “I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me “Everything is Awesome,” The Lego Movie “Glory,” Selma Best Production Design The Grand Budapest Hotel The Imitation Game Interstellar Into the Woods Mr. Turner Best Animated Short Film The Bigger Picture The Dam Keeper Feast Me and My Moulton A Single Life Best Live-Action Short Film Aya Boogaloo and Graham Butter Lamp Paraveneh The Phone Call Best Sound Editing American Sniper Birdman The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Interstellar Unbroken Best Sound Mixing American Sniper Birdman Interstellar Unbroken Whiplash Best Visual Effects Captain America: The Winter Soldier Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Guardians of the Galaxy Interstellar X-Men: Days of Future Past
Familiar Stranger at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art sets out to examine the space between memory and reality that plagues the act of returning. Featured artists Shumon Ahmed, Chun Yin Rainbow Chan, Bashir Makhoul, Veer Munshi, Shireen Taweel and Curtis Taylor draw from the familial archive and personal memory to express the constant internal struggle between what is and what was. The exhibition presents place as a space defined by uncertainty, adopting the perspective of the returnee as they seek to retrace their memories in places that have transformed. The artworks explore the idea that if you're a migrant, the idea of moving "home" becomes an implicit part of who you are — and the act of returning is an unpredictable, not necessarily joyful one. Will no doubt strike a chord with anyone who has returned home after time away and found it not what they expected it to be. Image: Shumon Ahmed, What I have forgotten could fill an ocean, what is not real never lived (2013). Polaroid photos, analogue telephone set, original soundtrack originally composed by Yusuf Khan and recited by Nader Salam. Image the artist and Samdani Art Foundation & Project88, Mumbai, India.
Sydney's CBD is getting a major dose of the Tokyo-esque practical and compact, with plans to renovate Bar Century, rebrand it as The Century, and fit it out as a three-storey, luxury capsule hotel being announced last week. The George Street institution, which closed earlier this year, has been taken over by developer Walter Guo, who is investing a massive $5 million on a full interior refurb, which will be carried out by interior design consultants Giant Design. The heritage building will retain its vintage fit-out and have a "Soho House vibe", with the bar and hotel running as separate entities. The first two levels will act as The Century's cocktail bar and nightclub, while the top three floors of the building will be dedicated to the Century Capsules. These capsules are certainly more luxe than most you'll find in Asia. Each of the 72 capsules will contain a large LED screen and entertainment system, Wi-Fi, and even 'mood lighting' (whatever that means). Guests can choose from single or deluxe beds with entry from either the side or the end of the capsule. The communal facilities include a kitchen space, breakfast bar, lounge area, rooftop terrace and individual bathrooms. If you're worried about security, don't be — each capsule is fitted with a secure lock and the security desk runs 24-hours. But let's set the record straight — The Century is not going to be a hostel, and it's not aimed at overindulgent locals that can't seem to make it back home. And while the CBD haunt may have closed because of the lockout laws — and been a central part of a huge lockout protest as a result — these new digs are not meant as a lockout solution either. "The accommodation, which is not quite hotel nor hostel, is aimed at solo travellers looking for something more private than a typical backpackers and those who want the designer hotel experience on a budget," says Christopher Wilks, an associate at Giant Design. It's set to sit well within your budget, with prices ranging from 40-60 bucks a night. Which, depending on how far from the CBD you live, could be a lot cheaper than a cab home at 1am. Sounds futuristic (for Sydney, at least), but these aren't some plans for the distant future — The Century is coming soon. Giant Design is looking at a mid to late November opening.
After an incredibly amazing day of chilling at the beach, there's nothing worse than being trolled by millions of grains of treacherous sand all throughout your car, your clothes – everything. Thanks to this event, sand dramas are a thing of the past. There's no better place to host an artificial beach than the imposing, architectural blank space at Barangaroo's The Cutaway. Dreamed up by the off-beat team at Snarkitecture, from January 7-29 (excluding Mondays) the concrete void of the Cutaway will be transformed a beach of 1.1 million balls with no sunburn, no sharks and no worries. Dive in. This is one of 15 next-level events to see at Sydney Festival. Check out the whole list.
As the dust begins to settle, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week wraps up for 2016 by opening its doors to consumers for two days only. MBFW Weekend Edition brings the glamour and buzz of trade events to the public, with a curated selection of talks, runway shows and workshops from May 20 to 21. Across the weekend, there'll be plenty to keep ticketholders busy. Presented by Jess Scully, along with fashion heavyweights Paola Alberdi, Chloe Brinklow, Lisa Messenger and Pia Muehlenbeck, FRONTRUNNERS Talk brings together some of the industry's brightest innovators for a one-off conversation to spark your imagination. Find out how to shoot like the pros with The Runway Photography Masterclass, grab a seat at one of the exclusive weekend fashion shows and learn the tips and tricks of beauty's best with a M.A.C. Technique Style Sessions. They'll even be a Blogger High Tea (hosted in Carriagework's onsite Wedgwood tea room), where you can rub shoulders with Australia's top bloggers and grab a glass of bubbly too. Kick back and grab a bite to eat in the MBFW Hub, and sneak a glimpse at the best local and international industry talent to hit Aussie shores. Image: Ginger & Smart Resort 17, MBFWA 2016, Stefan Gosatti/Getty.
Gin: a juniper spirit of botanicals, varied aromatics and oh-so-many mysteries. The gin resurgence has lasted over a decade now, with new local distilleries joining the larger, more established gin maestros — and libation aficionados everywhere, just can't seem to get enough of the stuff. But with all those G&Ts and Negronis you've been chasing around town, how much do you really know about gin? Well, we've teamed up with Tanqueray No. TEN to expand your horizon with five fun facts about gin that you (probably) didn't know. GIN IS CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL IN MODERN VERSIONS OF CLASSIC COCKTAILS From the reinvigorated Negroni to the new Tom Collins and the many versions of fizzes and slings, few spirits can match gin for mixing attributes. Let's not forget about the Martini, which classically consists of gin, dry vermouth and optional bitters, with a cheeky olive if you're so inclined. Thank the Mad Men era of Martini lunches and that roguish chap James Bond for this modern menu mainstay. But although Mr Bond favours a vodka base, Martini purists often argue that gin is the way to start this highly elegant classic, using something truly classic like the iconic Tanqueray No. TEN. Importantly, unlike 007's preference, many bartenders believe in a stirred Martini, as some consider shaking overly dilutes the gin. THE PHILIPPINES DRINKS THE MOST GIN IN THE WORLD Russia drinks the most vodka in the world and the US/Mexico drink the most tequila, but neither of these fun facts are at all surprising. What doesn't seem as obvious, though, is that the Philippines drinks by far the most gin — and when we say by far, we mean over 22 million cases of the stuff a year, accounting for 43 per cent of the global gin market. Much of this popularity is due to the long-standing presence of Ginebra San Miguel, a company that also makes the region's most popular beer and was established in 1834. Locals even have a term for these gin-drinking sessions: ginuman, literally translated as 'gin drinking time'. THE G&T ORIGINATED IN INDIA This classic bar drink was actually created in 19th century India as a combatant for malaria. The 'Indian Tonic Water', as called by the army of the British East India Company, contained high levels of quinine, which was said to prevent and treat the disease. Quinine provides the bitter flavour in today's tonic, but is completely undrinkable on its own. Since the British soldiers were already given a regular gin ration, they took to adding it to the quinine tonic, along with a mixture of water, sugar and lime, sprucing the drink up a little. It turns out quinine does not actually prevent malaria (what? no!) and so is a minor, non-curing — albeit highly effective — component in the modern G&T. GIN HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN USED FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES Apart from the G&Ts original medicinal purpose, gin itself has been used medicinally since the 13th century. This is primarily due to the presence of juniper, the main and necessary botanical in all gins. Juniper is good for you — it's a natural antibacterial, antiviral, diuretic and antiseptic. That being said, historically gin's uses weren't always the most medically sound — the Bubonic plague was considered to be spread by nothing more than bad odour, so laymen started eating, drinking and bathing in the stuff. The Royal Navy mixed gin with lime cordial to stop scurvy. If we'retalking morningafter a party, gin and tomato juice was the number one option in 1928 NYC, years before the Bloody Mary came on the scene. And that is medicine. THERE IS A LOT OF LITERATURE DEDICATED TO GIN DRINKS Gin, in all its wonder and cures, has compelled many a comment over the centuries, some of which distiller and contemporary author Jared Brown happily compiled a list of. Writer E. B. White called the Martini "the elixir of quietude", while journalist H. L. Mencken said it's "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet". In 1823, one Londoner published a 149-line poem in a newspaper praising said virtuous gin, while Winston Churchill's own love affair with gin is well documented. He's quoted as saying, "I would like to observe the vermouth from across the room while I drink my Martini." Photography by Steven Woodburn at Moya's Juniper Lounge. Still want to know more? Check out our bluffer's guide to gin.
Spring is (almost) in the air, and we all know what that means: it's time to kick back with some friends and a nice bottle of vino and enjoy a movie under the stars. We've been spoiled for choice when it comes to outdoor cinemas in recent years, and now The Greens in North Sydney is getting in on the action. Flicks on the Green is your latest destination for classic, cult and new release cinema with a little bit of lawn bowling thrown in. The film program runs Wednesday to Sundays for four weeks across late September and early October, beginning with OTT action comedy Kingsman: The Secret Service. Other recent titles include Ant Man, Trainwreck and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, while those of you looking for a dose of nostalgia can enjoy the likes of Mean Girls, Dirty Dancing and Howl's Moving Castle. The movies start at sundown, but there'll be plenty to keep you occupied until then. The recently refurbished Greens Kitchen will be open for pre-film feasts, with a lot more than just stale popcorn on offer. Nothing like slow cooked lamb or a thick rib-eye steak to put you in the mood for a screening of Jurassic World – although we can't imagine Indominus Rex would bother with the herb and garlic butter. They'll also be operating bars of both the candy and alcohol varieties, so there's no danger of you running out of things to eat or drink. Screenings on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays will be preceded by live music acts – and if you want to get really fancy, you can grab yourself a VIP ticket which gets you a bean bed in the reserved area along with a complimentary bottle of wine and box of popcorn. For more information about Flicks on the Green, go here.
Sydney has had an influx of French dining establishments of late, welcoming Hubert, Bistrot Gavroche and Bistro Guillaume in the last year. And, come this May, Barangaroo will get its very own French restaurant, Eté. It will be headed by Sydney's Drew Bolton — executive chef of Brick Lane, Seadeck and, most notably, Vine Double Bay (of which he is also co-owner) — who will take seasonality to the next level. The restaurant will hold true to Bolton's signature French-slanted, seasonal cooking — but at Eté, they'll be making seasonal changes to the interior design as well. "Not only does the food menu evolve with the seasons, but we want the aesthetics and general vibe to reflect that as well," says Bolton. "We want guests to feel really engaged with what we're trying to do — like they've stepped into another world and have escaped the city." At Eté the menu will be more overtly French than at his existing venues. This specific request came from Barangaroo South developer Lendlease, who were looking to open an exclusively French restaurant in the space — and, naturally, the team at Vine came to mind. "We've always had French influence in our food but I would never have labelled Vine as a French restaurant," says Bolton. "With this project there's definitely a gap in the market down at Barangaroo to do something a little more French and we were stoked to be asked to take it on." They've nabbed prime corner real estate on the ground floor of Tower One, just below NOLA Smokehouse and Bar. Like at Vine, they'll still be freshening up the French flavours with 100 percent seasonal and local produce, with the 20-dish menu constantly evolving. On the board right now is homemade charcuterie and seafood platters, while mains will include a whole chook cooked in a traditional, custom-made claypot in the restaurant's wood-fire oven. "It's a very traditional way of cooking and really imparts a lot of beautiful and interesting flavours to the meat," says Bolton. The seasonal concept is running through to the wine list as well, with the selection focusing on specific regions in France during prime months. "We're opening just before winter so, to start, we're doing a wine list that is centred around the Rhone Valley, because its wine is particularly great in winter," says Bolton. They're also using a Coravin, which, through a needle method, allows them to pour wine without pulling the cork or releasing any air seal from the bottle. "We'll have plenty of bottles that are a rare vintage and would be very expensive to buy the whole bottle, but you can come in here and taste one glass of a wine you may not be able to try any other way." Eté is yet another restaurant to open in the Barangaroo dining precinct, which has most recently welcomed 12-Micron, NOLA and rooftop bar Untied. Eté is set to open sometimes in May. We'll keep you updated for when an opening date is announced.
Nailing set after set this year, tenth birthday-toting Laneway Festival should over-induldge in backpats this week, having delivered one slam dunk of a festival at Rozelle's Sydney College of the Arts on Sunday, February 1. Boasting the lineup likes of Flying Lotus, FKA twigs, Future Islands, Caribou and Mac DeMarco, Laneway chose alternative big guns over superheadliners — and it paid off. Measurable magic was eeking from the Red Bull Music Academy stage with soon-to-be-huge 18-year-old Raury kicking goals, Sydney favourites Seekae crisping up the joint with their newest album material, Vienna-based multi-instrumentalist SOHN adding tiny jigs to an epic early set, Adelaide's pocket rocket Tkay Maidza straight-up nailing it and all-round wizard Jon Hopkins cranking out the last huge set of the day. Sound was a huge issue for the RBMA stage, however, with bouncing acoustics preventing anyone further back than 20 or so metres hearing little at all. If you managed to nab floorspace in the sound pocket though, you'll be singing all the praises. Parkside, the main stages had the socials on fire. Casual face-melter Courtney Barnett delivered a predictably furious set, adding another band member to her live lineup and riding the wave of hype surrounding her recent debut album announce. New Orleans-based, Jack White-praised Benjamin Booker rewarded early festivalgoers with a hugely talked-about set, and UK modern soul collective Jungle had every last tootsie moving. But the DeMarcos undoubtedly stole the show. Super-hyped drawcard Mac DeMarco swayed, pashed and crowdsurfed through his slacker-rock set, joined onstage by about twenty of his buds (including a loveably lurking Kirin J Callinan) and introduced by his mum, Agnes — who had her own lineup billing and MCed the main stages like a straight-up boss. Major pulls FKA twigs and Future Islands split the crowd, occupying the very same timetable spot and equally pleasing crowds with their respective energies. FI lead singer Samuel T. Herring brought his chest-thumping, super-charged dance moves to the Mistletone stage, while FKA twigs pulled off mass hypnosis with powerfully can't-look-away presence and unfathomably sky-high vocals. Even Raury turned up to the set, front and centre: While ATMs broke by mid-afternoon and Mary's food lines were predictably lengthy, Laneway hit it out of the park for its tenth year running (ninth in Sydney). Lastly, a shoutout to the pair who climbed to the top of the tree at the Mistletone stage for Caribou's muted thumper of a set. You freaked the fuck out of security and probably are facing charges now, but by gum you made an entire crowd unbelievably jealous. Brave. Images: Andy Fraser Words: Shannon Connellan
When your nine-to-five plays out like a well-oiled machine, it can sometimes feel like each week is a little same-same. But Sydney is brimming with a fine bounty of things to experience and explore each and every day. So aside from casual laziness and a little lack of inspiration, there's really nothing stopping you from squeezing some adventure and spontaneity into your schedule. We've teamed up with Mazda3 to celebrate the landmark 40th anniversary of their iconic small cars, and in turn, help you celebrate the little things that bring that sense of adventure to life. Shake things up, as we give you seven different detours to take each week in Sydney. From Monday to Sunday, enrich your everyday with one completely achievable activity that inspires you to take the scenic route as you go about your daily routine. This week, take a lunchtime nap class (yes, it's actually a thing), try Bennelong's Opera House-inspired dessert pre-Nick Murphy (fka Chet Faker) and take that special someone on a Sundate in Newtown. Plus, we've got your future detours sorted for the new few weeks here. All require no more effort than a tiny break from the norm — what's your excuse for not trying them all?
It's fair to say that most Australians don't know as much about Africa as we should. Even saying the word 'Africa' does a disservice to this sprawling, fascinating continent that is home to 1.2 billion of our fellow earthlings. Well, the annual Africultures Festival is here to help. A celebration of the enormous, diverse African community living right here in Sydney, Africultures will have nearly 40 of Africa's 53 independent nations represented through art, music and food. There will be two stages packed with artists, dancers and drummers, a food court with over 20 stalls, a marketplace selling clothing, fabrics, homewares, jewellery and accessories, book readings, and even a six-a-side soccer tournament — a little something for everyone. Short of travelling there, you won't get a better taste of Africa than at Africultures. And as festival director Fatma Moha points out, a trip to Western Sydney is a lot closer than a trip to Africa.
Western Sydneysiders, there's some unfathomably good cheesery coming your way. Alexandria's Salt Meats Cheese is set to open a new store in Parramatta. Modelled on the Alexandria Salt Meats Cheese store and following tomorrow's Mosman opening, the new food emporium will take over 4000 square metres of EcoWorld's huge West Village development — with SMC's beloved fromagerie, charcuterie delights, and Italian deli stylings at the ready. So why the western venture? Salt Meats Cheese co-director Stefano de Blasi told Good Food that the team were lured by a few western factors: CBD lockout laws encouraging residents to stay local, Parramatta City Council's new cash grant program for new businesses and a big boom in apartment development in the area. He sees the area as "the new Martin Place". SMC is hitting its stride since opening in 2011; the crew just recently opened their in-store shipping container pizzeria The Pizza Box, are set to open the Mosman store tomorrow and have even gone interstate with a brand new Surfers Paradise store. Salt Meats Cheese will open in Parramatta at EcoWorld's West Village development. Opening date TBC. Via Good Food.
Unless you've been leading an Ostrich-esque October with your head buried in the sand, you'll have heard the buzz about the epic lineup for Liveworks 2017 by now. To get a sense of what's in store, we chatted with performance artists Agatha Gothe-Snape and Nat Randall: two fiercely talented women preparing to bring their respective — and already highly acclaimed — shows to Carriageworks crowds for the first time. AGATHA GOTHE-SNAPE: RHETORICAL CHORUS "I'm not sure if Rhetorical Chorus is ambitious or deranged," confesses Agatha Gothe-Snape. Inspired by an encounter with renowned conceptual artist Lawrence Wiener, the piece sets Wiener's distinctive hand gestures to a musical score of sorts, which is embodied by singers, dancers, actors and musicians. Exploring the concept of the 20th century male artist — including Gothe-Snape's love for Weiner's work and her willing, polite surrender to his pontificating — the piece embraces what she describes as "a multi-layered multi dimensional conduiting of material". After a less than perfect premiere performance for New York's 2015 Performa Biennial, Gothe-Snape nevertheless felt "the inkling that something quite powerful was possible if I kept pushing the idea to its absolute limit". Since then Rhetorical Chorus has become more complex: originally an exclusively choral piece, it now crosses multiple disciplines, thanks to collaborations with composer Megan Clue, choreographers Brooke Stamp and Lizzie Thomson, performance artist Brian Fuata and the legendary Joan La Barbara. As each element develops, the source material is relinquished in favour of its own logic, shapes and images. "I love that sense of momentum and transcendence away from the original impetus of the work," Gothe-Snape explains. As for the space at Carriageworks? Gothe-Snape suggests its vastness may sharpen what she traditionally perceives as a fuzzy distinction between art and reality. "There is a quote that always echoes in my mind — 'We can only see clearly from far away — and I'm excited to experiment with a sense of distance in the work that Bay 17 and its epic scale offer." Rhetorical Chorus will take place on Friday, October 20 at 9pm, Saturday, October 21 at 3pm and 9pm and Sunday, October 22 at 7pm. Tickets are $35 and can be booked here. NAT RANDALL: THE SECOND WOMEN So here's the premise: Randall invites 100 male participants to perform opposite her as she re-enacts a scene from 1970s film Opening Night on loop over 24 hours. The whole thing is captured on camera and projected live alongside. How is such a show humanly possible? An incredible team, says Randall. Vetting of male co-stars. And zero tolerance for bad behaviour: "I'm more than happy to kick someone out if they're being a dickhead." After enthralling audiences at 2016's Next Wave Festival and this year's Dark Mofo, Randall says "there's something really intoxicating about the slippage between different realities of acting and being". The Second Woman operates on several levels, revealing everything from the nature of control to the performance of masculinity, from the endurance of the female body to the complex relationship between performance, gender, reality, and identity. Although Randall is powerfully drawn to the volatility of 'liveness', she is nevertheless bracing herself for the demands of the show's third outing. "I think every time you do it, it gets harder, because you actually know. You know how it feels. I really thought I wasn't going to make it at Dark Mofo at about 10 o'clock in the morning." But she did. Working closely with cowriter and director Anna Breckon, Randall will strive to remain "really open and really present for each exchange", maintaining a vulnerability that honours the unique energy each new male co-star injects into the space, despite her inevitable exhaustion. Like Gothe-Snape, she's eager to bring the piece to Carriageworks, which feels like home. "This is where so much of my work has been presented…it's been my stomping ground for a really long time." The Second Woman will start at 6pm on Friday, October 20 and run until 6pm on Saturday, October 21. Tickets are $15 on the door. Images: Agatha Gothe-Snape, Rhetorical Chorus; Nat Randall, The Second Woman.
Masters of late night snack fuel Ben & Jerry's have been dishing out pop culture-riffing flavours like Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yoghurt, Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream and, of course, Schweddy Balls for years. Then the masters of frozen confection go and create something called 'Free Cone Day', an annual event which defies haters. You can score an ice cream on the house, as part of the company's yearly, worldwide tradition thanking its fanbase for all the gluttonous support. On Tuesday, April 14, Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops around Australia are hosting the sixth annual Free Cone Day; scooping out free ice-cream from 1pm until 9pm. This year, Free Cone Day also marks the kick off of Ben & Jerry’s global 'climate justice' campaign, 'Save our Swirled', in Australia. WWF Australia will be hanging out on on Free Cone Day, collecting signatures to help bring attention to the need for Australia to lower carbon pollution. Suss out your nearest Scoop Shop purveyor of frozen dairy heaven here, and rock up on April 14 to claim your cone. Check out Ben & Jerry's Facebook page for updates.
If you're just catching up on things, Kittyhawk is one of the CBD's newest bars from the people that bought us The Lobo Plantation. The entire bar bases itself around the theme of the French liberation in the WWII which took place on August 25, 1944. It makes sense then that they are hosting a Liberation Day party tonight, in order to celebrate all things French, American and military. You can expect cocktails, bubbles, beers and French food available for your purchasing needs from 5pm. Kittyhawk's signature red cocktail 'Beets by Dre' will be on offer, which uses beetroot for that rich red colour. If you're not feeling so adventurous, there's no need to stress — there are over 900 other spirits on offer. The Facebook event is spruiking "A very special surprise live music act from 7pm"... Did someone say Daft Punk? Look, it's probably/definitely not Daft Punk, but on the off chance that it might be, you should probably get down to Phillips Lane and taste some of the délicieux goods on offer.
The times are indeed a-changing in Kings Cross. Alongside the tightening noose of lockout laws, many a Cross venue has been downgraded, shuffled or closed down altogether — most recently (and controversially) Hugo's. But thankfully, one of our ol' favourite spaces has been spared total annihilation and is being repurposed in a pretty excellent way — as a brand new theatre. The Kings Cross Theatre (KXT) is opening on level two of the Kings Cross Hotel, in the bones of the space that once housed beloved live music venue FBi Social (RIP) and The Bandroom (RIP). Just around the corner from The Old Fitz, the KXT theatre has seating for 75-90 and has some big ideas in terms of programming. Suzanne Millar, co-artistic director of the bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company (the team responsible for the reno) says the intention is for the theatre to be afford and accessible (great!) and produce ambitious works (even greater!). It’s a venture not just for the public to enjoy, but also for the artists to love and build up. We’re mentally fist bumping the crap out of it too — a new theatre in Sydney is music to our ears. This is a really excellent way to breathe life into a space that, like so many around it, may have fallen by the wayside if not for some TLC. And the bAKEHOUSE Theatre company are certainly capable of piquing our dramatic interest. They’ve a bundle of productions under their collective belts (including Great Expectations, multicultural smorgasbord Story Lines, Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials and The Ishmael Club) and are rigorously dedicated to diversity in casting and working with independent and innovative storytelling. In essence? We can't wait to see what they cook up — and it brings a tear to the eye to see the old FBi Social space being used for good. Find KXT on Level 2, Kings Cross Hotel, 244 - 248 William Street, Kings Cross. Stay tuned for 2015/2016 programming.
Ah, the tinnie. The refuge of the second-rate beer, right? Wrong. With improved technology obliterating the old argument that cans damage the taste of beer, more and more craft brewers are moving to the once humble can. Sometimes favoured for their retro feel, cans actually boast both a lower carbon footprint and longer shelf life than their bottled counterparts, making it likely their booming popularity will only continue rising. For many craft beer makers, the tinnie is actually an essential part of their craft; the makers of acclaimed Heady Topper urge their customers not to pour their beer into a glass, lest it lose the carefully cultivated hop aromas the can preserves. Here are ten of the best canned wonders. JAMES SQUIRE ONE FIFTY LASHES PALE ALE Named after a convict rapscallion who is believed to have created Australia’s first commercial brewery, Sydney-based James Squire produces a distinctly Australian range which has become synonymous with local craft beers. Newly available in cans, this is an approachable variety which makes an inspired addition to your next beach hang or spring picnic. With a light citrus burst and faint notes of passionfruit hitting the palate first, and the malted wheat giving it a silky smooth finish, it’s an ideal session beer. MOUNTAIN GOAT SUMMER ALE One of the first Australian craft beer makers to stock their product in cans, Victorian microbrewers Mountain Goat initially thought of doing a limited one-off run of these tinnies, but were soon overwhelmed with the response and turned it into a permanent fixture. A gold-hued ale perfect for sneaking into your picnic baskets, this offers inviting citrus and tropical aromas. With no hint of acidity, it’s an easy drinking delight and an ideal choice for the newer craft beer drinker or seasoned hop head alike. BREWDOG PUNK IPA Back in 2007, James Watt and Martin Dickie were two 24-year-olds with “scary bank loans” and a passion project selling their craft beer out of the back of a battered van. Today, they are the kingpins of a Scottish craft beer success story, overseeing more than 350 employees pumping out their abrasively flavoured brews to great acclaim. The Punk Indian Pale Ale is a must, a great introduction to their in-your-face style. Also look out for the mightily bitter Jackhammer, which is about as subtle as its name. HEADY TOPPER Ranked number 2 among all the world’s beers on the encyclopaedic Beer Advocate, Heady Topper is less a beer than a phenomenon. Initially considered unlikely to have widespread appeal, Heady Topper actually became so popular that the Vermont brewery which made it regularly had people cuing for hours and had to limit hordes of customers to one case each. It’s a complex beer with notes ranging from grapefruit to pine and spice and just about the quintessential craft beer tinnie. Image: Carter Brown. SIERRA NEVADA PALE ALE With its instantly recognisable pastoral artwork, Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale has long been warmly regarded as one of the classic craft beers. The pioneering brewery now produces over 50 varieties, but the pale ale accounts for more than half their sales. Famously using only whole cone hops, they have a commitment to quality ingredients that has produced a consistently good and almost universally liked beer. Heavy on the hops, it’s a beer that pairs well with some spicy Mexican. YO-HO TOKYO BLACK PORTER Japan is a relatively new player in the world of craft beers, having effectively legislated against microbreweries until the mid '90s. Now some 200 microbreweries have moved into a once stagnant market. One of the first breweries to spring up when the laws changed were Yoho, who have since been named Japan’s best craft beer brewery. Based in the snowy mountains of Nagano, they produce a nice variety of beers, including this rich black number which draws you in with its treacly aroma, roasty character and a head like foamy coffee. YOUNG HENRYS REAL ALE While the range of craft beers available in cans was quite limited just a few years ago, today there’s an abundance of options and this is a great example of a local take on the traditional British bitter. Made with both Australian and British malts, it’s light but flavoursome and took Young Henrys all the way from their inner west base to the International Real Ale Festival, where this bad boy picked up a gold medal. EVIL TWIN HIPSTER ALE An American Pale ale hailing from (where else?) Brooklyn, Evil Twin market this colourfully packaged beer as a homage to anyone who “feel(s) excluded because you’re hip but your city is not”. Even for those in a cutting-edge hip city, this is a very drinkable ale with some complexity to keep you interested. The colour is like a light honey, and you’ll get notes of everything from biscuits, toffee and caramel to more zesty citrus. FERAL BREWING HOP HOG IPA Credit Feral Brewing company with putting beer on the map in the fabled Swan Valley wine district. This is their most famous product, an American-style Indian pale ale with hops added both during the boil and late in the fermenting. It’s proven a hit both with the craft beer-loving public and the critics who raved about its balance and drinkability and made it the number 1 pick in their Australia’s Best Beers annual roundup. SIX STRING DARK RED IPA Like many craft brewers, Six String began as a couple of friends with a love of beer and a desire to make something better than the mass-marketed product. After lengthy battles with bureaucratic red tape, Chris Benson and Adam Klasterka were able to enlist the support of their community and set up a boutique brewery in the Central Coast. Their beers proved worth the wait. Among their staples is a dark red IPA. It’s full-bodied, really dark and really good. Top illustration by Barry Patenaude.
For the past three and a half months, Sydney's fine dining scene has sported a Quay-shaped hole, as the legendary restaurant temporary closed up shop and underwent some pretty hefty renovations. But as of this Thursday, July 19, the harbourside restaurant is back in action, showing off a complete, head-to-toe transformation — of the design, food menu and drinks, no less. This new incarnation sees Quay embracing a more interactive, individualised dining experience and dishing up plenty of surprises along the way. So what's different? Pretty much everything. Let's take a look inside. THE DESIGN While the dining room has lost 20 seats, the whole space has gained an impressive fitout by acclaimed architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, the team behind the design of some of the Fink Group's other establishments, Bennelong and OTTO Brisbane. The restaurant, now divided into smaller, more intimate dining spaces, has been rejigged to face both the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Referencing Executive Chef Peter Gilmore's nature-driven cooking, the space embraces the organic, with elements including ocean-like blue carpets, tabletops crafted from sustainable solid spotted gum, and stone detailing that conjures images of cracked bark. Above, bespoke timber work complements the existing ceiling by original designer George Freedman. Meanwhile, art-lovers will also find plenty to swoon over, including the inspiration behind Quay's logo, Bronwyn Oliver's Tide, which presides over the entrance. THE TABLEWARE The white tablecloths of yesteryear have been given the boot, in favour of showing off those tabletops — and the custom-built 'Quay Chair', by Australian designer Adam Goodrum, whose design references the pattern on the Opera House shells. As always, the Quay experience extends beyond the food to the design beneath. This time around, Gilmore has worked closely with ceramicists Paul Davies and Jacqueline Clayton (from Red Shed Studio Jam), Malcolm Greenwood and Ben Richardson on a stunning new range of bespoke tableware. Each piece has been carefully designed to best showcase a particular dish — like this stunning 'White Coral' dessert. THE FOOD While the menu is entirely new, it's grounded in Gilmore's passion for showcasing rare and beautiful ingredients. A ten-course tasting menu ($275) best captures the journey, though an abbreviated six-course menu ($210) will be on offer (from August 3) at lunch from Friday to Sunday, and at dinner from Sunday through Thursday. As with the restaurant's previous menu, Gilmore has worked closely with farmers, fishermen and artisans to source ingredients — many of whom grow, forage and create items specifically for the acclaimed chef. Newcastle Greens, for example, grew red speckled peas for Gilmore, and you'll find them on the menu served alongside miso and anchovy. Gilmore has continued to go above and beyond with his plating and creation of dishes — which is prevalent most clearly in his recreation of the humble oyster. It's an innovative dish of oyster cream, oyster frill crackling and Ossetra caviar, served in a hand-crafted ceramic shell and eaten with a mother of pearl spoon. This dish was particularly close to Gilmore's heart as he himself dislikes the texture of oyster, and wanted to recreate the mollusc with exactly the same flavours, but a significantly different bite. As expected, the famed Snow Egg dessert has taken its final bow, though the feijoa and coconut White Coral creation — made with a super light white chocolate, aerated and then frozen with liquid nitrogen — replacing it has the makings of yet another cult favourite. THE DRINKS A revamped drinks offering is showcased through four different beverage matches: a booze-free lineup called the Temperance Pairing ($95); the Round of Drinks ($110), which features a collection of brewed, fermented, distilled and blended lesser-known heroes; the Contemporary Pairing, which will see local and international wines hit your table; and the signature Quay Pairing ($125), a wide-roaming wine pairing featuring local, modern, funky and old-fashioned drops. The drinks list (if you can really call it that) was put together by a team of three sommeliers: Wine Director Amanda Yallop, Head Sommelier Shanteh Wong and Assistant Head Sommelier Seamus Brandt. If you decide to veer away from the pre-prescribed pairings, you'll have to navigate the 500-strong wine collection (backed up by 20 cocktails, nonetheless). But you won't be alone — one of the aforementioned wine aficionados will be on hand to (kindly and patiently) guide you through. Quay will reopen for dinner on Thursday, July 19, and for lunch from Friday, August 3. Reservations are now open. Images: Nikki To.
You have to hand it to the Sydney Film Festival. Putting together a program of 244 films from 60 countries isn't easy, but that's exactly what festival director Nashen Moodley and his team has done — and, they've caused many a film fan to agonise over just what to watch, too. That's understandable, given that the fest's 2016 lineup boasts big names, potential future cult classics, international award winners, Aussie premieres and everything in between. It also features films we've been hanging out to see since their Sundance and SXSW premieres, including the likes of Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World, Certain Women, The Lure, Under the Shadow and Everybody Wants Some!!. They're all on our must-see list, of course; however that's not all SFF has in store. We recommending leaving room for these ten flicks on your flexipass, and maybe contemplating a few other suggestions as well. AQUARIUS Back in 2012, a particular film got everyone talking, and it wasn't one that most expected. Roaming around a Brazilian community, Neighbouring Sounds pondered race, class and fear in a feature that was as epic as it was ambitious. Now, filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho returns with his sophomore effort, this time following a music critic resident of the seaside Aquarius building who won't sell her apartment to looming developers. It sounds like the director's second intriguing offering in a row — and it's his second entry into SFF's official competition, as well. Alternatively: If you like cinema that's audacious, cutting-edge and courageous, look no further than the rest of the competition program — they're all part of the criteria, after all. Viva stands out from the crowd, offering up an Irish-made, Cuba-set family drama about a troubled drag queen. It's already impressed film festival audiences around the globe, so a surefire bet. CHEVALIER The usual male posturing, ego-driven arguing and appendage measuring — both literal and metaphorical — takes to the sea in the latest feature to spring from Greece's new, weird wave of filmmaking, Chevalier. Athina Rachel Tsangari's follow-up to Attenberg promises yet another deadpan, offbeat delight, with its yacht-bound setting certain to heighten the absurdity on show. And even with that in mind, we still think it's safe to say that the movie is bound to veer into unexpected territory. Alternatively: Speaking of surprises, Neon Bull offers up plenty. It might appear to present a visually striking but narratively standard look at the ups and downs of rodeo life, but just like the lead character's dream of working in fashion industry, there's much more going on. CONTEMPORARY COLOR Two words: David Byrne. The legendary Talking Heads frontman takes to the stage to celebrate the colour guard: synchronised dance routines that burst with brightness, energy and movement, plus flags, sequins and glitter cannons too. He's joined by ten of America's best teams in the field, as well as Nelly Furtado, How to Dress Well, Devonté Hynes, Money Mark + Ad-Rock, and St. Vincent, too. Of course, if you've ever seen classic '80s concert film Stop Making Sense, you don't need any more reasons to watch, because Byrne's involvement in this kind of flick isn't to be missed. Alternatively: Another creative legend, and another essential documentary, this time in the form of Laurie Anderson's Heart of a Dog. The artist and musician's feature isn't your usual factual effort, though. Reflecting upon her late mother, her beloved pet pooch and her partner Lou Reed, it's as intimate and expressive as on-screen essays come. EVOLUTION The term 'dream-like' gets thrown around a lot when it comes to films that try to evoke a certain mood; however with Evolution, it's a description that definitely fits. Cult French filmmaker Lucile Hadžihalilovic creates a mysterious on-screen world solely populated by women and young boys, then charts the bristling dynamic that springs when a mother doesn't believe her son's latest tale. Favouring visual storytelling over dialogue, and emphasising a distinctive soundtrack, really is just the beginning. Alternatively: The Eyes of My Mother also ponders maternal bonds, but with a monochrome, nightmarish bent. Violence and sensuality intertwine in a film that seems the very definition of arthouse horror. FIRE AT SEA Heartbreaking tales of refugees seeking new lives aren't confined to Australia. Italian documentarian Gianfranco Rosi examines the situation on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, which Syrian migrants approach filled with hope, only to find more horror in store. As tense as it is tragic, Fire at Sea is the end result — and the winner of the Golden Bear for Best Film at this year's Berlin International Film Festival, too. Forget big-budget disaster films; this is real life. Alternatively: In Jackson Heights employs Frederick Wiseman's usual fly-on-the-wall approach to documenting one of New York's busiest and most bustling neighbourhoods, and tallies up one of SFF's longest running times for 2016 — a whopping 190 minutes — in the process. GOLDSTONE Even if Goldstone hadn't scored prime position as SFF's opening night feature, it'd be one to watch. Not only does local filmmaker Ivan Sen write, direct, edit and shoot the film, but he offers up the second instalment in the story of indigenous outback detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen). Mystery Road fans won't want to miss this thrilling follow up to one of the nation's most smart and stylish takes on the western genre, with Jacki Weaver, David Wenham and David Gulpilil also along for the ride this time around. Alternatively: SFF has plenty of local options; however catching cinema gems from the nation's past is just as important as checking out brand new features. If you haven't seen the true-crime drama that is The Boys on a big screen, then you haven't really seen it. And if you've actually never watched the David Wenham and Toni Collette–starring effort before, this is your chance to fix that — and check out an important Aussie film in all its restored glory. HIGH-RISE If there was ever an actor audiences would willingly follow into a crumbling building, it's Tom Hiddleston. In High-Rise, though, the titular setting's collapse is as much moral, intellectual and ideological as it is physical. That's to be expected given that the satirical film adapts J.G. Ballard's luxury building-set dystopian novel of the same name. And with Sightseers' director Ben Wheatley at the helm, and Jeremy Irons and Sienna Miller among the cast, expect a movie that's dark, decadent, devilish and delicious all at the same time. Alternatively: Speaking of talent no one can get enough of, Elvis & Nixon delivers the dream most of us didn't even realise we had: Michael Shannon playing none other than the King, in a dramatised version of the music superstar's real life offer to become a federal agent to protect America. Yes, really. IT'S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD At the age of 27, many aspiring filmmakers are still dreaming about shooting their first movie. Xavier Dolan has now made six, and the prolific and prodigious talent shows no sign of slowing down. Corralling a star-studded French cast that includes Léa Seydoux, Vincent Cassel and Marion Cotillard, he once again does what he does best — i.e. delves into family drama — however no two Dolan films are ever the same. And, after winning SFF's official competition with his 2010 effort Heartbeats, it should come as little surprise that the writer/director is vying for the fest's top prize once again. Alternatively: After the comic misstep that was the lacklustre I'm So Excited, Julieta marks Pedro Almodóvar's return to the moving melodramas he does best, as well as the Spanish filmmaker's 20th feature. NO HOME MOVIE In No Home Movie, Chantal Akerman prepares to say goodbye to her ailing mother. As she explores the memories of the woman who brought her into the world — a Polish Jew who survived Auschwitz — the iconic Belgian director achieves just that, but she also prompts another kind of farewell. Sadly, this intimate documentary is the filmmaker's last, with Akerman passing away in October 2015. Factual cinema rarely gets this personal, probing or loaded with both insight and sadness. Alternatively: Because one slice of Akerman's considerable cinema catalogue isn't enough, SFF is also serving up a screening of the auteur's acclaimed 1975 feature, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, which was made when the filmmaker was only 25 years old. RED CHRISTMAS Christmas and horror have always gone hand-in-hand — and while plenty of frightening festive flicks spring to mind, Australia hasn't had much to add to the fold. Enter Double the Fist director Craig Anderson with his big screen debut Red Christmas. Fighting families and flying axes feature prominently, as does the kind of take on Yuletide terror that only an Aussie could make, all focused around iconic The Howling and E.T. actress Dee Wallace. Alternatively: A Chinese murder mystery that has been compared to Twin Peaks? That's What's In the Darkness. It's also a stripped back procedural that contemplates crime, adolescence and the contemporary state of its country of origin. The 2016 Sydney Film Festival runs from June 8 to 19. To check out the complete program and book tickets, visit the festival website.
The super-adorable Finders Keepers Markets have been home to Sydney's most creative and quirky designers for more than seven years. The independent hip-fest is returning to their home at Eveleigh's Australian Technology Park for three days this April — just in time for the snuggly season (and Mother's Day). The biannual, designer-centric, come-one-come-all mini-festival has managed to bridge the gap between local market and exclusive exhibition, creating a space for independent designers to engage with the wider community. You'll be able to nab some marvellous treats difficult to find anywhere else. From bespoke leather goods to bespoke stationery, upcycled journals to upcycled bicycle parts, every stall will be a unique shopping experience that combines innovative design with grassroots feel-goodery. As usual, there will be live music, a cafe, a bar and thousands of other Sydneysiders celebrating independent art and design. Plus, it's probably the only place you can shop for Mother's Day, upcoming birthdays and your own personal gift to yourself with a glass of wine in hand while downing a Nighthawk Diner mac 'n' cheese burger. Feeling a little overwhelmed? Finders Keepers are aware this cornucopia of new design can be a little large to navigate. So this year, they've launched their own app, with interactive maps to help you find out more info about stallholders, a personal itinerary tool, and notifications to keep you looped in to what's happening on the day. You can download the app from the App Store or on Google Play. Finders Keepers will run over three days, on April 29 and 30 and May 1. Opening Friday night from 6pm to 10pm, Saturday from 10am to 6pm and Sunday from 10am to 5pm, entry is just $2 for adults, and free for children under the age of 12. For more information and a full list of designers, visit their website. Images: Bec Taylor and Dave Kan.
Just in case you needed another reason to head down to the Sydney Festival when it kicks into gear tomorrow, the gourmands at Gelato Messina, in partnership with their friends at Porteno, have put together a mouthwatering menu that needs to be seen to be believed. Operating out of the Festival Village in Hyde Park North, The Double Down Diner will be serving a rotating selection of decadent American style delicacies, absolutely none of which will be approved by your dietician. Consider it your reward for supporting the arts. After all, with close to 200 events across music, live performance and public art, you've got to get your energy from somewhere. Savoury options will come courtesy of Porteno, who are forgoing their usual Argentinean flavour for the cuisine of the good ol' U.S. of A. Chow down on cheesesteaks, gorge yourself on chilli fries and mop everything up with a plate of fried chicken and waffles. Say what you will about the American obesity epidemic, but any country that combines chicken and syrup is obviously doing something right. But it’s on the sweet side of the menu that things get really out of hand. Turns out Messina will also be serving chicken and waffles, albeit with a slightly different recipe. Their deep-fried drumstick is actually made of maple and pecan gelato, while their gravy is of the whiskey and caramel variety. Messina's take on the Royale with Cheese, meanwhile, consists of a chocolate ice-cream patty, white chocolate cheese, raspberry ketchup and passionfruit mustard, all served in a warm Brioche bun. You can also try a selection of pies, from cherry with custard ice cream and chocolate biscuit, to peanut crunch with vanilla gelato topped with a dollop of whipped cream. And in case you're in need of a tasty beverage to wash it all down, the diner has got you covered there as well. Messina spiders are made with homemade creamy soda and Tahitian vanilla bean gelato. Or you can try one of their thickshakes: banana, peanut and bacon, or pretzel and salted malt. That's right, a pretzelshake. The Double Down Dinner is open every day of the festival except for Monday, from as early as 10am until late. Now, enjoy this delicious GIF:
Cheap festival events are great. Free festival events? Even better. The Sydney Festival has done a lot in the last couple of years to up the free factor in its programming, which means you can breezily pad out your January with party-picnics, miracle swings, park yoga and other outings fun and fanciful. SEU JORGE: SUMMER SOUNDS IN THE DOMAIN 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". 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. Catch him for free with thousands of other Sydneysiders at the Domain, where food and drinks will be available from 4pm, or you can always bring a picnic. Saturday, January 10, 8pm at the Domain. PARRAMATTA OPENING PARTY Explore a different side of Sydney at the Paramatta Opening Party. Music highlights here include Australian music legend Paul Kelly in his collaborative project The Merri Soul Sounds (featuring Dan Sultan, Clairy Browne, Kira Puru and Vika & Linda Bull), The Stiff Gins, All Our Exes Live in Texas, Fez Hamadcha and Rattlin’ Bones Blackwood. Stages are scattered around Town Hall and Civic Place, as are eats and arts. The Soul of Sydney crew are throwing their famous block party or the flickering Fire Garden installation behind the library. Think old-school Festival First Night, just a little way out of the city centre. Friday, January 9, 6–11pm around Parramatta's Centenary Square. HIGHER GROUND BY MASER Home to much of the festival's music, two Spiegeltents will be anchoring the expanding Festival Village, one of the real successes of last year and a true hub for hanging out in. Also within it will be a huge-scale art work from Ireland's answer to Banksy, street artist Maser. The maze-like, colour-splashed, two-storey-high installation, called Higher Ground, is said to be "a dream come true for those who always wished they could step inside a painting", and will be the focus of everyone's Instagramming this festival (which for the first time in two years, is Rubber Duck-less). Maser will be the artist-in-residence at the Village, though as he operates in anonymity, we don't expect to see too much of him. January 8-25 at Hyde Park. Read our interview with Maser here. WATERFALL SWING "This interactive waterfall swing won’t make you wish you’re a kid again, it will make you forget you’re an adult,” wrote Techly earlier this year, after Dash 7 Design's Waterfall Swing made waves in Rockefeller Plaza and across the US and Europe. And we wouldn't be Concrete Playground if we didn't get a bit excited by a souped up piece of play equipment in the middle of the city. Waterfall Swing sends you flying towards a curtain of water that, thanks to the work of sensors, parts just before you hit it. Magic. 8-24 January at Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour. INSIDE THERE FALLS UK artist Mira Calix teams up with the Sydney Dance Company’s Rafael Bonachela for Inside There Falls, an installation combining sculpture, dance, spoken word and music. Over the past year or two, Calix has been busy in her studio, shaping vast sheets of paper into an ethereal labyrinth, which will be transported to Carriageworks for the Sydney Festival. On entering, visitors will find themselves immersed in a surreal, shimmering world, where they’ll hear snippets of poetic prose spoken by actor Hayley Atwell, strains of classical music and, every now and again, catch sight of a dancer. Even though the dancing has been choreographed, performances won’t be scheduled: it’ll be a matter of taking your chances. Sounds like the perfect, dreamy summer escape. January 8-17 at Carriageworks. SYDNEY BUDDHA Zhang Huan’s Sydney Buddha joins the Sydney Festival at Carriageworks, if only for a limited life. For this highly-anticipated work, two 5 metre-tall Buddha sculptures made of 20 tonnes of incense ash and its aluminium case, will face each other. The incense ash is collected from Chinese temples and set to disintegrate slowly within Carriageworks, acting in the same way a Tibetan Buddhist mandala works and making a stunning, complex, time-consuming artwork to be briefly enjoyed and subsequently destroyed, reminding us of the brevity of life. January 8 to March 15 at Carriageworks. YOGA IN HYDE PARK WITH LULULEMON You know where there's room to salute the sun without sweeping your arm into the solar plexus of the person next to you? The park. In particular: Hyde Park. That's where lululemon, in association with the festival, will be presenting four free yoga classes each week — Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 7.15am, and Wednesday nights at 6pm for the non-early birds. The hour-long sessions will guide you through a series of poses suitable for all levels, so you can tackle that next Sydney Festival night out in perfect alignment. January 8-23 at Hyde Park. SPONGEBOB SQUARETIMES Spongebob Squaretimes is an accident. Its maker, photographer Greg Barrett, was shooting stills in Times Square when he left the video recorder running, and when he checked, realised he'd captured a perfect miniature epic of loneliness and alienation in the big city. In it, a SpongeBob SquarePants-costumed stranger tries to attract the attention of passers-by for nearly an hour. The addition of two Pianolas playing Holt’s cult piece Canto Ostinato completes the affect. Adding to the total sense of despair, the video will be played on loop daily from noon–8pm. January 8-17 at Carriageworks BILL CULBERT AT THE NATIONAL ART SCHOOL This exhibition of new works by New Zealand artist Bill Culbert follows the success of his installations at the 55th Venice Biennale of Art in 2013. And he's got some very large-scale stuff in mind. Pacific Flotsam is a twisting forest of fluorescent tube lights and plastic containers, while Strait is a line of milk bottles pierced by a horizontal fluorescent tube. See the artist's illuminated environments at the National Art School Gallery, and consider the colour and magic that was there the whole time in something you'd thrown away. January 8 to March 7 at the National Art School Gallery (open Mon–Sat, 11am–5pm)
Ring in the Year of the Monkey sipping on whisky cocktails at a custom-built pop-up bar. Presented, appropriately, by Monkey Shoulder whisky in partnership with the City of Sydney, the bar will be open for the entire run of Sydney's Chinese New Year Festival, from February 6-21. To celebrate, we're giving away a sweet Sydney trip, so you can get up to a little monkey business of your own. Valued at $1000, this killer giveaway includes two return flights to Sydney from anywhere in Australia, two nights free accommodation, transport, and entry into the Monkey Shoulder Whisky Bar. Not too shabby, if we do say so ourselves. While in Sydney you can check out the Chinese New Year festivities, including talks, tours, exhibitions, installations, performances and one-off events. Assuming you can drag yourself away from the bar, that is. The Monkey Shoulder Whisky Bar will pop-up in Martin Place from February 6-14, before hightailing it over to World Square from February 15-21. Beverages on offer will include the Monkey's Mojito, the Monkey old-fashioned and a spin on the Pina Colada named Jungle Juice. Visitors to the bar will also receive a fortune cookie, which will hopefully predict good tidings for the year ahead. Thanks to Monkey Shoulder, we have one sweet, sweet trip for two to Sydney from anywhere in Australia up for grabs. The prize includes two return flights to Sydney from anywhere in Australia, two nights free accommodation, transport, and entry into the Monkey Shoulder Whisky Bar (value $1000). To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter and then email us with your name and address. Good luck, whiskey fiends. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
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 told Gourmet Traveller he'll be reinvigorating the Surry Hills pub in the coming months. 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 April, when they'll throw the doors wide on a pop-up version of the bar (think of it as a soft opening) with further openings announced in April. 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 classic Italian fare including some famous dishes from Terzini's Caffe e Cucina. We'll also keep our fingers crossed for Da Orazio-style pizza. The fitout will include a public bar, dining room and wine room and will be an ongoing project across the next 12 months for Terzini and his busy team. Via Gourmet Traveller. Image: Da Orazio.
If you go down to Barangaroo today, you're in for a big surprise. Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt — the legends behind Bentley, Monopole and Yellow — will be opening the doors of their latest restaurant, Cirrus. Yes, it's named after a cloud and it's dishing up super-fresh, sustainable seafood. The menu is made for sharing. Among the first offerings are Moreton Bay bugs with house-made XO, mud crab from the Northern Territory with green garlic and tarragon and the epic Cirrus platter, crowded with oysters, Skull Island prawns, cobia and honey bugs. On top of all that fish, you'll find a good selection of meaty dishes and, as is always the case with the Bentley folk, no shortage of vegetarian deliciousness. "We've been working for almost a year on the menu and it has changed and morphed along the way," said Savage, who has won SMH Good Food Guide Chef of the Year twice. "It is great for sharing and I really want people to treat it this way, so they try all types of seafood in the one meal." He recommends kicking off with oysters and moving onto starters before tucking into shellfish and a whole fish main. Sommelier Hildebrandt has put together the wine list, which specialises in seafood-friendly whites, from sparkling and Chablis to Semillon and Chenin. Hildebrandt has his palate glued to a stream of new releases and left-of-field drops created by small producers, so you can always count on something interesting. On sunny days, you'll want to nab one of the 40 outdoor seats, overlooking the harbour. There's another 100 inside, beautifully arranged by designer Pascale Gomes-McNabb, and surrounding timber tables dashed with marble and gold. She's also added a good polish to the concrete floor, brought in a 20-seater steel bar and built a spectacular wine wall. Look up and you'll see yet another Bentley signature ceiling, this time featuring hundreds of hanging rods and a flying vintage speed boat, Alvin. "We want Cirrus to be a fun place, loud, energetic and busy with an emphasis, of course, on good quality food and drinks that you would come back for again and again," says Hildebrandt. You'll find Cirrus in The Streets of Barangaroo, inside the cloud-shaped Andara building where Noma Australia used to be. It's open seven days a week for lunch from 12pm and dinner from 6pm. More info at Cirrus's website.
New York's champions of the age-old art of storytelling, The Moth, are headed our way. The podcasters, event organisers and general tale-weavers will appear at Sydney's Festival of Dangerous Ideas and the Melbourne Writers Festival and, following on from that, will be bringing regular, more intimate storytelling nights to both cities. In Melbourne, the beloved weekly podcasters are telling onstage tales around the theme of ‘Between Worlds’ at MWF. In Sydney, they'll be joined on stage by some seriously big brains for FODI. Creator of Bad Kid, Moth StorySLAM host and three-time Moth SLAM winner David Crabb will host a panel of mad chats with Korean-American author of the award-winning novel The Interpreter Suki Kim (also appearing at FODI), one half of The Wau Wau Sisters and brains behind international festival smash Asking For It Adrienne Truscott, and Sydney satirist and A Rational Fear nucleus Dan Ilic. But FODI and MWF isn't the last you'll hear from The Moth — the crew have confirmed they'll be creating an ongoing presence in Sydney and Melbourne. Expect monthly StorySLAM events, so you'll have plenty of Moth outside your daily commute. The first StorySLAM in Australia is happening on August 24 at Melbourne’s Howler and then in Sydney on September 1 at Oxford Art Factory. They're looking for storytellers — so you could be telling your tales as one of The Moth team. GET ON IT. “We already have a strong listener following in Australia for our podcast," says The Moth's artistic director Catherine Burns. "Having a permanent home in Australia is a ‘bucket list’ moment for everyone at The Moth, and we look forward to hearing all the true stories, told live from the amazing people in this part of the world.” SO MANY DATES, JUST TELL ME HOW I TRACK DOWN THE MOTH? Alright, let's break this down. The Moth: True Stories Told Live at Melbourne Writers Festival is happening at Athenaeum Theatre on August 27 at 7.30pm. Tickets from MWF. The Razor's Edge: The Moth is happening Sunday, September 6, at 6.30pm at Sydney Opera House. Tickets from FODI. The first StorySLAM is happening on August 24 at Melbourne’s Howler and then in Sydney on September 1 at Oxford Art Factory. Tickets via Eventbrite and Moshtix. Want more FODI and MWF? Get your nose in a few tomes with our reading lists over here and here. Image: David Crabb, by Christian Leonard.
Huddled around a fire, the apocalypse still fresh in their memories, a small band of survivors amuse themselves by acting out an episode of The Simpsons. Seven years later, the band are a travelling troupe, performing the episode for each outpost they pass through. A generation later, the episode has achieved almost mythical status, the story — a spoof of Cape Fear — a beacon, an example and a comfort to the people who have fashioned humanity's rubble into a primitive society. Back in the day, it was said that Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov contained the sum of all human experience. Come the 21st century, Matt Groening's pop culture behemoth is the proud usurper of that throne. Anne Washburn's play advances this argument one step further — elevating the show above the role of mass entertainer to that of a vital common language for humanity's devastated survivors. So, there's all that. But, to be honest, it also just sounds really freaking enjoyable. Image: Daniel Boud.
If you've ever wanted to ring in the new year to the sound of Aaron Carter's 'Crush On You', this is your jam. Sydney's go-to '90s dance party Rhythm of the Night is amping things up for their New Year's Eve party this year, taking over their home haunt of Goodgod Small Club with wondrous R&B bangers and dance smashes of the 1990s. This means slapbands, people. You won't find any Pitbull shit here, this party's only for '90s favourites and all the Macarena you can throw down — with Rhythm of the Night residents Levins, Ariane, G Coo, Matka and Tulett plus special guests Beni and Flexmami on the decks across two rooms. The dress code is 'totally '90s', so don your Hot Tuna denim jackets, Union Jack platforms and fake henna chokers and keep your fingers crossed for the Vengaboys at midnight. Image: Goodgod.
Since opening in 2013, The Soda Factory has become Sydney's favourite hidden, hotdog-slinging late-night bar. So it's high time the team behind it served up another. Rosie Campbell's will be opening in Surry Hills this winter, and it's bringing an early tropical breeze with it. The Experience Group's newbie will be a Jamaica-inspired rum bar with a slick, contemporary twist. Fans of The Soda Factory's industrial, mid-century fit-out, oozing with vintage charm, know to expect big things from this team. Swapping Chesterfield lounges for a more laidback, island vibe, Rosie Campbell's promises patrons the same attention to detail Soda is famous for. Discard your visions of Tiki huts and fresh coconuts with tiny floating umbrellas, however; the aim is to go beyond novelty here. It was during his second visit to Jamaica last year that The Experience Group's director Graham Cordery felt inspired to bring the best of the country to Sydney's shores. "It's going to be all the things I loved about Jamaica ... the contrasting bright colours, the vibrancy that really makes you feel alive," he says. The new bar will incorporate his own personal encounters with the culture. "It's by no means going to be a rustic island-bar look, but there will be things that I experienced while I was there ... like things people have said to me over there that might just be a quote in the bathroom or something like that." Open 11am to midnight daily, the space is designed to move from day to night, with a brunch menu, free Wi-Fi and cosy indoor seating luring us in during the day, and an impressive selection of Caribbean brews, cocktails and eats encouraging us to kick things on long into the evening. Given the overwhelming success of its big sister's East Coast flavour, Rosie Campbell's will blend traditional Jamaican classics with the tastes of the States. Although the specifics of the menu remain shrouded in secrecy, Cordery hints to appearances of everything from "Jamaican staples such as pork and chicken with a homemade jerk sauce" to "Caribbean street food with modern twists and fusions" and even "a couple of really amazing burgers". And Soda's famous crowd-pleasers haven't been forgotten. "You never know, there might be a hotdog there too," he adds. And with Cordery's past life as a DJ and events agent, live music will not be ignored at Rosie Campbell's. The plan is for the small bar to showcase live acoustic artists and the occasional pop-up event from touring international artists. So when can we swing by our new friend Rosie's? The bar is set to open on the corner of Crown and Campbell Streets, Surry Hills in early July. UPDATE, JULY 1, 2015: We've got more delicious details on Rosie's menu for you, and the good news is the joint's open for brunch, lunch and dinner. Rosie Campbell's head chef Adrian Poon has created a bold, spicy menu with Jessica Sly (formerly of Rockpool Consulting). So what's cookin' already? Sitting at the top of the menu is Rosie's jerk pork dumplings (!), signature jerk chicken, a softshell crab burger and the formidable Brunch Burrito. For the sweet tooths, there's Rosie's Pancake Stack and the Caribbean Mess with ginger cookies and rum caramel. Just came to Rosie's for a tipple? Winner of 2014 ‘Legend Of The Year’ at the Bar Awards, Mike Enright has picked around 50 bottles of imported rum for the bar (including gems from Cuba and the Caribbean islands), and you'll find locally brewed beer — Rosie’s Pale Ale and Rosie’s Golden Lager — on tap. Set to open in early July, Rosie Campbell’s will be open from 11am to midnight Tuesday to Sunday, and 5pm to midnight on Mondays. Dinner bookings for groups over six people are open from Monday, July 13.
Timing is everything and Sydney's newest terrace bar/restaurant has arrived ready for summer. Hamish Watts and Ben Carroll, the duo behind Applejack Hospitality Group, have now added a fourth venue to their collection that includes the ever-popular Bondi Hardware, Kirribilli's The Botanist and SoCal in Neutral Bay. Opened last night and named The Butler, the moniker of this new addition to Potts Point pays homage to Butlers, an earlier restaurant on the same site, as well as nearby Butler stairs leading down to Woolloomooloo. Taking full advantage of its elevated position, The Butler offers Sydneysiders the rare but wonderful option of a panoramic terrace, a lush oasis that showcases a stellar view of the city skyline. Inside, intricate illustrations of exotic flora cover the walls, while cane chairs and camel-coloured leather banquets add to the eclectic French colonial vibe. But The Butler isn't only all just views and chic décor — the menu, designed by the group's executive chef James Privett, promises to be equally impressive. Inspired by both French and Caribbean flavours, you'll find boudin noir next to charred sweetcorn, Lyonnaise sausage rolls with rum and pineapple relish and black bean boulettes with couscous. Summery seafood options abound, including the Tabasco prawns with mango salsa and coconut quinoa, and there's plenty for the gluten-free and vegetarian — we're talking jerk tofu with chilli salsa and broccolini. A creative menu demands an equally creative drinks list and The Butler has you covered with an extensive range of French wine and champagne as well as more familiar Australian favourites. Alternatively, ask one of the barmen sporting jaunty neck ties to mix you an 'Air France' or 'La Mule' cocktail — or opt for the large carafes to share. Find The Butler at 123 Victoria Street Potts Point, open Monday – Tuesday 4pm-11pm, Wednesday – Saturday 12pm-12am and Sunday 12pm-10pm.
Cybershaming and cybersexism, drug addiction and neurology, the 'extreme centre' of politics, climate change and capitalism, robots and unemployment, and sugar. They're all on the programme for the seventh incarnation of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas. Coming to the Opera House over September 5–6, this year's event will be bringing us a stack of Damn the Man activists, provocative authors and controversial intellectuals from all over the world — with Canadian No Logo author, social activist, and filmmaker Naomi Klein, freed journalist Peter Greste, and The Men Who Stare at Goats author, journalist and NPR regular Jon Ronson just three of the big guns on the bill. Returning to Sydney, Ronson will flesh out his new book So You've Been Publicly Shamed in a talk on 'Shame Culture', while Klein explains the ideas behind her new book This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. Culture. Then, Greste will deliver his first big public talk since being imprisoned in Egypt with two other Al Jazeera English journalists, a talk dubbed 'Journalistic Freedom'. DIETLAND author Sarai Walker will be sticking it to fat shaming in 'Radical Fat Acceptance', while American journalist and Fast Food Nation/Reefer Madness author Eric Schlosser will be unpacking his latest book Command and Control, which digs deep into America's nuclear arsenal secrets. Israeli director, screenwriter and writer Gideon Raff (who created Israeli series Prisoners of War and its US adaptation Homeland) will be talking about the responsibilities of film and television when using 'real life' events in their storylines. British Pakistani writer, journalist, and filmmaker Tariq Ali will present a talk on 'The Twilight of Democracy' (focused on Greece no doubt). The Economist's international section editor Dr Helen Joyce will take you through the publication's controversial right-to-die campaign, and Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Rise of the Robots author Martin Ford will delve into the not-so-distant future in 'Hello Robots', discussing the possibility of a robot economy and subsequent jobless future. And beloved NYC podcast storytellers The Moth will make their first Sydney appearance for FODI onstage. FODI's not just about keynotes and solo speeches, with a panel program set to fire up some furious debate on the Opera House stage. Controversial I Quit Sugar writer Sarah Wilson will chair a healthy eating-focused 'Big Sugar' panel with That Sugar Film creator Damon Gameau and executive manager of the Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC) Jane Martin. Alongside her own talk about the hactivist group Anonymous, academic and author Gabriella Coleman will take her online expertise to the 'Cybersexism' panel with powerhouse writer Clementine Ford and Penny Red/Unspeakable Things author Laurie Penny, and Seoul-born, New York-living writer Suki Kim will lead the hard-hitting 'Inside North Korea' panel, with Michael Kirby and Anna Broinowski. And that's just the tip of the iceberg for the 2015 Festival of Dangerous Ideas, for the full program head over here. FODI runs September 5–6 at the Sydney Opera House. FODI multipacks will go on sale Monday, July 20. Single tickets will be available to the general public from Wednesday, July 22 from the website. By Jasmine Crittenden and Shannon Connellan. Images: FODI, Daniel Boud.
