Dinner parties always seem like a good idea. But just thinking about the shopping, setting up, cooking and cleaning can be enough to drive you to drink, often at a pricey bar. Never fear, there are some easy tricks to hosting a cracker of a meal that is easy on the wallet and won’t test your sanity. As spring beckons urging us to act on our festive impulses, many of us will brave it. Let us present to you our tips for the time poor and culinary challenged in our bluffer’s guide to hosting the perfect dinner party. Setting Up Alfresco dining is always preferable. As George Michael will tell you, people just have more fun outside. And don’t worry if your backyard is wearing the wounds of less classy occasions. Do a quick sweep-up (no need to be too fussy) and fill the place with random objects, fairy lights and lots of candles – I like to stick them in old booze bottles. Imperfections, somehow, become charming in dim lighting. Light a fire. Cover the table in something black - it’s forgiving - and pour all the wine into carafes. It is an undeniable fact that wine tastes more expensive when poured from a carafe. Vases or glass containers of any description will work also. Once setup, get the tunes going. It’s important that your playlist is tailored to accompany the swim of lady alcohol through your guests. Regardless of your preferred genre, there is a formula I’ve found never fails. Start with something new, slowly move into some cult classics, finally, if the mood is right, get a little bit tragic. Entrée Save the unnecessary effort, and washing up, that comes with preparing individual dishes and simply throw a nice platter together. The key is to know where to pick up some good grub for picking. Thankfully the city is teeming with amazing delis. I swung by two of my favourites, Gourmet Grocer in Balmain and Delicado in McMahons point. The former a trusty fort of some of Sydney's best cheese and the latter my go to for all things authentic Spanish produce. Throw everything straight on the platter, no little dishes. And you need some bread. This is not the time for Wonder White, though. Sonoma bake some of Sydney's finest loaves and have shops spotted all over town. They also do some delicious spelt and kamut options, too. Rip it up and serve straight on the board with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic for dipping. Discarded jar lids come in handy. Set it beside the table and let the guests graze casually. Main course I opted for a vegetarian risotto. It’s cheap, easy and will keep your vegetarians and gluten haters at bay (you can hold out on the cheese if need be, but it seems lactose intolerance has become a bit passé). Any old Google recipe will do, just toss through your favourite bits and pieces and be sure to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Throw together a simple salad. Rocket, pear, walnut and parmesan is my go-to. The nightcap As the evening curtails, it is nice to introduce a new beverage. Boil some cheap plonk with oranges, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla (or whatever condiments you’ve got!) and voila! Mulled wine. I like to throw some rhubarb in also. And maybe a splash of port if it’s on hand. Whether the night evolves into a political debate or a living room dance-off, you’ve certainly set your guests up for a good one. Sit back, relax and bask in the host’s glory.
When Pharrell Williams first made contact with Morgan Neville, the Oscar-winning documentarian behind 20 Feet From Stardom, their conversation could've started like this: "it might seem crazy what I'm 'bout to say". The famed producer, N.E.R.D. co-founder, 'Happy' singer, and Daft Punk and Snoop Dogg collaborator's proposal to the filmmaker also behind the Mr Rogers-focused Won't You Be My Neighbour?, then Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain and STEVE! (martin): a Documentary in 2 Pieces, was for Neville to tell Williams' life story — a request that doesn't seem out of the ordinary. But Pharrell wanted this journey through his upbringing in Virginia Beach in Virginia, his music dreams as a kid and a teenager, and then the ups and downs of his career to solely be relayed using Lego animation. How do you explore anyone's existence, let alone someone so influential in music for decades, while rendering them, other interviewees and everything else that's seen on-screen only in the style of The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part? Just as importantly, why would you? Piece by Piece, the film that results, sits alongside Brett Morgen's David Bowie-adoring Moonage Daydream as recent music docos that know how to expertly takes their cues for their approach, aesthetic and vibe from their subject. In both cases, it's instantly apparent that any other method wouldn't have done the folks at their centre justice. Piece by Piece boasts the childhood details, the stories shared by loved ones and colleagues, the glimpses into the studio and the examples of Pharrell's work, his music and the videos that go with them alike. As the movie's title states so clearly, however, they have all been built piece by piece in Lego animation. This effectively meant making the film twice, first featuring the raw materials, including chats with Williams, his N.E.R.D. bandmates Shae Haley and Chad Hugo, his distant cousin Timbaland, fellow Virginia Beach residents Pusha T and Missy Elliott, and then everyone from Daft Punk and Snoop to Gwen Stefani and Kendrick Lamar — and secondly with that initial cut, which Neville dubs the "radio edit", animated frame by frame in the Lego fashion. Spliced into the initial version were storyboards for scenes that simply wouldn't have been possible to realise without Piece by Piece's unconventional biodoc technique, many of which bring Pharrell's synesthesia to the screen. Music appears to him as colours, and shapes as well. The film not only recreates that sensation for the audience, but does so with exacting detail: when the beats that Pharrell creates appear as pulsating bricks, be it for N.E.R.D's 'Rock Star' or No Doubt's 'Hella Good', or for Snoop Dogg's 'Drop It Like It's Hot' or Williams' own mega hit from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack — and much more — the forms and hues depicted are exactly what Pharrell sees. In every piece, frame and moment, this is a documentary that's intimately in tune with its subject, then. It celebrates a dreamer by crafting those dreams out of bricks. Yes, it all clicks. It's an ode to creativity and imagination, too, right down to deploying one of the first formats that almost every child uses to make new worlds, because that's what Lego lets us do. While there are tie-in kits available for sale, as happens with Lego-based movies, the medium matches the man perfectly. Indeed, that's so accurate that the feature wouldn't have happened otherwise, including if Lego hadn't be on board with the idea, Neville told Concrete Playground. "We'd thought about it, whether there were other ways of doing it if Lego said no. And I think we all agreed if Lego said no, there was going to be no film," the director shares. "It just felt like Lego itself was actually an important piece, as it were, of what the film was — that it wasn't just a gimmick, that it actually felt part of who Pharrell is in his story and how he sees the world." We also chatted with Neville about how you respond when Pharrell asks you to make a movie about him using Lego — a version of which is seen in the film — plus creating a type of music documentary that hasn't been made before, the added possibilities that come with examining someone's life and career in Lego, heroing creativity, his starting point whether he's making docos about Williams or Bourdain or Martin, and more. On How You React When Pharrell Suggests That Lego Would Be the Perfect Medium to Tell His Story "What happens in the film is a version of what happened in real life. But that was the one moment that I didn't actually record, because the first time I met Pharrell, he pitched me on this idea where he said 'I want you to make a movie about me, and then I want you to throw away all the visuals and do it again in Lego'. And honestly, when he said that I was totally hooked. So that's the difference. I think in the movie I'm a little unsure, but I think in real life I jumped right into it. That was the thing that got me incredibly excited, because I didn't know what it was going to mean. It was a crazy idea, but I love crazy ideas." On Making a Type a Music Documentary That Hasn't Been Made Before — and Whether It Feels Daunting, Freeing or a Bit of Both "I feel like being a film director, there's a kind of wilful amnesia that you have, where you intentionally forget how difficult it is to make films. Because if you remembered, you wouldn't make them. So I vaguely knew that this was going to be climbing a mountain, but I really just looked at this path in front of me and said 'well, this is interesting. What if I do this, and what if I think about this? And, well, let's talk to Lego. They could kill it. It might go away'. We talked to Lego and they said 'we love it'. And then we just kept trying things. And so step by step it came together, but it was five years of work to get there." On How Using Lego Allowed the Film to Explore and Expand Areas and Details That Wouldn't Have Been Possible Otherwise — or in Such an Evocative Way "That was the amazing realisation I came to early on, was that because of the Lego, we could do things you can't normally do — you certainly couldn't do in a documentary and you couldn't do in a lot of films — which is visualise imagination, or visualise things in somebody's head. And so the synesthesia was an important thing because Pharrell sees colour when he hears sound. We wanted to get that right. We actually brought in Michel Gagné, who's a famous animator, who had done the synesthesia in Ratatouille, to work on this — to think 'how do you do synesthesia, but in Lego?'. But then also the idea that we can visualise beats — the beats that Pharrell has made are physical Lego objects. And every beat in the film is actually reflective of how Pharrell sees that song. So the colours and the shapes of the beats in the film are accurate to what Pharrell sees in his head, even though nobody else knows what that is. Every song, we're like 'Pharrell, okay what are the colours? How does this look?'. Because it's interesting, he has a library in his head of every song you mention, he'll tell you what the colours are of that. So things like that you could do in Lego, which I don't know how else you would do that." On the Importance of Connecting Celebrating Creativity and Imagination with One of the First Gateways to Unlocking Both for Children "I think many people, most people, probably grew up with some connection to Lego toys. I did. I was of the era where when I bought a set of Lego, you would just get a big box of pieces. There were no instructions, it was just 'okay, make whatever you want'. I always ended up with a big tub of random pieces and you would just make stuff. I think Pharrell, also Lego he said was a really important toy his parents would give him when he was young. And it's interesting how much it comes up in the creative community. I've talked to architects and artists and designers, and Lego actually is kind of a building block of creativity. It's this thing that I think is just pure imagination in that way. And so imagination is a huge theme of the film. I love making films about creative people and how they think, and Lego just felt like this perfect way of exploring that. And the idea that it was Pharrell's conceit makes it even more organic to why it works in this film." On Neville's Starting Point When He's Making a Documentary, No Matter Who or What His Subject Is "My starting point on every project, I do a couple of things. I start a playlist of music. So for every film, I have a playlist of music, even if it's not about music. I'm a musician and I've made a lot of films about music, and it helps me get a feel for the tone of what a film could be. In this case I had like ten playlists, because Pharrell had done so much music. So I had solo work and produced by, and with the bands he had done and influenced music. And I spent months listening to all of it, waiting for songs to pop out and for me to hear them and say 'oh, I could see this, it feels like this song belongs in a scene' or 'this song has a theme that could work to the story'. So that's a big part of it. Then I gather visuals and references, and all that kind of stuff. So all that just goes into a pod as I start to conceive of what this film might be. But I think all that other stuff, tone and aesthetic, are all things I'm thinking about in the beginning. And then I just talk as much as I can to the subject or other people. I just am trying to take in as much input as I can get. Then it starts to form in my head and little things start coming together." On the Difficult Task of Knowing What to Include and Leave Out When You're Making a Film About Someone with Such a Wide-Ranging Career "It always is. This was difficult because Pharrell has done so much, but I always think about it more like 'what are the things that influenced his life?'. I mean, a big part of this movie is his childhood, which was a huge part of what made him who he is. But it's not his career. So in that way, the career stuff, he had so many more hits that aren't even in the film. He's done so much. But to me it's about the moments where things turn. It's where maybe a failure — failures are as interesting as successes when it comes to looking at a narrative of a person's life, because that's where we learn. So I think it was really identifying the moments where something felt different, or where he learned something, or where something clicked or didn't click. I always try to avoid what I think of as 'the Wikipedia version' of a person's life, because it's not that interesting to just go through everything they accomplished. But to hit the moments that actually meant something to them, that were part of their personal growth or their creative growth, that's what I try to zero in on, and so that helps me cut stuff out unfortunately." Piece by Piece opened in Australian cinemas on Thursday, December 5, 2024. Images: courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC.
Takeaway or dine in? It's the question that everyone who can't be bothered cooking dinner has faced, and it is more complicated than it sounds. Perhaps you'll be flying solo with your containers of food, but feel like some company? Or, maybe you and your pals all want meals delivered from different places, but know that's a bit impractical. A Helsinki pop-up has the answer, whether you're looking for an alternative to eating alone or trying to keep your gang of fellow diners happy. Called Take In, the kitchen-less venue is all about pulling up a chair, picking from around 20 restaurants, and enjoying the space as your dining room away from home — plus, making sure you have someone to share it with, even if your mates are all already busy. There's also a bar on-site, so that's the drinking side of the equation taken care of (or some liquid courage if chatting to folks you don't know makes you a little nervous). Customers can drop in just for a tipple, too; however eating out alone, but not alone is the main aim of the game. For anyone finding themselves in Finland in in the near future, the pop-up runs until April. Via Eater.
Spender understands the adaptability of a chair, Jeremy Neale and Go Violets team up and Bonobo are ready to help you relax on a Sunday. Here are five tracks to soundtrack your weekend. https://youtube.com/watch?v=HgU3rROkeIE 1. 'Bed & Chair' - Spender Spender dropped this pop tune densely wrapped in deep synth only yesterday, meaning you could be one of the first to own it, and then when your friends catch up and start talking about him in a month, you can be that person who says "I knew him before he was big". Be quick though; this window will only be open a short time, with Spender set to soar into stardom off the back of this dance-inducing smash. Also, we don't recommend trying his chair positions at home. https://youtube.com/watch?v=JyqemIbjcfg 2. 'Recover' - CHVRCHES CHVRCHES announced this week their plans to tour Australia in early August (with Splendour in the Grass rumours swiftly following), and their tickets will be in hot demand. Their debut EP Recover was released only two months ago and has since gained worldwide acclaim, and the title-track here is a fine example of just why everyone wants a piece of the Scottish trio. https://youtube.com/watch?v=bpm8VV8O93E 3. 'Antenna' - Bonobo Bonobo are the masters of making music that suits every occasion, and their newly released album, The North Borders, showcases this to perfection. Play this track at that house party on Friday night, whilst nursing that hangover on Saturday morning or whilst having the in-laws over for supper on Sunday, and nobody will be disappointed, especially not you. 4. 'In Stranger Times' - Jeremy Neale & Go Violets Jeremy Neale is the garage guru of Brisbane. Not only does he front the voracious Velociraptor, but he also creates his own catchy tracks in his spare time. Now he has teamed up with the guru-esses Go Violets to create a delectable harmony that transports you back to the '60s. So open all the windows and doors and blare 'In Stranger Times' to all of your neighbours — they deserve to hear it. https://youtube.com/watch?v=tBsRvthVhdw 5. 'Entertainment' - Phoenix Phoenix's new album Bankrupt is finally released in only 11 short days. The French rockers have been teasing us ever since the release of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix with hints about when they would release new music and what it would sound like. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it sounds incredible. 'Entertainment', the first track off the soon-to-be-released album, is a ballistic blend of pop, orient-inspired synth and bass guitar that will populate every party playlist you hear this weekend.
There's something a little bit unnerving at the Art Gallery of New South Wales this summer, with ghouls, goblins and shapeshifters hidden around every corner of the blockbuster Japan supernatural exhibition. Three centuries of fantasy and folklore in Japanese art are explored throughout the exhibition, in more than 180 pieces from artists such as Katsushika Hokusai and Takashi Murakami. To celebrate, Chiswick at the Gallery's head chef Tim Brindley is unlocking his supernatural ability with food to create a special dining experience. For $82, you can enjoy a two-course meal of Japanese-inspired dishes, an Asahi beer or glass of wine and entry into Japan supernatural. Tuck into a bento box, which includes white miso ocean trout skewers with yuzu sesame; fried pork and ginger gyoza; and a crunchy chicken katsu sando with white cabbage and bulldog sauce. Or, pick the seared snapper with spring vegetables or the eggplant with cashew chipotle cream and toasted sunflower seeds. Sides-wise, you can opt for a green salad, steamed broccolini or chips for an additional $12. For dessert, you can choose from either yuzu cheesecake or coconut sorbet. [caption id="attachment_756161" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] For those after a strong tipple with their food, try one of the specially created Japanese-inspired cocktails on offer, and a sip of a traditional saké, yuzushu citrus liqueur, or umeshu, made from ume fruits. Then, when you're close to bursting, wander through the gallery and go check out the landmark exhibition, including these five must-see artworks. The dining package is available at Chiswick at the Gallery throughout the duration of the Japan supernatural exhibition. It's available for lunch daily and for dinner on Wednesday nights until Sunday, March 8. The price also includes entry into the exhibition. To make a reservation, head to the restaurant's website.
Early 2000s, Apple-powered minimalism. It's a thing. At least one this designer is running with. German designer Klaus Geiger has resurrected the now-retired Apple Power Mac G5, the once proud must-have of the post-millennium hoo-ha, in a stunning new furniture line we're chomping at the bit to have in the office. If it's not too painful, cast your mind back to 2003. Botttles full o' bub were being swilled by Fiddy Cent. Ol' Delta Goodrem gave the finger to Neighbours. The US launched a slight little you know, invasion of Iraq. Things were on the move. Apparently the still slick-looking Mac was the fastest in the Apple family when it hit shelves in the same golden year of 2003, now it lies dormant, superseded by Airs and Pros. But old models don't just vanish into the ether. Geiger's elegant-as-blazes project BENCHMA(®)C rounded up the old towers and transformed them into sleek desks, shelving units, drawers that make you remember the Macs of the millenium not as this: but as sleek marvels of minimalist design. Like this: We're signing up now. Via The Verge. All images Klaus Geiger
Real life has enough drama, as we all well and truly know at the moment. When it comes to getting cosy on your couch, you can be forgiven for wanting to forget the world's troubles — and your own, and this year's — and get caught up in a side-splitting comedy instead. Our tip: pick a top-notch TV series of the rib-tickling kind and stream (or re-stream) your way through it. Some you can knock out fairly quickly, filling your weekend with laughter. Others will take weeks and months, and will constantly brighten up your days in the process. From acerbic delights and absurd wonders to heartwarming gems and instant classics, streaming platform Binge isn't lacking in the comedy department. Because being able to lose yourself in a hilarious TV series is one of life's simple but much-needed pleasures, we've teamed up with the Australian service to highlight five shows that are guaranteed to have you giggling and guffawing — including via a 14-day free trial for new customers.
Lorde, that dynamo 17-year-old with the Grammys and the dance moves and the best friend named David Bowie, has been hit by illness after a gargantuan string of performances including Coachella, forcing her to postpone her Australian tour dates. Set to hit our shores in just a couple of days, Lorde was set to perform at eight shows across the country including Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane. The Pure Heroine issued a statement via press release today: "It breaks my heart to have to postpone these shows as the band and I absolutely love playing to Australian crowds, and it was not a decision we made lightly," she said. "I know I need to focus on getting better in order to perform at my best. We'll be with you as soon as we can, Aussies." After a heartbreaking cancellation earlier in the year, this will (hopefully) eventually be Lorde's first Australian stadium tour since playing smaller club venues and the Laneway circuit. And while we were sure to get the full royal treatment from her 2013 breakthrough album Pure Heroine, this 2014 tour was said to have some surprises in store. It's been announced there will be a huge light show component, but we're keeping our fingers crossed for a cameo from Ziggy Stardust. Management have yet to release further information or rescheduled tour dates as yet, or whether refunds will be issued. Stay tuned for more details, for now give your neighbours a little singalong concert. Here's where the postponed tour dates currently sit: Thu 24 Apr — Festival Hall, Melbourne (All Ages) POSTPONED Sat 26 Apr — Festival Hall, Melbourne POSTPONED Sun 27 Apr — EC Theatre, Adelaide (All Ages) POSTPONED Tue 29 Apr — Challenge Stadium, Perth (All Ages) POSTPONED Fri 2 May — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (All Ages) POSTPONED Sat 3 May — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (All Ages) POSTPONED Sun 4 May — Entertainment Centre, Newcastle (All Ages) POSTPONED Tue 6 May — Riverstage, Brisbane (All Ages) POSTPONED
If you needed more evidence that teenagers are becoming even smarter at a younger age, look no further. A new trend has emerged in Midwest America, where teenagers are reportedly soaking candy in alcohol in order to get drunk. Long gone are the days when young hooligans would wait outside the bottle shop and desperately beg the first bloke with facial hair to buy them a case of Bacardi Breezers. Instead, candy is being soaked in spirits before being consumed in a seemingly harmless practice. These teenagers were even able to pick the cutest and most innocent candy as their method of intoxication: the gummy bear. Darcy Jensen from Prairie View Prevention Services works in South Dakota to stop underage drinking. She notes that whilst the problem has not yet become widespread, she has already sent out warnings to schools across the state about the dangerous new practice. "Maybe someone has offered the candy and they didn't even know. So telling the kids ahead of time this could be something to be aware of is important," she said. Darcy raises a valid point. Teenagers might think twice about accepting a drink from a stranger, but a gummy bear? Never. She notes that this new trend will provide parents with a good opportunity to talk to their children about the hazards of underage drinking, and describes the gummy bears as "a good conversation starter." Maybe confectionery giants should start selling candy in brown paper bags from now on. [via Keloland]
One device to brew them all? Blending slow cold drip coffee with cold/hot pourovers in one genius brewing device, two Queensland coffee companies are teaming up to crowdfund the Brewover. Green coffee supplier Bean Grean and roaster Manna Beans are trying to raise $65,000 toward this new controllable flow hot/cold brewer, which would prick the ears of many an Australian cafe needing to save on space (or straight-up coffee nerds in general). The Kickstarter campaign, which prices the Brewover at around $60 a pop, has currently raised $13,300 with 29 days to go. So how does it work? Coffee purists might turn their nose up, but the team truly know what's up when it comes to coffee brewing methods. The Brewover all hinges on what's called the flow control valve, allowing to switch between three different brewing methods: hot/cold pourovers and cold drip. Pourovers are easy stuff; just pop a Chemex filter in the glass cone and brew hot/cold as usual. Cold drip? Just use the same glass cone as a water reservoir and attach an Aeropress filter under the brew chamber. Pure, well-brewed genius. Via Daily Coffee News.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Rekorderlig. Foraging through the snow in search of electronic music just got significantly easier; Rekorderlig (ever keen to demonstrate that Aussies should be tackling winter with a tad more brio than a pack of grizzlies) has revealed the 'mystery location' for free upcoming music event Sounds in the Snow. On September 13, just as the flakes start to melt and smack bang in the middle of the Toyota One Hit Wonder Mountain Festival, Sounds in the Snow will take place by the Rekorderlig Hot Pools at the Thredbo Alpine Hotel. Sydney synth pop boys Panama will appear in Thredbo to deliver their so-called hopeful house music live. Fronted by Perth-born songwriter and classically-trained pianist Jarrah McCleary, the trio are currently touring Europe and the United States on the back of sophomore EP Always. Sounds in the Snow is just one of the many excuses that Rekorderlig's giving you to head to the snow this season. Afternoon sessions are happening at the Thredbo Alpine Hotel every Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 3pm and 6pm; fire pits are burning; the Rekorderlig Hot Pool is providing serious apres-ski relaxation; and their tasty cinnamon and vanilla-fused Winter Cider is at the top of the drinks menu. Sounds in the Snow is a free gig happening from 4-5pm on Saturday, September 13 by the Rekorderlig Hot Pools at the Thredbo Alpine Hotel. For the latest updates, join the Rekorderlig Facebook page. https://youtube.com/watch?v=UylPrMcurB8
Already an enormous success on Broadway, in London's West End and in Melbourne, Tony and Olivier award-winning musical Come From Away is touring its remarkable true tale around Australia's east coast. Based on real post-September 11 events, the acclaimed production will actually return to Melbourne in January 2021 for an encore season of kind-hearted charm, before heading to Brisbane in March and Sydney in June — visiting the Queensland and New South Wales capitals for the first time. If you aren't familiar with the musical's plot or the actual events that inspired it, it's quite the exceptional story. In the week after the September 11 attacks in 2001, 38 planes were unexpectedly ordered to land in the small Canadian town of Gander, in the province of Newfoundland. Part of Operation Yellow Ribbon — which diverted civilian air traffic to Canada en masse following the attacks — the move saw around 7000 air travellers grounded in the tiny spot, almost doubling its population. Usually, the town is home to just under 12,000 residents. To create Come From Away, writers and composers Irene Sankoff and David Hein spent hundreds of hours interviewing thousands of locals and passengers, using their experiences to drive the narrative — and, in many cases, using their real names in the show as well. The result is a musical not just about people coming from away (the term that Newfoundlanders use to refer to folks not born on the island), but coming together, all at a time when tensions were running high worldwide. Since being workshopped in 2012, having a run in Ontario in 2013, then officially premiering in San Diego in 2015, Come From Away has become a global smash hit. After opening on Broadway in 2017, it was still running before the theatre district closed due to COVID-19. The musical wowed crowds in the West End, too — and, when it first opened in Melbourne in July 2019, it became the Comedy Theatre's most successful musical in the venue's 91-year history. Along the way, the show has picked up a Tony Award for best direction of a musical, six other nominations, and four Olivier Awards out of nine nominations. Come From Away was actually initially due to head from Melbourne to Sydney in 2020, but that's one of the many things that didn't happen this year. COME FROM AWAY 2021 AUSTRALIAN TOUR Melbourne: January 19–March 21, Comedy Theatre Brisbane: March 26–April 18, QPAC Lyric Theatre Sydney: June 3–July 21, Capitol Theatre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zmvy1p2FOE&feature=emb_title Come From Away will return to Melbourne's Comedy Theatre from January 19–March 21, then hit Brisbane's QPAC Lyric Theatre from March 26–April 18 and Sydney's Capitol Theatre from June 3–July 21. For further information — or to buy tickets — visit the musical's website. Images: Jeff Busby.
Since setting up in Rotterdam in 1997, Superuse Studios have been leading the way when it comes to sustainable architecture and design - both interior and exterior. Their portfolio includes a children's playground made out of old windmills, a contemporary art space that was once a shipping yard and a residence constructed entirely of recycled materials. Superuse are currently showcasing their latest designs at London's Architecture Foundation, where they'll be hanging about until July 31st. Some of their most recent developments have arisen from collaboration with students at the Royal Academy of Art at the Hague. Founder Jan Jogert has told The Guardian, the aim is to 'identify and connect available flows in the urban ecosystem.' One success story is that of GRO Holland, a project that involves recycling the 98.8% of produce wasted in the coffee-making process. Left-over grounds are gathered from cafes and blended with spores from oyster mushrooms, then cultivated in a dark, warm place. The resulting fungi are sold back to the cafes, while the waste produced goes to local tulip farmers. Superuse are also about to embark on the construction of a visitors' centre, which will again feature mushrooms and coffee grounds, this time as insulation. 'It is only through transparency that things will change,' Jongert says. 'The idea of connecting these disparate flows will become a big part of the economy. It will have to happen – we have no other choice.' [Via PSFK]
Sydney's glorious northern beaches are dotted with cafes and eateries, but a lot of them aren't the easiest to get to if you don't have your own set of wheels. Especially if you want to want to get a quick dip in pre- or post-feed. With this in mind, we've teamed up with premium car sharing service Popcar so you can up your brunch game this summer. As Popcar lets you enjoy the benefits of owning a car without all the hassle, it's a great way of exploring more of Sydney and its surrounds. And, so you can hit up some pristine beaches and get a quality cup of joe with ease, we're giving you the chance to use Popcar for free. Better yet, you'll win vouchers to five awesome northern beaches cafes, too. Take a walk along the sand at Shelly Beach and have brekkie at The Boathouse or brunch on the Manly beachfront at Bluewater Cafe after an early morning swim. Or, make a day of it and fuel up at Bella Vista Cafe before exploring North Head Sanctuary, then head back for oysters and rosé with a view at The Pantry Manly. And, when you want something more secluded, head further north and discover the Waterfront Store at Church Point. To get you to all these hot spots and back, we're giving away a Popcar membership, with no sign up or subscription fees, plus five days free use of a Popcar vehicle. Just hop in the car and zoom around to these various spots along Sydney's northern coastline. To enter, see details below. [competition]757361[/competition]
If you're a fan of Australian music, you must have heard of BIGSOUND. Australia's answer to Austin's South by Southwest, Brisbane's annual music conference/festival is tailor made for true music fans and industry reps alike. Although the event doesn't boast huge international headline acts, BIGSOUND does something better. The three-day event helps to unearth and promote up-and-coming Australian and New Zealand acts, as well as informing the world of the current and future trends and ideas cooking within the music industry. Bigwigs from all over the world head to Brisbane's Fortitude Valley to check out what Australia has to offer, and it can be a huge boost for any band on the lineup to simply attend and connect with the right people to help them on the way to stardom. There's a significant amount of networking afoot for Aussie artists wanting to snag an overseas door-opener. Best of all, BIGSOUND attracts thousands of punters into Fortitude Valley over two nights to witness 140 bands play across 14 venues. They don’t call it BIGSOUND for nothing. There is a lot to see and do. If you're struggling to decide who to check out on Wednesday or Thursday night, we have handpicked a few artists that, in our humble opinion, are absolute must-sees. Bad//Dreems Adelaide rock foursome Bad//Dreems have been on a roll over the past two years after meeting at their local football club. The lads have earned high acclaim for their brand of straight shootin' rock and roll that embodies the dispassionate psyche of our youth under that hot Australian sun. These guys put on a great show — mark them on your timetable and make sure you're front row when they rock out. Wednesday night: JBL Live Stage, The Brightside (Outdoor) @ 9:40pm. Blank Realm Brisbane band Blank Realm are the dark horse of Australian music. After making moves in the underground, this psych rock band has been playing some big festivals overseas including Glastonbury, Spain's Benicassim and Valkhof Festival in the Netherlands. Their past two albums have also been widely critically acclaimed, so find out what's behind the hype and see this band. Wednesday night: New Globe Theatre @ 11:20pm. Client Liaison Melbourne duo Client Liaison produces pop music that oozes style. Although retro in aesthetic, Client Liaison are entirely new age. Don’t let the big hair and glittery synthesizers fool you – the debut EP from these dudes is a modern slice of cool. If you want to dance at BIGSOUND, stop by and check out Client Liaison. Thursday night: triple j Unearthed Stage, Oh Hello! @ 11:30pm. D.D Dumbo Castlemaine multi-instrumentalist, D.D Dumbo aka Oliver Hugh Perry specialises in minimalist compositions that incorporates traditional instruments with percussive loops and crooning vocals. D.D Dumbo’s 'Tropical Oceans' is one of the best songs of the year by one of the most unique artists operating today. One of Splendour's runaway goalkickers, make sure you have D.D at the top of your priorities. Wednesday night: Alhambra Lounge @ 11:20pm. Klo Klo is cousins Simon Lam and Chloe Kaul. The duo are one of the freshest on the BIGSOUND lineup, having only started making music together in 2013. Lush electronic arrangements mix with ethereal and dreamy vocals to make an alluring sound, one that will take Klo very far. Wednesday night: triple j Unearthed Stage, Oh Hello! @ 9:50pm. Oscar Key Sung As one part of Oscar + Martin, Oscar Slorach-Thorn grew accustomed to playing big stages. Under his solo guise, Oscar Key Sung, the producer has created some of the best tunes in the tightly-knit Australian electronic spectrum. OKS has toured internationally and has sold out more shows than he can count; his performance is sure to be BIGSOUND highlight. Wednesday night: inthemix Stage, Woolly Mammoth @ 11:30pm. Pikelet Evelyn Morris has been performing as Pikelet since 2007, sharing the stage with some of the best in the game over the years. If Sufjan Stevens, Goldfrapp and Devendra Banhart are names you're fond of, make sure you check out the musician they handpicked as their support act. Thursday night: The Underdog @ 8:50pm. Teeth & Tongue New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based musician Jess Cornelius is Teeth & Tongue. Her third album, GRIDS, is a great collection of emotive pop — drum machine and evocative guitar lines are her forte, songs about love, loss and life are her passion. Critically acclaimed and well travelled, Teeth & Tongue is a sure BIGSOUND thing. Wednesday night: Black Bear Lodge @ 9pm. Tkay Maidza If you've turned on the radio over the past 12 months, you've certainly heard Tkay Maidza. The 18-year-old's massive hit, 'Brontosaurus' got feet stomping nationwide. Fresh from huge appearances at Splendour in the Grass and Groovin'The Moo, the Zimbabwe-born, Australia-raised MC is on a rapid rise to international recognition. Be there for bragging rights before she takes over the world. Thursday night: JBL Live Stage, The Brightside (Outdoor) @ 9:40pm. Yeo Brisbane-raised, Melbourne-based Yeo is a worldly soul who creates evocative and emotive R&B electronica. This super talented musician writes, records and produces his own music, entirely in control of his own unique artistic vision. Anyone with such talent and drive is worth seeing, especially the sonically intriguing Yeo. Wednesday night: inthemix Stage, Woolly Mammoth @ 9pm. The go-to happening for Australian music fans and industry leaders alike, BIGSOUND is your ticket to big gigs, big rubbing shoulders ops and even bigger ideas. Check out the full BIGSOUND program of panels, events and gigs right here.
Eminent Australian rock photographer Tony Mott has had a pretty sweet time on the road with some of the world’s most respected musicians. If you fancy a glimpse into his impressive portfolio, the State Library of NSW will be showcasing a selection of his work in What a Life!. You will see awe-inspiring shots of Iggy Pop bounding off speakers as well as Mick Jagger caught mid-swagger. A photograph of Chrissy Amphlett, lead singer of the Divinyls, taken back in 1983, catapulted Mott into the music industry. He has since published over 30,000 photographs in 20 countries. As well as capturing the raw power of rock ‘n’ roll, Mott has documented the changing nature of live music in Australia, from the advent of digital photography to the loss of countless entertainment venues.
Australia's theatre scene hasn't had much to smile about in 2020; however, when 2021 rolls around, some venues around the country will kick back into gear with a little help from their friends. Well, with Friends! The Musical Parody to be specific — with the comedic, song-filled satire of everyone's favourite 90s sitcom touring the country next year. Initially, the show was due to hit local theatres in August and September this year. Then, when the pandemic struck, the musical rescheduled to November and December instead. But it seems that 2020 hasn't been anyone's year — or included anyone's favourite day, week or month, for that matter — so the production has now shifted its entire run to 2021. Scheduled to kick off on the Gold Coast before being there for audiences in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Sydney, Friends! The Musical Parody will spend time with Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey and Phoebe, of course. Here, they're hanging out at their beloved Central Perk — and sitting on an orange couch, no doubt — when a runaway bride shakes up their day. Call it 'The One with the Loving, Laugh-Filled Lampoon', or 'The One That Both Makes Good-Natured Fun of and Celebrates an Iconic Sitcom'. Yes, no one told you that being obsessed with the Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer-starring show about six New Yorkers would turn out this way — with on-stage skits and gags, recreations of some of the series' best-known moments, and songs with titles such as 'How you Doin?' and 'We'll Always Be There For You'. That said, no one told us that being a Friends aficionado would continue to serve up so many chances to indulge our fandom 16 years after it finished airing, including via an upcoming reunion special that'll gather the TV series' main cast back together. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Friends! The Musical Parody (@friendsthemusicalau) FRIENDS! THE MUSICAL PARODY AUSTRALIAN TOUR: Gold Coast: Thursday, February 11–Saturday, February 13 at The Star Gold Coast Melbourne: Wednesday, June 16–Saturday, June 19 at the Comedy Theatre Brisbane: Thursday, Augustt 19–Saturday, August 21 at the Tivoli Theatre Parramatta: Thursday, September 2–Saturday, September 4 at Riverside Theatre Adelaide: Friday, September 24 at Her Majesty's Theatre Perth: Saturday, October 16 at Regal Theatre Friends! The Musical Parody tours the country from February–October 2021. For further details, and to buy tickets, visit the production's website.
Australia Day, or as it's more correctly pronounced, 'Straya Day, is a pinnacle date on the calender to celebrate our lives and the country we live in. Smack bang in the middle of summer, there is no better time to lounge yourself outdoors for a well-deserved day off. Grab a bucket hat, a pair of sunnies and slide into your favourite pair of thongs (not flip-flops!) before heading to one of these destinations. The Beach Is there anything more Australian than going to the beach on Australia Day? No there isn't, provided you've got an esky and plenty of longnecks at your disposal. Besides the obvious choices of Bondi and Coogee, the nooks and crannies around Bronte and Tamarama play host to several parties and drinking spots, with McKenzies Bay the most notorious. If you reside on the north side, kickstart your day with the big breakfast at Dee Why. If you do decide to grab a spot on the sands, make sure you have plenty of sunscreen, as there's nothing healthy about a tan. Furthermore, remember that swimming while intoxicated tends to be a bad idea, so look after yourself and your mates. I don't want to sound like a lecturing mother, but safety always comes first. Freda's Concrete Playground favourite Freda's will celebrate Australia Day by extending their regular happy hour to a whopping six hours, and cheap drink specials will be on offer from midday to 6 pm. In addition to house beers and wines for $5, you'll also find prawns and oysters at reasonable prices. Furthermore, they promise to host a handful of surprises on the day, so you never know what may eventuate. Seafood and schooners? Sounds like a win-win situation. The Rocks A hub of Sydney City that is full of rich history, the unmistakable cobblestone streets of the Rocks will transform into an open festival on Australia Day. Kicking off just before midday and ending at 8:30 pm, there is plenty of time to browse the market stalls, enjoy a beverage at the many pubs and cafes, or just relax before an unbeatable view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. All this will be accompanied by live music on three stages from the likes of Blue King Brown, Archie Roach and the Cat Empire's Harry James Angus. The best part? This event is absolutely free, which means more coin to be spent purchasing schooners. For drinking purposes it'll be a good idea to head down to The Argyle, who will provide brews, a BBQ and face-painting. Leave with a sausage and a smudged flag on your forehead. The Deck Sitting just inside the overarching smile of Luna Park, The Deck provides spectacular views of the harbour that will "tug at your patriotic heartstrings." Importantly, this will give you unbeatable views of the annual Ferrython race, whereby marine vessels will travel from Circular Quay to Shark Island before a photo finish at the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Sit back and cheer on your favourite boat with $5 beers for the day. Later on in the night, you'll get 2 for 1 wines and cocktails if you're feeling a little classy. Australia Day Spectacular Fireworks fiends who are still reeling in excitement from the New Year's Eve display will be treated to a second helping at Cockle Bay. A fireworks display will be accompanied by an epic lights and music show. A boat parade and water police rescue will also take place, which will undoubtedly please the kids. This kicks off at 7 pm, which will be a perfect sunset end to the holiday. Havaiana Thong Challenge Get an early start to Australia Day at North Bondi for the famous Havaiana Thong Challenge. After registering your name and a fee of $25, grab yourself an giant inflatable thong and head out to the ocean. By doing so, you'll be partaking in a nationwide competition to see which Australian state can have the most floating thongs on the day. NSW will be defending their title in 2012, as over 2000 people floated their way to victory last year at Bondi. Furthermore, $10 of each registration will go to the local Nippers club. Big Day Out Besides getting to hang out with a bunch of people who like to wear Australian flags as capes, the Big Day Out also provides a consistent quality line-up for music fans, and 2012 is no exception. Local true blue favourites such as The Living End, Grinspoon and Regurgitator will appease the wife-beater wearing audience, and the international appearance from Soundgarden will also appeal to this demographic. Fresh from releasing his critically-acclaimed collaboration album with Jay-Z, Kanye West headlines Sydney's grand stage with his opulent live show. Heavy bass and electronic fans will be pleased with the addition of Bassnectar, Nero and Perth's own ShockOne.
Do you have the physical endurance of Cadel Evans and the creative genius of Picasso? Michael J. Wallace has found a neat way of combining both of these talents, all while getting the daily dose of fresh air and outdoor exercise that we so dearly need. Wallace creates bicycle routes in his hometown of Baltimore, and then rides them with the accompinament of a GPS tracker. Amazingly, all of these bicycle routes are in fact pictures. So as he pedals along innocently down the streets of B'more, he is in fact drawing his very own geographical masterpiece. Collected in the website WallyGPX, he's drawn and rode some characters and scenarios that are impressive in their complexity. These include a man surfing, a semi-trailer, and even a depiction of the landing on the moon. Given that one wrong turn could effectively ruin his canvas, you've got to appreciate this man's ambition. Do you have the energy and skill to create your own artistic bicycle or running routes? Give it a go in your hometown, and see if your friends can guess what picture you've mapped out. In effect, this could become a game of Draw Something - but way harder and infinitely more awesome.
This article is part of our series on the diverse highlights of NZ's Canterbury region, from city to snow. To book your Canterbury trip, visit the 100% Pure New Zealand website. There's nothing quite like a road trip. Even if you're not completely sold on the idea of long hours wedged into the backseat of your friend's Corolla, the high points of a roadie — driving along the highway, windows down, the purpose-made road trip playlist blaring, obviously — definitely outweigh the low ones. Especially when you've got incredible scenery and lots of awe-worthy stops along the way. That's why New Zealand is made for road trips. Not only is it crazy beautiful with a landscape that changes at every turn (right or wrong), it's a country that you can cross in little more than three hours. It's tiny. Unlike Australia, driving around NZ isn't a ridiculous task — everything's compact, and it never takes more than a few hours to get somewhere great. In fact, you probably won't even need to pee on the side of the road once. There are a slew of routes you can take to get right down the North and South Islands, but for an easy drive and a chance to see the most in a short amount of time, take your road trip to Canterbury. The region that includes Christchurch and its surrounds — from Kaikoura all the way down to Timaru and across to the Southern Alps — it boasts a landscape that's so incredibly diverse, it's almost unbelievable. In any one day you can be driving across the plains, through snow-topped mountains and around glaciers — without even leaving the snug confines of the region. So what exactly should you mark on your map? Start in Christchurch and make your way down to the ski region, pull up under the stars at Lake Tekapo and put your hiking boots on at Mount Cook — it's all in our guide to the ultimate Canterbury road trip. Christchurch In Canterbury, Christchurch is your best base. It's New Zealand's second biggest city so you can get a direct flight with Air New Zealand from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne for a coupla hundred bucks. It's choice. From the airport, pick up your ride and head into the city — it's a simple enough drive and, bonus, road rules are basically the same for Australians. It just gets a bit tricky (read: impossible) once you hit the city centre, as a heap of roads are either one-way or closed and lanes are defined by a small army of witches hats. Christchurch is a city rebuilding, but that doesn't mean there's not a lot happening. The locals here are making it work, and it's incredible to see how they're reinventing the city as their own. You'd be best to take a full day here — two if you can — to eat, drink, see and learn. The CBD isn't that big, so you can easily walk from breakfast at Black Betty to the Re:START shipping container mall and the Christchurch Art Gallery. Make sure you take a walk to the Botanic Gardens (they're the third biggest city gardens in the world, behind New York and Munich) and head over to New Regent Street for dinner and then a drink in the Christchurch's cosiest whiskey bar, The Last Word. The surrounding suburbs have it going on too, so, seeing as you've got wheels, head out to The Tannery shopping precinct in Woolston and picturesque port town Lyttleton. Stay: The George, 50 Park Terrace, Christchurch Central, thegeorge.com Methven Whether you have a carload of ski bunnies or not, Methven is the perfect little ski town to stop off at once you leave Christchurch. Just an hour or so out of the city, Methven sits near the base of Mt Hutt, so it's teeming with ski pros and staff that work up on the mountain. They frequent the Blue Pub and the Brown Pub — they sit opposite each other on the main street, it's all very quaint — and The Last Post of an evening, all of which house fireplaces, hearty dishes and lots of booze. And you'll need all of these things if you do or don't decide to go skiing up at Mt Hutt. You are? A shuttle picks up skiers from most hotels each morning (no need to book) and will bring you back down in the afternoon. Just be warned: the drive up is unsealed and unnerving as hell if it's your first time. Not heading up the mountain? There are plenty of walks you can do around the area, and thanks to the cooperation of local farmers, some of them pass through some very pretty private land. Just don't forget your beanie. Stay: Ski Time Lodge, 39 Racecourse Road, Methven, skitime.co.nz Lake Tekapo When you've had enough of skiing (or sitting by the fire in the pub), it's onward to Lake Tekapo. If you haven't seen photos of Tekapo, refrain from doing so before your trip — it'll make your first sighting even better. The water in this lake is the bluest of blue, so much so that I'd be inclined to say it was magic if someone didn't tell me that it comes from the reflective rock flour that gets ground into the lake by the glacier that feeds it. Whatever the reason though, this place has snow-topped mountains bordering the lake and the adorable Church of the Good Shepherd sitting on it's shores, and it's stunning. In winter it's covered in a blanket of snow, and later in the year it's blooming with lupins — you really can't lose. Spend a day or two hiking up Mt John, stargazing, bathing in the hot pools or sipping wine by the fire. Have a look at our Tekapo itinerary for deets. Stay: Peppers Bluewater Resort, State Highway 8, Lake Tekapo, peppers.co.nz/bluewater or the YHA Lake Tekapo for some great indoor views of the lake, 3 Simpson Lane, Lake Tekapo, yha.co.nz Mount Cook In a country full of really big mountains, you know that the biggest one of the lot of going to be massive. So, yes, Mount Cook (also known as Aoraki) is really, really big. If you know what you're looking at you can even see it from Tekapo, but it's worth getting up close. Take State Highway 8 and stop along the banks of Lake Pukaki — it's even bigger than Tekapo and there's a salmon shop with some incredibly fresh smoked salmon that comes straight from the salmon farms that are dotted around Canterbury's canals. (Just make sure you get at least two servings because that stuff is seriously good.) From there you head around the blue oasis of Pukaki and up towards Mount Cook. The township is tiny, but there's plenty of accommodation as plenty of people come here to hike and do heli-skiing and other adventurous things. So unless you're an experienced hiker, you won't be climbing to the summit of this big boy, but there's a whole heap of walks you can do, whether you want to be walking for an hour or a whole day. It's best to drive up to the car park of Aoraki/Mount Cook National Reserve and take it from there; you'll get some sweet views from Kea Point and the Hooker River swing bridge without even having to venture too far. Christchurch Round off your road trip by heading back to Christchurch. It's the longest stretch at about four hours, but it will be a welcome excuse to stay stationary if there's been hiking involved. If you do have an extra day or two in the city and want to get a feel of the Canterbury Plains, take a drive out to Arthur's Pass — it's one of the most scenic you can do. Or else, book yourself in for jetboating (it's something of a national pastime here) on the Waimak Gorge or four wheel driving over Mt Torlesse Station through Alpine Safaris. Both give you some killer views that you wouldn't be able to get without their help.
If you didn't know that Jordan Peele was involved with HBO series Lovecraft Country, it really wouldn't take you long to guess. As based on the novel of the same name, the horror-drama steps back to 50s-era America, to a time of segregation, and into the life of Atticus 'Tic' Freeman (Jonathan Majors). He has returned from the Korean War, is trying to track down his missing father (Michael K Williams), and soon finds himself surrounded by monsters of the fantastical and very real kind. Yes, as he did so impressively in Get Out and Us, Peele once again examines the historical and current treatment of Black Americans through an unflinching and unsettling genre lens. He's Lovecraft Country's executive producer, rather than taking on writing or directing duties, but this is another exceptional, thematically powerful and visually engaging addition to his resume.
How are you planning to spend gravy day in 2023? If you'll be listening to Paul Kelly sing about making gravy when it's the 21st of December, that's understandable. How are you planning to spend gravy day in 2024? Here's our suggestion: watching the movie How to Make Gravy, which is indeed adapted from Kelly's Christmas classic tune 'How to Make Gravy'. News that the flick was coming first dropped in 2022, with musician Meg Washington and writer/director Nick Waterman announcing that they'd locked in the rights to make the song into a film. Now, Australian streaming platform Binge has revealed that it's behind the movie, which will mark its first-ever original feature. Production has also started head of a planned 2024 release. Set to star: The Royal Hotel co-stars Daniel Henshall and Hugo Weaving, as well as Brenton Thwaites (Titans), Damon Herriman (now that he's no longer playing Charles Manson in both Mindhunter and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Kate Mulvany (The Clearing) among the homegrown talents. Joining them is French actor Agathe Rousselle from Titane, who'll be making her first English-language film. Will Kelly feature? More cast members are still to be revealed, but cameos by Adam Briggs and Dallas Woods have been announced so far. Filming is currently underway on the Gold Coast. The exact story that the movie will tell hasn't been unveiled as yet; however, as anyone who knows the words to 'How to Make Gravy' by heart and is currently singing them right now while they're reading this is well aware, Kelly's tune tells a tale itself, starting with a prisoner called Joe who writes to his brother Dan. Presumably, Stella, Frank and Dolly will all also feature, and Rita, Roger, Mary and her new boyfriend. Junior Murvin will have to pop up on the soundtrack, of course. Also, the words "and give my love to Angus" better get uttered — or would it really be a How to Make Gravy movie? Although Binge hasn't advised exactly when in 2024 the film will release, either, you could probably put money on it hitting screens on or around December 21 to start a new gravy day tradition. (And, given the character of Joe also pops up in other Kelly songs such as 'To Her Door' and 'Love Never Runs On Time', cross your fingers that we're about to get a PKCU — Paul Kelly cinematic universe — too.) "It's a dream to be working with such an incredible cast and crew on our debut feature film. It's testament to Paul's songwriting that the world and characters within the song are so vivid, and we are proud to have the honour of bringing it to life," said Waterman and Washington. "It's a uniquely Australian story, made for film lovers and music fans alike. We can't wait to share our adaptation of 'How to Make Gravy' with the world." There's no trailer for the movie yet, of course, but here's the music video for the song. How to Make Gravy, the movie, doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when further details are announced. Via Variety.
Shunning the usual sci-fi stereotypes of aliens and laser guns in favour of an emotional journey that is as powerful and thought provoking as it is really quite horrifying, William Eubank's debut feature Love is an opus on a celestial scale. Orbiting Earth in a one-man space station, astronaut Lee Miller (Gunner Wright) loses contact with Houston, quickly and painfully becoming all too aware of what it is to be truly alone. As time passes, life support systems begin to fade, and the loneliest man in the known universe has to battle to maintain his sanity. The film, led by a truly engaging score provided by Angels and Airwaves, asks the question, is a life without someone to share it with really a life at all? With interviews and sequences from across history popping up throughout the movie, it can be easy to lose track of what is actually going on, meaning that to really get the best out of this picture you have to be prepared to think. If you can handle that, then you're in for a ride that'll paint an immersive and highly evolved picture of resilience in the human condition, one that will leave you in thoughtful silence as you leave the theatre. Four years in the making, the project appeared from the ashes of another's failure — namely, Tom DeLonge's ill-fated idea of creating a music video for each track on one of Angels and Airwaves' albums, an idea that was abandoned because the videos just weren't interesting enough. Produced on a miniscule budget (the space station was actually built in the driveway of the director's parents), Love is an impressive feat. With little to no character interaction throughout, Miller's surroundings become a secondary character themselves, with every flashing light and shining white surface becoming an ever shifting, breathing wall in a claustrophobic prison. Love is a movie with a striking message that really needed to be delivered, but on the whole it fails to perform its purpose. Visually striking and painstakingly crafted, it is a credit to all involved, but really it's just like a Russian Doll — filled with many layers and surprises but ultimately empty. https://youtube.com/watch?v=YiYmAixzpMg
Vivid Sydney is really cranking it up this year. Last month they announced a truly epic program of lights, music, ideas and live events, which, in one heck of a slam dunk, included none other than Björk (BJÖRK!). As part of Carriageworks' contemporary program, she'll launch a huge virtual reality project dubbed BJÖRK DIGITAL — a collaboration with some of the world's best filmmakers and programmers. And to celebrate the opening, Björk herself will travel to Sydney to curate a one-off music event at Carriageworks, where she'll DJ with special guests. In a response that absolutely everybody expected, the opening night event sold out quick sticks. While that leaves the 12 people who actually got tickets pretty smug and happy, it leaves the rest of us sad and confused as to how we'll live a life where Björk doesn't make an appearance. Luckily, Carriageworks have today announced that they'll be adding a second BJÖRK DIGITAL party, to be held the night following the opening on Saturday, June 4. The event itself cost $110 a tickie, and will include access to the BJÖRK DIGITAL exhibition, DJ sets by special guests and a DJ set by Björk herself. As well as the two big parties, the exhibition will run from June 4-18. It will include a downright must-experience program of her extensive video, multimedia and virtual reality works. Tickets for the BJÖRK DIGITAL Party #2 go on sale this Friday, April 8 at 9am. To snap some up, visit the Carriageworks website. By Shannon Connellan and Lauren Vadnjal.
Whether you went for work, leisure or something in-between, if you're a Sydneysider who recently travelled to Brisbane, you were probably happy to venture further than your own city. But, with the Queensland capital currently experiencing its second three-day lockdown for 2021, the New South Wales Government now requires anyone who has been in the Greater Brisbane area since Saturday, March 20 to also abide by the same conditions. Yes, you should be feeling a bit of deja vu. Exactly the same thing happened when Brisbane went into its first three-day lockdown for 2021 back in January. NSW isn't closing its border to Queensland, or to the Greater Brisbane area — but it has put a new isolation requirement in place for anyone in NSW who has been to Greater Brisbane, which includes the Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands local government areas, since the above date. As announced in a NSW Health public health alert released late on Monday, March 29, if you fall into that category, you're required to isolate under the same conditions that'd be in place if you were still in Greater Brisbane. The rules are the same as during NSW's March 2020 lockdown, which means that you're only allowed to leave the house for four reasons. So, you can only head out for work or education if you can't do that at home, for essential shopping, for exercise in your local area, and for health care or to provide support for a vulnerable person. Greater Brisbane's lockdown came into effect at 5pm yesterday, Monday, March 29, and runs through until 5pm on Thursday, April 1. The one exception to NSW's new requirement: if you just transited through Brisbane Airport. If that's the only time you spent in Greater Brisbane since Saturday, March 20, you don't have to abide by the Brisbane lockdown. https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1376416282526949383 With domestic border rules changing over the past few days — including a new flurry of tightened requirements yesterday, once Greater Brisbane's second lockdown was announced — NSW Health is also advising people in the state against non-essential travel to the Greater Brisbane area at present. NSW has also issued a separate health alert regarding venues in Byron Bay, with two of Brisbane's current COVID-19 cases visiting the area between Friday, March 26–Sunday, March 28. As always, Sydneysiders are also asked to continue to frequently check NSW Health's long list of locations and venues that have been visited by positive coronavirus cases — and, if you've been to anywhere listed on the specific dates and times, to get tested immediately and self-isolate. You can also have a look at the venue alerts over at this new interactive map. And, even if you haven't been to a highlighted venue but you have even the mildest of COVID-19 symptoms, you're asked to get tested as well. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website.
Marvin Hamlisch's love letter to the theatre has, since its 1975 debut, become one of musical theatre cannon's most enduring and beloved productions. Its roll call of achievements alone is testament to this: A Chorus Line has picked up ten Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize (not to mention a Helpmann for Best Musical following its recent Australian revival) on its way to becoming one of the longest-running productions in Broadway history. As part of Sydney Festival 2022, this co-production between Darlinghurst Theatre Company and Riverside Theatres, Parramatta, will take its audience once again into the world of backstage to unveil the struggles of Broadway performers, exploring themes of exploitation, racism and sexism. The production also includes some of the all-time great musical theatre numbers, including 'I Hope I Get It', 'One' and 'What I Did For Love'. The short Sydney Festival run promises to be a vibrant and punchy one. It's backed by some of the biggest names working in Australian musical theatre today, including Helpmann-nominated choreographer Amy Campbell (In the Heights, Funny Girl) and musical supervisor Andrew Worboys (Rent, American Psycho). [caption id="attachment_838041" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Robert Catto[/caption] Images: Robert Catto
Getting really into craft beer and growing a beard has been the overwhelming trend of the past year and while beards are apparently on the out, our love of craft beer is only getting stronger. The designers at Swedish-Italian company Sempli know this and they’ve created a set of glasses that not only look like modern art but are engineered to give you the ultimate beer experience. The Monti range includes four pieces of glassware (yes, these babies are not just glasses, they’re glassware) that look like something you'd find on a gallery plinth but are designed for optimum drinking conditions. In the four-set, you'll get a glass for pilsners, IPAs, pints and 12-ounce bottles for a cool (excuse the pun) $100. The glasses are designed to maximise bubbliness and keep the liquid at the optimum drinking temperature for each different type of beer. It’s true what they say: once you go engineered glassware, you never go back to a beer helmet. Bartenders: prepare for yourself the ultimate snobbery of patrons bringing customised IPA glasses to the pub with them. It’s the craft beer snob’s equivalent of using a tin camping mug as your takeaway coffee cup, except slightly more functional. Monti glassware by Sempli will set you back $55 for a two-set or all four for $100 at Sempli.com. Via Fast Co.Design.
Tucked away among the George Street construction chaos and down De Mestre Place, with only a single 'B' hanging outside to hint at its location, Burrow Bar is hard to spot. So you could be forgiven for not having visited yet. But you're on your own if you don't pop in on December 4, because Burrow is holding a very special birthday party. In honour of its second birthday, the owners have invited along bartender friends from some of Sydney's favourite haunts to jump behind the long, narrow bar and show off their skills. This includes Jonathan Carr (Door Knock), Lachie Beange (Archie Rose), Alex Gilmour (Tio's), Jimmy Snelgrove (PS40), Phil Gandevia (Bentley) and Julius Yates (Earl's Juke Joint). Burrow Bar is the brainchild of four friends with a hefty dose of hospitality experience between them. At the moment, the bar's appearance sits firmly in the 'rustic charm' category: sandstone walls, exposed timber ceilings and an eclectic mix of furniture. A refurbishment is scheduled for soon after the event, spurring on the "next era of Burrow Bar". So if you're a fan of the original venue, this is the opportunity to bid it adieu.
On Wednesday, May 28, the restaurant where the burgers are truly better, Chur, is giving away its mighty creations for free. Except that, as we know by now, nothing in life is free, and what this burger will actually cost is a tiny bit of your dignity on social media. Teaming up with ZOOSH dressings, Chur Burger chef and owner Warren Turnbull is serving up a specially made burger, chips and salad, all tszujed up with ZOOSH, for one day only. To get one, you'll need to share your 'yummy face' (like Blue Steel, but for eating) via Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and hashtag it #ZOOSHfoods #NationalBurgerDay. Be at Chur Burger's Surry Hills store to claim your feed. If this sounds like a good deal to you, you'll want to get to Chur early; they start serving at 11am, and the burger/freebie fans are multitudinous. Payment by Instagram plug is having a bit of a moment, so enjoy it (or enjoy mocking it) while it lasts.
2019 is shaping up to be a mighty big year for Elton John. Biopic Rocketman launches into cinemas in May, starring Kingsman's Taron Egerton as the singer and covering his wild 70s antics. The live-action version of The Lion King hits screens come July, featuring the musician's iconic tunes from the original, as well as new songs. And to cap it all off, the star himself is headed our way at the end of the year for a huge farewell tour. Bringing his 300-stop Farewell Yellow Brick Road shows to Australia and New Zealand between November 2019 and February 2020, John has announced 18 concerts across more than two months — including gigs in capital cities, a number of regional dates, and shows at A Day on the Green. More concerts, including shows in north Queensland, will be announced later this year. He kicked off the extensive tour last September, embarking on a three-year global goodbye trip. When it comes to an end, he'll retire from touring after five decades on the road. If that all sounds rather massive, that's John's career in a nutshell. He's played more than 4000 shows across his career, has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and holds the record for the biggest-selling single of all time thanks to the 1997 version of 'Candle in the Wind'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtVBCG6ThDk Fans can expect to feel the love through all of his hits, including 'Rocket Man', 'Tiny Dancer' 'Bennie and the Jets', 'Crocodile Rock', 'I'm Still Standing' and 'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting' — especially the latter, you'd expect, on his six Saturday shows. The concerts will also feature never-before-seen images and videos show from John's 50-year career, which'll be displayed throughout the show, as well as a new tour wardrobe designed by Gucci. ELTON JOHN 'FAREWELL YELLOW BRICK ROAD' 2019 TOUR DATES Perth — Saturday, November 30, 2019 and Sunday, December 1, 2019 at HBF Park Adelaide — Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at Botanic Park Melbourne — Tuesday, December 10, 2019 and Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at Rod Laver Arena Brisbane — Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at Brisbane Entertainment Centre Sydney — Saturday, December 21, 2019 and Monday, December 23, 2019 at ICC Sydney Theatre, plus Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at Qudos Bank Arena Hunter Valley — Saturday, January 11, 2020 at Hope Estate Mount Cotton — Saturday, January 18, 2020 at Sirromet Wines Bathurst — Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at Carrington Park Woodend — Saturday, January 25, 2020 at Hanging Rock Rutherglen — Wednesday, January 29, 2020 at All Saints Estate Yarra Valley — Friday, January 31, 2020 at Rochford Wines Dunedin — Tuesday, February 4, 2020 at Forsyth Barr Stadium Hawke's Bay — Saturday, February 8, 2020 at Mission Estate Winery Auckland — Sunday, February 9, 2020 at Mt Smart Stadium Tickets for Elton John's Australian capital city and New Zealand shows are available from 9am (local time) on Thursday, February 14, 2019, with all other concerts available from 9am (local time) on Friday, February 15, 2019. Visit oznz.eltonjohn.com for further details, as well as information about pre-sales. Image: Ben Gibson.
Fridays are great, except for when your morning trip to work takes much longer than expected. That's the scenario many Sydney commuters faced this morning — Friday, August 23 — when the train network was hit by major delays because of a mechanical issue at Town Hall. As it turns out, it was quite the issue as the delays are set to continue into the evening commute. Make sure your phone's got a lot of juice — or you've at least got a book with you — because Transport for NSW is currently reporting major delays on the T1 North Shore and Western Line, T2 inner West and Leppington Line, T3 Bankstown Line, T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line, T8 Airport and South Line and T9 Northern Line. Yep, that's six out of nine inner city train lines. If you're heading out of town this evening, you should be ok unless you're planning to jump on the Central Coast to Newcastle train — that one has been hit by big delays, too. This morning's incident continues to delay our services into this afternoon's peak. The Rail Operations Centre is working on a plan to run a frequent service on all lines. Please consider travelling home earlier/later or delay any non-essential travel. Updates to follow. pic.twitter.com/EfFeOpiB4l — Trains Info (@TrainsInfo) August 23, 2019 Travellers are being advised to either leave work early, head home later or avoid travelling at all if possible. You'll definitely need to allow plenty of extra time for travel, and make sure you listen to announcements and check indicator boards as trains may have altered stopping patterns. At the moment, the delays don't seem to have hit buses, so, if you're travelling to or from North Sydney you could try the 290, M20, 343 or 263. This morning saw long lines for buses, though, so you can probably expect the same to happen in the after-work rush. The delays come after trains were stopped between Town Hall and North Sydney for over three hours while an electrical crew worked to repair a loose hatch on a train, which was close to overhead wiring. While the mechanical issue was repaired at around 8.45am, but the flow-on effect has been huge. Here are some pictures of just how close this hatch was to 1500 volts of overhead wiring today. It appears that something has struck this hatch prior to arriving at Town Hall. We're investigating. As you can understand, we needed to isolate the power before starting repairs. pic.twitter.com/Px3YkkPDck — Trains Info (@TrainsInfo) August 23, 2019 To stay up-to-date with delays, check the Transport for NSW website and real-time apps. Image: This line for buses at Newtown Station this morning, by Quinn Connors.
Art Month 2016's program has landed — and, boy, does March look better already. It will be the first festival under new artistic director Barry Keldoulis, and while favourites like Collectors' Space and Art at Night will return, some new ideas will be thrown into the mix as well. One of these is this year's feature exhibition, which is designed to give an artist's insight into art and the art world. Titled Green Eyed Monster Eating its Own Tail, it features the works of Tracey Moffatt, Tom Polo, Heath Franco, Grant Stevens, Elvis Richardson, Gordon Bennett (aka John Citizen) and PJ Hickman — and gives some perspective on this very cultural landscape in which Art Month exists. "A key start point for the exhibition is the general suspicion of the wider public in regard to the insular nature of the art world and the idea promoted by the media that the art world is elitist," Keldoulis told us. "The role of Art Month is to overturn these assumptions, and this is an exhibition that explores these ideas in an engaging and often humorous manner, succinctly saying visually what may take hours to try to explain verbally…Why not ask artists themselves for insights into the insecurities, the ego bolstering and bruising, the delights and disappointments of seeking brand-name recognition in a simultaneously supportive yet competitive environment?" But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Art Month 2016 will kick off on Tuesday, March 1, when Beau Neilson opens the doors on a party at Eveleigh Creative Precinct. Visitors will head into a never-before-entered warehouse and discovering performances. Then, it's time to get stuck into the Art at Night part of the program. On March 3, head to Alaska Projects for a twilight tour through the East Sydney precinct; on 10 March, follow the Paddington and Woollahra night trail; and on 16 March, make tracks to Chippendale and Redfern. Between 7pm and 10pm after each event, Cake Wines will be running the official Art Bar nearby, providing drinks, live music and performances. Check out the rest of the Art at Night program over here — it's all free. Throughout the month, there'll be exhibitions, open studios, experiences, tours and talks galore. Hit Marrickville on the weekend of March 5-6 to visit 53 studios, galleries and artist-run initiatives — you’ll get to see artists doing their work, and chat to them about it. Get to Newtown on Saturday, March 12 by 10.30am to join Culture Scouts on a walking tour revealing the best of local street art. Jump on yer bike to join ARTcycle tours, which will be happening in various neighbourhoods every week. Wanna find out what's going on further afield? Curated bus tours will be travelling west, north and east. Meanwhile, Collectors’ Space is taking over an unoccupied house. We don’t know where yet — the venue won’t be announced until mid-February — but we can tell you that you'll be getting an insider's look at collections belonging to Sally Dan-Cuthbert, Courtney Gibson, Danny Goldberg and Jasper Knight. When you're ready to sit down and hear some wise words about art, grab a seat at a talk. On Thursday, March 3, City of Sydney public art consultant Barbara Flynn, curator and artist Glenn Barkley, Jess Cook of 107 Projects and artist Lindy Lee will get together to discuss how Sydney works as a creative community – and market. On Wednesday, March 9, hang out at The Bearded Tit alongside Kaldor Public Art Projects director John Kaldor, artist and publican Emma Price, and Jeff Khan from Performance Space to discuss whether performance art is collectable. And on March 12, find out what it's like for the sprogs, when a bunch of people — including Celia Bradshaw, Evan Hughes, Maddie Love, and Anna Shapiro — whose parents are famous art figures, reflect on their childhoods. More than ever, Art Month is about Sydney — it's all about lifting the city's art scene up to the renown of our harbour and pretty landscape. "When you look at the art being produced in Sydney — the artists that make it, the galleries that show it, and the collectors and art lovers who enjoy it — it becomes obvious that Sydney is a dynamic engine of creativity and that the city is a global arts hub," says Keldoulis. "Art Month '16 aims to unpick the puzzle of how a city like Sydney operates as a generator of ideas and an engine of creativity. Art Month's program investigates the various parts that make up the functioning whole." Art Month Sydney will run from March 1-20. For the full program and more information, visit their website.
Back in August, Webjet gave Australian travellers a mighty great reason to book a holiday in the Northern Territory: super-discounted flights to Uluru and Alice Springs starting at $15. Fancy hitting up Darwin instead, or using it as a base to explore the rest of the Red Centre? Now the booking site is doing a flight sale on fares to the NT's capital city, with prices from $19 one-way. For less than a lobster, you can indeed fly from Adelaide to Darwin — and fares obviously vary depending on your departure city. They're still cheap from much of the east coast, though, including starting at $20 from Brisbane, $35 from Sydney and $56 from Melbourne. [caption id="attachment_868754" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism NT, Helen Orr[/caption] The whole sale includes $150 off one-way trips, which is where those budget-friendly prices come from. From some cities, the end cost isn't quite as cheap, however — costing $122 from Hobart, $159 from Perth and $169 from Darwin. Still, if you're the kind of person who picks their getaway spots based on travel bargains, then this might be the sign you were looking for. You've got until 11.59pm AEST on Thursday, September 15 to book, or until sold out. Booking ASAP is recommended, because some fares might be snapped up earlier. [caption id="attachment_868753" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism NT, Backyard Bandits[/caption] The sale covers trips to Darwin for travel between September 2022 — yes, this month — through to March 2023. Fancy a spring jaunt to the middle of the country? Making summer plans to help cope with the last of the winter chill? Know that you'll be craving an early-autumn break next year? They're all options. One key caveat: the discounted prices are available for inbound flights only, so you won't receive the same discount to come home. Webjet's Darwin sale runs until 11.59pm AEST on Thursday, September 15, or earlier if sold out. First top image: Tiwi Island Retreat, Tourism NT.
Australia has scored some pretty high-quality ice creams this summer. First, Peters and Messina teamed up for a limited-edition run of gourmet drumsticks. Now, Streets is getting onboard. It has just dropped a whole heap of vegan ice creams — and all its most-popular brands are involved. Vegan Magnums, Cornettos and Weis Bars, as well as four new dairy-free Ben & Jerry's tubs, have hit the freezer-aisle shelves in supermarkets and convenience stores nationally. The Magnums, available in either dairy-free Classic or Almond, are made using pea protein, which sounds kind of strange, but we're certainly willing to give them a crack. They're $4 each or $7 for a three. The Cornetto can be found exclusively at Woolworths and is made using soy ice cream, hazelnuts and vegan chocolate. They're $9 for a four-pack, but are currently on sale for $6 — so now's the time to try. Dairy-free Weis Bars comes in raspberry and coconut and will set you back $3.20 a pop (or $6.80 for four) while Ben & Jerry's new almond-milk based flavours ($12 for a pint — that's about 475ml) feature fudge brownie, cinnamon buns, peanut butter and cookies and something called the Coconut Seven Layer Bar, which is filled with fudge chunks, walnuts and swirls of graham cracker and caramel. Check out the vegan Almond Magnum and Cornetto in all their dairy-free glory: If you're a Halo Top fan, you'll be happy to know that Ben & Jerry's has also dropped a line of low-cal tubs — chocolate cookies, caramel cookie and peanut butter cookie dough — which clock in at 150–160 cals a pop for 115ml. They're also $12 each and can be found at Coles, petrol stations and convenience stores nationally. There's no word on how long these dairy-free delights are going to hang around for (we're hoping they're in for the long haul) but just in case — run, don't walk. Vegan Magnums, Weis Bars and new Ben & Jerry's tubs can now be found at supermarkets and convenience stores around the country. The Vegan Cornetto is available at Woolworths only.
Hosting a series of events and workshops throughout the month of September, The Wardrobe pop-up at Castle Towers will see industry leaders showing you tips and tricks on how to up your style game. Kicking off on Wednesday, August 23, events cover off a wide range of skills and interests, from fashion photography and illustration to cosmetic design to how to add some statement pieces to your wardrobe. While stylists will offer insight into the latest trends, professional makeup artists will hold 20-minute consultations on the benefits of natural cosmetics, properly matching your foundation to your skin tone and how to care for your skin during the warmer months. Instagram influencers will host sessions on flat-lay photography, The Lip Lab will teach you how to blend your very own shade of lipstick and Birdsall Leather will be on hand every day to monogram and personalise your leather pieces. With all these workshops on, we've happened to secure a double pass to Cult of Scent's DIY fragrance workshop to giveaway. At the workshop, you'll be able to craft and bottle your very own scent, tailored to you. What's more, we also have a $100 gift card to Castle Towers to give you as well, which you can redeem at any shop in the centre, including Aesop, David Jones, T2 and General Pants Co. Sound like your cup o' tea? Enter your details below for a chance to win. [competition]633489[/competition]
That feeling you get when a decades-old band either reforms its classic lineup and hits the road, or tours your way with a huge history behind them, kickstarting all those nostalgic old memories? If you're blink-182 fan, you'll know the right words for that: well I guess this is growing up. Actually, if you're a blink-182 fan, you'll be feeling all of the above right now. The group's best-known lineup is indeed back together, with Tom DeLonge rejoining Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker to play together for the first time in nearly a decade. They're heading around the world on a massive tour, and yes, as part of that, they're coming to Australia and New Zealand. 'Coming' is the theme of the announcement video the band put together to reveal the news — so if you're already wondering "what's my age again?", there's another reason for that train of thought. In much of the world everybody will like seeing blink-182 live again in 2023; however, Down Under, that'll happen in February 2024. DeLonge, Hoppus and Barker — with Rise Against in support — will start their Australian run in Perth, then head to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. In NZ, they're playing two shows: Auckland and Christchurch. For three decades, blink-182 have been the voice inside punk and rock fans' heads, especially in the late 90s and early 00s thanks to albums Enema of the State and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. Now that they're back together after DeLonge left the band in 2015, blink-182 are also recording new music together, with single 'Edging' releasing on Friday, October 14. Expect to hear everything from 'Dammit', 'Josie' and 'What's My Age Again?' to 'All the Small Things' and 'I Miss You' live, though — and yes, the latter feels oh-so-apt right now. BLINK-182 2024 AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND TOUR: Friday, February 9 — RAC Arena, Perth Sunday, February 11 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Tuesday, February 13 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Friday, February 16 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Monday, February 19 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Friday, February 23 — Spark Arena, Auckland Monday, February 26 — Christchurch Arena, Christchurch Blink-182 will tour Australia and New Zealand in February 2024. Blink-182 fan club pre-sales start at 12pm on Thursday, October 13, with Live Nation and Spotify pre-sales from 1pm on Wednesday, October 19 — and general sales from 1pm on Thursday, October 20 (all local time). For more information, head to the Live Nation website. Top image: Jack Bridgland.
Considering the Soda Factory's famed Tuesday Dollar Dawgs, you might already be engaged in your own personal weekly hot dog eating competition. But now everybody's favourite secret bar is taking the ritual public, and they're taking it professional. Their inaugural Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 23 will pit the mightiest scoffers and speediest peristalsis practitioners head to head in a tournament as old as time (or at least 1916). Five limited edition gourmet hot dogs will be available for eaters competitive and recreational, as well as the usual Wednesday deals of $10 buckets of fried chicken and $1 hot wings. The comp will be hosted by Colonel Mustard, and if you're the last glutton standing, you'll bag a $250 dinner and drinks tab. Second and third place-getters will also get a little something. To enter or spectate, register at competitions@sodafactory.com.au with your full name or chosen fighting alias (or just sign up at the venue on the night). There'll be separate heats for men and woman, and entry is free. Potentially, it will be the largest free meal you've ever had. The inaugural Soda Factory contest coincides with the USA's 'National Hot Dog Day', though that seems entirely unnecessary. Who needs more reason to stuff their face with snags?
As part of Sydney Design, the Powerhouse Museum is keeping its doors open late for one night only in August. In line with this year's festival theme of 'design futures', there’s a range of technologically enticing activities guaranteed to shake up your usual Thursday night routine. You can check out the Interface: People, Machines, Design exhibition, interact with light installation Orkhestra and experience museum objects in augmented reality using your Android phone. There’s live performance art by and 3D printing demos. If you feel like it, you can even get your head 3D scanned and printed (that’s this year’s Christmas card sorted!). Should you need a break from all the fancy futuristic tech stuff on offer, Eat Art Truck and a cash bar will be providing on-site sustenance. Plus, you can munch on Black Star Pastry’s special festival-themed cake while listening to Future Classic DJs churn out some tunes.
Just when you thought IKEA had ruined enough relationships with its 'easy-to-follow' 'three-step' 'anyone-can-do-it' DIY furniture, they're now giving punters the opportunity to do it all again over dinner. The Swedish company will next week launch The Dining Club, a pop-up 'DIY' restaurant on London's Shoreditch High Street. If you're thinking a 'DIY restaurant' sounds a little suss — it is. It's like a restaurant in that there will be tables, chairs and food, but less like one in that you have to cook the meal yourself. There will be a sous chef and maître de on-hand to help out though. The whole thing is meant to allow punters to have "an intimate foodie experience in a homely kitchen environment", according to a statement on IKEA's website. Sittings will run for brunch, lunch and dinner, and will feature "a range of modern sharing dishes, including some Scandinavian classics" — which we'll take to mean meatballs will totally be on the menu. The whole experience — including the food, drinks and service — is free of charge but there's only 38 up for grabs in a ballot-like system. Hopeful hosts can register their interest (which includes dreaming up a creative answer to 'who would you invite?') and, if selected by the IKEA gods, can bring along 7-19 friends. Earlier this year IKEA announced it will finally launch an online store for Australian customers — so who knows, maybe a pop-up kitchen will be coming our way too? The Dining Club will run from September 10-25 at 3-10 Shoreditch High Street, London. If you're in London, you can register your interest for a booking at ikeathediningclub.com. Image: Jay Wennington.
Featuring fantastical set designs by Andrew Grenfell, Wonderland presents a realistic deterioration of a relationship set against the backdrop of a fantasy world. After its debut in Canberra, Wonderland comes to Sydney at the Seymour Centre to tell the story of a young lovers Lucy and Max as they direct blame at each other over the failings of their relationship. Presented by Lexx Productions, Wonderland is an intersection of theatre and art that creates a vivid setting akin to the Wonderland of Alice's story. The set represents the monster within the characters as they discover that there are no fairytales in the real world — particularly when it comes to relationships. Wonderland is written by Alexandra Howard, who also plays Lucy opposite Samuel Doyle as Max.
Sit down for a drink at Amsterdam's Vesper, and your cocktail just might contain more than just alcohol, garnish, ice and mixers. As part of a waste-reducing initiative called Trash the Place!, the Dutch bar is recycling all food-related items that it can, finding imaginative ways to use them, and throwing it all in their beverages. "One man's trash is another man's treasure" is the fitting line of thinking behind it, which sees Vesper's bartenders recovering and re-using food offcuts that were otherwise destined for the garbage pile, particularly where fruit is involved. As the bar's Julian Bayuni told MUNCHIES, "for example, we use strawberries to make our own strawberry Campari.. [then] we filter the fruit out of the Campari and mix it with some mango, fresh tomato, cilantro, and onion to make a fermented salsa, which we serve with our tortilla chips." While operating in a more sustainable fashion is an ongoing focus, Vesper are specifically showcasing their creative, environmentally conscious concoctions until the end of September, with not only their staff getting in on the task, but guest bartenders from other Amsterdam establishments as well. In an industry that creates as much waste as hospitality, it's an inventive and inspiring step — and joins the likes of fellow Dutch venue De Fruithaven, who run on power generated by food waste, plus New Zealand-based vodka company 42BELOW, who've been turning leftover bar garnishes into hand soap. Via MUNCHIES. Image: Vesper.
Enjoy the energetic rhythms of Latin American's cumbia dance tradition at Hyde Park with a 15-piece orchestra of musicians hailing from Colombia and Australia. Cumbia is like salsa but from Colombia, and Colombian singers Angela Rosero and Alfonso Mosquera will bring their soulful voices to the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, mixing Central American reggae with dancehall elements of pure Latino cumbia. The band's horn section and percussionists will raise the roof with their infectious rhythms, transporting the audience to Latin America for one-night during Sydney Festival. Bring on the Shakira-style hip shaking.
If your state was just weeks away from legalising marijuana for recreational use, what plans would you be hatching? Well, one Californian winery has gone and created the world's first commercially available marijuana-infused sauvignon blanc. The winemakers at Rebel Coast Winery — who produce Californian blends and Sonoma chardonnay — have invented a wine that's infused with THC, the psychoactive element of cannabis. It's all ready to start shipping within California on January 1, 2018, which is when recreational marijuana becomes legal across the state. Infusing wine with cannabis is no new thing, but this is the first time is will be sold by official means. There is a difference though: THC and alcohol can't legally be mixed, so the winemakers have switched out the wine's booze content for 16 milligrams of THC per bottle. Apparently it "smells like weed, tastes like wine" and won't haunt you with a hangover the next day. And the high? As Rebel Coast explains on its website, "after one glass you won't be thinking your couch is a hippo with short legs or anything. Our goal is not to kill you after you've had a few glasses. The goal is to get giggly and naked with someone." Obviously recreational use of cannabis is not legal in Australia or New Zealand, so this sav blanc isn't either. However, both countries have recently legalised the consumption and sale of low-THC hemp food products.
People worldwide seem to fear Australian wildlife. And we get it — most of what the internet sees is venomous snakes slithering into boots and dinner plate-sized huntsmans. In reality, Australia is home to a beautiful and varied range of wildlife, and you can see it all like never before at Creatures of Australia. This interactive cinematic experience will take over the Fever Pavilion in Sydney Showground from Friday, July 5 to Friday, August 23. Split across six distinct digital 'environments', it's not only a celebration of native wildlife but the people who've dedicated their lives to protecting them and their homes. The Creatures Gallery contains ten massive screens, each playing close-up, slow-motion footage of koalas, echidnas, sulphur cockatoos and saltwater crocodiles. You'll watch and listen to stories from the handlers and researchers who work tirelessly to protect our wildlife. You'll also find a series of interactive environments, like the Wild Walk, a space with a reactive habitat underfoot, and Spotlight on Conservation, where you can admire endangered species up close while hearing real-world conservation stories. Finally, you can end with a restful immersion in audio from the Australian wild. If you have any junior zoologists in your life, or if you want to ditch the next episode of Planet Earth for something more immersive, this is the perfect event for you. Creatures of Australia runs from Friday, July 5, to Friday, August 23, at Fever Pavilion. For more information or to book tickets, visit the website.
With Australia's COVID-19 curve flattening, exactly how and when restrictions will be relaxed has dominated conversation of late. Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed that some social distancing and public gathering rules could be loosened in mid-May. Today, Thursday, April 23, Australia's Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy shed some light on when international travel could restart. But don't go packing your suitcase just yet. At a senate inquiry meeting into Australia's response to COVID-19, Murphy said that opening borders would be one of the last stages of easing restrictions. "At the moment, any relaxation of border measures would be very risky," Murphy said. "I wouldn't be envisaging any material changes [to border measures] in that three to four months." One exception to that, Murphy hinted to, could be allowing travel between Australia and New Zealand. The Prime Minister echoed this sentiment in a press conference in the middle of the senate inquiry meeting (yes, a busy day), saying that he'd already been in discussions with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern about potentially reopening borders. "If there is any country in the world with whom we can reconnect with first," Morrison said. "Undoubtedly that's New Zealand." [caption id="attachment_596427" align="alignnone" width="1280"] A PurePod in New Zealand[/caption] Some of the restrictions that could be eased before then, and possibly as soon as in three weeks, are those in small groups. In NSW, Victoria and Queensland at present, public gatherings are restricted to a maximum of two people or the members of your household. While Murphy said they "would not be contemplating large-scale gatherings" just yet, "some relaxation of the size of small groups is possible". Other restrictions Murphy says the government is currently looking into loosening include "things like community sport and some retail measures". But, as has been the message repeated in the past week, "we have to weigh up the public health risk versus the benefit to society and the economy". If you're wondering why we're hearing a lot from Murphy during COVID-19, and why his opinions hold weight, Murphy is not only the principal medical adviser to the Federal Health Minister, but also he's the chair of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), which makes big decisions in health emergencies — such as global pandemics. There's no exact date on when we'll be able to travel just yet — locally or internationally — but if you want to start dreaming, here are some of our favourite spots to visit in New Zealand. Top image: Mueller Hut Track in New Zealand by Corey Parsons.
This is the top ten for 2011. Click here to see our top picks of 2013. When it comes to that annual event of indulgence, the Melbourne Cup, there are more important things to decide on than which horse to back. Alcohol will be flowing, atmosphere is key and the choices are endless. With this in mind, Concrete Playground has assembled the ten best destinations for your Melbourne Cup lunch (or day). Book now, thank us later. 1. The Abercrombie The new incarnation of the Abercrombie is cheap and cheerful, and Melbourne Cup day is no exception. For $70 per head, dig into a four course feast including snacks, tacos, mains and dessert. Beer, wine and champagne is all part of the deal. Aside from the fun food, they're open to bookings of all sizes and guarantee TV from each and every table. For full details, click here. 2. El Loco Arriba along to El Loco's early start Cup fiesta; things kick off around here at 11am. You'd better get your act together. There will be fashions on the 'field', piñatas, taco eating comps, DJs and mystery trifecta giveaways. This is actually a great last minute option, with no bookings required, just be sure to get in quick on the day. For full details, click here. 3. East Sydney Hotel While the East Sydney usually holds firm to a no television, no pokies rule, the one and only annual exception is the Melbourne Cup. The mix of old-world and local charm makes this country-style pub one of the best spots in Sydney to enjoy a no frills Cup experience. For full details, click here. 4. The Carrington For a new take on the Cup lunch, book into the insanely popular Carrington and see what makes it such a hit. It's a pricier option at $125 per head, though this includes a five course Spanish feast and all champagne, wine and beer between 1 and 3pm. (A lighter canapé and drinks option is also available for $80 per person.) Loads of screens and sweepstakes on the day make this one of the most intriguing high roller options. For full details, click here. 5. Ms. G's This Potts Point place-to-be is another option in the achingly cool category. A touch more affordable at $60 per head, this includes a banquet menu with your choice of a slushy or a flute of Chandon. Giant plasmas and sweeps are also part of the deal. For full details, click here. 6. The Argyle The heritage-listed Argyle must be one of the classic spots to spend the Cup, so make sure you don your racing best. Pick from either the Stables ($70 per person), which includes a glass of Chandon along with a canapé lunch, or the classier Grandstand package ($110 per person), with a three hour drinks and canapé service in your reserved area, plus a Möet butler service. Both include full TAB and race coverage, and fashions on the field. Stick around for the after party, starting at 4pm. For full details, click here. 7. Alexandria Hotel For those who want the fun without all the fuss and fancy, the Alexandria Hotel is the place to be. A mere $30 will get you a gourmet buffet and, while no drinks are included, there's plenty of other action (and well priced beers on tap). There's sweeps, raffles, giveaways and DJs. There's fashions in the field, with prizes for the best dressed men and women, and for the best hat. More prizes are on offer for the best dance, either with a partner or going solo. And we're also promised a post-race party. For full details, click here. 8. The Norfolk While the sports bar at the Norfolk is generally a good (if busy) place to head to for matches, their Cup arrangements sound even more promising. A four course lunch, including snacks, tacos, mains and dessert, plus all the beer, wine and champagne you can get your hands on between 1 and 3pm for $80 per head. They promise that screens will be viewable from every table, and bookings in the famous beer garden are also available. For full details, click here. 9. Sushi e + Hemmesphere This closely bound restaurant and bar have teamed up to offer a very tempting Melbourne Cup lunch. Begin with a flute of Möet and Chandon, followed by a six course menu of Sushi e's exceptional Japanese, for $130. Four plasmas will broadcast the race live. One of the best spots for refined watching. For full details, click here. 10. The Passage If you do manage to miss the festivities or if you're looking to continue on into the evening, take note of the winner and duck straight into the Passage's after party. They'll be offering complimentary champagne from the finish line until 5pm, while cheap house spirits extend until 6pm. Or hold out for the Bacardi Cup Punch ($30), on offer all night long. For full details, click here.
Do you understand the Poincaré recurrence theorem? You do? Yeah well whatever, I totally know things about art, so there! And alright yes I am being defensive about my lack of understanding of mathematics or science that isn't explained by David Attenborough or Thomas Pynchon, but also I am alluding to an element of Robyn Stuart's work: binaries, paradox, memory, and feeling small. By observing and documenting Lake Eyre, a body of water that contains water that was rainfall two million years ago(!), Stuart explores landscape as memory and the phenomenon that "certain volume-preserving physical systems will, after a sufficient length of time, return to a state very close to the initial state." So there is space, time, history, existence in the world, chaos theory and video installation work. That is totally what always happens at university galleries, right?
If you had a birthday sometime during the last few months, it probably didn't quite live up to expectations. Because of COVID-19, we've had (very necessary) restrictions on gatherings, which means that birthday shindig was most likely a little smaller than you'd hoped. To help ease the pain every so slightly, Krispy Kreme has announced it's giving away an extremely excessive number of doughnuts. How many? 350,000, to be exact. On Monday, July 13, Krispy Kreme is giving away a dozen Original Glazed doughnuts to Aussies who celebrated a birthday between March 13 and July 13. To snag yourself 12 signature glazed freebies, head to your closest store in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth. Sydneysiders have ten stores — stretching from Penrith to the CBD — to choose from, while Queenslanders can pick from five different doughnut shops, with the most central in the CBD Myer Centre, and Perthians can head to one of three Krispy Kreme stores. The free doughnuts are not available at BPs, Jesters or 7-Elevens. Because of stay-at-home restrictions in Victoria, the deal is only valid at one of three drive-thru stores: Fawkner, Fountain Gate and Bulleen. You can find out more about those restrictions over here. The 350,000 doughnuts will be spread across all Aussies stores. So, you'll want to get in relatively early if you want to kick off your Monday with a free sweet and doughy treat – and don't forget to bring your ID. If you do miss out, however, Krispy Kreme will be offering buy one dozen, get a dozen free from Wednesday, July 15 till Sunday, July 19. Krispy Kreme's free doughnut giveaway is happening nationwide on Monday, July 13 for those born between March 13 and July 13. To find your closest store and check its opening hours, head to the Krispy Kreme website.
