Surry Hills restaurant Nomad has just as much street cred for its wine as it does for its next-level Middle Eastern cuisine. As well as having an extensive wine list and an in-house cellar door, the restaurant also has a monthly wine delivery service. And now its adding another notch to its vinous belt, launching its very own wine school. From July, the restaurant will run a series of monthly weeknight classes, hosted upstairs at neighbouring China Heights Gallery by Nomad's Director of Wine Simon Howland. The Monday and Tuesday night classes will clock in at a tidy 90 minutes and include a guided tasting of six wines, with cheese and charcuterie. They'll hone in on a particular theme, like What is Natural Wine? and Festive Wines. A spot at the table will cost you $150. Those wanting to really get into the specifics can join one of the Saturday classes, which run for 5.5 hours one Saturday a month for $250. These sessions include more wines and lunch at Nomad. NOMAD WINE SCHOOL WEEKDAY SCHEDULE Tuesday, July 24: Nomad Winter Wines Tuesday, August 14: What is Natural Wine? Monday, September 3: Nomad Spring Selection Tuesday, October 9: Winemaker or Vineyard, Who Really Makes the Wine? Tuesday, November 13: Nomad Festive Wines
Looking to be transported to a world of hypnotic dance music, hyper-coloured visuals and extravagant dancers? Yung Lung is bringing its futuristic rave to Carrigeworks as part of Sydney Festival. Australian choreographer Antony Hamilton is bringing a dance party like no other with bass-heavy and experimental techno soundtracking the event and a colourful giant head placed in the centre of the dance floor. Dress in your dance floor-finest and head to Eveleigh to discover an otherworldly experience of music, art and fashion. Pulling together this immersive rave experience is a collection of boundary-pushing creatives. In charge of the music is Melbourne electronic musician Chiara Kickdrum, while costumes are being created by P.A.M and videos by Kris Moyes. All of this can be found in the expansive halls of Carriageworks between Thursday, January 20 and Sunday, January 23. Tickets are $60, however if you're under 30 you can nab yourself a youth discount and half-priced tickets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPB_raKnD0k Top images: Eva Otsing and Peter Tarasiuk
Back in January, the City of Sydney ran a four-week festival that saw it shut down inner-city streets for al fresco dining pop-ups. The Summer Streets saw waves of Sydneysiders soak in some sun and support local businesses on bustling streets across Redfern, Glebe, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst and Pyrmont. With spring currently in full swing, the minds behind Summer Streets have brought the program back for a six-week run throughout October and the start of November. Now labelled Sydney Streets, the run of street parties are popping up on busy thoroughfares across Surry Hills, Pyrmont, Redfern, Haymarket, Glebe, Potts Point and the Sydney CBD from Saturday, October 1 — with the first event taking over Surry Hills' Crown Street. From there, a different City of Sydney suburb will be given the street party experience each Saturday until the program finishes up with a blockbuster event spread across Darlinghurst Road and Macleay Street in Potts Point. Also getting involved in the festival: Harris Street, Stanley Street, Redfern Street and Glebe Point Road. Each weekend's event will see these spots trade traffic for outdoor dining, shopping and live entertainment from 11am until 10pm. The City of Sydney hopes this initiative will help businesses to continue to bounce back after an extremely tough couple of COVID- and rain-affected years. Following this upcoming spring edition, another run of Sydney Streets will be taking place at the beginning of 2023 between January and April. [caption id="attachment_648852" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Leticia Almeida.[/caption] SUMMER STREETS DATES Crown Street, Surry Hills — Saturday, October 1 Harris Street, Pyrmont — Saturday, October 8 Stanley Street, Darlinghurst — Saturday, October 15 Redfern Street, Redfern — Saturday, October 22 Haymarket — Saturday, October 29 Glebe Point Road, Glebe — Saturday, November 5 Darlinghurst Road and Macleay Street, Potts Point — Saturday, November 12 Top image: Stanley Street, Destination NSW
If you're a Nutella tragic, we have an event you won't be able to resist. This April, Sailmaker is hosting a high tea where nearly every dish is infused with the moreish choc-hazelnut spread. Charged with the task of creating this feast, executive head chef Steven Ullrich took a range of classics and transformed them into Nutella-fuelled delights. You'll be sinking into the likes of velvety Nutella & Go mousse, lingering over the creamy Nutella B-Ready cheesecake, and savouring every bite of the orange-chocolate scones. Every high tea comes with a complimentary glass of sparkling (for grown-ups) and a juice or mocktails (for kids). Also on the menu is a range of Rabbit Hole teas, as well as hot chocolates and babycinos. You'll find Sailmaker Restaurant in lobby level of the Hyatt Regency, on Sussex St, just a stone's throw from Darling Harbour. There are only three seatings for the Nutella-centred high tea, so if you're tempted, book your spot before you miss out.
Stretch your brain a little with this series of thought-provoking talks by UTS. These lectures by some of the university's great minds examine pressing contemporary issues and will be sure to provide ample food for thought. Check out Consuming the World, for an exploration of the tension between environmentalism and mass consumerism, and Analogue Body in A Digital World for a reflection on how hyper-digitalisation impacts human engagement with our surroundings. While the talks are free, pre-registration online is required.
It's safe to say Gami Chicken and Beer has secured its status as one of Australia's go-to fried chicken joints, slinging its signature Korean-style chook from a growing number of locations across the country. To celebrate the opening of its latest outpost in Edmondson Square, Gami is giving Sydneysiders a very good reasons to jump on board, handing out a whopping 1000 boxes of fried chicken — for free. These fried chicken morsels — RSPCA-approved and rocking Gami's signature blend of 17 herbs and spices — will be up for grabs from 12–12.30pm and again from 5.30–6pm on both Thursday, April 29 and Friday, April 30at the new location. There will only be 250 free boxes available at each session — so you should head in early if you want a freebie. Once you're hooked, you're probably going to want to schedule a return visit pretty quick, to try other Gami favourites like the chicken spare ribs or the aptly named Potato Heaven, featuring three layers of cheesy potato goodness, as well as chilled Gun:bae lagers from Brunswick's Thunder Road Brewery. And if you can't make it down for a free piece, the Edmondson Square store is already open for lunch and dinner daily.
Having released their debut full-length studio album Eyelid Movies five years ago, New York duo Phantogram has slowly and steadily built a loyal following in dream-pop/street beat circles. In that sense, they're an antidote to an Internet-fuelled culture that has so many artists gambling on viral sensations. Mind you, teaming up with Outkast's Big Boi and The Flaming Lips has certainly helped to keep them well out of the shadows they so often sing about. "We gravitate towards sad art in general," Sarah Barthel (Phantogram's vocal half) told Indie Shuffle in a recent interview. "Whether it's songs or movies, I guess we gravitate towards emotional art. We always want to write emotional music." New album Voices continues on this melancholic trajectory, but it's too texturally complex to become dull, too melodic to become maudlin. Before taking their elegant grooves to the Grass, Phantogram will give themselves an Antipodean warm-up with side shows at Sydney's Metro Theatre on July 24 and Melbourne's Prince Bandroom on July 25.
"If any one unwarily draws in too close and hears the singing of the Sirens, his wife and his children will never welcome him home again, for they sit in a green field and warble him to death with the sweetness of their song." With The Odyssey, Homer essentially created the epic. But with the above passage, he also created something much more insidious — the femme fatale, a stock female character who tempts men with the ultimate goal of destroying them. Victorian Opera's latest project, Lorelei, shoves a cabaret skewer through this idea and roasts it over an operatic blaze. Sopranos Ali McGregor and Antoinette Halloran with mezzo-soprano Dimity Shepherd have been spicing up the classics for a while as the Opera Burlesque collective. Now, they take to a cliff-top on a tricky bend in the river Rhine to explore how women are represented in literature and opera. But wouldn't you know it — just as they're getting down to business, a ship begins to approach. And it seems to be having a little trouble on those bends. Part cabaret, part opera and with a stinging libretto by Casey Bennetto (Keating! The Musical) and Gillian Cosgriff (8 Songs in 8 Weeks), Lorelei takes its cues from the sirens of German folklore. It's happy enough to toy with the trope — but it's not going to stop until it's smashed to matchsticks on a rock. Lorelei will run from November 3–10 at The Coopers Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Victorian Opera website.
What gets a new face every couple of years, and a different tone, too — and stalks stealthily through the dark but loves being projected big upon a glistening silver screen? Fans of Gotham City's famous purveyor of justice know the answer to that riddle, of course. Actually, after oh-so-many different iterations of the Dark Knight over the decades, the world in general does as well. In 2022, The Batman gave us a new version, with Robert Pattinson following in the footsteps of everyone from Adam West, Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer to George Clooney, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck. In fantastic news, the moody, brooding and gloomy end result is one of the best Batman flicks yet — and, although it only hit Australian cinemas just over a month ago, RPatz's turn in the cape and cowl has now been fast-tracked to digital. So, here's another conundrum: catch the Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes)-directed, 70s crime thriller-style superhero movie on the big screen, or settle in to watch it without leaving the house? There's no right answer, because you now have options. That said, nothing beats the cinema experience — especially for a film that makes all things Batman feel new again, as this excellent effort does. Still, if that's your couch time for tonight sorted, you'll find The Batman available to rent digitally from all the usual places. In the process, you'll also find a bruised and battered take on the vigilante, a pitch-perfect turn from Tenet star Pattinson — including far more reluctance as the titular character's alter-ego Bruce Wayne than usual, and welcomely so — and a top-notch supporting cast. Also featured: Zoe Kravitz (Kimi) as Catwoman, Paul Dano (Escape at Dannemora) as the Riddler, Colin Farrell (he North Water) as the Penguin, Jeffrey Wright (The French Dispatch) as Commissioner Gordon and Andy Serkis (Long Shot) as Alfred Pennyworth. No one really needs a plot synopsis for Batman films by now, but when The Batman begins (not to be confused with Batman Begins), it's with the slaying of a powerful Gotham figure. A shocking crime that scandalises the city, it leaves a traumatised boy behind, and couldn't be more influential in the detective-style tale of blood and vengeance that follows. But viewers haven't seen this story before, despite appearances. It isn't the start of pop culture's lonesome billionaire orphan's usual plight, although he's there, all dressed in black, and has an instant affinity for the sorrowful kid. Behold the first standout feat achieved by this excellent latest take on the Dark Knight (not to be confused with The Dark Knight): realising that no one needs to see Bruce Wayne's parents meet their end for what'd feel like the millionth time. From there, The Batman follows its namesake's efforts to get to the bottom of the crime — a tricky task in Gotham, unsurprisingly. And yes, this film meant to stand completely apart from the most recent Affleck-starring DC Extended Universe version of the character. So, basically, what DC Films and Warner Bros Pictures did with Joker in 2019 — serving up a grimmer, grittier iteration of the infamous figure that has absolutely nothing to do with the rightfully hated Jared Leto version — they've done again for Batman now. Check out the trailer for The Batman below: The Batman is currently screening in Australian cinemas, and is also available to stream online via video on demand — including via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review.
Surry Hill's stalwart Harry's is throwing a month-long margarita festival kicking off on May 5 (AKA Cinco de Mayo). The festival will showcase five different iterations of the hallowed cocktail, each of which honour a different region of Mexico — the Oaxaca, the Mexico City, the Guadalajara, the Cancun and the Tulum — and provide a unique remix of the classic margarita, from spicy-centric to citrus-heavy. Playing sidekick to the margs will be a collection of street food snacks that Head Chef Faris Hindami has created. There's crunchy prawn and pork taquitos, juicy birra beef tacos served with a chilli-heavy dipping sauce; and grilled chilli and garlic corn. Those who take the margarita journey across Mexico and try all five margs during the month will go into the draw to win a bunch of prizes including a four-person holiday to Byron Bay, a year's worth of Don Julio Tequila, an at-home margarita kit and Harry's merch. Each time you order a margarita, just collect a stamp from the Harry's staff on your Camino De La Margarita card. To sweeten the deal for Concrete Playground readers, if you show the Harry's bar staff this article you'll score an extra entry to the competition. Camino De La Margarita kicks off from May 5 and runs up until June 2. Head to the Harry's website to be the first to access bookings.
Instagram-obsessed iPhoneographers can now turn their collection of photographs into posters, thanks to a clever new website. London-based online retailer, Firebox, allows Instagram app users to create wall-sized prints of their photo library. All you have to do is click the 'Buy' button on the Firebox website, then add your Instagram username to retrieve photos from your account. Each poster is a fixed 61cm wide, but you can add as many rows of photos as you like, so there is no need to worry about choosing just a few snapshots. When your poster reaches 1.5 metres long, Firebox will shrink your pictures to fit and you can then choose between a white or black background. Firebox are not the only ones who have other ideas for Instagram. Photo sharing app, Prinstagram, let’s you make posters from 50-400 photos, as well as mini prints, stickers and mini books. If you prefer having your photos printed rather than just leaving them in digital format on your laptop, then this is a quirky and colourful way to do it. [via Mashable]
Camperdown's Grumpy Donuts is slinging a special treat this week when it joins forces with cult-favourite low-cal ice creamery Halo Top on Wednesday, February 13. The duo has created two ice cream doughnut sandwiches, dubbed 'fronuts', and are giving away a whopping 500 of 'em. The one-day pop-up is to celebrate the launch of two new Halo Top flavours: peaches and cream and dairy-free chocolate chip cookie dough. And, on the day, you'll be able to taste them (for free) sandwiched inside Grumpy Donuts favourites. Up for grabs is a scoop of peaches and cream in a brown sugar-glazed buttermilk doughnut, or the cookie dough in a maple-glazed cinnamon doughnut — the latter is completely vegan, too. This freebie runs from 8am until sold out, so swinging by before work may be a necessity. And, in the spirit of this unofficial Parks and Recreation holiday — Galentine's Day — you should bring your best mate along, too. Image: Grumpy Donuts.
Fall in love with movies Italian style, at the latest glamorous edition of the Lavazza Italian Film Festival. Hosted once again in Palace Cinemas around the country, this year's festival features more than 30 features and docos, plus a breathtaking restoration of one of Italy's all-time classics. The 2014 festival opens with Marina, a light biopic about singer, songwriter and world-famous accordion player Rocco Granata, produced by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. Other exciting titles include impressionistic Cannes Jury Prize winner The Wonders and Asia Argento's semi-autobiographical new film Incompresa. But the best of the fest will be saved until last. This year's closing night film is none other Marriage Italian Style, beautifully restored in time for its 50th anniversary. Sophia Loren is dazzling as the mistress of a wealthy Italian businessman determined to lock down a marriage proposal. A quintessential comedy about the battle of the sexes, it puts most modern-day rom-coms to shame. The Lavazza Italian Film Festival is on in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in September and October, and thanks to the festival, we have ten double passes to give away (valid at any festival session of your choice) in each city. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.auMelbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=IeD7rBVAQQo
If you're one of millions of people worldwide watching American TV series Breaking Bad religiously and needing to avoid spoilers — or perhaps you're just sick of hearing friends rave about the show on social media — then your (#firstworld) problems can now be put to ease. Popular internet streaming website Netflix has debuted a new app that can block Breaking Bad spoilers from social media feeds. Spoiler Foiler is programmed to black out "danger" words (namely, words related to plot) from your Twitter feed, maintaining the mystery and suspense of plot developments for the wildly popular television series. Once fans have caught up with the episode, they can then safely return to their regular feed with the ability to read everything people had to say. Sure, this isn’t the first solution we’ve seen to the issue of social media killjoys. But at the moment it is certainly the most effective. Browser/hashtag-filtering is time consuming and not always foolproof. And abstinence from social media? Well that's just way too extreme. The Netflix app can be easily activated by logging into the Spoiler Foiler website using your Twitter account. Surely it'll just be a matter of time before this concept is extended to other popular series. Until then, rant away! We just won’t be listening. Via PSFK.
Everyone's favourite rail yard turned arts centre, Carriageworks, has announced a vibrant program for 2013 that includes work from local and international heroes including Chinese artist Song Dong, New York cabaret icon Mx Justin Vivian Bond, famed choreographer Martin Del Amo, Melbourne kooks The Black Lung Theatre and Whaling Firm, and Ireland's Pan Pan Theatre. This is only the second comprehensive annual program for the still young institution, which boasted doubled attendance figures in 2012, projected to be 220,000 visitors. Now 2013 might be marked as the year where Carriageworks truly carved out its place in Sydney, by further embracing its Redfern home while making new connections with our broader neighbours, the Asia-Pacific. Kicking off the year is the visually flooring large-scale art installation Waste Not by Song Dong. A transformative representation of his mother’s mourning process following the death of his father, the work will involve laying out the entire contents of her house to fill the Carriageworks foyer. Cross-cultural colabs with the Asia-Pacific continue throughout the year as Carriageworks brings out the Black Lung Theatre and Whaling Firm's thrillingly unexpected project with East Timorese rockers Galaxy and LiuraiFo'er, Doku Rai (You, dead man, I don't believe you); Pan Pan Theatre (Ireland) and Square Moon Culture (Beijing)'s vividly absurdist card game Fight the Landlord; and Samoan choreographer Lemi Ponifasio soaringly elegiac Birds with Skymirrors, a depiction of the tiny island of Tarawa in the time of climate change. Carriageworks' commitment to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture will be very visible this year with the Australia Day Yabun concert in Victoria Park, to be headlined by Archie Roach. Kicking off the next day is the two-week Yellamundie playwriting festival, which will bring together Indigenous writers, dramaturgs, directors, and actors to develop six new plays. Mid-year, catch the free LIVE and DEADLY exhibition, which recalls iconic moments from the streets of Redfern — including Keating's speech, the Apology, and the riots. Other highlights include a newbie from documentary theatre whizzes Version 1.0, Vehicle Failed to Stop, which looks at private contractors working in Iraq. Martin del Amo shows off 12 choreographic portraits in Slow Dances for Fast Times, and FBi Radio's Marty Doyle hosts a one-day record fair dubbed At First Sight. Carriageworks is also looking to the future; a new three-year strategy will see them commission 18 Australian and six international artists to create 24 new works that play at the boundaries of choreography, visual arts, and film. The initiative comes complete with a great title — 24 Frames Per Second.
Over the past few months, many Australians have been working from home, which means many of us are have been leaning on our bar carts a little more than usual. This has lead to a level of experimentation — whether that's ordering in cocktails, trying our hand at making our own fancy drinks or getting some fun wines delivered. Another way you could get creative is by ordering a bottle of Unico Zelo's yuzu vermouth. The tasty child of Adelaide Hills winery Unico Zelo and sister distillery Applewood, this second batch of untraditional (but ever-so-tasty) vermouth is made from a combination of Adelaide Hills merlot grapes, some native Australian botanicals (usually used to make Applewood's Okar bitter amaro) and yuzu from Mountain Yuzu — a 20-acre farm located in northeast Victoria, on the foothills of the Australian Alps. As you can see, its an all-Australian affair, unlike a lot of traditional vermouths, which are made in Italy and France. Eco-minded founders and winemakers Laura and Brendan Carter are committed to using native botanicals and sustainably produced grapes in their entire range of wines and spirits, aiming to create products that truly taste Aussie as. As it's not a traditional sweet vermouth — it's really quite far from it — we forgive you for not knowing exactly how to drink it. But, thankfully, we've done some testing for you. On the rocks? Yep. Instead of sweet vermouth in a negroni? Do it. With a splash of soda? Definitely. If you want something a little fancier, the Unico team has a couple of cocktail suggestions for you. Try your hand at the Natty-Cano, a spin on an americano, but with pét-nat instead of soda water. To make it, mix 45-millilitres of Unico Yuzu, 15-millilitres of Økar Island Bitter (or Campari) and 120-millilitres of pét-nat in a highball glass and garnish with an orange twist. Unico (the parent company of Unico Zelo and Applewood) has also been steadily dropping a heap of other exciting spirits throughout the year, too, including a pretty-in-pink coral gin. All of Unico's limited releases only available in very small batches, so if you want it, don't wait on it. Unico's Yuzu Vermouth is available to purchase via the website from Friday, July 17. Priced at $34.99 per bottle.
Sometimes, you just need to get away from it all. And what better way to do that, than escaping to your own private luxury villa, floating offshore from Sydney's famed Palm Beach? The newly launched Lilypad is a lavish, resort-style escape that's right at home on the northern beaches, and it's got a super exclusive booking system to match. The venue's available only to members, with only ten memberships up for grabs each year. Of course, it's much more than just a pretty face — the floating paradise has also been built with big respect for its natural environment, running entirely off solar power. And it's been cleverly engineered to remain stable, while still embracing the natural movements and rhythms of the water below. After all, a bout of seasickness doesn't exactly scream 'luxury'. This designer Lilypad can only sleep two, but can also be used to host events with friends and fam. It comes decked out with an on-board 40-bottle wine cellar — which you have unlimited access to — and comes stocked with a handy array of water equipment, including paddleboards, snorkel gear and a floating daybed. Guests can expect even more luxury, with their own private concierge and a self-drive luxury personal vessel for exploring the surrounds, along with gourmet meals and premium booze throughout their stay. Throw down some more money if you fancy adding on upscale extras like a private chef, seaplane transfers and on-board spa treatments. To enjoy your slice of floating luxury, you'll need some big cash to splash — membership packages clock in at $3600 per month on a 12-month contract ($43,200 year) which scores you 18 annual uses of the venue. So, if you use it all 18 times, it works out to $2400 a visit. The first ten members will be selected in early 2019. To apply, head to lilypadpalmbeach.com.au.
You might've tasted the best dumplings in Sydney, worked your way through our cracking ramen list and dined at these respectable Chinese establishments — but you've never done Asian the way you'll be doing it at Wok On. As Merivale aficionados will know, Asian fare makes up a significant portion of the company's portfolio. For this cracking March into Merivale event, Ms.G’s, Mr Wong, Sunee’s Thai Canteen and sushi e, along with soon-to-open Queen Chow, will all be turning up at Establishment for one delicious night. While they're serving dishes and cocktails to meet your every culinary craving — including Ms.G's killer yuzu vodka slushie — Halfway Crooks will be delivering a plethora of hip-hop beats. Keep your eyes open for some live surprises, too. Tickets are $45 and include six food and drink tokens.
Whether hustling those last-minute party beers, or scouting a bottle of vino for that after-hours couch session, getting booze to your doorstep just got even easier. Alcohol delivery service Jimmy Brings, who'll deliver drinks to your door in thirty minutes until 10.30pm, has expanded its offering, this week adding a swag of new areas to its coverage. In an era of harsh lock-out laws, the platform has been embraced launching in Sydney back in 2012. But for all the buzz, its popularity's been limited by the stable of suburbs it services. Now, having entered the Melbourne market earlier this year, Jimmy Brings has again stepped things up a notch, expanding to 49 new suburbs in Sydney and an extra 31 in Melbourne; conveniently enough, just in time for the party season. In NSW, places like Collaroy, North Ryde, Mona Vale and Newport can now enjoy a slice of the Jimmy Brings action, while the likes of Thornbury, Essendon, Brighton East and the generally dry suburb of Surrey Hills have joined the party in Melbourne. To celebrate the new and improved lineup, all first-time Jimmy Brings customers can score themselves a $10 discount by downloading the free app and plugging in the code LAUNCH10 at the checkout.
Three Blue Ducks' popular Sunday barbecue banquets have returned, offering a feast of epic proportions. Head down to the farm-to-table eatery's Rosebery outpost each Sunday and you'll be treated to roasted meats and veggies as well as live music and a few drinks. Each week the $50 per person menu is slightly different, but you can always expect a tasty entree, a drink on arrival and a succulent barbecued main that is sure to have you on the couch nursing a food baby come Sunday night. For example, on Sunday, November 28, guests will be treated to salt-baked beetroot with goats cheese cream to start, before choosing between a spit roast pig (crackling and hot sauce included, of course) or butter-roasted celeriac. Both dishes will be accompanied by a baked jacket potato fitted out with all the trimmings and celeriac remoulade. Bonus goodies like fresh sourdough with chicken skin butter, Sydney rock oysters and Skull Island prawns can be added on for an additional charge, and kids can enjoy a pint-sized barbecue meal for just $15.
"One night, as I was bathing in a cool light amber ale I had a revelation to combine together the holy grail of bacon, beer and beef, encase it in butter pastry, then top that with cheesy potato mash." Bourke Street Bakery co-owner Paul Allam isn't afraid to mix beer and baked goods. Rather than enjoying the two separately, Paul uses beer in his pies when the occasion calls for it — and we're calling for it. "Beer and baked goods are the perfect symbiosis," he says. Allam's well-versed in beer's ability to enhance certain flavours and complement others. Certain beers with a more crisp edge, like a Little Creatures Original Pilsner, can cut through heavier, more buttery dishes, refreshing and reviving the palate, while more hoppy beers, like a Kosciuszko Pale Ale, can help you soldier on through spicy food. We were keen to test this glorious secret ingrebrdient theory for ourselves, so we asked Paul for a cheeky recipe. So what's he cooked up for Concrete Playground? One heck of a hearty beef, beer, bacon and potato pie. So much alliteration, so little time. Paul actually uses beer in a lot of his recipes, not just pies. "We made beer marshmallows to challenge the perception of ourselves as men," he says. "We also made dark ale ice cream and ale jubes, then with the leftover marshmallows and jubes, I salted some peanuts, mixed them altogether and made a beer rocky road ice cream. I ate the whole tub while watching a replay of the 1984 Canterbury and Parramatta NRL grand final." So what's Paul's favourite beer to pair with his baked treats? "Depends on the baked good," he says. "With a meat pie, I would say it's a darker ale with a touch of bitterness to counteract that sweet wagyu beef shin and tomato sauce. With a lager, I would honour its cold fermentation with a sourdough sandwich." So, back to that pie. Pick up a six-pack of pale ale for cooking with and of course, pairing with afterwards. Aprons on. Let's do this. BOURKE STREET BAKERY'S BEEF, BEER, BACON & POTATO PIE Ingredients: 833.75gm onions 747.5gm beer — use a pale ale like James Squire 150 Lashes 500gm celery 50gm garlic 2.5gm thyme 750gm tomatoes 50gm malt vinegar 150gm potato starch 2.75gm white pepper 833.75gm bacon 13.75gm salt 2.5kg beef mince Potato and cheese topping for pie: 1kg potato peeled 150gm milk 0.875gm white pepper 0.375gm nutmeg 5.875gm salt 75gm emmental cheese 100gm mozzarella 75gm butter Pie directions: Dice and sweat onions, garlic, celery thyme. Add diced bacon and cook off until golden. Sauté mince over medium high heat in a separate pan breaking it apart until just cooked. Add beef to the onion mix & add tomatoes and pepper, salt and vinegar. Cook for about 45 mins over medium heat then bring to the boil, add potato starch which has been dissolved in about half a cup of water. Check consistency of the filling with a large spoon if its running off the spoon add a little diluted potato starch. Cool in fridge. When ingredients are cold fill pre-lined pie bases with the pie mix. Potato topping directions: Bring potatoes to the boil in a generous saucepan of lightly salted water. Boil until beginning to fall apart then drain very well and mash. When completely mashed with no lumps add butter, cheeses, milk salt and pepper. You need to pipe the potato mix when it's still warm do not let it cool completely. Using a piping bag pipe potato on to the top of the pie completely covering to form a lid. If you love discovering more things you can do with beer (and some surprising facts, like beer being 99.9 percent sugar free on average), visit www.beerthebeautifultruth.com. You'll find information on fusing beer and food, matching different styles of beer with your meals, and how particular foods can enhance the distinct flavour of a well-brewed beer. You can even find out a few nutritional myths around beer, and bust 'em while you're at it. Images: Kimberley Low.
Electronic music has been getting a big shove into the spotlight recently thanks to good people doing things like this. In fact we’re so all over the genre that we’re being given a conference about it, and helping cultivate this ambient surge for two years now have been the guys in charge of putting stuff on at Goodgod. The freshest endeavor of Sydney’s inner-city dance oasis is this thing called Hi-Beams, which sees the decks pulled out to the middle of the front bar’s d-floor for a free weekly documentation of producers and DJs pushing raw and interesting electronic sounds. Last week it was the sonically intrepid Prize, Gardland and Cliques, the last of which have been on our radar for a while now despite having only two tracks due for release. Each 30-minute set will be broadcast and recorded live via Hi-Beams.tumblr.com, but you know what they say about being there. Hint: It’s more fun and the snacks are better.
Good Ways Deli has built a cult following for its fresh piled-high sandwiches and standout coffee since opening in Redfern last year. Despite arriving in a suburb known for top-notch bakeries, the brainchild of Jordan McKenzie and Tom Pye has carved out a beloved niche with kangaroo mortadella sandos, nostalgic baked goods, milo thickshakes and a selection of top-notch pantry items. Just over one year later, Good Ways is already expanding with a new outpost just a couple of suburbs over. McKenzie and Pye have revealed that they're opening a second location in Alexandria, and they've locked in a date on when it'll be swinging open its doors — Saturday, November 19. Located on Buckland Street, this new iteration of Good Ways will boast all of the highlights of the Redfern spot, while also bringing in a stronger focus on bakery items. This will include new forrays into the world of pastries, loaves of bread available for purchase and the roo sausage rolls that were recently an absolute standout at the Bush Bake Sale. Good Ways Deli Alexandria will be housed in a heritage-listed corner building right across from a park — a perfect spot for a new cafe and one that McKenzie and Pye came across almost by accident. "We were kind of looking, but not really looking," Pye says. "And then I cycled past one day and there was a little A4 piece of paper in the window which said 'for rent'. So I called the number and I met the landlord that day." "The street's a bit of a cycling thoroughfare. It's close to South Eveleigh precinct. We felt like it's just a really good location that, when the opportunity arose, we were just like let's do it." To kick things off at the new outpost, Good Ways will be hiding golden tickets with a bunch of freebies on them around Alexandria. The duo hope this will not only drum up some hype, but also encourage locals to come in, say hi and try out a sandwich, coffee or pastry. McKenzie says it's "all about building community". Keep your eye on the Good Ways Deli Instagram page and poles around Alexandria as these golden tickets will be found on posters hung around the suburb in the lead-up to the opening. Good Ways Deli Alexandria will open on Saturday, November 19 at 81 Buckland Street, Alexandria. Images: Nikki To
If you didn't miss a single chapter of S-Town and you spend more time on Audible than you do with your friends, then this extravaganza is for you. Meet Audiocraft Podcast Festival, a three-day happening dedicated to podcasts. Whether you make them, listen to them or obsess over them, there are talks, panel discussions and workshops for you. Headlining the program is a bunch of hit creators from Audible, namely Jesse Baker, Collin Campbell and Eric Nuzum, who, between them, have worked on West Cork, The Butterfly Effect with Jon Ronson and Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel. Other names to look out for include Eleanor McDowall of Short Cuts (BBC), Beverley Wang of It's Not A Race (RN) and Joel Werner of Sum of All Parts. The action will kick off on Friday 1 June, with an opening night listening party at 107 Projects, Redfern. The centrepiece will be Radio Atlas, an audio project made up of sounds from all over the world, curated by MacDowell. There'll also be a host of workshops happening across the three days, for those keen on creating their own audible series. And, for those who are really keen, there's a two-day content development retreat happening from June 6–7 — you can apply to attend here. Image: Bryce Thomas.
Museum lovers, we know you miss visiting your favourite galleries and taking in all the beautiful art the world has to offer, so we have some good news for you: you can now join The Museum of Modern Art's top curators every Thursday (or Friday, Down Under) to explore the famed museum's exhibitions. Different gallery tours will be uploaded to the museum's website every week, ranging from film exhibitions to deep dives into the work of some of America's most iconic artists, including Great Depression photographer Dorothea Lange and sculptor Donald Judd. If you prefer to get a bit more hands-on with your art, the gallery is also offering a heap of free online courses, covering everything from postwar abstract painting to fashion and photography. Top image: MoMA by Gorup de Besanez for WikiCommons
To celebrate a half century of immersive public artworks, Kaldor Public Art Projects is hosting a free retrospective at the Art Gallery of NSW, where each of its 34 previous projects has been reimagined and created by noted British artist Michael Landy. Add to this a range of artist talks and celebratory events covering 50 years of the Australian arts organisation and it sounds like a lot of Kaldor to take in, so here to help, we've picked out the must-see and must-do experiences you can have during Making Art Public: 50 Years of Kaldor Public Art Projects. The free events will run over the next five months and you have until February 2020 to catch the exhibition. [caption id="attachment_745139" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Agatha Gothe-Snape 'Lion's Honey', 2019. Commissioned by Kaldor Public Art Projects. Photo: Document Photography.[/caption] CHECK OUT THREE NEW WORKS THAT HAVE BEEN COMMISSIONED There are four brand new pieces that have been specifically created for Kaldor's significant anniversary — and you can still catch three of them. First up, Agatha Gothe-Snape's Lion's Honey sees performers — including Agatha herself — read a book of their choosing in the exhibition space. Conceptualist Ian Milliss presents Natural Parallels 2, looking back to the time when his work became more social and political. Finally, Sydney's Imants Tillers' A New World Rises revisits Wrapped Coast, the very first Kaldor project back in 1969, which Tillers himself worked on. [caption id="attachment_745490" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Allora & Calzadilla 'Stop, Repair, Prepare' at State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, 2012. Photo: Andrew Lloyd.[/caption] GET A(NOTHER) CHANCE TO WITNESS PAST PROJECTS You'll get the chance to see the reprisals of two previous Kaldor projects at the celebration too, so if you missed out the first time this is your chance. Project #29, better known as This is So Contemporary, showcased Tino Sehgal's love of "constructed situations," creating an experience through dance and music where the audience play just as important a part as the choreographed performers. Allora & Calzadilla's Stop, Repair, Prepare will be making its Sydney debut. Also a former Kaldor project that Melburnians might remember from its performance in 2012, this piece sees artists attempt Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' on an adjusted piano that can be played from within and walked across the gallery floor. [caption id="attachment_726658" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marina Abramović: In Residence, Pier 2/3 Walsh Bay, Sydney, 2015. Photo: Pedro Greig.[/caption] RELIVE THE PAST PROJECTS WITH THE ONLINE ARCHIVE Earlier in the year, Kaldor put a call out for the public to share their experiences of 50 years of Making Art Public. These recollections and personal stories now form part of the Living Archives, an ongoing project that shows the meaning and intimacy of art, and how we all connect with it in different ways. Contributions are still very much welcomed and, if you'd like to refresh your memory, on the second Thursday of each month there are study sessions with the Kaldor archivist to take another look through the artefacts. [caption id="attachment_744021" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Making Art Public: 50 Years of Kaldor Public Art Projects. Art Gallery of NSW. Photo: Daniel Boud.[/caption] LEARN ABOUT THE LEGACY OF PUBLIC ART As Kaldor's digital archive launches, a range of art experts will be offering their views on the cultural impact of Kaldor — and other public art initiatives — and explaining why public art matters. Featuring curators, artists and academics from Australia and beyond, this symposium is sure to offer a fascinating insight into how 50 years of Kaldor Art Projects have shaped the art world as we know it today, and why the digital archive is so important in protecting that legacy. It's a free event taking place on Wednesday, November 20 at the Art Gallery of NSW. [caption id="attachment_745160" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kaldor Public Art Project 10: Jeff Koons, Puppy, Dec 12, 1995–Mar 17, 1996. ©Jeff Koons. Photo: John Gollings.[/caption] CREATE YOUR OWN MASTERPIECE BASED ON YOUR FURRY FRIEND Do you need any further encouragement than the words "puppy picnic"? Artist David Capra and "art-dog" Teena — known for her signature fragrance Eau de Wet Dogge — will be in The Domain on Friday, October 11 to celebrate all things canine and explore the relationship between art and man's best sausage dog. Learn how to draw a pooch portrait, find out how to decipher the language of puppy love, and let your four-legged friend run wild with doggy treats inspired by the edible art of Kaldor's artist Miralda. Owners will have to bring their own human food though — sorry. [caption id="attachment_745173" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kaldor Public Art Project 24: Michael Landy, Acts of Kindness, Sept 23–Oct 23 2011. ©Michael Landy. Photo: Jenni Carter[/caption] VISIT THE STUDIO TO SEE THE ARTISTS AT WORK A key tenet of public art is engagement, and that's why Kaldor is inviting you to visit the studio and see some of their best artists at work. It's not just a sterile observation session though; you'll get to hear the artists explain their process, learn more about their work, and even have the chance to ask your own questions. We've all wondered about what makes artists tick and how they make the ideas in their head a reality, and Kaldor offers the opportunity to get closer to the creative process than ever before. 'Making Art Public: 50 Years of Kaldor Public Art Projects' runs until February 16, 2020 and can be found on Lower Level 2 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Entry is free. To see the full exhibition program, visit the website. Top image: Daniel Boud/Art Gallery of NSW.
Modern-day man-love is strange and complex new territory indeed. Since hunting rituals fell out of vogue all those years ago, there’s no longer a clear-cut way of navigating the sticky terrain of platonic male bonding. In the age of self-help saturation, men are being called on to express their feelings, get in touch with their feminine side and take an active interest in weird foreign concepts like communication, where previous generations got away with slapping each other on the back after a hole-in-one. Ours is a generation that coined the term ‘bromance’ — a concept that has provided endless material for comedy in contemporary pop-culture. How long do you think our forefathers would have put up with Two and a Half Men? In Bromance, choreographers Alisdair Macindoe and Adam Synnott invite you to explore the nuanced labyrinth that is the male relationship. As part of the You Are Here season of performance, dance and installation at Performance Space, the two seasoned performers draw on their personal experiences to present a full-length dance work that examines the interplay between two young men entering adulthood. Utilising space and movement, Macindoe and Synnott delve into the psychology of brotherhood and the rivalry, trust, respect, responsibility and genuine love that shapes the experience of intimacy between men.
If you, like a large number of people, appreciate a well-made cocktail, you might want to clear your schedule for Monday, January 30. Nico de Soto, executive bartender and co-owner of NYC's lauded Mace cocktail bar, is coming to Sydney for one night only to set up shop at PS40 (nominated for Best New Bar in our Best of 2016 Sydney awards). Mace, just for your information, is ranked the 28th best bar in the world by Drinks International — so don't expect any espresso martinis on tap from these chaps. Mace is a spice-driven cocktail bar so the menu is not for the faint-hearted. The menu even includes a mace-laced cocktail (for reals), so this is not editorial exaggeration when we say: be prepared. Perhaps bring a quart of milk to ease your chilli fevers. The event is being held from 5pm till midnight at PS40, the basement bar off King Street that specialises in natural, preservative-free sodas. It's a match made in heaven.
UPDATE: MARCH 17, 2020 — Due to concerns surrounding COVID-19, Sydney Writers' Festival has cancelled its 2020 program. In a statement, organisers said the cancellation will have a "significant impact on the literary community" and is encouraging the pubic to support the authors who were scheduled to attend the festival and to visit local booksellers. Ticket holders will be contacted for reimbursement. At the start of the Cold War in 1947, a group of scientists created the Doomsday Clock. An internationally recognised indicator of how close we are to a global catastrophe — caused by nuclear weapons, climate change or other disruptive technologies — it was initially set at 11.53pm. Fast forward to 2020, and we're a mere 100 seconds from midnight. In light of this, Sydney Writers' Festival has announced its timely theme for 2020: Almost Midnight. More than 400 writers from across the globe are set to descend on the city from Monday, April 27–Sunday, May 3 to discuss Donald Trump, political movements, surveillance, bushfires, First Nations' connection to land and how we can reverse the clock's movement. Heading the lineup is 2019 Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo and author of Girl, Women, Other. Evaristo's award-winning novel appeared on Concrete Playground's — and Barack Obama's — favourite books of 2019 list, alongside Salt by Bruce Pascoe, another author who'll be making an appearance at SWF. Pascoe, a Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man, is known for his ground-breaking works exploring country, nature and identity. Lisa Taddeo, author of the much-talked-about 2019 hit Three Women; acclaimed American novelist Siri Hustvedt; Uncanny Valley's Anna Wiener; writer of seminal 85 novel In the Cut, Susanna Moore; and Strange Hotel's Eimear McBride are five more international big-names flying into Sydney for the festival. [caption id="attachment_764742" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bernardine Evaristo by Getty[/caption] Elsewhere on the program, Umbrella Movement founder and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Joshua Wong will appear via video link, and Nichole Perkins and Bim Adewunmi of Slate's hilarious Thirst Aid Kit will record an episode of the podcast live. Lively panels discussing everything from Clive James to the Christchurch mosque shootings and why there may be method in Donald Trump's madness are also on the lineup, as is a large contingent of Australian authors. Christos Tsiolkas, Clare Bowditch, Shaun Micallef, Bob Brown, Paul Kelly, Archie Roach and Charlotte Wood are some of the 100-plus locals that'll be taking to the stage at Carriageworks, The Seymour Centre, Town Hall, City Recital Hall, Parramatta Riverside Theatre and Chatswood Concourse Theatre. While the writers prepare to discuss global catastrophes, the world is in the midst of one: the COVID-19 pandemic. Many events have already been cancelled, including SXSW, Coachella and Dark Mofo, but SWF has decided to cautiously proceed. In the case of any cancellations, however, it is promising a full refund. Sydney Writers' Festival runs at various venues across the city from Monday, April 27–Sunday, May 3. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday, March 13 via www.swf.org.au. Top images: Prudence Upton
That moment when you don't know if a film franchise has become more juvenile, or whether it's you that's grown up. This was the uncomfortable experience of watching Kick-Ass 2, and after days of quiet contemplation, I've come to the conclusion: it's not me. Based on the comics by Mark Millar and brought to the screen by Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust), the first Kick-Ass film was a high point in the 'real superhero' wave — a funny counterpoint to the likes of Watchmen. Catching bits of it on TV recently, I thought it seemed only more razor-sharp. The new Kick-Ass 2 disappoints by pitching way too low. There is, for starters, an insane number of dick biting jokes. And it's not a running gag. It seems almost unbelievable that an objective party read the script and didn't think to say, 'hey, how about we stop at separate dick biting joke no.3'? Impotence, race and sexuality are also targets of choice. It seems new writer and director Jeff Wadlow has decided his audience is teenage boys, and no one else. Plot-wise, Kick-Ass 2 picks up about three years after its predecessor. Dave Lizewski (previously weedy, now hunky Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has hung up the Kick-Ass wetsuit, while the orphaned Mindy MacCready (Chloe Grace Moretz), aka Hit Girl, keeps her ongoing training a secret from her guardian, her dad's good friend, Sergeant Marcus Williams (Morris Chestnut). But when Dave gets restless and Mindy gets obedient, their crime-fighting status is reversed, and for camaraderie Dave instead joins the superhero team calling themselves 'Justice Forever' (led by a well prosthetised Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars and Stripes) to rid the streets of evil. The devoted amateurs are no match, however, for the coming storm from Dave's spoilt and abandoned schoolmate Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who's graduated from being Red Mist to the moniker the Motherfucker and who has Kick-Ass obsessively in his sights. It's a unique mix of unimpressiveness at work in this film. On top of the lumpen humour, there's also extreme violence and schlock sentimentality that together are supremely weird. Kick-Ass 2's one redeemer is Hit Girl. If the whole film had been 'Hit Girl Goes to High School', it would have been great. She's always been a special character that challenges every idea we have of girlhood, and the Professional-meets-Mean Girls-like scenes of her dealing with dating, dance club, the popular crowd and bullying are smart, fresh and compelling. The film also deals well with her sexuality, now she's 15. Her costume remains fabulously unsexy and practical, so that's how we view her fights, but she's given room to explore some of her own sexual feelings. In what's possibly the film's best scene, a One Direction replica band plays, and we see that even the disciplined teen warrior is unable to resist their charms. Later, she has a quick perv at a shirtless Dave. This is a character whose impact will carry on, even if there's no Hit-Girl movie in multiplexes. https://youtube.com/watch?v=YWozxV3fsAU
The best of North American independent cinema is heading to Sydney, as part of the ninth annual Possible Worlds US and Canadian Film Festival. Presented by The Festivalists, aka the guys behind the kickass Sydney Film Festival Hub, this year's event features an even split of films between the two neighbouring nations, with plenty of prominent titles worth checking out. One major standout from the Canadian section is Our Man in Tehran, a doco that gives credit to the critical role of Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor during the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis (after he was largely overlooked in favour of American heroics in Ben Affleck's Academy Award winning Argo). Other highlights include the found footage school shooting dramedy The Dirties, plus a selection of films from French-speaking Quebec headlined by Xavier Dolan's skin-crawling psychological thriller Tom at the Farm. Exciting American films include the post-apocalyptic Western Young Ones featuring Michael Shannon and Kodi Smit-McPhee, as well as the world premiere of the tantalising titled documentary Air Sex: The Movie. And if you're unsure of what air sex is, fear not. Comedians Cameron James and Jared Jekyll will be on hand for a thorough demonstration before the screening. For the full Possible Worlds Program visit the festival website.
The old Clare Hotel is about to be reborn. Singapore-based hotel-restaurant entrepreneur Loh Lik Peng of Unlisted Collection has taken over the heritage-listed Chippendale building, intending to turn Broadway's beloved former pub into a boutique hotel — due to open this July as part of Central Park's brand new $2 billion Kensington Street laneway precinct. As the first Australian venture for the group, the Old Clare Hotel sees Loh intending to replicate company's successful London/Shanghai/Singapore boutique hotel model in Sydney. Already announced, the hotel will feature three high profile restaurants including Automata (from former Momofuku sous chef, Clayton Wells) as part of the hotel on the Old Clare/Carlton United Brewery site. Wells is refurbishing the heritage-listed Chippendale building as a 60-seater, industrially-inspired eatery with Sydney architect and motorcycle expert Matt Machine. UK chef Jason Atherton will open the 120-seater Kensington Street Social, and Briton Sam Miller (former executive sous chef at Copenhagen's Noma) will also open his first solo restaurant, Silvereye, on the second floor. Hotel-wise, the Old Clare venture will feature 62 guest rooms. Unlisted have worked with the award-winning Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects (Carriageworks) on the design, creating a blend of historic and modern aesthetic — high ceilings, heritage timber paneling, exposed brick (from the original foundation), all brought together amongst a contemporary, semi-industrial design. The Old Clare's reception — located within the original pub area — is set to become a bar for both locals and guests, with coffee, cocktails and beers poured day and night. So you'll be able to revisit the Clare without shelling out for accommodation. Guests get the special treatment though, with a 14-metre rooftop pool and bar on the top of the Carlton United Brewery administration building. There's apparently going to be a 'cultural program' in place, and guests will be able to partake in a spot of sunrise poolside yoga. The hotel's also set to feature a private gym and day spa, alongside a heritage-restored meeting space. The Old Clare Hotel will open July 2015 at 1 Kensington Street, Chippendale.
Looking for new threads? Sure, you can head to plenty of markets around town and trawl through food, homeware and other objects, or you can mosey along to Sydney's dedicated ladies fashion get-together. Round She Goes does one thing, and it does it well. If it's clothing, accessories and jewellery you're after, you'll find it here. Filled with preloved designer and vintage fare, the one-day happening will take over Marrickville Town Hall from 10am on May 19, August 18 and October 20. These editions will boast 60 stalls, all specially curated by organisers to deliver reasonably priced, high-quality bits and pieces, and ranging from beloved brands to handmade items to fashion clear-outs. Entry costs $2, and when you're finding that shiny gold coin to get you in the door, make sure you did up some other cash as well. Cold, hard currency is preferred here, and parting with it will be worth it. Your wardrobe will thank you for it.
One of the biggest months of the year for the Harbour City is about to kick off. Vivid Sydney is just around the corner and, as always, a lot of the light, sound, food and entertainment action is centred around Sydney Harbour. So, it makes sense to take advantage of the best harbour views you can get, right? At Aster Rooftop Bar, atop InterContinental Sydney, you'll find cracking cocktails and jaw-dropping vistas all year round, but it's especially worthy of a visit during Vivid Sydney. Being 32 levels up will give you quite an angle on the lights below, but it's not just about the eye candy. Book a sitting between 6–7.30pm or 8–9.30pm to indulge in the special Vivid menu, which includes two themed cocktails paired with a two-course meal for $169 per person. [caption id="attachment_954613" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] Your experience starts with a Japanese Fuji single-grain whisky as a palate cleanser before being served two cocktails: Second Chance (Four Pillars Gin, strawberry, brioche, balsamic, yoghurt) and Expedition (23 Calle Blanco Tequila, pistachio, tepache, green tea), both sustainably made with leftover ingredients. The drinks are served alongside chicken or mushroom pate to start followed by a main of Black Angus tenderloin and Black Onyx brisket or slow-cooked carrots with miso and onion puree and fondant potato. To extend your Vivid experience further, book a staycation at the InterContinental Sydney. The special Vivid package includes a welcome drink, interactive map, goodie bag and more for $469 per night. For more information on the Vivid Sydney offerings at InterContinental Sydney or to make a booking, visit the website.
King Street Wharf may have long seemed like a purpose-built festival venue for the 18-20 bracket come each weekend, but the kids at Keystone have decided to take it to the next level: four main stages over three established venues housing local and international music talent: introducing Harbourfest. This Easter Sunday theloft, Bungalow 8 and Cargo Bar will join forces for the first time to bring us the best of dance: Tonite Only and the Aston Shuffle DJs are taking charge of headlining responsibilities, while ARIA-winning band Yolanda Be Cool round out the tail end of the line-up. Kicking off at 2pm, the day promises to be the best years of Chinese Laundry and Purple Sneakers rolled up into one harbourside, turbo-charged Harbourfest.
Teen angst and disco balls, together at last! This rib-tickling and soul-lifting show about the complexities of teenage identity centres on Maya Wolfe, a 17-year-old with shaky self-esteem who is sent to a mysterious summer camp with a hidden agenda. There, she meets Bone, a rebel with a cause who wants to expose the camp's dark intentions. Maya must decide whether to conform or break free, all while wrestling with her growing feelings for Bone. Written by Vic Zerbst with music by Oliver John Cameron, expect moving moments of queer self-discovery, relatable adolescent awkwardness and a pumping soundtrack of disco bangers.
Heavy with smoke. Charged with intrigue. 1930s Shanghai is like Dickensian London; it's a locale explored so thoroughly by writers of fiction that reality and fantasy are having a hard time not tripping over each other. But these spaces are where "volcanic live artist" Moira Finucane creates her best work. Renowned for the creation of sumptuous worlds in which her burlesque performances take place, Finucane recreates the stage of a nightclub cabaret in 1930s Shanghai — the perfect setting for her blend of painstaking detail and raucous subversion. Chinese jazz fills the air where acrobats had flown, seconds before. And on the ground, an international array of singers and dancers appear from all quarters, slinking through the half-light of the club. At Shànghǎi MiMi上海咪咪's, the real and imagined fall prey to a far more powerful force — immersion. Shànghǎi MiMi上海咪 is part of Sydney Festival's dramatic and diverse 2019 program. Check out the full lineup here.
One of the undisputed icons of West Coast hip hop, Ice Cube is on his way to Sydney. The rap pioneer will take the stage at the Opera House, performing four exclusive shows as part of Vivid Live 2018. The epic set will see Ice Cube roll out his greatest hits, from his days with the ground-breaking group N.W.A. to his blistering solo career. So expect to hear everything from 'Straight Outta Compton' to 'It Was A Good Day'. With no other Australian dates in pipelines, this shapes up as something hip hop fans can't afford to miss — it's the first time a rapper has performed in the Concert Hall as part of Vivid Live. Mark it in your calendar, May 25–28, and snag yourself some tickets — they're selling fast.
Turn your love of spirits into a scholarly pursuit, as the International Spirits Academy (ISA) launches a new Sydney school. Established by the team behind the Australian Gin Distillers Association, Australian Gin Awards and Gin Events Pty Ltd, a fully fledged certification program aims to set global benchmarks in distilled spirits knowledge and certification, helping put Australia even more on the map as a hub of distilling prowess. With established programs like the Master Sommelier and Master Cicerone teaching the ins and outs of wine and beer service, the ISA will now offer a four-level spirit certification. If you stick with the course to complete the program's highest level, you'll have earned the rather fancy-sounding Master of Eau de Vie title. Yet don't think earning this qualification is as simple as answering a few multiple-choice questions. With courses beginning in July, the ISA will provide in-person lectures, deductive tastings and examinations at progressive stages, with each needing to be completed before you can move on. This certification is primarily aimed at hospitality and spirits industry professionals working across cocktail bars, fine-dining restaurants, hotels, retail stores and production facilities. However, enrolment is also open to spirits producers and enthusiasts seeking deeper expertise. "As the global spirits industry matures, the demand for true spirits professionals will only grow. Our vision with the International Spirits Academy is to provide a rigorous, independent path to mastery — giving students the knowledge, tasting expertise, and service excellence needed to lead the next generation of hospitality experiences," says Judith Kennedy AM, Founder and Chair of the International Spirits Academy. Covering production methods, sensory analysis, service, sales and international legislation, students will graduate with a detailed understanding of distilled spirits. While the first couple of stages instil foundational knowledge, giving students a strong grounding in the basics, the advanced levels ramp up the depth and breadth of the studies, with seasoned experts working towards "encyclopaedic knowledge and exceptional sensory skill." As for who's leading your learning, expect an esteemed team of distilling masters, including Bill Lark — aka the godfather of Australian craft distilling — Charles Casben, Dr Sarah Fletcher, Ned Goodwin MW, Huon Hooke, and Mikey Enright. Combining decades of experience and unmatched industry connections, these ISA experts, mentors and gurus will undoubtedly help you master the art of distilling spirits. Enrolments at the International Spirits Academy (ISA) open this May, with courses beginning the first week of July, 2025. Head to the website for more information.
2023 is set to be a milestone year for one of Sydney's biggest and most beloved events: the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. Firstly, after moving both the 2021 and 2022 events to the Sydney Cricket Ground due to the pandemic, it's finally returning to Oxford Street. Secondly, the parade is marking its huge 45th anniversary. And, it'll also fall under Sydney WorldPride, with that massive LGBTQIA+ celebration heading to the southern hemisphere for the first time ever. Expect a super-sized shindig as a result, obviously — one so hefty that two new viewing areas are being added for the parade. Due to increased demand already, organisers have announced a couple of fresh ticketed options to join in the fun on Saturday, February 25, 2023: a new party spot called Club Cindy and an all-ages zone named Ruby Road. At the first new addition, which'll set up shop on Flinders Street and is named after Sydney drag icon Cindy Pastel, Kyle Olsen and Rosie Piper will play host. This is a levelled-up standing area, complete with food options, bars and bathrooms, to add a bit of extra comfort to your Mardi Gras Parade experience. At the second new space, bringing a picnic rug is recommended. Here, you'll sit at the Moore Park end of the parade route, aka Checkpoint Dorothy, with uninterrupted views of the parade. You'll also be able to hit up food trucks and bars, enjoy live entertainment, and watch relays of the parade, too, on big screens around the venue. Club Cindy tickets start at $70, while Ruby Road tickets kick off at $50. Given that the theme of the 2023 Mardi Gras Parade is "gather, dream, amplify", the new spaces will also help attendees do just that. Announcing the new spaces, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras CEO Albert Kruger noted that "if you want to escape the crowds, Club Cindy and Ruby Road are the perfect option for you to celebrate WorldPride, our 45th anniversary and the return to our spiritual home of Oxford Street." "The Sydney Cricket Ground was a fantastic temporary home and feedback from audiences was that they loved the access to amenities that it offered. Now that the Parade is returning to Oxford Street it was important to us that we provide options for spectators." The Mardi Gras Parade makes its Oxford Street comeback after two stints at the SCG — one featuring noted rainbow aficionados The Wiggles — due to COVID-19, restrictions around the pandemic and distancing precautions. With the parade taking place as part of Sydney WorldPride in 2023, that means it joins an enormous bill of pride events across 17 days — with more than 300-plus LGBTQIA+ festivities planned, and over 500,000 people expected to participate. The full program will be released on Wednesday, November 9, but already includes a heap of must-attend events, including Kylie Minogue headlining the opening concert, rainbows aplenty all around the city and a closing gig led by MUNA and G Flip. The 2023 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade will take place on Oxford Street on Saturday, February 25, 2023. For more information, head to the Mardi Gras website. Sydney WorldPride will run from February 17–March 5, 2023. For more information, or for tickets, head to the event's website. Images: Jeffrey Feng Photography. Thinking about Sydney WorldPride's big opening gig, Live and Proud: Sydney WorldPride Opening Concert, too? General admission tickets have sold out, with only Sydney WorldPride's affordability option left — but you can still head along thanks to Concrete Playground Trips. The Sydney WorldPride package includes tickets to the Domain Dance Party and Live and Proud: Opening Concert, plus three nights at the PARKROYAL Darling Harbour Sydney.
Bringing Shakespeare to the big screen is no longer just about doing the material justice, or even about letting a new batch of the medium's standout talents give their best to the Bard's immortal words. For anyone and everyone attempting the feat (a list that just keeps growing), it's also about gifting the playwright's material with the finest touches that cinema allows. It's never enough to simply film Macbeth like a theatre production, for instance, even if all that dialogue first penned four centuries ago still ripples with power — while riffing about power — without any extra adornments. No Shakespeare adaptation really needs to explain or legitimise its existence more than any other feature, but the great ones bubble not only with toil and trouble, but with all the reasons why this tale needed to be captured on camera and projected large anew. Joel Coen knows all of the above. Indeed, his take on the Scottish play — which he's called The Tragedy of Macbeth, taking Shakespeare's full original title — justifies its existence as a movie in every single frame. His is a film of exacting intimacy, with every shot peering far closer at its main figures than anyone could ever see on a stage, and conveying more insight into their emotions, machinations and motivations in the process. The Bard might've posited that all the world's a stage in As You Like It, but The Tragedy of Macbeth's lone Coen brother doesn't quite agree. Men and women are still merely players in this revived quest for supremacy through bloodshed, but their entrances, exits and many parts would mean nothing if we couldn't see as far into their hearts and minds as cinema — and as cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel's (The Woman in the Window) stripped-down, black-and-white, square-framed imagery — can possibly allow. In a year for filmmakers going it alone beyond the creative sibling relationships that've defined their careers — see also: The Matrix Resurrections — Joel Coen makes a phenomenal solo debut with this up-close approach. His choice of cast, with Denzel Washington (The Little Things) as powerful as he's ever been on-screen and Frances McDormand (The French Dispatch) showing why she has three Best Actress Oscars, also helps considerably. The former plays the eponymous Scottish general, the latter his wife, and both find new reserves and depths in the pair's fateful lust for glory. That's another key element to any new silver-screen iteration of Shakespeare's most famous works: making its characters feel anew. Washington and McDormand — and Coen as well — all tread in the footsteps of of Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel (Nitram) thanks to 2015's exquisite Macbeth, but they stand in absolutely no one's shadows. As also previously splashed across cinemas by Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa and Roman Polanski, the narrative details remain the same, obviously — from the witches (all played by Kathryn Hunter, Flowers) prophesying that Macbeth will soon be monarch, through to his murderous actions at Lady Macbeth's urging to make that prediction become a reality. All that scheming has consequences, both before and after King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson, Mr Mercedes) is stripped of his throne. One of the smartest parts of the movie's central casting is the change it brings to the Macbeths' seething desperation. Due to Washington and McDormand's ages, their versions of the characters are grasping onto what might be their last chance, rather than being ruthless with far more youthful abandon. They're susceptible to the Weird Sisters' suggestions in a different way, too, embracing what they think should already be theirs rather than seizing a shot they may not have expected for some time otherwise. McDormand's involvement is hardly surprising — she's married to Joel, is one of the Coen brothers' mainstays when her husband and his sibling Ethan share directorial credits, and won her first Academy Award for playing a pregnant police chief in their crime classic Fargo. But The Tragedy of Macbeth moulds what could've just been a given, a case of spouses reteaming again, into an inspired opportunity to give its source material a few shrewd tweaks. Writing as well as helming, that's the intensely fastidious level that Joel operates on. His work has always been assembled with precision, but that devotion to detail feels as stark here as the movie's overwhelmingly evocative monochrome visuals. For a filmmaker known for surveying life's chaotic and careening turns, dating back to 1984's Blood Simple, spanning comedies such as Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski, and evident in the more recent Inside Llewyn Davis and Hail, Caesar!, too, he makes mess and mayhem look meticulous in The Tragedy of Macbeth. This towering adaptation may carve its own space among the many other Macbeths, but it also shows Coen's penchant for Welles' rendering — and his films in general — plus Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. Those nods come through aesthetically, flickering through a feature that masterfully looks as if it could've been made decades ago. The Tragedy of Macbeth's German expressionism-influenced use of light and darkness isn't just sharp, it's piercing, aptly so when Washington stands in a lengthy corridor to ask "is this a dagger which I see before me?". They're intense words from one of the Bard's greatest soliloquies, and they're paired with such stunning cinematography — that hallway appears to keep extending forever, a sight that says oh-so-much about the moral precipice Macbeth stands at — that the effect is scorching. Something wicked this way comes within the narrative, of course, but something magnificent unfurls in this new retelling. Stepping back into the acclaimed play proves a lean and ravishing experience again and again here, and also eerie and potent — a mesmerising brew when it comes to this story. Strutting and fretting as Delbonnel's staggering cinematography gazes his way, and as Carter Burwell's (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) score ramps up the tension, Washington is equally transfixing. He needs to be to play this part. He needs to be remarkable to express Macbeth's transformation from loyal royal offsider to killer, and to navigate the corresponding existential torment. Something astonishing this way comes as a result, a feat that isn't The Tragedy of Macbeth's alone with this tale (Kurzel's version was the best film of its year), but provides another masterwork full of sound and fury signifying everything. The Tragedy of Macbeth opens in Australian cinemas on December 26, 2021, and will be available to stream via Apple TV+ on January 14, 2022.
Dario Argento's 1977 film Suspiria continues to delight and thrill horror film enthusiasts — even Call Me By Your Name Director Luca Guadagnino did a remake of the cult classic in 2018. So if you're a cinephile, you won't want to miss this uncensored Sydney Solstice's screening of the Italian original. Happening on Thursday, June 18, the screening comes complete with a live music element, too. So, make tracks to old-school Surry Hills cinema Golden Age to catch a string quartet featuring members of Sydney Symphony Orchestra's Fellowship program performing music inspired by the chilling film. Then, grab some popcorn and watch Suspiria splash all of its pink-and-red-hued glory across the big screen. You can prep for your supernatural adventure by grabbing a cocktail and snacks from the on-site bar, too. [caption id="attachment_779829" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cassandra Hannagan[/caption] Top image: Suspiria, copyright Golden Age Cinema
In Sundown's holiday porn-style opening scenes, a clearly wealthy British family enjoys the most indulgent kind of Acapulco getaway that anyone possibly can. Beneath the blazing blue Mexican sky, at a resort that visibly costs a pretty penny, Alice Bennett (Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Snowman), her brother Neil (Tim Roth, Bergman Island), and her teenage children Alexa (Albertine Kotting McMillan, A Very British Scandal) and Colin (Samuel Bottomley, Everybody's Talking About Jamie) swim and lounge and sip, with margaritas, massages and moneyed bliss flowing freely. For many, it'd be a dream vacation. For Alice and her kids, it's routine, but they're still enjoying themselves. The look on Neil's passive face says everything, however. It's the picture of apathy — even though, as the film soon shows, he flat-out refuses to be anywhere else. The last time that a Michel Franco-written and -directed movie reached screens, it came courtesy of the Mexican filmmaker's savage class warfare drama New Order, which didn't hold back in ripping into the vast chasm between the ridiculously rich and everyone else. Sundown is equally as brutal, but it isn't quite Franco's take on The White Lotus or Nine Perfect Strangers, either. Rather, it's primarily a slippery and sinewy character study about a man with everything as well as nothing. Much happens within the feature's brief 82-minute running time. Slowly, enough is unveiled about the Bennett family's background, and why their extravagant jaunt abroad couldn't be a more ordinary event in their lavish lives. Still, that indifferent expression adorning Neil's dial rarely falters, whether grief, violence, trauma, lust, love, wins or losses cast a shadow over or brighten up his poolside and seaside stints knocking back drinks in the sunshine. For anyone else, the first interruption that comes the Bennetts' way would change this trip forever; indeed, for Alice, Alexa and Colin, it does instantly. Thanks to one sudden phone call, Alice learns that her mother is gravely ill. Via another while the quartet is hightailing it to the airport, she discovers that the worst has occurred. Viewers can be forgiven for initially thinking that Neil is her cruelly uncaring husband in these moments — Franco doesn't spell out their relationship until later, and Neil doesn't act for a second like someone who might and then does lose his mum. Before boarding the plane home, he shows the faintest glimmer of emotion when he announces that he's forgotten his passport, though. That said, he isn't agitated about delaying his journey back, but about the possibility that his relatives mightn't jet off and leave him alone. Sundown is often a restrained film, intentionally so. It doles out the reasons behind Neil's behaviour, and even basic explanatory information, as miserly as its protagonist cracks a smile. The movie itself is eventually a tad more forthcoming than Neil, but it remains firmly steeped in Franco's usual mindset: life happens, contentedly and grimly alike, and we're all just weathering it. Neither the highs nor lows appear to bother Neil, who holes up at the first hotel his cab driver takes him to, then starts making excuses and simply ignoring Alice's worried calls and texts. He navigates an affair with the younger Berenice (Iazua Larios, Ricochet) as well, and carries on like he doesn't have a care in the world. His sister returns, frantic and angry, but even then he's nonplussed. The same proves true, too, when a gangland execution bloodies his leisurely days by the beach, and also when violence cuts far closer to home. Tranquility, bleakness, the ordinary and the extreme in-between: it all keeps coming throughout Sundown. Yes, life keeps happening, even amid the relaxed air that breezes through the movie's aforementioned introductory moments. When there's little on the Bennetts' minds except unwinding, their comfort literally comes at the hands of Acapulco's workers. In the streets, an incendiary mood bubbles well before bodies end up on the sand. The gap between the one percent and the rest of us always stays in plain sight. The fact that a getaway as luxe as this one relies upon not the kindness but the exhaustive labour of others never slinks away. Also, that Neil's family wealth springs from slaughter isn't subtle — animals, in the pork trade — but that's never been Franco's approach. Still, Sundown is a film to soak up, riding its twists and wading through its questions, including the plethora that keep springing about Neil's actions. The last time that Roth worked with Franco, in 2015's Chronic, he turned in a mesmerising performance. Here, he's magnetic and absorbing as a man adrift by choice, through entitlement and also due to the cards he's been dealt. Some shots play up that idea with the director's characteristic lack of understatement — floating in a pool, for instance — but the point would've been plain via the film's central performance alone. Roth isn't coasting, or bobbing, or doing anything aimlessly. Sundown's audience can see Neil's behaviour as comic, heartless, troubled or arrogant, or a combination of all four and more, but Roth makes the sense of detachment and entropy behind the character's every move echo from the screen. His efforts prove all the more stark against the also-wonderful Gainsbourg, in a far smaller part. Unsurprisingly, Alice is anything but dispassionate, with her brother's subterfuge, selfishness and utter lack of care for everyone he's affecting earning her increasing exasperation. For Franco, forgoing nuance means staring head-on at the tales he's telling, the people within them and the statements about humanity that are being made — and Belgian cinematographer Yves Cape, who has a number of the filmmaker's pictures to his name (plus entrancing 2019 French film Zombi Child as well), eagerly obliges. Roving your eyes over Sundown's patient frames is an exercise in careful observation, sometimes peering so closely that you can almost count Roth's pores, but usually with a sense of distance that mirrors the space that Neil cultivates around himself. Watching this ruminative feature also requires confronting existential woes — and pondering existence — both compellingly and unsettlingly so. Franco has never had any fondness for privilege, or much for human nature; with his latest penetrating film, he's as unforgiving as always, but also as committed to unpacking what it means to define your own path.
Sydneysiders venturing outdoors today could find the whole breathing thing a little less fun than usual — as you may have noticed, it's getting smoky out there. As the result of bushfires burning across both New South Wales and Queensland, a layer of smoke has made its way across the city and is expected to stick around for at least the next 24 hours. Needless to say, it's affecting air quality, with the NSW Government Department of Planning, Industry and Environment's air quality monitor giving a "poor" air quality forecast for Tuesday, November 12. The inner city, Randwick, Earlwood, Rozelle, Parramatta and Rouse Hill are among the regions affected — so, a big chunk of the city. Southwest Sydney — including Campbelltown, Liverpool and Camden — is also affected. This is largely do to particles in the air. Also in NSW, Newcastle and the Lower Hunter is listed as "hazardous", while Wollongong and the Illawarra — where lots of schools have today closed — is currently marked as "poor". NSW BUSHFIRE UPDATE 11/11/19: Smoke from bushfires continues to affect large parts of NSW. People with existing lung and heart conditions like asthma, emphysema and angina should avoid outdoor activity and follow your disease management plan. #NSWFires pic.twitter.com/gHGJITAWJa — NSW Health (@NSWHealth) November 11, 2019 With air quality levels dropping yesterday, NSW Health has issued a smoke health alert for Sydney and the Hunter. The government body suggests that everyone cut back on strenuous outdoor activities, as well as going outside in general — if you can. Those with chronic respiratory or heart conditions are especially advised to avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors where possible. It's also recommended that you carry your inhaler, follow your Asthma Action Plan, and keep your other medication with you for all breathing-related conditions. If you start experiencing symptoms, even if you're otherwise fit and healthy, seek medical advice. For those staying indoors, NSW Health also suggests turning your air conditioner on — if you have one — and using it on recirculate mode to keep the particles from outside out. With Sydney firmly in the grip of warm end-of-year weather, and temperatures expected to reach 37 otoday, residents are also advised to be wary of the heat, as well as its combination with the hazy air. Drinking plenty of fluids, taking cool showers to keep your temperature down, soaking your feet in water and draping a wet cloth around your neck are also recommended. Smoke from fires in northern NSW is starting to settle in parts of the state including Sydney. People are advised to only call 000 for fires, not smoke. If you need more info on fire danger in your area, call the Bush Fire Information Line on 1800 679 737. #nswrfs #nswfires pic.twitter.com/U9CjiZpvWk — NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) November 11, 2019 With a catastrophic fire danger level declared across the Sydney, the Hunter and the Illawarra and Shoalhaven areas for today — and with the NSW Rural Fire Service continuing to battle numerous blazes across the state — this situation isn't likely to change quickly, even with a cool change set to come in this evening. It should go without saying, but as part of the State of Fire Emergency, the lighting of all types of outdoor fires is banned. At 9am, the service confirmed there are 57 current bushfires burning in NSW, and 28 of them are uncontained. You can keep an eye on the fires burning across the state at the NSW Rural Fire Service website. For more tips on staying safe during smoky conditions, head to the NSW Health website. Image: NSW Rural Fire Service.
There’s a kind of pleasure in some despair. A satisfaction in a feeling fully expressed, or in a melancholic twinge of sweetness during an ostensibly miserable moment. Anthony Lister’s figures, which dominate the Beautiful Misery, seem lost in these sad moments. That’s the point. But in their sadness they stare at deep inner worlds that also seem to possess a satisfaction in an endless bleakness, well expressed. Artist Anthony Lister is an Aussie artist made good at home and abroad, who describes his art making as “apocaloptimistical”. That is, exploring a happier apocalypse. And there is something of Golgotha in Lister’s expansive, black-rimmed canvases. A sadness, inevitability and meaning. His figures, mostly women, are absorbed in contemplation. One woman picks the seeds from a watermelon. Another’s face has been replaced by a surrealist bloom of flowers. One of Lister’s other sidelines (not on show at Olsen) is in drawing dripping portraits of mainstream superheros. And, stylistically, this Lister show comes very close to alt-comic artist Ted McKeever’s apocalyptic vistas and wide, motive figures. But, where McKeever prefers sharp-lined or broad-shouldered subjects, Lister’s subjects dwell more on the voluptuous. Lister’s subjects, though, seem less important than his point of view. And what he sees is a captivating, shaky and animate version of the world. Sidelines in still life at the show confirm this. A rough-edged rose, a luminous knife and a massive still life compilation “Still Life” only go to emphasise this vision of a dark, mutable world. These paintings, many oversize and looming, have nothing firm in them. Aside, that is, from Lister’s ramshackle and appealing artistic confidence. Image: Lister, Still Life.
OG Sydney food truck Mister Gee has accumulated a city-spanning fan base since it opened its first truck in Burwood in 2014. Six years on and the burger joint is ringing in its birthday with a two-day celebration kicking off with free burgers. The first 50 customers to arrive at each of the Mister Gee Haberfield (at 315 Parramatta Road) and North Strathfield (at 16 George Street) stores on Friday, November 27 will receive a free burger. The freebies are sure to go fast, so you'll have to get there bang on opening time at 6pm to ensure you get one. If you do miss out, there are burgers on offer over the weekend for $10, which also included a free bottle of Jarritos soda. All of Mister Gee's fan favourite burgers including its truffle burger, Vegee Burger (with a vegetable patty, cheese, pickled onions, tomatoes and special sauce) and The Stoners Revenge (which features beef, cheese, bacon, onion and chips) will be on offer for $10 from 6–9.30pm Friday, November 27 and Saturday, November 28. Live street artists, DJ sets and a photo booth will be on hand to bring the atmosphere to both locations as Mister Gee celebrates a half-dozen years of serving Sydney burgers.
Swedish illustrator Anneli Olander's cartoon-like subjects have a lot in common with fashion models. They possess an unconventional Nordic beauty that often manifests itself in extraordinarily wide-set eyes, they can rock high-fashion accessories like feather-trimmed sunglasses or a pair of antlers, and frequently find themselves on the glossy pages of magazines. But Olander's quirky illustrations have retained their cult appeal despite the artist herself achieving impressive commercial success in the last few years. Girls and Ghosts, Olander's Australian debut, opens at Surry Hills' Friends of Leon gallery this week as part of an exclusive exhibition presented in association with Australian Fashion Week. Detailing the illustrator's vision of beauty being found in the imperfect, the exhibition will feature 14 original works plus a series of prints in Olander's favoured mediums of watercolour and ink — which invest her doll-faced young misses with an ethereal perfection only somewhat disrupted by blotchy, black explosions or a Stygian, skeletal bird-leg. Olander studied design and illustration at Australia's University of Newcastle before being named one of the top 100 illustrators in the world and having her work showcased in fashion magazines, books and apparel campaigns across the globe. We’re proud to have her back. Image: Girls and Ghosts 2011
