For many Australians, the Wendy's moniker refers to the local ice cream franchise and shopping centre staple born in the 70s. But in the USA, it's the name of a famed hamburger chain that's known for its square-shaped burgers, fries and shakes. And it's the latter's signature fast food goodies that you'll be able to get your mitts on — for free — at a one-day-only pop-up in The Rocks. Today, Thursday, May 13, the USA-born Wendy's is hitting Sydney for a special visit, taking over the site at 22 Playfair Street. From 10.30am, it'll be handing out complimentary serves of the brand's Dave's Single cheeseburger and the Classic Chocolate Wendy's Frosty — a creamy dessert that's somewhere between a thickshake and an ice cream. Of course, there'll be a limited amount of freebies available for each item, so you'll want to get in as early as possible to nab yourself one. [caption id="attachment_811853" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] PRNewsfoto/The Wendy's Company[/caption] The pop-up comes as Wendy's continues its expansion across the globe — so if the temporary visit proves popular, there's a chance that the brand could decide to set up shop permanently in Sydney. Plenty of other iconic US fast food brands have made the foray Down Under in the past few years — Carl's Jnr hit Australian shores in 2014, Taco Bell opened its first Aussie store in Queensland in 2017, Five Guys is set to hit our shores and actor Mark Wahlberg's burger joint Wahlburgers announced its Australian launch earlier this year. Wendy's was first born back in 1969 in Ohio and now boasts over 6800 restaurants around the world. Find the Wendy's pop-up at 22 Playfair Street, The Rocks, Sydney, from 10.30am on Thursday, May 13. Top image: Mike Mozart via Flickr.
Sydney's pub scene has been dealt some massive news this morning, with Merivale announcing that it has snapped up yet another beloved local pub. The hospitality empire will take over the Marrickville mainstay — and one of our personal favourites — The Vic On The Park later this year. The Justin Hemmes-led group has bought the venue for an unconfirmed amount from the Australian Pub Fund, who recently also sold Newtown's Marlborough Hotel to Matt Moran's Solotel group. Regulars and fans of the inner west pub can breathe easy — for now, at least — as Merivale's confirmed there are no plans for any major shake-up once it takes over on November 13 and that the venue will continue to trade as normal for the moment, albeit with a renewed food focus. If alarm bells are ringing, you're not the only one hearing them. The Vic's vibe is wildly different to that of the hospitality heavyweight's other venues, so it's anyone's guess what the future holds for the beloved boozer. With this latest move coming just months after the group's acquisition of The Collaroy Hotel and less than a year after buying the Tennyson Hotel for a whopping $37.5 million, Merivale's appetite for pubs shows little sign of waning. No doubt this is not the last pub to be acquired by a big hospitality group, but it seems to be a significant signpost in the growing homogenisation of Sydney's hospo scene. We'll wait with baited breath to see which venue is next.
Keen to ring in the New Year along the harbour foreshore but not with inevitable hordes of people? Easy — just take a short ferry ride to Cockatoo Island to completely surround yourself with water and cop some second-to-none views. This year, the island is throwing a party so you can celebrate without elbowing your way through the crowds. It's got a plethora of live music, gourmet eats, films, games and guided tours lined up. And your NYE 2019 Experience ticket covers them all. The epic music program includes live tunes by Kate Wadey, Darryl Beaton, Evie J Willie and DJ Kate Monroe, who'll be bringing the dance-worthy beats as the clock ticks over to 2020. Meanwhile, if you're keen to start your year on a competitive note, you can get stuck into a spot of giant chess, table tennis, basketball or handball. Or catch a film on the big screen or plunge into 19th-century history on a tour — be it a journey through crooked characters or an exploration of escape attempts. Keeping you well fuelled between adventures will be a selection of pop-up bars and food stalls. Whatever your beverage of choice — be it a cocktail, craft beer or glass of vino — you'll find it, alongside some top-notch food. Better yet, you'll be staying the night, so you don't have to worry about getting home. Whether you book into a luxe waterfront camping spot that's already set up for you or pitch your own tent, you'll be spoilt by extraordinary panoramas of Sydney's firework displays. To see the full range of accomodation options and to book yourself a spot, head here.
There are few things in this life as uniquely satisfying as lounging in a hotel room. The sheets are softer and straighter and somehow cleaner than you can ever achieve at home. That fluffy robe inscribed with the hotel's initials elicits an overwhelming sense of contentment as soon as you throw it on. The kettle always works. And if it doesn't? Call reception and someone will magically spirit one onto your door step. Whether it's on a work trip, a sneaky staycation, or a blowout weekend away with your bestie or beau, if you're in the market for the next hotel to put on your list, we have the stay for you — no matter your budget — with our Hotel Hitlist 2024. BUDGET: Holiday Inn Express Southbank If Melbourne is on your travel list in 2024, you can't beat the location of this Holiday Inn Express — or its budget. Located in the Southbank arts hub, where you can count the National Gallery of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art as next-door neighbours. Experience this hotel's smart rooms that include a pillow menu, complimentary grab-and-go express breakfast (as well as a breakfast buffet), and free wifi. Ink Hotel Melbourne Another spot along the Melbourne Southbank is the stylish Ink Hotel. Designed to suit all kinds of travellers, the chic hotel offers guest rooms from pocket-size (just there to sleep) through to spacious suites. You don't have to go far for a good cup of coffee (it's Melbourne, after all) but breakfast and brunch are available from 7.30am until 3pm daily, and the cafe is open from 7am until 11pm. There's also an on-site bar serving drinks and bar snacks every day until late — there's even a daily happy hour from 5–8pm. Holiday Inn Sunshine Coast If the Sunshine Coast is calling, this Holiday Inn Express and Suites is another can't-beat stay when you're travelling on a budget. Located in Maroochydore, it's an ideal spring-off point for exploring one of Queensland's most popular regions. Each morning, sit down to a complimentary breakfast buffet or choose a grab-and-go option. Whether you're here for work or play, the hotel offers all the essentials and some fun extras, like the pillow menu, guest-only rooftop pool and shopping hub at the ground-floor level. Waters Edge Port Macquarie The once-sleepy town of Port Macquarie is now a popular vacation location for hikers, kayakers and beach lovers (there are eighteen beaches in the area to choose from). The picturesque spot is now home to plenty of Gen X and millennials who left city life for more scenic shores. Explore the area for yourself while staying at Waters Edge Port Macquarie. Perched on the banks of the Hastings River and only a short stroll from beaches, retail hubs and all the sites. BOUTIQUE: Kimpton Margot Sydney If a city stay is on your trip list for 2024, head to Sydney's CBD and stay in one of the city's iconic Art Deco buildings, reinvented as a stylish boutique hotel: Kimpton Margot Sydney. This hideaway heritage hotel boasts a great location, a recently opened rooftop bar (the biggest in the city), and restaurants and bars helmed by legendary Australian chef Luke Mangan. It's pet-friendly, too. Hotel Indigo Potts Point If Sydney is calling, you could stay in the cosmopolitan inner east suburb of Potts Point at this just-opened retro hotel tucked behind the iconic Kings Cross Coca-Cola sign. Only officially open on January 29, Hotel Indigo Potts Point celebrates the area's famed cabaret scene with homages to the locale's entertainers and musicians. The lobby features artist portraits, lush velvet red curtains, digital NFT artwork projections, and a vintage vinyl collection you can play on the lobby's turntable. In your room, you will find similar artwork, retro phones and an in-room cocktail station to get you in the party mood. VOCO Brisbane If BrisVegas is your destination in 2024, get involved in the hustle and bustle of Queensland's sun-drenched capital city from your comfy stay at voco® Brisbane City Centre. It is located along the city's waterfront, close to many of the city's top sights, including King George Square, the Museum of Brisbane and the South Bank Art Precinct. Enjoy some sips at Kraft & Co. restaurant and bar, take a dip in the rooftop pool or borrow a bike (for free) and explore the city on two wheels. Hotel Indigo Melbourne If you're looking for a creative haunt in the heart of Melbourne's CBD, you can't get better than Hotel Indigo Melbourne on Flinders. You'll be ideally located in the culture hub of Flinders Lane from hole-in-the-wall bars, fresh street art, museums, galleries, and excellent eateries and cafes. Situated close to photographer Helmut Newton's studio (whose artistry inspired the hotel's kit-out), this hotel is a celebration of fashion photography. Explore its large collection of artworks by local artists or take your own Newton-esque selfie at the on-site photo booth. BLOWOUT: Next Hotel Melbourne Located in Melbourne's CBD east end district, Next Hotel Melbourne is a super chic city stay next to hospitality and high-fashion hot spots and footsteps away from the city's theatres. Relax in the hotel's guest-only Club — with an aperitivo hour every evening with local wines by the glass, local spirits and snacks to graze on — or dine at the on-site restaurant La Madonna. It encompasses the entire third floor with a cocktail bar and Italian-Asian-inspired restaurant run by chef Paul Turner. Southern Ocean Lodge This local favourite on Kangaroo Island was damaged during the Black Summer bushfire of 2019, leading to its closure. It has been lovingly restored and reopened in late 2023, making it a must for luxury lovers heading to Kangaroo Island in 2024. Its guest suites now point southeast so guests can enjoy uninterrupted views of the Southern Ocean. All suites have private decks, an EcoSmart fireplace and a sink-in bathtub. There's even an ultra-premium Ocean Pavilion, where guests can stay in a single four-bedroom owner's residence; or two separate two-bedroom suites, an on-site spa, and a wet-edge pool at The Great Room terrace. Intercontinental Sorrento Mornington Peninsula Forget heading to Sorrento, Italy, for a luxe summer; instead, head down to Victorian wine country and sip on some local sangiovese at the luxury seaside hotel Intercontinental Sorrento Mornington Peninsula. It's got a Mediterranean-inspired guest-only pool deck you won't want to miss, Aurora Spa & Bathhouse to relax in, and a suite of food and drink venues from the dapper speakeasy Barlow, the terrazzo-floored public bar and lofty, glass-ceilinged beer garden to the light-filled Atrium with all-day wining and dining. [caption id="attachment_936260" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Diah Lateri[/caption] W Sydney Sydneysiders had long awaited the opening of this luxury hotel in Darling Harbour. The hotel has 588 stylish rooms and a bevy of world-class amenities, including an openair infinity pool, a restaurant and dessert bar, two cocktail bars and a luxe spa. Footsteps away from Friday fireworks, the ICC, Imax cinema, and the waters of the iconic Sydney Harbour, W Sydney is definitely one hotel that should be on your list for 2024 — maybe even more so if you're based in Sydney and are keen on a budget blowout staycation.
Blend in with the fashionable northern beaches locals with cult favourites like Faithfull the Brand and Assembly Label from Deesse Boutique, which is positioned in a prime corner spot on Avalon's main strip. Deesse sells all the stylish brands the Australian coastal suburbs are known for, so it can be hard to stop at just a couple of pieces. As well as beachy linens, you'll find Levi's jeans, Status Anxiety bags and wallets, and Temple of the Sun jewellery — not to mention all the Valley sunnies you'll be craving, and maybe a new bikini or two.
Never believe someone who tells you that salted caramel is overrated. They probably just haven't tried the right one. And if any version of the sweet-but-salty treat is going to convert the salted caramel agnostic, it's Pepe Saya's — because Australia's famous cultured butter maker has branched out into desserts. Pepe Saya already does pancake packs, brown butter chocolate-chip cookie dough, scone packs and more, of course, but now it has added buttery salted caramel bon bons to its range. The added bonus with these: you can can pop them in your pocket or bag, then get snacking whenever the urge strikes. If you're wondering why Pepe Saya decided to move into caramels — and yes, the easy answer is 'why not? — it's calling its version an Australian homage to the caramel au beurre salé. It has company, too, with the mouth-watering squares made by hand by Adora Handmade Chocolates in Marrickville, and not only using Pepe Saya's cultured butter but also Olsson's sea salt. Even better: the bon bons come in two varieties. Stick with the OG buttery salted caramel version and you'll obviously taste all the requisite flavours (that'd be butter, salt and caramel), or opt for the chocolate buttery salted caramels for something even more decadent. That said, if your tastebuds are now well and truly tempted, you'll want to get in quickly. While the caramels have been added to Pepe Saya's lineup on an ongoing basis, they're being made in limited-edition batches — and only 250 boxes are available each week. You can nab them online from Pepe Saya's website and Olsson's website, with ten in a box. The original version costs $19.95, while the chocolate variety costs $24.95. Announcing the bon bons, Pepe Saya co-founder and buttermaker Pierre Issa said that "any butter or salt company worth their weight should have a salted caramel. Caramelising our butter brings out the true flavour of cultured butter, perfectly rounded with sea salt. It quite literally melts in your mouth with more and more flavour appearing as it dissolves." "I've always dreamt of being able to carry a little taste of Pepe Saya butter around in my pocket to share with people, and now I can, with a pocket full of these bon bons," Issa continued. The caramels also come in quite the eye-catching packaging, as designed by Aussie artist Michael Whooley. Inspired by the butteries that Issa and fellow co-founder Melissa Altman have been to overseas, it features a cat to pay tribute to felines who call butteries home around the globe. Pepe Saya's new range of caramels are available online from Pepe Saya's website and Olsson's website, with ten in a box. The original version costs $19.95, while the chocolate variety costs $24.95 Images: Rob Locke.
Every autumn, the Eta Aquarid meteor shower sets the sky ablaze. It might not be as famous as Halley's Comet, but the Eta Aquarids are actually a distant relation — the bits and pieces you see flying around were on Halley's path a really, really long time ago. And, rather than only being visible every 75 years (the next Halley's Comet sighting is in 2061), you can catch the Eta Aquarids annually. This year, the shower will be at its most spectacular early Tuesday, May 7 (very early) — here's how to catch a glimpse. WHEN TO SEE IT The shower will reach a peak in the early morning of Tuesday, May 7, but will still be able to be seen for a day or two on either side. The best time to catch an eyeful is just before dawn after the moon has set, so around 4am. At that time, you'll be in the running to see as many as 30 meteors every 60 minutes. Each will be moving at about 225,000 kilometres per hour, shining extraordinarily brightly and leaving a long wake. The shower's cause is, essentially, the Earth getting in the comet's way, causing stardust to fry up in the atmosphere. WHERE TO SEE IT Being in the southern hemisphere, we get some of the best views in the world. So, if you're living in the city, it could be time for a last minute trip to a clear-skied camping spot. The trick is to get as far away from light pollution as possible. For Sydneysiders who don't mind a long drive, this could mean a trip to the far south coast. We reckon Picnic Point campsite in Mimosa Rocks National Park might be a winner. Or, if that sounds too far away, Booderee National Park in Jervis Bay is pretty light-free. Alternatively, head west — after all, you'd be hard pressed to find better views than at The Dish, just outside of Parkes or at Australia's only Dark Sky Park at Warrumbungle National Park near Coonabarabran. Melburnians might consider a journey to Wilsons Promontory or along the Great Ocean Road, as far as Killarney Beach. For somewhere closer, there's Heathcote, which is just a 90-minute drive from the city, but is an excellent vantage point. For a real escape, head to Snake Valley in the central west, where there's hardly a light in sight. For a quick trip out of Brisbane, try Lake Moogerah, Lake Wivenhoe or Lake Somerset, which are all rather dark, considering their proximity to the city. If you have a bit more time, head two-and-a-half hours' west to Leyburn, which has some of the busiest skies in Queensland, or eight hours' west to the tiny town of Charleville in the outback. HOW TO SEE IT The shower's name comes from the star from which they appear to come Eta Aquarii, which is part of the Aquarius constellation. So, that's what you'll be looking for in the sky. To locate Eta Aquarii, we recommend downloading the Sky Map app — it's the easiest way to navigate the night sky (and is a lot of fun to use even on a non-meteor shower night). If you're more into specifics, Time and Date also have a table that shows the direction and altitude of the Eta Aquarids. They've been updating this daily. If you struggle to get out of bed, NASA Apart from that, wear warm clothes, take snacks and be patient. Happy stargazing.
Whether you're buying flowers for your nearest and dearest, such as your mum or your partner, or you'd just like to have something floral brightening up your house, the real kind always come with an expiry date. Fake flowers exist, of course, for those who like permanent petals — but they're not as fun as the block-built type in Lego's new Botanical Collection. Part of the brand's growing range for adults — because we're all well past pretending that Lego is just for kids — the Botanical Collection currently features two items. For a bouquet that'll never die, the 756-piece flower bouquet kit includes a number of different blooms that you can bunch together however you like. If you're more of a bonsai kind of person, an 878-piece set that features one of the miniature trees is also available. For those keen on vibrant flowers, the flower bouquet box includes pieces to make blooms based on roses, snapdragons, poppies, asters, daisies and grasses, all in different colours and shapes. In fact, because this is the first kit of its type, it features blocks in hues and shapes — including 17 realistic-looking petal pieces — that Lego hasn't ever used before. The stems come in different lengths, measuring up to 36 centimetres, and you choose which flowers sit at which height. The petals and leaves are also customisable; however, if you want a vase to put them all in, you'll have to find that elsewhere. In the bonsai tree set, you'll obviously build a bonsai. Yes, it's that self-explanatory — but you'll also make a black pot for it to sit in and a wooden stand for it as well. You can pick between green leaves and cherry blossoms while you're putting it together, and it's up to you how you arrange them as well. If you fancy a bit of pink in warmer months and something earthier when winter hits, you can do that as well. Both kits cost $89.99, although the bonsai one is temporarily out of stock after they both launched on January 1 this year. Lego is also moving towards being more green with its pieces, not just with the designs they can be used to make — and announced that it was starting to produce sustainable blocks made from plant-based plastic back in 2018. You'll find some in the Botanical Collection sets, fittingly, as made from sustainably sourced sugarcane. Plus, as well as catching the eye, Lego's newest products are designed to help you destress and get mindful — something that the brand has been promoting for adults for a few years now. For more information about Lego's new Botanical Collection, including the flower bouquet and bonsai tree kits, head to the company's website.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Wotif.com. Adelaide is no stranger to pesky licensing laws impeding the onward march of excellent late-night bar culture, but thankfully in April last year the city’s council saw reason and introduced friendlier regulations. The result? A city that's turning on its charm year-round, not just in February and March when the Adelaide festival and WOMADelaide convert the place into a bohemian heaven. 2014 is Adelaide’s year of the small bar. Here’s a selection of the finest. THE GALLERY ON WAYMOUTH Big, bold and shiny, the Gallery replaces Fad Bar with a more upmarket, suits-friendly offering with two levels of bars to mingle and a middle level for dining. The walls feature a changing gallery of contemporary art, but if that’s not enough to soothe your Friday afternoon exhaustion, get stuck into some BBQ beef ribs and crusty bread ($11) or a heartier main of Saltbush lamb ($27). 30 Waymouth Street, Adelaide UDABERRI Adelaide’s Hindley Street may be one of Australia’s more eccentric red-light main drags, but it has no shortage of laneways like Leigh Street housing civilised bars such as Spanish wine bar supreme, Udaberri. Offering Basque-style bar snacks including an extensive list of Spanish cheeses, it’s all the civility you’ll ever need after a loiter down Hindley Street. Udaberri Pintxos y Vino, 11 Leigh Street, Adelaide PROOF Set on the suitably obscure Anster Street, Proof wine bar is a sophisticated little joint manned by bar staff in waistcoats. Proof will satisfy a hankering for an Old Fashioned or an honest cheese toasty (and by honest we mean beef ragu with Fontina). Proof, 9A Anster Street, Adelaide THE BOTANIC BAR An Adelaide institution, the Botanic on North Terrace has undergone some serious sprucing in recent times. Improvements include spicy chicken wings provided by Golden Boy Thai, who are now serving authentic Thai goodness to thankful Botanic punters as they sip on a luscious Montenegro sour or Rangoon Standard. 309 North Terrace, Adelaide ROCKET ROOFTOP Rocket Bar is Adelaide’s original home of good music. Rocket Rooftop serves serious adult wine from McLaren Vale’s Alpha Box and Dice and also has a solid cocktail list. Rocket Rooftop is the perfect place to enjoy a cool drink on a balmy summer’s night under the best palm tree in the state. 142 Hindley Street, Adelaide THE COLLINS BAR A nod to the roaring 1920s, the Collins Bar shows off some of the state’s best local wines as well as a playful list of cocktails sourced from their extensive, if alarmingly tidy bar. They’re offering the usual suspects in the bar snacks department, such as lemonade-braised pulled pork slider and slaw at a bargain $8. Oh, they also have a fantastically long tequila list. Hilton Adelaide, 233 Victoria Square, Adelaide CLEVER LITTLE TAILOR As its name suggests, the Clever Little Tailor is little and clever. It’s a bonafide small bar — intimate, classy and dedicated to quality booze. Set in an old vintage store on Peel Street, it’s been decorated with old school decor and is serving excellent beers such as Mountain Goat, Feral Hop Hog and Four Pines, along with a selection of charcuterie from Lucia’s at the Central Markets. Clever as they come. 19 Peel Street, Adelaide CANTINA SOCIALE Showing off the best of Adelaide’s boutique wine industry, Cantina Sociale serves authentic, one-off wines not available in any stores, wine lists or bars. Located on Sturt Street, this is a haven for wine lovers to really love their wine. 108 Sturt Street, Adelaide LOFT OYSTER AND WINE BAR The Loft is one of Adelaide’s newest bars located on Gouger Street in the Central Market precinct. With its sparkly new interior, it’s a perfect after-work drinks spot, serving Asian inspired mezze and oysters in every way imaginable. Level 1, 128 Gouger Street, Adelaide STREET-ADL Street-ADL is the first of a two-part venture from chef Jock Zonfrillo. Offering informal dining, cocktails and street food, Street-ADL is all-American with its cheeseburgers and sundaes, and true blue with its Goolwa pipis and lamingtons. Street ADL, 285 Rundle Street, Adelaide
Deerhoof is a troupe of glorious daytrippers, big smiles and off-the-wall styles. At this point, they are the longest-standing musicians signed to iconic record label Kill Rock Stars, and their longevity is something we should be thankful for every day. Especially when it comes to tour time, because this band are one of the few that if I had to choose between seeing them live once or owning their entire back catalogue, I'd be asking for the ticket. Having evolved over the years, losing and gaining members with seemingly amicable grace, Deerhoof is currently comprised of four members and, from all reports, are in pretty fine live form, having spent the last year touring their excellent record Offend Maggie. Their sound, according to Wikipedia, fits into the following genres: alternative rock, art punk, avant-garde music, experimental rock, garage rock, indie pop, indie rock, J-pop, noise, noise pop, noise rock, pop music, post-punk revival, post-rock, post-modern music, progressive rock, psychedelic pop, rock music, twee pop, 21st century classical music. Which is to say, about 20 more than most other bands. Similar in spirit are their support band Tokyo drifters, Tenniscoats. A duo who have been making music together since 2000, their live temperament is meditative and a little offbeat. Tenniscoats and Deerhoof have been involved collaboratively recently, so it's a special thing to see them both on one bill. Dreamers rejoice.
It's titled Always was, always will be, but the artwork that graces the facade of Taylor Square's T2 building won't be around much longer, with the City of Sydney marking the piece for removal in preparation of the building's sale. Painted by Indigenous artist Reko Rennie in 2012 for the council's Streetware program and in recognition of the land's original owners, the bold design has become one of Sydney's most prominent public Indigenous artworks. Though originally created as a temporary installation, the council voted to keep it up for an extra two years, before ultimately agreeing it could stay until September 2017. Now, the work is set to be painted over as the council gears up to sell the property, which it bought in 2009. A council spokesperson told The Sydney Morning Herald that, in light of the sale, Rennie had given the go-ahead for the work's removal. "Repainting the building will remove the current artwork and ensure the City in its capacity as building and artwork owner is complying with the development application for the artwork, which has expired and the wishes of the artist for the work to be remove prior to sale," he said. Via The Sydney Morning Herald.
Just six months after opening, JŌJI — the sleek Japanese-inspired rooftop bar and diner perched above the Cartier flagship on Pitt and King streets — is entering a new chapter. Its expansive fifth-floor space has launched a sharp new sushi menu, a broader à la carte offering and a stacked calendar of weekly happenings, from DJ-backed bottomless lunches to live music and midweek entertainment. The culinary revamp is headlined by a considered new sushi selection led by Head Chef Kihoon Kim, who has worked at celebrated omakase restaurants across Korea, Japan and Sydney, including Bay Nine, Besuto and Saké. His precise, elegant style is showcased in new signatures, including a delicate king salmon maki with midori salsa, cucumber and avocado. The new sushi selection sits alongside a larger-format à la carte menu by Executive Chef Erik Ortolani (ex-Itō), whose additions include share plates like miso-glazed Murray cod with dashi butter and thick-cut duck katsu sandos. As part of its expanded entertainment offer, JŌJI has launched Social Saturdays. This reimagining of the classic bottomless brunch includes a shared chef's menu and 90 minutes of free-flowing French rosé or beer, soundtracked by a rotating lineup of live DJs and musicians. Tickets are $120, and there's a $30 cocktail upgrade option if that's more your thing. JŌJI won't wait until the weekend to get the party started, though. Live music on Wednesday nights sets the mood for stylish midweek get-togethers. City workers won't be left out, thanks to the new Shibui Lunch: a $65 set menu available Wednesday to Friday, perfect for the power lunch crowd. "Since opening, JŌJI has been filled with an incredible crowd of regulars whose energy gives the space its soul," says Ibrahim Moubadder, co-founder of ESCA Group. "Watching how people moved through the space made me want to build something even more immersive. So six months in, we're evolving the menu, adding elegant, delicious dishes including sushi and more, determined to making JŌJI one of the best Japanese dining experiences in Sydney — a place where you can come for the best drinks, the music, a dance or an unforgettable meal, all in one electric setting." Find JŌJI on Level 5, 388 George Street, Sydney CBD. For more information, head to the venue's website.
Following last year's fantastic season, The Silver Rose is a fittingly powerful way for the Australian Ballet to usher in 2010's quartet of performances. Originally commissioned in 2005 by the Bavarian State Ballet, the work was conceptualised and choreographed by Graeme Murphy with Janet Vernon, whose style is evident throughout. Though based on Richard Strauss's 1911 comic opera Der Rosenkavalier, Murphy has, as is his way, reworked every detail, allowing it to sit nicely alongside both recent narrative and abstract choices of the company. The Silver Rose opens in the bedroom of a famous actress canoodling with her younger (secret) lover Octavian. Thankfully, the Marschallin has more of an air of Moira Shearer in The Red Shoes than Courtney Cox in Cougar Town. Their tale unspools over three acts, all in quite finite settings and slight shifts in tone. The arrival of the Marschallin's impresario Baron Ochs signals the unravelling of a romance, and the beginning of two others. Ochs sends Octavian to offer the titular flower to his young fiancee Sophie and in doing so, she and Octavian fall in love. Ochs is angered and at the same time lustful of another character, the Marschallin's maid (Octavian in disguise). The paparazzi are there, following every move. From bedroom to ballroom to a folksy inn, the narrative ranges from languid and romantic to straight slapstick. The production of the ballet is steeped in nouveau details, with an overwhelming Klimt aesthetic: rich and romantic. There is also a dramatic '40s Hollywood feel, and towards the end, the set lends itself to Black Forest fairy tales. The action onstage is bolstered by occasionally kitsch visuals that add to the plot's playfulness, but one of the particularly nice moments is the sudden fall of a silver scrim right at the start. These small moments of simplicity are crucial to this ballet; the constant razzle-dazzle of the set and costuming occasionally threatens to hide the elegance and agility of the dancers. For all its flash and fun, The Silver Rose begins and ends with the Marschallin and her struggle with time, love and loss: the essence of this lovely comic melodrama. Discount tickets available if you're 26 or younger.
A book described as "a modern story of sex, erotica and passion. How the sexiest sales girl in business earns her huge bonus by being the best at removing her high heels," might not be anything to write home about. But what if the author of said book was someone's dad, and that someone decided it would be hilarious to read a chapter every week to the entire world, with some incredibly funny friends providing commentary? Jamie Morton did just that with his father's (pen name: Rocky Flinstone) erotic 'novels', the Belinda Blinked series. And so the audacious and pants-wettingly hilarious podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno was born. Since its premiere in 2015, the podcast about "the best/worst erotica ever written" has racked up over 150 million downloads. And now, off the back of an HBO Original Series featuring a "lost chapter", Morton and his pals James Cooper and Alice Levine are bringing their hilarious smut back to Australia and New Zealand in 2020. As part of a huge world tour, the live show will treat 'Belinkers' across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in January. Team Porno will read unreleased material from the erotic saga while throwing in a few surprises and interactive elements. Now four books deep — with the fifth due to be cracked opened on Monday, September 9, 2019 — the series follows the sexual escapades of Belinda Blumenthal who works in the sales and marketing department of a pots and pans company. There have been leather rooms and nipples as big as Titanic rivets, anti-erotic ridiculousness with sales reps and young-ish men, references to pomegranates and the popping of vaginal lids, and one truly disgusting flaking prosthetic appendage. If you're a fan of the show, the live incarnation should make you very happy. As Belinda says, "When you get what you want, you feel great." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WotAuoFwF0 'MY DAD WROTE A PORNO' WORLD TOUR 2020 Wednesday, January 8, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Saturday, January 11, Crown Theatre, Perth Monday, January 13, Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide Wednesday, January 15, Palais Theatre, Melbourne Friday, January 17, The Tivoli, Brisbane Monday, January 20, Auckland Town Hall, Auckland Tuesday, January 21, Wellington Opera House, Wellington Wednesday, January 22, Issac Theatre Royal, Christchurch Tickets for My Dad Wrote a Porno World Tour go on sale at 1pm on Thursday, July 18, 2019. Stay tuned for further updates.
Here's what just might be the tastiest food challenge there is: hunting down Frankenstein's monster-style dessert mashups and tasting them all. Gelato Messina's various ice cream flavours and special treats often fall into this category, frequently turning another beloved dish into gelato. So do plenty of Lune Croissanterie's pastries. Often Krispy Kreme's doughnuts make the cut as well. Actually, right now you can grab a Krispy Kreme doughnut that owed a huge debt to another dessert: the Maxibon doughnut. After proving a hit in 2018, this collaboration with Peters Ice Cream is back for a limited — and tasty — time. And yes, it's a Maxibon in doughnut form. Back when Krispy Kreme joined forces with Reese's for a peanut butter-heavy doughnut earlier in 2023, there were multiple versions available. With the Maxibon doughnut, there's just one. You will still need to be able to eat nuts, though, because this one comes with a hazelnut and vanilla biscuit crumb. So, what makes up a Maxibon doughnut? A Krispy Kreme doughnut filled with Maxibon vanilla kreme, then covered in that crumb over chocolate, plus a chocolate Maxibon bikkie on top. You'll find the Maxibon doughnut on offer from Tuesday, August 1 at Krispy Kreme, 7-Eleven and selected Woolworths stores for a limited time. Trying to pick between ice cream and fried pastries just got a bit easier. We're betting that when Maxibons were first whipped up as a blend between a biscuit and everyone's favourite cold and creamy dessert, no one anticipated this happening as well. Krispy Kreme's Maxibon doughnut is available from Krispy Kreme, 7-Eleven and selected Woolworths stores for a limited time.
Whether you're searching for budget skincare solutions, are stuck in a makeup rut or have never quite figured out how to apply eyeliner properly, YouTube has long been a beauty vlogging haven. But what if you're trying to stay glam after nuclear winter decimates the earth, wipes out life as we know it and forces the mutated remnants of humanity deep underground? Only Sarah's Channel can show you how to dazzle in that literally nightmarish situation — and how to make homemade lipstick out of saliva, clay, blood and what seem to be glow-in-the-dark mushrooms. It's set two centuries after a world-ending disaster and, after initially dying along with the vast majority of the population, Sarah (Claudia O'Doherty) has been reanimated. She's supposed to help the planet's waning survivors grow crops, overcome illnesses, restart civilisation and avoid being eaten by a giant monster called Quahmork — just everyday things, really — but the beauty vlogger, influencer, brand ambassador and author would rather keep doing what she knows. In her original life, Sarah had more than 3.5 million subscribers across her various social media platforms, and she's not going to let them down. They're all dead, but what's the point of saving the few not-quite-people left if no one looks their best? That's the idea behind the ABC's hilarious new satirical series, with Sarah's Channel taking amusing and astute aim at influencer culture and manufactured authenticity — all while its eponymous host dispenses beauty advice in a bleak, post-apocalyptic future, of course. Now available on both ABC iview and YouTube, the first season's six five-minute episodes cover everything you need to know if you're having #dystopianworldproblems, including Sarah's favourite products, her daily routine living in a fortified bunker and how to give a makeover to a slimy subterranean creature who has evolved from humanity. If you loved Australian actor and comedian O'Doherty in Netflix's Love — if you thought she was the best thing about the romantic dramedy, in fact — then you'll feel the same about her turn as the relatable yet oblivious Sarah. She stars alongside Sarah's Channel writer/director Nick Coyle (stage production Feather in the Web), who plays terrified mole person Justin. Sarah's Channel is the smart end-of-the-world parody and scathing takedown of online behaviour that you didn't know you needed. Watch the first episode below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deLiDLkQzio The entire six-episode first season of Sarah's Channel is now available to watch on ABC iview and YouTube.
There's nothing as heartwarming as a community coming together to support each other — and that's exactly what the trendy inner suburb of Paddington has decided to do. On Thursday, November 21, businesses throughout Paddington will be offering a night of specials, deals, activations, dinners, events and more for Paddo Night Out. It has been increasingly difficult for independent businesses to stay open in the face of rising costs and corporate competition, with 2024 witnessing the closure of many beloved venues across the city. Grabbing the issue by the horns, The Paddo Collective — a clutch of local businesses collaborating for their collective benefit, supported by the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner's Uptown Program — has decided to step in with this new event in hopes of revitalising the local scene. [caption id="attachment_814270" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Paddington[/caption] Revellers can join Tequila Mockingbird for an outdoor barbecue and $15 margs and other classic cocktails, or stop by The Wine Library street cart, where French-style crepes and glasses of natural wine for $12 will be on offer. The Paddo Inn will be serving $15 margaritas during their 'Playlist Thursdays' DJ set, while The Paddington will run a two-for-one bottle of rosé event along with other cocktail discounts. Fred's will be extending its Aperitif Hour to include more drinks and complimentary snacks, and certainly don't miss free wine tasting at Five Ways Cellar. At a time when the vibrancy of Sydney's hospitality scene is under threat, Paddo Night Out is a chance to support local businesses without breaking the bank. A cheap drink that supports your favourite local hospos? We'll drink to that.
This comprehensive survey of half a century of creative endeavour is the most complete exhibition of visionary photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto's work ever assembled. Through decades of experimentation and exploration, this show reveals the myriad ways Sugimoto's images have questioned the duality of photography to both faithfully document reality and conjure new truths, as well as the ways in which captured images confront and embrace the ephemeral nature of human experience. Sugimoto has called his work "time exposed" and even the technical aspects of his craft play notions of history and existence. He is known for using a large-format camera and developing his own darkroom chemicals, which contribute to his singular style, and his fascination with 19th-century methodologies and arcane photography techniques adds yet another layer of intrigue to his whimsical compositions. His subjects range from dioramas and wax figures to architectural forms, creating images that challenge and redefine fundamental notions of time, space and light. Discovering Sugimoto's work in a curated gallery space heightens their power further — these are photographs that require room to breathe. According to the man himself, "There is no decisive moment in my photograph, only the melting of time." So make sure you spend the time to take in a life's work that prove time machines may exist after all. Images: Hiroshi Sugimoto
A decade ago, Australia's film festival circuit caught a winter chill. Thanks to both the Sydney Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival, the country's cooler months were already a prime time for checking out cinema's latest and greatest from around the world, but the Scandinavian Film Festival levelled up the idea. Do you feel welcomely frostier if you're watching flicks set in and hailing from icy climes while the weather is cold? At this excuse to head to the pictures, yes, yes you do. Focusing on movies from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, the Scandinavian Film Festival has spent the past ten years highlighting both the region's big names and its emerging talents. In 2024, cinemagoers are in for the same format; however, every film fest fan knows that no two iterations of any film fest are ever exactly the same. When it tours the nation between Wednesday, July 17–Wednesday, August 14, this year's event has everything from straight-from-Cannes newcomers to a retrospective dedicated to two of the area's biggest icons on its lineup — plus a span of genres from historical dramas and romances to detective tales and sci-fi epics. Making stops in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Perth, and Byron Bay and Ballina, the festival will kick off with The Riot, which relives an IRL battle by miners in the second-largest workplace in Norway against dangerous conditions at the start of 20th century. Still on period-set tales, Stormskerry Maja is the Scandinavian Film Fest's centrepiece flick, with the Finnish movie about a peasant woman married off to a fisherman bringing the book series by Anni Blomqvist to the screen. Also making the leap from the page to cinemas is Boundless, the latest in Denmark's Department Q franchise, which is no stranger to this festival thanks to past entries The Keeper of Lost Causes, The Absent One and Conspiracy of Faith. From Everest, Adrift and Beast filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur, there's also Iceland's Touch, a romantic drama that adapts the novel of the same name, and hops across continents and decades. Elsewhere, When the Light Breaks similarly hails from Iceland — hitting Australia direct from opening Cannes' Un Certain Regard, in fact — alongside thrillers Cold and Natatorium. From Sweden, 2004's King's Game gets a sequel in Kingmaker, Hammarskjöld — Fight for Peace spins a true Cold War tale and Hunters on a White Field heads off on a weekend away in a forest. And Norway's contribution also spans closing night's Songs of Earth, a documentary about the country's wilderness that boasts Wim Wenders (Perfect Days) as an executive producer. The feast of Danish cinema includes Nordic noir Sons starring Borgen's Sidse Babett Knudsen as a prison guard, the Trine Dyrholm (Mary & George)-led Birthday Girl and the World War II-set Before It Ends with Pilou Asbæk (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom). Or, there's also sci-fi Eternal, about a climate change scientist and a singer falling in love when a fissure splits the ocean floor — and The Promise, about a woman in her car trying to save her nephew's life. 2024's Scandinavian Film Festival's retrospective spotlight is shining on the great Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman, heroing their collaborations, which means screening Autumn Sonata, Persona, the OG Scenes From a Marriage (not the recent American remake) and Cries and Whispers. The fest is also looking backwards with a 35th-anniversary session of Leningrad Cowboys Go America from Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki (Fallen Leaves). Scandinavian Film Festival 2024 Dates: Wednesday, July 17–Wednesday, August 7 — Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Adelaide Thursday, July 18–Wednesday, August 7 — Palace James St and Palace Barracks, Brisbane Friday, July 19–Wednesday, August 7 — Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Penny Lane, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema and The Astor Theatre, Melbourne Wednesday, July 24–Wednesday, August 14 — Palace Norton St, Palace Moore Park, Palace Central and Chauvel Cinema, Sydney Thursday, July 25–Wednesday, August 14 — Palace Electric, Canberra Thursday, July 25–Wednesday, August 14 — Luna Leederville, Luna on SX and Palace Raine Square, Perth Friday, July 26–Wednesday, August 14 — Palace Byron Bay and Ballina Fair Cinemas, Byron Bay and Ballina The Scandinavian Film Festival tours Australia in July and August 2024. For more information or to buy tickets, visit the festival's website.
Hospo legends Dre Walters and Swan Kanongataa of Old Mate's Place and Ginny's Canoe Club have arrived in Newtown with a new multi-space venue offering top-notch take-home provisions and an intimate setting for a couple of cocktails. Huelo can be found at 127 King Street, right next to Inner West favourites Bella Brutta, Cafe Paci and Mapo Gelato. From the outside, it looks like a charming general store with a selection of tables for drinks and snacks, stocked full with artisanal goods. But, head through the store to the back and you'll discover a tiny 12-seat speakeasy-style cocktail bar backing onto a courtyard. Huelo means sun rays in Tongan. The name is meant to convey the venue's bright and welcoming atmosphere while also paying homage to Kanongataa's heritage. Out front, you'll find an unpretentious general store stocking pantry items like tinned fish, chilli honey, truffle oil and passata, as well as thinly sliced deli meats, ceramics and Huelo merch. It's a one-stop shop for that one item you're willing to splurge on to take your dinner to the next level. There are also a handful of seats in the general store and out the front where you can order a wine or a snack. The deli meats are used in the sandwiches and there is a selection of small plates with highlights including the fried quick po-boy. Bypass the groceries and head through a door out the back to find the secret cocktail bar that Kanongataa describes as, "a culminatio of everything we love about bars and cocktails." "Genuine service and thoughtful drinks. Those are the bars that stand the test of time in our opinion. If the General store is old world, then our hidden cocktail bar is Miami tropical glam meets New York brasserie. The cocktails are fun, imaginative, and delicious." The bar is kicking things off with a hefty happy hour. Each Wednesday–Saturday you can score oysters for $2 a pop and magnums of champagne from 4–6pm. Walters and Kanongataa also have plans to open a third space. The soon-to-open upstairs dining room will boast a bigger selection of eats, space for larger groups and the ability to book out the room for functions. You'll find Huelo Bar and Huelo General Store at 127 king Street, Newtown. They're open 4pm–late Wednesday–Thursday and Sunday, and midday–2am Friday–Saturday.
Perhaps the most accessible swimming pool on this list, a visit to Prince Alfred Park Pool should be mandatory for every visitor to (or resident of) Sydney. Designed by Neeson Murcutt Architects as part of the invigoration of Prince Alfred Park in 2013, a swim here invites immediate invocation of a long, hot Australian summer at the pool. Built cleverly among a 'folded landscape' of native grasses to both protect the green space of this inner urban area and provide swimmers with some protection, the facility is, at once, confined and imposing. Yellow umbrellas and palm trees make this architectural space a little less serious than most, but no less impressive. For the locals of inner Sydney who can't quite muster a trip to the coast for a swim, Prince Alfred Park Pool is an easy alternative. It's the buttercup yellow sun umbrellas that bring the Riviera vibe, as well as the lawns strewn with sunbakers and cute cafe, Meadow, cheerily aiding post-swim recoveries. The facilities nabbed two National Architecture Awards in 2014, and the 50-metre pool is always at that jump-right-in temperature.
With the last film finally released, the Harry Potter juggernaut has finally ground to a halt. No more books. No more films. For many fans it marks the end of childhood and for a few people, it will thankfully mean the end of acting careers. Sure, JK Rowling has moved the empire online with Pottermore, but for many, the magic is gone. If you find life a little empty without Hogwarts perhaps you should give quidditch a try. The muggle version is a little like lacrosse or handball, but with broomsticks, and an extra person dressed in yellow playing the role of the snitch. Some Australian universities have founded teams, and there's talk of a trans-Tasman competition. All eyes will soon be on the 5th annual quidditch world cup, contested by American colleges and teams from around the world, being held in New York in November. The event has been described by Fox sports as "a cross between the superbowl and a medieval festival" and although people might dress up to go along, the competition on the field is fast-paced and hotly contested.
Sydney's newest food and drink precinct, South Eveleigh, will showcase its impressive slate of restaurants, bars and community activities as part of the city's new winter arts and food festival, Sydney Solstice. The historic inner-city site has been transformed with a slate of exciting new hospitality gems, shops and a community garden. To celebrate, the South Eveleigh team are inviting you to experience everything as part of a two-day pop-up street party. Located just around the corner from Redfern Station, the South Eveleigh precinct will come to life with performances, art installations and music while the array of high-profile openings and local eateries sling delectable culinary options. Pop-up food stalls and bars will fill Locamotive Street from 5pm until close on Friday, June 18, and 11am until close on Saturday, June 19. On hand across the precinct will be Kylie Kwong's brand new lunch spot, Lucky Kwong, and Matt Whiley (Scout) and Maurice Terzini's (Icebergs Dining Room & Bar, Ciccia Bella) groundbreaking new sustainability-focused bar, Re, as well as RaRa Chan, Eat Fuh, Whitton, Steve Costi's Famous Fish, Fishbowl, Bekya, Pepper Seed Thai, Sushi Hon, North Sandwiches and Yoho Loco. While you're venturing around looking at the new eateries, you can head up to the South Eveleigh Community Rooftop Garden where Indigenous Australian cultural and landscape design firm, Jiwah, will be running workshops educating the public on native flora integral to the land's Indigenous heritage. Plus, a bunch of beloved Sydney musicians will be in attendance over the two days to perform as part of a pop-up street party. At the Locomotive Stage, you can see the likes of PNAU, Jono Ma of Jagwar Ma, Kota Banks and exciting young Korean rap crew 1300 take to the stage on Friday, alongside Genesis Owusu, Budjerah, Pricie and Royal Otis on the Saturday. The eclectic range of musicians will be performing inside a 139-year-old locomotive workshop that will be transformed into a live music venue. Over at the FBi Stage, a slew of local musicians, DJs and performers will all take to the stage. The lineup, curated by the Sydney community radio station, will include the likes of B Wise, Stevan, Andy Garvey, Madem3Empress and Maina Doe. [caption id="attachment_813577" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Re[/caption] Top image: Kitti Gould
Throughout Japan's history, the country has gone through several periods of rapid transformation. The NGV's latest exhibition, Japanese Modernism, explores one of them: the prosperous era from the early 1920s until the late 1930s, a time that spawned financial independence for women and access to international travel. As movie theatres, department stores and modern transport became widespread, life quickly changed for Japan's urban dwellers. Featuring 190 works that consider the country's shifting social and cultural values, Japanese Modernism highlights these changes through an array of creative mediums that see traditional Japanese techniques blended with European influence. There are colourful woodblock prints that fuse ancient ukiyo-e methods with modern elements, plus a plethora of kimonos, street posters and glassware. Running until Sunday, October 4, Japanese Modernism is completely free to attend. You'll be amongst the first to see these works in Australia, too — the NGV has spent the last five years amassing this impressive collection from around the world. To give you a quick primer before you head along to the NGV, we've picked out five inspirational works to see at Japanese Modernism. [caption id="attachment_763292" align="alignnone" width="2000"] Installation view of Japanese Modernism at National Gallery of Victoria. Photo: Tom Ross.[/caption] PREPARING TO GO OUT (1935) BY TANIGUCHI FUMIE As a key figure in Japan's emerging generation of the time, known colloquially as 'moga' and 'mobo' — modern girls and modern boys — Taniguchi Fumie burst onto the scene to great success in the 1930s. However, Fumie's glowing artistic career came to an early halt with the onset of World War II, as she was evacuated to the countryside and her work faded into obscurity. One of Fumie's most lasting works, Preparing to go out, was produced as a large-scale, sixfold design that draws directly from the 17th-century style of Matsuura screens. This modern take on a fundamentally traditional art form sees Fumie depict a group of friends getting ready for a fun night out, leaving behind their previously reserved existence. [caption id="attachment_763296" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Saeki Shunkō, Tea and coffee salon, Sabō 1939, ink, colour, paper, lacquer, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased with funds donated by Alan and Mavourneen Cowen, The Myer Foundation and the NGV Supporters of Asian Art, 2015[/caption] TEA AND COFFEE SALON, SABŌ (1939) BY SAEKI SHUNKŌ With many Japanese cities being quickly redeveloped during this era, a large population of women waved goodbye to the countryside and went in search of jobs and a modern lifestyle in the metropolis. This change gave rise to the first generation of financially independent female artists, who set about creating art that explored their new reality. Saeki Shunkō was one of these pioneering artists. Her 1939 painting, Tea and Coffee Salon, Sabō, presents two modern Japanese women wearing Western-style uniforms, highlighting the shifting dynamics of the country. This changing way of life for the nation's youth, especially women, showcased how they were no longer beholden to their parent's conservative values. [caption id="attachment_763302" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Takei Takeo (illustrator), Tōkyōsha, Tokyo (publisher), Children's land 1928, colour offset lithograph. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased NGV Foundation, 2018[/caption] CHILDREN'S LAND (1928) BY TAKEI TAKEO Inspired by popular European art movements like Cubism, Futurism and Fauvism, Japanese artists began mixing these styles within their own work. One magazine in particular, called Kodomo no kuni or Children's Land, which was groundbreaking at its time, began using these styles throughout its pages and on its cover. The magazine was popular with children and young adults, as it encouraged the new generation to embrace individuality. Takei Takeo was one of the magazine's key contributors, producing works that blended geometric shapes with shadows and bright colours. His 1928 cover design had a two-fold appeal to children of the time, as it linked an exciting style of art with the modern train system, which was beginning to roll out across Tokyo. [caption id="attachment_763303" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hisui Sugiura, The first subway in the East 1927, colour offset lithograph. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Purchased NGV Foundation, 2018 © Estate of Hisui Sugiura[/caption] THE FIRST SUBWAY IN THE EAST (1927) BY HISUI SUGIURA Described as a pioneer of Japanese graphic design, Hisui Sugiura was at the forefront of the nation's commercial art industry. Although he had a traditional painting background, his interest in Europe's art nouveau movement led him to form the artist collective known as Shichinin-sha, aka the Group of Seven. Through his position as the Mitsukoshi Clothing Store's chief graphic designer, he exposed Tokyo's residents to a wave of contemporary design. Created in 1927 to celebrate the opening of the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line — the first subway in Asia — this poster is regarded as a cornerstone of Japanese modernist design. Expressing the changes occurring across Japanese society, Sugiura draws those at the distant end of the platform in traditional garments, while the families at the front of the scene appear in distinctly modern clothing. [caption id="attachment_763304" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Koike Iwao, Tokyo Mitsukoshi clothing store 1927, colour lithograph, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased NGV Foundation, 2018[/caption] TOKYO MITSUKOSHI CLOTHING STORE (1927) BY KOIKE IWAO The Tokyo Mitsukoshi Clothing Store is the oldest-surviving department store in Japan, with its origins as a kimono maker dating all the way back to the 17th century. Having opened as a modern-day department store in 1904, it was partially destroyed by the Great Japan Earthquake of 1923. However, it relaunched in 1926 with modernist architecture and a host of retailers that sold products that appealed to the new Japan. The above poster, by graphic designer Koike Iwao, announces the store's reopening and features Mitsukoshi's famed entrance lions. Iwao was also part of Sugiura's influential Shichinin-sha artist collective, which produced a vibrant magazine that signalled a new direction for Japanese artistry. Japanese Modernism is on display at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne until October 4, 2020. It's free to attend. Find more exhibition details at the NGV website. Top images: Installation views of Japanese Modernism at National Gallery of Victoria. Photos by Tom Ross
Say ‘adios’ to humdrum and ‘hello’ to ten hotels that are so fresh and so cool, they’ll have you reaching for the thermostat. Boutique hotel experts Mr & Mrs Smith have the lowdown on where the trendsetters sleep. La Maison Champs Elysees - Paris What: Classic couture, Haussmann heritage Where: 8 rue Jean Goujon In the heart of the Golden Triangle, where fashion and sophistication reign supreme, La Maison Champs Elysées showcases design icon Martin Margiela’s impeccable aesthetic. A canvas of muted hues and eclectic artworks, the soothing colour palette extends into the monochrome restaurant, elegant White Lounge and darkly seductive Cigar Bar – exclusively for guest use, with staff not permitted inside. The Terrace, a lush green haven in the heart of Paris, is the perfect spot for taking breakfast or reinvigorating exploration-weary muscles. Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort & Spa - Bora Bora What: Turquoise tryst Where: Motu Tevairoa, BP 169 Vaitape, Bora Bora, French Polynesia A recipe for tropical perfection, Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort & Spa is a stunner — luring in loved-up honeymooners and glamorous jetsetters with its white-sand beaches and idyllic lagoon setting. Take in spectacular views from every angle on this island paradise; they're especially beautiful from the Overwater Bungalows, which have direct access to the water, or the Beach Suites with Jacuzzis that are set directly on the sand. If lazing on the beach or dining on lavish buffets suddenly becomes all too much, make a beeline for Manea Spa, whose menu includes Vichy showers or massages with ‘dancing feet’. For a souvenir with serious style — and that will never collect dust — the in-house tattooist Tuhei, from the Tuamotus islands, can help create a permanent reminder of your stay. Sal Salis - Ningaloo Reef What: Seaside safari Where: Yardie Creek Road, Cape Range National Park, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia Snugly nestled in the sandy dunes of the Cape Range National Park, Sal Salis flaunts a decidedly luxurious spin on camping. Leave your swags and camp kitchens at home; there’s no need for bush basics when there are heavenly pillows and organic 500-thread cotton sheets waiting at the end of the day. The lapping Indian Ocean is only metres from your doorstop, so while away hours dreamily swinging in your hammock or mingling with whale sharks, manta rays and shoals of fish. And when it comes time for a feast, bush tucker is banished as Sal Salis serves contemporary Australian cuisine under the star-speckled night sky, watched inquisitively by visiting kangaroos and wallaroos. Claska - Tokyo What: Too cool for school Where: 1-3-18, Chuocho, Meguro, Tokyo Sleek and fresh in its contemporary architecture, Claska is at the apex of Tokyo’s cultural hotspot, and in the hub of what is considered to be the coolest suburb in the city. Beautiful in its elegant simplicity, Claska retains the hallmarks of traditional Japanese hospitality. We love the Tatami Rooms, designed by c, with pretty paper lanterns and contemporary furniture. The gallery and boutique, Do, offers innovative designs, creative products and bespoke souvenirs that reflect Claska’s innovative design philosophy. Commandeer one of Claska’s free ‘tokyobikes’ to enjoy a pleasant 10-minute pedal to the attractions featured on the hotel’s ‘Tokyo by Tokyo’ iPhone app. King & Grove - Williamsburg What: Urban jungle retreat Where: 160 North 12th Street, Brooklyn, New York City In the city that never sleeps, King & Grove Williamsburg offers a welcome change of pace – without sacrificing on style and street cred – by seducing guests to venture into Brooklyn. A creative hub, Williamsburg’s collection of eateries, bars and indie boutiques is ripe for exploration (on the hotel’s hipster-approved red bicycles, of course). The open-air rooftop lounge of the Upper Elm overlooks McCarren Park and has snacks, cocktails, music and a view of the city skyline that takes some trumping. Leisure-lovers should snag a prime position in a day-bed by the backyard-style saltwater pool – one of the largest in the city – or spend an afternoon unwinding over a drink with fellow guests. Taveuni Palms - Fiji Islands What: Private paradise Where: Matei, Taveuni Island, Fiji Islands Ever dreamed of retreating to the seclusion of a private island? With only three exclusive-hire villas, understated luxury is the name of the game at Taveuni Palms. Flanked by its own private plunge pool, day-beds and panoramic Pacific views, each villa comes with seven staff including a manager, two chefs, barman, housemaid and nanny. If you can tear yourself away from your villa, Taveuni Palms offers guided snorkelling and kayaking trips, cooking lessons and local excursions. The hardest thing you will have to do is leaving – a burden made lighter by instantly booking your return visit. Das Stue - Berlin What: Animal magnetism Where: 1 Drakestrasse, Berlin, Germany Withdraw from playing tourist into a place so hip, so cutting edge and so darned cool, it could only be in Berlin. Housed in the former lodgings of the Royal Danish Embassy, Das Stue is a heritage heavyweight with a serious dose of style. Everything from the impressive entrance, marble staircase and scattered artworks is impeccable – and enough to make even the most blase of hipsters twiddle their moustache with excitement. Backing onto Berlin Zoo, Das Stue guarantees a room with a view – feathery, furry or otherwise. Catalan chef Paco Pérez is at the helm of the restaurant, Cinco, and with four Michelin stars up the sleeves of his chef’s whites, he delivers outstanding gastronomic creations inspired by the rich produce of his native Spain. Kahanda Kanda - Galle What: Serene Sri Lanka Where: Angulugaha, Galle, Southern Province Monkeys, mongooses and bright-feathered birds are your neighbours at Kahanda Kanda. Surrounded by a 12-acre tea estate, each of the eight villas has been impeccably styled by the villa’s British owner and has its own distinct feel; Peacock, Tamarind and Mango each have a private balcony overlooking the garden, and the only room with a TV, the Dubu Suite, is set into the hillside with large, private lawn and pool — just be prepared to share paradise with any tree-swinging visitors. Classic Sri Lankan curries and contemporary fusion dishes are crafted using fruits, vegetables and herbs exclusively grown on the estate. Cooking classes with Kahanda Kanda’s resident chefs are available for those wishing to learn the secrets of Sri Lankan or Thai cuisine. Kurá - Costa Rica What: Sustainably stylish Where: Uvita de Osa, Calle Bejuco, Osa/Bahia Ballena, Puntarenas, Costa Rica Six teakwood villas blend harmoniously into the lush backdrop at Kurá. Reflecting the hotelier’s passion and vision for eco-friendly accommodation that doesn’t skimp on luxury, the bungalows are minimalist in style but lavish in feel. Each contemporary, open-plan villa includes a floating bed, open-air showers and a balcony that ushers in views of the jungle and Pacific Ocean. Dive into the rectangular, saltwater infinity pool that offers bird’s-eye ocean views, calming underwater music and sun loungers tailor-made for spending an afternoon getting lost in a book or enjoying a cocktail. The Sky Lounge, which has 360-degree vistas of the Costa Rican jungle and ocean, is the prime position to whale-watch and specialises in tamarind margaritas, fruit coladas and inventive mojitos. Soneva Fushi - Maldives What: Desert-island indulgence Where: Kunfunadhoo Island, Baa Atoll Shed your shoes and worries the moment you step onto this private island and into Soneva Fushi. Only missing Fabio riding a white stallion, Soneva Fushi has all the makings of a Harlequin romance: white sand, blue seas, an observatory, a wicked chocolate room and ice-cream parlour, a wine cellar and a private butler service. Bordered by imposing walls of untouched jungle and slices of too-turquoise ocean, the island is a playground of hot stone massages and Japanese watsu treatments, liquid thrills and fresher than fresh beachside feasts. As the day dwindles and sun descends, popcorn and tropical cocktails are served in the open-air cinema beneath a twinkling night sky. Ready to leave? We thought so. Scoot over to Mr & Mrs Smith to book your own stylish stay or call the expert Travel Team on 1300 896 627.
Isabella Rossellini is coming to Australia, dressed as a praying mantis and talking about sex. Set to perform her critically acclaimed, one-woman comedy show Green Porno, Rossellini will tour Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and the Adelaide Festival, with her hilarious take on the fascinating sexual habits of land and marine animals. The playful stage show, based upon Rossellini's short film series and subsequent book of the same name kookily exploring mating in the natural world, will first premier in Los Angeles this November. The screen icon — who is currently studying animal behaviour at Hunter College in New York — says that she's always been interested in animal behaviour: "...and I certainly know a lot of people that are interested I sex. So here you have the three elements that make the core concept of Green Porn." Provocative, unusual and hilarious, the show first originated in 2008, when Robert Redford asked the Italian actress to create short, environmental films for his Sundance TV Channel. Rossellini then wrote the stage production, alongside Jean-Claude Carrier —well-known author, actor, opera librettist and director. Expect a mix of live performance along with some of Rossellini's short films. The actress dresses up in a variety of ridiculous insect and sea-creature costumes, while providing a storyline that is completely scientifically accurate. https://youtube.com/watch?v=BckqviVaWl0
A part of every fully grown mortal can relate to the existential musings of precocious 11-year-old Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic). We've all felt at times that we are lolling about life in a fishbowl and banging "like flies against the glass". As Paloma, a budding young filmmaker, attempts to expose the absurdity of life through her dad's old Hi8 video camera, we are invited to view the world through her bespectacled eyes and question what it is that we truly value in this strange existence. "Freely inspired" by the best-selling novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog by French author and former philosophy teacher Muriel Barbery, The Hedgehog (Le Herisson) delicately interlaces the stories of three endearingly idiosyncratic characters whose lives are vastly different but who share the same elegance of spirit and curiosity for life. Renee Michel (Josiane Balasko) is the stout, surly concierge at an opulent apartment building in Paris who goes about her daily doings as if she were invisible to all but the curious young Paloma, who lives upstairs. As the youngest daughter of a wealthy, workaholic father and a prescription-drug-dependent mother, the freakishly clever and insightful girl feels isolated and misunderstood by those around her. On opposite ends of the socioeconomic scale, Renee and Paloma both dwell on the fringes of society, preferring to quietly observe life from a place of relative obscurity. It isn't until Kakuro Ozu (Togo Igawa), an intelligent and refined Japanese businessman, moves into the building and the three form a unique bond that we see the girl and the woman emerge from hiding and begin to embrace life. Borrowing from fairytale motifs and injecting them with her unique, contemporary vision, director Mona Achache adapts Barbery's novel with intelligence and finesse. Her kooky characters are thoroughly realised and artfully portrayed with sincerity and warmth by an accomplished cast. The kinship between all three leads is genuine and believable, and each delivers a strong performance — especially young Garance, who is delightful as the eccentric Paloma. The Hegdehog is an intimate and uniquely told parable about the importance of scratching the rough surface of life for the chance of discovering the hidden gems beneath. Because sometimes life, like Renee the proverbial 'hedgehog', conceals a sophisticated elegance beneath a prickly veneer. https://youtube.com/watch?v=oQFTEv_41HY
The Claws are coming out this summer, and by that I mean White Claw — the most culturally pervasive entrant in the ever-increasing selection of hard seltzers — will be widely available for your low-calorie, sparkling water-meets-alcohol yearnings. And, now, those among you who both enjoy a hard seltzer but also suffer crippling flavour-indecisiveness can breathe a sigh of relief because Australia's bestselling hard seltzer brand has just dropped a new Variety Pack so you have one less thing you need to ruminate on. A treat. The new 10-Pack case features the usual suspects of Mango, Natural Lime and Ruby Grapefruit, and a couple of tins of the brand new Watermelon flavour — which only launched in Australia last week. Good for picnics, parties and (probably) gallivanting on yachts, when you're looking for something a little lighter than beers and less boozy than natural wine. The hard seltzer craze has evolved from its beginnings as a hallmark of chaotic-bro culture in the American summer of 2019, to permeating multiple levels of fridge space in local bottle shops, from tasty locally-brewed or conceived options like Sunny Eddy, Good Tides, Fellr and Rain Bird to the big international favourites Truly and, of course, White Claw. The White Claw Variety Pack is available from October 11 with 4 x Mango, 2 x Natural Lime, 2 x Ruby Grapefruit and 2 x Watermelon and will retail for $50. Image credit: Provided
Those crazy cultural experiments that we term 'artist run initiatives' seem to be Sydney's flavour of the month. But with 501 turning legal and Red Rattler playing the game right from the start, where can we turn for the truly marginal? I'm talking artists like Lucas Abela, a musician who plays amplified pieces of broken glass, or the Marrickville Jelly Wrestling Federation. Alas, Lanfranchi's — that pinnacle of artistic endeavor — has left the building. The infamous space on the second story of an inner city warehouse was forced, like many others, to close its doors due to development interests. Luckily for us, filmmaker Richard Baron took initiative just in time and documented the last sixty days of Lanfranchi's existence. What was initially intended to be a short film has transformed into an hour long extravaganza, splicing together Baron's footage with archival footage captured by punters. The film's debut also involves a QandA with Baron, David Harris (co-founder of Lanfranchi's) and Phoebe Torzillo (a long-term resident of the space). The whole shebang will be hosted by Jaimie Leonarder of Mu-Meson Archives. In Baron's words, "I thought it would be undervaluing the legacy of the space if its memory were confined only to those who had experienced Lanfranchi's first hand." While the film itself is an invaluable addition to Sydney's cultural history, I have a feeling that its screening has the potential to start things all over again.
Bill Henson is a prolific Australian photographer who takes as his primary subject adolescents to investigate identity, notions of self, tradition and ideas of socio-cultural voyeurism. It is because of Henson's subject matter that his work has been at the centre of heated debate in recent photographic history. In 2008, some of Henson's photographs were removed from Sydney galleries following a police raid after allegations his work was not art, but child pornography. Three weeks later the photographs were returned. For a photographer whose work isn't founded on a strict political agenda, Henson's photographs come with a loaded political history. His latest show at Roslyn Oxley9 is his first exhibition in Sydney in two years and will no doubt be received with mixed reaction. There will be those who seek out some form of justification wherein believers of child pornography claims attempt to reassure their attitudes towards Henson's 'misuse' of minors and there will be art appreciators who will praise the artist's creative and technical merit. There will also be those who beg the question: when we will just let it be? This exhibition features a series of all new photographs created in a range of formats, including rectangular and oval images for the first time, of both figurative and landscape subject matter. One of the more striking in this series is an image of a young female adolescent, naked, crouched with her downward gaze positioned to the right. With scars on her visible knee and bruised skin, we ask for reason to believe she hasn't just been the victim of violent misadventure. Conditioned by an acute contrast of light and dark where shadows confirm limited depth, the girl's body becomes representational of withheld information. Where is she? What has she been doing and what next? Tuning in on this idea of inoperative information in a recent statement, Henson offered, "Sometimes I think that every picture is simply a fragment from some larger image, the precise nature of which I cannot see, and that this image will never arrive at completion. Of course, the thing which most interests you is that sensing of an image which is always disappearing around the bend in front of you. Something that is powerfully apprehended but not fully understood." Another in Henson's latest body of work, is also just as disturbing. We witness a young male slouched, head leaning on arm, with his right leg folding into the photograph's foreground. With ephemeral light shedding onto the boy's wet hair, and with his eyes seemingly sedated, we question his state of consciousness. He, in an intensely interior and undecipherable environment, represents our inability to remove him from his seemingly frightening reality. The adolescent has been arrested by the space that surrounds him. "The manner in which we sense temperature, gravity, velocity, humidity and the profound effect these and other forces have upon our conscious and unconscious body, have always been at the centre of creative endeavour," said Henson. Henson's latest work doesn't try to be beautiful, it tries to be true. The artist's images are paralysing because the adolescents in them offer an intense conditioning of humanity. The subjects of Henson's photographs are clearly displaced, they are lost and searching for something beyond our current time and place. Beneath the photographic surface there lies a striking emptiness and hollow spiritual hope as the haunting bodies in front of us quality a dark reality. There is a loss of innocence both within Henson's work and outside it, as audiences recognise a twisted eurphoria. Henson's work is simple with a tremendous resonance.
Just in time for summer, Surry Hills mainstay Maybe Frank has opened a sister cocktail bar and pizzeria in Randwick. Owner Stefano Catino says the plan is to put a little bit of the inner city in the east. Seeing the need for a good-quality cocktail bar in the area, he and business partner Vince Lombardo have essentially opened up a twin: the menus are virtually the same across both venues and the outfit is similar. However, there are a few surprises. Patrons will find a weekly rotating menu that helps you decipher the drinks and pizza list, with a theme every week and a matching hashtag, along with an emoji scale to indicate the flavour strength of each item. Menu highlights include more than 20 pizzas, four different calzones (all with lashings of fior di latte), antipasti and insalata. There's also homemade pasta dishes, including the incredibly indulgent pesto lasagne, plus 'Frank's planks': cheese, charcuterie and veggie boards, ideal for after work snacks and a spritz. The new space occupies an exposed-brick double frontage on Perouse Road with large sharing tables in the front and a flowery beer garden out back — which also grows herbs for the food and cocktails. Walls are adorned with local illustrator Jamie Preisz' works and there's a vibe that can only really be described as contemporary-Australian-meets-Italian-chic. Maybe Frank has pulled in a few respectable names for their new venture. Andrea Gualdi has resumed his position as creative director of the bar (but with a shiny, new trophy that reads '2017 World Class Bartender of the Year') and Balasz Molnar, previously of Hong Kong's luxurious Lobster Bar, has been snapped up as bar manager. "These people are serious and come from world-class backgrounds. I'm super humbled that they're all on board with us," Catino says. "But mainly we want to have fun." Maybe Frank is open Tuesday to Thursday 5:30pm–10:30, Friday and Saturday 5:30pm–11 and Sunday 5pm–10. 69 Perouse Road, Randwick. Images: Daniele Massacci
Crown Street staple The Winery has transformed its expansive wine garden into a cosy hideout for these winter months — then added in raclette stations and bottomless mulled wine for good measure. The venue's wintry oasis is running from July 14 through August 31 and we reckon you should book in a night out here right away. Walk through the macramé archway to one of two private teepees, which fit up to 11 of your best mates. They're decked out with floor cushions, ottomans and Persian-style rugs — the ideal setting for sipping on endless pours of mulled wine or sangria (in red, white or rosé). A two-hour bottomless booze deal in a private teepee is on offer for $79 per person, with the package also including your own private raclette station, plus additional honey-roasted camembert and a tiramisu-flavoured bombe alaska for dessert. Or opt for the $59 package, which, apart from all that raclette, includes a four-wine tasting paddle, onion and gruyere toastie and hot chocolate cannoli for all. The aforementioned raclette station includes a heap of that hot gooey cheese, along with crudité skewers, cured meats and roasted mushrooms for dipping. If you don't want to sit in a teepee, you can can book the raclette station separately for $20 per person (minimum two people), and order all other food and booze items a la carte, while hanging out in the rest of the Winery courtyard. The Winery Glamping packages can be booked Thursday–Friday, 5–7pm and 7.30–9.30pm; and Saturday–Sunday from noon–2pm, 2.30–4.30pm, 5–7pm and 7.30–9.30pm. Images: Jasper Avenue Photography.
That evangelical buffoon Fred Nile needs to realise something important: nobody cares if his prayers for rain on Mardi Gras Parade night are answered. Whilst the queer community may still be persecuted in the same fashion as witches, it doesn't lead to melting into a little puddle (err, umm, is anyone else feeling a bit hot in here...). In fact, it may have a mogwai effect and things could well get a little more wild. And wild is what it's all about. No! I don't mean that. Visibility is what it's all about! Oh heck, they're not mutually exclusive, grab your glowstick (insert honking noise), let's have a gay ol' time! This year, the Mardi Gras parade will come shuffling and hooting and hollering down the camp streets of Sydney on Saturday 27 February, which means steal a milkcrate now in preparation. This year's theme is 'History of the World' but no need to clap your blackboard dusters together as there's not going to be a pop quiz. Just lots of tinsel twinks, bikes and their dykes, questionable tackiness, galpals, toyboys and everyone else who's feeling fruity and wants to make a statement/get their kit off. Warning: There will be hundreds and thousands of other GLBTs and their P-FLAGs from all over the world so get there early, catch public transport, BYO glitter.
Master blender Dr Rachel Barrie has been in the whisky game for over 30 years, but she originally trained as a chemist. This scientific background paved the way for her to become a leader in the delicious field of whisky blending, requiring her to use those stoichiometry skills on the daily. Before she embarked on a professional career that saw her mix drops for several world-renowned whisky brands, she learned her trade from legendary industry figure Dr Jim Swan. In 2017, Dr Barrie became the Master Blender for The GlenDronach, Benriach, and Glenglassaugh distilleries. She was then inducted into Whisky's Hall of Fame in 2018, becoming the first woman in the scotch industry to be awarded that honour, earning her the title of the World's First Lady of Scotch. And nowadays? She continues to run the master blending arm at these three distilleries where she artfully crafts premium single malt whiskies. We could think of no other expert to sit down with and talk about whisky with. Read on to find her thoughts on crafting the perfect dram, gather tips on how to become a true whisky connoisseur (even if you're new to the delicious amber liquid) and learn of the best advice she's ever received. Let's say I'm new to whisky and I'd like to develop my taste for and understanding of it, what advice would you have for me on how to start? "It's best to start with a neat dram, a teaspoon and water — first tasting neat, then adding water to experiment and unlock different tastes. Always remember to smell with your mouth slightly open. If you nose with your mouth closed, you will smell the alcohol instead of the aromas within the glass. Keep your lips open slightly and inhale a few times. Take your time to access the aroma and uncover the different flavours within. A great introductory whisky to try is the Benriach's The Original Ten. The best way to describe it is like having a pastry with fruit, toasted almonds and vanilla custard in it. Tasting with canapés or small nibbles helps showcase each whisky's flavour, giving you the opportunity to discover the richness of complementary or contrasting combinations. The Benriach 10-year-old goes perfectly with heavily roasted nuts such as peanuts, cashews and walnuts." How about if I'm someone who thinks they don't like whisky, what would you advise then? Is there a style of whisky or approach to drinking the spirit for me? "I always encourage people to be adventurous and open to trying new things. When it comes to whisky, I encourage people to enjoy it however they choose — whether that's neat, over ice or mixed in a cocktail. Every person is different. It is important to take your time, nose the whisky and explore the different aromas and flavours with each sip. The first sip is there to get your palate ready, the second sip is when it's time to explore the different flavours in the glass. If you are finding it too strong, just have a teaspoon of water, it will make it more comfortable." What are your golden rules for how to serve whisky? "First, bring your chosen bottle of whisky to room temperature. Next up, glassware: it is important that there is a slight funnelling to the top of the glass, this helps to concentrate the aromas in the right direction. It also allows you to view or nose the whisky. Once you have the right glass, pour it and let it breathe. A good rule to follow is to let it breathe for one minute per year. So for The GlenDronach's Grandeur 28-Year-Old, I like to pour it and leave it out for at least 28 minutes before enjoying. Enjoy your whisky with a friend or loved one and make sure to take your time to appreciate the flavours and aromas coming from the glass. Stop and ask yourself: what fruit does this remind me of? Is it cherry? Raisins, dates, plums? As you dig deeper you will find notes that remind you of other things or trigger memories. Experience the whisky you are drinking with one another." Whisky cocktails — yay or nay? "Yay! Although I am partial to a neat whisky, we're finding consumers are increasingly looking for more experiential, 'fun' serves with a twist that play on flavours, colours, textures, aromas and interactivity. One of our most popular cocktails is the Benriach Penicillin, which perfectly mixes smoke, lemon and ginger." Smoke Season Penicillin Recipe 25ml Benriach The Original Ten 25ml Benriach Smoke Season 20ml ginger and honey syrup 20ml fresh lemon juice Shake all ingredients, then strain over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with candied ginger and lemon. [caption id="attachment_891265" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Benriach[/caption] People think of single-malt whiskies as being the opposite of blended whiskies, but crafting a single malt still involves blending. What is it that you're trying to achieve when you blend a single malt? "The difference is a blended whisky is a mix of barrel-aged malt and grain whiskies, a single-malt whisky is a blend of whiskies from a single distillery. When I blend a single malt I'm trying to achieve a combination of flavours from one distillery. For example, at Benriach I have artistically crafted a range of single malt whiskies that perfectly marries tradition and innovation. We seek out an eclectic mix of casks from around the world, so chosen for the exceptional character and flavour notes they lend our whisky. Once brought back to Speyside, we fill them with one of our three styles of distilled spirit: classic, peated or triple distilled. And then we wait. Our spirit matures — flavours collide, combine and intertwine. And only when we are satisfied our whisky is ready, can you enjoy a dram that is richly multi-layered and full of character." What makes a good master blender, and what has your job taught you about flavour? "Exploring flavour is a huge part of my job. Whisky making is much more than an art or a science; for me, whisky is looking deep into nature and understanding it much better. The best way to understand it is if you moved a distillery a mile down the road, and used the exact same techniques, it won't be the same. It is all the things we cannot see that go into the whisky-making process. My approach is to 'nurture the best nature' of each distillery, fully understanding how each environment influences them. As the master blender for The GlenDronach, Benriach and Glenglassaugh distilleries in Speyside and the Highlands of Scotland, I often describe them as taking you from the glen to the 'ben' to the sea. I feel uniquely connected to all three distilleries." How did you forge your career in whisky and what has kept you in the field? What do you love most about whisky and your job? "My love for whisky started when I entered the industry through the Scotch Whisky Research Institute. I researched the flavours and the impact different oak wood casks have on spirit flavour development over time and quickly began to think about a future as a master blender. I had a passion for the science and technology of distillery production, maturation, flavour and sensory science. Loving what I do has motivated me and kept me in the field. My biggest challenge is that I can't sample enough whisky! I have sampled in excess of 150,000 casks across dozens of distilleries, and to this day can say each distillery and single cask teaches me something new each day. The opportunity to keep learning and creating excites me." Whisky related or not, what is the best advice you've ever received? Who gave it to you and what was the context? "My parents were my biggest mentors. Growing up in rural Aberdeenshire, my family was grounded and taught me the power of a strong work ethic. I learned early on that never giving up will always create the best future. The three sayings that have remained with me most on my journey and led me to where I am today are: do your best and forget the rest; seek balance in every day; and success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out. My biggest mantra is 'Love what you do and do what you love'. I take this approach with everything I do." To start your whisky journey, or continue it, shop Benriach and The GlenDronach whiskies at Dan Murphy's, Nick's Wine Merchants, Vintage Cellars and BWS.
Plan a trip to South Australia, and spending time surrounded by grapes is probably on your agenda. This year, you can pair all those winery visits with plenty of pumpkins, too, because Yayoi Kusama's pumpkin-focused infinity room The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens will display at the Art Gallery of South Australia from Friday, April 1. Australia just keeps going dotty for Kusama. Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art's hosted a kaleidoscopic exhibition dedicated to the Japanese artist back in 2017, her Obliteration Room has proven a hit in the Sunshine State several times and, going one better, Canberra's National Gallery of Australia acquired The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens back in 2018. While the latter is a permanent addition to the NGA's collection, it's also going on the road on — which is why Adelaide is your next place to see oh-so-many dots. The piece was first exhibited in 2015. Comprised of a mirrored cube filled with yellow, dot-covered pumpkins, it's a quintessential Kusama work. Whether you're a devoted fan who considers visiting the artist's own Tokyo museum a bucket-list moment, or someone who has simply placed stickers around one of her obliteration rooms, you would've noticed that dots and the concept of infinity are crucial to her art — "our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos," she says. Inside the cube, the bulbous vegetables appear to create an endless field thanks to the shiny surface. On the outside of the cube, the structure's mirrored exterior reflects the yellow-and-black walls in the surrounding installation room — again, making it appear as though the pattern stretches on forever. The NGA's acquisition was made possible via a gift from Andrew and Hiroko Gwinnett, which is also supporting the infinity room's tour. AGSA hasn't revealed how long it'll be on display, but entry will be free — and it's obviously a must-visit addition to any Adelaide itinerary. Images: Installation view, THE SPIRITS OF THE PUMPKINS DESCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS by Yayoi Kusama, 2017, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. © Yayoi Kusama, courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore/Shanghai.
When the Goodwill Bridge, then the Neville Bonner Bridge, then the Kangaroo Point Bridge each opened in Brisbane, helping pedestrians get around the River City on foot was high among each structure's aims. Brisbane Festival 2025 clearly applauds that idea. The Queensland capital's major annual arts fest is not only embracing the concept, but is also building upon it. How does an event in a city that adores constructing more and more bridges work that reality into its program? By turning those three aforementioned river crossings into art installations — and featuring them in an art trail. Walk This Way is one of Brisbane Festival's big 2025 highlights, in what marks the last year of six at the helm for Artistic Director Louise Bezzina. Brisbane art and design duo Craig Redman and Karl Maier, who are globally known as Craig & Karl, have been given the task of transforming the Goodwill, Neville Bonner and Kangaroo Point bridges with large-scale art. With this free part of the fest's program, you'll not only see these structures as you've never seen them before and, of course, mosey along them; you'll also follow the path around the city to other iconic sites. Craig & Karl have an exhibition at Griffith University's Art Museum, celebrating where they first met, on the Brisbane Festival 2025 as well. [caption id="attachment_1008628" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Craig & Karl[/caption] Across Friday, September 5–Saturday, September 27, Bezzina has plenty more in store for the city — 106 productions and 1069 performances, in fact, featuring contributions from 2260 artists. A huge 21 events in the program are world premieres, while more than 39 percent of the lineup is free. How does Bezzina describe it? "This year's program is a love letter to Brisbane — bold, joyful, and created with and for the city," she advises. "My final festival is a celebration of everything Brisbane Festival has become: a world-class event with a fiercely local heart. From world premieres to deeply resonant community works, this year's program is ambitious in scale and grounded in storytelling, deeply connected to the people and places that make this city so special. As the city comes alive this September, I welcome everyone to take their place in the story." [caption id="attachment_1008620" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Laurent Philippe[/caption] Here's some of the other ways that Brisbane Festival 2025 is showing its affection for its hometown: with after-dark experience Afterglow among those global debuts, filling the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens with fire sculptures and candlelit installations — and also with The Great Gatsby-themed show and pop-up club GATSBY at The Green Light, which is heading to Twelfth Night Theatre to celebrate 100 years since F Scott Fitzgerald's book first hit shelves. Two of the fest's other huge drawcards stem from the world of dance. Thanks to Gems, which was commissioned by French luxury house Van Cleef & Arpels, Brisbane will witness three specific pieces by acclaimed choreographer Benjamin Millepied and LA Dance Project staged together for the first time ever. And courtesy of Baleen Moondjan, First Nations artist and Bangarra Dance Theatre founder Stephen Page is back home in Brisbane with a production that explores the link between baleen whales and Country — and, fittingly, will be performed in a barge featuring whale bone sculptural elements on the Brisbane River. Another must-attend Brisbane Festival show pays tribute to one of the city's beloved Indian restaurants, with A Place in the Sultan's Kitchen not only featuring Joshua Hinton chatting about his family's eatery, but cooking his grandmother's chicken curry live. [caption id="attachment_1008619" align="alignnone" width="1920"] UAVS[/caption] Fellow standouts include yet another dance must-see in Bad Nature, with Australasian Dance Collective and the Netherlands' Club Guy & Roni teaming up; TINA — A Tropical Love Story's tribute to Tina Turner; the solo debut of Josh Taliani, who is behind House of Alexander; Shake & Stir giving A Midsummer Night's Dream a pop makeover as The Lovers; and Back to Bilo bringing Priya and Nades Nadesalingam and their family's tale to the stage for the first time. Plus, AMPLIFIED: The Exquisite Rock and Rage of Chrissy Amphlett is an ode to its namesake, Milestone is William Yang's latest presentation, 100 Guitars gives 2025's festival its mass-participation performance and Community Choir: The Musical does indeed show the love for everyday voices. [caption id="attachment_1008618" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Stephanie Coombes[/caption] Roma Street concert series Night at The Parkland has a heap of Aussie talent on its bill, such as ICEHOUSE, Lime Cordiale, Jack River, Xavier Rudd, Amy Shark, Grinspoon and Cut Copy. To catch Odd Mob, CW Stoneking, Wolters, Phantastic Ferniture and more, head to Tivoli in the Round, which is shaking up its stage setup. And, Wunderhorse, Winston Surfshirt and Sarah Blasko are also on Brisbane Festival's program, as are Brisbane Serenades' outdoor concerts at Brisbane Powerhouse, Manly, Moorooka at St Lucia. It wouldn't be a Brisbane Festival without Riverfire, which will light up Brisbane's night sky with fireworks on the event's opening weekend. Also getting everyone looking up, Skylore will be back with another First Nations traditional story taking to the air via 400 drones. [caption id="attachment_1008616" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Children of the Revolution[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1008625" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1008564" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mellumae and Sean Dowling[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1008461" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1008622" align="alignnone" width="1920"] JD Lin[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1008621" align="alignnone" width="1920"] George Gittoes[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1008624" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Joseph Mayers[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1008617" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Laura Du Ve[/caption] Brisbane Festival 2025 runs from Friday, September 5–Saturday, September 27 at various venues around Brisbane. Head to the festival's website for tickets and further details. Top image: Craig & Karl, Dirty Puppet and Jared Hinz.
Feel like your interior space needs a 2023 refresh, but don't want to spend thousands on a couple of exxy cushions? We get it. Luckily the cost-effective homewares market is just getting better and better these days — and of course, a huge player is everyone's fave Aussie department store, Kmart. Well, take an extended lunch break or block out some time in the diary for online shopping — we mean, a 'meeting' — because today, Thursday, February 2, Kmart has just unveiled its latest home-focused lineup. Expect it to fly off the shelves. With prices starting at $3.50 — for dinnerware, should your kitchen need a revamp — the February Living Range goes heavy on colourful hues, natural materials and vintage inspiration. There are three main themes: timeless, natural and urban. The first two themes skew soft, gently preparing us for autumn with shearling fabrics, hygge-friendly throws and rugs, curved shapes and delicate glassware. The latter theme, which is still designed to mix and match with the rest of the range, is where bold silhouettes and gleaming surfaces come in. We also have it on good authority that deep purples and red wine tones are going to be big this year. Covering items for the dining room, bathroom, bedroom and living room as well, Kmart's current drop includes some 70s-inspired picks like a cream cloud chair (available online only), an arched bedside table and some funky vases and candles — all of which you'll probably see on TikTok in about six minutes flat. And it being Kmart there are all the classic beachy and boho tones that have become synonymous with the brand: think rattan baskets, chambray throws and fringed ottomans. Our top picks? The new coloured and curved water glasses are guaranteed to go viral — especially starting at just $14 for a set of four — while the coupe glasses are screaming cocktails in the sunshine to us. Scatter them along a long table for your next dinner party, amid your new pastel $5 candles and scallop-edged placemats. Oh and you can probably cater the party using Kmart's new outrageously affordable pizza oven and LED-screen air fryer (complete with a dehydrator for DIY cocktail garnishing). For the bathroom, make sure you grab the plush towels that are in our eyes a total dupe for Missoni — except they're only $13 each. But be warned — you only have a short period to get your mitts on your favourite pieces. The February Living Range is on sale online and in-store from Thursday, February 2 until Wednesday, February 22. This drop also includes a newly increased DIY line of decorative pieces like wallpaper, adhesive tiles, window dressings and door handles, for refreshing tired existing spaces around the house. Kmart's February Living range is on sale online and in-store from Thursday, February 2 until Wednesday, February 22.
On Friday the much-loved Sydney gallery White Rabbit will reopen and unveil their new show, Serve the People. Which means it's time for one of their famously fun opening night parties! Everyone's welcome, so get there early to grab a prime place in the inevitable queue. The exhibition is curated by Chinese art aficionado Edmund Capon, former director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Capon lends his passionate expertise to this intriguing collection of the best artworks of the ‘21st-century cultural revolution’. So grab a drink and prepare to be impressed by pieces from artists including Yan Siwen, Jin Feng and Madeln Company (Xu Zhen) reflecting a freer period in which the phrase ‘serve the people’ no longer means producing art to further the socialist cause. Instead, in highly experimental, individualistic ways artists are interrogating China’s national image, exploring themes like consumerism, history vs. ideology, corruption, personal identity and censorship. Image: Zhou Xiaohu, "America Likes Me", 2012
Patricia Piccinini's otherworldly pieces have popped up all across Australia, and now it's the TarraWarra Museum of Art's turn to host. The not-for-profit public art gallery has announced an almost four-month-long showcase of the artist's efforts from November this year — including the return of her unmissable installation work The Skywhale. The 34-metre-long, animal-shaped hot air balloon will float through the sky in the lead up to the exhibition's opening, so keep an eye out. Called Patricia Piccinini and Joy Hester: Through love…, the exhibition will display from November 24, 2018 to March 11, 2019. It'll not only focus on the woman with an incredibly distinctive view on all things weird and wonderful — and on the thin line between humanity and animal kind that's engrained in her creative portfolio — but on fellow Australian artist Joy Hester. If the latter's name doesn't sound familiar, she was a Melbourne artist who passed away in 1960, favoured brushwork and ink on paper, and is considered one of Piccinini's key influences. This'll be the first time anywhere in the world that a gallery has explored the connection between the pair, with more than 50 pieces on display. With the showcase broadly focused around the theme of love and intimacy as well, visitors will get to see the evolution of Aussie art through the output of the two inimitable figures, with Hester's ink and paper works considered touchstones for Piccinini's sculptures, photographs, videos and drawings. In both camps, attendees will be treated to something either rare or brand new. Much of Hester's work is rarely seen, though her famous couple-focused series Love 1949 and Lovers 1955–56 will be on display. As for Piccinini, she'll be represented by both new and existing large-scale pieces. Piccinini will also unveil a major new work, Sanctuary, at this exhibition. The work is comprised of a wall print, a graphite on paper drawing and, the focal point, a sculpture of two figures embracing. The elderly couple depict characteristics of both humans and bonobos — an endangered ape species known for its intimate relationships. Through this work, Piccinini is exploring human relationships with animals, environment and technology. Images: Rick Liston, Installation view of Patricia Piccinini, Kindred, 2018; Rick Liston, Installation view of Patricia Piccinini, The Lovers, 2011; Rick Liston, Installation view of Patricia Piccinini, The Young Family, 2002; Rick Liston, Installation view of Patricia Piccinini, Sanctuary, 2018; Rick Liston, View of artwork flying in Yarra Valley on November 24, 2018, Patricia Piccinini, Skywhale, 2013; Rick Liston, Installation view of Patricia Piccinini, The Young Family, 2002. All images courtesy of the artist, Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney For more spring places, spaces and events to discover in regional Victoria visit Your Happy Space.
When international art collective teamLab launched Borderless, its Tokyo-based permanent digital-only art museum, the kaleidoscopic space became the most-visited single-artist site in the world in just its first year of operation. Wherever the outfit pops up — be it in Shanghai oil tanks, Japanese hot springs or Melbourne — its installations are always hugely popular. So it's no wonder that the group keeps expanding its footprint by opening more permanent locations. Late in 2019, teamLab launched a new venue in Shanghai, which is also called Borderless. This year, it also started a museum called SuperNature in Macao. And, come 2024, it'll set up shop in The Netherlands as well — thanks to a new permanent digital art exhibition in Utrecht, which'll become the Europe's first centre dedicated to digital art. Called Nowhere, the next teamLab site will take over a 3000-square-metre space — and fill it with a range of the collective's typically vibrant and luminous works. While specific details about these pieces are yet to be revealed, Nowhere will be home to 'Future Park' and 'Athletics Forest' areas like its other venues. That means digital art fans can expect an all-ages, educational range of works, as well as engaging and fun activities that'll get you to physically interact with the pieces on offer. With the space's opening still four years away, clearly more details will be provided in that period; however teamLab will be pondering familiar themes. In a statement about the new exhibition, the group noted that it'll be exploring the expanding and spreading notion of beauty, the way it changes people's perceptions, and the fact that "everything exists in a fragile yet miraculous continuity over an extremely long period of time" — and that it's aiming "to create an experience through which visitors recognise this continuity itself as beautiful". In other words, it sounds like teamLab's next batch light and projection-heavy art will once again dazzle, immerse and get audiences thinking as they wander through and interact with the new space. In terms of its location, Nowhere will form part of an impressive spot, too. It'll nestle into the ground floor of Utrecht's new biodiversity-focused Wonderwoods development, which'll feature more than 360 trees and almost 9750 shrubs and plants in a green urban space next to Utrecht Central Station — so, before you mosey around teamLab's digital wonders, you have soak in some natural splendour as well. Of course, digital art aficionados Down Under will need to cross their fingers that international travel has returned to normal by 2024 — so put visiting Nowhere on your post-pandemic travel bucket list. teamLab Nowhere will open at Wonderwoods, Jaarbeurs Boulevard, Utrecht, at a yet-to-be-announced 2024 date — we'll update you with further details when they're announced. Top image: teamLab SuperNature. Mountain of Flowers and People: Lost, Immersed and Reborn, 2020, Interactive Digital Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi © teamLab.
Since 2014, White Night has brightened up Melbourne with an all-night arts festival each February. When summer comes to an end in 2019, however, the city won't be sparkling with light and culture. Instead, the popular evening is shifting to a new winter berth. While the exact dates and program won't be revealed until closer to the event, White Night will make the move to August as part a huge new winter festival, the Victorian Government has announced. The after-dark spectacle itself will still only run over a single evening, but the broader fest will be a three-day affair, complete with music, design, film, food, performance and street art events. Part of the move is inspired by Melbourne's long mid-year nights, with the lengthier stint of darkness allowing White Night's luminous activities to kick off earlier — meaning that artists have more hours to play with, and families can enjoy an earlier start time. Aiming to become one of Victoria's signature events, the overarching multi-day festival will build upon 2018's bigger White Night program. "This reimagined event will create unique and exciting opportunities for artists, performers, cultural practitioners and institutions with a broader program and more nights to experience it," said White Night artistic director David Atkins.
This year's stacked Vivid food program boasts some incredible talent from across Sydney — and South Eveleigh's very own Coyoacán Social has joined the ranks for 2024. For the first time, the local favourite will be popping up for a Vivid residency inside the bustling Carriageworks precinct, slinging an array of Mexican street eats that give back to the community. The Mexican fare will not only make a fine addition to your foodie hit list, but will also contribute donations to community kitchens. Coyoacán Social's Vivid pop-up will continue to follow the ethos of its founding social enterprise, Plate It Forward, while offering a fresh addition to the annual festival's food selection. Think: creating unity and shared dignity through the provision of top-quality meals. You can expect its flavour-packed birria tacos to make a special appearance as part of the vibrant fare. And, with each taco purchase, you'll be helping to provide a nutritious meal to families in need. Head to Carriageworks from Friday, May 31 until Saturday, June 15 to sink your teeth into the South Eveleigh joint's famed street food.
The first Collector Store in Surry Hills has been drawing in curious weekend browsers for years thanks to its ever changing collection of fashion, accessories and homewares. The Sydney store now has three locations, including its largest space in Paddington. The Oxford Street boutique has an eclectic mix of clothing, candles and cushion covers like the other locations, but with more room to show off its furniture, kitchen and dining products than at the Barangaroo or Crown Street stores. You'll find BORNN's marble-effect enamel plates, Tom Dixon candles and decanters, and HK Living serving trays. There's also terrazzo coffee tables, woven light shades, and weaved outdoor dining chairs. And at the front of the store, there are rails of menswear by Mr Simple (think linen shorts and Hawaiian-inspired shirts) and women's printed dresses by Coster Copenhagen. Though most of the clothing sits above the $100 mark, there are gifts within the $40–60 bracket, too, like Missoni towels, Leif hand wash and Scotch & Soda leather wallets, as well as a locally made range of Gascoigne & King candles and diffusers. Images: Cassandra Hannagan
UPDATE Thursday, June 29: Ocean Alley have now been announced as the replacement for Lewis Capaldi. Find the full 2023 Splendour in the Grass lineup and set times at the festival website. Splendour in the Grass is just weeks away from its 2023 festival, and two new artists have just been added to the lineup, with one more major announcement still set to come. Danny Brown and Thelma Plum have both joined the bill as replacements for Slowthai and Rainbow Kitten Surprise. Plus, Splendour has confirmed that a replacement for Lewis Capaldi is coming, after the Scottish singer-songwriter advised that he would be taking a break from touring to focus on his health. Eccentric US rapper Danny Brown will join the lineup as an Australian exclusive, playing his first Australian show in over five years. He'll head up the Mix Up Stage on the Friday night, bringing his catalogue of experimental rap hits including his highly acclaimed recent collaborative project SCARING THE HOES with Jpegmafia (who you can catch at this year's Listen Out). Thelma Plum also joins the lineup of musicians that'll will arrive at North Byron Parklands from Friday, July 21–Sunday, July 23, alongside the likes of Lizzo, Flume, Mumford & Sons and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — the latter of which were slated to headline 2022's Splendour in the Grass lineup, but cancelled in the leadup. Plum was a highlight of the festival back in 2019, and was also scheduled to play at the 2020 edition before it was cancelled due to the pandemic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YgxQlS2054 Along with the new acts, the annual winter event has also just unveiled its set times and maps, so you can start planning your weekend and prepare for set clashes if you've nabbed tickets. The schedule reveals an hour-long gap on the Amphitheatre stage between Ruel and J Balvin where festivalgoers can expect Capaldi's replacement to pop up. Just last week, Splendour added a heap of new talent to the weekend, including powerhouse Russian punk group Pussy Riot and a heap of names for its Forum, Science Tent, Comedy Club and Forum Live Podcasts programs. These additions included a talk with Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova, everyone's favourite ex-AFL player-turned-sports newsreader Tony Armstrong, The Betoota Advocate, Dr Karl, Brooke Boney, and comedians such as Deadloch star Nina Oyama and Michael Hing. [caption id="attachment_907565" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Stephen Booth[/caption] SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2023 MUSIC LINEUP: Danny Brown (Australian exclusive) Thelma Plum Ocean Alley Joining Lizzo Flume (Australian exclusive: ten years of Flume) Mumford & Sons (Australian exclusive) Yeah Yeah Yeahs Hilltop Hoods J Balvin Sam Fender Idles Little Simz Tove Lo 100 Gecs (Australian exclusive) Arlo Parks Ball Park Music Iann Dior King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard 070 Shake Pussy Riot Pnau Ruel Loyle Carner Benee Marlon Williams Hooligan Hefs Peach PRC Palace Dune Rats Tkay Maidza Noah Cyrus Skegss Sudan Archives Cub Sport Meg Mac X Club. Claire Rosinkranz Jack River The Smith Street Band Lastlings Jeremy Zucker Young Franco Sly Withers MAY-A The Vanns Telenova Vallis Alps Jamesjamesjames Kaycyy RVG Teenage Dads Balming Tiger Automatic Harvey Sutherland Gali Del Water Gap Royel Otis Shag Rock Big Wett Mia Wray Memphis LK Gold Fang Milku Sumner Forest Claudette Full Flower Moon Band William Crighton Hellcat Speedracer Triple J Unearthed Winners Mix Up DJs: Tseba Crybaby Latifa Tee Foura Caucasianopportunities Luen Mowgli DJ Macaroni Crescendoll Splendour in the Grass will take over North Byron Bay Parklands from Friday, July 21–Sunday, July 23, 2023 — head to the festival website for further details and tickets.
In excellent news for carnivores across Sydney, it just got a whole lot easier to sink your teeth into a top-quality steak from Vic's Meat Market. The restaurant has extended its opening hours, and now dishes up dinner from Thursday through to Saturday. Located at the Sydney Fish Market, the butcher shop and adjacent smokehouse has long been a favourite for local meat lovers, allowing diners to pick out their own steak from the display, and then have it expertly grilled and delivered straight to their table. Vic's is also a go-to for loads of Sydney's top restaurants, so you know your tastebuds are in excellent hands. From start to finish, the menu here is a celebration of simplicity and excellent meat, with classic smokehouse dishes sitting alongside top-notch steak cuts. Tuck into barbecue staples like a smoked wagyu cheeseburger, or opt for a hearty scotch fillet teamed with hand-cut fries and seasonal salads. The custom-built smoker can handle about 200 kilograms of meat — it's responsible for favourites like the low 'n' slow pulled pork and a dreamy Texas-style brisket. New menu additions include the likes of mac 'n' cheese chips and a signature Vic's snack pack loaded with your choice of brisket or pork. Vic's Meat Market is located at the Sydney Fish Market, 50-60 Bank Street, Pyrmont. It's open until 9pm Thursday to Saturday. Visit its website for more information.
Last year was hot. We sweltered through Australia's warmest summer on record, a hotter-than-standard autumn, a warmer-than-usual winter and a spicy spring as well. To the surprise of no one, the next few months look set to continue the trend. This week, BOM released its climate outlook for the March to May period, revealing that most of the country is in for warmer days and stickier nights than we usually see at this time of year. Yep, the soupy weather is set to continue. In fact, across the majority of Australia, there's a 60–80 percent chance autumn temperatures will be a whole lot warmer than the median. To give an idea of exactly what that all means, the average daily maximum temperature for March sits at around 23.9 degrees in Melbourne, 24.8 in Sydney and 28 in Brisbane. In May, it's around 16.7 degrees for Melbourne, with 19.5 for Sydney and 23.2 for Brisbane. The BOM is forecasting that we'll see warmer than that across the three months. Unfortunately for farmers, parts of Queensland are looking to struggle through drier-than-average autumns, too. Elsewhere, it's likely rainfall will be relatively average. While recent heavy rainfall across NSW and southeast Qld has helped ease the dry in some areas (and increase Sydney's water storage by a whopping 30 percent), BOM is saying some regions require "several months of above average rainfall" to bring them out of drought — which doesn't look likely to happen this autumn. The recent spate of heavy rain has also helped — thankfully — to ease some of the catastrophic bushfires that have been burning across the country, with the NSW RFS today announcing that for the first time this season all bush and grass fires in NSW are now contained. While that is unquestionably great news, it might not be the case for long, with BOM saying the warmer-than-average days and nights predicted over the next four months will increase the chance of heatwaves and elevate bushfire risk. Image: Kenny Lover by Julia Sansone
Moving from sandwiches, dessert and flowers to smoked meats, the team behind Woolloomooloo sandwich joint John Montagu and Sydney chocolatier, patissier and florist Petal Met Sugar have rolled the dice on a completely new venture — Chinese cuisine. Yan, their new Chinese smokehouse restaurant, opened up in the often gastronomically neglected suburb of Wolli Creek a couple of weeks ago, and has been quietly dishing up incredible smoked Chinese food (yan is a Chinese word for smoke). Although Chinese food usually champions barbecued meats more ferociously than smoked, the trend that's swept meat vendors Australia-wide has sunk its delicious claws into Yan. Although the owners are more familiar with the sweet side of the palate, they've taken a deft hand to Chinese food, creating a simplistic menu that's designed for sharing and maintains strong elements of traditional cooking, despite the intriguing addition of house-smoked meats. Think smoked lamb rib with a cumin dry rub and Asian chimichurri, or smoked mussels with house-made chilli sauce and bao. And olive rice. Wolli Creek isn't often considered a culinary cornerstone, but the southern suburb is picking up some of that gentrified urban sprawl — the recently launched Discovery Markets are testament to the area's growing foodie focus. To be sure, there's nosh here that's worth changing trains for. Yan is situated at 19 Arncliffe Street, Wolli Creek, and is open 5.30pm to 9.30pm, Wednesday to Sunday.
The power of Back to the Future isn't really a curious thing. As viewers have known since 1985, the Michael J Fox-starring sci-fi/comedy is timeless delight. But as well as making film lovers weep with joy for almost four decades, the iconic movie is now making other folks sing — the cast of the newly minted Olivier Award-winning Back to the Future: The Musical, that is. Exclaiming "great Scott!" is obviously the only fitting response to this development — and there's clearly plenty to get excited about. Yes, Back to the Future: The Musical is a real thing that exists, and has been racing towards clocktowers on-stage in the UK since early 2020 (around a pandemic hiatus or two, of course). Yes, it just picked up the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Yes, the show does indeed follow the Marty McFly and Doc Brown-led story we all know and adore, but with songs, including renditions of Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B Goode' and Huey Lewis and the News' 'The Power of Love' and 'Back in Time', naturally. Now, the news that might have you speeding 88 miles per hour towards Britain: for now, Back to the Future: The Musical is solely treading the boards in Britain. But if a trip to London is on your agenda between before Sunday, October 23, the show is playing at the English capital's Adelphi Theatre until then. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Back To The Future: Musical (@bttfmusical) If you won't be making a visit overseas by plane or DeLorean, start crossing your fingers that the production eventually makes its way Down Under — or pop on your own white lab coat, start tinkering around with electronics and whip up your own time machine to try to make it happen. Also featuring music and lyrics by OG Back to the Future composer Alan Silvestri and acclaimed songwriter Glen Ballard (Ghost the Musical), plus a book by Bob Gale — who co-penned all three Back to the Future film scripts with filmmaker Robert Zemeckis — Back to the Future: The Musical was nominated for seven Olivier Awards. It only won the big one, but emerged victorious over heavy-hitters and fellow screen-to-stage shows Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Frozen. Check out the trailer for Back to the Future: The Musical below: For more information about Back to the Future: The Musical, or to buy tickets for its London season, head to the show's website. If an Australian and/or New Zealand season is announced, we'll let you know faster than you can speed towards a clocktower. Top image: Sean Ebsworth Barnes.
Boom, boom, boom, boom: Vengaboys want Down Under audiences in a whole heap of rooms when the 90s Dutch Eurodance favourites return to Australia and New Zealand on their latest nostalgic tour. The Vengabus has headed this way for similar throwback gigs in 2019 and 2023, because this group likes to party — and it'll be back again in 2025. Pull out that old Discman, break out the cargo pants and start practising your smoothest dance moves from three decades back — you've got 90's Mania to prepare for. Vengaboys, aka Cowboy Donny, Captain Kim, PartyGirl D'Nice and SailorBoy Robin, will be busting out all of their well-known favourites, such as 'We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)', 'Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom', 'We're Going to Ibiza' and 'Up & Down', when they headline a series of shows that'll also feature DJ SASH!, Alex Party and Livin' Joy. All four acts will play at every one of the tour's nine Down Under dates in January 2025, starting on Friday, January 17 at Metro City in Perth. From there, 90's Mania will make its way around Australia, hitting up Sydney's Enmore Theatre, Waves in Wollongong and Southern Cross Club in Canberra, before pulling into Wrest Point Entertainment Centre in Hobart, Festival Hall in Melbourne and Brisbane's Eatons Hill Hotel. In NZ, Christchurch and Auckland's respective town halls will be jumping to close out the month. Yes, you'll now have Vengaboys tunes stuck in your head just from reading this — and likely DJ SASH!'s 'Encore Une Fois', 'Ecuador', 'Stay' featuring La Trec, 'Mysterious Times' featuring Tina Cousins, 'Move Mania' and 'La Primavera' as well (plus 'Wrap Me Up', 'Don't Give Me Your Life', 'Read My Lips', 'Saturday Night Party' and 'Cause I Can Do It (Right)' from Italy's Alex Party, alongside 'Dreamer', 'Don't Stop Movin', 'Where Can I Find Love', 'Something Beautiful' and 'Follow the Rules' from Livin' Joy). In all Australian stops except Melbourne, Nick Skitz is also on the bill. And in the Victorian capital only, Mark Pellegrini and Joanne join the lineup. 90's Mania 2025 Dates Friday, January 17 — Metro City, Perth Saturday, January 18 — Enmore Theatre, Sydney Sunday 19 January — Waves, Wollongong Wednesday, January 22 — Southern Cross Club, Canberra Thursday, January 23 — Wrest Point Entertainment Centre, Hobart Friday, January 24 — Festival Hall, Melbourne Saturday, January 25 — Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane Tuesday, January 28 — Christchurch Town Hall, Christchurch Wednesday, January 29 — Auckland Town Hall, Auckland 90's Mania 2025 Lineup Vengaboys DJ SASH! Alex Party Livin' Joy Australia only, excluding Melbourne: Nick Skitz Melbourne only: Mark Pellegrini Joanne 90's Mania tours Australia and New Zealand in January 2025, with presale tickets from 12pm local time on Monday, November 4 and general sales from the same time on Thursday, November 7. Head to the tour website for more details. Top image: Sven Mandel via Wikimedia Commons.
Come From Away has already proven an enormous success on Broadway and in London's West End. It has a heap of Tony and Olivier awards to its name as well. And, it has graced the stage in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney over the past few years, so Australian audiences have been able to experience its charms. Haven't yet been able to see the acclaimed musical? Already attended, but keen to give it a rewatch? Whichever fits, you'll soon be able to watch it from your couch, because the popular production is bringing its remarkable true tale based on real post-September 11 events to streaming from Friday, September 10. Apple TV+ has announced that it'll be adding a filmed version of the hit musical to its online catalogue. Yes, there's a difference between a filmed version and a film. Come From Away joins Hamilton in falling into the first category, because this streaming release features a recorded version of the play as shot at New York City's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. So, you'll be watching footage of a live version of the musical, featuring the Broadway cast (including original and current ensemble members) and directed by Tony-winner Christopher Ashley. If you aren't familiar with the musical's plot or the actual events that inspired it, it's quite the exceptional story. In the week after the September 11 attacks in 2001, 38 planes were unexpectedly ordered to land in the small Canadian town of Gander, in the province of Newfoundland. Part of Operation Yellow Ribbon — which diverted civilian air traffic to Canada en masse following the attacks — the move saw around 7000 air travellers grounded in the tiny spot, almost doubling its population. Usually, the town is home to just under 12,000 residents. To create Come From Away, writers and composers Irene Sankoff and David Hein spent hundreds of hours interviewing thousands of locals and passengers, using their experiences to drive the narrative — and, in many cases, using their real names in the show as well. The result is a musical not just about people coming from away (the term that Newfoundlanders use to refer to folks not born on the island), but coming together, all at a time when tensions were running high worldwide. Since being workshopped in 2012, having a run in Ontario in 2013, then officially premiering in San Diego in 2015, Come From Away has become a global smash. After opening on Broadway in 2017, it was still running before the theatre district closed due to COVID-19. The musical wowed crowds in the West End, too — and, when it first opened in Melbourne in July 2019, it became the Comedy Theatre's most successful musical in the venue's 91-year history. Along the way, the show has picked up a Tony Award for best direction of a musical, six other nominations, and four Olivier Awards out of nine nominations. Apple TV+ hasn't released a trailer for its filmed version of the musical, but you can check out a clip from the Melbourne production below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zmvy1p2FOE&feature=emb_title The filmed version of Come From Away will be available to stream via Apple TV+ from Friday, September 10. Images: Jeff Busby.
