Possibly Sydney's most loved winter cocktail, the negroni is set for its centennial this June. To celebrate, CBD institution The Morrison Bar & Oyster Room has teamed up with Campari to throw a month-long party dedicated to the bitter and boozy classic. Known for its $1.50 oyster hour between 6-7pm every Wednesday, The Morrison is often bustling with Sydney's well-heeled business crowd. Over Negroni Month, the bar will have a five-strong negroni list. Apart from the classic ($20), there'll be a blood orange version ($20), a sour negroni ($17) with lemon and pineapple, a peach fizz variety ($18) and even one served with a raw oyster on top ($30). You'll be sipping for a good cause too — $1 of every negroni sold will be donated to Australian food rescue charity, OzHarvest. If you want to get even more into the spirit (pun intended), grab tickets for a two-hour Negroni masterclass at The Morrison on Tuesday, July 23 at 6.30pm. Led by Campari expert Tristram Fini, the class will cover the art of the negroni, where you will learn how to master three different recipes (including the Americano). Of course, you'll get to enjoy the fruits of your labour, with each negroni cocktail paired with some Italian antipasti. The evening will cost you $44 all up. Running from Monday, June 24–Wednesday, July 24, The Morrison's Negroni Month will keep you warm with some good ol' firewater this winter. For more information and to nab tickets, head here.
Lovers of outdoor sculpture, you no longer have to wait till October for your waterfront fix. That's because the good folks at Sculpture by the Sea have teamed up with the Barangaroo Delivery Authority for an epic new annual exhibition, Sculpture at Barangaroo. Launching on Saturday, August 6, the inaugural event will feature 14 spectacular outdoor works, created by 15 Australian artists. Eight of the pieces are brand new, while the other six are existent, but have been handpicked for their suitability to the site. Throughout the 16-day display, the exhibiting artists will give free talks on-site and there'll be opportunities for audience participation. Established and emerging artists are represented, including Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy, Marley Dawson, Lucy Humphrey, Ron Robertson-Swann OAM, Margarita Sampson, Sangeeta Sandrasegar, Yasmin Smith, Marcus Tatton, Ken Unsworth, Sally Kiddal, Lyndsay Urquhart, Emily Nichol and Tereasa Trevor, and Auntie Deidre Martin. The exhibition will show until Sunday, August 21, closing with a massive free day party to celebrate Barangaroo Reserve's first anniversary. "We are very excited to be presenting Sculpture at Barangaroo, which will showcase once more the amazing public space the NSW Government has created at Barangaroo," said Craig van der Laan, CEO of the Barangaroo Delivery Authority. "Works to be exhibited by the extraordinary team of assembled artists will highlight the textures of Barangaroo's spectacular sandstone and gardens, drawing on our commitment to sustainability and the significance of Aboriginal history and culture in this special place."
Usually, when winter rolls around, Bondi becomes a hub of Ferris wheel rides, art shows, live music, history walks and fringe events for the annual Winter Magic and Bondi Feast events. In 2020, because of COVID-19, those events were combined to create a mega-festival of art, food and soaring through the sky dubbed Bondi Festival. This year, Bondi Festival is back with a full suite of exciting pop-ups and activations throughout the beachside suburb. Setting up once more will be Bondi Vista, a Ferris wheel that'll send you soaring 22 metres above the sand. From Friday, July 1 through until Sunday July 17, you can go for a spin and feast your eyes on 360-degree views. On one side, you'll be gazing at wild waves, endless horizon and open sky. On the other, look out for glimpses of the city skyline. If you prefer to spin in circles on the ground, you can do just that at an ice-skating rink. And, walking tours and events for families will also be on the bill. Between rides on both circular attractions, you can check out an extravaganza of comedy and theatre, with shows popping up throughout the suburb. There will be a comedy and theatre mash-up from Randa Sayed and a comedic theatre seance from magician Harry Milas in a hidden Bondi location. Artist Joel Bray will also be transforming the Bondi Bowlo for a pub trivia night blended with contemporary dance, and award-winning performer Bron Batten will be presenting a theatre piece based on modern romance called Onstage Dating. "Playful, immersive and tailor-made, this year's program takes over Bondi for three weeks of art and playful audience experiences," Bondi Festival Director Rachel Chant said. "Go ice-skating by the beach or commune with the dead in a mysterious location, date an artist live on stage or take in a panoramic view of the coastline on the Bondi Vista Ferris Wheel." Bondi Festival will run from Friday, July 1–Sunday July 17. Head to the festival's website to view all the details and the full program.
If winter has left you unimpressed by the current state of your wardrobe — or if, y'know, you just like some fancy new clothes now and then — you'll be pretty pleased to know that the Big Fashion Sale is back. Usually, it's a physical affair that takes place in Sydney and Melbourne; however like plenty of other events at the moment, the shopping extravaganza has hopped online — and gone national — for its current outing. The name pretty much says it all. This thing is big. You'll find a hefty array of lush items from past collections, samples and one-offs from a huge lineup of cult Australian and international designers, both well-known and emerging — including Romance Was Born, Alexander McQueen, Isabel Marant, Alex Perry, Pucci, Permanent Vacation and more. With discounts of up to 80 percent off, this is one way to up your count of designer threads while leaving your bank balance sitting pretty, too — whether you're keen on clothes, shoes, swimwear or accessories. The Big Fashion Sale's latest online sale runs until Friday, July 31 on the event's website.
UPDATE, Monday, April 15, 2024: The Pandemonium Rocks lineup has changed with Placebo, Deep Purple, Dead Kennedys, Gang of Four, Gyroscope and Fetch no longer on the bill. The details below have been updated to reflect that change. Some music festivals introduce you to your future favourites and today's biggest names. Others are all about enjoying yesterday's greats. Australia has no shortage of both kinds of events, but it's adding one more nostalgic-driven fest: the brand-new Pandemonium Rocks, which will debut on the country's east coast in April. Blondie and Alice Cooper lead the lineup, meaning that 70s hits 'Heart of Glass' and 'School's Out' will echo through the fest. The familiar tunes won't stop there, either, with Wheatus sure to bust out 'Teenage Dirtbag', and Wolfmother certain to give 'Woman' and 'Joker and the Thief' a whirl. [caption id="attachment_938063" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Psychedelic Furs and Cosmic Psychos round out the bill, as headed to Cathy Freeman Park in Sydney on Thursday, April 25. A point of difference with Pandemonium Rocks: the fact that you can bring low-rise beach-style chairs that are smaller than 70 centimetres tall to the outdoor gigs. Top image: Biha via Wikimedia Commons.
Italian chain Fratelli Fresh is bringing an unbeatable seafood and cocktail deal to its five Sydney stores. Head to one of the restaurant group's outposts any time between Saturday, April 29–Friday, June 9 to nab an affordable oyster and spritz package. The deal entitles you to a half-dozen shucked oysters paired with a spritz made with Bombay Saphire's Citron Pressé lemon gin for just $19. The gin is flavoured with handpicked Mediterranean lemons and combined with St Germain Elderflower Liqueur, cucumber cordial, lemon and prosecco to create the spritz. For those that are still hungry once they've enjoyed your oysters, you can tackle the standard Fratelli Fresh selection of antipasto, pizza, pasta and Italian mains. If you want to make the most of this six-week deal, you'll find Fratelli Fresh spots in Darling Harbour, Entertainment Quarter, Miranda, Manly and the CBD. Plus, to kick off the partnership with Bombay Saphire, the Darling Harbour restaurant is hosting an Amalfi Coast Long Lunch on Saturday, April 29 where you can nab seven highlights from the Fratelli Fresh menu and free-flowing cocktails for $99. Images: Anna Kucera
Can a taxi driver change the world? Should we be able to inspect our future lovers before investing in them, in much the same way we do our cars? What would happen, were a long-repressed and rather unpleasant memory to have a sudden reawakening in your brain? These are just a sprinkling of the stories to be brought to the big screen at this year's Tropfest. In responding to the 2013 signature item, 'Change', the 16 finalists found themselves thinking about death, addiction, immigration, growing old and love, amongst other preoccupations. Short-film fanatics heading to new venue Centennial Park on December 8 for the world's biggest short film festival can expect an eclectic mix of documentaries, mockumentaries, comedies, thrillers and dramas. "We are thrilled by the strength, creativity and originality of the films submitted," said Tropfest founder and director John Polson. "The ideas, influences and filmmaking approaches are never the same — and that's been no different this time around." Gates open at 11am, with the films commencing at 8pm. The Trop Jnr screening and musical guests Lenka, Busby Marou, Illy and Tina Arena will fill the intervening hours of picnicking. Look for food and drink offerings from Miss Peaches, Lo-Fi, Johnny Wong’s Dumpling Bar and The Vic in Enmore.
Sydneysiders, your love of day parties is about to get massively rewarded. Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter, the DJ duo behind New York's Mister Saturday Night parties and record label, are bringing their famed daytime dance party to our city. Mister Sunday is all about good vibes, cool people and, most importantly, solid tunes. It will all go down starting at 1pm on Sunday, February 25, when they'll set up a four-point sound system at a secret outdoor location in the inner city. This is only the second time the party has left New York City in ten years — with the last time being London back in 2015 — so we can count ourselves very, very lucky. It's hard not to wonder if the Aussie party animal reputation, and our appreciation of great music, has something to do with it. They'll be rocking the day just like they do back in Brooklyn, with a little help from local partners Astral People and beloved winemakers Cake Wines, along with eats by Eat Art Truck — so you can expect the bar to be well stocked and the food to be top-notch. Apart from the dance floor, where Eamon and Justin will run the DJ booth, there will be plenty of space to relax with drink in hand. Tickets are on sale now and go for $45 a pop. Before you rock up, make sure you go through the twelve house rules — which include no cameras, phones or smoking on the dance floor and no song requests/distracting the DJs at work. Basically, they're in place to make sure everyone has a good time, respects one another and is really there to dance, not just to Instagram other people dancing.
While you should always be aiming to make your mum feel like your number one lady, fast-approaching is the one day of the year when you must pull out all stops for the lady who made you. This year, Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel is paying a grand homage to the women without whom we wouldn't be here, with both a decadent brunch, and a lunchtime feast on Mother's Day. Brunch ($55 per person) kicks off with sparkling on arrival, and a seasonal spread of fruit and yoghurt to start. After that, delights on offer include baked turkish eggs, a crab and leek frittata and the slightly more lavish ricotta hotcakes with toffee banana, whipped maple syrup butter and hazelnuts. If your mum has decided she deserves a sleep in (which she does), there's a three-course lunch option for $80 that kicks off with a glass of sparkling rosé. A decadent seafood tasting plate to start is followed by roasted picanha (sirloin) beef, crispy pork belly, hot smoked king salmon and a delicate tiramisu for dessert. As we were all so often reminded when we were young, every day is Kid's Day, so when Sunday, May 14 rolls around, treat your ma to a seaside meal to let her know she's the best there could possibly be. Bookings are essential — make sure you call Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel to reserve a spot.
Big Day Out is out for 2015. After yesterday's news of AJ Maddah's handover to Austin-based company C3 Presents (owners of Lollapalooza festival), this morning Fairfax Media announced a statement from the new owners. "C3 Presents is proud to own Big Day Out, one of the most iconic and established festival brands in the world. While we intend to bring back the festival in future years, we can confirm there will not be a Big Day Out in 2015," said the statement. "We love working on BDO and are excited about the future." After the huge announcement by Music Feeds yesterday, C3 now own 100 percent of the beloved Australian festival. Running through Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Gold Coast and Auckland, BDO is now entire US owned — promoter AJ Maddah was yesterday revealed to have sold off his half stake to C3. Maddah is yet to make his own announcement, instead looking to triple j's Hack this afternoon for an outlet. Looks like there's a gap in the market for a new around-Australia Day festival, with Field Day's popularity sure to boost in Sydney. If C3 own Lollapalooza, maybe we're in for an Australian edition. Via Music Feeds and SMH. Image by Peer Group.
The 2012 Sydney Fringe Festival encompasses the full mix of commercial, community and creative output bubbling up from around the edges of the city's arts scene. This year's incarnation even sees Fringe artists staking out the airport to lure arriving tourists into explore the scattershot geography of this year's spread: laid out from Marrickville, Newtown, across the CBD, east Sydney, Chatswood, Rookwood and Parramatta. This swathe of so much emerging and newly-established talent can be tough to sort through. As it happens, Concrete Playground has put together this guide to help you come to grips with this year's program of alternative arts. 1. Fringe on the Streets The Fringe is getting out on the streets this year. It kicks off on the streets of Newtown with an opening night Free for All in Newtown Square (in front of the Hub Theatre), featuring headliners Itch-E & Scratch-E from 5pm on September 7. Bookending the month's activities is a closing night fiesta in the form of a suburb wide progressive party suggesting you test your celebratory stamina, taking you from Five Eliza, through the Sly Fox to the Factory Theatre closing party and on to the late night antics at Marrickville Bowling Club. This is far from the only attempt to get you to hit the pavement: Guided Fringe by Bicycle gets you around the best of the arts scene on Thursday nights, while the Pop Up Festival gives you some performance on the move and Decoration Wars gives you a whirl around made-over Enmore businesses. 2. Life in Minature It's the year for culture in close confines, with Brook Andrews' Travelling Colony at the Sydney Festival this year, and former Australia Council digital maven Fee Plumley funding her ambitious plan to bring arts to the country at large by kickstarting a bus. With this already in the works, Serena Chalker and Quindell Orton have brought their show and its caravan across to Sydney from the Perth Fringe. For dance act Life in Miniature, Chalker and Orton’s invites an audience of five to shuffle into said caravan’s interior while the two players dance around them. Not small enough? Umbrella Theatre’s show Captain My Captain also brings an even tinier puppetry space to the some of the Fringe’s outdoor venues. 3. In the Night Garden Last year's night garden at the back of St Peters' Tortuga Studios was one of the surprise finds of the 2011 Fringe. Returning after last year’s inaugural luminescent growth, In the Night Garden will make this back lane (roughly settled between Penguin Plays Rough and Mays Lane) into a low-key, glowing avenue of art. You can also wander down an iridescent May’s Lane to check out the Off the Wall light projections near St Peter’s station for most of the festival, curated by nearby I Heart Gallery. 4. Sydney Underground Film Festival The Sydney Underground Film Festival is an honest-to-God fringe festivity — an intelligently curated counter-culture weekend of weird, wack and unearthed cinephilia. The SUFF team pitches itself as "the purveyors of provocation, dissent and civil disobedience". And rightly so. They've pulled off some crazy-as-hell nights in the past, and this year's program looks just as great. Festival opening night is always excellent — not just great new films but a big party with delicious food and drinks. Francophenia (Or: Don't Kill Me, I Know Where the Baby is) is a hybrid doco/fiction which chronicles James Franco's work in General Hospital and the absurdity of celebrity culture. For politics junkies, there's Wikileaks: Secrets and Lies by UK director Patrick Forbes. And Mr Doodleburger, the murderous, redubbed alter-ego of Home and Away's Alf Stewart, will be unveiling his latest Summer Bay slaughter and doing a live Q&A. 5. Le Gateau Chocolat This Fringe Festival Sydney will be treated to a generous slice of Gateau when the operatic star of La Soiree returns to Sydney for his solo debut. Delivering moving renditions of songs branching everything from pop-rock and jazz to classical opera and fusing them with his own story, Le Gateau Chocolat manages to make the fact that he is a big Nigerian dude (one with a law degree, no less) dressed as a woman seem almost beside the point.It’s rare that a performer dressed in 160 pounds of false eyelashes and ostentatiously frothy tulle will be remembered primarily for mesmerising human stories rendered in an exquisite baritone voice, but Le Gateau Chocolat isn’t your average larger-than-life operatic diva with a penchant for glittery lycra. 6. Fringe Comedy The Festival is making it easier to pick your way through its packed comedy schedule by offering a series of compendium nights where you can get a parade of comedians at each others' elbows to try to lure you to their other shows. Jennifer Wong and Michael Hing headline A Series of Young Asian Comedians Not Doing Asian Jokes, the Fringe Comedy Showcase crams 8 acts into its four weekly nights of laughs, and Barely Legal showcases the comic talents of young stand-ups, former finalists in the Class Clowns competition down in Melbourne. 7. Fringe Music This year's musical line-up runs the gamut from silent film soundtrack with Stu Hunter's closing compositions to 1927 film Berlin, Marrickville Bowling Club's evening of underground electronic, Brouhaha!, and an Eastside FM takeover of former underground venue 505. Also on the cards, New Weird Australia takes a night of experimental tunes at Five Eliza, a little Tim Freedman and the Sonic Mayhem Orchestra perform Miles Davis performing Gershwin. 8. Fringe Theatre If the cramped theatre of Life in Miniature is a little too intimate, this year’s fringe is also running theatre across less crowded stages. 1980+ watches the lives of Chinese students in Australia bifurcate as some stay here and some return home in this english-subtitled, Mandarin production. Eclective Productions restage Philip Ridley's Pitchfork Disney, Erskineville performance space PACT program dance, luminescence and blood disorders, Gandhari offers up the Mahabharata in an hour and story teller Candy Royale helps take over the Rattler. In the Fringe's burlesque sideline, Esque will dress the form up in pretty words, while Bogan-Ville Burlesque does its level best to dress it down. 9. Mystery Bus The bicycle-free fringe tour on wheels returns for another year of busman's holidays around Sydney's grand festival of alternative arts. Mystery Bus invites you to board their omnibus at the Enmore Theatre before they whisk you away into a night of mystery and, inevitably, arts. The bus lays out (mostly) cryptic clues about its final destination on their fringe page, inviting you to guess about the evening's terminus. The adventures are listed as XXX (8 September), Editor's Choice (14 and 15 September), Cinematic Slap (20 September), Carnie Delight (22 September), Roll Em Girls (23 September), Dirty Diva (27 September) and Blind Tiger (September 29). Sharp-eyed attendees who know their local arts can probably work their cross-referencing magic against programs and listings to guess the destination. But really, wouldn't you rather be surprised? 10. Surprises When you land at the Fringe, you never knows how stunning, embarrassing or enigmatic its acts will be. Half the fun of turning up is finding gems in strange places: discovery is all. Will the Bard be better reinterpreted by Bard to the Bone or a steampunk Tempest? Will sometime radio star Anna Salleh lure you successfully to Brazil, or will understanding art finally leave you laughing? Perhaps you'll find an artistic match touring the Fringe's fringes in exotic Double Bay for Blue Beat Jazz, Chatswood for Urban Screen Shorts, Fringe Arts at the Forum in Leichhardt or another dose of dance in Annandale at Platform Shorts. There's only one way to find out, really. Leading image by Newtown Graffiti. Sydney Underground Film Festival by Lauren Carroll Harris. Le Gateau Chocolat by Hannah Ongley.
We're a long way from New York City's Lower East Side, but it'll feel a whole lot closer (for at least one night) when celebrated speakeasy-style cocktail bar Death & Co hits Down Under. The NYC team will be visiting three much-loved venues across Australia for a series of cocktail-fuelled dinners. Out to offer locals a taste of their contemporary drinks mastery, Death & Co's David Kaplan and Alex Day are swinging past Surry Hills' The Winery for two nights. The dinner on Sunday, February 2 is already sold out, but there are still spots available for the one on Monday, February 3. Launched in 2006, the NYC bar is considered something of a pioneer in the world of modern cocktail bars, having scored a slew of big-time awards, played host to a roll-call of bartending legends and birthed its share of now-iconic cocktail creations. Each of the Aussie dinners will see the team showcase five crafty concoctions, matched with five courses from the host venue. The tour's a collaboration with US label Aviation Gin, which just so happens to be owned by your good mate Ryan Reynolds, so you can expect lots of gin. There will be sips like the Have At It welcome shot, blending Dry Sack Sherry, gin, lemon juice and grapefruit, and the Trust Fall: a fusion of Aviation gin, pisco and vermouth, finished with lychee liqueur, raspberry, absinthe and Peychaud's Bitters. At The Winery, the booze is carefully paired with dishes like 'drunk mussels' done with gin, absinthe and tomato, spanner crab toast with stracciatella and caviar, and a deep-fried carrot cake to finish. Tickets to each event clock in at $95 per person (or $145 if you also want a signed copy of Death & Co's own book, Cocktail Codex). All that should leave you feeling pretty inspired to try out some drinks wizardry in your own home bar.
When That's Not Me begins, it's with a black screen and an Oscar speech — and then a toilet and a can of air freshener. Polly Cuthbert (Alice Foulcher) is practicing for the acclaim and awards she hopes will come, but it's clear the aspiring actress still has a way to go. But hey, she's determined. Working at a cinema, turning down soap operas, and waiting to audition for Jared Leto's new HBO show are part of her slow-and-steady approach to carving out a serious career. And it might've worked, if her identical twin sister Amy hadn't started living out Polly's wildest acting fantasies instead. That's Not Me is more than just the title of this smart, funny and perceptive Australian comedy from writer-director Gregory Erdstein and writer-star Foulcher. It's also what Polly finds herself telling her sibling's fans when they start accosting her wherever she goes. Moreover, in a movie that explores the reality that lifelong dreams don't always work out as planned, it offers audiences a clever reminder: there's nothing wrong with not having the life and job you thought you would when you were a kid. Call it a quarter-life-crisis portrait, a faking-it-without-making-it character study, or a not-quite-slacker story. Whichever label you choose, they all fit the bill. As familiar as all of that may sound, the film also deserves to be described as earnest, astute, insightful and thoroughly amusing. Brimming with well-observed scenarios, characters and emotions, it's the kind of movie that makes you feel like you might've seen it all before, only to delight you as you realise you haven't. Frankly, it's the type of flick you could easily imagine remade around an unhappy New Yorker. And yet despite that, it wears its local-and-proud-of-it heart on its sleeve — even while making jokes about the stereotype that no one watches Aussie films. Indeed, this is a movie that is both universal and unmistakably Australian – and that's just one of many delicate balancing acts that That's Not Me achieves. Gags about Jared Leto and the superficial nature of the film industry sit alongside jabs at Neighbours and Home and Away, as well a brief appearance from Andrew O'Keefe. It takes a similar amount of skill to plot a story filled with highs and lows, while maintaining an awareness that life usually exists somewhere in between. The movie's look and feel further blends a variety of elements, from a fond but never rosy view of Melbourne, to music that leans towards the '80s without wallowing in nostalgia, to pacing that feels brisk but never rushed. Of course the biggest juggling task sits with Foulcher, and not just because she's playing twins. Rather than filling the movie with sisters in the thick of sibling rivalry, this is really a flick about Polly's unrealised dreams, and Foulcher gives her character all of the dimensions you'd expect — plus some you might not. Her character's not always sympathetic, but she's certainly relatable, with the actress delivering an immensely likeable and layered turn. If there's any justice, this gem of a film will be remembered in the exact same way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C-78QW3xq8
Still rubbing their eyes from a two-month-long European tour, Sydney post-rock outfit, sleepmakeswaves, are hoping to wake up their Aussie fans with a national tour. In celebration of their second album, Love of Cartography, the lyricless four-piece will bring their heavy riffage and delay pedals to nine different cities over this July and August with support from Breaking Orbit and Teal. After two years touring across the globe and supporting the likes of Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus and 65daysofstatic, sleepmakeswaves thought it was time to channel their new experiences into a new album. The humble lads turned to Pozible and their dedicated fan base to raise some funds (which they did) and then dutifully thanked them for their support, despite their self-confessed "weirdness and lack of vocals". Ahhh-dorable. The first taste of sleepmakeswaves’ newest music in two years — 'Something Like Avalanches' — was premiered on triple j last month and you’ll be able to hear more of their epic instrumental tunes when Love of Cartography is released in Australia on 4 July. Gives you just enough time to practice their lyrics— oh wait.
When it comes to prime spring drinking turf, Chiswick's sprawling green lawn is up there with the best. And you can bet it's set to get a solid workout this spring, as the Woollahra restaurant sets up a pop-up bar for outdoor drinks throughout October. Join in the al fresco fun from 5.30–7.30pm each Thursday in October and make the most of those balmy pre-sunset temperatures with some hard-earned mid-week knock-offs. The pop-up Chandon bar will be pouring glasses of sparkling rosé and cocktails like the Garden Rosé, made with strawberry, lime, rose and, of course, rosé. And, to cap it off, there'll be live acoustic tunes setting the mood, games of bocce and lawn bowls, plus some free canapés making the rounds. Rosé on the Lawn runs from 5.30–7.30pm.
After opening five Queensland locations in the past two years and announcing plans to launch one in Melbourne this summer, Taco Bell has finally unveiled plans to open not one, but two stores in NSW. While details are scarce for now, the Tex-Mex giant has revealed it's opening stores in Blacktown and Newcastle in late spring. The US chain has been teasing the interstate openings on its Facebook page, with lots of locals hoping for a Sydney store. Their prayers have finally been answered. https://www.facebook.com/tacobellaus/photos/a.1461510760603853/2421549971266589/?type=3&theater Menu-wise, the usual Taco Bell range will be on offer, complete with burritos, quesadillas, nachos and, of course, tacos. For those dining in, frozen margaritas and a range of craft beers will also be available. Taco Bell's Australian arm currently includes stores in Annerley, Cleveland, North Lakes, Robina and Southport, but with promises of more than 50 across the country, we can expect a few more to open in Sydney in the upcoming months and years. This is, however, Taco Bell's third attempted foray into the Australian market. The chain tried to launch here in 1981 (and was then taken to court by Sydney store Taco Bell's Casa) and again in 1997 — but both attempts were unsuccessful and the brand withdrew. Taco Bell is slated to open in Blacktown and Newcastle this spring. We'll let you know when more info drops. Top image: Taco Bell Annerley
Now Tropfest has jazzed up audiences about our local filmmaking talent, it's time to take part in the inaugural Australian Film Festival. Launching with the tag line 'It's a ripper!', the festival promises to celebrate old film favourites as well as introducing Sydneysiders to Australian fare they might never have had the chance to see. Setting up shop in Randwick's iconic Ritz cinema, the festival is partnering with Popcorn Taxi for an opening night screening of the groundbreaking Mad Max. Rumoured to be a glorious print, this screening also boasts a Q&A with original cast and crew members including Steve Bisley. The genius of George Miller will be further celebrated with his recent classic, Happy Feet screening (for free!) this Saturday on Clovelly beach. The festival will also host the acclaimed documentary of India's first policewoman, Yes Madam, Sir, narrated by Helen Mirren. Director Megan Doneman (who will be in attendance for a Q&A) followed the Asian Nobel Prize winner Kiren Bedi for six years in order to draw her insightful portrait of this fascinating woman. The rest of the program is stacked with a plethora of films, including Rolf de Heer's cult classic Bad Boy Bubby. The Future Film Screenwriting Competition sees $1000 up for grabs, while a short film competition will close out the festival alongside a Spot Food & Film day and the addition of Steve Bisley and Claudia Karvan to the Australian Film Walk of Fame. https://youtube.com/watch?v=mxijBsmS2XU
The director of Seven, Fight Club and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, David Fincher has made a career out of stylish, devilishly entertaining pulp. His latest film, Gone Girl, is absolutely no exception. Adapted from Gillian Flynn's bestselling novel of the same name, it's a dark and twisting tale that presents itself as both a biting commentary on relationships and media frenzy, and a subversion of procedural film conventions. And at the same time, it fully embraces the sleaze and exploitation of that which it critiques. Despite his superhero physique, Ben Affleck looks decidedly schlubby as Nick Dunne, an out-of-work writer from a small town in Missouri whose wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), goes missing on their five-year anniversary. Signs of a struggle indicate she might have been abducted, and before long the entire country is following the case. But as more and more evidence comes to light, including a six-figure life insurance policy and a string of expensive credit card purchases, suspicion is soon cast upon her husband. And as a series of flashbacks told from Amy's perspective expose a marriage that had begun to turn sour, we're forced to confront to possibility that Nick may be a killer. Of course, it's nowhere near as simple as all of that. Gone Girl is the sort of movie that is very difficult to review, because so much of what makes it interesting lies in its second and third act revelations — each more deliciously silly than the last. Viewers unwilling to suspend their disbelief may struggle with the film, which really pushes the boundaries of plausibility. Then again, lurid, outlandish plot twists go part in parcel with the genre, as Fincher fans would well know. Although the movie plays fairly straight, there is definitely an element of subversion here, along with a jet-black sense of humour that manifests itself in unexpected ways. For example, it's hard not to snort when Nick complains, with a completely straight-face, that he's tired of "being picked on by women." The film's representation of gender and marriage could be the subject of an essay in and of itself. Suffice it to say, any movie that can be read as both a bloody tale of female empowerment and a twisted fantasy that implicitly exonerates domestic abusers is worthy of critical attention. Affleck, to his credit, gives what is probably the best performance of his career. One suspects that the casting choice was a self-aware one, given how much of the actor's life has been scrutinised in the tabloids. In a film full of unlikeable characters, the most repugnant are the likes of talk-show host Ellen Abbott (Missi Pyle), quick to condemn Nick's awkward, emotionless television appearances as evidence of his guilt. The film is very much a double-edged sword though. It condemns us for our obsession with violence while funnelling it down our throats. Once again, Fincher is dressing up trash as serious art, wanting to have his cake and eat it too. And frankly, we wouldn't take it any other way. https://youtube.com/watch?v=2-_-1nJf8Vg
Chardonnay has come a long way since a certain couple of foxy ladies hilariously revised its pronunciation. Just ask the crew at Handpicked Wines, who'll be reacquainting Aussies with this oft-misunderstood wine variety at their inaugural chardonnay festival, Buttered. The Sydney cellar door and wine label has pulled together a lineup of local labels to help shakeup old-school perceptions and celebrate the best of the country's new-world chardonnays. It's out with Kath and Kim's favourite big, oaky drops and in with a more refined style of cool climate vino. The Buttered Aussie Chard Fest takes over the Handpicked Cellar Door on Tuesday, October 22, to showcase over 20 different wines from legends like Oakridge, Giant Steps, Savaterre and Tyrrell's, alongside a few award-winning vintages from Handpicked. Some of the winemakers will be on hand to chat all things chardonnay — or, cardonnay, as Kim would say — while the DJ throws down a soundtrack filled with old-school Aussie gold. Also in a nod to the grape's retro reputation, there'll be a menu of nostalgic Australiana fare — expect a sausage sizzle and Iced VoVos, as well as plenty of cheese — plus, the punters with the foxiest old-school Aussie fashion on the night will win a private sommelier-led tasting for four, courtesy of Handpicked. Tickets are $35, which includes all your tastings and a selection of snacks, with more wines, beers and cheese plates available to purchase after 8pm. All the wineries will be selling take-home bottles as well.
2021 was a tough year, but one thing that managed to make it better was seeing Sydney's creative and hospitality communities come together to try make lockdown a little more bearable. During the four-plus months Sydneysiders were under stay-at-home conditions, many local businesses went above and beyond to help those that were struggling. And, a heap of our favourite spots came up with new and creative ways to keep their staff in work and keep locked-down patrons well-fed, entertained and feeling hopeful. We've complied a list of eight fresh ideas that emerged during 2021's lockdown to help both us and the greater community through a difficult period. From tasty tacos and next-level home meals to virtual festivals and a throwback to the video stores of the past, these pivots made their mark.
There’s something very telling about what happens when you type ‘Point Break’ into Google. The first result is the Wiki for Kathryn Bigelow’s iconic action crime thriller starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, whereas the second one is ‘Point Break (2015 Film)’. The order alone says much about its place in the filmic world order, but the name is the real giveaway: Point Break...2015 Film. Yes it’s still technically Point Break, but of the Degrassi: The Next Generation variety — related, yet unworthy of the original title. This remake, starring nobody, is slated for release on December 25 and is hence the most unwanted Christmas present since that clay ashtray your nephew Declan made. It’s one thing to re-do a film that didn’t get it right the first time — or even several times round (*cough* The HULK) — but when you stray so heavily into ‘unnecessary remake’, you come perilously close to not just making a bad movie, but somehow tarnishing the original too. Consider, then, 2008’s Man on Wire. This outstanding documentary by James Marsh won all manner of accolades for its gripping, diligent and wildly entertaining retelling of Philippe Petit’s astounding high-wire walk between the two towers of the World Trade Centre in 1974. Combining interviews, real-life footage and the occasional re-enactment, it captures every bit of the energy, ebullience and foolishness that defines both Petit and his iconic feat. It is, in short, an outstanding film and a definitive account, making it almost inevitable then that Hollywood should promptly designate it prime material for a retelling. So it is that we have The Walk, perhaps tellingly presented by Google as 'The Walk (2015 Film)’ despite there being no predecessor of the same name. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the bulk of the movie is presented as a something of a comedic, carefree caper with almost clowning levels of performance and dialogue. In the lead, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is at once excellent and terrible. His spoken French and Fred Astaire-esque lightness sparkle, but his to-camera narration and ‘English with zee accent’ scenes are cringeworthy, bordering on parody. With the jazzy soundtrack, nifty editing and whacky cast of accomplices, the majority of the film seems almost desperate to let you know it’s having fun, oftentimes more than you, and it’s not until we first arrive at the Towers that the seriousness sinks in. Thankfully, too, that's when The Walk undergoes a swift and marked transformation, and where its use of 3D finds a welcome home. 3D cinema has, to date, been almost exclusively an unnecessary gimmick and unwelcome expense, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have its place. When employed correctly it can be a powerful storytelling device, drawing the viewer deeper into a moment and sharing the experience with you rather than just showing it. As Petit finally arrives in New York and beholds the Towers for the first time, the sensation is deeply unsettling — a sort of vertigo from the ground up — and you absolutely participate in his sudden fear and uncertainty. The sensation then compounds exponentially as he travels to the top and peers down over the edge, at which point you’ll be hard pressed not to tightly grip the arms of your chair. As such, it is ‘the walk’ within The Walk where the film is at its best, and the exhilaration of experiencing the moment from Petit’s perspective almost exonerates all that precedes it.
Believers of the adage "short and sweet" will find themselves in cinematic nirvana at this year’s Flickerfest. Australia’s only competitive international short film festival — earning BAFTA and Academy accredited status — has amassed a lineup of 108 films from the staggering 2200 entries received, representing the best shorts locally and from around the globe. Flickerfest began as a small local festival at the Balmain High School in 1991 and has now put roots down on the shore of Bondi Beach, as if that part of town needed another reason to pilfer the masses during the summer months. Freeing filmmakers from the pressures of box office and commercial concerns, the festival acts as a launch pad for emerging storytellers and their bold new perspectives on cinema. Over a course of 10 days audiences will be treated to 20 different short film programmes including International, Australian, Documentary and the new GreenFlicks category, all approximately 100 minutes long. Provided someone actually remembers to bring the warm weather this summer night sessions will be screened in the outdoor amphitheatre, so grab some tasty organic snacks from the bar and discover a way to enjoy Bondi Beach that doesn’t involve fighting for a spot to lay your towel.
While you might know Parramatta for its top-notch eats, it also has over 60,000 years of cultural history to explore. So, to celebrate its roots, the western Sydney suburb is hosting its Foundation Festival from Thursday, October 31 to Sunday, November 3. With a jam-packed lineup of events, the four-day event will have something for everyone. Since the festival kicks off on Halloween, you can go on a ghost tour Old Government House — and maybe even catch a ghost or two — before tucking into some well-earned supper. But, if ghost-hunting isn't really your thing, there's plenty to do come the weekend, too. On the Friday night, take a stroll through the suburb at twilight on a guided tour with local Darug Elders, where you'll learn all about the deeper history of Burramatta (Parramatta) and the Burramattagal people. Or, on the Saturday, you'll be able to jump on a coach for a 'Feisty Females' tour, where you'll learn all about the historical women of Parramatta. And, since all that learning's sure to build up an appetite, make sure to pack a picnic basket and perch yourself on Old Government House's lawn for the Mrs Macquarie's Picnic. To round out the celebrations, North Parramatta heritage precinct (just five minutes' walk from Parramatta League Club) will host Foundation Day on the Sunday. There's a full day of events planned — think everything from live music and food trucks to walking tours, vintage cars and hands-on workshops.
Since the first sign was erected promoting a tasty cola, we have had a love/hate relationship with the ubiquitous advertising monsters. Where we were once outraged at subliminal advertising, now we enjoy analysing the topic on a weekly basis. But how much do we really know about the influencing power of advertising? Morgan Spurlock is going to find out. The documentary filmmaker has noticed that all the supersized Hollywood blockbusters like Iron Man and Transformers are made so successful by being paired with the biggest brands using brand integration. So in an effort to create the first 'docbuster', Spurlock is selling the entire 90 minutes of his latest film, and taking us on his journey. For most of the film Spurlock straddles the line between 'selling-out' and making us laugh so hard we won't notice the money he's making in the process. But the tag line of the film assures us he's "not selling out, but buying-in". To do this he teams up with a number of companies that amazingly trust they won't come up second best in an area ripe for criticism, and it is reassuring to know that Spurlock is making this whole process transparent. As opposed to the sneaky tactics of subliminal advertising or product placement, it is remarkably comforting to be warned and indeed thrust toward all the paid features in this film. Along the way he is joined by experts (Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader), directors (Quentin Tarantino, Peter Berg, JJ Abrams) and musicians (OK Go) for an in-depth look at modern advertising, all while trying to sell his new-found 'love' of pomegranate juice. The film relies on Spurlock's wit and ability to poke fun at the industry he is buying into. It leads to some genuine laugh-out-loud moments yet eventually fails to deliver any sort of conclusions. Everybody knows about product placement, so what more does Spurlock tell us? Well, not a lot. Ultimately, he acknowledges that unless you would like to live a hermit existence or move to Sao Paulo there is little we can do about the constant amount of advertising we are exposed to daily. We may be stuck with it, but at least now we can have a good laugh at the situation, thanks to Morgan Spurlock. Morgan Spurlock will appear at a special screening of POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold complete with Q&A on Tuesday, August 2, 2011, at 6.45pm. The movie opens nationwide on August 11. https://youtube.com/watch?v=T4Ng2P3zxfM
UPDATE, JULY 30, 2018: Sydney's new music and snow sports festival was ambitious. It had plans to bring the world's best snowboarders to Sydney and to construct a 16-storey snow-covered ramp in the middle of The Domain. Unfortunately, it seems plans may have been too ambitious, with the company announcing via Facebook that the inaugural Australian event has been cancelled. While it's not mentioned in the post, the event's local promoter Moore Snow Sports went into liquidation earlier this month, which most likely contributed to the event's demise. Air + Style has assured customers that all tickets will be fully refunded through Moshtix. Both big air and big bands are on the agenda for Australia's newest festival offering. This August, the global Air + Style Big Air Competition is set to make its southern hemisphere debut, descending on The Domain for three huge days of snow sports, live music, culture and fashion. And it's being headlined by none other than Irish/Scottish alt-rockers Snow Patrol and US artist Flo Rida, each heading to town for their first Aussie shows in over five years. From August 3–5, the 34-hectare space on the edge of Sydney's CBD will be sporting a very different look than what locals are used to, featuring a 16-storey snow-covered ramp and multiple music stages. More than 60 of the world's best snowboarders and skiers will land here, to compete as part of the 2018 Air + Style Global Tour. Plus, the event has quite the pedigree — three-time Olympic gold medallist and all-round champion snowboarder Shaun White has been the majority shareholder since 2014. But let's not forget about the equally tempting music component. Previous incarnations of Air + Style in the likes of Beijing, Los Angeles and Austria's Innsbruck have drawn big-name artists such as Flume, Major Lazer, Portugal. The Man and Kendrick Lamar. The Sydney outing promises to follow in their footsteps, with Snow Patrol and Flo Rida just the first of many acts to be announced. Both single day tickets and multi-day passes are available, starting at $150.
Do you sweat good ideas through the day? Do you have the a major game-changer on some napkin tucked into your pocket? Or have you the savvy eyes to spot fantastic innovation before the mainstream? If you even started to nod silently to any of those questions, then you will have a ridiculously good time at the REMIX Sydney 2015 conference — a maelstrom of keynotes, panels, masterclasses and mixers centred at the nexus of creativity, technology and entrepreneurship. The REMIX Sydney schedule is silly with inspiring sessions across many platforms, but there are some clear themes stretched across the program. One is how digital communications evolve live entertainment and communal experiences, possibly answering the question "how can we all hug when we have a device in both hands?". Google Creative Labs' Tom Uglow and Intel's Dr Genevieve Bell will both posit a few suggestions to this in their keynote speeches, as will reps from The Festivalists, Giant Dwarf and Gelato Messina at Concrete Playground's own curated session on 'The Art and Science of Fun'. Communities and crowds are also reshaped on the global level, with sessions such as 'Nurturing Creative Capitals', breaking boundaries between arts and audience in 'The Museum of the Future', and actively growing digital communities instead of scoring viral hits in 'Beyond Hype'. You'll have the frontal lobe equivalent of a food baby after this summit. Best get ready to digest. Concrete Playground is a partner of REMIX Sydney. Subscribers to our newsletter get 20% off tickets using code concreteplayground20. Go to Eventbrite to book.
It was set to be one of the biggest Australian tours of the year, but Childish Gambino fans will have to wait a little longer for some summertime magic. Promoter Live Nation has announced that the US hip hop star has cancelled his Aussie trip due to an ongoing injury. Childish Gambino was due to play solo shows at HBF Stadium, Perth on November 8; Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne on November 10; and the Sydney Opera House, Sydney on November 14 and November 15. He was also slated to be the headline act at Canberra's Spilt Milk festival, which will take place on November 17. The performer — AKA Donald Glover, AKA writer/director/star of Atlanta, if you haven't already worked that out — reportedly broke his foot at a show in Dallas last month, and was already forced to postpone the final US leg of his 'This Is America' tour as a result. In a statement posted to Live Nation's social media feeds about the Aussie cancellation, the star said, "I'm not ready to put on 100 percent shows. Apologies to the fans. I will be back soon". Live Nation is working to reschedule Childish Gambino's dates, so if you've nabbed yourself a ticket, keep your eyes on the company's website and social media for further updates. With the single 'This Is America' tearing up the US charts — and the accompanying video — racking up hundreds of millions of views, it's safe to that Australia was pumped for Childish Gambino's arrival. This would've marked his first Aussie shows since performing at Falls Festival in 2016. CANCELLED TOUR DATES: November 8 — Perth, HBF Stadium November 10 — Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl November 14 — Sydney, Sydney Opera House November 15 — Sydney, Sydney Opera House November 17 — Canberra, Spilt Milk Festival
Butter just keeps giving Sydneysiders more reasons to go absolutely crazy for it. The cult favourite is already a palace of fried chicken, sneakers, Champagne and truffle. Now, you can add limited-edition ramen to that list, too. Executive Chef Julian Cincotta has teamed up with Nick Smith of Newtown's super-popular Rising Sun Workshop to create a tantamen ramen. Available for four weeks only — starting Tuesday, September 3 — the rich, spicy ramen features a sesame chicken broth, rayu (Japanese chilli oil), hot and numbing ground chicken, fermented bamboo, noodles, pickled wasabi leaf and marinated egg. Oh, and it's topped with Butter's fried chicken tenders, of course. If you've eaten Rising Sun Workshop's ramen before, you'll know it's good. And we're expecting this will be, too. You can find these tasty noods at Butter's stores in Surry Hills and Parramatta, and at its pop-up at Mrs Sippy in Double Bay. To celebrate the collab, the duo will be throwing a fried chicken party at Rising Sun Workshop sometime in spring. We'll let you know when more info on that drops. Images: Sean Alcantara
The summer months are fast approaching, which means it's time to start planning a little getaway (or three). If your idea of a perfect escape is a remote cabin, surrounded by wilderness with no Wi-Fi, this news may have you hitting 'book' straight away. Unyoked, the Aussie startup with six tiny houses currently located around NSW and Vic, has just launched six more remote getaways. If you're one of the patient souls on the company's current 5000-long waitlist, this news will be doubly exciting. Founded and run by twins Cam and Chris Grant, the off-the-grid cabins bring you the convenience and comfort of four solid walls, alongside the adventure, spontaneity and closeness-to-nature of camping. With the help of Archemy Modular and Fresh Prince, the brothers have designed and built the 12 houses — all sustainable and solar-powered. All properties been placed in secret patches of wilderness on private properties, in the middle of nowhere. The three new NSW ones are located 90 minutes from Sydney's CBD, in the north and northwest, located on the Central Coast, in a private valley and in a forest. Two of the Victorian properties are a two-hour drive southeast, while the third is two hours north. These ones have popped up in Gippsland, the Pyrenees Ranges and a pine forest. [caption id="attachment_745748" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Luisa Brimble[/caption] The exact locations are still under wraps as Unyoked aims to make sure your stay is a bit of an adventure, by only revealing the address for your chosen house two days before you're due to set off. Bookings for the six new spots open today, Monday, October 18, so we suggest you hover over the website if you're keen to book one in. Once you've booked on in, all you need to do is jump in your car, disconnect and recharge. The six new Unyoked cabins are located across NSW and Vic and are available to book from today, Monday, October 14, via unyoked.co. Looking for more off-the-grid escapes? Check out our favourites in NSW and Vic. Images: Luisa Brimble
Steak connoisseurs, all your Christmases have arrived at once with the launch of Bistecca. The new CBD restaurant's menu is built around a single cut of steak: bistecca alla Fiorentina. Originating in Florence centuries ago, it's widely accepted as one of the finest cuts around. Designed by architecture firm Tom Mark Henry, the 50-seat basement restaurant has Italian flourishes throughout, with a marbled wine bar and yet-to-open adjoining wine shop. As you might've guessed, Bistecca is the creation of a couple of diehard Italophiles. Co-owners and lifelong friends, James Bradey and Warren Burns, travelled all over Italy in search of the ideal steak and the perfect red wine to match. Having decided on the bistecca alla Fiorentina, the duo returned home to find a premium local source, eventually landing on Black Angus cattle from NSW's Riverine region. "We tried at least 40 different steaks from different regions and farmers across Australia to settle on the right one," says Burns. "We chose the Riverine to deliver my holy trinity of meat: flavour, texture and supply." To complement your juicy steak, there's an array of hearty, traditional side dishes, including braised cannellini beans, garlic and rosemary potatoes, and Brussels sprouts with pecorino and sour cream. And vegetarians, though you're probably quaking in your leather-free boots by now, we should let you know there are meat-free ricotta dumplings on the menu, too. While the food menu has only one thing on its mind, the wine list is quite the opposite with more than 300 drops to choose from. Similarly, the cocktail list is ripe with Italian classics like garibaldis and bellinis, and negronis are poured straight from the tap. And later in the year, you'll be able to head straight through to the connected 'enoteche' to take home your favourite drop of the evening. Bistecca is now open at 4 Bridge Street, Sydney. Enter via Dalley Street. Images: Dominic Loneragan
Experience the fireworks from a one-of-a-kind view at O Bar and Dining. Perched 47 floors above the ground, the sky-high bar takes in an all-encompassing view of Circular Quay, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge as the fireworks light up the Sydney sky. Three packages are on offer if you're looking to spend New Year's Eve here — and they're all going to set you back a paycheque or two. For $695, you'll receive an NV Louis Roederer Brut Premier on arrival followed by a decedent eight-course tasting menu. Taking things up a notch, you can nab yourself the window seat and a paired wine list for $875. Lastly, if you have 11 other friends willing to drop the big bucks on an exuberant New Year's, you can book out O Bar and Dining's private 12-person dining room with all of the above perks plus butler service for $1450 a head. On the menu for the night is poached Tasmanian lobster, Roku gin-cured kingfish, twice-cooked duck breast with caramelised endive, blackberries and black vinegar and flash-seared Rangers Valley wagyu with black garlic and potato gnocchi.
The Sydney Latin American Film Festival (SLAFF) is a film festival with a conscience. Since 2006 the good people behind this non-profit film festival have been pouring their proceeds into various community support programs in Latin America including the Argentine Institute for Sustainable Construction (IARCOS) and Misión México, a refuge for Mexican children run by Queensland couple, Pamela & Alan Skuse. September and October, the SLAFF is presenting a series of film and cultural events under the banner of Latin American Cinema & Song. September, Cine en Construcción will bring five films from the San Sebastian International Film Festival to Sydney with screenings at the Spanish Cervantes Institute in Chippendale. The pick of the festival though sounds like it might be Cine 428 - a night on the green of the Addison Road Community Centre - all themed to whisk you away to the gaucho cowboys and romantic terrain of Argentina. With a screening of the coming-of-age film, The Last Summer of La Boyita (looks like Deenie meets Shane on the set of The Motorcycle Diaries - yes, that's a blanket covering those stereotypes), music by DJ Spex, fiesta-style party lights, hay bales and meats for sale in the form of asado (traditional Argentinian BBQ) - tell me, is there much more you could ask for? Oh, and it's only eight bucks. Please, travel never smelt so sweet.
Master sommelier Madeline Triffon describes Pinot Noir as 'sex in a glass', while winemaker Randy Ullom calls it 'the ultimate nirvana'. One of the most challenging grapes in the world of vinification, it's also one of the most surprising and rewarding. No wonder Bottle Shop Concepts — the good folk who brought Game of Rhones our way in June — are coming back to town with Pinot Palooza, an epic travelling wine festival celebrating all things Pinot Noir. For just one day, wine connoisseurs in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will have the chance to sample more than 150 drops, direct from the Southern Hemisphere’s best producers. Think Ata Rangi, Yabby Lake, Bay of Fires, Rippon, Kooyong, Mount Difficulty — and that’s just the first few leaves on the vine. Whether you’re a newbie who wants to start with something light and inviting, or a Pinot pro ready for the biggest, most complex mouthful on the menu, there’ll be an abundance of selections at either end — and plenty along the spectrum, too. You’ll even be able to vote for your favourite and go in the draw to win some wine-driven prizes. If, at any point, you need to take a pause in your tasting adventures, you’ll be able to pop into the Alfa Romeo Lounge. There’ll be cosy places to sit and mull over your chosen Pinot, loads of food and the epic Burgundy Bar – a kind of Pinot Noir mecca where you’ll be able to sample bottles worth $150+ at affordable, by-the-glass prices. Expert sommeliers will also be on hand to help you make selections. What's more, those keen to fuel their brains (and not only their tastebuds), can indulge in a 'Back Stage Pass'. It's a chance to partake in a master class with some of Australia's smartest wine educators and learn all about what's happening in Burgundy, France — Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. Pinot Palooza will hit Melbourne on Saturday, October 4 at St Kilda Town Hall, Sydney on Monday, October 6 at Carriageworks and Brisbane on Sunday, October 12 at Light Space. Tickets are $60, which includes tastings, a take-home Riedel 'Heart to Heart' Pinot Noir glass and the latest issue of Wine Companion magazine. You can buy tickets right here.
"Margot met Robert on a Wednesday night toward the end of her fall semester." So starts the only thing that everyone was reading, and also talking about, in December 2017. Published by The New Yorker, Kristen Roupenian's Cat Person is a short story unparalleled in its viral fame. A piercingly matter-of-fact account of a dating nightmare, the piece of fiction became a literary and online phenomenon. Cat Person didn't just spark discourse about modern romance, relationship power dynamics, 21st-century communication, age gaps and more; it monopolised them, as fuelled by the internet, of course, and arriving as the #MeToo movement was at its early heights. Releasing it as a book, still as a 7000-word piece, came next. Now there's the film that was always bound to happen. As a movie, Cat Person can count the Twitter-to-cinema Zola as a peer in springboarding from digital phenomenon to picture palaces, and it too aims for a specific vibe: the feeling that the world experienced while first roving their eyes over the details on their phone, tablet or computer screen. Cat Person and Zola have another glaring similarity: enlisting Succession's Nicholas Braun to infuse his Cousin Greg awkwardness into a wild tale. Here, he's the Robert that Margot encounters while "working behind the concession stand at the artsy movie theatre downtown when he came in and bought a large popcorn and a box of Red Vines", as Roupenian's story explains in its second sentence — and as filmmaker Susanna Fogel, the director of The Spy Who Dumped Me and one of Booksmart's writers, shows on-screen. Actors' performances don't exist in a vacuum for audiences. Unless you somehow missed the four-season Roy family shenanigans, plus all the rightly deserved attention around it, going into Cat Person unaware of Braun's best-known role is impossible. Self-consciousness, haplessness and discomfort are expected twice over of the man that Margot sells snacks to, then. Much follows. With Michelle Ashford (Operation Mincemeat) adapting Roupenian's text, Cat Person still starts unfurling as readers know it will, with Robert eventually asking Margot (Emilia Jones, CODA) out, then flirty missives bouncing back and forth via SMS daily across several weeks. She's 20 and he's 33, but she doesn't clock quite the size of that age discrepancy initially. She enjoys the banter, the thrill of connecting and the buzz of being wanted. Margot has a crush, patently, complete with telling her mother (Hope Davis, Asteroid City) and stepfather (Christopher Shyer, The Night Agent) about it when she's back at home over the break. In their exchanges, Robert advises that he has two cats, too — a tidbit worthy of a title because of what it says and softens about him, and what it also screams if those felines aren't real. Margot and Robert's rapport with their phones in their hands is natural yet often cringey, but only the latter translates whenever they meet in-person again. Still, the pair keep gravitating towards each other. Locking lips leads to "a terrible kiss, shockingly bad". The sex, which Fogel gives an out-of-body spin for Margot as a coping mechanism, is even worse. Regrets and ghosting then flow on Margot's part, while the rejected Robert floods bubbles of unwelcome anger her way. Roupenian's version is as well-known for how it ends as for everything that precedes its final word, but Fogel and Ashford had two options in making Cat Person into a movie: filling a film's running time by fleshing out its minutiae or building upon the once-in-a-decade short story, including its unforgettable ending. Their choice: doing both, actually, with their Cat Person spending 118 minutes to relay its narrative. In comes a Harrison Ford obsession for Robert, packaged with the telling revelation that he considers a Belgian bootleg of Working Girl to be the height of cinema sophistication. Margot becomes an anthropology major with a worshipped professor (Isabella Rossellini, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On) studying ants — and the college student's roommate is now the feminist subreddit-moderating Taylor (Geraldine Viswanathan, Miracle Workers), still with firmly blunt thoughts on dealing with Robert's rebuffed behaviour. In wanders a lost dog in front of their dorm, too, plus imagined sessions with a therapist (Fred Melamed, Barry) who constantly verbalises the movie's subtext, an asexual ex and a Marilyn Monroe-aping singing stint. And, in drops a third act that swings big, even for a film that wants to be a thriller, a black comedy, a cautionary tale and then a horror flick all at once. Rossellini, Davis and Melamed lend presence more than anything else, but casting remains crucial to Cat Person's quest to recreate the sensations that swelled and swirled around the feature's source material six years back. As it incited conversation, debate, devotion and memes, Roupenian's story was an in-her-shoes read — and Jones' starring performance evokes the same reaction. With the rising Locke & Key talent playing savvy yet naive and interested yet cautious, it's easy to understand the emotions, joys, doubts and fears that cycle through Margot. Pivotally, it's easy to dive into Margot and Robert's projections, too, as Jones and Braun keeping bob towards and away from each other in a purposefully anti-chemistry match. Whether it goes smoothly, horrifically, embarrassing and something in-between, what's dating if not two people filtering their own thoughts and feelings through one another? And how often is ambiguity and clashing perceptions the outcome, as well as the realisation that what we want from and spot in the person we're seeing differs from their peek into and desires for us? As Cat Person takes this on-screen journey, it's guilty of doing what everyone desperately wants in a relationship but never gets: explaining everything. Accordingly, not every new inclusion works, especially when new characters largely spout metaphors or imaginings just state the obvious. That said, there's ambition in this tensely shot (by Manfuel Billeter, The Gilded Age) and edited (by Jacob Craycroft, Pachinko) film's additions and expansions to the text. Most beats, tonal shifts, sidesteps into neatness and descents into horror help flesh out an examination of ill-advised choices, clumsy hookups, jarring perspectives, and life's ever-present dangers and uncertainties — and relatably at that. Fogel tackled much the same as a director on The Flight Attendant; Promising Young Woman sprang from Saltburn's Emerald Fennell instead, but consider it another influence upon this intriguing rollercoaster ride of a movie.
It was the sweet treat chain that rose faster than yeasty baked goods, then sunk like your stomach when you've eaten too much sugar. After closing down its 30 stores earlier this year during the collapse of then-owner Damien Griffith's hospitality empire, Doughnut Time is now set to return — under new owners and managers, with six new shops on the horizon. Doughnut Time will start slinging its wares across Australia's east coast, the brand announced on Facebook. Expect decadent circles of baked and fried dough to pop up in the Myer Centre and at South Bank in Brisbane; Degraves Lane, Hawthorn and Fitzroy in Melbourne; and Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast. That's just for starters — Sydney is also expected to nab a new store or two in 2019, and Melburnians can expect a couple more as well. Since announcing the comeback, the company has pushed the original August opening date to the end of September, but still no stores are open. With any luck, the mint green doors will fling open before the end of the year. With the chain now overseen by Queensland entrepreneur Peter Andros, Doughnut Time is eager to put the brand's past behind it — a situation that not only saw its previous stores shuttered without warning, but left many of its staff unpaid. "We think what happened to past employees is unacceptable," the company wrote on Facebook. "We encourage any previous workers who have not yet done so to reclaim unpaid wages by contacting the Department of Jobs and Small Business. We believe many Australians missed Doughnut Time and when we saw it was up for sale, we jumped at the opportunity to bring it back." Fans and sugar fiends should prepare their tastebuds for a dose of the old and the new when the fresh batch of stores start cooking up a storm. Hit flavours like the Cate Blanchett (a milk chocolate doughnut covered in Tim Tam pieces) have been teased on social media, as have new vegan, gluten free, high protein, low sugar and keto options. For more information, keep an eye on Doughnut Time's website and Facebook page. Updated: October 10, 2018.
Hanging out on rooftops in the city is usually not a bad idea. What with all that fresh air hitting your face, the sunshine and the views. Combine that with lots of arty peeps and pretty displays and your day won’t be too shabby at all. Office 2010 are a crew who round up creative types to use their workspace in Surry Hills. Saturday, they're putting them on a roof for the Quadrangle market. What’s going to be there once you make it up there? Some coffee (Single Origin Roasters), some resin-y goods (Dinosaur Designs), some fashionable goods (Courtesy of the Artist), some sandwichy goodness (The Sandwich Shop) and some design-y stuff (Shelf/Life) — along with lots of other bits 'n' pieces. These are all from the Surry Hills 2010 postcode area and provide an interesting view of what's going on in that busy, busy neighbourhood where lots of creative types hang. The markets run from 4-8pm.
Emma Davis is an enigma wrapped in candy. The Sydney-sider's sweet music will make even the most hardened Oscar-the-grouch want to hug everyone in sight. Her music is sure to bring people together. The London born singer-songwriter will be launching her self-titled debut album at the Red Rattler this Friday and it is sure to spark off a friendship or two. After having had some remarkable times playing to big festival crowds, Emma has recently teamed up with producer Brian Campeau (Melanie Horsnell, Elana Stone, Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers) to create an album of honest stories that reflect the quiet encounters between us; from awkward opportunities to missed loves. Sometimes they end with sorrow and sometimes with solace but always reveal a gooey centre so sweet she will be a boon for dentists everywhere. The music is acoustic and mellow but is best enjoyed with a side of friends — so make your way to the Red Rattler and join the enigmatic singer with a whole bunch of them.
M Craft toiled away at noisey rock throughout the 90's with Canberra's finest, Sidewinder. After spending too much money on Tangerine ('97) and being dropped by Mercury records, Craft packed up shop and moved to London, where he spent most of his early life with his father working abroad. After some time working in bars, he eventually got his music back on, and ended up playing guitar with Jarvis Cocker, getting signed to the uber cool 679 label, and in 2007 released the critically acclaimed Silver and Fire which taste making rock snob mag Uncut called "tantalising stuff". He has just put the finishing touches on his second LP Arrows At The Sun which has serious moments of brilliance. Do yourself a favour and go catch the expat while he's in the country.
Duke Magazine’s White Men Can’t Crump party has got me reminiscing all my favourite 90s R&B and Hip Hop, and you can’t ever look past N.W.A with Ice Cube, Dr Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren and Arabian Prince (Professor X). Straight Outta Compton is still one of the best gangster rap albums of all time!Arabian Prince left the group in 1998 and has had less success than the group’s other members – but don’t assume that means he’s less talented. The always-on-it Stones Throw records released an anthology of his work last year titled Innovative Life and reminded us all what an ingenious writer/producer he is. MC’ing and DJ’ing his signature electro rap, don’t miss Arabian Prince in Sydney this week supported by Def Wish Cast, James dela Cruz (the Avalanches), and local DJs.
Beer festivals usually follow a familiar template. Attendees wander between different brewery stalls, taste beer, buy beer, drink beer and talk about beer with brewing experts. Then, they drink more beer. And, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that — when something works, it works. Running from 12pm on Sunday, July 26, Flow Festival is adding a few differences to the above formula. Firstly, it's happening online. Also, joining in the virtual fun is free. Most importantly, however, this fest is all about alcohol-free craft brews. Whether you're doing Dry July, you're not actually that fond of boozy beverages all the time, you just can't do another hangover or you have health reasons for avoiding the sauce, you'll find plenty of inspiration at this debut event — with breweries such as Sobah, Upflow Brewing Collective, Holsten and Coopers celebrating and showcasing their alcohol-free IPAs, stouts and pilsners. Folks from Sobah, Upflow and Coopers will also join a panel discussion about beer sans booze, if you're eager to find out more about the topic. And, yes, you can still drink along. It is still a beer fest, after all. Flow Festival is also doing $160 festival packs (which contain 48 cans of alcohol-free beer) that you can order in advance and sip your way through on the day — including in guided tastings run by the brewers themselves. Flow Festival runs from 12pm on Sunday, July 26 — and while streaming along is free, registration is required.
A museum celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community and educating visitors on the community's history is set to open in Sydney, after being granted nearly $300,000 worth of funding from the City of Sydney. The announcement came from the city council and Lord Mayor Clover Moore on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia. The proposed museum will be set up on Oxford Street by local not-for-profit Qtopia Sydney, an organisation designed to empower and support the LGBTQIA+ community. Led by Patrons The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG and Ita Buttrose AC OBE, the organisation promises to showcase exhibitions on the AIDS/HIV pandemic, marriage equality, the different communities that LGBTQIA+ represents, how the queer community has shaped society and celebrate storytellers in the queer community. "Qtopia Sydney's proposed museum aims to provide a safe and inclusive space for the public to celebrate, remember and learn more about the rich history of Sydney's LGBTIQA+ community," City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said. The City of Sydney funding comes in the lead-up to WorldPride 2023 which is set be held in Sydney next year. Last month, the city council announced five priority areas it would be working on to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and protect its history as the global event approaches. [caption id="attachment_828652" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2021[/caption] The five-part innovation includes recognising historic places, increasing queer communities' visibility, sustaining Oxford Street, ensuring support programs and safe spaces, and increasing LGBTQIA+ cultural places like this museum. "We are ready to stand as a proud, new, celebratory, amazing museum, ready to welcome the world for WorldPride 2023, and the community before and after," Qtopia Sydney CEO Greg Fisher said. "We're ready to succeed and to be a meaningful part of Council's important Oxford Street precinct rejuvenation initiative." WorldPride 2023 will feature over 200 events ranging from arts and theatre through to sport and parties on top of Sydney's existing annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival. WorldPride 2023 will take place from Friday, February 17 until Sunday, March 5 2023. You can stay up to date with the LGBTQIA+ museum at Qtopia Sydney's website.
After dishing up an Italian-inspired celebration of meat at underground restaurant Bistecca, James Bradey and Warren Burns (directors of Liquid + Larder) are gearing up to open a new subterranean CBD haunt this November. Located beneath King Street, The Gidley will be a classic steakhouse that plates up high-quality meats with an unmistakable Aussie edge. Run by the same minds who brought us The Wild Rover and Grandma's Bar, it's no surprise the space here is set to be stylishly warm and welcoming, decked out with plenty of plush leather lounges and working that old-meets-new vibe. [caption id="attachment_743431" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Warren Burns and James Bradey by Ramy Youssef[/caption] Bunker down and get ready for some feasting at the hands of Head Chef Pip Pratt. He'll be dishing up a meat-heavy menu with prime rib roasts and American-style burgers starring cuts like brisket and chuck. While Bistecca's signature dish is the bistecca alla Fiorentine, here, it'll be the 'brick chicken' — a cooked and deboned chook that's presented on a sizzling iron plate. There's no word yet on whether Bistecca's famed edible candle (made from beef drippings) will be making the trip across, but we're keeping our fingers crossed. The classic steak match is wine and you can bet The Gidley's got you well sorted in that department. A vino selection will hero classic varieties from across the globe and will be backed by a cocktail lineup that celebrates old-school "straight and stiff" sips. Find The Gidley at Basement, 161 King Street, Sydney, from November. Top image: Bistecca by Dominic Loneragan
The yogis of Sydney's eastern suburbs now have a luxe new home for their practice, as boutique studio Yogala moves into new designer digs in the heart of Maroubra. And everyone's invited to help kick-start the month-long opening celebrations, at a free launch event this Friday, March 2. On the night, guests will embark on a two-hour sensory journey, guided by the team at Soulful Soundwaves, a local group that's out to help people discover their balance through music. It'll lead one of its signature live music meditations, the sounds tuned to the optimal frequency of 432Hz, which will apparently allow your brain to tap into those positive effects. After that, feeling nice and grounded, you'll enjoy drinks and canapés while soaking up the calming vibes of this sanctuary-like space. The event's free, though places are limited, so you'll need to book online in advance. Image: Guy Davies.
In celebration of International Women's Day, work space guru WeWork is going all out — it's launching a new female-focused event series at its beautifully designed Sydney CBD digs. She Leads, the company-wide event series and initiative, aims to raise the profile of gender equality in the workplace and will see female founders, leaders and influencers join forces in WeWork spaces across 21 countries and in 71 cities around the world. For the Sydney event, WeWork George Street will host a female-led discussion on Thursday, March 8 from 6–8pm. The panel features Lisa Messenger, founder and CEO of the fashion and lifestyle publication Collective Hub, in conversation with Gaby Riddington, managing director and founder of executive coaching startup Kipling Partners. Their discussion will be followed by a Q&A and a booking signing by Messenger (who has also written 12 books). International Women's Day events will also take place at WeWork's New York City headquarters — in partnership with the city's ninth annual Women in the World summit — as well as in 15 additional locations worldwide. The company's global workforce is already more than 50-percent female, so you know they're not just talking about it, either. Refreshments will be on offer throughout the evening — including cheese-heavy grazing boards and Australian wine — and it'll be a great excuse to get to know other successful women in the city. The whole event is free, but space is limited so an RSVP is a must.
Crave: the festival's festival. An event created on behalf of the NSW government to draw dollars, jobs and foreign folk to our soil, Crave is a celebration of the artistic, culinary and aesthetic offerings of our dear resplendent Sydney - basically an excuse to be the big fat show-offs that we are. It’s the technicoloured umbrella under which a buffet of joyous events will occur throughout October, including the Sydney International Food Festival, Art & About and the Darling Harbour Fiesta. ‘31 days of food, out-door art and fun’ they say, and you don’t even have to pay for them all. Free events include Breakfast on the bridge where you and 6,000 other cheery early morning revelers will be given the opportunity to down your hash browns atop a national icon. Beat that Rio and your peacock-feathered Carnaval.
PS40 is throwing its own hottest 100 party this public holiday Friday. Hops & Pop will pair the CBD laneway bar's picks for best songs of the year with local booze and food. Along with their usual native-inspired cocktails, the bartenders will be slingin' their new collaboration with Young Henrys — an easy-drinking Smoked Shandy which combines YH's Newtowner and PS40's smoked lemonade. For food, patrons can expect a PS40-style sausage sizzle, topped with native botanical relishes. All proceeds from the snags will go toward developing indigenous communities in Australia. The party will be rocking until 2am so you can get your long weekend started off with a bang.
Clear your culinary calendar, Merivale’s epic food and wine festival March into Merivale is back for the eighth year in a row. For five glorious weeks, you’ll be treated to pop-up feasts, international DJs, a laneway festival, dining specials, masterclasses and mystery banquets. Altogether, it’s more deliciousness and fun than we can handle — but we'll try. Very last release tickets are on sale now for the epic March into Merivale Launch Party this Wednesday, February 10. Tickets are just 45 bucks a pop, which buys you entry, along with eight food and drink tokens. Plus, the weather's expected to be glorious (28 degrees and sunny) so it's set to be a pretty perfect summer evening. By Jasmine Crittenden with Shannon Connellan.
"Abbe May plays a scorching guitar — she is the f***ing s**t!" -Nic Harcout, MTV USA Still riding high after the tremendous success of 2011's Design Desire, one of Australia's most criminally under-appreciated artists is back with a brand-new album. And she's launching it by way of a national tour, heading to every state to seduce you firsthand. Or maybe punch you in the face. Or maybe even seduce you by punching you in the face. Abbe May might come from a tiny coastal town in the very southwest of WA, but over the course of four records she has built herself up to the precipice of world domination. Her last album was nominated for the Australian Music Prize and was roundly praised by nearly every person with ears who heard it, its dark, gnarly guitars oozing sultriness, her voice shining in the darkness like a switchblade at midnight. But May promises surprises on her new album, abandoning the '70s-psych influence of Design Desire in favour of "synth-driven doom pop". As May herself declares, "Kiss My Apocalypse is unashamedly sexual and would almost be romantic if it weren't for the vitriol." "Pop is sexy when done well and it's incredibly difficult to do it well if you try too hard," she says. "We wanted to get away from music that took itself too seriously. I'm so tired of this whole shoe gaze, it-cost-a-lot-of-money-to get-a-haircut-that-looks-like-I-haven't-brushed-my-hair-in-months type shit. 'Artists' in denial that they are basically just entertainers. Being an entertainer is more meaningful if you ask me. It's not such a selfish pursuit." For almost any other artist, a major shift in sound away from the most successful album of your career would be a death sentence, crippling you just as you were poised to make a real splash. But Abbe May isn't just any artist. And when you consider that her first two albums drew heavily from (a) Deep South devil blues, then (b) Hawaiian-inspired rockabilly, a fourth major shift on her fourth album could be just what we were all waiting for. https://youtube.com/watch?v=bDJx-yLk3d0
Does your version of celebrating whichever occasion takes your fancy involve eating more of the things you love? Do pork belly, chicken schnitzels, chicken wings and German sausages fall into that category? If so, The Bavarian has an all-you-can-eat special that'll tempt your tastebuds — because a bottomless feast is on the menu. On Wednesdays, the German-themed chain is serving up all-you-can-eat meat platters. They come stacked with all of the aforementioned meats — and yes, the pork belly includes crackling — plus sauerkraut and gravy as sides. And, once you've finished your board, you'll get a whole new serving. On All-You-Can-Meat Wednesdays, there's a two-hour time limit to your eating — and it'll cost you $35 per person. There is a two-person minimum, too, so you'll need to take at least one meat-loving pal along with you. Feel like you can fit in fries, mash and salad as well? That'll cost you an extra $5 for each one, or you can get all three for $10. You'll find The Bavarian at Charlestown, Rouse Hill, Castle Hill, Shellharbour, Tuggerah, Manly, Penrith, Miranda, Macarthur, Green Hills, Entertainment Quarter, York Street, World Square, Wetherill Park, Chatswood and Wollongong in New South Wales. And if you want to pair all that meat with German brews — which is understandable — you'll pay extra for the drinks.
