Julian Marley is bringing his dreadlocks and infectious roots-reggae to Australia this May on an express pitstop tour. The son of the famous Bob, who recorded his first demo at the early age of five, will showcase his soulful voice and hypnotic beats in one show only in each of Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns before continuing on around the world. Marley has music in his veins and experiments with the multitude of instruments that he can play until he creates something he likes. "I don't plan the next step", he says, "somehow things seem to just come together naturally that way." It is that impulse and spontaneity that make his live offerings worth experiencing. He won't be alone either, with The Strides and ManaLion supporting him in Sydney, as well as Natalia Pa’apa’a of Blue King Brown fame performing with the Rumwaropen sisters. It promises to be an all-round mammoth serving of soul that will set your hips swaying and your feet shaking. Julian Marley visits are rare, so make sure you get in whilst you can; you never know when he will be coming back.
It's Sunday afternoon — you did not want a cider, but you have had three — and you realise that you are having the same conversation you had last week, at the same table and you are with the same people. Now, you can start back on the life affirmation conversation, or skip that and head down to the Cherchez La Femme at the Vanguard to hear interesting, accomplished women talking about… whatever, in a relevant way. Plus there is a bar and you can bring your mates. This casual-feminist-forum-in-the-pub started three years ago in Melbourne and has found a permanent home at the Gasometer in Collingwood, so a Sydney sojourn is well overdue. I am imagining RocKwiz but everyone is Julia Zemiro and there's no obligatory head nodding ("Oh yeah, of course Nick Cave is actually pronounced ca-VAY.") Creator of Cherchez La Femme and organiser of SlutWalk Melbourne, Karen Pickering will be hosting the evening as women from science, the arts and Cosmo come together for that great female tradition, the Sunday debrief. On the panel will be playwright/Twitterer Van Badham, Princesses & Pornstars author Emily Maguire, fat activist Frances Lockie, Nareen Young from the Diversity Council of Australia and scientist Catriona Wimberley.
If you have seen the new single, 'Ballad of the War Machine', from Midnight Juggernauts, you might not know what to think. The throw-back, surrealist video clip had tongues wagging and mouths salivating a few weeks back for the return of the Melbourne trio, yet no one expected their return to be this covert. Like Cold War-era secrets, information on the new Midnight Juggernauts material was kept secret, as different versions of the video were distributed through blogs and discussion boards. The responses to this method of viral promotion were varied, yet the end result is a memorable experience that has only made anticipation grow in the bellies of fans. Since releasing their previous albums, Dystopia and The Crystal Axis, Midnight Juggernauts have been touring the globe before taking time off to gather inspiration for their next effort. If this lead single is anything to go by, Midnight Juggernauts will still be pushing boundaries and matching expectations. Their national tour takes in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne before the trio play at Groovin' the Moo. https://youtube.com/watch?v=VMeuC_aGuoo
Hannah is a mousy-haired, slightly pudgy young woman trying to negotiate life in the big city, with her three not-always-supportive friends at her side. Sound like a story you like? Well, it will be, but it's not the one you think, and the similarities with honest comedy (hon-com?) Girls end there. The Hannah in Girl in Tan Boots, a new play by Sydney writer Tahli Corin, has disappeared. She is represented on stage by one of those hauntingly blank missing-person mannequins. We learn about Hannah vicariously, through the eyes of Detective Carapetis (Linden Wilkinson), a Jane Lynch-esque figure soon consumed with empathy for the girl who vanished after getting on a train at Wynyard Station but has always been a bit invisible. After chatting to Hannah's work colleagues (Zindzi Okenyo, Madeleine Jones and Francesca Savige in fine form), a chorus of adult women with high-school popular-girl mentalities, Carapetis gets a lead: Hannah was obsessed with the personal ads in the commuter rag and looking for her own mystery man, Grey Suit. That's right, Girl in Tan Boots is so far the only play inspired by mX's Here's Looking at You column — and inspired richly. As a mystery, the play really keeps you guessing, and it also draws real meaning and depth from its set-up. If it has the aura of chick lit around it, it's only in so far as chick lit is written by women, about women and regularly has its literary value overlooked. Girl in Tan Boots is truly a funny and thoughtful dramedy that will entertain any kind of human being for its full hour and a half. As a statement on anonymous-yet-surveilled city living, it's poignant. There's a creative, flowing sense to Susanna Dowling's direction here that really works. The team has also incorporated sleights of hand (thanks to magic consultant Bruce Glen) that some might call novelty but that are actually awesome. Not only are the magic tricks fun, they're unnerving, and they hit the right note as the feeling that things are not as they seem builds and builds. Read more about Girl in Tan Boots in Zindzi Okenyo's Hidden Sydney interview here.
Kaldor Public Art Projects is back with their 27th show in 44 years. And they are obviously a superstitious bunch: hosting 13 international artists in 13 purpose-built rooms in the millennium's 13th year and calling the show 13 Rooms. Hmmm... It adds up to 11 days of artistic awakening down at Walsh Bay. And for the more adventurous, there is an after-dark option on Fridays. An onslaught of reactions to and interactions with the exhibition, Parlour Nights encompasses thinkers, artists, musicians and people who just like talking. With a little help from UTS and curated by SuperKaleidoscope, Parlour Nights will be set to the familiar beats of FBi DJs and lubricated by Grasshopper, one of our CBD's first small bars, now on pop-up duties. The drinks will be good, and even the coolest amongst you will be toe-tapping and shoulder-shrugging. So prepare yourself with a solid argument like 'Damien Hirst: art or commodity/art as commodity' and brush up on the mother of performance and video art, Joan Jonas. Oh, and if you love watching politely confused old people, hang out in the Xu Zhen room (or just click here). Parlour is free, but it's booking out. Reserve your place via Eventbrite.
For an Anzac Day experience all in one venue, head down to The Vic in Enmore as they host their inaugural Anzac Day car park party at their new outdoor venue, The Projects. There will be plenty of drinks. There will be plenty of meat, on spit roasts. There will be plenty of Anzac biscuits. There will be plenty of Two-Up. There will be plenty of music from Spurs for Jesus, Handsome Young Strangers, Jay Katz and DJs. Plus entry is free. Read the rest of our ten best things to do this Anzac Day.
Art plus bar. This almost universal gallery opening deal is a pretty tasty mix already. But the MCA adds extras to this time-honoured tradition with its now SMAC-winning series ARTBAR. They're evenings of strange and interesting things at play among the art, recurring monthly and curated by a rotating cast of local artists. This month the MCA is defying the dangers of the gymnasium and taking a poll of nine performance artists on the subject of the Workout. All nine artists will bring their creative exercise to the gallery floor. So get ready for an evening of activity for the brain, the body and the drinking arm. Image courtesy and © the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Photograph: Catherine McElhone.
Oh, 2003. It was the year when the American government served up 'Freedom Fries', when Apple launched a little music webstore called 'iTunes' and when a bunch of nerds spent 10 days building a website by the name of 'MySpace'. It also marked the arrival of a Sydney band now known as Dappled Cities — art rockers beloved for belting out lo-fi indie tunes with an off-pop bent. Their stage show garnered acclaim from critics and screams from fans, quickly leading to slots at SXSW and tours across the US and UK. They continued to cultivate their live theatrics, supporting the likes of Death Cab for Cutie and blowing minds with orchestrated baroque remixes. Now, after a decade on the road, the hardworking lads are ready to celebrate their aluminium anniversary by taking their tunes back to the sweaty underground club scene where it all began. The band will perform at the Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday, April 24, with fans able to request songs via the band's Facebook page prior to the show. Rumour has it that the boys will also be testing new songs from their unnamed fifth studio album, out later this year. Hallelujah. https://youtube.com/watch?v=dCnnWlFfYn0
Secret Squirrel Productions are back with their latest Underground Cinema screening. It's a day designed to get you as excited by the movies as you were seeing Jurassic Park — that's right, childhood blockbuster excitement is still attainable — so they have designed a type of scavenger hunt meets mystery screening. Last time, Bondi was taken over by a themed mob of cinema-goers who were treated to a skating show, a walk to the Pavilion and Catherine Hardwicke's Lords of Dogtown replete with in-character organisers steering them through the day. So what are our clues this time? Right, well the theme is snow, the dress code is all white with trousers and sensible shoes, the theme is a three-way slashie: forgeign/arthouse/horror and it is on in just under two weeks. Not a whole lot to go on, but sign up and you should get a few extra hints. Oh, and start writing your ideas down — you want to be one of the correct guessers on the next video of past events.
Stills Gallery can do no wrong, in my eyes. Their roster of artists is impeccable, and their exhibitions are always wonderfully thoughtful and beautifully curated. This new show is no exception. Featuring the work of Tim Hetherington and Doug Rickard, the exhibition is a collaborative effort between Stills Gallery and Yossi Milo Gallery, New York, and is part of the Head On Photo Festival. A New American Picture presents a series of American street scenes lifted from Google Street View. Over the course of four years, Rickard trawled the website, searching for downtrodden, economically devastated areas of the US. Once a suitable vista was found, Rickard would photograph the computer screen. The result are faded, grainy pictures that look like quite cinematic. Given that they're screenshots, the images lack any great definition and many feature people and children with their faces blurred out, giving them a cool, surrealist vibe. They're terrifically interesting photographs, particularly when you consider the idea of a Rickard as a documentary photographer working remotely. My favourite works were those by Tim Hetherington. A photojournalist, he is perhaps best known for his work as co-director on the documentary film Restrepo (2010), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. Hetherington's works capture American soldiers slumbering peacefully, taken while he was stationed in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley during 2007-08. The photographs themselves are sweet and beautiful, but it feels strange to look at images of these men. They look so serene as they sleep in quite childlike positions, and then you remember that they are in a profession of supreme violence. It's an incredibly jarring contradiction. Hetherington is able to shift perspectives on war and human suffering, which is no mean feat. Sadly, he was killed on April 20, 2011, by shrapnel while covering the frontlines of the conflict in Libya. Both Rickard and Hetherington are virtuosos of the genre and both have contributed greatly to contemporary film and photographic practices. Their images, though dramatically different, work well together. If you're a photography buff (and these days, really, who isn't?) then this is the show for you. Image: Tim Hetherington, Kim, Korengal Valley, Kunar Province, Afghanistan © Tim Hetherington, courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York.
It would be easy to breeze through this collection, which takes in collages, installations, short films and sculpture and simply be stunned into submission by her Wangechi Mutu's maximalist aesthetic and singular style. Look closer though and there's a strong vein of political commentary in Mutu's work and a sense of lingering disquiet beneath the shiny veneers. Born in Kenya, and based in the thriving contemporary art scene of Brooklyn, Mutu has compiled a completely distinctive body of work which focuses on the themes of exoticism, representations of the female body and the bloody legacy of colonialism and slavery in Africa. The stunning large-scale Perhaps The Moon Will Save Us is a good representation of her modus operandi, being a fantastical creation which closer inspection reveals is made of mundane materials. What initially looks like scattered stars are mere holes smashed in the wall, while a sagging moon hangs over mountains made from packing tape and a makeshift fantasia of fake fur, thrift shop jewellery and ripped felt blankets. One of Mutu's many works to draw on African influences is Black Thrones where handsomely carved chairs sit atop empty thrones lavishly decorated with feathers, hair and horns. It's a piece grounded both in realism and fantasy. The striking visuals have a certain fairy tale quality, but also act as a reference to the hush harbours, where African slaves would gather out of sight of their imperial overseers to congregate, practice religion and sing. The piece also touches the idea of loss in its invocation of absent royalty, a theme which runs through much of Mutu's work. Enclosed in a shipping container where light pierces holes in the wall, Exhuming Gluttony: Another Requiem is another visually striking, but somewhat queasy, installation where a collection of animal pelts hangs on the wall like a hunting trophy, looking out over a banquet table and a series of suspended red wine bottles which drip slowly, like blood from a wound. There is a sense the scene has been abandoned, while the tufts of hair on the floor add a gruesome touch. Mutu is perhaps best known for her mixed media collages, and this side of her work is well represented with a number of works showcased. Feathers, plastic jewellery and explosions of glitter jostle for position with pictures of snakes, and images cut from motorbike magazines. Another highlight is Suspended Playtime, which features shiny black garbage bags rolled up into hanging baubles, in a work both sinister and playful. The hour-long looped film Amazing Grace, which features the famous spiritual sung in Mutu's native Kikuyu, has a bewitching, dreamlike quality, though many of the other short films feel anonymous among such distinctive work. Overall, though, it's a vital exhibition, from an artist literally capable of fashioning treasures out of trash and creating sobering political rhetoric out of the most abstract of mixed media collages. Wangechi Mutu, Perhaps the Moon Will Save Us (detail).
English producer/singer/songwriter James Blake will be bringing his fantastical electronics and boldly introspective melodies down under for two special Australian shows. The announcement follows the release of Blake's new single 'Retrograde', a piano-backed slice of rhythmic electronica further emphasising the BRIT-nominated 24-year-old's love of soaring vocals and R&B samples. It's the first track off his upcoming album Overgrown, due out on April 5, a wildly anticipated 11-track effort featuring collaborations with the legendary RZA and Brian Eno. These shows will let fans lift the veil on the magic in an intimate live setting. Tickets go on sale March 11 at 9am via Ticketek. https://youtube.com/watch?v=6p6PcFFUm5I
Director Sam Raimi is no stranger to reboots. His 1981 horror flick The Evil Dead just received the reboot treatment this year, and last year's reboot of the Spiderman franchise (The Amazing Spiderman) marked a mere decade since Raimi's own version of story came out. It's no surprise, then, that Raimi was the one tapped to direct Oz the Great and Powerful — a prequel to 1939's beloved Wizard of Oz. Nor is it a shock that he's now supposedly attached to direct a remake of 1982's Poltergeist. Basically if you want something done right, again, then Sam's your man. And he'd need to be, since tackling The Wizard of Oz — a film often ranked in the 10 best of all time — has traditionally been a fool's errand fraught with difficulties. Just consider 1978's The Wiz, an African American version starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow (...if he only had a nose...). Then came Disney's terrifying attempt at a sequel, Return to Oz, in 1985. The opening scenes alone, depicting a frenzied Dorothy, strapped to a gurney and receiving electroshock therapy in a crumbling mental asylum, somehow failed to charm the hearts and minds of families in quite the same way as its predecessor — a task not helped by later scenes featuring masked murderous gangs with wheels for hands or a queen who froze people and wore their heads. You know, a children's movie. Finally in 2003, the Tony- and Grammy-winning musical Wicked opened on Broadway and has since become the 12th longest-running show in its history. Of all the reinterpretations, it's Wicked that fits most comfortably with the original, and so its story (the explanation of why the wicked witch became wicked) was the logical choice for Raimi's prequel, along with the 'how and why' of the Wizard becoming their great but mysterious leader. That man, Oscar Diggs (or 'Oz'), is played by James Franco, and his story begins as a lying, cheating carnival con man in Kansas. In a delightful homage to the 1939 version, Raimi also begins his film in black and white, and just like the original, that device makes Oscar's subsequent arrival into the fantastically colourful world of Oz all the more spectacular. Once there, he meets three beguiling but feuding witches named Theodora (Mila Kunis), Glinda (Michelle Williams), and Evanora (Rachel Weisz). Each claims the other is the 'wicked one' and begs him to save the land and its people by killing their rival. Oz the Great and Powerful isn't a film whose enjoyment is predicated upon knowledge of the original; however, its frequent tips of the hat definitely add an extra layer of enjoyment to the experience. And just like the original, Oz's journey along the yellow brick road leads to several chance encounters with some wonderfully creative, tender and amusing companions, including a small china doll and a wisecracking flying monkey (voiced by Zach Braff). Being Disney, it's obviously very much a children's movie, but one whose respectful treatment of the original still offers adults a chance to enhance, rather than replace, one cherished Wizard of Oz story with another. https://youtube.com/watch?v=yyywumlnhdw
Thursday, March 14, will see Mama Kin test out the floors of The Basement as she brings her self-proclaimed "foot-stomping soul" and a new band member across the country to Sydney. This national tour is on the back of her sophomore release, Magician's Daughter, a roller-coaster ride traversing the riotous and the raw, where her vocals finely balance between resonating power and soul-searching vulnerability, taking you on a sonic journey of smouldering songs.
In 16th-century England, John Donne had the freshest flow around. The boy could wield a quill (see above). Plus, by the time he turned 17, he had obtained degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge. Yet, as Wikipedia sadly records, "despite his great education and poetic talents, Donne lived in poverty for several years." Half a millenium on, and it seems that the fate of brilliant literary creators has not radically changed. Take Melbourne-based curiosity journal Ampersand, for example. Despite blowing minds worldwide through issues 1-5 (even rating a small mention in Huffington Post's '11 Amazing Magazine You've Never Heard Of'), their sixth instalment almost didn't make it out alive. Dead broke just before print date, the publication had to solicit funds from readers to get Issue #6 off the ground. And, oh boy, did the readers deliver (or over deliver, we should say). As a result, we are pleased to announce that the latest Donne-inspired edition of Ampersand, 'One Little Room', will be hitting all good bookstores this morning. And you can grab your copy for a mere $15. Rejoice. Furthermore, the Ampersand team will be celebrating issue #6 with a launch party. Hosted by Redfern's 107 Projects, the night will feature live readings from contributors Darren Hanlon, Jesse Cox, Lucy Lehmann, Nick Coyle, Alice Gage and Charlie Garber, as well as free beverages from Batlow Cider.
For over 50 years the Dutch company Nederlands Dans Theater has nimbly stretched the limbs of contemporary dance, and yet its appearances in Sydney are few and far between. This week is a rare exception, with four works from the company's repertoire to be viewed at the Sydney Opera House. While no longer the coolest kid on the barre, Jiŕí Kylián still stands as a tremendous figure in the field of contemporary dance choreography. Originally trained in ballet, Kylián took the precision and physical discipline of the form and contorted it with expressions of wit and experimentation to create his own style, demonstrated here by his two pieces Sweet Dreams and Sarabande. Also on show are two newer works, SH-Boom and Shoot the Moon (it is staggering how many of NDT's titles begin with an S). Choreographed by NDT's current artistic director, Paul Lightfoot, and his long-term collaborator Sol Leon, these works carry on in the vein of humour found in Kylián's; however, they have morphed into their own dramas, featuring almost love scenes and half-formed rooms. https://youtube.com/watch?v=xq2EgAm6vTo
Ash Grunwald is back, ready to tour his unique sound to the ears of Australians nationwide. He won't be alone though, having teamed up with bass-straddler Scott Owen and drumming maverick Andy Strachan of The Living End fame. The unlikely trio have been jamming and have created a heavier sound than Grunwald fans may be used to, but it is well suited to his rustic vocals and if the first product of their activity in the studio is anything to go by, the live show promises to be electric. The dreadlocked talent and his band of misfits will be taking to the stage at the Metro Theatre on Friday, June 21. Who knows how long this collection of Australian musical talent will band together for, so why not let them surprise you while they can.
The Winery Fashion Markets are a bit like having several incredibly stylish friends who allow you to raid their wardrobes (which are enviably full of international and Australian designer labels) once a month behind a Surry Hills wine bar. This winter, the Winery are transforming the laneway behind their bar into that market place. On the third Saturday of every month, some of Sydney's hottest fashion identities — bloggers,stylists and fashion publicists — will be selling their own pre-loved clothes. Some of the names confirmed for the market include Talisa Sutton (Badlands),Sara Donaldson (Harper and Harley), Rebecca Rac and Zanita Morgan (Zanita Zanita). There'll also be a DJ and other activities going on in the laneway. And if you happen to get cold or hungry in between shopping, they've got you covered. You can pop inside and keep warm with mulled wine, veal and chorizo sausage rolls or, maybe, some crab toasties.
The radio play has become somewhat of a neglected art form since television moved into homes. Why listen to descriptions of the visual when you can turn on the television and have the picture painted for you? The answer is because they are truly excellent. Listeners get to enjoy their own visual interpretation of the piece as they allow us to use our imagination and construct worlds and characters unique to our minds. Thankfully there are artists like the award-winning Nick Coyle (Me Pregnant!, Rommy) still writing radio plays. For one night only on Friday, June 14, he is performing his most recent work Batfeet, the radio play "not good enough" for the ABC, with Anna Houston and Tom Campbell. If you want the opportunity to (mentally) practice your artistic license then this is definitely for you.
The Art Gallery of NSW brings a bit of historic disorder to in its Wednesday night Summer in Soho series, accompanying the Gallery’s foray into the world of Soho resident Francis Bacon. This Wednesday, the speakers get personal for Valentine's, as curatorial assistant Macushla Robinson talks about Bacon and love, Katie Noonan sings about love (balanced by Brian Campeau's anti-love songs) and Barbara Dawson talks about the near-archaeological feat of moving Bacon's famously-messy workshop piece-by-piece from the UK to Ireland. Photo of Francis Bacon in his Reece Mews studio. May 1970 by Michael Pergolani. Dublin City Galley, the Hugh Lane.
So change is, on the whole, a good thing. The Oxford Street Design Store was made from the start to be a low cost storefront for local designers to get their work out, while events played out out back. Their low-cost City of Sydney lease just got renewed and to take themselves long term they're taking on lodgers. Once a month local artists and designers will take turns popping up in the store front, while related workshops play on out back. First up, at the newly-renamed Oxford Street Design Collective, is T-shirt powerhouse Lonely Kids Club. Lonely Kids are a normally online-only operation run by Warwick Levy, who collaborates with local artists to get their art on your front. While he occupies the frontage with a bespoke new range of designs, workshops will be run out back introducing artists to the wonders of screen printing. The Oxford Street Design Collective is open from midday Wednesday to Sunday. The $150 workshop, Screen Printing Digital Designs, will run Sundays 24th February and 3rd of March. For more info and to sign up, email the tutor, Badger Lane's Laura Walsh.
'Whip' Whittaker (Denzel Washington) wakes up in a hotel room, disentangles himself from last night's paramour, Katerina (Nadine Velazquez), surveys the wreckage of liquor bottles, does a line of cocaine, argues with his ex-wife, then heads to his day job. As a commercial pilot. While his co-pilot, the straitlaced Ken Evans (Brian Geraghty) thinks something is amiss with Whip, it is smooth sailing as Whip pulls off an audacious move to get the plane through some bad weather then rewards himself with a mid-flight vodka and orange juice. Then things start to go very, very wrong. In one of the most gripping set pieces seen on the big screen in years, the plane finds itself in trouble and not responding to any of the usual fixes. It is soon plummeting towards earth and the passengers and crew resort to panic and prayer. Whip, however, remains cool and in a brilliant piece of quick thinking, inverts the plane to take much of the force out of the landing. The manoeuvre mitigates what could have been complete calamity and when the wreckage is surveyed, only six people have lost their lives. After such a bold start, the film moves into the more familiar territory of addiction drama, but there is far too much complexity and moral nuance here for the film to be anything less than intriguing. It is revealed the plane wasn't properly maintained and was an accident waiting to happen. Whip's audacious actions were not performed in spite of his state of inebriation but actually because of it. Another pilot, one free of drugs and alcohol, could not have done what he did and saved as many lives as he did. He meets heroin addict Nicole (Kelly Reilly) in hospital, and the pair are soon shacked up at a secluded cottage, hiding from the world. But when the legal ramifications of the crash ramp up after Whip has a testy meeting with Hugh (an excellent Don Cheadle), a driven criminal lawyer who is confident he can have Whip's toxicology report thrown out as evidence, he falls back off the wagon, skulling vodka with a vengeance and hatching plans to escape to Jamaica in a small plane. Whip's actions become increasingly pathetic as his supporters try to curb his powerful self-destructive streak and keep him from having a public meltdown before the hearing that will hopefully clear his name for good. Still, he insists he drinks because he wants to. He's had years of practice at getting away with it and finds himself on the brink of freedom. If Flight loses its nerve somewhat in the closing minutes, it only serves to cast the truthful and arresting drama that has come before in an even brighter light. Featuring one of the best performances in Washington's career, it's a tough and taut film which asks questions that linger long after its closing credits.
Earth Hour is a symbolic action. Although there is carbon saved by turning things off, the point is the unmissable demonstration that a huge chunk of the world's population caring about the same thing at the same time. If we can manage this for Earth Hour, why not for grander environmental things? The Hour started in Sydney in 2007, and has become an international event in the years since. There are Earth Hour events in Kenya, India and Ireland these days, but you don't need to travel so far afield to find a way to join in this time around. At its simplest, all you need to do is stay home and turn off the lights. But if you'd like to have a more social darkened moment, you can head to a candlelit restaurant or one of a raft of other lights-off events. If you're in Newtown for Sydney's hour this year, the Fringe Festival is also putting on some entertainment up and down King Street while the lights are gone. Details and a map are here. Image of Earth Hour Switch Off 2010 by Sewell / WWF.
During a Q&A interview last year, Billy Bragg quipped, "You can experience a download but you can't download an experience." In other words, YouTube parties can hardly qualify as a substitute for packing into a crowded bar to watch a live band. This belief lies at the heart of SLAM Day. On 23 February 2010, when changes to Victorian Liquor Licensing Laws threatened the state's music scene, the people of Melbourne hit the streets in protest. Since then, SLAM (the Save Live Australia's Music Collective) has worked arduously to keep live music high on the political agenda. The first National SLAM Day was held on 23 February 2011. All over the country, music lovers organised gigs in small venues, creating a national celebration of independent live music. This year, the tradition continues, with literally thousands of musicians scheduled to perform this weekend. Whether you want to cool off with a cocktail and some original jazz or sink some beers and sing along to your mate's rock band, you're certain to find something on the SLAM program to suit your taste. https://youtube.com/watch?v=o0XGZqyZ-3c
Usher in hump day with the inner west's newest mid-week excuse for a party: Snapback. Every Wednesday, Sydney's toughest female DJs and MCs will converge on the Newtown Hotel to deliver up a weekly dose of beats, hip-hop and dance. Twin sister DJ act Twincest will kick off the launch party with their GD & T.O.P.-influenced jungle beats. You may have stumbled across them at any number of Sydney venues in recent weeks, from The Standard to the MCA's ARTBAR. Ozhiphop.com's Best Female MC (2012), Sky'high, is billed for the second set, with her no-nonsense, high-energy stories of overcoming a violent childhood on Sydney streets. Finally, World Bar/Girlthing regular DJ Astrix Little will keep the late-night revellers on their feet. Entry is free and Dcider ciders will be available for just $5.
Those familiar with Visual Arts Process Diaries and bodies of work (in the arty sense) will already be clued up on ARTEXPRESS (and hopefully appearing in it). For everyone else, it’s the cream of the crop in terms of Higher School Certificate Visual Art. Only 42 artworks (out of 9500 students) across all media are picked for the exhibition from last year's HSC. Yep, that's a lot of sorting. Exhibiting the works now means that the students have had time to party at schoolies and get to start their year checking out their artworks on the walls of an art gallery. Not a bad start. It’s been happening every year for the last 30 years, and it's one of those exhibitions that can make you feel, well, just a little bit lazy. Running alongside this is also Express Yourself 2013, held at the Manly Art Gallery & Museum (8 February to 10 March), which is showcasing some of the northern beaches' students artwork. (It's also a part of Art Month.) Image: Birds of a Feather by Lilli Stromland, SCEGGS Darlinghurst.
What's in a name? The work of theatre company subtlenuance is full of subtle nuances, but it's their bold strokes that have earned them high standing in the Sydney indie scene. Not only do they produce solely new works, they've stretched the medium through the wine-tasting/theatre hit Blind Tasting, the innovatively developed Political Hearts of Children and now Rocket Man, a smorgasbord of self-referentiality Joss Whedon would be in awe of. This title, too, is one not to accept on surface value. Neil (Daniel Hunter) is an astronaut — or so he's told the woman he hooked up with last night, Veronica (Sylvia Keays). Rockets soar. They also explode. When the new lovers wake up in the morning, he's keen to prolong their playful encounter, and she is too — though even more than that, she wants to get to her morning appointment, an important audition with the Sydney Theatre Company. With increasing persistence, he starts ragging on her for her choice of career. It's an odd move to make on a woman you like, but as becomes clear, Neil has bigger issues than just the minimalistic vs literal staging debate. Dispersing the tension between Neil and Veronica is her housemate, Claudia (Alyssan Russell), not shy of barging into a room, and Claudia's boyfriend, Justin (Stephen Wilkinson), an easygoing guy sheltering one piece of vital information. The way playwright and director Paul Gilchrist manages the tension and spark between the four characters is masterful and fun to watch. No one will love Rocket Man more than the theatre crowd. Some of the best jokes rely on industry knowledge, as do some of the heaviest questions. (At one point, character Veronica actually references another subtlenuance production that actor Sylvia is in. Record!) If Gilchrist's goal, however, is to hold the moral fundamentals of theatre up to the light, he doesn't quite succeed, because it's impossible to side with the volatile Neil. There's a solid wall of ad hominem only the fittest logician can cross. Rocket Man is actually at its most successful as a delicate character dramedy, which is what separates it from last year's serving of sizzling theatre talk, I Want to Sleep with Tom Stoppard. Its characters are whole, affectionately shaded and genuine in a way that outshines the irony. Performances are sensational. The whole thing is, contrary to Neil's binary critique of indie theatre, neither "underdeveloped nor overwritten". (Though I'm only begrudgingly accepting that the central mystery to my eyes — how does Neil know so much about an art form he detests — wasn't answered. I accept it because I believe, from the context, that Gilchrist does know.) One final kudos must go to designer Rachel Scane; subtlenuance have gone for a very literal staging in creating Veronica's messy bedroom. Styling something to look so unstyled is a triumph.
If you've ever held a snow globe in both hands, shaken hard, and wished yourself into the midst of the tiny snowflakes that float back down, you're in for a treat this season at Thredbo. Smirnoff is celebrating two new creations, Smirnoff Honey and Smirnoff Coconut, with one final massive dance party beneath the shelter of an enormous snow dome. Featuring the likes of WHAT SO NOT (DJ set), Sampology (AV show), Sufur (Rufus DJs), SOSUEME DJs and Purple Sneaker DJs, Smirnoff will be turning up the heat on one more sub-zero night on Saturday, 31 August with live snow graffiti, light projections, ice sculptures, glow-in-the-dark bubbles and a host of other late-night surprises. And the best part of all? Entry is as free as you'll be feeling on the slopes the next day skiing the 70cm of fresh snow that has fallen in the past 7 days. So kick off your snow boots, grab a honey and coconut cocktail, and transport yourself into the dome. Drink responsibly. This event is for individuals 18 years and over in age only. https://youtube.com/watch?v=kNdnGlF6YEY
Hola, amigos! It's that time again: The Hola Mexico Film Festival hits Sydney next month at the Chauvel Cinema. But this year's festival comes with a twist. Included in its program will be the Hola Sol Festival Cantina, a pop-up bar that will transport you to the heart and soul of Central America. Who doesn't love an excuse to don a novelty moustache and/or sombrero, or have a reason to drink tequila? Sydney's newest drink spot is sure to have people from all over releasing their inner Mexican. And with this year's festival program bigger and better than ever, Sydneysiders are sure to work up a thirst. In one explosive week, the bar will feature live music from the likes of Gang of Brothers, Baerfrens and Spanish duo Kallidad, art displays, free workshops and festival talks. Have your face intricately painted (think Day of the Dead style) on opening and closing night, check out the retro poster exhibition on the 'Golden Age of Mexican Cinema' or join in a Mexican-themed craft workshop — a chance to make your own floral headpiece or hand-painted cactus. Whether you're there to see a film or just feel like a sneaky Sol and lime before you hit the town, Sol Cantina will be a fusion of filmic passion, Mexican culture and all-round good times. Sol Festival Cantina kicks off on Wednesday, 27 November, and will be open everyday for the film festival week, from 6pm to 11pm weekdays and from 2pm to 11pm over the weekend. And with anticipation for the pop-up quickly rising, there is already talk of taking the Festival Cantina to other cities, nationwide.
Ah, the rock star lifestyle. Who hasn't daydreamed of snorting blow off the nude torso of a nubile groupie, smashing an electric guitar over a close friend's head, and crowdsurfing away into the sunset? If you dig these fantasies but perhaps aren't emotionally insecure enough to live them out literally, why not taste some of the music world's glamour at the Rolling Stone Pop Up Bar? Coming to Darlinghurst for a generous three-week period, the Rolling Stone Live Lodge will create an experience of the legendary magazine in bar form. The good times will flow as the space buzzes with a carefully curated lineup of genuine talent, from the established to the up-and-coming. Open seven nights a week and offering you the chance to hear hot acts before anyone else gets to, it could just be the hottest ticket in town. The VIP Readers' Opening Night features Boy & Bear and the Preatures, while Artists to Watch highlights rising outfits like Pluto Jonze, Glass Towers, Thelma Plum and Melody Pool (how's that for a set of names?). Entry is free, with some events requiring online registration. Here's the full lineup: Wed Aug 21: Official opening night for VIP readers Thurs Aug 22: Franz Ferdinand Pre-Release Listening Party Fri Aug 23: Guest DJs Sat Aug 24: Guest DJs Sun Aug 25: Music Trivia Presented By Sonos Mon Aug 26: Art Battles Grand Final Tues Aug 27: Artists To Watch – Glass Towers, Melody Pool Wed Aug 28: Live Band, The Delta Riggs Thurs Aug 29: Paul Dempsey’s Shotgun Karaoke Fri Aug 30: Guest DJs Sat Aug 31: Guest DJs Sun Sept 1: Music Trivia Presented By Sonos Mon Sept 2: Artists To Watch – Pluto Jonze, Thelma Plum Tues Sept 3: ‘Spring Breakers’ Screening and Live Q&A with director Harmony Korinne Wed Sept 4: Tonight Alive, acoustic album launch – 2 shows (6pm and 8pm) Thurs Sept 5: Hip-Hop Superstars, Pez, Seth Sentry and Dialectrix Fri Sept 6: Grouplove Pre-Release Listening Party, Guest DJs Sat Sept 7: Guest DJS Sun Sept 8: Music Trivia Presented By Sonos Mon Sept 9: ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ Screening Tues Sept 10: Closing Night Artist TBA
Art plus bar. This almost universal gallery opening deal is a pretty tasty mix already. But the MCA adds extras to this time-honoured tradition with its now SMAC-winning series ARTBAR. They’re evenings of strange and interesting things at play among the art, recurring monthly and curated by a rotating cast of local artists. This month, Maria Fernanda Cardoso asks everyone to embrace her theme of 'Sex Everywhere', art style. You'll have a chance to undress a flower, respond to mating calls, 3D print reproductive systems and view every permutation of recorded animal sex.
I've been dreaming of this moment for years, but I don't know that I ever truly believed it would happen. But one of the most-beloved hip hop ensembles of all time are reuniting to return to Australia six years after their breakup. With four MCs and two DJs (including the wonderful, world-famous Cut Chemist), the ensemble is incredibly versatile, and their chemistry and the speed of their overlapping wordplay gives the impression of one single, unified organism rather than a series of individuals. Combining incredible lyricism with huge party tunes (like 'What's Golden', 'Quality Control' and 'Concrete Schoolyard'), there ain't no party like a J5 party. https://youtube.com/watch?v=XsZKrctSDaw
Deep in the woods of an Argentinian forest, Pedro (Viggo Mortensen) leads a simple life. He lives on his own in a cabin, tends to his bees with local girl Rosa (Sofia Gala) and is involved in less legitimate activities with childhood friend Adrian (Daniel Fanego) and the latter's slow-witted godson Ruben (Javier Godino). But when he begins coughing up blood, he knows he is quickly succumbing to cancer and he decides to make a rare trek into the city to see his brother. Meanwhile, in the city, his identical twin brother Agustin, a paediatrician, leads a comfortable but unhappy life and feels only numbness when his wife tells him they can adopt a baby. When the scruffy, chain-smoking Pedro visits unexpectedly and offers him a cash reward for treatment, Agustin seizes a chance to take his sibling's life and kills him, leaving his body to fake his death, enabling him to return to the cabin in Pedro's place. Agustin soon realises his brother's life was no idyllic backwater breeze, however, as he has to feign his sibling's ailments while piecing together his estranged brother's life and figuring out how to extract himself from the kidnapping scheme Pedro got himself involved with. The bees which make their way into his unfamiliar beekeeping suit turn out to be the least of his problems as he inherits a vendetta with the owners of a local general store, further isolating himself from the remote community. He also has to navigate an uneasy relationship the gun-toting, bible-quoting Adrian and convince Rosa that he hasn't been acting strange since he returned from the city. Everybody Has a Plan is a ponderously paced though richly atmospheric affair, its picturesque setting all broody swamps, hazy sunsets and fields speckled with ghostly trees. But a strong sense of place isn't matched by the story, which is thin and difficult to ever really care about. Similarly, the romance with Rosa feels underdone. The main reason to see this, a debut picture from Argentinian Ana Piterbarg, is Mortensen, who turns in not one but two intense and convincing performances, in Spanish no less. Mortensen remains a great screen presence, but he needs a better avenue for his considerable talents. https://youtube.com/watch?v=cJ8W01suq-c
Ah, an endless summer. Forever soaking up the sun, ruling from atop your sandcastle and lounging by the refreshing waves of the ocean, fruit-inspired cocktail in hand. What a wonderful dream — and now reality. Amidst a cacophony of festival cancellations this year, the news of a brand new festival emerging in the Shire should be music to everyones ears and have you ready to farewell 2013 with fond memories. Endless Summer touts itself as a "three-day celebration of art, culture, and most importantly, community" — and will be celebrating in style. Australian music heavyweights Bluejuice lead a line-up that includes the smooth tones of Asta, the dance-inducing duo of Touch Sensitive, rock makers Amy Meredith and a host of DJs and other acts to make sure the festival is turned up to fun from midday each day, right through until 9pm. Throw in some live art displays and Endless Summer is sure to showcase the great side of the Shire. Plus, it's free, so what is stopping you really.
Philadelphia indie-rockers The War on Drugs have revealed they will play a Sydney sideshow alongside their Australian debut performances at Falls Festival and Southbound. Devoted fans will no doubt be crossing their fingers that some material from their much-awaited third album will be unveiled during the tour. The War on Drugs emerged onto the scene back in 2005 as a musical collaboration between frontman and creative honcho Adam Granduciel and Kurt Vile, who has since left to pursue a solo career with his backing band The Violators. If you've never heard of them but you like your rock and roll a little bit classic (think a bit of Petty, a splash of Springsteen and, vocally, a whole lot of Dylan), then you may want to grab tickets to a show.
Electro highflier Gold Panda (aka Derwin Powers) first popped onto the radar in 2009, and has constantly thrown EPs and 7"s at us since. He's dropped two critically praised albums, 2010's Lucky Shiner and 2013's Half of Where You Live. This latest album holds truth in its name. Half of Where You Live is an electronic echo of the producer’s experiences: having lived in Japan and travelled extensively, he's now based in Berlin. With tracks such as 'An English House', 'Enoshima' and 'My Father in Hong Kong 1961', our ears get an ambiguous, aural journey through Powers' experiences and geography.
Whole seasons of the newly-resurrected Doctor Who have focused on the dangers of getting close to its semi-titular hero, the Doctor. Fellow time travellers have been left stranded, blithe or in trauma after the show's various writers were done with them. After that sort of warning, you may not want to get too close to the show's manic star. The ABC are attempting to solve this problem. At their Sydney headquarters they're hosting the Doctor Who Celebrating 50 Years of Adventures in Space and Time exhibition. It features the Doctor's props and costumes, but for your safety, crushingly, leaves out the man himself. In the show itself, visiting this sort of exhibition might be exactly the way that an adventure through time and space would start. And while the ABC doesn't promise in any way that their mannequins will come to life and attack you, it's still probably no bad thing to scope out the exits routes on your way in. The exhibition is open Monday to Friday, 9-5, except for election week September 2-8. It will be open weekends from 10-5 only the weekends of August 17-18, August 31- September 1, October 5-6, November 2-3 and 23-24 and the Australia Day weekend, January 25-27. Image of the Earl's Court police box (which may, or may not, contain a TARDIS) by Phillip Perry.
This article is sponsored by our partner The City of Sydney. With Sydney summer approaching, it's time to ponder the best ways to reveal a bit more skin. Enter Sydney is Fashion. Uniting Sydney's sartorial villages and fashion events throughout August and September, the festival presents the perfect way to ogle new garb, rediscover the experience of bricks-and-mortar retail and have bundles of aesthetically pleasing fun. Starting things off is the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival. This four-day fashion celebration, running from August 21-24, offers you front-row seats to the trends of spring/summer 2013/14 with fashion shows and sales throughout the city and online. General Pants Co. will kick off proceedings with an exclusive preview of their latest buys (think RVCA and new label B.BAM) as well as model Stef 'Bambi' Northwood-Blyth's debut collection has us on tenterhooks with promises of eclectic street fashions. Seems her fiancee Dan Single, of former Ksubi fame, has rubbed off on her — his latest DAAN collection will also feature in the show. Once the models have cleared out, ticket holders will be the first in Australia to shop the new looks, and will also receive a 10 percent discount in-store and online. Pick up tickets at select stores, and check out the website for details. Grab some shopping inspiration from the two world-class fashion shows that will run nightly throughout the festival. A highlights show from this year's fashion week, The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia Trends event features local talents like Emma Mulholland, Romance Was Born and the effortlessly athletic HAN. For your glamour hit, head to the InStyle Red Carpet Runway, where gowns from Alex Perry, Collette Dinnigan and other high-end favourites will dominate the runway. Other events to look out for include shows from Sportscraft and Market HQ, and a styling session with Kash O'Hara, one half of the sibling-run OHARA label. Styling at the Tea Salon will dish up dressing for your shape tips with a side of champagne and scones, before your half-hour professional stylist consultation and then round the day out with a stylist-assisted 30-minute 'power shop'. That last bit sounds like a Moet et Chandon fuelled mini-Boxing Day brawl, but it is sure to be one of this festival's more hotly contested tickets. Image: Bec & Bridge, photography by Lucas Dawson.
If a bit of physical theatre gets your toes tapping, sashay along to the latest offering from award-winning dance theatre makers Force Majeure at the Seymour Centre. In a double bill masterminded by director Byron Perry, first up is Gogglebox, a nostalgic piece exploring our relationship with the soon-to-be-superseded television. Next is Double Think, embracing opposition in all its manifestations. Performers interact with light and set, staging is crafty and there's bound to be some very playful choreography. You've never seen dance theatre before? This one-hour show may be the perfect introduction to how expressively our bodies can do the talking for us. Already a fan? Squeeze into the free post-show Q&A between dancer/choreographer Martin del Amo and Byron Perry on Saturday, 24 August. And for the uninitiated, get a little glimpse of what you're in for with this clip of 2011's Melbourne Festival performance of Double Think. https://youtube.com/watch?v=I8KjhetKgMM
We love street artworks, because they enliven the built environment for jaded city dwellers. And we love cocktails, because they too enliven the built environment for jaded city dwellers. The guided tour East Sydney: Contextualising Art in the Streets cleverly marries the two, as artist, curator and publisher Joseph Allen Shea of Izrock Mixed Business helps you bespoke-drink your way through the small bars of Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, and Chinatown, discovering local commissioned street artworks and mingling with the creative minds who executed them. Works to be viewed include Reko Rennie’s Always Was, Always Will Be in Taylor Square, Jason Wing’s In Between Two Worlds in Chinatown, and more. 4-7pm, March 16. Places are limited (book) and drinks are $10 each. East Sydney Street Art Tours are part of Art Month 2013. Check out our guide to the festival's ten best events here.
If you’re one of those creative types (or want to be) and love the handmade aesthetic, Object's Make.Play workshops in March and April that might make your ears prick up. Object is already focused on all things design-y, so it makes sense to make some new goods within their walls. Stefanie Ingram (who has appeared in Frankie magazine) will teach you how to create your own terranium (like those ones on etsy), artist/graphic designer/food styler Bianca Spiegel will show you the art of folding, cutting, stenciling, oragami and all things paper in her Paper Love workshop, or you could transform an ordinary plastic shopping bag into a 3D object with Reverse Garbage. There are also courses on bike care, macrame garden accessories, lampshade making, and more. So when someone compliments your new macreme plant holder you can respond with “oh that old thing, yeah, I made it. No big deal.” And wait for the compliments to pour in.
The first day of March marks the first day of autumn, but when you’re at El Loco it’s never not summer. So if you are a fan of spicy tortilla, colourful flags, icy margaritas, floral oilcloth or general happiness, chase the ephemeral form of Sydney’s favourite Mexican cantina to its new home in the Slip Inn courtyard. If you made to the pop up at Sydney’s Opera House you’ll know the deal: Kitschy décor, a killer snack menu featuring Dan Hong’s infamous tacos and cheese-drowned hot dogs, and a “secret taco” that always tends to increase in appeal as the bucket of Coronas diminishes. Everything is priced around the $6 - $10 mark, including a few additional items made exclusively for the CBD’s brightest pop up. Between Wednesday and Saturday there will be live entertainment kicking on until last Coronas are called, which on weekends will be well after midnight. El Loco at Slip Inn will be open Monday to Thursday, from midday til midnight and Friday & Saturday, from midday til late.
It's been four years since Los Angeles-based philosophy student Romana Gonzalez (a.k.a. Nite Jewel), then an undergraduate, started experimenting with an eight-track cassette recorder. A mellow, richly textured, lo-fi electronica emerged, over which Gonzalez's lyrics floated in obscurity. With her second LP, One Second of Love (her first release on Secretly Canadian) Gonzalez has developed a cleaner, sleeker, more minimalist pop sound. Where before we were watching shadows in the mirror, we're now peering through sun-kissed glass. However, on her first Australian tour, Gonzalez will be travelling with a four-piece band who will undoubtedly inject a healthy dose of rhythmic fervour into the live experience. They'll be performing originals at Goodgod on 31 January ahead of their appearance at Laneway, and fans of Kraftwerk won't want to miss Nite Jewel's interpretation of Computer World at the Famous Spiegeltent for this year's Sydney Festival. https://youtube.com/watch?v=3YMmX1f5sQI
One photograph of Bondi's iconic Icebergs Pool is all it takes to spark manic pangs of homesickness in the heart of the most seasoned Sydney expat living abroad. Its ethereal beauty in the dawn sun is forever the subject of the hugely popular Aquabumps email newsletter, inspiring 40,000 daily readers with its architectural grace and spritely regulars. In fact, there's little not to love about a spot where you can have a sauna by the sea immediately prior to a long lunch at the quintessential Icebergs Dining Room. In the first week of 2013, however, the pool's swimming lanes will be closed for the evening to allow the Australian men's water polo team to host an international all-star team in an exhibition match set to showcase this rugged sport to a new generation of fans. Visitors to Water Polo by the Sea will be treated to an Olympic-standard match backed by DJs on the pool deck from 5pm.
Aerial acrobatics, light projections, synchronised crowd 'fireworks', and the big ones — those world-famous Sydney Harbour fireworks. Be clever about it; pick a vantage point, (according to the Sydney NYE website there are 71), plan your food, drink and toilet options (usually no BYO alcohol), and be prepared for the crowds. The action starts at 6pm, and this year creative ambassador Kylie Minogue has chosen the pretty colours and things. Download a free smartphone app to be part of the mobile phone ‘fireworks’ on the night.
Neil Gaiman jumps genre easily, and casually knocks off any number of impossible things before breakfast. As a young journalist his rediscovery of comics lead to an award winning-run on Sandman that effectively redefined the medium to something with mainstream appeal. He’s a blogging pioneer, who helped bring Miyazaki to western screens well before Spirited Away and has staked out a career as a novelist with books like the soon-to-be-adapted-by-HBO American Gods. Not to mention that he’s also Mr Amanda Palmer and writes some of the best Doctor Who scripts (spoilers) around. With a chocolate, mid-Atlantic fusion of midwestern and English vowels, his live readings tend to seduce the ear, even as they also tend to scare you senseless. This so-called Master of Modern horror is returning on one of his now semi-regular visits to Australia to promote his upcoming novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane at An Evening With Neil Gaiman, presented by the Sydney Writers' Festival. Although you can console yourself with a trove of his free work online, get in quick if you want a closer look at the flesh. His readings sell out in a blink. Tickets should go on sale at the City Recital Hall website from 9am, Wednesday December 19. Doors open at 7pm for an 8pm start.
Some striking new art tech and an emerging informal nightlife: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s art captured two twin changes of his times and pinned them together in glorious motion. His knack for kinetic postering is the subject of a retrospective exhibition, Toulouse-Lautrec, Paris and the Moulin Rouge, at the National Gallery of Australia down in Canberra that opened this week. As part of the pre-show, pre-Christmas shopping season the gallery is setting up shop in a pop up on Oxford Street with Parisian gifting in mind and a few exhibition tickets also on sale. As well as the opportunity for early-season gifting, the shop will be host to a little live performance in the vein of the Moulin Rouge Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Car parks are usually thought to be places to simply park a car. Or a slightly different vehicle. But lately they’re being used for more arty happenings. First a Kings Cross car park was used in SafARI, and now The Vic’s abandoned car park is been transformed into a beer garden and multipurpose creative space called The Projects. Street art is a big part of these arty bits n’ pieces, most likely because they have a handy giant 20 x 8 metre wall to play with. Every fortnight it’s going to be graffiti-ed or street art-ed up by artists including Sofles, Roach, Pudl, Numskull. They’re also going to do bike swaps, designer markets (curated by the Lo-Fi Collective), an open air cinema (perfect for summer), workshops, live music, basketball and foodie treats (like rotisserie meats). You can even bring your kiddies (if you have any — you could always borrow some off a friend for the day), or dog. The team behind this? It’s the same crew that runs the Lo-Fi Collective and the Tate at the Toxteth Hotel. It’s going to be a place to hang.
For the summer season Opel Moonlight Cinema offers advance previews, and contemporary, cult and classic movie screenings on the darkened lawns of Centennial park. With onsite catering offering everything from pulled pork to nachos and steak sandwiches, the open air environment offers cinema goers a refreshing alternative to the cramped and stuffy theatres in town. Over the next few months a varied program of movies will be offered, with great films like Skyfall, Ted, Looper, The Hobbit, Taken 2 and The Master. You can even bring along (well behaved) dogs, provided they're on a short leash. So, if your Shitzu enjoys the comedy of Seth MacFarlane, or your Great Dane can’t get enough Daniel Craig, they're as welcome as you are. Entry is via Centennial Park's Woollahra Gates, on Oxford St.
XXXMas will see Sydney’s best and biggest beat masters take to the stage to thrown down and show off their grind-inducing grooves. Headlining the night is globally recognized producer Elizabeth Rose, fresh from collaborating with Sinden and releasing her debut EP, Crystallise. Her astral beats, shadowy samples and pop melodies have seen her experience a meteoric rise since she burst onto the scene last year, enjoying the praise of Triple J and FBI Radio. Elizabeth Rose will be joined by Park Life festival tour attendees Softwar, Olympic Ayres with their just-released single "The View", Fleetwood Mac and El Guincho-influenced indie-poppers Jubilants, house DJ Antoine Vice (AKA Moonchild) and Debonair.
