Alaskan-bred, Portland-based indie foursome Portugal. The Man will be hitting the road for an epic string of Australian dates this November. We're talking a whopping 25 shows — and all free. Presented by Corona Extra, the tour kicks off in Western Australia on October 31 and travels through Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria before finishing up in Melbourne on November 30. With seven albums under their belt — including their most recent, Danger Mouse-produced, 2013 album Evil Friends — and playing up to 200 shows a year since they started, Portugal. The Man aren't ones to shy away from a long touring stint. They're big ol' festival favourites, making highlight lists at all the big guns from Coachella, Lollapalooza to Laneway Festival and Splendour. After their huge US tour wraps up, the foursome are going to bring their psychedelic, indie outdoorsiness to Australia's snuggly pubs and bars. Corona's last epic Australian tour saw Sydney's beloved Cloud Control hit the road for an unfathomable amount of free shows, so we'll see how the Portland locals go with such a schedule. Get along, burl out 'Got It All', 'Evil Friends' and 'So American' like you're front and centre for a P.TM festival set. It's freakin' free. New South Wales dates: Saturday, 15 November — Hotel Brunswick, 4 Mullumbimby St, Brunswick Heads at 3.30pm, then Beach Hotel Crnr Jonson & Bay St, Byron Bay at 7.30pm. Sunday, 16 November — Park Beach Hotel, 84 Ocean Parade, Coffs Harbour at 5pm. Friday, 21 November — Towradgi Hotel, 170 Pioneer Rd, Towradgi at 7.30pm. Saturday, 22 November — Bucket List, Shop 1, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Pavilion, Bondi at 2pm, then Manly Wharf Bar, East Esplanade Shop 19, Manly at 10pm. Sunday, 23 November — Watsons Bay Hotel, 1 Military Rd, Watsons Bay at 3.30pm, then Old Joes, Crnr Kingsway & Erouera Rd, Cronulla at 8pm. All tour dates are 18+ only and free entry. More info here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=EITwxJrZKj0
Following the announcement of Nils Frahm's return to Sydney, electronic classical music fans have plenty to salivate over this week. Minimalist, ambient electro-acoustics will bring in 'The Four Seasons' this Spring, the legendary Max Richter is set to make play his first ever Australian show. One of the most influential composers in recent times, the German born, British neoclassical mastermind is set to present the Australian premiere of his celebrated reworking of Vivaldi's masterpiece, 'The Four Seasons', with New York City's 22-piece Wordless Music Orchestra. Following a sold-out Royal Albert Hall show showcasing his seminal 2002 album Memoryhouse, the 48-year-old composer is heading to Sydney on Sunday, November 23 to present both his recomposition of Vivaldi's masterwork and his own sparse 2010 album, Infra — an expansion of his poignant, ambient score composed for a Wayne McGregor ballet once staged at the Royal Opera House. Following piano and synthesiser studies under the great Luciano Berio and ten years with the neo-classical quintet the Piano Circus, Richter has been long-celebrated for countless projects including 2004's Tilda Swinton collaboration, the spoken word full-length album The Blue Notebooks, alongside reams of cinematic scoring to films like Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Clint Eastwood's I. Edgar. "Max is someone we've wanted to have perform here for a very long time and to be able to present this vivid, fresh, mesmerising and precise composer performing his Vivaldi The Four Seasons Recomposed with the vibrant restlessness of the Wordless Orchestra from NYC is something of a dream come true for us," said Ben Marshall, Head of Contemporary Music at Sydney Opera House. The pairing is a solid catch for the Opera House (presented as part of Music at the House), with the Wordless Music Orchestra set to perform Jonny Greenwood's world premiere performance of his There Will Be Blood score in New York City in September. Originally premiered at London's Barbican Centre in 2012, Richter's Vivaldi, The Four Seasons Recomposed apparently discarded 75% of Vivaldi's original material, with Richter using the remainder to loop, phase and rework into a postmodern, minimalist triumph — one that topped the iTunes classic chart in the UK, US and Germany. It's an exciting time for Sydney-based, contemporary classical fans with a love for electronic innovation. "Every now and then when programming music it becomes clear that something new and significant is emerging. There is currently a strand of rigorous, talented and acclaimed contemporary classical composers who are as comfortable with electronics as they are with formal composition," said Ben Marshall, Head of Contemporary Music at Sydney Opera House. "The Opera House has been proud to present the Australian debuts of Nils Frahm and Ludovico Einaudi in this area and we are absolutely thrilled to now welcome Max Richter's first ever performance in this country." Image credit: Yulia Mahr. https://youtube.com/watch?v=qTapNp-31rU
If you're one of those fancy, fancy people with more Christmas party invitations than actual days on the calendar, you're going to need a good few outfits this December. Sure, you could crank a horrific reindeer jumper worthy of Seth Cohen to each one, but we've got something fancier for you to throw on. Formidable fashion duo, Romance Was Born, have made their mark as the go-to for party showstopper pieces. Just in time for Christmas, they're having a gargantuan sale, selling items from their RWB Spring '14 collection, Tripsy Gypsy, for anywhere between 30 - 50 percent off. That's some pretty epic discounts for some pretty epic threads. Nab special edition pieces straight from the archives, whether for your own glorious wear or for a hit-it-out-of-the-ballpark Christmas gift. But be prepared to get there early, this is some shiny, shiny must-have gear we're talking here. And be civil to each other, no hair-pulling, shirt-ripping etc. etc. Image: Zan Wembley.
If you like your tunes a little off-centre, extra crisp and wholly unconventional, OutsideIn is your jam. Locked in to be held over three levels at Manning Bar in the University of Sydney, boutique music festival, OutsideIn, cooked up by Sydney touring and management agency Astral People and record label Yes Please returns for its third instalment on Saturday, November 29. Forecast to sell out like its 2012 and 2013 events, OutsideIn will spread its super solid lineup over three stages. Enough chatskies, who's on the bill? Headlining the bunch, '90s US hip-hop legends The Pharcyde are sure to draw the surefire nostalgics. Sydney's beloved electronic trio Seekae will crank out tracks from their recently-released album alongside Germany's Pantha Du Prince and America's Giraffage. Rounding things out with some solid '80s synth and the best hair in Australian music right now, Melbourne duo Client Liaison are sure to pack out their stage, while fellow Melburnian partystarters Cut Copy promise to crank a DJ set. Then there's legendary Chicago house DJ/producer Roy Davis Jr and US R&B/housemaster Brenmar, alongside Melbourne’s Noise In My Head, Adelaide’s Late Nite Tuff Guy, and Sydney's own Collarbones, Chris Barker and Basenji. Keeping the beats rolling from a kickass program at Splendour in the Grass this year, Red Bull Music Academy will dominate one of the three OutsideIn stages; with UK garage legend Wookie, US fancy dancer DJ Spinn, Four Tet-produced MC Rome Fortune (US), Jubilee (US), Fishing, Guerre, Black Vanilla and local favourites Preacha & Moriarty, with Aussie RBMA alumni Sui Zhen, opening the stage. To the DJ roundup, OutsideIn have booked some serious house-loving, party-inducing talent this time around. Melburnian Tornado Wallace and Plastic World’s Retiree join local Astral People kids Andy Webb and Ariane. One of Sydney's genuinely top notch festivals, OutsideIn is back for another year of beats-you-may-have-missed and downright shindigging. FULL 2014 LINEUP: The Pharcyde (US) Seekae Cut Copy (DJ set) Pantha Du Prince (GER) Giraffage (US) Roy Davis Jr (US) Client Liaison Basenji Brenmar (US) DJ SPINN (US) Tornado Wallace Collarbones Late Nite Tuff Guy Wookie (UK) Rome Fortune (US) Fishing Jubilee (US) Guerre Black Vanilla Retiree Sui Zhen Noise In My Head Preacha Andy Webb Moriarty Ariane Chris Barker
Fans of tequila and mezcal, start loading up on salt and lemon. The biggest agave conference ever held in the Southern Hemisphere is about to be held in Sydney this March, the brainchild of Phillip Bayly, owner of Sydney's now-closed tequila institution, Café Pacifico. Held over March 22 and 23 in Darlinghurst, Agave Love is a colossal, two-day conference and networking event for bartenders, growers, producers and all-round agave enthusiasts. In a flurry of masterclasses, mixology sessions, talks, tasting sessions and tequila parties, Agave Love is one epic attempt to raise celebratory spirits like tequila to a higher shelf than shitty hens parties. Some of Sydney's best watering holes are to act as conference 'venues' for AL: The Cliff Dive, Shady Pines, The Winery, Hello Sailor, Casoni, Low 302 and Mr Moustache in Bondi. The team are expecting over 2000 people to attend, from bar owners to liquor industry reps and us lowly tequila-lovin' plebs. If you're after information on the day, the whole thing is set to hinge around a festival info hub dubbed 'Agave Central', stationed inside the National Art School from noon to 5.30pm on Sunday, March 22. If you're one for free samples, inside the hub you'll be able to sample and trade (yep, trade) over sixty tequilas and mezcals. There's also going to be a 'Margarita Brunch' with two official tequila ambassadors. Sure, everyone's going to be there for 'research' reasons. "The idea for Agave Love is to educate and recognise the rich cultural history of the agave spirits including the denomination of origin — tequila, mezcal and including other spirits like raicilla and sotol," says Bayly. "Agave Love is an opportunity to spread my love and passion for all things agave, a plant that dates back some 12 million years and has a history as an alcoholic beverage that dates back to Pre Columbian times. “This is about category not brand, with a focus on educating lovers of agave spirits and introducing it to people who have either never tried it or have had bad experiences, usually with ‘false’ or cheap versions of these unique spirits." Image: Mr Moustache.
It's extraordinary that with only one film to his name, Zach Braff's directorial style became instantly recognisable. Perhaps because it was so influential, his popular 2004 film Garden State quickly became the shorthand for a certain type of independent film with a checklist of insta-clichés: a manic pixie dreamgirl who rouses a sullen lead out of his ennui; droll metaphorical imagery (a shirt that looks just like the wallpaper!); profundity in the mundane (a big hole in the ground that represents in the infinite abyss!); a carefully considered collection of melodic indie songs on the soundtrack (The Shins! Coldplay! The Shins!). It's odd that with such a big success under his belt, Braff took ten years to make his follow-up. Difficult second album syndrome? Perhaps. But in doing so, Garden State has calcified in our shared cinematic memory as a sub-genre unto itself; for Braff's second film to have any chance at all, it would have to shake off all the tropes that are now synonymous with his name and do something drastically different. It does not. In fact, aside from the fact that Braff is now looking at the problems faced by rich white actors in their 30s (as opposed to rich white actors in their 20s), his new film Wish I Was Here plays like a biting parody of Zach Braff. All the hallmarks of Garden State are present, and what should, in a more just world, be considered an authorial style, now feels like a failed attempt to recapture a movement and a mood that expired years ago. Much has been made of the fact that Braff turned to crowdfunding to raise the budget that he could have so easily raised with a studio; famously, he feared interference from the suits and wanted to make his own vision. Perhaps some interference might have been a good thing. But this path is only galling in light of the journey of Wish I Was Here's characters: wealthy people who need slightly more money asking for charity. This is hardly an exaggeration. The film's story — which I'm now only getting to at the tail end of the review — follows a failed actor who is still trying to follow his dreams despite the fact that he has responsibilities to his family. His father, stricken with cancer, needs to pay for his own treatment, and so can no longer pay for his grandchildren's expensive religious education. This is the inciting incident that's meant to inspire sympathy, but the stakes are so low and so unrelatable to the average moviegoer, that the film is crippled from the outset. It's so poorly judged, few changes would be needed to turn it into an all-out pastiche; Not Another Zach Braff Movie, if you will. Both Braff's character and his on-screen brother (Josh Gad) are manchildren who essentially learn that the women in their lives will continue to support them so long as they persist in their manchildish ways. The "lessons" learned at the end feel superfluous and unaffecting, despite what the last shot tries to tell us. The brother's storyline is the most baffling, and possibly the worst idea in a film full of poor choices. I wanted to like this film. I really did. For all that it now represents, I still hold a soft spot for Garden State, and I like Braff as both an on-screen performer and a filmmaker. As a director, he has a keen eye; it just failed him horribly here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=XWZWJtHrG4U
Sunday sleep-ins are for the weak. Especially when the alternative is an uber-refreshing workout followed by morning market strolls on Sydney's most Instagrammable beach. Dedicated to improving women's health and encouraging more people to get active, Active Nation Day is in its third year and 2014 marks its global debut. An initiative of activewear brand Lorna Jane, the day puts a focus on physical and mental health. Get there bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and in your finest fluoros at 8am for a free 45-minute 'Move' class that combines the best bits of aerobics, body strength and yoga to start a spring Sunday morning at Bondi Beach the right way (if there ever was a wrong way...). As your reward, hit the food markets (9am - noon) for all the nut milks and refined sugar-free goodies you can handle. Or just sleep in and do the food market bit just the same.
The Sydney Rides Festival, now in its fourth year, is about so much more than cycling. From October 11-25, the city will transmogrify into a kind of two-wheeling utopia. There’ll be bike-inspired art shows, free pedal-powered smoothies, complimentary breakfast and coffee for cycle-commuters, a checkpoint challenge offering loads of prizes, public talks about cycling history in The Netherlands and much more. Whether you’re a riding addict who doesn’t leave home without your bike or a newbie who’s hesitant about taking the plunge into traffic, there’ll be something for you. And to cap it all off, there’s the grand finale: the first ever Sydney Rides the Night event. At the end of the action-packed fortnight, thousands of cyclists are expected to gather at Mrs Macquaries Point for a nocturnal mini-festival within the festival. Between 6pm and midnight on October 25, a 2.5-kilometre course, starting at The Domain and extending along Mrs Macquaries Road, will be illuminated with installations and special effects, creating a kind of surreal adventure with the Harbour as a backdrop. Attendees will be welcome to ride the loop as many times as they like. At the same time, Mrs Macquaries Point will be transformed into a free outdoor party. So, before, after and in-between rides, participants will be able to hang out on outdoor couches watching short films on a big screen, sample fare from a herd of gourmet food trucks, kick back to live DJs and get involved in a silent disco hosted by Today FM. For anyone who doesn’t have their own bike, there’ll be plenty available for hire, including several of the electric variety. And, if you’re wondering how your fitness levels are travelling, you’ll have a chance to find out. “The National Institute for the Experiential Arts are also coming along,” explains City of Sydney marketing manager for cycling James Adams. “They’re setting up an installation, where there’s a stationery bike, which people can pedal. There’ll be a projection of their ride, as well as biometric data, like temperature and heart rate.” Sydney Rides the Night is the first event of its kind for, not only Sydney, but Australia, too. “It’s not just about the bike,” Adams explains. “It’s also about the experience. It’s for people who ride all the time and for those who are new to it. On our Facebook page, we’ve had lots of people commenting that they’ll get their bikes out and fix them up. Hopefully, this will then lead to them riding more often or even commuting to work. Sydney Rides the Night and the festival are all about stimulating interest and encouraging cycling culture in Sydney.”
All The Feels are about to return to Sydney; German pianist and electronic mastermind Nils Frahm is heading back to the Opera House. Following his wildly talked-about, sold-out Vivid LIVE debut this year, the 31-year-old composer will play an intimate show in the Studio on Sunday, 12 October. The Opera House set is locked in after Frahm's Melbourne Festival stints in the Foxtel Festival Hub on October 10 and 11. "Nils Frahm was one of my highlights of Vivid LIVE this year and while we rarely present the same artist again so soon, I jumped at the chance to have him back in here," said Ben Marshall, head of contemporary music at Sydney Opera House. Frahm respects the keyboard like nothing else; the virtuoso has been likened to a Philip Glass-meets-Thelonious Monk style of piano-loving goodness. The Berlin-based serial collaborator has worked with the dreamy likes of Ólafur Arnalds and Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld, as well as Ludovico Einaudi, Anne Müller and Max Richter. His most recent album, the celebrated live LP Spaces, is a good place to start if you haven't delved into the Frahm before — an epic two year journey through his collected live performances. https://youtube.com/watch?v=dIwwjy4slI8
Those Wachowski siblings certainly know what they like. Building intricate worlds, diving into stylised sci-fi, and exploring capitalism and control are at the top of their list, served up with dashes of action and a sense of humour. The Matrix trilogy, their Speed Racer manga-to-TV-to-film adaptation and the period-spanning Cloud Atlas all followed this pattern. Now, with their passion at its most dazzling, it’s Jupiter Ascending’s turn. Once more, Andy and Lana Wachowski write and direct a tale of an innocent learning that life isn’t quite what they think. Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) is a house cleaner unhappy with her lot yet unprepared for her destiny, particularly when a medical procedure for cash is interrupted by an attack by otherworldly creatures. Ex-military fighter and human-wolf hybrid Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) saves the day but also delivers strange news. It seems Jupiter is the key to a family feud over property and resources between wealthy, greedy, wannabe-immortal alien beings, courtesy of genetic reincarnation. That can’t be good. If the narrative sounds a bit messy, that’s because it is. Storytelling is far from Jupiter Ascending’s strong point, despite relying upon staple themes and familiar plot points. Though they remain masters of their own universe, the Wachowskis aren’t afraid to nod to other movies and classic tales, mashing up The Fifth Element, Star Wars, Dune, Brazil, Cinderella and more. It’s an awkward mix of imitation and originality, and it shows. The filmmakers certainly don’t take the most direct route in making everything plain, either, clearly relishing the chance to spend as much time in their brightly coloured realm as possible. In keeping with their back catalogue, they throw everything they can into Jupiter Ascending: bees that can detect royalty, an extended bureaucracy gag, an over-the-top wedding and an unrelated — but no less goofy — romance included. Narrative coherence be damned. Of course, part of the joy of watching a Wachowski-made movie comes from seeing them run with their particular brand of indulgent, existential fantasy on a grand scale, which they do here with aplomb. Marvelling at the scenery and the style is a given, and while spectacular special effects-driven sights, chaotic choreography and more than a few frenetic flights and fights can’t patch over the clumsiness of the story, they certainly help. Luckily, the cast knows exactly what kind of film they are in, and play their parts perfectly in tone, if not polish. Content to drift around a space soap opera, Eddie Redmayne is worlds away from Oscar nominations, but he’s clearly having fun as the pouting, sneering bad guy. Tatum does his usual beefy, brooding but slightly comic thing (sometimes without his shirt off), and though Kunis has to play it blank and straight in contrast, her transformation from doe-eyed to determined works. Even a stern-faced Sean Bean looks like he’s having a good time — and if you’ve seen how his film and TV appearances tend to turn out, you’ll know that’s rare. Perhaps, just like the audience should be, he’s just happy going with the Wachowskis' sometimes silly, always fascinating flow.
The Central Coast's truly underrated, sustainable and naturally stunning festival Mountain Sounds is set to return for another year. Heading back to the pretty, pretty spot of Mount Penang Parklands in Kariong, Mountain Sounds has locked in Saturday, February 21 for its 2015 instalment. And the lineup is some seriously applaudable biznatch. Headlined by Splendour in the Grass favourite and Castlemaine local D.D Dumbo, simmering Adelaide newbie and airwaves-dominator Tkay Maidza, loud-as-blazes Brisbane dudes DZ Deathrays, Danny Harley-steered, electronic project The Kite String Tangle, L D R U and Yahtzel's beat-dropping team-up Carmada and perpetually holidaying outfit The Griswolds, the festival lineup also sees the likes of Jinja Safari's whimsical Pepa Knight, ever party-starting crew Northeast Party House, Soundcloud whiz kids SAFIA, croony newbie Daniel Lee Kendall and offensively talented young'un East among others. MOUNTAIN SOUNDS 2015 LINEUP: (alphabetical order) Alison Wonderland Carmada Daniel Lee Kendall D.D Dumbo DZ Deathrays East The Griswolds Hatch The Jungle Giants Kilter The Kite String Tangle Luke Million Northeast Party House Pepa Knight SAFIA Tkay Maidza Tropical Zombie PLUS Coda Harper Lemond Ratlife DJs Stephane 1993 Sydney Social DJs Zavier Last year's festival saw Midnight Juggernauts, Ball Park Music, Emma Louise, Sticky Fingers, Jinja Safari, LDRU, and Cosmo's Midnight among others (including a farewell to Snakadaktal). Local strummers should get their demos ready too, as a state-wide competition is set to be launched in the coming weeks to give one live band and one electronic act the chance to play alongside Australia's hyped up artists. Giving a high five to the environment once more, the locally-founded Mountain Sounds is again set to take great care in minimising the environmental impact and carbon footprint of the festival. There'll also be silent discos and campsite parties curated by the team, who all grew up on the Central Coast. With tickets on sale now and sitting around 80 beans, this is an end-of-summer festival worth the measly dosh for. Mountain Sounds Festival is on Saturday, February 21 at Mount Penang Parklands, Kariong, NSW. Tickets and more info available over here. Image: Voena.
What happens behind our neighbours' closed doors after dark? As twilight falls in Bankstown in Sydney's west, visitors are invited to glimpse the experiences as well as the very homes of those living in the neighbourhood, with collaborative performances from Australian and international artists which showcase the realities of suburban life. Spread over four hours, Sydney Festival's Bankstown:Live is an immersive selection of theatre, film, audio and animated works curated by Urban Theatre Projects' Rosie Dennis. Long-term residents of Northam Avenue in Bankstown have offered their homes – and their stories – to the audience, including a Macedonian family who emigrated to Australia more than 30 years ago, and 81-year-old David Cranston, who still lives in the same home as he did while growing up in Sydney. Watch artist Alwin Reamillo build and carry a bamboo hut on the streets, and Joanne Saad's series, Family Portraits, a series of intimate photographs of contemporary daily life. Among the other works presented will be Michael Mohammed Ahmad and Janice Muller's performance adaptation of a story of a Muslim family seeking asylum in Australia, a documentary on Indigenous women and motherhood, a performance by local dancers, animated short films, songs performed by musician Toby Martin and audio works by local writers and residents.
As you'd expect, The Red Rattler will be catapulting us into the Australia Day Long Weekend with a shindig that has little to do with flags, barbies and monosyllabic chants. In fact, The Subconscious Restaurant Magazine Launch Party is all about #smashingborders — of any kind. The inspiration for the celebration is the launch of the third edition of the Subconscious Restaurant, an art magazine published by White Fungus. Heading up the party will be sound performance artist Betty Apple, who's a star of the experimental live art scene in Taiwan, where she lives. She'll be joined by two locals: imagination-stoking costume-performance artist Justin Shoulder and influential sound artist Lucas 'Granpa' Abela, whose achievements include "drag racing the Pope across the Sydney Harbour Bridge" and recording "chance John Peel sessions with the Flaming Lips". Meanwhile, a multicultural experimental music extravaganza will be happening, with five DJs from Sydney, Tokyo and Taiwan: QU-zen (Sydney), DJ Meta Etcetera (Sydney), DJ Sveta (Sydney), Jimi Mased (tripple nipples Sydney/Tokyo) and Smile Buddha aka Chaos (Taiwan). They'll be spinning tunes until 3am.
Trivia gods Shag (FBi Radio) and Al Griggs (Palms, Straight Arrows) will take on the noughties at April 8's edition of Goodgod music trivia. So if you weren't stalking Britney Spears when she executed her transition to skinhead, following Beyonce and Jay-Z when they put a ring on it, watching the rise of Arctic Monkeys or listening to Arcade Fire, it might well be time to hit the books. It was also the decade in which the internet took over, hip hop hit its commercial high, Robbie Williams signed the biggest music contract in British history (a whopping $157 million number with EMI) and we lost Michael Jackson. Goodgod trivia is free to enter and takes place in the Front Bar from 8pm. Winners score both major and minor prizes. Get there from 5pm to prepare with a Belly Bao steamed bun feast.
Nick Cave is embarking upon a tour of Australia and New Zealand in November and December this year, and unencumbered by new releases, he'll be playing a wide selection of classics that stretch right back into his 30-year catalogue. Unlike Cave's 2013 Push the Sky Away tour with featured his much-loved band The Bad Seeds, this will be a rare solo outing. Prepare yourself now — you're probably going to cry when he plays 'Into My Arms'. Cave's epic tour comes fresh after the run of 20,000 Days on Earth — a fictional documentary (just go with it) about this legendary musician. We enjoyed this 90 minutes of one-on-one time with the artist so much we even named the film one the best at this year's Sydney Film Festival. Now we get to make this alone time a reality; just like in the cinema, this tour will be you and Nick Cave (and a bunch of strangers) in the dark.
Cleveland-based, alt-punk trio Cloud Nothings is set to head our way this week, armed with brand new album Here and Nowhere and ready to play Meredith Music Festival — as well as a bunch of sideshows. Since starting out jamming around singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi's basement, Cloud Nothings' trademark sound has become bigger, bolder and more powerful; nostalgic in its references to the Buzzcocks, Husker and Blink-182, yet very much its own thing. It's been an unexpected year for Cloud Nothings. After moving from a quartet to a trio in early 2014 (former guitarist Joe Boyer can't actually leave Ohio for legal reasons), the band's blistering live shows — including recent appearances at Pitchfork Music Festival and Primavera — have played a huge role in boosting their fanbase. In fact, you'll probably want to nab yourself a ticket super-fast: their 2013 Australian tour was a sell-out. In addition to Meredith, Cloud Nothings will play Sydney's Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday, 10 December, supported by Palms and Bed Wettin' Bad Boys; Melbourne's Corner Hotel on Thursday, 11 December, supported by Palms and Power; and Brisbane's The Zoo on Sunday, 14 December.
What happens when you throw a rotating roster of 10-15 of Brisbane's biggest shredders and wailers in a studio together and let the music sort itself out? The super slick, self-titled debut from garage-pop powerhouse Velociraptor, an album oozing with snappy beats and boundless swagger (released August 15 via Dot Dash/Remote Control). To celebrate their debut LP — their first release since 2012's The World Warriors — Velociraptor are hitting the road, set to make a pit stop at Sydney's Newtown Social Club. This is your best chance to get amongst the catchy crooning of frontman Jeremy Neale in the flesh, with lead singles 'Ramona' and 'Sneakers' guaranteed to be crowd favourites on the night. With support from Bloods, Spookyland and Paul Conrad, this is one gig you want front and centre on your agenda this week. https://youtube.com/watch?v=VqtxLk3Co5M
We all know how gruelling a breakup can be. Plain awkward at best, the experience is more usually fraught with painful decisions that range from who gets to keep that Breaking Bad box-set you bought together to the very Gen-Y dilemma: to unfriend or not to unfriend? Though breaking up is a very personal experience, it's also a universal one, which is what makes the new exhibition at Redfern's artist-led space 107 Projects all the more powerful. Curated by Luke Letourneau, The Breakup will showcase the works of 11 emerging artists from both Sydney and overseas, including Syed Faraz Ali, Brenton Alexander Smith and Lucy Zaroyko. The works express a variety of personal breakup experiences through different artistic media, while sharing similar themes of uncertainty and emotional displacement. Though probably not a show to see if such feelings are still fresh, The Breakup makes for an intimate viewing of reactions our post-breakup selves can all relate to. Head along at 6-8pm on Wednesday, July 23, to enjoy the opening.
Capable of tearing it up with a screamalong feedback-fuelled tune or turning things down with a snuggly acoustic ballad, Sydney's rambunctious garage crew Palms are one of the country's surefire good time live shows. If you haven't burled along to 'The Summer is Done With Us', scratched up your vocal chords with 'Love' or dived into All The Feels with 'In the Morning', you're in for a warm, sweaty introduction. The brainchild of Ex-Red Riders Al Grigg and Tom Wallace, the foursome released their debut album Step Brothers last August. Currently working on their follow-up, the lads were getting a little stir crazy. According to their Facey-B: "Because we get bored easily, and because it's been about a year since we put out our debut album Step Brothers, and because we missed yas, and because we missed sleeping on our mates' couches, drinking their beers and washing irregularly, we decided to hit the road." One for fans of fuzzy, gazey fun like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Twerps or Bleeding Knees Club, Palms crank a mean, loud live show. Likely to trial material from the upcoming second album, this is set to be a tour-before-the-follow-up type of deal — meaning no holds barred, pressure off, get loose type of fun.
Every generation has at least one definitive teen movie. You've seen them. You grew up rewatching them. You may have them committed to memory. The Breakfast Club, Heathers, Clueless, Mean Girls, Easy A: these are the films weaved through many an adolescent experience. The list goes on — and there's always a new contender lurking around the corner. Circa 2015, that'd be The DUFF. For those unfamiliar with the term, it stands for designated ugly fat friend — or the pal in each clique that makes the rest look better, and that interested parties can approach for all the goss. Everyone has one, the movie tells us. If you don't know who fits the mould in your group, it might just be you. That's what overalls-wearing, horror flick-loving Bianca (Mae Whitman) discovers when her football jock neighbour, Wesley (Robbie Amell), explains why everyone in the school always asks her about her life-long best friends (Skyler Samuels and Bianca A. Santos). This isn't welcome news, unsurprisingly. To shake the label — and to try to win the heart of the guy (Nick Eversman) she likes — Bianca enlists Wesley's help on a mission of reinvention. Yep, that's deja vu you're feeling, courtesy of a storyline so well worn it should be threadbare by now. Over the course of decades of delving into high school angst and antics, the teen movie genre has assembled a long lineup of cliches, with that wealth of history clearly on display here. Add equal parts makeover fantasy and trawling through social hierarchies, plus the usual schoolyard cruelty led by a mean queen bee (Bella Thorne), and garnish with an ample helping of current lingo and issues (here, text speak and social media horrors such as viral videos). It's a popular recipe, making The DUFF just like all other teen fare — even if it is actually based on a novel of the same name. And yet, within a film that sets its protagonist up to shatter stereotypes but does so little of that kind of subversion itself, there's fun to be had — and not just in the fond memories it conjures for even average movies gone by, like the very similar She's All That. Much of it comes from Whitman, a likeable lead rising above the sometimes-silly flow of the story, and willing to go along with the ample physical comedy required. For fans of Arrested Development, her casting may seem like an extension of the series' long-running joke about her character's blandness, but in The DUFF she's anything but. Indeed, she doesn't really fit the film's title, either; unattractive, she's not. Of course, nestled in first-time filmmaker Ari Sandel's upbeat effort are those other components as commonplace as a prom showdown (also present): the message of acceptance, and the reminder that, deep down, nobody's perfect. That's just the standard topping sprinkled over this by-the-book story, but it's also a fitting reminder for avid teen movie aficionados. In a genre often as formulaic as its typical narratives, they can't all stand out, but they might each have their modest merits.
Yasukichi Murakami: Through a Distant Lens casts a spiritual spell onto the SBW Stables Theatre, revealing the little-known but remarkable life story of Japanese photographer Yasukichi Murakami. But it’s much larger than that — a poetic reflection on our modern desire to ‘capture’ every moment. As we strive to immortalise ourselves in the Insta-age, we forget to listen to the ghosts of ancestors who would teach us the message “It’s possible to contribute without recognition”. This play is penned by Mayu Kanamori, a Sydney-based photographer intrigued by cultural intersections of Japan and Australia. The show follows her preoccupation with the figure of Murakami, a photographer, publican, pearl-farm manager and father of nine. His migration to Australia in search of gold, his subsequent life and loves are interesting enough, but Kanamori also uses him to represent the Japanese histories lost in Australia during WWII. Kanamori begins a quest to find Murakami’s precious family portraits, which disappeared when he was interned in 1943. She's searching for ‘truth’ in personal and philosophical realms. Kanamori’s script offers historical findings, as well as many beautiful musings on the art of photography, and artists in general. We are encouraged to use s-l-o-w shutter speed, to notice the details missed by this instant-upload society. Director Malcolm Blaylock wants us to focus fully on the experiences of life, not their over-documentation. Arisa Yura, as the actor playing the writer, ponders, “we take so many photographs, how do we know which ones are important?” Yura walks a line between immersion and observation. As she describes Mayu’s pilgrimage to truth, she both presents the character and reflects upon her own life; her own ghosts. It’s a stunning and convincing performance, enhanced by the ethereal video projections and sound. She has a charming, conversational style, which contrasts with the rigid, formal acting of Kuni Hashimoto, who plays the ghost of Murakami. His performance displays how Japanese traditions may grow to seem strange or stilted for those generations moving away from the rising sun. Ghosts patrol this show. It begins with a funeral, and, as the heroine converses with the dead Murakami, she cannot turn her face to him. Instead, she feels and hears his presence. The gentle music of Terumi Narushima transports us away from the land of the living. It is mesmorising to watch her perform in the near-darkness, playing strings percussively, tapping clock-springs or a wooden instrument that sounds like a hollow skull. As the portraits of long-dead faces flicker past in slideshow, a haunting, whispering chorus of voices connects us to the Japanese bones buried in Australian soil. Murakami invites Mayu and her audience to share a worldview, and be “silent with history” for a short time.
Another summer, another EDM sweatfest. While its more well-behaved, boutique festival cousins have been dropping off one by one over the last few years, Future has only upped the ante, with this year's giant lineup boasting more than 200 artists. And sure, wrestling with singlet-clad bros fistpumping to Avicii isn't everyone's idea of fun, but while you're waiting for the beat to drop there's a load of other international and local artists to check out in the meantime. There's Drake of course, who recently dropped his surprise mixtape, If You're Reading This It's Too Late, '90s legends The Prodigy, German techno pioneer Sven Väth, and irresistibly catchy pop artist Kiesza. Locally, watch out for Brisbane management company Mutual Friends, who manages producers along the likes of Young Franco and DJ Butcher, Sydney stalwart DJ Deckhead (whose Drake stunt exploded on social media), and house producer Acaddamy, who has played alongside Disclosure and Dusky. Plus, Darude's going to be there. So if you've ever wanted to see 'Sandstorm' dropped by the dude who created it, this is your big chance.
Strap on your helmet and saddle up, because ARTcycle Tours are all about diving into different neighbourhoods. As you wind through street art scenery, these events are designed to open up new pockets of grassroots culture. In the way of guides, Alex Wisser will be sharing his knowledge of the inner-west on a ride dotted with talks from gallerists and artists. And Jason Wing will take you through the inner-south, mapping out the Indigenous significance of the area. You can also take a peek into creative spaces with the open studio trails around Leichhardt and Marrickville — LOST and MOST. So crank up the pedal power and get involved. This event is one of our top ten picks of Art Month. Check out the other nine here.
It has dragons, shape-shifting, power struggles and Kit Harington — and someone is told that they know nothing, though not the man best known as Jon Snow. We’re not talking about Game of Thrones. If only. Instead, the latest effort to wave the fantasy flag is Seventh Son. The film is based on the novel The Spook's Apprentice and was actually shot three years ago, but it clearly really wants to be everyone’s favourite TV show. It also wants to be every other story about epic quests, long-held feuds, strange creatures and supernatural powers that has reached a screen — large, small or kindle — over the past ten years or so. The bad news: shared dashes of drama, magic and medieval theming aside, and there's plenty, trying to be just like everything fantasy fans know and love doesn’t do this movie any favours. The worse news: it also leaves it looking like a pale imitation of better work. From the computer-animated monsters to the lukewarm love story, Seventh Son comes second in every category. The title and the tale tell of a young man, Tom Ward (Ben Barnes), whose birth order sees him selected to learn the witch-hunting, realm-protecting trade. He’s not just a seventh son — he’s the seventh son of a seventh son — so legend has it that he’s something extra special. Master Gregory (Jeff Bridges) tries to teach Tom new tricks, but time isn’t on their side. A once-in-a-century blood moon is a mere week away, with evil enchantress Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore) planning to use the occasion to take over the world. If it all sounds like your average good-versus-evil scenario, that’s because it is. More than that, it’s dull, familiarity not quite breeding contempt but certainly not inspiring much interest. That every plot point just feels like an exercise in ticking the requisite boxes doesn’t help, including the complications added when half-witch Alice (Alicia Vikander), the nicer niece of Malkin, falls for our hero. The 3D action sequences do the same; even when they’re trying to ramp up the spectacle with giants, tumbles down waterfalls and shape-shifting henchmen, everything is firmly in by-the-numbers territory. What Seventh Son does boast is ample talent, though two-time Oscar nominee Sergei Bodrov (Prisoner of the Mountains, Mongol) doesn’t fare so well with his slapdash efforts in the director’s chair. Thankfully, 2011 best actor Oscar winner Bridges and newly minted best actress Oscar recipient Moore do better — or as well as they can given what’s being asked of them. Indeed, the veteran performers are the most watchable part of the movie, one grumbling, mumbling and stumbling, the other relishing an over-the-top role, and both as cartoonish as you can get. That Barnes and Vikander — and everything else — seems bland in comparison is hardly surprising. As an adaptation of the first book in a now fourteen-strong series, Seventh Son was obviously once seen as the start of a new film franchise. If there’s any real magic in this movie, it is in ensuring that that doesn’t happen.
From his breakout role as a dimwitted talk show sidekick in The Larry Sanders Show to his fan-favourite turn as the Bluth family patriarch in cult comedy hit Arrested Development to his current part as an elderly transgender woman in the Amazon original comedy-drama Transparent, 70-year-old Jeffrey Tambor has helped bring life to some of television’s most memorable comedic characters. Now he’s headed to Sydney for a one night only show, in the latest addition to the program at Spectrum Now. The event is co-sponsored by local streaming service Stan, who not so coincidentally owns the broadcast rights to Transparent’s first season. Hosted by Spectrum Now’s creative director Richard Roxburgh, the talk will cover some of the greatest hits of Tambor’s 40-year career, from his early years on Broadway to his recent win at the 2014 Golden Globe Awards.
Johnny Depp: is there anything he can’t do? Increasingly, the answer is yes, there’s plenty. Or, maybe it’s more about what he shouldn’t do. For proof, see his recent filmography. From being a mainstay in Tim Burton’s movies, to playing Pirates of the Caribbean’s Jack Sparrow, to nodding nonsensically in disguise in Tusk, Depp’s career has become a parade of almost-indistinguishable quirky characters. He pulls silly faces, talks in a ridiculous voice and stumbles around as though he might fall over at any moment. The premises and predicaments change, but the former 1980s 21 Jump Street teen idol doesn’t, apart from costumes and make-up. Mortdecai provides yet another example, with Depp the eccentric art dealer of the title. He comes from wealth – complete with a stylish wife, Johanna (Gwyneth Paltrow), and a loyal manservant, Jock (Paul Bettany) — but owes the British government £8 million. To maintain his lifestyle, he agrees to help old pal, romantic rival and MI-5 agent Martland (Ewan McGregor) recover a stolen painting shrouded in mystery. A Russian assassin and Nazi treasures also feature. The farcical film kicks off with calamity, ripping off Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as a Hong Kong casino rendezvous ends in a shootout, and doesn’t improve from there. Disaster is key to the plot, with Mortdecai an awkward mix of Mr. Bean and The Pink Panther’s Inspector Clouseau, wreaking havoc wherever he goes — including Moscow and Los Angeles. Disaster is also the only outcome possible for a movie that thinks overripe cheese and cheap port are the height of humour, labels one of its three prominent female characters as a nymphomaniac, and wrings many of its jokes out of gag-reflex reactions to moustaches. “You look like you have a vagina on your face,” Johanna tells Mortdecai in response to his hairy top lip. Yes, really. To be fair to filmmaker David Koepp, who previously worked with Depp on Secret Window, he is taking his cues from existing material. 1973 novel Don't Point that Thing at Me started a series about the oddball aristocrat, but whatever cartoonish joys it may have had are lost in this energetic but overworked update. The flimsy script by Eric Aronson, best known for co-writing rom-com On the Line starring NSYNC’s Lance Bass and Joey Fatone, doesn’t assist matters. If Mortdecai was trying for a manic, frantic combination of smugness, superficiality, and stupidity, then it succeeds — though surely that wasn’t the aim. As for Depp, he is as committed as ever, but also as tiresome. Sharing zero charisma with his co-stars makes every second he is on screen seem like an eternity; and while Paltrow, McGregor, Bettany, Jeff Goldblum and Oliva Munn easily overshadow him, they do so as stale stereotypes, and clearly bored and unhappy. Mortdecai, the man and the movie, just isn’t something anyone wants to spend time with. Chalk it up as one of the same supposedly comedic efforts Depp makes too many of, and everyone else should be running far away from.
The Golden Age Cinema presents an exceptionally well-balanced selection of music-driven cinema that will have you dressed as Bjork by Sunday. First up they're celebrating the arrival down under of beloved Glaswegians Belle and Sebastian with a Wednesday screening of God Help the Girl, the directorial debut of frontman Stuart Murdoch. Following on Saturday is a beauty of a double bill: beginning with Nas: Time is Illmatic (a doco on the making of Nas's benchmark debut 1994 album Illmatic) and opened by guest presenters Groovescooter and Eastside Radio. Saturday will finish with a Bjork dress-up party for the screening of the brilliant concert film Bjork: Biophilia Live. To finish Sunday are The Slow Downs, performing live their 'Hillbilly Disco Review' in between screenings of The Good the Bad and the Ugly and No Country for Old Men and giving you the inevitable cool down you will require after that many Bjorks in one room.
Since opening in Bondi in April 2014, Le Petit Bateau has become legendary for its eclectic approach to the arts. You name it, the Petit crew will make it happen — whether you're thinking art exhibition, dance party, left-of-field workshop or pizza night. So the next step — the inaugural Le Petit Festival — makes perfect sense. Between 10am and 10pm on Saturday, May 16, Le Petit Bateau will be moored harbourside at the Pyrmont Heritage Boating Club, to execute 12 hours of non-stop festivalising. There'll be live painting, exhibitions, art and culture workshops, as well as opportunities for sailing, soundtracked by live reggae, soul and funk from Majun Bu, the Post Pluto DJs and jam sessions. Meanwhile, Le Petit's pop-up bistro will keep you fed and hydrated. Photo by Bodhi Liggett.
The vinyl revival is at its height, meaning that if you're reading an article about Record Store Day, you're either one of those junkies hooked on the spinning black stuff or you're checking in on when this musical nostalgia trend is going to go away. While music sales in all other formats are decreasing, record sales have increased by a whopping 900 percent since 2004, with 9.2 million copies sold globally in 2014. So it's not surprising that heading to Record Store Day might feel like caving to trend. But besides special edition releases, discounts and maybe a few in-store gigs, Record Store Day has got something else going for it. It's a day to celebrate that tactile connection with music you get with vinyl in a sleeve — that childish need to have music in the shape of an object that's yours yours yours. For you converted, basically this Saturday is a chance for you to nerd out. Share in the stupid excitement of finding and owning your favourite album or forking out a precious $10 on an unknown new band in the hopes that you might own something heavenly that no one else has. Head to your local store, gather with your kindred junkies and talk favourite albums, perfect finds and collections, like we know you really want to.
For the second year running the Newtown Hotel will be quenching your thirst with a Cider Fair that celebrates your favourite apple-flavoured and bubbly beverage. Alongside live folk music and delicious pork treats, the main event will be the 26 different varieties of local and international ciders on offer. If you're into discovering smaller local labels, you can head for Newtown's local brewers Young Henrys, Fog City Cider from Melbourne (known for their sangria-styled brews) or Willie Smith's 100% organic brew from Huon Valley, Tasmania. Bigger international names on the menu include Bulmers and Kirin, while an interesting international newcomer is Sidra Del Verano, brewed in the Basque region of Spain in San Sebastian. On top of the Newtown Hotel's usual pub fare, pulled pork and cider rolls will be going for $12 and there will be performances from bluegrass-tinged folk artist Brother Jimmy, an inner-west mandolin player formerly of local band The Morrisons.
West Elm are teaming up with Etsy to bring you an afternoon of crafty goodness from some standout online designers at their Sydney and Melbourne stores. From 1pm to 6pm on June 21, you will be able to track down and purchase unique items made by local artisans. Better yet, there's no need for postage fees or waiting periods. Etsy has curated a stellar lineup of 16 sellers, offering everything from nifty jewellery and inspiring stationery through to repurposed timber homewares and hand-poured soy candles. There will be a broad range of handmade products oozing with style and personality. Plus, you'll get to chat to your local innovators over treats and tunes. In recent years, the Brooklyn-based retailer and the online marketplace have turned from competitors into unlikely collaborators, citing the common goal of injecting a bit of integrity and authenticity into the crafts and homewares market. On the whole, it's pretty cool that this mega-brand is giving shelf space to indie crafters. But don't forget, this pop-up is on for one day only. Snooze ya lose. Photo credit: Kimberly Chau Lee.
Brothers Wreck is a superb piece of theatre. Set in Darwin, Jada Alberts’ contemporary drama follows the life of a tight-knit, if troubled, Indigenous family. Daily life in the top end is interrupted by torrential rain, plenty of expletives and much laughter. Designer Dale Ferguson has transformed the upstairs theatre at Belvoir into a simple home interior with a concrete floor, metal beams and upturned milk crates serving as the family coffee table. The play follows the redemptive journey of Ruben (Hunter Page-Lochard), a 21-year-old masquerading as a tough guy to get through the grief of losing his best friend, Joe, to suicide. Ruben’s sister, Adele (Rarriwuy Hick); her boyfriend (Bjorn Stewart); and Ruben's Aunty Petra (Lisa Flanagan) rally around him to make sure he doesn't suffer the same fate. The story of a troubled young man blaming himself for events beyond his control may not be new, but it is extremely moving. The narrative simplicity of Alberts’ story is a strength in this production, as each actor is crystal clear and hell bent on their objective, to save Ruben. This clarity is also down to Leah Purcell’s direction. She uses clever snap transitions from nightclub to lounge room to counsellor’s office, driving the action headlong to the climax, followed by a warm and tender denouement. This is cathartic drama at its best. Page-Lochard as Ruben is remarkable to watch. From the first scene, where he sits paralysed by the trauma of seeing his dead friend, to his embarrassingly cocky, drunken displays of bravura, he’s a physically dynamic, captivating presence on stage. Hick and Stewart as lovers portray convincing tenderness and Stewart is every bit the gentle giant, refusing to leave Ruben’s side even when he’s being a belligerent little shit. Cramer Cain, playing Ruben’s counsellor, is poised and intelligent but fierce when he needs to be. Lisa Flanagan as Aunty Petra enters the fray halfway through and lifts the stakes, hitting Ruben with impressive authority that his sister and counsellor don’t hold over him. The genuine care the cast have for each other is palpable. Brothers Wreck is powerful storytelling, which deservedly received a standing ovation on opening night. Go and see this play. Image by Brett Boardman.
These boys from Brisbane are bringing their slash rock to Oxford Art Factory this weekend as they tour their newly released second album, Black Rat. If you were all about the heavy crashes found on their debut album, Bloodstreams, then you won't be disappointed with the new material. The latest single, 'Gina Works At Hearts', has plenty of that raw energy fans have come to know them by. Having said that, Black Rat was recorded in a more experimental manner with Drones' producer Burke Reid, and the results aren't your average balls to the wall ragers. First single 'Northern Lights' is proof that this band has bigger ideas, experimenting with a textured, more anthemic style of rock. Because of this new approach and sound, Simon and Shane will be joined by special guest guitarists during their national tour. But who will it be? You'd better get along and find out. https://youtube.com/watch?v=FhJ0grMCKYc
Before the division, Terry Hooley (Richard Dormer) was a popular man. But then his native Belfast bitterly split along sectarian lines, leaving the gregarious but staunchly apolitical Hooley to his own devices. He's DJing to nobody at a sad bar surrounded by barbed wire and run by the baleful Pat (Dylan Moran) when he finds a kindred soul in outsider Ruth (Jodie Whittaker). Emboldened by the support of Ruth, Dooley then decides on a whim that what his ailing city needs is a record store and he borrows over his head to set up the shop on a street famously known as the most bombed in Europe. Despite its perilous location, Hooley's boundless enthusiasm for the soothing power of music proves infectious and he watches in delight as it becomes a real cultural hub, quickly expanding into a record label as the city's burgeoning punk scene sparks into life. It's hard to think of another film which captures the fervour of discovery of music as thrillingly as Good Vibrations. As played by Dorman, Dooley is a genuinely fascinating character, flawed but endearingly quixotic. His faith in the music is complete, and completely moving. "These punks aren't the problem with Belfast," he enthuses to a news crew at one point "They're the solution!" After signing proto-punk band Rudi (later Rudi and the Outcasts) to his hastily formed label, he stumbles upon gold when Derry upstarts The Undertones push their demo on him. Initially reluctant to get involved with the brash youngsters, he has his mind changed for him when he hears 'Teenage Kicks', a song to die for. His championing of the song leads to airplay on John Peel, who famously loved the single so much he took the unprecedented step of playing it twice in a row. Despite the stunning cultural impact of both the Good Vibrations label and store, Hooley's complete gormlessness as a businessman means his beloved pet project is forever on shaky ground. Adding to his stress are (largely self-induced) marital woes and growing antipathy from local hoodlums to the store. If there's a downside to Good Vibrations it the story's stubborn refusal to organise itself into anything resembling a neat three-act structure. The final act may neither be thrilling nor as satisfying as the fist-pumping material that preceded it, but it's ultimately hard not to be stirred by the fire and life on display here and won over by this scrappily loveable ode to the energy and abandon of punk rock. https://youtube.com/watch?v=SE17U5ML9dQ
Venice Beach's grungy hype-fueller Sky Ferreira will drop into the Newtown Hotel for a cheeky DJ set on Thursday, July 24. Preceding her Splendour in the Grass appearance, the Californian pop artist will spin some tunes supported by Fingertips and Snapback DJs. Fresh off the back of supporting Miley Cyrus' Bangerz Tour, 21-year-old Ferreira will no doubt relish the change of pace with this laidback DJ set and an intimate all-ages show at the Metro — allowing her to showcase the raw vulnerability of her debut LP Night Time, My Time. Ever the boundary-pusher with a self-described destructive streak, let's just hope the pop powerhouse manages to not get arrested, hospitalized or injured before making her much awaited return. Sky Ferreira will play at Newtown Hotel on Thursday, July 24 supported by Fingertips and Snapback DJs from 8pm (and FREE). If you're keen to see more Ferreira favourites head to her official sideshow at the Metro Theatre on Friday, July 25. Words by Jack Gow and Shannon Connellan. https://youtube.com/watch?v=pWo7SC-tG4U
Since early 2011, the Young Centenary Foundation) — a youth-focused, Sydney-based medical research charity — has been organising numerous events to raise funds for the all-too-important work of cancer, cardiovascular and infectious disease researchers at world-leading medical research centre the Centenary Institute. From evenings of stand-up comedy and debate nights to more outrageous rooftop luaus and Las Vegas themed parties, YCF can be depended upon to host fun, innovative events for Sydneysiders. Next, YCF (together with the team at CHASM Gallery) is curating CO-LAB, a group art show exhibiting the work of young local and international artists in a range of mediums. Expect to see all manner of works from drawing and painting to photography, textiles and sculpture, created by artists including Will Cooke, Laura Ives, Oliver Tanner, Bridge Stehli and many more. Exhibiting for one night only, all the art will be for sale with proceeds split evenly between the artists and YCF. There's even a raffle up for grabs, with prizes from The Corner House, Bondi Hardware and illustrator-portraitist Marc Némorin. Plus, we hear each guest receives a $50 voucher to be driven to the show by a professional chauffeur from UBER. Sounds like it's shaping up to be another successful event from YCF, and all in the name of a great cause.
While you may have already heard, or even partaken, of Mr Moustache's famous "mezcal flights" designed to introduce us uninitiated Sydneysiders to this relatively little known Mexican tipple, the Bondi bistro and cantina will soon be hosting An Evening of Mezcal, offering a much more in-depth experience. Husband-and-wife team Bildo Saravia and Regina Beuno Ros only stock the best of the best, and given prices for a neat mezcal rise to $60, An Evening of Mezcal, at $75 a head, is positively a bargain. Not only will seven mezcals be offered from the Casa Cortés boutique collection (along with small bites from the street food menu) but your mezcal experience will be guided by the expertise of traditional distiller Rolando Cortés, a visiting indigenous Oaxaca mezcal master. The evening promises to feature the usual boisterous fun that characterises a night out at Sydney's undisputed go-to mezcal bar, where unbridled hospitality and mayhem go hand in hand. But what's more, it offers the chance to gain exclusive insight into the complexities of the spirit (the alcoholic, as well as the metaphysical, variety) that sits at the centre of Mexican culture.
Why Torture Is Wrong, And The People Who Love Them will leave you confused. Not because the script or themes are disarmingly perplexing, but rather because you’re unsure how to feel at the play's conclusion — it’s a feeling that continues to resonate on reflection. There's many a laughworthy opportunity in WTIWATPWLT (!) but you’ll also pick up on a great many frustrating elements. You’ll be rooting for the female characters to get their revenge, but then the play wimps out at their point of redemption. Rather than coming away from the performance with something meaningful, you merely depart with ambiguity — which is a real shame given how enjoyable the play's opening scene is. Felicity (Ainslie McGlynn) wakes in the arms of a man she quickly learns is her new husband Zamir (Terry Karabelas), who she drunkenly married at Hooters the night before. Classic. Watching McGlynn wrestling free from Karabelas' big spoon grip will have you in stitches, but watching Felicity's inability to break free from the terrifying misogyny Zamir exerts over her over the course of the next two hours will not. He threatens her with violence and date rapes her, and while you’re hoping (and expecting) Felicity to get her revenge, she doesn’t — instead offering Zamir hope and forgiveness. What could have been a powerful statement against a huge societal problem is forgone and the play and its audience are worse off as a result. Thankfully, in amongst the play's exploration of misogynistic terror, there is Felicity’s mother (Alice Livingstone). Livingstone steals the show with her hilarious and absurd portrayal of a wife who escapes from the reality of her life by burying herself in theatre. She is an extreme exaggeration of why we go to the theatre and because of that baseline connection with us all, the audience is drawn towards Livingstone's wonderfully realised character — and left wanting much more stage time from her. Sadly though, Livingstone is the only real reason to go and see Torture. Whilst the play’s analysis of post-Bush America’s obsession with terror and its misunderstandings is scripted brilliantly by playwright Christopher Durang, it’s delivery unfortunately doesn’t drive the point home as deep as it could. The torture scenes between Felicity’s father and Zamir are clunky, buried in noise and distracting blocking — and featuring a character named Looney Tunes that makes those scenes just frustrating to watch. Just give us more of Felicity’s mother. There are enjoyable times in the show (mainly involving Alice Livingstone), but the rest of the play doesn’t go near these well-executed heights. Reviewing Torture has actually proved quite cathartic in retrospect — the more you think on it, it seems the play doesn’t leave you confused, just disappointed.
Brian Eno reckons she's "the biggest thing since Patti Smith", Nick Cave's invited her on tour and Karl Lagerfeld draws on her for inspiration. And now, Anna Calvi is set to bless Vivid audiences with her cinematic spectacle. Tipped to be one of the most underrated of the Vivid LIVE shows, the Mercury Prize nominee will be blasting her way through classically influenced, timeless songs from recent album One Breath, accompanied by haunting film noir visuals, in just one show – Wednesday, May 28. Nab a ticket before they sell out. https://youtube.com/watch?v=20gmnV5Xkro
Step into the world of the mysterious and the macabre. Step into the world of Night Vale. Home to angels, dragons and an ominous glowing cloud, and ruled by a shadowy city council whose true form remains hidden, the small desert town is best known as the setting of the hugely popular podcast Welcome to Night Vale. Since debuting in mid-2012, the surreal half-hour show has amassed legions of fans and embarked on several successful live tours – the latest of which will bring them to Australia. The tour consists of a series of one-night-only engagements in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne across the second week of February. Fans — and curious — can join unflappable community radio host Cecil Gershwin Palmer as he guides them through the daily goings on in the weird and wonderful town that he calls home. Just make sure you stay on the right side of the Night Vale Secret Police. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiLrr0h4ek8
Sydney Harbour's about to host some pretty big beats. Kicking off on Friday, October 9, V MoVement and UNDR Ctrl are bringing back the hugely popular electronic music series to Sydney's floating stage, The Island LIVE. Sydney's floating stage, The Island, has played host to some seriously big names, from Charli XCX to Royal Blood. Last time The Island LIVE hosted two epic nights featuring the likes of Hayden James, Touch Sensitive, Softwar and Future Classic DJs — both nights sold out in 48 hours. This time around, it's all beats. Kicking off the series, Australian dance legends and triple j Friday Night Shuffle hosts The Aston Shuffle will be cranking out huge DJ set. They'll be joined by house head Set Mo and newcomer Dena Amy. That's just the first event in The Island LIVE series, there'll be more events to be announced down the track. Tickets ($55 +BF) include return water taxis from Double Bay Wharf and two complimentary drinks on arrival. Pretty excellent deal.
One thing is for sure: Avenue Q is not your average puppet show. It follows the story of recent college graduate Princeton, who moves to a drab apartment on the colourful street of Avenue Q in New York to follow his dreams. As they say, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Along the way, Princeton meets the girl next door, Kate, the neighbourhood Republican named Rod, an internet sexpert called Trekkie and Lucy, who has a bit of a street corner reputation. They help him along the way, teaching him the ways of the Big Apple, as well as discovering what Princeton was meant to do with his life. For this Australian production the puppet and human characters will be played by Madeleine Jones, Nicholas Richard, Justin Smith, Matthew Predny, Rowena Vilar and Shauntelle Benjamin. This Tony Award-winning act has circled the globe, and finally returns to Australian stages after sell-out shows of the past. While the whole escapade is one big nod to Sesame Street, the target audience is nostalgic, quarter-life-crisis-having adults, and the show is not recommend for children. Hit songs from the soundtrack include 'Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist' and 'The Internet Is For Porn'.
What if a bomb had taken out Adolf Hitler in 1939? That's the question that haunts Georg Elser (Christian Friedel) after his assassination attempt fails due to timing. He hatched a plot, built explosives and set a timer, but it all went off too late. As the English-language name of the film that unfolds his story foreshadows, just under a quarter of an hour proved the difference between the past everyone knows and a World War II-free alternate timeline. In telling his tale, those titular 13 minutes are influential; however this measured, methodical feature is more concerned with the state of affairs that led Elser to such drastic deeds, instead of a well-worn account of what happened next. How did a mild-mannered pacifist and seemingly ordinary German citizen become the would-be killer of the 20th century's most despised figure? What injustices did he witness? What paved his path towards trying to save his country through a potentially revolutionary act of violence? Again, many of the broad strokes of life at the time are known, but 13 Minutes filters a familiar situation through one man's experience. After the blast, Elser is detained, interrogated and tortured by the Gestapo, his brutal treatment intercut with his preceding years. First, he's a carefree musician; then, he's a carpenter trying to save his family farm; next, he's fooling around with a married woman (Katharina Schuttler). Around him, society and sentiment changes under the Nazi party's influence. Best known as the director of Downfall, the Hitler film that launched a thousand memes, Oliver Hirschbiegel has explored this chapter of history before. That he does so again in meticulous detail isn't surprising, nor are the handsome images he works with. Though his last feature — the abysmal Diana — might indicate otherwise, the filmmaker shows an assured hand with conflict-riddled, based-on-real-life material. Indeed, 13 Minutes looks, sounds and feels the part. Yet it's never anything more than interesting, rather than gripping. Workmanlike best describes Hirschbiegel's effort, hitting all the right notes but playing a standard tune rather than a truly affecting melody. Given the rollercoaster ride his last decade of filmmaking has provided, perhaps he's just happy to play it safe. To the director, splitting the difference between the intense heights of his biggest hit and the considerable lows of his most recent biopic probably doesn't seem like such a bad outcome. Thankfully, the committed, charming Friedel is marching to his own beat, his performance as impassioned as the rest of the movie is restrained. That the film around him is just competently going through the motions of an important story doesn't seem to sway his complex portrayal. Of course, shining a bigger spotlight on a figure barely remembered in the official record, let alone seen in cinema (with a 1989 film called Seven Minutes Elser's only other big screen depiction), is a feat worth applauding regardless of the muted end result. And that's what lingers in 13 Minutes: the true tale surrounding the greatest act of WWII heroism that never was.
If you're planning on spending this gig mildly toe-tapping, you might want to wait in the car. Sydney's long-labouring beatsmiths Hermitude are back with a brand new album already sitting pretty on winter playlists Australia-wide — and a national tour ready to bust a few hard-dancing ligaments. Start stretching y'all. Hermitude's new album Dark Night Sweet Light takes the lads' unmistakeable blend of heartfelt hip hop, majestic build-ups and big bass drops to a new level; standing firm on a #1 ARIA chart spot and one hell of a rapidly expanding fan base. Luke Dubber (Luke Dubs) and Angus Stuart (El Gusto) have plenty to celebrate on this national tour. After nabbing the Australian Music Prize in 2012 for their straight-up killer album HyperParadise, they're riding a sweet wave of toastworthy accolades surrounding their new album Dark Night Sweet Light. The LP debuted at #1 on the ARIA chart (a first for Hermitude's label Elefant Traks) and has been featured as album of the week on FBi and triple j, alongside serious airplay for lead single 'The Buzz'. So it goes without saying, you're going to have to get in quick for a ticket to this show. The lads have come a long way from their early days of performing entire shows dressed as neanderthals with their decks covered in vines (actual thing), but the bombastic energy and unpredictable live instrumentation of Hermitude's live shows remains an unmissable combination for longtime fans and newcomers like. Do yourself a favour and don't read the tweets the next day, get to this show. Supported by Basenji + Jayteehazard.
The Bleeding Tree is thrilling theatre that hits close to home. Director Lee Lewis (who is also the artistic director of Griffin Theatre Company) exposes “the Australian heritage of violence against women and asks us to acknowledge our part in it”. Lewis has chosen three strong Australian actors for the world premiere of The Bleeding Tree: Paula Arundell (Mother Courage and her Children), Shari Sebbens (Battle of Waterloo), and Airlie Dodds (Rake). The play's script earned writer Angus Cerini the 2014 Griffin Award for New Australian Playwriting. It should be an intriguing mash-up of poetry, black comedy and realism — it truly puts the 'gore' in allegory. Cerini hopes his play demonstrates the power of community in exposing and eliminating domestic abuses. Lewis sees The Bleeding Tree as instigating change in Australian society, and as an example of Griffin’s Theatre company's commitment to this country "making of stories written here, about us, now". The first preview of The Bleeding Tree coincides with White Ribbon Night In, for which Griffin would like to raise funds and awareness.
UNDR ctrl has powered through its first year. And you're invited to join the party on August 1 at Oxford Art Factory. Sydney's partystarting crew is teaming up with OXJAM for a huge night, not only featuring some of their favourite artists, but an assortment of miscellaneous activities — including haircuts from Razorhurst Barbershop, free tote bags to the first 100 arrivals and visuals by UNDR ctrl's art director Purely Mental in collaboration with EGO. The theme is 'It'll be ALL WHITE on the night' and UNDR ctrl is asking that you dress 'white and wild'. As far as music goes, there'll be something for everyone at this party. Live outfits Tear Council and World Champion will kick things off things early, while Adi Toohey, Ariane and Ara Koufax will be on the decks. If house is your thing, you can count on Set Mo, Parkside DJs and Olympic Ayres DJs, or for techno, there's Motorik Vibe Council and Jensen Interceptor. All proceeds from ticket sales go to OXJAM, which works with musicians and music lovers around the world to fight against poverty.
English art-rockers Everything Everything will be one of the most unpredictable Splendour sideshows you see this year, with their eclectic, off-the-wall repertoire and epic live set. The foursome has released three albums to date including Man Alive in 2010, Arc in 2013, and Get To Heaven in 2015, all of which have been met with riotous applause from critics and fans alike. Their latest single ‘Distant Past’ encapsulates everything you already know and love about the band; lead singer Jonathan Higgs’ vocals flying at breakneck speed to falsetto, paired with fast, fast percussion. Get your mates together, warm up those vocal chords and work on some tongue twisters if you plan on singing along, ‘Kemosabe’ and ‘Cough Cough’ beckon your assistance.
The Slackers are a Sydney-based collective of artists. They formed in 1997 and were active until 2002. Using a rundown residential dwelling in Surry Hills, the group developed a collection of studios and social spaces – building a bubbling hub of interdisciplinary activity. Imperial Slacks had a big impact on Australia’s cultural landscape. Some of the group members include big guns like Shaun Gladwell, Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro, Wade Marynowsky, Chris Fox, Angelica Mesiti and The Kingpins. This month will see a double venue retrospective of their work along with a few new commissions. Spread across Sydney College of the Arts and Campbelltown Arts Centre, Cosmic Love Wonder Lust will be something of a reunion. Curated by Nicholas Tsoutas, the show will feature a suite of mixed media works, examining the collaborative dialogue between artists as well as revisiting the role of the artist run space. You can head along to the opening at SCA on August 14, which will be opened by Mike Parr, or the opening at Campbelltown Arts Centre on August 15.
Progressive pop powerhouse Ainslie Wills is back, bringing her unique, epic balladry and a brand new EP to Newtown Social Club this October. This goal-kicking Melburnian has unleashed a brand new single 'Constellations', from her new EP Oh the Gold and now she's taking her long-awaited new material down the east coast with her five-piece band. You'll spend a good deal of time picking up Wills' influences; you can hear a little PJ Harvey, a tad of Rhye, a tinge of The xx, a sprinkle of St Vincent, a dash of Jeff Buckley and a teeny splash of London Grammar in there. But Wills is no lyrebird, she's whittling a style that's all her own — a style that earned her a finalist spot for the 2012 Melbourne Music Prize and saw her shortlisted for the 2013 Australian Music Prize for her LP You go your way, I’ll go mine. Since then, between writing for Tom Isanek's #1 Dads side project, Wills has been working on new material with songwriter Lawrence Folvig and Brisbane-based producer extraordinaire Matt Redlich (Holy Holy, Emma Louise, Trouble with Templeton) — they met after one of her shows at Black Bear Lodge back in 2013. They've been recording in Redlich's studio, Grandma's Place, and now Wills has a brand new EP to showcase.
Two of Australia's best modern yarn spinners are heading around the country together this spring. Sydney blues crooner CW Stoneking is embarking on an Australian tour, with Perth singer songriter Peter Bibby in support. Having just wrapped up a huge, 36-show run through the UK and Europe, Stoneking is finally heading back home for a home turf tour. He'll be taking ditties from his most recent album Gon Boogaloo as well as long-loved favourites. It's the last time Aussie fans will get to see Stoneking on a home stage for a while — he's moving to the US to work on some new music. Bibby's been a busy lad too, having released his debut album Butcher/Hairstylist/Beautician last year and made quite the splash at the likes of Laneway Festival around the country. Stoneking and Bibby will hit Sydney's Manning Bar on Friday, October 30, Brisbane's Triffid on Saturday, October 31 and Saturday, November 7 at Melbourne's Corner Hotel.
