There is a high chance you've already heard of Chet Faker, along with his soulful, trip-hop offerings and his mega-babin' beard. The Melbourne-based artist started making waves online with his cover of Blackstreet's 'No Diggity', which spread across the blogosphere like wildfire, making him an internet superstar in a very short period of time. One EP later — Thinking in Textures — and he's already toured around globally, including stellar sets at Austin's SXSW, the UK's Great Escape Festival and our very own Splendour in the Grass. Indulge in what will surely be a night of swooning, grooving and singing to the soulful sounds of Chet Faker and his band, as he digs deep to deliver some of the most heart-melting tunes and stories of love. https://youtube.com/watch?v=P9r7KJJYkYY
Sometimes I crave the film equivalent of a McHappy Meal: something mindless, comforting, and wrongly tasty. Other times I want a kick in the tear ducts, a savage one. Rarely do I encounter a film that strikes just the right balance between these two poles, that is at once intelligent and entertaining. Bernie is this kind of rare cinematic treat. The film is inspired by a piece in the 1998 Texas Monthly by crime reporter Skip Hollandsworth, which starts, "Marjorie Nugent was the richest widow in an eccentric town full of rich widows. Bernie Tiede was an assistant funeral home director who became her companion. When she disappeared, nobody seemed alarmed. When he confessed to killing her, nobody seemed outraged." Bernie (Jack Black) is queasily sweet, universally adored by his community, and the only person who can bear the manipulative Marjorie (Shirley MacLaine), who comes to control every minute of his life. Although the reward for his endurance is monetary (he becomes the sole inheritor of her oil and banking fortune), nobody doubts his intentions. There's something improbable, but also childlike, about his generosity and his inability to say no to people. Black curbs his most irritating tendencies to give an endearing, convincing, and ultimately confounding performance. The actor is undeniably a strange little man, and he channels his eccentricities perfectly into what the townspeople of Carthage, Texas, describe as Bernie's "tutti frutti" mannerisms (they suspect he might be a "little light in the loafers"). The morality and motivations of Bernie's actions and his relationship with Marjorie is spectacularly grey, and the film reminds us of how few characters in cinema walk the entire spectrum of moral inconsistency. I was surprised at how fondly I came to feel for this curious character. MacLaine is typically solid as scowling, witchy Marjorie — it's the kind of role she's spent decades perfecting. Matthew McConaughey, who cannot be better described than as "a dude who spent most of his career Owenwilsoning his shirtless way through life", has recently embarked on a mission to prove he is A Serious Actor with roles in The Lincoln Lawyer, Killer Joe, and Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike. Here he's the cluey district attorney, hell-bent on prosecuting Bernie. It's not quite enough to shed the horrific rom-com traumas of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but he shows a deft comic timing we haven't seen before. Director Richard Linklater has dabbled in documentary with Fast Food Nation, and perhaps that's why Bernie posseses the authenticity of a doco. It's difficult to track the overarching themes of Linklater's disparate films, but Bernie goes beyond the small world of Carthage to comment on the extremes of human behaviour. His masterstroke is to cast the gossipy Carthage townspeople as the film's narrators. No Hollywood creations could ever be as entertaining, disturbing, or delightful as these chicken-fried-bacon Southerners who are eternally, sweetly, and stubbornly devoted to Bernie. Bernie is an affectionate ode to the oddity of small-town America. This is a place where obscene oil wealth, diners where "you kill it, we cook it", rabid evangelism, and shooting armadillos in the backyard are all markers of a strange, salty standard of normality. Bernie never condescends to its subjects or its audience. It's absurd, but never ludicrous. And although Bernie's crime is revealed early on, we're kept in a state of enthralled disbelief until the bitter end, and that surely is the sign of a master filmmaker. https://youtube.com/watch?v=v7fPgD3EO-E
The Festivalists have seen a cracker few years with their boutique festivals increasing in number, from the long-running Young at Heart and Access All Areas to the recent Jurassic Lounge and Sydney Film Festival Hub events. Now in its seventh edition, Possible Worlds is one of the foundational projects for the Festivalists, and you can feel the passion in artistic director Matt Ravier's selection for this festival's seven days. Take for example the bookend choice for opening and closing nights. Starbuck, directed by Ken Scott, is a comedy that follows an inept kidult who after years of irresponsibility is facing a lawsuit that'll unmask his identity as the father of 533 IVF children. At the opposite end of the calendar and the spectrum is War Witch, directed by Kim Nguyen and winner of Best Film and Best Actress at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. This heavy drama is the confession of a 14-year-old girl to her unborn baby, detailing her actions as a member of a child militia in an unnamed sub-Saharan country. Two very different films, and yet both are borne from two individuals coming to grips with the question of legacy and responsibility to a future generation. It is not only amongst the films that such strands are drawn. Inspired perhaps by their live performance events, the Festivalists are also pairing select films up with live experiences for punters. A night out to see Indie Game: The Movie will leave you wanting to play and design games for the rest of your life — what better way to start, then, than with the chance to play games at the venue right after the film? Similarly, prepare to dress in disco fetish for the spoof comedy Roller Town, and limber up to dance it off in the glamorous musical Leave It on the Floor. Created with intelligence and love, and balancing an internationally aware program with a lot of fun ideas, this seventh Possible Worlds is set to be a very special week. Definitely try to see more than one film. Concrete Playground has three double passes to the Possible Worlds Closing Night Gala. To win, just subscribe to Concrete Playground (if you haven't already) then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=BKXEh_kfPCY Films are screening at Dendy Opera Quays, Dendy Newtown and St Stephen's Church Hall, Newtown. Please see specific film listings for their venue. Image from Leave It on the Floor.
Event curators The Festivalists have a plan, it seems, to take over Sydney's nightlife. They've just pulled off an excellent bar and daily program of free events at this year's Sydney Film Festival. Their Jurassic Lounge was one of the breakout hits of the 2011 after-hours scene, and it's returning for two more seasons this year. Here's the formula: every Tuesday night, the Australian Museum is swamped with a thousand punters partaking in drinks, live music, games, and performance. The intelligently curated programs combine off-kilter stuff like slam poetry, alternative stand-up comedy, DJs from FBi Radio, palm reading, and storytelling from emerging writers. The new season line-up promises previews from the Sydney Underground Film Festival, a special queer culture night, a nerdy cosplay evening, and a sneak peek at the Sydney Fringe Festival. Jurassic Lounge is also jumping on the "diners, drive-ins and dives" bandwagon by offering a new Americana menu of hotdogs and sliders. With the expanded format, the door charge no longer includes a free drink, although it does still cover entry to the museum's Deep Oceans exhibition. When it works, Jurassic Lounge is a trip to the other side. And at its worst, it's a very trendy singles night for over-educated under-30s frolicking amidst a Gondwanaland of dinosaur skeletons, fossils, and native maritime animals. Either way, it's pretty fun.
With shows in Melbourne and Brisbane as well, round two of the Eight Miles High mini festival, a celebration of psychedelic, 60s, surf, shoegaze and garage pop, will hit Goodgod June 15th with sets from Witch Hats, Sister Jane, Grand Atlantic, Bloods, Buried Feather and Atom Bombs. Known for ferocious and engaging live shows, Witch Hats play a fusion of alternative rock, classic rock and post-punk. Described as The Pixies meets The Doors, Sister Jane blend sixties blues and seventies psychedelic rock to make their own distinctive sound. Grand Atlantic changed a bit when they released their third album, Constellations. Previously classed as power pop they moved to a deeper, darker sound. Bloods of Sydney are a frantic mess of punked-up pop. Compared to Black Angels and Dead Meadow, Buried Feather released their new single 'In The Sun' just last month. Show openers Atom Bombs are known as Syndey’s kings of surf guitar, with rolling drums and plenty of reverb.
This year's Spring Dance festival, curated by Rafael Bonachela (or "Raf" as he is affectionately introduced on the festival's home page), features several performances that can best be described as athletic. A very apt inclusion, given that this is an Olympic year, and one that is a necessary reminder of the immense physical aptitude that can be channeled into the arts as much as it is applauded in sport. Topping the podium at Spring Dance 2012 is Correria Agwa, two pieces presented by an 11-strong Brazilian ensemble under the direction of French choreographer Mourad Merzouki. You'll recognise this show from its posters depicting sweat-shining muscles under the heading of "Hip Hop 'It' Boys", which promises a vibrant mix of hip-hop, acrobatics and capoeira heat. The two sides to Correria Agwa — "running" and "water" respectively — reflect two very different athletic dynamics: the first a fierce, aerobic test of endurance, and the second, an agile precision of explosive acrobatic force. Perhaps too long a bow to draw, but it is in the combination of these two styles that we arrive at "running water", as together they are the dripping sweat that celebrates rigorous physical exertion. It is definitely recommended that you have a good shower after this show. https://youtube.com/watch?v=dvPOvJ1Jd3Q
Rainbow Chan, the quirky synth kid whose songs are as enticing as they are new, is releasing a new record. Her songs — sorry, beats — are a glorious mix of electronic and acoustic textures, married to create her glitchy sounds. Together with Outerwaves, these two are bringing us their latest stuff — a split 7" vinyl — out now through Silo Arts. And golly, we're a bit excited. Only 75 of these crystal-clear, hand-cut vinyls have been made, and you can grab yours through the Silo Arts website. Joining them on the line-up at FBi Social is Sydney's Albatross and Astral People DJs. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Z9R6pP6PUTE
Sydney's been running a little short on Australian art lately. The Art Gallery of NSW's Australian collection went missing not long ago, as the art institution took advantage of these galleries' remodelling to stage its big Picasso show. Remodelling over, they're back, taking advantage of the grand reopening to stage an Open Weekend showing off its returning collection. As well as offering ongoing shows like the Archibald and the newly opened Australian Symbolism exhibition, the weekend will fill itself with art and the ideas around it. Thomas Keneally will narrow his focus to colonial Sydney, architect and acting director talk up the new space and its design, Wendy Whiteley talks about the life and work of Brett, and Delia Falconer, author of Sydney, talks about the same. Get practical skills at the free, Margaret Preston-y Saturday print-making workshop, or weaving from Vickie West. Screening downstairs, Outsiders in Australian Film collects three short features on Saturday. On Sunday, Colin Friels face off against Miles Davis in the jazz showdown that is Rolf de Heer's little-known film Dingo. Richard Gill talks music and story and Holly Throsby sings in the lobby, adding to your musical options. Does a whole weekend of such Australian artiness all leave you with a powerful opinion? The gallery plans to collect those as well. Photo credit Mark Tedeschi.
Angela's Kitchen returns to Griffin's SBW Stables Theatre after a well-received run in 2010 and will start a national tour after it's done charming Sydneysiders in June. Julian Meyrick transposed and shaped Paul Capsis's improvisations to create a guileless tribute to Surry Hills' hardest working bingo fanatic, Capsis's grandmother, Angela. Meyrick and Capsis have further refined the piece in 2012 along with associate writer Hilary Bell. A performed family history could easily stray into sentimental terrain, but in Capsis's hands it is potent and hilarious. He has the rare ability to perform without artifice. Much like a clown, he marks each exchange with the audience as if in respectful conversation with us. Similarly, his treatment of space and objects is careful and almost reverential. A section called 'Some Old Wrecked, Precious Things' includes Angela’s crocheted rug, the jumper she knitted him and a book he stole from the Surry Hills library called Paul Is a Maltese Boy. He was always "nuts about Malta" and had the feeling growing up that his family wasn't from here but from somewhere over there, very far away. His obsession translates into a fascinating and tragic history lesson on the stage. Malta was the most bombed place during World War Two, with 35,000 buildings destroyed on the tiny island. Angela's arrival in Australia in 1948 started what Capsis calls 'The Mythical Family' of second-, third- and fourth-generation Australians. The play ends with Capsis seated as Angela in a red dress, wearing lipstick and her good shoes. His ability to morph across gender lines is remarkable (and is explored well in Paola Morabito's documentary short). He is a diminutive man with a monumental amount of dignity. Angela's Kitchen honours the woman who helped him get that way.
After a year out of commission, and a successful pozible campaign for a replacement press, the Rizzeria collective is set to bring their new printing press to the Oxford Street Design Store's back room. The relaunched Rizzeria will soon be the focus of workshops and print sessions, but first they're hosting an art auction to cover the first year's maintainance. The folks at the Rizzeria are still curating the contributions (it's not too late) to complete the auction's collection funding the upcoming workshop fun. In the meantime, an evening of art awaits.
Labelled as one of the hottest young prospects to have come out of this corner of the world in quite some time, Melbourne/Cape Town synth-pop five-piece Clubfeet have been the subject of many a whispered chatter across the globe for the past year. Since emerging out of total obscurity in late 2010 with their album Gold On Gold they've been championed by the likes of Pitchfork, Spin, RCRD LBL and Discobelle, and have seen their reputation grow amongst even more respected circles like the NME, The Guardian and Dazed thanks to a series of videos and new remixes. To coincide with the double A-sided release of City Of Light / This Time the band are taking a break from recording their sophomore album to perform their first Australian shows. https://youtube.com/watch?v=FdvVJ1zTfCc
Sydney electro-pop outfit Van She have returned with their explosive sophomore, Idea Of Happiness. It's been four years since we last heard from the quartet, who dropped their highly acclaimed debut record, V, way back in 2008 — it peaked at #10 on the ARIA Album Charts. Kicking on with their signature style of electronic-infused disco-pop, their songs — which are filled with lush arrangements of trickling, arpeggiated synths and wandering vocals — ooze with a euphoric and joyous energy, as experienced in lead singles Jamaica and Idea Of Happiness. Van She will be launching their new material at the Metro Theatre this Saturday, with fellow Sydney outfits RÜFÜS, Panama and Beni all supporting, in what will surely turn into a giant discotheque featuring some of this city's finest electro-pop musos. https://youtube.com/watch?v=5OaanwN1vFQ
The Tate's new exhibition, New Ruins, embodies nature in a state of terminal decline. This ephemeral exhibition is the result of a residency at Melbourne’s Seventh Gallery. Enjoy paintings on rescued waste timber, with tonal shifts that are “distinctly unnatural”. New Ruins finds visual expression for anxiety, pertaining to global warming and human impacts on the planet. With the metaphorical use of storms, clouds of air, dust, smoke and landscapes in various forms of flux and destruction, the exhibition inspires whilst acting as a sobering reminder of our heavy footprints on Earth. Only open this weekend: enjoy it while you can.
PVT are one of Sydney's favourite local music acts, and with good reason; their experimental style borders on the ecstatic, catching the eye of Brian Eno when he was programming the Luminous festival, Vivid's precursor, back in 2009. Since then the band has gone on to be named best local release of the decade by FBi Radio. Renowned for their live performances, the trio have approached recording as an ‘opportunity to create new space on stage’ - a mentality that will be fully harnessed for Vivid LIVE. PVT will be joined by additional orchestration to re-imagine songs from their innovative catalogue and to preview a selection of previously unheard material. With visual designers creating a light show unique to this performance, the evening will be an entirely original aural and visual experience.
Our experience of the world and its events is a complex, often cacophonic relationship between a non-stop feed of information and what is immediately important to us in our daily lives. As choreographer Lucy Guerin acknowledges in her program notes, the common result of this relationship is that "the trivialities of daily life tend to overtake so easily the infuriating and heart-rending events which are reported to us everyday". How can we not let slip news of uprisings, bombings and invasions in distant countries when faced with the pressing dilemma of what to eat for dinner? Guerin's work, Human Interest Story, grows out of this tension. Six performers begin in a familiar scene: staring emptily at a giant, glowing television screen that feeds them an endless gruel of information. Their response is to parrot newsreaders, robotically articulating the gestures and vocal qualities of the sanitised news anchor, reporting atrocity and controversy without marked emotional comment. As a trigger, this is a necessary scene for Guerin's audience, and it is from here that the dancers unfold into unpacking our mutable relationship with the mediated world. As an audience, we are drawn to the lighter moments, when dancer Stephanie Lake performs a solo sequence broken up by mundane commentary about her life, her routine while on tour and her lack of definite opinion on Australian politics. In contrast, when in later sequences we see a repetition of fractured, violent events that could have been picked from footage of riots across the world, our attentions phase out. The scene has slipped away because there is no human interest for us to grip. For Sydney viewers, it is a lovely coincidence that Human Interest Story and UK company, DV8's Can We Talk About This? have opened so close together. Both pieces bring out the tensions of our current media landscape, and do so through introducing spoken word as another form of physical, rather than linguistic, expression. Whether seen together or individually, these works are effective in drawing our focus to the specific moral dilemma of how we can balance news of the world with our own routines. That Human Interest Story relates a mixed expression of this dilemma, rather than hammering a single view, makes it all the more effective in allowing you to prepare your own response to the chaos of the world.
The adaptation of a book to film is a tricky thing. There's a lot of fans that have the story replaying in their head, almost word for word, and so expect events on the screen to unfold just as they remember. Most adaptations get a bad rap, and are met only with online vitriol poured out on blogs everywhere. Good luck David Nicholls, writer of One Day: I think this might be met with a mixed response. One Day is an adaptation from an extremely popular book — so keep an eye on those fan blogs. Written in letters between the two protagonists, it's a difficult adaptation to make for film. So much nuance can come across in the context of a written letter that is much harder to subtly drop in on screen. Having said that, the film is not lacking in subtlety. There's a genuine attraction between Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess). Their growing love is played out quite quickly, across twenty years, each segment shown on the same date they'd met: their last day of university. Their characters develop realistically and slowly, as they mature and learn where their true affections lie. While it is an emotional ride, there were more than a few tears welling at the end of the film. Twenty years of growing romance is difficult to get across in 107 minutes. In the capable hands of Hathaway (despite her accent) and Sturgess, who both portray very real people in a confusing relationship, and director Lone Scherfig (also known for the brilliant An Education), a very touching, romantic story is told quite well. Its problem exist only in the limits from the length of the film, with some years of the character's lives flashing up for only a few seconds. Romantics and sentimentalists will undoubtedly like this film, and being among those ranks myself, I also did. Just be prepared for a staccato love affair.
After the success of last year's inaugural festival, the Korean Film Festival in Australia, is back again this year and promises to be even bigger. The programme includes 13 feature films and 7 shorts, chosen to showcase the best of contemporary Korean cinema and, for those keen to scratch a little deeper beneath the surface, there are industry forums, Q&As with directors, cultural performances and food tastings on offer too. With two movies picking up awards at Cannes last year, along with numerous appearances on the international festival circuit, Korean cinema has been garnering a fair bit of attention recently. A strong home grown film industry, fostered through many years of state intervention and protected by a quota system, has allowed it to compete with Hollywood. As the country has moved towards democracy over the last few years, so its creativity has evolved, allowing a national cinema which is quirky, idiosyncratic and challenging to flourish. The movies chosen for the festival programme cover themes of violence and corruption, relationships, sexuality and the nation's troubled past. https://youtube.com/watch?v=vfpy0rC67mI
Joann Sfar's debut film is less a biography of French provocateur musician Serge Gainsbourg than an irreverent, audacious tribute from one artist to his icon. Comic book artist Sfar bends the biopic genre to his will and that of Gainsbourg's seductive celebrity with a film that outwardly adheres to a linear, cradle-to-grave structure, but is in fact steeped in magical realism and entirely unconcerned about imparting truths of any kind. With no dates and barely any names given, Sfar throws us into the world of a wily Jewish boy, who manages to thumb his nose at the threatening reality of the Second World War with charm and sly obsequiousness. Sfar also brings his comic book sensibilities to life, bequeathing the future Gainsbourg with an alter ego in the form of a Jewish caricature that literally steps out of an anti-Semitic poster and into his life. Ironically, this 'ugly mug' (looking like a surrealist Guillermo del Toro character and indeed played by del Toro regular Doug Jones) has all the confidence and cocksure drive that Gainsbourg lacks, and isn't afraid to go to dastardly lengths to shape their intertwined existence. It is the 'ugly mug' that urges Gainsbourg to step away from his love of art and embrace the skills he so reluctantly learned from his lounge-musician father. Musical fame, fortune and fabulous love affairs follow, and all too soon he's being seduced by songstress Juliette Greco (Anna Mouglalis), bombshell Brigitte Bardot (Laetitia Casta) is frolicking naked about his flat, before he settles down to marry and sing that raunchy duet with Jane Birkin (Lucy Gordon). Eric Elmosnino's uncanny resemblance and transporting performance goes a long way to traversing many of the yawning gaps in detail (and those pesky truths) Sfar has purposefully omitted from his screenplay. But that doesn't quite prevent this willfully opaque portrait from becoming frustrating in parts. While no-one can fault the sumptuous design (Sfar's artistic eye translates superbly) Gainsbourg's staggering self-indulgence — painted with the barest scrape of context — ends up feeling stifling. It's an odd storytelling decision to be sure, but one that Sfar sticks to absolutely. Instead Gainsbourg is an impressionistic rendering, a decadent celebration and a downright sexy account of a supremely talented musician, and his ugly mug. https://youtube.com/watch?v=lQH4R2RwM1U
When most people are faced with some sort of hardship — and in Australia we're not short of a few what with bushfires, floods and drought — they band together for camaraderie and entertainment. After the 2009 Victorian bushfires, roughly 7500 people were displaced, living in temporary mass accommodation. We can't imagine how they managed to pass the time waiting to hear news, trying desperately to entertain young children. Or maybe we can? According to Bell Shakespeare, they started reciting Twelfth Night to each other. It's a very creative concept really. A group of strangers, using whatever they have around them (in this case a huge pile of donated clothing), recreating one of Shakespeare's most screwball-like comedies to pass the time and cheer them up while they wait for news. Though perhaps completely unrealistic, the connection between the real world and that of Illyria is seamless as each character gradually starts becoming their role rather than simply reading verbatim from the text. The costume changes are transparently performed in front of the audience but this only serves to add to the comedy, particularly when it comes to Brent Hill who hilariously plays three separate characters of different genders. Twelfth Night uses one of Elizabethan comedies most famous of comic devices to endless hilarity: cross-dressing. And in true Elizabethan style, two of the three main female parts in this production are played with great aplomb by men. All of the actors in this show deserve a standing ovation, particularly as each one has to perform numerous roles. Scene changes and character transitions are flawless or when they are flawed just become another funny episode as one character's plans go awry when he realises he will have to fight himself. Bell Shakespeare productions have a tendency of trying to place the text in some sort of modern setting and often this unfortunately adds very little to the production. In this case, the aftermath of some bushfire disaster is simply a device to have a mountain of clothes and other flotsam and jetsam covering the stage. In that sense then, it works. Though it is slightly jarring when we're suddenly transported back from Shakespeare to the contemporary world, it also offers a nice contrast of emotion between hilarity and drama. For a truly Australian take on a Shakespearean classic, without resorting to okka stereotypes, director Lee Lewis has produced a dynamic, inventive and completely enjoyable play.
A visual adventure awaits! Nightshifters is a video art installation of magical proportions. Under the cover of dark night eight contemporary video and new media artists will breathe new life into the postmodern industrial performance space that is CarriageWorks. CarriageWorks has commissioned Cordelia Beresford, Alexis Destoop, Sam James, Kate Murphy, Angelica Mesiti, Eugenia Raskopoulos, Dominic Redfern and John Tonkin to use their video art installations to create a hyper-real blend of architecture, space, light and sound in exploration of nocturnal visual alchemy. As part of Performace Space's Live Live series, Nightshifters explores the notion of 'liveness' through the conceptualisation of video art as a live performance. Far from our usual understanding of video imagery projected onto indifferent surfaces, these installations integrate with and transform the space around them, enlivening and infusing the beautiful architecture and its surrounds with a little visual magic. Also part of the Live Live series is Hold in which installation artist David Cross invites you to experience a gigantic inflatable fun house of co-dependence, fear and interpersonal faith in this trust-testing installation piece. Cross' work invites game punters to venture down an inflatable platform in a dark, tight space guided only by a stranger in a bid to explore our limits and fears in a truly visceral experience. Leave your trust issues at the door.
This is no laughing matter. This is work. Just because Tom Ballard of Triple J Breakfast fame and glory happens to work as someone who is paid to make people laugh, doesn't mean you should laugh at him about it. Nor should you laugh at his acquaintances (most of us would agree that the people we work with are acquaintances rather than friends, right?). They will be working with him to entertain you too. Be careful not to laugh at them either for they are Matt Okine, Michael Hing, Dave Jory, Daniel Townes, Eric Hutton and Rhys Nicholson. They take all this laughing business very seriously — so much so that they even win awards for it! Elana Stone is perhaps Tom's only acquaintance on the evening's bill that doesn't take laughing so seriously. Instead she is what he describes as 'actual talent', which is nice. She's a singer, song-writer and all-round happy lady who (it wouldn’t surprise me) might just be laughing at all the others, alongside you.
Need new drama? The New Theatre has concentrated it for you at its third annual Brand Spanking New season. A collection of authors, actors and directors have been pulled together by Stories from the 428 curator, Augusta Supple, to tell their disparate stories over a common set. This project offers seventeen different writers, each of whom is putting on a new piece especially for this production. The resulting plays, monologues and stranger devices have been arrayed for your joint delectation over twelve nights, starting Wednesday. Reuniting some authors from the 428, Brand Spanking New's writing line-up also includes four alumni of Radio National's audio-dramatic Airplay series. Alli Sebastian Wolf's work also features — whose fast-talking, fast-drinking and fish-loving Hideous Demise of Detective Slate played at the Boiler Room earlier this year in Sydney's Fringe. It shared space there with fellow Brand Spanking New scribe Alison Rooke's Combat Fatigue. With so many avenues of talent converging on the New Theatre's stage, great things should be expected from this short season. Brand Spanking New is running from October 27 until November 6, Wednesdays to Saturdays.
It's National Ride to Work Day! People, this is a joyous battle cry — a call to arms to the 10-year-old BMX-bandit inside. Remember speeding around your neighbourhood on your two-wheeler with your crew, wind in your hair, no hands? Now fast forward ten years or so as an older, less carefree you sits in stalled traffic, running late for work again, stewing in your own angry juices as you try and explode the car in front of you with your mind powers. Well the time has come to leave your car and your bad attitude at home — to get up out of that bus-seat and to not board that train. On Wednesday 13 October from 7 - 9am, National Ride to Work Day offers you the chance to recapture the exhilaration and freedom of your youth by cycling across town, whilst simultaneously lending a hand to the environment by helping to reduce pollution. And this time your bike crew is MASSIVE! More than 150,000 of your fellow Australian workers are expected to join in this annual City of Sydney event. Refreshments, maps and even massages will be provided by the City at two sites: Hyde Park South and Union Street Pyrmont. If your bike skills are a little rusty sign up for a free City of Sydney Cycling Confidence course to brush up on your skills. City of Sydney Cycling Ambassadors, Ian Roberts and Nell Schofield, will also be giving tips to new riders on the day.
Remo curates Japanese street art for western readers. His first book, called simply Graffiti Japan, was followed with a surprisingly appealing lexicon of Japanese Manhole Covers. And he does art in sanguine red, black and white. He can tell you about it. Marsha Meredith — working as 2026 — gets her art up worldwide as part of the excellent Street Art Without Borders project. She also pastes things closer to her home, in and around the Bondi postcode. Meggs mixes innocent things — like children, or super-heroes — with blood, bile and spray. And just like Banksy snuck his work into the British Museum, Adam Mclevey snuck his into a monkey cage at Banksy's Bristol Museum show. The museum rehung it as part of the exhibition. If you looked at the news in 2008, you've already seen the movement called lowbrow art, or pop surrealism. Friday evening, the Red Bull gallery will be full of it to launch M.A.R.s Attacks. All four artists will be represented — and as well as the work on the walls, Remo will be there in person to talk about his work. If you can't make the launch, the exhibition runs on until the 13th of November. Image by Toots Fontaine.
If you like documentaries, then you'll want to meet Margaret Mead ... in a manner of speaking. Mead is the late, great cultural anthropologist, who clocked some 52 years working at the American Museum for Natural History and championed the popular appeal of her profession. This commemorative festival began way back in 1976, making it America's longest running celebration of international documentaries. Now coming to Australia for the first time, a select seven documentaries will carve out their very different windows on the world, from the comfort of the Australian Museum. Kicking off the seven weeks of Tuesday night screenings is a Q&A presentation of Darlene Johnson's River of No Return, which ventures alongside 45-year-old mother Frances Daingangan as she is cast in Rolf de Heer's acclaimed Ten Canoes and into a reality vastly different from her own. In Cooking History, Peter Kerekes tests the old adage, "an army marches on its stomach," while Sergiy Bukovsky's The Living remembers Stalin's devastating starvation of Ukraine's rural population. The complexities of Hindi culture are personified by an aged medicine man in Babaji, an Indian Love Story, and the experiences of four blind couples are brought to remarkable, sensory depth in Juraj Lehotsky's Blind Loves. The Last Days of Shishmaref starkly show how global warming threatens to end 4000 years of occupation and make the world's first climate-change refugees of the Inupiaq Eskimos, whereas Hotel Sahara finds the meeting of the Saharan desert and the Atlantic Ocean a deeply symbolic setting for the precarious lives of refugees. https://youtube.com/watch?v=iO42wQ0Qr5U
Apart from the occasional jaunt on the Manly ferry, most people haven't really had the opportunity to experience Sydney Harbour from atop the waves, let alone explore the intriguing islands that dot these glistening waters. As part of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival, you can Island Hop your way around Sydney Harbour and experience the cultural, historical and gustatory delights on offer for the whole month of October. Explore Shark, Clark and Goat Island as part of the Island Hopping day-trip on Saturdays and Sundays from October 9 -24. Goat Island offers an historically rich snapshot of Sydney in the 1800's; Shark Island is a great place to lay out a picnic or explore the nature trail; while Clark Island showcases Aboriginal culture. If the culinary arts are more your thing, Fort Denison Restaurant offers a unique dining experience with incredible views over the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Dining in the middle of Sydney Harbour — who’d have thunk it? Picture yourself cruising out into the middle of the harbour and, in a setting you'd find hard to rival anywhere in the world, sampling the specially created menu inspired by Australia's culinary history and using local produce and wines. You also get a glass of sparkling and a guided tour of the island to cap it off. So go spend a day on our resplendent harbour, indulging your tastebuds and experiencing a side of Sydney that you didn't know you didn’t know about.
Studios thrive on mystery. Walt Disney's famous studio was defined by Disney the man, who strutted the public stage with a persona drawn as deliberately as his animated stars. There's no doubt that his work had character, passion and flair. There's also no doubt that the real-life Disney was more troubling than the public figure, which begs the question: should the artist have the stature of their work? The Object Gallery is giving you the chance to find out, as a select few enter elusive design studios across Sydney to get a closer look at the designers behind the designs. The Object Gallery already got you a peek into smaller workshops in its August exhibition Big: Inside Sydney’s Small Studios. This time, they’re going to get you into some of the larger spaces. Studios across the inner-city will throw open their doors on Friday afternoon — just a crack, just for a day. Sixteen studios, including Object renovators Architect Marshall, eco-furniture designers Schamburg + Alvisse and more-than-jewelry-makers Dinosaur Designs, will take guests inside their space and process. So book in quick before these studios are full to their mysterious brims.
in·cu·ba·tor? ?[in-kyuh-bey-ter, ing-] –noun 1. an apparatus in which eggs are hatched artificially. 2. an enclosed apparatus in which prematurely born infants are kept in controlled conditions, as of temperature, for protection and care. 3. an apparatus in which media inoculated with microorganisms are cultivated at a constant temperature. Oxford Art, you technologically cultivatory hut, you. As the first trade event of its kind for the creative industries, the inaugural Incubator seeks to provide a playground for innovative artists and industry professionals to demonstrate that 'right place, right time' is as easily constructed as envisioned. With the shadowy undergarments of Sydney's industry hotspot divided into a marketplace of film, music, media, fashion and creative services for what organisers call a 'who's doing what in the creative industries' kind of showcase, the evening seeks to throw directors, producers, distributors, buyers, sales agents, licensees, cinematographers, editors, graphic and web designers, art directors, animators, illustrators, writers, photographers, stylists, singers, musicians, dancers, actors and other creative folk in a Tupperware colander to spin a little sum'sumthin' and encourage a mixing, networking, creative Waldorf. Run by not-for-profit charity PIIP, this professional evening is a promising sign that Sydneysiders take their creatives damn seriously, as talk of 'syncing deals', 'distribution networks' and 'licensing negotiations', at least promises to raise the amount of pro-fesh lingo bandied about. With special music performances from KillaQueenz, Nathan Kaye, Cameras, Act Yo Age, Stephanie Brownlee, Mojada, We Are Fans, The Sculptures, Paper Moon (solo acoustic), Mickl Sayers, Skii Harvey, Kempsey, Charmaine Bingwa and showreel screenings to boot, all proceeds of this nurturing little hub of incubation will profit muso2muso and The Filmmakers Fund only to add extra ribbons and twigs to this savvy and snugly-clad nest. Hatch, pretties, hatch! https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ix95SLgBUQA
We tend to typify musicians as a sensitive lot: delicate, emotional and at risk of becoming whiskey-guzzling wash-outs should their dreams fade away. However, there's certainly no post-competition style depression at work amongst the members of Synergy Percussion. Rather than sitting back on their laurels and lazily pointing out commendations like this one — from Peter Sculthorpe, no less — they've decided it's time to start a second band and put their money where their mouth is. Enter Moth: a group of award-winning musicians that aim to pose a challenge to the typical 'classical' genre expectations. Incorporating elements of pop, jazz and dance music, not to mention a mysteriously-named 'squidstrument', they are bravely pushing onwards and upwards. Without giving the game away, I'd be expecting to hear some luscious soandscapes, soaring melodies and perhaps even a driving bass line or two. https://youtube.com/watch?v=cLKPWzdPU3A
Claustrophobia takes on a whole new, terrifying dimension when told from the point of view of soldiers in a tank. Writer-director Samuel Maoz' starkly personal portrait of the 1982 First Lebanon War is a searing, nerve-snapping experience, as Maoz locks his audience inside the dank, green-hued tank, where the only view to the outside world is through the gunner's scope. It's a striking conceit, made more visceral by its reflection through the eyes of first time gunner Shmuel (Yoav Donat). Joining tank commander Assi (Itay Tiran), Yigal (Michael Moshonov) the driver and the outspoken loader Herzl (Oshri Cohen), Shmuel is quite literally driven into the line of fire and forced to make a series of harrowing decisions. Maoz' screenplay is sparse, and in limiting the camera to the confines of the tank or juddering eye of the periscope, Lebanon at times almost feels like a nightmarish computer game. But fantasy this most certainly is not, as Maoz has emphatically described the process of making this film as the catharsis that brought him back to life. Impressive then, that Lebanon stays so consistently taut and willfully confounding, as the human cost of war reverberates around the tank's armoured walls. Slightly overplayed, however, are the 'fourth wall' breaks, as Maoz has a series of characters look to camera, all compellingly framed within Shmuel's crosshairs. If rattling around Kathryn Bigelow's hurt locker wasn't quite lean and mean enough, then Lebanon is sure to impress. Forgiven for some sentimental strokes, Maoz has produced an unforgettable piece of cinema; a haunting experience that doubles as the document that — 24 years on — finally laid the filmmaker's ghosts to rest. https://youtube.com/watch?v=7BUu8_BzU3w
The Somedays gallery/store is making a habit of hand picking the best artistic talent from our southern neighbour state and spoiling/embarrassing us with their brilliance. They have the pleasure of hosting design collaboration Tin&Ed's first solo Sydney exhibition and I will bet my left arm it won't be their last. The exhibition is titled United Eye. It features pieces of 'HOLY-GRAMS' — a recent Tin&Ed installation that drew crowds to the Melbourne festival. There are also risographic prints which continue the HOLY-GRAMS theme of cultural and societal icons and symbols. I'm not going to pretend I didn't have to google 'risograph'. Don't worry — I'll save you the trouble — it's a simplified, rustic photocopier that applies ink to a hot roller which is set on the paper that passes through. Im told it delivers a more authentic result than most traditional mass-produced prints. Hours were spent labouring over the handmade cut-outs that will feature in United Eye. Each cut-out represents one or more recognisable icons that have featured in society's exploration of spirituality, culture and existence. There is a flawless, simplistic flow to them which represents so many ideas but maintains the uniformity of a neatly constructed font set. Looking at the risographs and cut-out silhouettes, I can't help but think of Keith Haring. In my opinion United Eye is an example of what Haring might have achieved if he didn't restrict his subject matter to social causes. Tin&Ed should need no introduction with a condensed CV that is intimidating to say the least (AMEX, Nike, MTV, Vice, MYER to name a few clients). It's little wonder you need to RSVP to opening night.
How do the French do it? How do they manage to craft such gratifying, character driven dramatic comedies with such guileless grace, and yes, it must be said, joie de vivre? Last year Summer Hours stole our hearts, and now taking a trip to Copacabana promises to have the same effect. This case is perhaps less of a mystery, as the luminous Isabelle Huppert takes centre stage with an ebullient performance as the adventurous, harebrained single mother Babou. Acting alongside her real-life daughter, Lolita Chammah, as the solidly sensible Esmeralda, Huppert's Babou captivates and infuriates in turn. A relic of the 60s with her beehive dos and loud clothing, Babou is a force of nature. Never one to hold down a job, her flighty antics have worn threadbare for Esmeralda, who wants nothing more than to settle into the institution of marriage with her boyfriend. The eternal free-spirit Babou is of course aghast, and insult is added to injury when Esmeralda intimates that her mother should not attend the wedding, lest she be saddled with half of the bill. Indignant, Babou drives to Belgium and takes up a job spruiking for time-share real estate agents where she finds surprising success. Writer/director Marc Fitoussi rounds out his film with a well-drawn supporting cast. Each provide a window into the many facets of Babou's personality, and now sensitive to her daughter's scorn, she gains insight into the more unsightly truths about herself. In this way Copacabana feels like a coming-of-age drama, one in which Huppert — best known for her unflinching dramatic chops in films like The Piano Teacher and Claire Denis' recent White Material — brings all her masterful skills to bear in the subtly of Babou's transformation. Fun, affirming and supremely joyful, Copacabana is a superb reminder that life is about the journey, not the destination. The Hayden Orpheum is offering an opening night (25/11) ticket special: $10 for "Mothers & Daughters". Click HERE for more details. https://youtube.com/watch?v=h7O1A2p-5pU
The cavernous galleries of the Australian Centre for Photography are about to play host to a display of excess. Historically, over-paid elites hid their wealth behind empty shows of humility. When they didn't, they tended to inspire harsh laws against showing off; effective or otherwise. The ancient Romans tried to ban excess. The Venetians of the rennaissance kept on trying. But if you want to see the sort of thing the Italians of history couldn't prevent, then get to Sumptuary for a closer look. Alexais Sinclair's series The Royal Dozen — male counterpart to The Regal Twelve — sketches fantastic views of male rulers from across history. Sinclair photographs and collages, collecting deliberately staged fragments: a piece of the Hunter Valley for the background, a horse for the foreground, a piece of hair. All before she gets so far as rearranging anything on Photoshop. Robyn Stacey provides elaborately recreated nineteenth-century interiors in sumptuous shades, while Garth Knight's photos borrow as much from rigging and weaving as from his S&M-imaging heritage. Deborah Paauwe's ruffled work and Farrell & Parkin's digital classicism round out the exhibition. Sumptuary runs until January 29th, with a short break from December 23rd to January 8th.
With Sydney Laneway Festival tickets well and truly sold out, it looks like it's all about the sideshows for those of us who didn't get in early enough. Thankfully, Yeasayer are one of the first to say yea to this alternative, having announced a club show at the Metro. Yeasayer embody the contemporary Brooklyn band reputation: swinging between ambience and hooks, experimental and pop. They cater to the current craving for tribal rhythms, dark disco and sickly sweet harmonies, whilst providing listeners with a little bit more 'something'. In short, they are all charm with the substance to back it up. Those who missed out on Yeasayer's (also sold out) tour earlier this year will not want to miss this chance to see the band in action. Those who caught it, I'd suggest you head along anyway — you already know it will be worth it. https://youtube.com/watch?v=a6VatNuR_Uk
Like the title suggests, Winter's Bone makes for a rather frosty trip to the cinema. Set in frigid winter and against the stark forests of Missouri's Ozak region, Debra Granik's (Down to the Bone) sophomore effort is steeped in unapologetic, deeply affecting verisimilitude. In adapting Daniel Woodrell's novel, Granik intriguingly combines this cinema verite with the structural conventions of a film noir. It's a striking mix, which sees poverty-stricken but proud 17-year-old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) struggling to raise her young brother and sister in the face of a catatonic mother and an absent, meth-crook of a father. When the police inform Ree that they'll lose the house if her father doesn't make his court appearance, she tenaciously sets about 'huntn' for dad.' Granik underscores Ree's indefatigable hunt with scenes of poignant domesticity. She needs to teach her siblings to survive, and does so with the same blunt stoicism that she brings to her increasingly harrowing search. As Ree, 20-year-old Lawrence is an absolute revelation; her performance easily ranks amongst this year's best. The film itself has already taken home the Grand Jury prize for Best Picture at Sundance, alongside a litany of deserved critical acclaim. Further adding to this film's appeal is its female take on the film noir. Ree may be as hardboiled as your classic private eye, but she consistently comes up against women who obliquely then brutally stand in her way. "Ain't you got no men to do this?" one asks her. "No ma'am, I don't." And like their resolute leading lady, Granik and Lawrence manage masterfully well without. https://youtube.com/watch?v=bE_X2pDRXyY
"I'm not pessimistic" filmmaker Josh Fox says in his opening line of narration. Just how on earth he can remain so in the face of the devastating realities he uncovers in his debut documentary GasLand is anyone's guess. Having been approached by a natural gas company willing to pay $100,000 to drill on his family's land, Fox started asking around; his questioning taking him on the most surprising and downright outrageous journey across America and into the dark heart of the natural gas industry. The situation really needs to be seen to be believed — and in that vein, GasLand is absolutely required viewing, especially as there are drilling plans here in Australia. But here are a couple of pearlers to get your ire on the rise: the American natural gas industry does not have to abide by environmental legislation including the Clean Water Act or the Safe Drinking Water Act. And considering the process of hydraulic fracturing (or fracking*) used to release underground gas reserves requires a secret concoction of 596 chemicals and millions of litres of water, this is a diabolical state of affairs indeed. GasLand chronicles the damning results: sick families, poisoned wells and flammable tap water. Wielding a banjo and a lyrical sensibility, Fox transforms his documentary into more than a provocative call to arms; this is documentary as poetry. Sure The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is evoked, but with his beautifully subjective camera and measured, poignant narration, Fox proves himself as much an artist as an important and powerful voice that joins the choir of filmmakers daring to declare such inconvenient environmental truths. So how precious is water to you? And even if you're a glass-half-full kind of person, does it count if the water is flammable? Ahead of GasLand's release on November 18, Josh Fox is in Australia for a series of Q&A screenings, so don't miss the opportunity to see this fantastic documentary and talk to the man who demands to protect the water everywhere, especially the drops we drink. *Anyone who has seen Battlestar Galactica will no doubt agree the situation is fracked in both senses of the term. Sydney Q&A screenings: Wednesday 10 November at Palace Verona Thursday 11 November at the Chauvel Friday 12 November at Palace Norton Street https://youtube.com/watch?v=BYEBwbB6xuA
It's almost that time of year again. With our leg of the tour set again at the Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) in Rozelle, Laneway's rolling around the country once more with some of the biggest current independent acts. From Les Savy Fav to Holy Fuck, Foals to Yeasayer and Warpaint to Menomena, it's gonna be amazing. Check out the full lineup. And while you wait for the day to arrive, check out the Feature Album Series to whet your appetite, starting with Warpaint's The Fool. Laneway is sold out, but keep your eyes on the interwebs and you may just get lucky.
Clint Eastwood is getting sentimental in his old age. The laudable director and gritty actor, who only last year seethed, "Get off my lawn," is now all about the group-hug, rugby style. Taking the true story of Nelson Mandela's reunification aspirations for the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Eastwood somehow manages to sit on the sidelines; serving up neither a political thriller nor a sports drama. The premise is intriguing. Based on John Carlin's book Playing with the Enemy, South African screenwriter Anthony Peckham chronicles the story of Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman – surely born to play this role), freed from prison after 27 years and rising to the presidency of a divided nation. A potent symbol of this schism is the Springbok rugby team, captained by Francois Pienaar (a beefy Matt Damon); their green and gold jerseys hated by the new 'rainbow nation.' With South Africa hosting the World Cup, Mandela calls on Pienaar to lead his team and with it the nation, to victory, glory and unification. 'Invictus' refers to the poem by William Ernest Henley, which inspired Mandela and translates to the powerful meaning, 'unconquered'. Alas Eastwood hasn't managed to conquer this profound historical moment; instead he seems at pains to tell us how important this is, be it through exhaustive pontificating by Freeman, hokey scenes (such as a black boy refusing to take a Springbok jersey) or spelling it out through an entirely unnecessary song, "Colourblind." And yet, despite being at risk of drowning in sentimental symbolism, Invictus is still worth a look. It's a thought-provoking and at times compelling tribute to an astounding event in South Africa's history. If only Eastwood had been more ambitious with the drama, and more imaginative with the rugby scenes (be prepared to see a lot of scrums). Then again, a scrum is just the kind of aggressive, impassioned and symbolic group hug that Eastwood was after. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Cq19ASZP-Rc
It was a bit of a sad time for funk for a while there. In the noughties cool was poached from the genre by those dastardly New York indie bands - The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs et al. But wait! Groovers of the world need not fret... There has been a funk resurgence lately – with folks like Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Mayer Hawthorne, Amy Winehouse etc. – and it seems Sydney Fest's new Artistic Director Lindy Hume still dons the flares and afro wig sometimes too, as she's programmed a whole bunch of funk/soul/hip hop artists this year. Becks Bar has a lineup heavy with beat driven tunes including Los Angeles 8 piece funk band The Breakestra. These guys play authentic groove laden funk/soul with an emphasis on getting booties to shake. J Rocc (of beat Junkies fame - not the pro wrestler, sorry to disappoint) and our own soul/dub outfit Space Invadas are set to open the proceedings.
Known for their "angular", "clean", "repetitive", "art rock", "experimental noise rock" sound, when I caught My Disco live a few months ago at the Melbourne International Arts Festival (they headlined and sold out the same enormous venue Fischerspooner played the night before), I was pleasantly shocked to hear a bit of... shall we say, cosmic calypso in the air. It sounded totally right, absolutely natural, and the aforementioned sell-out crowd went pretty wild. I'm eagerly anticipating the launch of their new 12" Young which is rumoured to be inspired by their interests in German minimalism. Cosmic Kraut? The traveling tour party of My Disco, Qua and New War pulls up in Sydney this February. Invest now in a ticket, high quality ear plugs (they get loud) and a new stylus for your record player to play their new offering when you get home.
If you’re thinking of naming your latest single after vermin and their plight for fresh produce during the festive season - sorry, it’s taken. With officially the weirdest song title in history (ok maybe second only to Constipation Blues by Screaming Jay Hawkins) Sydney band The Danimals are set to launch their double A-side Hornets nest/Christmas worms quest for fresh apples at Spectrum his month. Founded by South-African born Jonti Danilewitz, The Danimals began as a solo act before attracting gifted artists from the likes of Sherlocks Daughter, Mercy Arms, Phrase and I like Cats, to form a genre defying super band whose tunes “focus on undulating rhythms and the deconstruction of traditional song structures.” Since hopping off a Boeing onto US soil, The Danimals have worked with some exceptional artists weighted in cool-cred, including Mark Ronson, Santigold and Sean Lennon and have been nominated for TED: The Lab winners and SMAC awards. Now the boys are back on home turf and will be joined by Sydney group Fashion Launches/Rocket Launches and other special guests for a “brain exploding, psychedelic live experience” on January 15th. TO WIN A DOUBLE PASS TO SEE DANIMALS EMAIL US AT HELLO@CONCRETEPLAYGROUND.COM.AU
These Byron transplants are the kind of people who give you the shits: classicaly trained musicians who write great songs, are years younger than you, and still manage to be really lovely people who will lend you their guitar amp if you need it. Lots of Sydneysiders who are worth their musical salt are tipping The Jezabels to be one of the next bands that blow up from our pretty harbour city. Completely devoid of irony, their music is built around the mingling of piano and guitar over strong driving rhythms whilst singer Hayley Mary manages to channel bits of Kate Bush and Patti Smith, really wearing her lyrical heart on her young sleeve. They are great live, so why the hell not go and see them with the Sydney upstarts Papa Vs Pretty.
St Jerome's Laneway Festival has a knack of bringing out people we might otherwise miss in our backwater down here in 'Straya, and Wild Beasts definitely fit into that camp with their (ahem) camp, verbose, literary penmanship and sonic approach. Their sound takes from the great pompous artists of pop music; they toe the line of pretensios, only narrowly saving themselves with melodies and rhythms that are both vital and gorgeously simple. With their heavily alliterated and poetic songs like Brave Buoyant Bulging Clairvoyant and Hooting and Howling, you never quite know if they are taking themselves too seriously or taking the piss. The main singer Tom Fleming sounds like a mix of Morrisey and Antony; with one of those voices that people either love or hate. Britain certainly loves them with the Sunday Times calling Two Dancers "one of 2009's indisputable masterpieces". Let's see if 'Straya loves them too.
When Toumani Diabaté was five years old he picked up the Kora (a 21 string hybrid between a harp and a lute) and taught himself to play. His father Sidiki Diabaté was a renowned Kora musician in Mali, and Toumani found that he could educate himself simply by listening. A child prodigy, Toumani was born a Griot (a class of travelling poets, musicians and storytellers who maintain an oral history in various parts of Western Africa), and his music both reflects and extends from this inheritance. Influenced not only by family tradition, Toumani engrossed himself in American soul music, as well as acts such as Jimi Hendrix and those British heaven climbers Led Zeppelin. The combination makes his music one of both gentle sway and energetic flutter, immediate and stimulating - the kind of sound that sooths an impatient ear and seduces the most stubborn of hips. Apart from performing his Grammy nominated album The Mandé Variations at State Theatre, Mr. Diabaté will also stage a free performance with his Symmetric Orchestra on January 16 in The Domain at 8.00PM.
Arts Mobile Sydney is a free love-in at a secret location - kind of like that rave you went to in 1992 except this time you won't get stuck sharing lolly pops with the guy dressed as Sailor Moon who thinks he is Donald Trump hasn't slept for 11 days and has lost his tennis racquet. Because he'll be too busy participating in the live interactive artworks based on office therapy, Chinese whispers, balloon painting or park bench wrapping to even notice you. Setting out to intervene people's daily routines in the CBD and to encourage community participation in contemporary art outside the gallery context, Arts Mobile in mid-January will have ten emerging artists on site inviting passers by "to watch, play, create and take home works of art." Register at www.artsmobilesydney.com to receive the location by text on the day. BYO glow sticks and PLUR. Image: Ascent by Arts Mobile participating artists MamaDada. Photo by Alex Wisser.
"The only thing more terrifying than the last 12 minutes of this film are the first 92", so states the tagline of the Dario Argento film Suspiria, and, unlike the tagline of 2006's Wicker Man remake ("some sacrifices must be made"), it's true. Speaking of sacrificial lambs, Suspiria will be remade in 2010, but please don't shoot the messenger! As Argento demonstrates, there are far more dramatic ways to be killed, and I for one will be at the Chauvel's Argento Festival this February and March to bask in the giallo gory glory. Teaming Argento films with horror classics from the same era is an interesting idea, much more suitable than the double bill I saw aged nine in an outdoor cinema in Illawarra. Turner & Hooch followed by Dead Poet's Society (I laughed, I cried). The beauty of Argento's films isn't just in their sheer bloodiness (see image above); they're beautifully shot, particularly Suspiria and its 70s-does-art-deco production design. Blood! Guts! Witches! Zombies! Udo Kier (briefly)! It's all here for you to enjoy. That is, if you are over 18 and don't have a weak stomach. Friday 26th February Suspiria (1977) Dir. Dario Argento Ancient witchcraft at a dancing academy, all set to an incredible Goblin score. One of the very best horror films ever made. Dawn of the Dead (1978) Dir. George A. Romero No flesh is too big or...mall for these zombies! Friday 5th March Tenebrae (1982) Dir. Dario Argento Murdery mystery mimicry! I would have put this on a double bill with The Eyes of Laura Mars, but I am not the curator, and so... The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) Dir. Tobe Hooper The ultimate midnight movie, hard not to get all cut up over this one. Friday 12th March Phenomena (1985) Dir. Dario Argento Jennifer Connolly talks to bugs, extreme boarding school creepiness ensues. Last House on the Left (1972) Dir. Wes Craven Extreme rape/sexual torture scenes, be warned. It was based on the same Swedish folk tale as Bergman's beautiful film The Virgin Spring but you'd never know it. Friday 19th March Deep Red (1975) Dir. Dario Argento A psychic is killed, then, well, so is everyone else. One of his best, with a fantastic Goblin score. Eaten Alive (1976) Dir. Tobe Hooper The ultimate in crocsploitation (here I refer to the giant reptile, not the horror that is the shoe brand).
Apparently this show is a fundraiser for Sounds In Motion but details are sketchy - I've tried researching what Sounds In Motion is, but not much comes up. Anyway, charity aside, two great bands are playing: Belles Will Ring, the Blue Mountainer psych rockers, and Songs, the newly ubiquitous Sydney via NZ popsters. Belles have been a little quiet on the live scene lately; they've been focusing on recording in a big old house behind the Blue Mountains, and this show should be a chance to hear some of their new songs. These tunes will be probably see the light of day on the the follow up to their last release, the mini LP Broader Than Broadway. Songs (above) released their self titled debut LP in November, and it has received a whole load of praise, especially from the Aus Blogosphere - all of it deserved, with their smart songwriting and melodies sure to keep haunting you long after listening. Silver Moon and Mucky Fingers are also playing, so this is a fundraiser you want to support.
Like some exploding parasite egg stash, the St Jerome Laneway Festival has outgrown its original venues and is busy spraying its seed into new hosts. Circular Quay just doesn't cut it anymore for the Sydney crowds, so now the SCA will be incubating a brilliant line-up amongst its sandstone, artists and asylum patients out in Rozelle. Oh god, the line-up for 2010 is good, with plenty of grit to differentiate this festival from the candy-glitter electro of most summer music bashes. Amongst the puking-good thrash of the Black Lips and Florence's lungasms is the wunderkind of outsider alternative, Daniel Johnston, who is shucking off the devil for his first Australian tour. And the local acts aren't to be forgotten either, such as Dappled Cities, Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Danimals, who all seem to capture the perfect sonic embodiment of SCA's eclectic grounds.
Polemical, political satirist Bill Maher is a man on a mission… against God. Taking the stance that religion is a hiding to the end of the world; Maher is not so much peddling nihilism as his is doubt. Doubt about the historical validity and exclusive strictures of organised religion. Evolution, homosexuality, fundamentalism and the afterlife are all levelled by Maher’s caustic wit as he interrogates members of major religious institutions, as well as Jesus (from a Christian theme park), while still making time to poke fun at the ‘Church’ of Scientology. Maher adheres to the Michael Moore school of documentary, grounding his film in personal experience and peppering his interviews with pop culture clips and amusing subtitles. Theirs has a heavier, brasher touch than Andrew Denton, Louis Theroux or even John Safran, all of who have undertaken similar steps towards Enlightenment. Maher frequently uses his subjects as punch lines, and though his holier than thou approach can grate; you can’t fault his comic timing. Religion and comedy are certainly a combustible mix, particularly with Borat and Brüno director Larry Charles at the helm; you know nothing is sacred. But although Maher and Charles clearly don’t have God on their side, with final cut, they definitely get the last laugh. https://youtube.com/watch?v=-Gxc0XEoQpQ https://youtube.com/watch?v=yXdwTlByZFo https://youtube.com/watch?v=vp_NbI8Gdio https://youtube.com/watch?v=0ghIU_tlX0k
January 1st is a bit of a doozy when it comes to a party (it's always either a really bad idea or a really bad idea), but by January 2nd, things are on the mend (a little). By then, you're up and walking, feeling a little disheveled perhaps but fine, just a little sloppy. The folks at Popfrenzy Records know this limbo state all too well, which is why they're throwing a party called Slopfrenzy to help ease your pain. If your New Years Resolutions for 2010 involve going to a party with truly incredible international acts that aren't doing any other non-festival shows in Sydney in the form of Telepathe (NYC) and Micachu & the Shapes (UK), as well as local faves Seekae (winners of this year's best live act at the SMAC awards!), Canvas Kites, Shady Lane + more to be announced AND dancing to the sultry sounds of DJs Radge, Smart Casual and Enari, why, you're in luck because Slopfrenzy makes that seemingly impossible list quite plausible. May as well just tick that accomplishment off now.One of the headline bands Micachu & The Shapes are making their very first visit to Australia this January, and their debut album Jewellery is a near perfect party soundtrack. Live, they're lots of fun. I've seen them play in tiny warehouses and underground clubs, and each time the crowd (and me) just could not get enough of they're rough, loud and suprising pop. Telepathe are a two lady duo, who make haunting dance beats that make you contort your body into funny shapes in response (in a good way). In their hometown of New York, it's pretty tough to nab a ticket to see them and here they're playing live and also DJing.Slopfrenzy is all taking place at the Civic Hotel in the city's CBD, on Cuba Gooding Jr's birthday, January 2nd. Tickets are available through Moshtix and Incu Clothing stores.https://youtube.com/watch?v=8TRkZpFgJcI https://youtube.com/watch?v=_Un5SJ1aAGM
