The infrequently-updated site blog, featuring a range of content including show reviews, musical musings and off-color ramblings on other varied topics.
Fashion with a Conscience – Plant Based Clothing
Zef culture is an interesting one, as, at least from the outside, it appears to be a movement that has been derived from a state of shame and of national melancholiac sentiments and a way for Afrikaner to self-parody in post-apartheid South Africa.
The South African group Die Antwoord channels its alchemy around the incorporation of local counterculture movements to spice up their musical emissions with anarchic sub-cultural nuances.
Word around the campfire has that Yolandi Visser of Die Antwoord once described the essence of Zef as being poor “but you're sexy, you've got style."
While the point about being impecunious does not necessarily apply to the clientele of Plant Based Clothing, the latter definitely holds true when it comes to their plant-based and ethical fashion movement, which is geared at preserving our planet to actively support the non-harming or exploitation of any beings - humans, animals, or plants.
The common denominator between Die Antwoord and Plant Based Clothing is that one of their sweaters is adorned with an excerpt from “Baby’s on Fire”, which was my first exposure to the streetwear brand with a conscience.
What I instantaneously liked about the sweater is the attention to detail and the awesome feel to the use of sustainably, curated fabrics, such as organic and chemical-free cotton or alternatively recycled polyester , all of which have been put together by stringently adhering to ethical certifications, such as Fair Wear or WRAP. The fact that the final products are durable yet feel fluffy on the skin does not hurt either.
However, it does not stop art style and quality as even the mailer boxes are made from 100% recycled paper and printed with lead- and PVC-free water-based inks, with the next stage of PBC looking at phasing out their woven labels to be replaced with recycled ones as well.
Plant Based Clothing is at the forefront of a new independently owned vegan movement that sits at the crossroads of fashion, art, music, and a cruelty-free lifestyle, which does not let eco-friendly sustainability come to the expense of style and fashionable gear and thereby transcends being a mere brand or fashion fad.
Given that clothes design is one of the more efficient ways of subtly planting seeds for ideas and conversations, brands like Plant Faced Clothing infiltrate the scene conspicuously to spark thoughts within a crowd that under normal circumstances might not be confronted with such ideas.
If you are familiar with the preachy straight edge and vegan movements of the mid-1990s, it is easy to see how much progress has been made when it comes to the creation of sustainable streetwear and Plant Based Clothing is an example par excellence for the advancement of eco-friendly endeavours with a sensibility for style.
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image from company website
The Formative Years – Glitterhouse Records
It must have been in the early 1990 that through acquisition of a large fanzine collection, I came across old back issues of The Glitterhouse fanzine from the 1980. Content-wise, it intrigued me as it offered insight into genres I had not been exposed to, e.g. the outliers of punk and underground scenes like sixties garage, fuzz rock and psychedelia and similar genres.
I did some more research only to find that the fanzine had not only spurned a distribution, but also a record label, which had started a collaboration with Sub Pop Records as early as 1987. Needless to say, they were at the forefront and on the pulse of the emerging Seattle scene and it was through Glitterhouse Records that I was first exposed to Mudhoney, Tad, Supersuckers and Afghan Whigs.
Glitterhouse Records’ collaboration with Amphetamine Reptile Records opened doors in Europe for heavyweights of the calibre of bands like Helmet, Cows and God Bullies, before they ventured even further by signing bands like Monster Magnet, Sister Double Happiness and Bitch Magnet.
It must have been in 1992 that I got introduced through Glitterhouse Records to one of my favourite albums of all time, i.e. Rollins Band’s opus magnus The End of Silence. Introduced as the new effort of the “zuckende Muskel”, the melange of primal rage, despair, guilt, sorrow and guilt fanned the flames of the burning kerosene tank that was my teenage angst and frustration, with Blues Jam becoming a hymn for the remainder of the year.
Having had such experiences through Glitterhouse Records, it cemented my affiliation with them and while it was never the centre of my record buying endeavours, I have to this day kept an eye on how they evolved as there was always something new and exciting to be discovered and one could trust their curation.
Case in point: In the mid-nineties, instead of riding the grunge wave that had infiltrated mainstream, Glitterhouse took a deliberate detour and focussed on releasing a broader variety of musical styles, specifically with bands from Scandinavia and the UK: This new incarnation of Glitterhouse Records not only exposed me to bands like Midnight Choir, Pere Ubu and the fantastic Wovenhand and 16 Horsepower, but also helped to expand my horizons with a sensitivity for world music through their sub-branch Glitterbeat.
To this day, Glitterhouse has released well over seven hundred titled, which is further substantiated by their distribution and their own open-air festival.
If you are remotely into underground music and are not familiar, there is a lot of delectable and rewarding homework to be done.
Art Gear – Faber Castell
Welcome to the first instalment of a new series dedicated to the arts and gear that has tried, tested and proven to be useful for artistic pursuits over the years.
If you have grown up in the old world in the 1980s, Faber Castell and its Holzmalstifte would have been a constant companion throughout our early school career. While I was using Faber’s coloured pencils on a regular basis, it was only until many moons later that I really got to appreciate the craftmanship and attention to detail that went into their creation.
With the advent and rising popularity of Photoshop and other digital means to create art, I early on counterintuitively started to refocus on the manual expression and creation of artworks.
For the uninitiated, Faber Castel’s history harks back to the nineteenth century and has been catering to all age groups for all fine art related matters. The beauty is that with the quality and the tactile experience each Faber Castell product is infused with, you can feel the expertise that went into its creation.
Case in point: The ever popular Polychromos collection. Chances are that if your favourite artwork was created with coloured pencils, the utensils used were part of this range or one of Faber Castell’s others, each of which complement each other.
What I specifically like about the Polychromos range is its versatility and robust shape, due to the use of American Cedar wood holding the close to four millimetre in diameter pigment core, which is to unleash its vibrance on the surface of your choosing. The Polychromos pencils are oil-based, which result in a harder core and make them predestined for work that needs precision and it would not be Faber Castell if not only the delivery of pigment was on point as well but fortified against the side effects of sharpening through the injection of resin.
When it comes to daily usage, the fact that all pencils have detailed information printed on the outside relating to a numerical code related to the colour nuance and a rating pertaining sensitivity to light, is immensely helpful. Performance-wise, I like that the pencils cater to both blending and layering.
Needless to say, apart from the differently sized Polychromos sets, there are carefully curated limited-edition sets, with the holy grail being the decadently designed “Karl box”, which was exclusively put together by none other than designer extraordinaire Karl Lagerfeld.
Summa summarum, if you are passionate about the usage of coloured pencils, you’d find yourself hard-pressed to go past Faber-Castel’s Polychromos range comprising a hundred and twenty colour nuances and shades.
Fine writing is another area that unfortunately does not only seem to be a less and less appreciated lost art, but also one that good and affordable tools I find hard to get by.
Faber Castell’s new Hexo range is an interesting one, as it has been specifically designed to cater to the purpose of sketching, creative writing and drafting. With the hexagonal shape being an obvious homage to the original FC graphite pencils, a black large-capacity refill and a twist mechanism to open and close, it has become a constant and reliable companion for both professional and artistic endeavours.
No matter the medium I am working on when it comes to art related explorations, it usually starts with pinning the vision down via drawings and my go to is the permanent and waterproof, unerasable Faber Castell Pitt artist pen range, which imbues drawings with a vibrancy I do not get from a lot of other pens courtesy of the elongated and more refined brush nib. I love the versatility as with pressure and working with different angles, lines, shading and strokes can be perfectly calibrated and modified as needed.
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image from company website
Thus Let us Drink Beer – Pirate Life
I have covered quite a few Australian breweries over the last couple of years as part of this series and discovered quite a diverse range of quality brews. It is always specifically gratifying when I come across a brewery that does a brew so well that it makes me reconsider my preferences, especially when it come to variations that normally would not rank high in my go-to list.
Then there is my unwavering preference for hopped out brews of the IPA family. This constitutes an area where there is a myriad of good ones, but few are truly great.
Enter Pirate Life.
I vividly remember celebrating a joyous occasion with a dram of Ardbeg Ardbeg 19-year-old Traigh Bhan, which as connoisseurs would know, comes pretty close to the OG fantastic Ardbeg DNA that was refined in the 1970s. The occasion demanded a suitable brewed companion to complete the boilermaker and by chance, Pirate Life’s IIPA caught my eye. Hallelujah, it was a match that so far has yet to rivalled.
Then again I should have not been overly surprised about how well Pirate Life’s brew paired with the emission from Islay as Pirate Life Brewing ’s story began in Scotland, where the founders originally refined their brewing skills and the idea of starting operations on terra australis was incepted.
After further apprenticeship at Australian breweries on the West Coast, a suitable location for their own shop was identified in Adelaide, where the Pirate Life HQ and brewhouse was established in 2014. The awards for its core range kept rolling in and within a short period of time Pirate Life established itself as a veritable player on the firmament on the ever-expanding Australian craft beer firmament.
Continuing its success on all front, Pirate Life was eventually incorporated into bigger distribution networks, which allowed them to expand their operations even further, including the opening of a new location in 2019, which not only has the capacity to house large-scale events but also serves as a forum to sell their own, stylish merchandise and skateboards. Many breweries tout their own gear, but if you check out Pirate Life’s merch, you will see from a distance that it is a cut above. I own one of their garments and the attention to detail as well as the quality is quite something. No wonder street gear brands like Burton made a beeline to team up with Pirate Life for collaborations – an area that is shed light on in their blog section.
As mentioned above, my favourite of the Pirate Life Brewing range is their Imperial IPA and yes, it is a big beer in every sense of the word: What tickles the nostrils is an avalanche of fruity nuances, which seamlessly translate to what materializes on the top of the roof in the most creamy of ways.
I love how the citrussy and tropical highlights are counterpointed by pine notes derived from the quartet of Columbus, Simcoe, Centennial and Mosaic hop, and a delicate, well-calibrated bitterness derived from the hops and the malty backbone.
Pirate Life’s IIPA is not just because of its comparatively high alcohol content of 8.8% and the 500ml treatment a tour de force as flavour-wise it reigns supreme in a league of its own.
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images from company website
Magic Mike Live
Moore Park
Sydney, Australia
January 9, 2021
Apparently, the concept of the stage adaption of Magic Mike Live was incepted on the set of the film of the same name from 2012, i.e. the idea of taking a strip show on the road under the benign guidance of Channing Tatum. The concept was turned into a reality with the vision to offer more than a stage show, which is when the iconic Het Spiegelpaleis was engaged and commissioned to build a custom-made venue, i.e. The Arcadia.
Given the specific nature of the venue and the production, cast and crew travelled to Belgium, where the finer details for the show were refined to perform it on the road.
Needless to say that the implications of the current malaise made the undertaking a logistical nightmare and given endless delays and the possibility of the whole endeavour being postponed indefinitely, it is a small wonder that the live show can incarnate in the Southern hemisphere – of course in a more socially distanced manner than the original production was initially planned for.
After a welcome twist at the beginning, the audience is being guided through the show by a strong feminist conferencier, which shows quite a bit of an evolution since 2012. The plot has a refreshing range of references that suggest that it was developed informed by a team of women, the classy impact of which is felt throughout the show and not merely when it comes to the strip and dance routines, but specifically the banter and dialogues, which my better half referred to as conveying a sense of empowerment.
Apart from what you’d expect from a Magic Mike Live show, the choreography is excellent and the performances varied, including aerial stunts, tap dancing and respectful crowd interaction galore, which more often than not is reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil and showcases the talents of the troupe of international performers, singers and dancers that go far beyond being easy on the eye and lap dancing skills.
In essence, Magic Mike Live is a fun and well-choreographed theatrical reimagining of the movie via a strip-meets-cabaret show that is tailored for the pleasure of women, which despite being dominated by semi-naked men never runs danger of entering sleazy or pure raunchy territory.
The Formative Years – Iconic venues, Pt. 1 How could a series on iconic venues possible start without paying homage to one of the most legendary rock venues in the ... read more
Water of Life – Husk Distillers When I started this series a couple of years ago, I highlighted that the Australian spirits scene is thriving, with distilleries mushrooming manifold. ... read more
Nat’s What I Reckon: Un-Cook Yourself Penguin Random House This book is the culmination of a big year for its author ant the main protagonist Nat. Known and loved for ... read more
Water of Life – Baron Otard When it comes to established distilleries with a long-lasting legacy, Otard ranks high with its two hundred twenty-five-year long history. Founded by Jean-Baptiste ... read more
The Formative Years – Compilations pt. 2 Let’s start of the second instalment of this serious with a compilation that I find to be criminally underrated and what most ... read more
Water of Life - Benriach Benriach has always intrigued me as from a distance, it proved to be difficult to discern and put one’s finger on what the DNA ... read more
Music and Fashion…Dr. Martens will see you now! It was in seventh grade when a much older hellraiser joined my class that I was introduced to Metallica’s “…and justice ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors Steteco My first visit to Japan was in 2004 – many more for different reasons follow. What was a formidable experience the first time ... read more
G.I.S.M. Extream Guerrilla Live Streaming December 8, 2020 I vividly recall how difficult it was in the 1990s to get a hold of a copy G.I.S.M.’s Subj & Egos, Chopped ... read more
Water of Life - Christmas Gin Palooza Sydney, ICC Australian Gin Association Especially on terra australis, gin is back bigger than ever due to its idiosyncratic thriving craft and spirits ... read more
Water of Life – Vintage Malt Whisky Company It is an age old practice for distilleries to sell barrels of their emissions to blenders and independent bottlers in a ... read more
The Picture of Dorian Gray Sydney Theatre Company December 5, 2020 Being an Oscar Wilde aficionado, I have hardly ever missed a chance to see one of his less-performed ... read more
November: Lexica November was a stressful month. Covid cases continue to rise as families gathered for a bullshit holiday. They'll only grow as people fight each other for the last ... read more
Water of Life - Braastad It all started with a Norwegian by the name of Sverre Braastad, who moved to the French Cognac region at the beginning of the ... read more
The Formative Years Compilations that left a mark pt. 1 What makes a good compilation album for you? The main factors during my formative years was “bang for your ... read more
Water of Life – Cape Byron Distillery Cape Byron Distillery had been on my radar for the longest time but once I realized that experienced distiller and Byron Bay ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors – Vinylize Fashion and music have never not gone hand in hand and with the merch game being stepped up like never before, the ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Green Beacon I vividly remember the first time I came across the hoppy emissions of Green Beacon: It was at Sydney’s Wild Rover ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors Timepieces and Underground Cultures Despite many youth cultures and specifically those rooted in underground scenes having their idiosyncratic “uniform”, there are very few ... read more
Tate: Project Print: 30 projects to spark your creativity Ilex Press Printing in all shapes and forms has been an integral part of DIY culture from the get go ... read more
Water of Life - Hine Cognac Similar to Champagne, Cognac is a region in the South Western part of France and the specific type of brandy going under the ... read more
The Formative Years – The Pushead 100 Having just entered my teenage years and developed an insatiable appetite for hardcore punk, spurned by my discovery of The Exploited, which lured ... read more
Water of Life - Milk & Honey Distillery One of my whisk(e)y related endeavours is to try emissions from regions that are commonly not really associated with spirits. Needless ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors Surf Culture, Barney Cools and the return of fabrics Surf culture and the music it is associated with is an interesting genre. Coined ... read more
Water of Life – Visions in Style What makes a great whisky tasting? I have been lucky to attend a wide range of whisky tastings on this earthround. Some were ... read more
Water of Life - GlenAllachie Virgin Oak Series GlenAllachie is an interesting distillery – interesting in that it had been on the radar for the longest time, but for ... read more
"Do You Have a Band?": Poetry and Punk Rock in New York City Columbia University Press In terms of cross-pollinationand active exchange, the underground scene of New York City ... read more
Water of Life – Jameson Deconstructed Chances are that no matter if where you roam and you enter a bar, the Irish whisky available will be Jameson, which not ... read more
The Formative Years – All the Jazz The connection between Rock’n Roll, its derivates and Blues is amongst the more obvious and commonly accepted when it comes to the evolution ... read more
October: Detroit Rock City Hey folks! I seriously could not be typing this up at a worse time. Between work, Halloween, and the election, I've been stuck between busy, stressed, ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Young Henrys IPA Breweries are emerging like mushrooms the world over, especially craft beer ones with special brews and idiosyncratic twists and limited ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Helios Brewing Some claim that essentially, “redemption through chaos” forms the very essence of Greek mythology, in which the sun god Helios moved ... read more
Hachette Publishing Over the last couple of months, Hachette Publishing has entered the realm of my favourite publishing houses and I feel bereft that they had not been on my ... read more
Water of Life - Penderyn Now, this is a first – while not being the most exotic source location-wise, I cannot claim having ever sampled whiskies from Wales, which ... read more
The Formative Years – Cum on, feel the noize Noise, for the commoner and sane, evokes usually nauseous reactions rather than exhilaration. It is not further wondrous that the strange ... read more
Water of Life – Arnolfo di Cambio No matter if it is fashion, interior, urban or architectural design – the Italian way of doing things has consistently been pushing ... read more
Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide To Happiness Hachette Publishing Bill Bailey is an interesting one. I remember watching him incarnate in the third dimension and after the first fifteen minutes, ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors - Nudie Laid back with his mind on the money and his money on his mind, Snoop Dogg used to roll down the street, ... read more
The Formative Years – Soundtracks part II Let’s start the second part of the series dedicated to movie companion albums off with a bona fide classic: Curtis Mayfield’s Super Fly soundtrack ... read more
Water of Life – Provenance matters There are many factors that contribute to the creation of a whisky - there is maturation, wood and cask work, the distilling process and ... read more
The Formative Years - Soundtracks What makes a great soundtrack? It goes without saying that a movie’s score, i.e. largely instrumental and / or orchestral music between or to convey ... read more
The Posthuman Dada Guide: Tzara & Lenin Play Chess, by Andrei Codrescu Having just had the pleasure of reviewing Sakevi Yokoyama’s oeuvre, triggered me to tumble down the rabbit hole ... read more
What’s Sumatra with you? – Hey Tiger As the Beatles ever so eloquently put it, all you need is love – but a lil’ chocolate every now and then ... read more
Pie International Publishing The name of the publishing house “PIE” is an acronym standing for “Pretty”, “Impressive”, “Entertaining” and was founded by a graphic designer with long-standing experience. Given the ... read more
After the Red Army Faction: Gender, Culture, and Militancy The impact the Red Army Faction (RAF) and the implications of its reign of terror have left a lasting imprint not ... read more
The Formative Years – Classical Music The fact that the strict principles classical music from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries adhered to became the foundation of pretty much any ... read more
David Sedaris – “Holidays on Ice” and “Calypso” Hachette Australia David Sedaris is many things – accomplished author, radio host and humourist but first and foremost a master when ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Holgate Hopinator + Yarra Valley Big Cat Beer Co’s Fable IPA Despite still having potential to gain more visibility, Holgate Brewing has established itself as ... read more
Italian Film Festival 2020 Palace Cinemas Sydney, Australia Founded two decades ago by Cav. Antonio Zeccola, who also started with his brothers the Palace Cinema franchise, and being de ... read more
September: Swift, Silent, Deathly Thanks for checking out this installment of Search/Play/Repeat. If you didn't see, I skipped last month's playlist, so this playlist is actually from the past two ... read more
Pornotopia: An Essay on Playboy’s Architecture and Biopolitics Hugh Hefner, the creator of Playboy magazine and the media and entertainment-industry giant it became is no longer with us. No matter ... read more
Water of Life – Duncan Taylor If you are remotely into whisky, especially the finer end of the spectrum, chances are that you will have crossed paths with the ... read more
Anselm Kiefer - Gallerie Thaddaeus Ropac I was recently asked what I like so much about Anselm Kiefer. A simple question, yet not that easy to answer: Ever since ... read more
The Formative Years – Where the Cold Things Were in the Eighties Apart from the new world, Germany, Japan and the UK, Northern European countries when it came to exciting ... read more
The Formative Years – The “Drop” Having been socialized with German punk rock in my early teenage years, the excitement and dangerous aspects I derived from the music I ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Bodriggy Bodriggy must be the newest Australian brewery we are covering as part of this series and it was unbeknownst to me until ... read more
Water of Life – Wild Turkey Master Keep series Wild Turkey is a benchmark on this earthround with its portfolio that runs the gamut from ubiquitous affordable every day ... read more
Van Gogh Alive Royal Hall of Industries Sydney, Australia September 18, 2020 Incepted by Bruce Peterson and brought to life under the helm of his entity Grande Exhibitions the name ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Urban Alley Not unlike it would be the case in North America, specifically the craft beer industry in Australia is dominated by hairy ... read more
The Formative Years – Rockpalast In times long before the advent of the internet and its algorhythmic echo chambers along with the possibility to check out any music and gain ... read more
Water of Life – Borders Distillery The Borders Distillery is based in Hawick, which used to be the home of Scotland’s renowned plant hunter William Kerr, to which Borders ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Akasha Brewing Akasha has been one of the breweries that almost got away as it has been on my to-cover list for the ... read more
The Formative Years – Falco Talking about formative years, the influence Johann "Hans" Hölzel’s exerted long before my exposure to punk cannot be overestimated. I do not believe in ... read more
Water of Life – Puni Italy is not exactly an epicentre when it comes to the distilling of whiskies and after attending a tasting about two years ago, I ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Wayward Brewing With bottle shops and liquor shops on terra australis looking like candy stores these days with the array of colourful cans ... read more
Water of Life – Wolfburn Help for Heroes Having resurrected its operations merely nine years ago, Wolfburn has been one of my favourite old “new” distilleries for a while ... read more
The Formative Years – Dischord Records Not unlike it is the case with a lot of great things, the premise of Dischord Records has always been and can be ... read more
CBD Alright, where do we start? When one hears “cannabis products”, there is still at times a perception that at the core of it, there is the psychoactive cannabinoid ... read more
Water of Life – Tomatin Located in the Scottish Highlands, Tomatin is a distillery with a longstanding history that under new ownership started to elevate its endeavours to new ... read more
Rone - Street Art and Beyond Thames & Hudson The unofficial and independent nature of what is labelled as “street art” is both its appeal as well as something ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Eden Brewery Independent craft breweries in Australia are popping up not unlike mushrooms, most of which emit fantastically creative brews, others could be ... read more
Water of Life – Annandale Distillery Having effectively started its operations in 1830, Annandale Distillery is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland – shame on me that it ... read more
Water of Life – McNair We have covered the fantastic Speyside distillery GlenAllachie and their tremendous expressions in all their glory as part of our series before, so when ... read more
The Formative Years - Slap-a-Ham Records There have been many labels within the realm of punk and hardcore that had a lasting impact on me with both their emissions and ... read more
Water of Life - Redbreast For many moons, every time I have harped on about my favourite Irish whiskies to other connoisseurs, the question was raised if I had ... read more
Changing the Subject – Philosophy from Socrates to Adorno There are quite a few books crowding my bookshelves that offer an overview on Western philosophy and while each and everyone ... read more
Water of Life - Rampur The uninitiated seem to be surprised when one raves about the fantastic whiskies emanating from the subcontinent, however, the connoisseurs know that India is ... read more
August: I've Got Nothing Hey folks! Sorry if you came looking for a playlist, but unfortunately, I don't have one for you this month. I spent most of the ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – T-Bone Rye IIPA T-Bone Brewing was first introduced to me by Peter Bignell when he told me about his son’s brewery while sampling ... read more
The Formative Years – ZAP Magazine During my early teenage years as a juvenile delinquent in a pre-internet age, any punk and hardcore related information I could come by ... read more
Water of Life - Glenlivet When it comes to my peers and whiskies, many like their “Glens” and adjectives like “sm00000th” are often used in combination with sliding hand ... read more
Music and sports - Puma The notion that music and sports make a formidable duo is something that is hard to argue with. The relationship stretches across different domains, ... read more
Water of Life – W + A The world of whisky is a varied one with a myriad of offerings that cater to tastes and preferences of all kinds. Once ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – 3 Ravens Special editions The story and evolution of 3 Ravens sound familiar: Having emerged from a microbrewery, the emissions were received well ... read more
Cult Status As Phillip Seymour Hoffman once quipped, you can view anything as a “cult” and some might claim that a “cult” is a religion with no political power, or ... read more
Water of Life - Aberlour A'Bunadh Speyside’s Aberlour is a much fabled about distillery – one that releases its emissions in idiosyncratic batches, which might vary a tad in ... read more
The Formative Years – Rocket from the Crypt Given that it was released on Nemesis Records, I ordered the first Pitchfork album blindly and while it did not exactly blow ... read more
The Fundamentals of Graphic Design Bloomsbury Publishing What do you associate with “Graphic Design”? Aestheticism? Form vs function in the two-dimensional space? A realm of individuality? Eccentricity? Ornamental crinkum-crankum? ... read more
Luminous World Light. Nuances. Shadows. Endless variations and spectra. The perception and (dis-)appearance of contours. Wavelengths. The intersection of the spiritual and the mundane. Enlightenment. Seeing the light as the ... read more
Water of Life – Bladnoch x Boilermaker House collaboration If you follow this series, you would notice that the term “boilermaker” makes frequent appearances. Pretty simple in nature as ... read more
Water of Life - Spring Bay single malt whisky Having had a firm focus on the distilling scene in Tasmania for the longest time, I feel borderline embarrassed to ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Tallboy and Moose Brewery Quite an extravagant name, you might quip when you pick up a can that emitted from the Tallboy and ... read more
The Sports Shoe: A History from Field to Fashion Bloomsbury Visual Arts Both my wallet and my better half praise the fact that my sneaker collecting days are over, ... read more
The Formative Years – Maximumrocknroll There are many ways to skin a cat when it comes to the creation of a fanzine. Having the core interests and common denominator somewhat ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Jetty Road Brewery Due to COVID-19 restrictions, visits to the local watering hole have become few and far between, however, when possible they ... read more
Karl Hagemeister - Das Licht, das ewig wechselt Wienand Verlag “…das Licht, das ewig wechselt” is a tribute and compendium of Karl Hagemeister’s oeuvre. Now, chances are that the ... read more
The Triffids Fremantle Press Vagabond Holes: David McComb & The Triffids Despite having left a legacy of fantastic music and an album that should not be missing from the ... read more
Water of Life - Kings Cross Distillery It was about high time for Sydney to have its own locally grown gin distillery and since July this year. While Australia ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – The Velvet Sledgehammer If Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art – MONA is not of your bucket list of places to visit, ... read more
Jeremy Kirwan-Ward: You Can See It From Here Fremantle Press One of the qualities of art is to offer to grind a new lens and the opportunity to transform ... read more
July: Hype Stickers Boy, I'm getting these things up later and later. Thanks for checking out what I listened to for this installment of Search/Play/Repeat. A lot of 2020 releases ... read more
The Formative Years – ACME 7” In 1993, I received a demo tape “Menschenmaschine” by a band from the Northern regions of Germany that had just changed its name ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – The Southern Highlands Brewing Co Formed a decade ago, it is a shame that I became only very recently aware of the existence ... read more
High Adventure in the Great Outdoors - Bellroy When it comes to what is commonly being labelled as “Everyday Carry Essentials”, there is no shortage of self-proclaimed premium brands ... read more
The Formative Years – Born Against and Vermiform Records Sometimes it is funny how music and the ideas it portrays strike a chord upon first listen. Musically and looking at ... read more
Wik & Co I own quite a few perfumes for different occasions. There are perfumes that I like for their top notes and others where the base notes win ... read more
Water of Life - Drop Club Bruichladdich unpeated Bruichladdich’s smoke and peat heavy Port Charlotte and especially Octomore ranges are amongst my top ten favourite expressions from the isle ... read more
Hot Stuff - Bunsters If you have been following this series, it should not come as a surprise that is being utilized on the regular to enhance what I ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – La Sirène Every now and then, just when you thought you’ve got the terrain covered, you come across a brewery that stands out ... read more
Water of Life – Islay Mist If you have delved a tad further into the world of whisky than the fringes of offerings your local frat bar has on ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Holgate Brewing Word around the campfire has that genesis for the founding of Holgate Brewing can be traced back to the founders’ trips ... read more
The Formative Years – Pogar Records and Vinyl Boogie As part of this series, I will cover quite a few labels that have had an impact on my socialisation ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Mountain Culture Beer Co If you ever descend on terra australis and happen to find yourself on the East coast, a visit to ... read more
Water of Life - Iniquity Single Malt Whisky Batch 18, 19 and SS Ferret Rum When it comes to Australian whiskey, Ian Schmidt and Vic Orlow are royalty. Evolved ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors - Outlaw Soaps Fragrances can be many things - enhancing mood and being a seduction tool being two of them. Now, my dear ... read more
How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy Allen & Unwin In this turbulent day and age, the question how the world thinks is an interesting one and ... read more
The Formative Years - Weird System Records This new series will be focussed on bands, labels and people that proved to be immensely influential during my formative years as a ... read more
Hot Stuff - Dingo Sauce Co. There is no shortage of novelty “hotter-than-thou” sauces that do damage but severely lack in the taste department. How nice is it to ... read more
The Story of Looking Mark Cousins Allen & Unwin We are drowning in images and the accessibility and affordability of smartphones with ever improving cameras has massively changed both ... read more
Water of Life – Kavalan Port Cask and Distiller’s Reserve Rum Cask Where do I start with Kavalan to give the uninitiated a faint idea of what they have ... read more
June: Black Lives Matter Thanks for checking in on this month's Search/Play/Repeat where I listen to albums I've never heard before and then make a playlist of some of my ... read more
Hot Stuff - Marysol The realm of hot sauces is plastered with novelty brands that sacrifice flavour for the sake of hear. While the destruction of tastebuds might be ... read more
Water of Life - Smokehead Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky For anyone following our Water of Life series, the fact that I harbour a weak spot for anything that ... read more
Monocle – Book of Japan Thames and Hudson Tyler Brûlé and his brainchild Monocle have had an intensive relationship with Japan ever since the inception of the magazine – ... read more
Motown: The Sound of Young America Thames & Hudson For the uninitiated – 2020 marks the sixtieth anniversary of Motown Records and everything surrounding it not only dominated the ... read more
Nicole Hartje-Grave Von Max Ernst bis Eduardo Chillida - Die Sammlung Wilfried und Gisela Fitting Wienand Verlag Ever since I was first exposed to Max Ernst as a teenager, ... read more
Endurance Louis Rudd Pan Macmillan As we go by Lord Byron, prolonged endurance tames the bold but there are some individuals who have perfectioned the art of concentrating patience ... read more
Water of Life – Overeem Distillery As part of our whisk(e)y-centric series, we have covered a wide range of Tasmanian distilleries, most of which I have had the privilege ... read more
Kaizen Sarah Harvey Pan Macmillan For the ones looking for inspiration, there has never been a shortage of wisdom that could be extracted and adopted from the lifestyle and ... read more
Me by Elton John Pan Macmillan As far as I am concerned, the rocket man has always been around and once I overcame the self-imposed stoic juvenile orthodox phase ... read more
Water of Life – Jack Daniels Single Barrel and Sinatra Select After having covered a myriad of distilleries as part of this series, it is almost sacrilege that we ... read more
May: Say the Name, George Floyd Thanks for checking in on this month's Search/Play/Repeat playlist, but frankly it doesn't matter what I listened to this month. I can already tell ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors Outdoors - Everyday Carry Essentials I like running whenever possible and when given the opportunity also to and from work. Now unless, you ... read more
Water of Life - Peat's Beast Now we are talking – having lusted for the longest time to find out what the emission with the punchy name of quality bottler ... read more
Water of Life – Tomintoul Full disclosure: Tomintoul Distillery was not exactly at the forefront of my mind when it came to Speyside distilleries. This is mainly due to ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Exit Brewing Saison Having made many treks to Belgium, I harbour a spot not only for the delicious local chocolate but also Belgian ... read more
April: Refunds in 30 Days or Less Thanks for tuning in for another round of Search/Play/Repeat! If you've been following this blog, I just want to say thanks and I ... read more
Water of Life – Archie Rose With the distillery having started out with a focus on “white” spirits currently being dedicated to the large scale production of hand sanitiser ... read more
Ignite Penguin Random House Shannah Kennedy Lyndall Mitchell have reinvented themselves under the moniker “the Essentialists”, with the focus on the release of gift books, the Ignite instalment of ... read more
Re-assessing your view on life during Covid-19 Live Like A Stoic: 52 Exercises for Cultivating a Good Life (Penguin Books) Rome was neither built nor burned in a day. However, ... read more
Punk and Hardcore related podcasts Chances are you've got a favourite one. Maybe you are making one. A pod of your own. A medium that has democratized the talk-audio space ... read more
Sidney Nolan: The Artist's Materials Getty Conservation Institute The Artist's Materials series is indispensable for anyone who want to scratch the surface and learn more about the technique and ... read more
Käthe Kollwitz: Prints, Process, Politics Getty Research Institute Käthe Kollwitz’s oeuvre found its defining phase the first half of the twentieth century with her graphic depictions that covered the ... read more
March: Isolation How's everyone doing? I hope you're reading this from the comfort of your own home. Needless to say, it's been a rough, wild, stressful, and terrifying month. I ... read more
Hot Stuff – Crowley’s Hot Sauce The good ole, reliable “Great Beast” Aleister Crowley once quipped that the pious pretense that evil does not exist only makes it vague, ... read more
Girlvert: A Porno Memoir Oriana Small Rare Bird Books The title of this tome is a telling one as it details a span of ten years that evolve from ... read more
Static Shock Weekend London, UK March 2020 It feels weird to be writing this review now. Just days after returning from London and Static Shock Records annual DIY hardcore punk ... read more
Caspar David Friedrich: Nature and the Self Yale University Press Classifying Caspar David Friedrich’s oeuvre and paintings as “atmospheric” would be an understatement par excellence. The way CDF channelled ... read more
Whisky Eddie Ludlow DK Australia Eddie Ludlow’s mission consists not only of preaching to the converted and expanding their horizons but getting non-believers turned on to whisky – the ... read more
Water of Life – Meticulousness and Attention to Detail The AMC series Breaking Bad has chronicled the exploits of Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher turned drug lord who ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Exit Brewing The endless saga…just when I thought I had my favourite Australian IPA go-tos firmly established, a brewery pops up that disrupts ... read more
The Darkness Enmore Theatre Sydney, Australia March 13, 2020 It has been a few moons since I first saw The Darkness incarnate in a live environment, which was in the ... read more
Water of Life – Kavalan Vinho Barrique and Daneson Toothpicks We have shed light on Kavalan and their excellent emission from various angles over the last years and I ... read more
Rare Bird Publications special: Mutations: Twenty Years Embedded in Hardcore Punk Sam McPheeters Rare Bird Publications Sam McPheeters first entered my life via Born Against during my formative years ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Holgate Brewhouse Sometimes it takes a bit longer to come across what eventually proves to be a stalwart of the Australian craft beer ... read more
Sleaford Mods Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia March 4, 2020 Sleaford Mods have come a long way. What should have never worked out on paper, turned out to become a ... read more
February: Yeehaw! Welcome to another month of Search/Play/Repeat! If you're unfamiliar, feel free to review January's blog post to get an idea of what this blog's about or why I'm doing ... read more
Ben Quilty Penguin Random House Winner of the Archibald Prize, activist artist Ben Quilt has had quite a few of solo exhibitions, which I have been lucky enough to ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Ballistic Beer What a time to be alive – especially if you are a hop aficionado and based on terra australis. The array ... read more
Aesthetic Theory Think Art Dieter Mersch Posthumously having seen the light of day, Theodor Adornos take on what underpins the principles of art is much more than what the ... read more
Stiff Little Fingers Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia February 21, 2020 There is a chance that I need to revisit The Clash’s early oeuvre, however, in my humble opinion Stiff ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Sauce Brewing Co Now, not sure if what originally start as a microbrewery in the inner-west of Sydney can still be classified as ... read more
Fire Fight Australia ANZ Stadium Sydney, Australia February 16, 2020 It has been thirty-five years since the eponymous Live Aid festival was organised by Bob Geldorf to raise funds for ... read more
Otto Dix – The Evil Eye Prestel Publishing Ah, Weimar! An intriguing period that specifically in the Rhineland region has spawned artistic conglomerates that revolutionised what art was thought ... read more
Yves Zurstrassen – Free Mercator Fonds A name like Yves Zurstrassen, at least the correct pronunciation might not roll easily off your Anglo-Saxon tongue and it might be an ... read more
Henry Darger Prestel Publishing “Outsider art” is an interesting term as it can pertain to art outside the confines of the well-trodden path of mainstream art and autodidactic artists ... read more
January - Part 2: Sex, Chubs, and Bloc & Roll Let's jump into some of the stuff that kicked off my new year. A couple of albums came at the ... read more
January - Part 1: An Introduction Hiya folks! Welcome to my new Search/Play/Repeat blog. One of the ideas and influences I got for this blog began when I started to ... read more
What’s Sumatra with You? East Forged As I travel this earthround, more often than not on more exotic territory, I find myself reminded of Abraham Lincoln musing that if ... read more
Glenturret Burns Night Sydney Opera House January 25, 2020 Sydney, Australia Reimagining a traditional Sottish gathering and weaving in indigenous Australian components is an exercise that demands a delicate ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Moon Dog Claiming that it is currently not a bad time for Australian craft beers and breweries would be an understatement par excellence. ... read more
Water of Life – Kavalan’s celebration of the fourth decade of the King Car Group Kavalan is one of those distilleries that might go under the radar of the ... read more
Christian Dior: History and Modernity, 1947 – 1957 Hirmer Verlag / Thames and Hudson No matter if you are a fashionista or completely detached from the world of haute ... read more
Water of Life – Rest and Be Thankful So far we have our focus mainly set on covering distilleries, which makes sense as they make the spirit. However, given ... read more
Tim and Eric Enmore Theatre Sydney, Australia January 15, 2020 For the uninitiated, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, “Tim & Eric” is a comedy duo that has garnered a cult ... read more
Life – The Show Spiegeltent Sydney, Australia January 9, 2020 Given that the creative entity that is Strut & Fret is known for assembling superbly talented performers for their productions ... read more
Mclusky Oxford Art Factory Sydney, Australia January 12, 2020 Mclusky…rings a bell, huh? I remembered that they were one of the better bands in the 1990s that emerged out ... read more
Gotta Get Theroux This Louis Theroux Macmillan Louis Theroux and his documentaries are known the world over due to two things: Theroux’s idiosyncratic, self-deprecating approach to journalism and unique ... read more
Double Delicious Carriageworks Sydney, Australia January 8. 2020 Food and the need to eat is universal and a common denominator. As Maya Angelou put it so eloquently, the exercise of ... read more
The Long March of Pop: Art, Music, and Design, 1930–1995 Yale University Press Huh, the phenomenon of ubiquitous pop art! A topic that has not exactly suffered from a lack ... read more
The Art of Nick Cave: Critical essays University of Chicago Press Birthday Party. The Bad Seeds. Grinderman. Movie scores. Poems. Screenplays. Acting. Et cetera, et cetera. The incarnations ... read more
Original Grin: The Art of Ron English Thames and Hudson In the realm of art, sometimes things are so overt that it could not be more covert or subversive, ... read more
Japan Supernatural Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, Australia Some claim that “supernatural” is in essence a null word as in that one man’s magic is another man’s ... read more
KAWS – Companionship in the Age of Loneliness Brian Donnelly is KAWS. The man has been behind the moniker for a quarter of a decade and if you are ... read more
Critical Terms for Art History University of Chicago Press One man’s trash is another man’s treasure and it is not much different with art. So how does one define ... read more
Dillinger Four 25th anniversary show @ First Avenue Dillinger Four, Pegboy, The Brokedowns, Partial Traces First Avenue Minneapolis, MN December 14, 2019 I would never call Dillinger Four a soft-spoken ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors - Quality Shoes Ah, shoes! Sure, there are many things that make an appearance but no matter if you are still in the ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Brew - Moo Brew Yes, we have covered MONA, i.e. the Museum of Old and New Art, based in Hobart, Tasmania and have sung its ... read more
Cult Of Luna + A.A. Williams and Brutus Z7, Pratteln, Switzerland Cult Of Luna’s power lies in their ability to build layers of sound and with it, layers of emotion. Their ... read more
The Beasts Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia December 6, 2019 Over the span of his illustrious career, there have been many incarnations of Tex Perkins and he has proved times over ... read more
Gilbert and George – The Great Exhibition @ Astrup Fearney Museum Gilbert & George are two constituents that form an artistic symbiosis the total of which is much more ... read more
Into the Night Prestel Publishing If you pay close attention to the portrayal of night clubs and specifically cabarets, the artistic portrayal thereof plays an integral part in creating ... read more
Virgil Abloh: Artwork Prestel Publishing Louis Vuitton’s creative director Virgil Abloh is a phenomenon by any standard. A phenomenon beyond hype and marketing. Abloh’s creative output seems boundless and ... read more
The No Meat Athlete Cookbook: Whole Food, Plant-Based Recipes to Fuel Your Workouts—and the Rest of Your Life The Experiment I live a pescatarian lifestyle ninety five percent of ... read more
Art Lover’s Guide to Japanese Museums Yale University Press Wow! I love Japan, Japanese art and Japanese museums but I did not expect such a quality book - in ... read more
What’s Sumatra With You? – Suntory Boss Coffee I remember the first time I touched down in Japan. Apart from the feeling you get as soon as you exit ... read more
If nothing else and no matter if you like whisk(e)y, this series should have gotten you excited about not only the big-ticket Australian spirit emissions, but especially about the ... read more
In Vino Veritas – Ninth Island and Norfolk Rise For this instalment of our vino centric series we are going to zero in on Tasmania again as the previous ... read more
Punk Reader - Research Transmissions from the Local and the Global The University of Chicago Press It has been more than forty years since the inception of punk – ... read more
Conjurer + Earth Moves and Armed For Apocalypse KIFF, Aarau, Switzerland Conjurer's rise has been one that seems particularly fast with the band making huge strides in only three years ... read more
Propaganda Art in the 21st Century MIT Press Some people say that an accurate portrayal of what is actually happening behind the scenes is the best propaganda. Fair enough. ... read more
Haunted Bauhaus MIT Press What is often perceived to be informed by irrationality, i.e. the movement from 1919-1933 known as Bauhaus, has never ceased to give impulses on all ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Willie the Boatman As part of our beer-centric series we have covered specifically Australian breweries far and wide, however, sometimes there are ones ... read more
There are few bands that are as hard to categorize as The Locust, so I won’t even try. About the closest approximation I can give, is it’s like taking Ritalin ... read more
Archie Rose x Sydney Opera House: Outside and Inside Gins We have recently covered Archie Roses’ foray into whisky territory and as I mentioned as part of the article, ... read more
Mike Parr: The Eternal Opening Carriageworks Sydney, Australia October 25, 2019 Attentive readers would recall Mike Parr’s various and often spectacular incarnations we have covered as part of MONA’s annual ... read more
Water of Life – An Ode to Octomore Victor Hugo quipped something along the lines of the ode living upon the ideal, the epic upon the grandiose, the drama ... read more
In Vino Veritas – Moorilla and Domaine A Claiming that I harbour a weak spot in my left chest for anything related to Tasmania would be an understatement par ... read more
Renoir: The Body, The Senses Clark Art Institute Impressionism is one of the more underrated genres when it comes to mainstream recognition, specifically the genre that focuses more on ... read more
I Do Not Know What It Is I Am Like: The Art of Bill Viola Yale University Press Bill Viola has long been on my lists or artists to ... read more
Water of Life – Whipper Snapper Distillery Upshot As part of our Water of Life series, we have covered whisky from terra australis in many variations, however, the focus ... read more
Water of Life – Iniquity Distillery Batch 017 You are not mistaken if you claim that Iniquity and its artisanal expressions have been previously covered as part of our ... read more
Sunn O))) with Caspar Brötzmann, 09/10/2019 Kaserne, Basel CH On this cold, somewhat rainy evening in Basel, the expectations for what will come are high. Sunn O))) are riding the waves of Life ... read more
The World’s Toughest Races Ali Clarke Affirm Press People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they’ll go to any length to live longer. But I don’t ... read more
Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities Cirque du Soleil Big Top, Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park Sydney, Australia October 2, 2019 Cirque du Soleil is quite something. Ever since its inception ... read more
Water of Life – Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky 3rd Batch Archie Rose is the one that almost got away. Having made a name for itself on the forefront ... read more
Oceania Burger Special - Grill’d There are burger outlets aplenty on this earthround. A myriad of mediocre ones, novelty ones, ones known for having heart attacks to go on ... read more
In Vino Veritas – Kreglinger Estate Founded shortly before the dawn of the nineteenth century, Kreglinger Wine Estates not only dominated the old world from their headquarters in Antwerp but ... read more
Water of Life - Paul John Chalk it up to the not exactly exuberant or eye-catching presentation of the bottle or the fact that when it comes to Indian ... read more
It’s not often that a great band swings by the small town of Olten, Switzerland, and so to have two bands that fit that bill come along to this riverside ... read more
Tipsy Clare Burder Affirm Press Ah, not sure what your poison is but navigating the world of tipples can prove challenging territory, specifically if one is set in one’s ... read more
Hi-Fructose: New Contemporary Fashion Thames and Hudson Chances are that if you harbour a modicum of interest in fashion, art and the interactions of it, you have come across ... read more
The Lavazza Italian Film Festival Palace Cinema Sydney, Australia September 17, 2019 Eighteen years since its inception, the Italian Film Festival is going stronger than ever with what can ... read more
L Just when one thought that one had identified pretty much the cream of the crop when it comes to craft beers and specifically IPAs, a contender pops up that ... read more
Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World J. Paul Getty Museum Based on an exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in ... read more
Monet: The Late Years Kimbell Art Museum If the claim that impressionism is light holds true, Claude Monet was the equivalent of the sun as what he emitted affected ... read more
Ai Weiwei: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors Unlikely that you have not come across internationally renowned activist and artist Ai Weiwei and his commentary on the status quo in ... read more
CaI-Guo Qiang: The Transient Landscape National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria is yet to disappoint when it comes to expertly curated exhibitions, some of which present ... read more
Sydney Contemporary 2019 Carriageworks Sydney, Australia September 12-15, 2019 For the uninitiated: Sydney Contemporary has established itself firmly on the firmament of intercontinental art fairs as the pre-eminent Australasian ones, ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Dainton Brewing If you have followed this series it should not come as a surprise that terra australis has a myriad of crafty and ... read more
Architecture and Action Cambridge Is the way buildings are designed significant? Does it affect you, your well-being and the world at large? Some say that if a building becomes ... read more
Water of Life – Bakery Hill Now, this instalment of our series is a special one – special because Bakery Hill is the one distillery that almost got away. I ... read more
Water of Life - Sullivans Cove Special cask release and Hobart Gin It is a shame that the world started to appreciate the liquid emissions of Tasmania’s Sullivans Cove ... read more
Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA and the Secret History of the Sixties Tom O’Neill Penguin / William Heinemann I think it is safe to say that Charles Manson, the ... read more
Adventures in Quantumland: Exploring Our Unseen Reality World Scientific Publishing I have been following philosopher and physicist Ruth Kastner explorations on what constitutes and lies underneath of what we ... read more
Water of Life - Wolfburn With a name like Wolfburn and a marketing department that has calibrated it approach to achieve a result oriented outcome, expectations were high right ... read more
Water of Life – Absinthe Friends I’ve danced with the ever elusive green fairy many a times and sometimes in more profound ways than other – be it in ... read more
The Simpsons: A Cultural History Rowman and Littlefield Using a flipchart to outline the immense influence The Simpsons have had and still have on the fabric of our cultural ... read more
West Side Story Opera House August 20, 2019 Sydney, Australia There are few dance musicals that are as internationally known as the result of the joint effort between the ... read more
Philosophy and Poetry : Continental Perspectives Columbia University Press Footprint Books Sure, there is a myriad of treatises and books on schools when it comes to studying the fundamental ... read more
In vino veritas – Vin Diemen’s Taste of Tasmania Another instalment as part of my constant push for you to have your mind blown by what Tasmania has to ... read more
Anselm Kiefer in Conversation with Klaus Dermutz Seagull Books I travel the world for many reasons and one think I made sure of, is hunting down Anselm Kiefer’s artistic ... read more
Water of Life - Flor de Caña Rum Nicaragua is a blank spot on my world map. “Blank” as in it has yet to be visited, I am intrigued ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Stockade Brewing Co Stockade Brewing Co surprised me a bit as it seemed to have emerged out of nowhere. Further research revealed that ... read more
Yeezy and Kanye West Yeezy Season 3 – 4 Zine Thames & Hudson The Yeezy phenomenon is one that ties in with the zeitgeist of artificially created hype and ... read more
Water of Life - Hernö One of the perks of roaming this earthround is that you get to try local spirits from the source. After a stint in Finland, ... read more
Thus Let Es Drink Beer - Modus Operandi My prayers for a great local, bold yet easily accessible IPA that ticks all the right boxes were answered with the ... read more
Water of Life – Illegal Mezcal God, I love a good sipping tequila. It does not have to be in the heat of summer to make this a thing ... read more
A.Bandit: A Secret Has Two Faces Prestel Publishing With the collaboration that we got here, we have a a case par excellence for the resulting whole bigger much bigger ... read more
The Streets Enmore Theatre Sydney, Australia July 19, 2019 Alternative hip hop headed by an MC and multi-instrumentalist, huh? Truth be told, I do not think The Streets had ever ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – T Bone Brewing It is funny how things work. Sometimes you accidentally come across something you start to hold in high esteem, you ... read more
Water of Life - KI NO BI gin Gin has experienced a renaissance and celebration the extent of which is yet to subside. Craft and micro distilleries are popping ... read more
Aesthetics Equals Politics: New Discourses across Art, Architecture, and Philosophy The MIT Press There are a range of quotes that came to mind from the title along, e.g. Paul ... read more
ZIRK! CIRCUS SYDNEY OPENING NIGHT Moore Park Sydney, Australia July 6, 2019 As the Colombian sculptor and figurative artists Fernando Botero put it oh so eloquently: “ The circus allows ... read more
Water of Life – Amrut Naarangi and Kadhambam I have always had a weak spot for sludge metal from New Orleans and Down’s “Bury me in smoke” is a ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Edge Brewing Project There seems to be a newer ending influx of newly established breweries dabbling in the creation of craft beers with ... read more
Water of Life – Sullivans Cove Sullivans Cove is quite something. Not that the Australian and specifically Tasmanian whisky scenes lack allure – au contraire – fantastic distilleries are ... read more
Water of Life – Michter’s Ah, bourbon – the whisky of the South! Full disclosure: On the road, I find it indefinitely harder to locate a good bourbon within ... read more
Open Frame Festival 2019 Carriageworks Sydney, Australia June 28-29, 2019 Open Frame is an annual festival of transgressive sound that is curated by the entity behind the moniker Room 40, ... read more
Camp: Notes on Fashion The Met Love wearing a furious look and strutting around like the good ole drama queen (or king) you are? Ah, the world of fashion ... read more
Thrones! Opera House Sydney, Australia June 25, 2019 Full disclosure: I have never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones, which puts me in the same shoes as one ... read more
Water of Life – GlenAllachie I am all about Islay and its distilleries when it comes to whiskies that excite me, which is not to say that I am ... read more
AUDINT -- Unsound: Undead Urbanomic / Art Editions – The MIT Press Noises. Sounds. Frequencies. Ultra-. Infra-. Audible. Inaudible. An endlessly fascinating realm that the UK based research unit ... read more
Water of Life – Dark Mofo Winter Feast edition: Hobart Whisky and Belgrove Distillery Dark Mofo’s Winter Feast is a definite highlight of the annual festival that not only offers ... read more
Water of Life – Evolve Spirits Bar There is the textbook definition of “fossil”, i.e. pertaining to any remains, impression, or trace of a living thing of a former geologic ... read more
Water of Life – Kavalan Concertmaster If you have followed my previous advice and have tried Kavalan’s Solist as well as other expressions, you would not find it further ... read more
Water of Life - Koval bourbon Ah, Chicago you windy city with your colourful underbelly history. It has been a few moons since the days of prohibition, the moonshining it ... read more
FKA Twigs Carriageworks Sydney, Australia June 9, 2019 Full disclosure, up to tonight I had not been exposed to the microcosm that is FKA Twigs – a circumstance I ... read more
Energies in the Arts by Douglas Kahn The MIT Press Hmm, “energy”. . . the good ole indestructible conserved quantity that is convertible in form and can be transferred ... read more
Water of Life - Buffalo Trace It has been a few moons between visits to the Big Apple – visits that will never run danger of losing their appeal that ... read more
Neo Rauch Michael Glover Lund Humphries Now, here is an interesting one that might not necessarily be on everyone’s radar: Neo Rauch has come to prominence via subtly exposing ... read more
Le Salon Dada - A Surrealist Dinner and Show Claire’s Kitchen It has been close to fifty years since the Rothschild’s much fabled about “Surrealist Ball” was held and attended ... read more
Water of Life – Kavalan Solist Whisky distilleries pop up in the most unexpected regions these days. Unfortunately, often, apart from the novelty factor truly great drops are not ... read more
The Watch – Thoroughly Revised Thames and Hudson I used to collect watches and do appreciate a well-crafted timepiece, despite an Apple watch having taken over the real estate ... read more
Water of Life - Port Askaig and Kilchoman Oh Islay, glorious Islay! Every time when one thinks that the main distilleries of the island have been covered and the ... read more
MOULD - A Cheese Festival Carriageworks Sydney, Australia May 24, 2019 Fromage, fromage! One does not need to have French heritage to harbour a thorough appreciation for cheese – ... read more
Slow Art: The Experience of looking. Sacred Images to James Turrell University of California Press James Turrell was first exposed to me via his on-going collaborations with MONA, specifically ... read more
Mark Rothko: Toward Clarity Yale University Press Let’s start with words from the man himself – words that would have lead to choosing the title of the book: “The ... read more
Water of Life – The Whisky Show Anyone who is paying a bit of attention to this series would have come across the name David Ligoff, a man that ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors Everyday Carry Essentials pt.1. “EDC” – everyday carry essentials. Everyone has them, be it your phone, gum, keys, phone, condoms, what have you. Fragrances ... read more
Prime Movers: From Pericles to Gandhi Simon and Schuster Needless to say that each of us would have a list of what we would deem to be influential thinkers. ... read more
Water of Life – The Canberra Distillery Again, despite being the capital of Australia, I have never felt the urge to visit – that has recently changed as more ... read more
Water of Life – Underground Spirits Canberra There are busier and more happening cities than what has been chosen to become the capital of terra australis. Canberra is certainly ... read more
Water of Life Launch of Highlander Whisky Bar and Bunnahabhain My first and long overdue encounter with Bunnahabhain was at the recent opening of the Highlander Whisky Bar at the Sir ... read more
Water of Life – ArteNOM Now, if you care for Tequila a tad more than shooting it, there are worlds to discover once you delve beyond the mainstream offerings that ... read more
Bret Easton Ellis – White Panmacmillan White is in essence a compilation of eight essays based on two central themes responding to contemporary culture: The drawing of a demarcation ... read more
Mentors: How to Help and Be Helped Russell Brand Look at Russel Brand – what an evolution! I would be hard pressed to claim that his recent emissions do not ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – 3 Ravens Every now and then one cannot help but think that certain alcoholica are covered. Been there, tried that, the rest are variations. Then ... read more
Rammstein – Self-titled new album The release of the yet untitled upcoming seventh studio album by the entity that heralded the dawn of what has been classified as “German Neue ... read more
Bruce Dickinson: What does this button do? No matter if you like Iron Maiden or his other incarnation in the field of music, it would be hard to deny that ... read more
Water of Life - Amrut I vividly recall the whisk(e)y tasting where I was first introduced to the “nectar of the good”, which is what the Sanskrit “Amrut” translates ... read more
Conscious Experience: A Logical Inquiry Anil Gupta Harvard University Press Empiricism. Consciousness. Rhyme and reason. Now, while the title of Anil Gupta’s book might at first glance invoke the ... read more
Rum is something I am slowly getting into so, well, let’s talk molasses instead of barley and malt for a minute. A commonality is that not unlike most whisk(e)s, Diplomatic ... read more
Hans Hofmann: The Nature of Abstraction University of California Press If you like art but have not come across the oeuvre of Hans Hofmann, I pity you. Prolific in ... read more
Dominic Büttner – Dreamscapes Scheidegger and Spiess Dreamscapes is a more than suitable term to depict the oeuvre of the Swiss photographer Dominic Büttner, one that is comprised of ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors Be Spunki No matter if I am traveling or how long my days are, in a bid to balance stress and all that comes ... read more
Essential Duchamp Exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales Yale University Press It would prove hard to underestimate the impact of one Marcel Duchamp – a disruptor ... read more
Alice in Slasherland Old Fitzroy Theatre Sydney, Australia Despite “Alice in Wonderland” being an immensely influential piece of work among Carrol Lewis’ oeuvre, the men himself is fabled to have ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – 4 Pines We have covered The Calyx at Sydney’s Botanical Gardens before. If I was pressed to describe it, I’d probably draw a parallel ... read more
In vino veritas Gauchito Gil Malbec Day Carriageworks Sydney, Australia April 14, 2019 Being the Argentinean equivalent to Robin Hood, Gauchito Gil enjoyed outlaw status not unlike Ned Kelly ... read more
Water of Life Talisker Select Reserve Game of Thrones House Greyjoy Ah, Game of Thrones and the hype around it. Claiming that the series, spin offs and everything that comes ... read more
The 15th Annual Sydney Comedy Festival – Gala Event Opera House Sydney, Australia April 24, 2019 Comedy and laughter are widely perceived to be a valve and pressure release – ... read more
Water of Life – Joadja Whisky Just when you thought that you got a grip on the Australian whisky scene and at least identified the cream of the crop ... read more
Water of Life - Arran Arran is not exactly one of the oldest island distilleries – having been around for less than three decades and based at Lochranza - that ... read more
Water of Life – Hobart Whisky Tasmania is quite something. Hobart and MONA have become a second home. We have covered Tasmania in terms of whisky numerous times and just ... read more
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Enmore Theatre Sydney, Australia April 20, 2019 There are bands and the protagonists driving them that you want to experience in the third dimension at ... read more
Iggy Pop Opera House Sydney, Australia April 15, 2019 The godfather of punk is certainly a big title. Having been active since the second half of the 1960s and actively ... read more
King Dude Vanguard Sydney, Australia April 13, 2019 Having emerged as what appealed to an appreciative underground audience as a neofolky, luciferian lone-troubadour, TJ Cowgill, the man behind the moniker ... read more
Water of Life - Tin Shed Distlling I have sung the praises about Tin Shed Distillery and their product of formidable artisan whiskies before. Given the meticulous attention not merely ... read more
Water of Life Never Never Distilling Co. / Caffe Bartolo collaboration Never Never Distilling Co. has been on my radar for quite some time. Upon finally experiencing the emissions of ... read more
Water of Life Tiger Snake & Limeburners/Pirate Life collab I hear you – the flags of everything Bourbon and Sour Mash are in most people’s minds thoroughly planted on terrain ... read more
Philip Anselmo and the Illegals Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia March 30, 2019 Phil Anselmo has quite a back catalogue and since his days with Pantera has proven his front man ... read more
Rose Tattoo Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia March 29, 2019 Claiming that Rose Tattoo is an iconic band is an understatement par excellence. While they are held esteem on stage around ... read more
Water of Life – Whiskey Makers / Master Distiller’s edition We have established previously that when it comes to anything Jameson, Brian Nation is the authority to give his nod ... read more
Tony Robbins Awaken the Giant Within and Unshakeable You would have come across his name in some form or another as he has established himself as the quintessential and ... read more
Atheism Alexandre Kojève Columbia University Press Given the standing and prominence of French philosophers, Alexandre Kojève’s oeuvre was almost eclipsed in the new world but has been immensely influential in ... read more
Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness 1st Edition Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci The Guilford Press Alright. Self-help and all that garbage. You don’t ... read more
Water of Life - Bushmills 21-Year Old I dig Scotches. The more peat and smoke, the better. While I have yet to encounter one that is an utter disappointment, Irish ... read more
Water of Life – Whisky and Meat Now, whisky and food make for an interesting combination. Interesting in that it has to be calibrated extremely well, specifically when it comes ... read more
Time Out Sydney – Bar Awards Not entirely sure how you keep abreast of what is happening in your town outside the confines of crustpunk shows in the basement of ... read more
Water of Life Sydney Gin Palooza Let’s talk about distilled artisanal drops that are predominantly derived from juniper berries as the main core ingredient. Not unlike with whiskey, the gin ... read more
Anselm Kiefer: Books and Woodcuts Anselm Kiefer has been an immense impact on me ever since I was exposed to him in the late 1980s. I travel just to ... read more
If you have paid a bit of attention to this series, you would be aware that peat and smoke is something that resonates immensely well with my DNA, hence covering ... read more
Let’s enter the den of iniquity, shall we? Based in Adelaide in the South of Australia, Iniquity is not merely one of the many distilleries that have recently mushroomed across ... read more
Frank Bowling: Mappa Mundi Prestel Publishing For the uninitiated, the book title is a telling one as it zeros in on Frank Bowling’s large-scale map paintings, which are more often ... read more
Download Festival 2019 Parramatta Park Sydney, Australia March 9, 2019 There are some interesting parallels between the close to two-hundred-year-old festival site of Download Festival and the line-up this year ... read more
The Beasts Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia March 8, 2019 It is not exactly the best kept secret that The Beasts of Bourbon are one of my favourite Australian bands. Given ... read more
Water of Life -1800 Tequila Tequila. Shooting it is sacrilege. Well, that and getting the cheap tequila that one can only get down the throat by shooting it and masking ... read more
Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again Whitney Museum of American Art Even the die-hard pop art head would have lost count on how many books have ... read more
Zen and Japanese Culture Princeton University Press Zen and Japanese culture are inextricably linked and this tome on the topic explore how embedded in its original context Zen is ... read more
Escher X nendo | Between Two Worlds National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne, Australia M. C. Escher, one of the many prolific artists that form the art pantheon of the Netherlands, ... read more
Punk and Perfume. Jean Paul Gaultier. Visionary. Icon. Designer. Fashionista. Born in Paris. London mindset during his formative years. Belle Époque meets punk meets mainstream meets recycling meet androgyny meets ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Co-Conspirators Co-Conspirators Brewing Company and the awesome designs of their cans instantly caught my eye when I was perusing the craft beer section. Word around ... read more
J Mascis Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia March 1, 2019 Dinosaur Jr. is one of those trios the mere mention of elicits goose bumps from folks devotedly invested in independent music. ... read more
Watain Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia February 24, 2019 Watain have somewhat come to encompass the quintessence of Black Metal for me as they combine all facets, e.g. sinister accelerated passaged, ... read more
Black Metal has always been synonymous with Norway and with its anti-establishment take on things combined with the demonization of Christianity, it has never ceased to be one of the ... read more
The Water of Life – Old Kempton It comes with the history of Australia that it does not have a history that is particularly long in harking back, so it ... read more
Eddie Izzard State Theatre Sydney, Australia February 23, 2019 Eddie Izzard, not unlike every great man, exists in multitudes. Conferencier. Marathon runner. Comedian. Cunning linguist. Cross-dresser. Entertainer par excellence. Activist. ... read more
Quantum Art and Uncertainty Paul Thomas Intellect Press Art and science. A quest for answers. Creativity. There are a range of similar approaches and synergies that apply to all ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors Accessories and Traveling Traveling internationally and the daily humdrum that comes with it, especially when it comes to packing and organising one’s essentials can ... read more
Thus Let Us Drink Mead - Stone Dog Meadery Mead has quite an interesting history, harking back much further than what has manifested in Norse mythology to many thousand years ... read more
Pieter Bruegel: Drawing the World Heralded as the Netherland’s draughtsman of the early seventeenth century, Pieter Bruegel’s flag is firmly planted in the pantheon of greats alongside Hieronymus Bosch and ... read more
Water of Life – Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10-year-old Bruichladdich at large and specifically its Octomore emissions enjoy a near cult-like following, which I do not find further wondrous. I have ... read more
Why Would One Want To Wear a Hat? As Philip Treacy put it, how a hat makes you feel is what a hat is all about. Now, I am sure ... read more
Yungblud Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia February 14, 2019 Prior to tonight’s performance I had not been familiar with Yungblud and his oeuvre. Anticipating an “urbanite” artist from the name alone, ... read more
Cat Power Enmore Theatre Sydney, Australia February 11, 2019 It has been nearly two and a half decades since Chan Marshall incarnated with her debut album as Cat Power ... read more
Wondrous Potions and Libations - HempOZ Ah, the advent of hemp and its derivates – be it the psychoactive THC containing variety and its never-ending march forward in the new ... read more
Water of Life - Hartshorn If you have remotely followed this series, you would know that I harbour more than a mere weak spot for all things originating from Tasmania, ... read more
Thus let us drink beer – Wildflower There is certainly no shortage of Australian craft breweries. Head in general direction of Sydney’s Inner West and you will stumble across a ... read more
Water of Life – Timboon Distillery I am in love. But first things first: Timboon is a community in Victoria, Australia where in the nineteenth century a rogue by ... read more
Water of Life - Mount Gay Lord Byron claimed that there is naught so much the spirit calms as rum and true religion. While I concur with Karl Marx who ... read more
Good Music - What It Is and Who Gets to Decide John J. Sheinbaum Now that’s a good question, innit? What constitutes “good music”? Is it possible to designate, ... read more
Jill Sanders – Present Tense Prestel Publishing You might only know her from being a spearhead when it comes to haute couture: Jill Sanders has been in the fashion ... read more
Thus let us drink beer - the Oceania / Ireland Axis Let’s start this instalment in Oceania before we branch out to the ole world: Steinlager from New Zealand, given its ... read more
Water of Life – Mother’s Ruin The neutral spirit Gin that is usually enriched with juniper, coriander, orange peel and angelica, not only experienced a renaissance in the old and ... read more
John Waters: Indecent Exposure University of California Press You might know him from cult classics of the raunchier kind like Pink Flamingos or his emissions that appealed more to ... read more
Water of Life – Whisky Co-op Sydney Tasting curated by Scott (The Oak Barrel) at the Wild Rover The age-old question - what makes a good whisky? Many roads lead ... read more
Water of Life Bass and Flinders Distillery and Bundaberg’s 130th Anniversary Spiced Small Batch Release Good god, the gin industry – especially on terra australis is exploding with new distillers ... read more
Drop Powerhouse Books Street wear couture has always been a culture, but the combination of the advent of the internet, the crossover involvement of designers, the renaissance of cross-pollinating ... read more
Paul Capsis with Jethro Woodward and The Fitzroy Youth Orchestra Spiegeltent Sydney, Australia January 18, 2019 Paul Capsis is a unicum and the versatility that has informed the myriad of ... read more
Mumford and Sons Enmore Theatre Sydney, Australia January 19, 2019 Mumford & Sons has risen from a niche band to one that commands stadium crowds. Following a show at the ... read more
Water of Life – Chivas Mizunara and XV Inspired by the attendance of Chivas’ recent Sydney incarnation of The Blend, my curiosity was sparked to explore Chivas’ expressions that so ... read more
Neneh Cherry Carriageworks Sydney, Australia January 15, 2019 Since the beginnings of the 1980s, Neneh Cherry has incarnated in many forms: Be it hip hop, trippy hop, R&B, minimalist electronic, ... read more
Masters of Modern Sound Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, Australia January 10, 2019 The Art Gallery of New South Wales has a history of continually challenging the ... read more
David Lynch Someone is in My House Prestel Publishing With a myriad of projects spanning across a plethora of disciplines and media, David Lynch has established himself to be ... read more
Interpol Opera House Sydney, Australia January 5, 2019 Joy Division. A band whose legacy and focus on mood, melancholy and expression has never ceased to reverberate through the realm of ... read more
Mind Over Matter – Cryo Every now and then it is perfectly okay to let go and cry, unrepressed and unhindered -- after all showing emotions is what makes us ... read more
Water of Life – Chivas The Blend Bell & Brio Sydney, Australia Chivas is an interesting one. In layman terms, Chivas represents the epitome of an amalgamated whisky as the ... read more
What’s Sumatra with You? Wonderous Potions Yawn. I know - recovery and energy drinks are flooding the beverage markets and come in manifold colourful variations that promise everything from hydration ... read more
The Offspring. A band I’ve always had an interesting relationship with. Interesting in that I have yet to come across a musical emission from them that I do not like. ... read more
The Lock-In Curious Cartel The Wanderer Sydney, Australia December 22, 2018 First things first: Curious Cartel is a conglomerate of seasoned creative types that have honed their respective crafts in ... read more
Water of life – Fortaleza Tequila Let’s take the highway to Mexico to shed light on some premium tequila, shall we? Disclaimer: When I talk of drinking tequila, naturally I ... read more
Water of Life – Brix Distillery What’s in a name? Before it gets too Shakespeare-an, let’s delve into science, shall we? In a very confined nutshell, “Brix” is defined as ... read more
Agents of Faith – Votive Objects in Time and Place BGC Yale University Press Faith. Offerings and tokens to express gratitude. Infusing mundane objects with meaning and thus elevating ... read more
Water of Life Jameson IPA Caskmates / Launch at JJ’s Place Ok, full disclosure. I like a good boilermaker. Ever since I got word about Jameson’s Caskmates series, a mild ... read more
Water of Life – Johnnie “White Walker” Now, Johnnie Walker. Marius Mueller Westernhagen’s go to. If you are remotely into Scotch, there is no way you would not have come ... read more
Hitler’s Monsters: A supernatural history Yale University Press Now, this is an interesting one on a subject that has been explored in manifold approaches of both serious and amateurish ... read more
Logic: The Laws of Truth Nicholas J.J. Smith Princeton University Press It was Arthur Schopenhauer who claimed that logic, should be capable of being deduced from self-evident premises. The ... read more
MoMA at NGV: 130 Years of Contemporary and Modern Art National Gallery of Victoria New York’s Museum of Modern Art’s incarnation at the National Gallery of Victoria was a ... read more
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll Prince University Press Toward the end of the nineteenth century, a Victorian algebraist wrote a fairy tale the influence and standing of which ... read more
Mystical Symbolism: The Salon de la Rose+Croix in Paris, 1892–1897 Vivien Greene Guggenheim Museum Publications Wow. Now this is one is a beauty amongst quite a few I hold ... read more
Wu Tang Clan Opera House Sydney, Australia December 8, 2018 Good god, I don’t even recall how many times I was supposed to witness incarnations of Wu Tang Clan, parts ... read more
Limeburners I came across Limeburners at a recent whisky tasting. Given that the other drops on offer were nothing to write home about, it not difficult for Limeburners’ expression stand ... read more
Caldera Festival Eveleigh Works Sydney, Australia December 1, 2018 Going by its etymological roots, “caldera” is a volcanic crater. The lava that is produced by the boutique-y new festival that ... read more
Bloc Party Hordern Pavilion Sydney, Australia November 30, 2018 No matter how you cut it, if you like good music it proves to be hard to not acknowledge that Bloc ... read more
Andy Warhol – Ai Weiwei Yale University Press This tome is an ode to The National Gallery of Victoria’s (NGV) Andy Warhol – Ai Weiwei exhibition. An exhibition that epitomized ... read more
Water of Life - Bushmills Irish Whisky degustation at nel. Restaurant, Sydney, Australia Full disclosure: Bushmills Irish Whiskey had not been on my radar, neither had been Sydney’s restaurant ... read more
Star Wars Identities: The Exhibition Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences Sydney, Australia Now, Star Wars – there are fan-related events and exhibitions aplenty in all shapes and forms. The opening ... read more
Polo in the City Centennial Parklands Sydney, Australia November 17, 2018 What originated to ensure the fitness of mounted cavalry nearly three millennia ago in the region of Persia, slowly ... read more
Reggie Watts Opera House Sydney, Australia November 23, 2018 Virtuous musician. Entertainer par excellence. Comedian…and, well everything in between. The does not even remotely come close to a depiction of ... read more
Amenra Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia November 16, 2018 Slow and doomy build-ups that cascade and are eventually unleashed not unlike a ton of bricks: Amenra have taken the DNA of ... read more
Henry David Thoreau: A Life Laura Dassow Walls University of Chicago Press Henry David Thoreau. A luminary of American literature canon. A Life is more than a mere biography ... read more
Starward Distillery out of Melbourne: If you remotely follow this series, our previous coverage of Starward, its excellent outlet and its liquid emissions would and should have left more than ... read more
Haruki Murakami – Killing Commendatore Penguin Classic Murakami has been a constant source of joy for me over the last decade. His Kafka-esque, surreal, multi-dimensional story telling scattered with ... read more
Bill Murray and Jan Vogler Opera House Sydney, Australia November 9, 2018 Bill Murray. Actor. Entertainer. Comedian. I have yet to meet somebody who dislikes the man and it is ... read more
Aight, we are about to enter realm of Wild Turkey. Now, what we got here is the lovechild of poteen aficionado, Oscar Award decorated and public face of Wild Turkey ... read more
Mark Rothko: From the Inside Out Yale University Press Mark Rothko. Chances are that if you have a remote interest in art related matters and visited modern galleries within ... read more
Cheers Fest Sydney, Australia November 3, 2018 Cheers Fest is a new beer-centric festival, focusing on the finer craft and independently owned Australian breweries as well as artisanal liquid emissions ... read more
What's Sumatra with You? Coffee Style Prestel Publishing As Madonna put it ever so eloquently: Espresso yourself. Tadum-tsh! Better latte than never. Ahhh, coffee and procaffeinating, I never grow ... read more
There is certainly no shortage of distilleries in this day and age. They come in all sizes and specializations. Every now and then you stumble across one whose liquid ... read more
Taylor Swift ANZ Stadium Sydney, Australia November 2, 2018 Truth be told - Taylor Swift is a pop phenomenon that has so far by passed me. Sure, I am familiar ... read more
Fashion Plates: 150 Years of Style Yale University Press MMXVIII – fashion, labels, advertisement, and connectivity - access all areas. When it comes to the creation of couture these ... read more
The Art of Brutalism: Rescuing Hope from Catastrophe in 1950s Britain Yale University Press Black is the new black, beautiful the new ugly, ugly the new . . . ... read more
27 October 2018 Julius Caesar is not merely a tale of one political transition where the attempt to resolve upheaval serves as the cataclysm to cause the very outcome Caesar’s ... read more
Cultivate Folk is a fairly new initiative in Sydney with the main tenet being the provision of a forum to allow for Australia’s talented and passionate artists, educators and thought ... read more
2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of what many consider to be the first proto-punk album in history, Kick Out The Jams. While this may or not be ... read more
Mind Over Matter -- Floating If you are into Matt Groening’s satirical depiction of working-class life, you might have come across the Simpsons episodes that has Homer taking Lisa to ... read more
Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto Opera House Sydney, Australia October 21, 2018 The collaboration between Japanese composer, maverick and constituent of the synth pop outfit Yellow Magic Orchestra, Ryuichi ... read more
Water of Life Sake and Cocktails In essence Kid Kyoto is a themed, dimly lit exposed brick lined Japanese restaurant whose ambience catapults you back into the throes of 90ies grunge ... read more
SurlyFest 2018 The Hold Steady, Bad Bad Hats, Mixed Blood Majority, Static Panic, Rachel Kurtz, DJ Shannon Blowtorch Festival Field (Surly Brewing Company) Minneapolis, MN October 13, 2018 SurlyFest ... read more
An Enemy of the People Belvoir Theatre Sydney, AU October 11, 2018 Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s prominent position on the forefront of the firmament of contemporary drama has never wavered ... read more
Mona Hatoum: Terra Infirma Yale University Press Dislocation, borders, political oppression are themes that are omnipresent and reverberate through Mona Hatoum’s oeuvre, which now spans over four decades. In ... read more
Jersey Boys Capitol Theatre Sydney, Australia October 4, 2018 The 2018 staging of Jersey Boys at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre opened its proceedings with a bit of a surprise: A ... read more
The Merchant of Venice Pop-up Globe Sydney, Australia September 28, 2018 The Buckingham’s Company's comedic take on Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is an exuberant exercise in engaging theatre. Set ... read more
Water of Life Bruichladdich The Isle of Islay is the mecca for whisky connoisseurs, specifically for ones into the smoky and peaty variants. Bruichladdich is a distillery that reopened its doors ... read more
The Good, the Tasty, the Sustainable Show me a human being that does not like snacking. No matter if you are a health nut or a couch potato, devour leftover ... read more
Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave Thames and Hudson Japan and art is not one but a myriad of chapters for themselves. One of Japan’s preeminent artists is Hokusai, a ... read more
Angerot, God Came From Space, Off With Their Heads, Khemmis, Murder City Devils, Carcass Somerset Amphitheater Somerset, WI September 29, 2018 Photo gallery below read more
Georg Jensen: Scandinavian Design for Living Art Institute of Chicago Georg Jensen and his creations are credited with having left an immense imprint on the landscape that defines modern ... read more
Thus let us drink cider... Ah, the ripened extract of pears and apples, which is particularly popular in the United Kingdom and the rest of the Commonwealth, i.e. the ancient ... read more
Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear 1715-2015 Exhibition and Book by Prestel Publishing Powerhouse Museum Sydney, Australia Ah, the Weather Girls. Their oeuvre and specifically their song “Reigning Men” has ... read more
Radio Birdman Manning Bar Sydney, Australia October 5, 2018 Outlining the impact the brilliant and notoriously volatile Radio Birdman has had on the evolution of punk rock and the independent ... read more
A Midnight Visit Sydney, Australia October 3, 2018 Immersive theatre is a genre for itself. Forget sitting in seat and merely losing yourself in the world it presents by engaging ... read more
Plants with Bite Royal Botanic Garden Sydney September 27, 2018 We have had a chance to get an exclusive preview of The Calyx, the inner sanctum in Sydney’s Royal Botanical ... read more
1-2-3-4 Anton Corbijn Prestel Publishing It is not exactly the best-kept secret that I harbor a weak spot for Depeche Mode, a band that has accompanied me ever since ... read more
What’s Sumatra with You? Killer Coffee and Sip4Sip The fact that I love coffee is not exactly a well-guarded secret. A passion I shared with a mob of good people ... read more
Water of Life Buffalo Trace Distillery: Neat – screening and tasting Golden Age Cinema and Bar Sydney, Australia September 24, 2018 We have covered quite a few whiskey-centric events within ... read more
Whiskey! The Show Sir Stamford Plaza Sydney, Australia September 21, 2018 If you are not averse to enjoying a good dram, visiting a well-curated whiskey festival is a delight as ... read more
Big Poppa’s Cheese Club September 23, 2018 Sydney, Australia Equilibrium. Balance. Yin and yang. Ebony and ivory. The fusion of seemingly different components merge their features to something bigger than ... read more
Delacroix Barthelemy Jobert. Princeton University Press Alright – Eugene Delacroix. To describe this French craftsman as “prolific” would be an understatement par excellence. His oeuvre is expansive and very ... read more
Sydney Contemporary Opening Night Carriageworks Sydney, Australia September 12, 2018 Basics first: If you zone in on Australasia’s Art Fair, Sydney Contemporary is a brightly shining beacon that attracts an ... read more
Mark Lanegan Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia September 18, 2018 Mark Lanegan. The Screaming Trees. Queens of the Stone Age. If you are remotely into the darker realms of music and ... read more
Sydney Underground Film Festival 2018 Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia September 13-16, 2018 Constantly growing, the 2018 Sydney Underground Film Festival marked the twelfth edition of an extravaganza that has established ... read more
David Baddiel Seymour Centre Sydney, Australia September 14, 2018 Full disclosure: I had no idea who David Baddiel was prior to attending his Sydney incarnation with his unvarnished one-man stage ... read more
Mathematics and Art: A Cultural History Princeton University Press Mathematics is dreaded by many, while the arts at large enjoy a better rep. However, the pursuit and adherence to ... read more
Frank Gehry Prestel Publishing Frank Gehry is an artist. Frank Gehry is a creator. Not unlike one of his most prominent works, i.e. the Bilbao Guggenheim, which triggered a ... read more
Time Out Sydney Food Awards Sydney, Australia August 27, 2018 You are familiar with Time Out, a media company publishing magazines and travel guidebooks covering events, entertainment and culture in ... read more
Time Out - Old Mate’s Place Bar Opening Sydney, Australia August 23, 2018 Sydney has a new bar in its central business district that instantaneously makes it on the must-visit ... read more
It’s been almost two decades since Billy Corgan, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlain shared a stage together, and while not a full and complete reunion without bassist D’arcy Wretsky, Denver ... read more
Giselle State Theatre Melbourne, Australia September 3, 2018 For the uninitiated: Giselle is a romantic ballet in two contrasting acts, which was first performed in the first half of the ... read more
Japanese Water of Life Sake – Toji Sake and Four Fox Sake If you have read a couple of my previous articles, you would know that I harbour quite a ... read more
Water of Life The Whisky Club There is no shortage when it comes to curated whisky services catering to the consumer’s every whim. Services that proffer samples, ones that send ... read more
Encountering the Spiritual in Contemporary Art Nelson Atkins Spirituality, huh? There is a case to be made for it being essential for existence not unlike a fire is for ... read more
Blasted Malthouse Theatre Melbourne, Australia August 31, 2018 Artist provocateur Sarah Kane’s polarising play has been described as being one of the more shocking and provocative ones. Dysfunctional, alcohol addled ... read more
Gene Simmons Festival Hall Melbourne, Australia August 30, 2018 Gene Simmons. Ace Frehley. Spearheads of KISS. Outworn labels like “legendary” are not inappropriate in this context as it would prove ... read more
Expo Liaison Festival Experience Luna Park Sydney, Australia August 25, 2018 For the unitiated: Client Liaison is a two-man performance operation and a dedicated homage to Australian tackiness and the ... read more
Andrew WK Manning Bar Sydney, Australia August 26, 2018 While Andrew WK himself might not have changed, the way his oeuvre has evolved and come a long way since he ... read more
The Good, The Tasty, The Sustainable Loving Earth What did they say? All you need is love? Well, a lil’ chocolate every then thrown in for good measure certainly does ... read more
School of Life Food for Thoughts Now, here’s an interesting one: The School of Life. An organisation that devoted itself to developing emotional intelligence. Sounds a bit esoteric? Fret not. ... read more
Denfair Hordern Pavilion Sydney, Australia August 16-18, 2018 Over the last three years, Denfair has established itself as a yearly curated design destination event in Melbourne for professionals in the ... read more
Courtney Barnett Opera House Sydney, Australia August 23, 2018 Going to Melbourne is never not a delight. Apart from culinary discoveries, its arts and music scene always produces something new ... read more
Big Poppa’s Cheese Club Big Poppa’s Sydney, Australia August 19, 2018 The result of separating the curd of milk from the whey. C2H5OH. Recurring, insistent beat patterns providing both the ... read more
Gerhard Richter: Abstractions Prestel Publishing With its telling title, there is not a whole left to the imagination as to what this beautifully illustrated and curated book zeros in ... read more
Rembrandt's Roughness Nicola Suthor Princeton University Press Ah, roughness. It was not only Benoit Mandelbrot who discovered that there is at least some roughness everywhere. Now, focussing merely on ... read more
High Adventures in the Great Outdoors Performance Enhancing Gear, Digestive Health and Moisturisation Alight, are you firmly in touch with your feminine side? Gird your loins, alpha males – this ... read more
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Fundamental Political Writings Broadview Press A philosopher – both in the realms of politics as well as morality and psychology. The influence Rousseau has exerted cannot possibly ... read more
Spirit of the Wild - Wild Turkey Pop-up Sydney, Australia There are pop-ups abound. There is hardly a multi-national brand that has not at least dabbled in providing an experience ... read more
Grape, Grain and Graze. Showgrounds Sydney, Australia August 11, 2018 What a beautiful alliteration that not only rolls off the tongue well but clearly portrays what one of Australia’s most ... read more
Deafheaven w/ Drab Majesty Neptune Theater Seattle, Washington August 10, 2018 I saw Deafheaven back in 2015 for the first time and aside from being blown away by their performance, ... read more
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination Yale University Press Based on an exhibition at the Met, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination is one opulently curated thing of ... read more
An evening with Dale DeGroff Kittyhawk Sydney, Australia August 3, 2018 There is no shortage of accolades that cocktail innovator, veteran bartender and envelope pushing coryphée Dale DeGroff has been ... read more
Rev-Ale-ation – A Symphony of the Senses Mosman Art Gallery Sydney, Australia August 5, 2018 Changing perceptions. Expanding horizons. Reimagining stories. Inspiring enthusiasm. Diminish stereotypes. This and more what the ... read more
Speed Rack Australia competition Marble Bar Sydney, Australia July 29, 2018 Speed Rack, huh? What comes to mind? Sports? Rollerderby? A completion of sorts? Speed Rack provides a forum to ... read more
Water of Life Glenmorangie and Modus Operandi Boilermaker Dinner Webster’s Bar Sydney, Australia August 1, 2018 Zanzibar, the ole faithful Newtown institution and after hour haunt, was a reliable drinking ... read more
Picasso and Truth: From Cubism to Guernica (The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts) T.J. Clark Princeton University Press Unsurprisingly enough, there is no shortage of books ... read more
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - In concert with the SSO ICC Theatre Sydney, Australia July 27, 2018 Given the immense attention to detail and curation of the Star ... read more
Men's Society Guide to Social Protocol, Necessary Skills, Superior Style, and Everything Else That Will Set You Apart From The Pack Murdoch Books Men’s Society, founded by Hugo and ... read more
Sonos House 40 Queen St Sydney, Australia July 10-21, 2018 Music. Sounds. Sonic pleasures. High-fidelity. How do you listen to music? Why would you want to invest in gear to ... read more
ADWA tasting event The Oak Barrel Sydney, Australia July 13, 2018 Glass ceilings. Those unseen, yet unbreakable barrier that keep minorities and women from rising to the upper echelons of ... read more
Water of Life Sullivans Cove If you are remotely anything whisky related, the name Sullivans Cove alone will probably give you goose bumps make your hair raise in the best way ... read more
Water of Life Lark Distillery Over the last seven years, Tasmania, i.e. antipodean Hobart, has become a home away from home. What started with a flirt with the last stop ... read more
Smash Brothers Kogarah, Australia “Break room” in a nine-to-five existence might be limited to the confines where lunch and coffee is had and the latest office gossip is spread. Smash ... read more
Brew A Batch Christopher Sidwa Murdoch Books Unless you are a teetotaller, who does not like a good brew, be it a regional Lager, Pale Ale or a Craft ... read more
The Architecture Concept Book An Inspirational Guide to Creative Ideas, Strategies and Practices James Tait Thames & Hudson Ah Architecture – visual art at best and the ultimate yearning ... read more
The Essential Goethe Princeton University Press Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. German writer, statesman and one of the most virtuous pioneers of the Sturm und Drang literary movement, whose influence ... read more
Eames – Beautiful Details Ammo Books One might question that need for frivolous ornamentation and luxury furniture, that is until you have planted yourself in an original Eames lounge ... read more
Open Frame: Room 40 Carriageworks Sydney, Australia June 28-29, 2018 2018 saw the third place Carriageworks bringing back the biannual Room 40: Open Frame Festival, centred around curated offerings rooted ... read more
Swimming and How to Layer Up in Style If you swim more regularly, you will be aware that the materials your gear is constructed with can greatly improve not only ... read more
Hearing protection EarPeace Music. Enjoyment. Loud amps in your face. Regular exposure to loud noises might have catastrophic consequences if hearing is not protected proactively. With hearing being a ... read more
Sydney Film Festival 2018 Winter in Sydney is not devoid of event highlights: ViViD Festival is blossoming in all its glory illuminating the Sydney in all its glory literally and ... read more
Protein Yup. Need to get it in, especially when being on the road in places less traveled. Let’s look at the basics. Aight, protein is one of the pillars of ... read more
Kandinsky Random House For me, the art compositions of Kandinsky has always had a connection to music, not just due to the names of his paintings which are pervaded ... read more
Art and Design -- Part 2 Circada Books Hidden Museum Shaun Parr Museum can be spiritual places. They certainly are for me. A place where I can lose ... read more
What’s Sumatra With You? -- Part 3 Black, hot liquid gold makes the world go round. Most like it hot but does it always have to be? Ever tried cold ... read more
Visit to Starward Distillery What’s constitutes a “good whisky? There are a myriad of distilling methods and tweaked processes that go into bottling the water of life, the quality of ... read more
The Spirit of Bauhaus Thames & Hudson Walter Gropius declared in his Bauhaus manifesto, which he penned in 1919 in Weimar and which forms the genesis of one of the ... read more
Mazzy Star Opera House Sydney, Australia June 11, 2018 Despite exerting a massive influence and having created their own lane, with crooners like Lana del Ray only being one of ... read more
German Film Festival May 22 – June 10, 2018 Sydney, Australia. Not unlike the American Essentials Festival, the German Film Festival showcase new Teutonic cinematic talent from the ole world ... read more
Water of Life Part 3 Ardbeg Day 2018 Sydney, Australia Miss Peaches June 2, 2018 Ardbeg. Where shall we start? Ardbeg’s ten year old, non-chill-filtered; uncoloured variety is as good ... read more
Brian Jonestown Massacre Sydney, Metro Theatre June 9, 2018 With seventeen albums under their belt, the collective known as the Brian Jonestown Massacre has been going since 1990. Early on ... read more
Thus, let us drink beer! – Australian special, part 2 If you have ever been to Sydney, chances are that you passed through The Rocks, a neighborhood of quaint laneways ... read more
American Essentials Film Festival May 8-20, 2018 Sydney, Australia American Essentials is not your typical new world film festival with the saccharine blockbusters crowding the market. The focus is firmly ... read more
Aleksandr Zhitomirsky Photomontage as a Weapon of World War II and the Cold War Yale University Press As one might have noticed, I am an aficionado of German artist ... read more
Jeff Koons: A Retrospective Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art Jeff Koons is perceived to be a controversial artist – an iconic one that proves to be hard to by-pass. ... read more
Good Design Australia showcase Overseas Passengers Terminal Sydney, Australia May 25, 2018 Design. Good Design, huh? What constitutes “good design”? When there is nothing left to add or nothing left ... read more
At the time tickets went on sale for Stone Temple Pilots’ latest tour, it was unclear initially how many folks were going to be interested in seeing the band with ... read more
Raekwon Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia June 2, 2018 When Aristotle coined the phrase that a collective is bigger than the sum of its individual constituents to signify the concept of ... read more
DREAMS Opera House Sydney, Australia May 29, 2018 DREAMS is Luke Steele’s (Empire of the Sun) and Daniel Johns' (Silverchair) and while it has been tinkered on for nearly a ... read more
Going Down Malthouse Theatre Melbourne, Australia May 19, 2018 A migrant story. Feminism. Cultural identity. Sense of belonging. Racism. Rebellion. Sexism. Individualism. Stereotyping. Labeling. Lightheartedness. Egotism. Perseverance. True north. Self-righteousness. ... read more
Erwin Wurm. Prestel Publishing A humorous and playful artist heavily influenced by the all too familiar trivialities and banal objects of the daily humdrum, which he extends or manipulates to ... read more
Talisker - Made by the Sea Neighbourhood Bondi Sydney, Australia May 3, 2018 Talisker. One of the triumvirates of whiskies that Robert Louis Stevenson claimed to be the king of ... read more
Whisky and Cheese Tasting Stamford Plaza Circular Quay Sydney, Australia April 25, 2018 Wine and cheese. Sure. Natural companions whose strengths of flavors cross-pollinate and complement each other. Now, sommeliers ... read more
Portugal. The Man Enmore Theatre Sydney, Australia May 1, 2018 Portugal. The Man Psychedelic glam rock. Bombastic self-indulgent EDM brats? One hit wonder? Could a band care less about your ... read more
Hit The Road Vans, Nomads and Roadside Adventures Gestalten Verlag Wanderlust. Getaways. Roadtrips. Traveling. Everyday can be a journey. Your own. No nomadic traits needed. Trails, streets, roads and ... read more
Francis Bacon: Studies for a Portrait Michael Peppiatt YUP Francis Bacon was one hell of a complex artist. Contradictions. Enigmas. Affairs. Debauchery. The works. Then there was his art. ... read more
Real Bodies Exhibition Byron Hall Sydney, Australia April 22, 2018 I bumped into Gunter von Hagens with his dog Bella, the pioneer of the technique of plastination that forms the ... read more
Humanity Ai Weiwei Princeton University Press Ai Weiwei. Chances are that you either are familiar with him and what he does or you would have heard of the impact ... read more
Weathering the Elements In the previous instalment of this series I touched on my recent hiking excursions in the neither regions of Norway. At the region where according to Nick ... read more
Principles of Archaeology T. Douglas Price / Kelly Knudson An introduction to archaeology that helps students think like archaeologists Thames & Hudson T. Douglas Price. Professor and life-long learner. ... read more
The Art of Living Alone and Loving It Your inspirational toolkit for a whole and happy life Jane Mathews www.murdochbooks.com.au Slow living. Solo living. Conscious living. When did these ... read more
Sam Knee Music nerd. Vintage design and postwar fashion aficionado Youth culture connoisseur. Photographer. Author. Sam Knee. Grown up in the rural South of England, Knee grew up on ... read more
Gin – the Show Stamford Plaza Hotel Sydney, Australia April 7, 2018 Apparently the only time Phyllis Diller enjoyed ironing, was the day she accidentally put gin in her ... read more
Ten Principles for Good Design: Dieter Rams Cees W. de Jong (Editor) Prestel Publishing / Random House Familiar with the German brand Braun? Ever wondered what made it the successful ... read more
Anselm Kiefer Notebooks, Volume 1, 1998-99 Seagull Books Now truth be told – I am in awe of Anselm Kiefer. I have traveled far and wide to see his ... read more
Lodestars Anthology Issue 9 – France Traveling is never without an appeal. For the downtime between my excursions when time allows, I indulge in paper and ink. While literature ... read more
Juan Montoya The Monacelli Press Juan Montoya made a name for himself by pushing boundaries and exerting a dominant influence on design in the contemporary world– a feat that ... read more
High Adventure in the Great Outdoors - Nopeet Suomi. Finland. Nokia. Plywood. Free people. Free education. A region where you can drive for hours without encountering a signle soul. ... read more
Australian Beer Special Thus, Let Us Drink Beer! Part 2 The people behind Kaiju! Beer love their hops. As in, they like to wade in it knee deep and max ... read more
The Daily Grind What's Sumatra With You? -- Part 2 Hello from where the cold things are, i.e. the neither regions of arctic Norway. I quite like hiking as ... read more
The Moulin Rouge experience Féerie! Paris, France March 24, 2018 (Photo by Francis TheBlueRoom) Well, well – even if you are not familiar with the real thing, chances are that even ... read more
Casper David Friedrich Johannes Grave Prestel One would not be far off the mark by claiming that Casper David Friedrich’s oeuvre encapsulates the DNA of German romanticism. While his ... read more
Wim Wenders Instant Stories Thames & Hudson Publishing Neues deutsches Kino on the world stage has more or less become synonymous with the filmmaker Wim Wenders, who is also ... read more
Fabergé and the Russian Crafts Tradition An Empire's Legacy Margaret Kelly Trombly Thames & Hudson Publishing You dabble in arts but decorative art of the Russian kind is not ... read more
High Adventure in the Great Outdoors – Outdoor watches Living in the southern hemisphere, it is mildly difficulty to not get into and enjoy water sports to at least some ... read more
Wanderlust Hiking on Legendary Trails Gestalten Verlag Into traveling? Inhabited by that innate, unexplainably strong desire to roam and impetus to go wandering? I hear you. Does your traveling ... read more
The Aints play The Saints part 2. Manning Bar Sydney, Australia March 9, 2018 We have clarified before that The Saints have left an imprint on the music scene that ... read more
Quicksand / Thursday Metro Theatre Sydney Australia March 7, 2018 Stating that one Walter Schreifels with the myriad of his musical incarnations has had a significant impact on my musical ... read more
Bar Patrón by Neil Perry Sydney, Australia Now, in theory this should be an easy one. Guilty as charged – I do harbour a weak spot for the distilled ... read more
The Modern Cook’s Year By Anna Jones Harper Collins Cannot be bothered to cook? In need of some inspiration? Bored by the limitations of your cooking skills? The Modern ... read more
The Mind-Gut Connection By Emeran Mayer Harper Collins Ah, the body. Your corpse. A powerful intuitive communicator. Are you listening, possibly entering and influencing the dialogue? “Gut feeling”. Your ... read more
Time Out Sydney Bar Awards 2018 Marquee Club Sydney, Australia February 25, 2018 Sometimes bad weather can be a blessing in disguise. Sure, it would have been delightful to celebrate ... read more
Hunter S. Thompson loved it. Herb Kelleher thought along with Philip Morris cigarettes that it was essential to the maintenance of human life. Steven King fell prey to it. Bourbon. ... read more
Sydney City Limits Centennial Park Sydney, Australia February 24, 2018 Austin City Limits Festival has found its worthy equivalent in the Southern hemisphere: With the name being more than a ... read more
Tropfest 2018 Parramatta, Australia February 17, 2018 Tropfest first incarnated in 1993 in a bid to establish a foundation and a forum for filmmakers to blossom and bloom. Since its ... read more
Surrealism, Art, and Modern Science Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, Epistemology Yale University Press The interim between the two World Wars. Worlds in upheaval. Technological advancements. Progress in the world of ... read more
Anthrax Skyway Theatre Minneapolis, MN February 24, 2018 I have a pinched nerve in my neck. Self-diagnosed, but diagnosed nonetheless. It’s from shoveling snow. We’ve had so much snow this ... read more
Futurism: An Anthology Yale University Press Now, this one is a no-brainer. As in, for anyone remotely into what happened in the twentieth century in the realms of design, ... read more
Fragrance. Punk rock and fragrance, huh? An oxymoron? What would a punk rock perfume smell like? Super glue, urinal stones, stale beer, dogs and a hint of patchouli? A ... read more
Interested in what terra australis has to offer in terms of libations and tipples? Look no further. The first instalment of this series shall shed light on Starward. Have you ... read more
Wine Selector’s 50 Best The Old Rum Store Sydney, Australia February 15, 2018 Wine Selector is the authority and when it comes to the finer things of all things pertaining to ... read more
Delirious: Art at the Limits of Reason, 1950-1980 Metropolitan Museum of Art www.footprint.com.au 1950 until 1980 was certainly an interesting era: The implications of post-second world war sentiments paired ... read more
Craft beer. To thrive in today’s day and age of fleeting sensations and flavours du jour, establishing oneself in the the crowded craft alcoholic beverage arena is no mean feat ... read more
Death: A Graveside Companion Thames and Hudson Not sure if you concur with Socrates in that death may the greatest of all human blessings but it is certainly a ... read more
Degas: A Passion for Perfection by Jane Munro Yale University Press Edgar Degas (1834-1917) is heralded as one of the founders and masters of the impressionist movement, with the ... read more
The Ivory Mirror The Art of Mortality in Renaissance Europe Yale University Press www.footprint.com.au Renaissance - what associations does the term invoke with you? An age of achievement, “eureka” ... read more
Cattle Decapitation Bald Faced Stag Hotel Sydney, Australia February 16, 2018 First and last time I came across Cattle Decapitation was with the release of their “Ten Torments of ... read more
Sunnyboys Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia February 10, 2018 Oh goody! The Sunnyboys. One of the most influential Australian bands with a back catalogue that is hard to f with no ... read more
Evanescence Opera House Sydney, Australia February 14, 2018 Evanescence incarnated on terra australis to celebrate their forth album, i.e. Synthesis, via a collaboration with local Symphony Orchestras, which makes sense as ... read more
Champagne Champagne: A Secret History Roger Walters Allen & Unwin Publishers I harbour more than one weak spots for all things sparkling – be it water or wine. Champagne ... read more
Hieronymus Bosch, Painter and Draughtsman: Catalogue Raisonné Yale University Press What a thing of beauty! Hieronymus Bosch – Painter and Draughtsman Catalogue Raisonné is a comprehensive, opulently illustrated tome ... read more
Riesling Riot Town Hall Sydney, Australia February 7, 2018 A riot in realm of vino – The roots of what has become known as the Riot of the Riesling kind ... read more
The Stranglers Enmore Theatre Sydney, Australia February 8, 2018 As a teenage delinquent in his early stages of punk socialization searching for the next kick in the local record store, ... read more
Footpath Guides Architectural Walking Guides Footpath Guides, the headquarters of which are situated in a Bauhaus inspired building of epic brutalist proportions, is a conglomerate of three creative heads with ... read more
How To Be Chap The Surprisingly Sophisticated Habits, Drinks and Clothes of the Modern Gentleman Gestalten Verlag Dandyism. Being a gentleman. A man of taste. Taking care of yourself. ... read more
Savile Row Thames and Hudson Not sure if you are into what is referred to as classic gentlemen style and its intricacies, but if you like a well-fitted great looking ... read more
Wim Delvoye Introspective Yale University Press If you have ever read any of our features on the Museum of Old and New Art and the artworks it harbours that ... read more
Chances are you have come across them. Ray-Ban. Classics. Style. Worn the world over by rebels as well as the establishment and jetset and hence leaving an imprint on all ... read more
Electric Gardens Centennial Park Sydney, Australia January 27, 2018 We have covered the festival known as Electric Gardens since it first debuted in 2016. What was a success in every aspect ... read more
Albert Speer Architecture 1932-1942 Written by Leon Krier, Preface by Robert A. M. Stern The Monacelli Press The Robert Johnson dilemma. Making a deal with the devil for your ... read more
Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty Footprint.com.au Alexander McQueen might be known to you as a fashion designer. Quintessentially he is exactly that, yet it you zero in closer into his ... read more
Monochrome: Painting in Black and White by Lelia Packer and Jennifer Sliwka National Gallery London As the title suggests, a book based on the absence of colour and a ... read more
Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer by Carmen Bambach METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni is widely appreciated as one of the most influential artists of the Italian ... read more
There Will Be A Climax Old Fitzroy Theatre Sydney, Australia January 12, 2018 I do not subscribe to the notion of guilty pleasures or liking something “ironically”. Either you like something ... read more
Parkway Drive Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia January 18, 2018 Let’s delve into physics and its underpinning laws, shall we? In a nutshell, the law of Boyle-Mariotte captures the concept of ... read more
American Idiot – The Musical Opera House Sydney, Australia January 11, 2018 The first time and only time I saw Green Day live was in 1991 during their first European ... read more
NYE in the Park Victoria Park Sydney, Australia December 31, 2017 There is no shortage of iconic locations that New Years Eve can be celebrated at in Sydney. The boutique-y ... read more
Run the Jewels Big Top, Luna Park Sydney, Australia January 5, 2018 Given their respective careers and pedigree, I could not help but be intrigued when I was first introduced ... read more
The Unbelievables Concert Hall, Opera House Sydney, Australia December 20, 2017 In medias res: With a name that suggests a band of superheroes out of the Marvel universe, The Unbelievables ... read more
The Beautiful Girls Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia December 16, 2017 Founded in 2002, Australian trio The Beautiful Girls started their career based on a sound foundation of reggae and surf ... read more
Paradise Lost Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia December 15, 2017 “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” -Aristotle A band with such longevity as ... read more
The Easybeats Sydney, Australia Enmore Theatre December 15, 2017 Let’s start with the basics for the uninitiated: To claim that the Easybeats, who first incarnated in Sydney in 1964, were ... read more
I used to jog but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass. - David Lee Roth One day, out of the blue I started to run. Simply ... read more
Sydney Burlesque Gala 2017 Sydney, Australia Aight, let’s tick off the basics and history lesson first: As per definitionem, “burlesque”, derived from Italian “burlesco”, is a work of art meant ... read more
Mesdames et messieurs – welcome to the second installment of our feature on Germany’s Gestalten Verlag: Let’s ease in with a beauty: Best of German Interior Design Eds. Christian Boros, ... read more
Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age: Masterpieces from the Rijksmuseum Art Gallery of NSW Sydney, Australia Before the dawn of the 18th century, the territory that was to become known as ... read more
Super Food Family Classics Jamie Oliver Penguin Books Australia Jamie's Super Food Family Classics is the healthy-eating companion book to the new TV series of Jamie's Super Food. Illustrations ... read more
Locust HouseAdam GnadeThree One G / Pioneer Press This one is short, immersive, dense, turbulent and poignant. A novella-length rumination on a time, a place, and a culture. Less ... read more
Men without Women Haruki Murakami Penguin Books Australia Men Without Women is a 2014 collection of short stories by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, which was recently translated in English in ... read more
Die Gestalten Verlag is a publisher and creative agency mostly known for their 600 books on art, architecture, design, photography and typography. The company has 30 staff members through offices in ... read more
British Artists – Francis Bacon by Andrew Brighton Tate Publishing Comprehensive and holistic in nature, The British Artist Series books employ the insights of art luminaries to illuminate the ... read more
High Adventure in the Great Outdorrs – Topo Designs One does not have to be a hardcore outdoorsman to have an appreciation for reliable quality outdoor gear that despite ... read more
John Heartfield – Laughter Is A Devastating Weapon Tate Publishing John Heartfield (born Helmut Herzfeld; 19 June 1891 – 26 April 1968) was an artist and a pioneer in the use ... read more
No Is a Four-Letter Word: How I Failed Spelling but Succeeded in Life Chris Jericho Da Capo Press The basics: Chris Jericho portrays himself as a bit of a ... read more
Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between Andrew Bolton Yale University Press If you are into design, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons will ring a couple of bells ... read more
Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg Manning Bar Sydney, Australia November 23, 2017 Tonight heralded the return of Marky Ramone to Australian shores, whose tenure handling skin duties for the Ramones lasted for ... read more
UB 40 Hordern Pavilion Sydney, Australia November 24, 2017 As infectious and happy the UK’s biggest reggae export’s emissions sound, disputes had riddled the band’s legacy and resulted in a ... read more
The Aints play The Saints Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia November 24, 2017 According to Sir Bob Geldorf, rock music in the seventies was changed by three bands—the Sex Pistols, the ... read more
Perturbator Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia November 21, 2017 Producing dark and retro futuristic music with a strong 80’s feeling, James Kent AKA Perturbator is the considered to be the spearhead of the ... read more
Italy on a Spoon Doltone House Sydney, Australia November 20, 2017 World Week of Italian Cuisine? is a global event in its second edition?, which last year was celebrated ?in ... read more
We’re All Going to Die Festival Commune Sydney, Australia November 17, 2017 The We're All Going To Die festival was born out of Founder, Artist and Filmmaker and Director Stefan ... read more
Dillinger Four, Negative Approach, Kitten Forever, Victory, The Slow Death Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, MN November 22, 2017 I usually try to keep show reviews to the point: Here’s ... read more
Skepticon Recital Hall Sydney, Australia November 18-19, 2017 Think Inc. is a telling name: Dedicated to nurturing rational discourse, the bright heads behind the organisation organise Q&A sessions, forums and ... read more
The Scientists Factory Theatre Sydney, AU November 18, 2017 The Scientists became a much more influential post-punk band than their minimal commercial success would indicate, lending their influence to what ... read more
Glen Matlock Landowne Hotel Sydney, Australia November 16, 2017 Chances are that if you are on this website, you know who Glen Matlock is, as he is not only known for ... read more
5 Ingredients – Quick Easy Food by Jamie Oliver Penguin Books As the title suggest, the premise is by stripping down your shopping list and using merely five ingredients, arranged ... read more
Gault & Millau Restaurant Guide Launch The Cannery, Rosebery Sydney, Australia For the uninitiated: Gault et Millau incarnated first in 1965 as a collaboration between restaurant critics, Henri Gault ... read more
Ecca Vandal Oxford Art Factory Sydney, AustraliaN November 11, 2017 To some the South African born Ecca Vandal might appear to be a riddle, which might be due to her giving ... read more
Goose Island Thanksgiving Dinner National Art School Sydney, Australia November 10, 2017 Let us start off with the basics for the uninitiated: Goose Island Brewery is a brewery based in Chicago, ... read more
The cold evening here in Pratteln is a world away from the kind of weather Portugal’s Sinistro are used to. However, the band bring plenty of heat to their opening ... read more
United Cellars Champagne Tasting Hudson House Sydney, Australia November 9, 2017 Alright, guilty as charged. Me likey bubbles. A lot. Sparkling – be it water or wine. Especially Champagne. I ... read more
Night Nation Run Sydney The Doman November 4, 2017 The Night Nation Run is the World’s first Running Music Festival. What’s that? Well, a running event embedded in the context ... read more
Miguel Migs Café del Mar Sydney, Australia November 4, 2017 Café del Mar is quite a versatile venue as it serves for Sydneysiders a place to eat, drink and listen. ... read more
Banksia Sustainability Awards 2017 Doltone House Sydney, Australia November 1, 2017 The yearly Banksia Sustainability Awards recognise and reward achievements made by Australian Individuals; Community Groups; Primary and Secondary Schools; ... read more
Design-Made. Sunstudios Alexandria, Sydney October 27-29, 017 Milton Glaser claimed that there are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no and WOW! Design-Made. definitely aims for the latter as. ... read more
The Bronx Oxford Art Factory Sydney, Australia October 30, 2017 Tonight was a side-show from The Bronx’ current Australia tour with Pennywise and how great it was to see ... read more
Jewish Film Festival Opening Night Cinema Bondi Jumction Sydney, AU October 26, 2017 A jam-packed Event Cinema Bondi Junction played host to Jewish International Film Festival Opening Night, as the 2017 Jewish Film Festival was kicked off in ... read more
Ministry Fillmore Auditorium Denver, Colorado Oct. 28, 2017 With the passing of Lemmy Kilminster, Al Jorgensen has become the last man standing in regards to what amount of excess ... read more
Time Out Sydney Hop Up – Young Henrys World Square Sydney, Australia 23 October 2017 Ah, Young Henrys. Young Henrys is the household name of Sydney craft breweries, an impressive ... read more
Burn City: Melbourne’s Painted Streets Lou Chamberlain Hardie Grant Travel I dig Melbourne– aka ‘Burn City’ – and paying a visit is always something to look forward to, not just ... read more
The Festival of Nonna 107 Project Redfern, Sydney, AU October 23, 2017 The fine people behind Sandhurst Fine Foods are behind the operation of The Festival of Nonna: The concept bases ... read more
Tonight’s show at Pratteln’s Z7 venue was almost in dire straits with Alcest’s tour bus breaking down two hours away and the band needing to head over in a taxi ... read more
Redfern, Sydney, AUS 20 October 2017 The Youth Food Movement Australia don’t believe in telling people what to do, but educating and arming young folks with the skills, knowledge and ... read more
Recovery: Freedom from our Addictions Russell Brand Published by Pan Mac Millan You would have crossed paths with the man known as Russell Edward Brand somewhere in the world of ... read more
The Kinfolk Entrepreneur – Ideas for meaningful work By Nathan Williams Workman Encouraging its readers to live a self-contained, slow lifestyle, reconnect with the earth, shun technology where possible ... read more
The Pixies @ the Fillmore Auditorium, Denver Colorado October 18, 2017 Black Francis is a man of few words. This would be detrimental as a stockbroker, but as the ... read more
Alice Cooper Hordern Pavilion Sydney, AU October 21, 2017 Alright. If we have to start off by dancing out that Alice Cooper is the architect of not merely shock-rock by ... read more
Toruk – the First Flight Cirque du Soleil Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney October 19, 2017 Toruk - the First Flight, a stage show by Cirque de Soleil, is based on ... read more
What Rhymes with Cars and Girls Riverside Theatre Parramatta October 14, 2017 What Rhymes with Cars and Girls was You Am I’s frontman Tim Rogers’ first solo effort released toward the ... read more
Napalm Death Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia October 11, 2017 Finally after more than 25 years, I got to witness the herb drenched Brujeria storm a stage. A band that has always had ... read more
Greek Film Festival Palace Cinemas Leichhardt October 10-22, 2017 The 2017 Sydney incarnation of the Greek Film Fest was launched with the premiere screening of Roza Of Smyrna, based on the ... read more
Queens of the Stone Age and Royal Blood Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, Colorado 10.10.2017 It wasn't looking good. In typical Colorado fashion, following a summer-like 76° Sunday, mother nature ... read more
Pinot Palooza - A Touring Pinot Noir Festival Sydney Carriageworks October 8, 2017 Looking for a near perfectly orchestrated and curated, traveling and rocking Pinot Noir experience without pretentious bullshit ... read more
Underbelly Arts FestivalNational Art SchoolDarlinghurstOctober 7-8, 2017 Proceedings of the Underbelly Arts Festivals were opened with a shindig serenaded with sad Goth party jams, visceral electronic beats and roaming performances by Bhenji ... read more
OZ Comic Con ICC Sydney September 30 – October 1, 2017 The Sydney incarnation of the OZ Comic-Con is a lot to take in. It might be a cliché, but ... read more
Time Out Magazine Sydney Food Awards Porteño Restaurant and Bar Sydney, Australia September 25, 2017 If you do not live under a rock, you are familiar with Time Out Magazine. ... read more
Peter Hook and the Light Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia October 2, 2017 An Evening with Peter Hook & The Light performing the legendary Factory Record’s albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer. Both ... read more
Dan Sultan Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia September 30, 2017 Dan Sultan’s fourth, more personal, reflective and mature album, Killer, which he recorded with producer and long-time collaborator Jan Skubiszewski in Melbourne, exemplifies ... read more
Forever Crazy State Theatre Sydney, Australia September 28, 2017 Mesdames et messieurs - Le Crazy Horse de Paris!Probably world’s best known cabaret, renowned for its diverse range of varietè shows ... read more
Dune Rats Big Top, Luna Park Sydney, Australia October 1, 2017 Dune Rats are an Australian outfit from Brisbane, originally formed by Danny Beausa and BC Michaels as a duet with ... read more
At the Drive In Hordern Pavilion Sydney, Australia September 29, 2017 At the Drive In are back at it. Had previous incarnations of the El Paso quintet its up and ... read more
The Daily Grind What's Sumatra With You? T.S. Eliot had measured his life out with coffee spoons. Some claim coffee is the most valuable trading commodity after oil. A ... read more
Dead Cross September 23, 2017 Ogden Theatre, Denver "Hello, we are Dead Cross and we are not gluten-free." - Mike Patton Usually by the end of a tour, a ... read more
Australia and New Zealand have a history of winemaking that harks back to the late Nineteenth Century, but it was not until the 1970s that the region became known for making ... read more
New Philosopher Womankind Feel like there is a gaping hole for content that is intellectually stimulating among existing print media, underestimating their readers’ capacity to reason and their curiosity about ... read more
Motionless in White Metro Theatre Sydney, AU September 19, 2017 Motionless in White embarked on their first national headline Australia tour this September in support of their new album Graveyard Shift. ... read more
Exploded View Sam McPheeters Talos Publishing Born Against. Vermiform Records. Error Fanzine. Men’s Recovery Project. Wrangler Brutes. Punk Planet. On-air disputes with Sick of it All. Touring Europe with Articles ... read more
Italian Film Festival 2017 Palace Cinemas Sydney, AU September 12, 2017 The Opening Night of the Italian Film Festival, which was a lavish affair with live entertainment, Italian themed food and ... read more
MEW Manning Bar Sydney, AU September 12, 2017 MEW are a Danish alternative, experimental outfit pivoting between styles with a career spanning more than twenty years, across seven acclaimed studio albums, that ... read more
Placebo Qudos Bank Arena Sydney, AU September 9, 2017 Last in the country for Soundwave Festival and a pair of sideshows back in 2014, the Placebo returned to Australia for a ... read more
Sydney Contemporary Carriageworks Sydney, AU September 7-10, 2017 The term “third place” was coined by Ray Oldenburg, an American urban sociologist. The “first place” denotes "home where we place to role ... read more
Italian Wine and Food Festival 2017 The Cutaway, Barangaroo Reserve Sydney, AU August 28, 2017 The origin of the festival goes back to Lara Caraturo, a sommelier who in 2013 thought that an ... read more
Vera Blue Metro Theatre Sydney, AU September 2, 2017 Celia Pavey, known in muso circles under the moniker Vera Blue, is a Sydney-based singer-songwriter that managed to transition from reality show ... read more
You Am I & Hoodoo Gurus Enmore Theatre Sydney, AU August 31, 2017 If you paid an iota of attention over the last couple of years, it would not have ... read more
Stone Sour Hordern Pavillion Sydney, AU August 26, 2017 Touring in support of their latest album, the groove-heavy Hydrograd, Stone Sour descended upon Australia via a stint in New Zealand ... read more
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Lifeby Mark MansonPan Macmillan Australia It is only after you have lost everything that you ... read more
Psychosis 4:48 Old Fitz Theatre Sydney, AU August 19, 2017 Sarah Kane’s 4:48 Psychosis is essentially a 60 minute long stare into the abyss of darkness and struggle of mental illness, ... read more
Vin Diemen “Best of Tassie” National Art School, Cell Block Theatre Sydney, AU August 12, 2017 I sure hope that my recent features on Tasmania and MONA have tickled your ... read more
Montaigne Metro Theatre Sydney, AU August 12, 2017 Michel de Montaigne was one of the most significant philosophers on the French Renaissance known for popularizing the essay as a literary ... read more
“…thus, let us drink beer!” – Belgium special Waffles. Friterie. Chocolate. A royal palace bigger than Buckingham palace. The first country to legalise euthanasia and ban cluster bombs. Three ... read more
Always going upstream against the current – part 1 Pescatarians listen up. Salmon. How do I love thee? I cannot possibly count the ways. This series shall follow my travels ... read more
Man cannot live by bread along – he must have peanut butter, or, as the wise philosopher Sylvester Gardenzio “Rimbaud” Stallone once proclaimed: “If you try to change the taste ... read more
Oceania Burger Special Ah, the humble burger – a product loved by Popeye’s sidekick J. Wellington Wimpy that came about to meet the culinary needs of a society rapidly ... read more
Pete Murray Enmore Theatre Sydney, AU July 29, 2017 Byron Bay singer-songwriter Pete Murray is back with his trademark smooth and inviting vocal delivery to promote his sixth studio album, ... read more
Zoo Brew Taronga Zoo Sydney, AU July 22, 2017 Tastings that offer a chance to sample hop-and-grain-based beverages are legion. They tend to follow the same formula, leaving center stage to ... read more
Ásgeir Enmore Theatre Sydney, AU July 21, 2017 Iceland is largely an arctic desert punctuated by mountains, glaciers, geysers, hot springs, volcanoes and waterfalls. It is one of the ... read more
Living life well Fête/Life magazine is an Australian publication that connects with readers in a personal way. Its mission is to inspire them to love the life they have, engage in ... read more
2017 Scandinavian Film Festival Sydney July 11-August 2 We are currently in the fourth season of the year in Sydney, which is mild compared to the harsh haunting wintertide ... read more
Japandroids Factory Theatre Sydney, AU July, 14 2017 Japandroids are a two-piece band from Vancouver, BC, which began in 2006 and consists of Brian King and David Prowse. One guitar, one set of drums, and ... read more
The Undertones Metro Theatre Sydney, AU July 8, 2017 The Undertones are legendary. If you are remotely interested in punk rock yet not familiar with their oeuvre due to the ... read more
Grinspoon Enmore Theatre Sydney July 7, 2017 Grinspoon emerged in 1995 from sleepy Lismore in New South Wales and with the juvenile delinquents behind the operation harbouring a weak spot ... read more
Good Food and Drink Show Sydney, Australia June 24, 2017 The Good Food and Drink show is all about familiarise it’s audience with emerging trends in the hospitality industry before ... read more
Open Frame: Room 40 Festival Carriageworks Sydney June 30. 2017 Carriageworks, Sydney’s largest and one of its more eclective multi-arts centres, is stoically following its ambitious mission which is informed ... read more
Boy George Café del Mar Sydney, AU June 12, 2017 Despite the focus being on his recent stint as a judge on one of those castings shows down under, Boy ... read more
Fantastic Food and Drink and Naturally Good Shows ICC Exhibition Centre Sydney, AU June 4-5 Premium. Gourmet. Handcrafted. Delicious. Unique. Extraordinary. Fantastic – a few adjectives and superlatives that ... read more
Hot Brown Honey Opera House Sydney, AU June 9, 2017 Sass, empowerment and politics rooted in hip hop culture are the pillars that form the foundation of Hot Brown Honey – ... read more
Metallica Sports Authority Field at Mile High - Denver, Colorado June 7, 2017 The storm was supposed to roll through early - before opening acts Volbeat and Avenged Sevenfold took ... read more
Hidden Sydney "The Nevada" at The World Bar Sydney, AU 25 May - 18 June 2017 Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney. The Cross, as it is known by localites, was ... read more
Body Count Luna Park Sydney, AU June 3, 2017 Body Count is quintessentially a heavy metal band with a rap mentality with their material focusing on various social and political issues, ... read more
Nick Murphy (formerly known as Chet Faker) Opera House Sydney, AU June 1, 2017 Nicholas "Nick" James Murphy, better known by his former stage name Chet Faker – a pseudonym ... read more
GABS Festival The Dome Sydney, AU May 28, 2017 The inaugural GABS fest, which was listed as one of the top 20 beer festivals in the world by the American magazine The Beer ... read more
Village People State Theatre Sydney, AU May 25, 2017 Countless times, the Village People depicting stereotypes of the masculine kind and framed in catchy pop tunes with mass appeal have ... read more
Time Out Pub Awards 2017 Bank’s Hotel Sydney, AU May 24, 2017 Founded at the end of the swinging sixties in Londontown, Time Out eventually became the global player it ... read more
Devin Townsend Project Enmore Theater Sydney, AU May 22, 2017 If you are familiar with Devin Townsend’s incarnation as the frontman of the musically more aggressive Strapping Young Lad with ... read more
Living Colour Metro Theatre Sydney, AU May 13, 2017 Living Colour is the embodiment of creatively fusioning, funk, jazz, hip hop, country, exploratative, and alternative rock with lyrics ranging from the personal to the political, ... read more
Nashville Pussy Bald Faced Stag Hotel Sydney, AU May 12, 2017 Nashville Pussy. What a band. Having emerged out of the ashes of the great Nine Pound Hammer, who already ... read more
Meatstock Festival 2017 Olympic Park Sydney May 6-7, 2017 Vegans and vegetarians avert your eyes: Meatstock 2017’s two-day meat filled extravaganza at the Sydney Showgrounds featured bands, barbecues, beards, butchers, ... read more
American Essentials Sydney, AU 09 May – 24 May 2017 Founded in 2016 as a way to fill select Aussie cinemas with the kind of US titles that don't usually make it to ... read more
Entombed AD Manning Bar Sydney, AU May 10, 2017 One would need more than one flipchart to scratch the surface of how influential Entombed have been throughout the nearly three ... read more
Snakehips Metro Theatre Sydney, AU May 8, 2017 The London-based electronic chill duo Snakehips with their hypnotic, trap-inflected songs that are reminiscent of Odesza, Kelala and Cashmere Cat are the ... read more
Botanica Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, AU May 06 – 28, 2017 Botanica 2017, focused on the nexus between the disciplines of art and science, is Australia’s premier annual botanical art exhibition ... read more
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Manning Bar Sydney, AU May 6, 2017 After their last tour in 2014, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus returned to the land down under for a ... read more
$uicideboy$ Manning Bar Sydney, AU May 4, 2017 Having joined forces in 2014, the prolific $uicideboy$, a.k.a. Ruby da Cherry, a gentleman with punk rock roots, and $lick $loth, former ... read more
Spanish Film Festival Palace Cinema Sara Baras: All Her Voices Sydney, AU April 29, 2017 With food, live performances, films and drinks the 20th edition of the Spanish Film Festival ... read more
Red Hot Chili Peppers Amalie Arena Tampa, FL April 27, 2017 It is hard to believe that three of the four members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers are all ... read more
Amongst Ruins (Snake Eggs Hatch) Old Fitzroy Sydney, AU Presented by Poor Tom's Gin & Mark Blumer, and supported by Playwriting Australia and ambassador Louis Nowra, Michael McStay’s short ... read more
Helmet Manning Bar Sydney, AU April 29, 2017 Helmet finally returned to Australia in 2017 to celebrate their third and was is considered to be their most experimental album Betty ... read more
The Hodgetwins Factory Theatre Marrickville, AU April 25, 2017 The Hodgetwins, Virginia-bred identical siblings Kevin and Keith Hodge, are “social media personalities” and operate a variety of YouTube channels, where ... read more
Sex Object Depot Theatre Marrickville April 23, 3017 As per its mission statement, Depot Theatre, nestled in the vibrant Addison Road Centre and the arts scene of Sydney suburb ... read more
Tash Sultana Ivy Courtyard Sydney, AU April 16, 2017 Courtyard’s annual Easter party at Sydney’s Ivy stepped it up this year with easily one of the biggest lineups in the ... read more
Peking Duk Enmore Theatre Sydney, AU April 22, 2017 Formed in Australia’s capital Canberra, Peking Duk are an electronic music duo made up of disc jockeys and music producers Adam ... read more
The Tea Party Star City Sydney, AU April 21, 2017 Since the Canadian three piece’s inception in the early-‘90s, the Tea Party has pursued a singular epic sound melding middle-eastern ... read more
Suggs: My Life Story in Words and Music Enmore Theatre Sydney, AU April 19, 2017 In Suggs: My Life Story in Words and Music, Graham McPherson, the frontman of the ... read more
Cool for Summer Festival Olympic Park Sports Centre Sydney, AU April 15, 2017 Ah, social media. Rooted in the broader Web 2.0 landscape, it helped engineers, entrepreneurs, and everyday ... read more
Bad Friday Festival Block Party Railway Parade Marrickville, AU April 14, 2017 The etymology of the term “good” in the context of Good Friday is contested: Some claim it is ... read more
Explosions in the Sky Jannus Live St. Petersburg, FL April 12th, 2017 Explosions in the Sky are a rarity in the day and age of the “right now”, with information ... read more
Drift Magazine Not sure how you roll but in my world and that of Drift Magazine, coffee inhabits not an unimportant role, which is why Drift is relevant to my interests. Its central ... read more
Ambrosia Magazine Ambrosia, the food or drink of the Greek gods which was often depicted as conferring longevitiy or immortality, is closely connected to nectar, both of which where were ... read more
Alter Bridge Enmore Theatre Sydney, AU April 4, 2017 After several runs as openers, the Orlando, Florida-based melodic metal outfit toured Alter Bridge returned to Australia on the back ... read more
Illy Enmore Theatre Sydney, AU April 7, 2017 The Melbourne MC Illy, born Alasdair Murray and former member of the Crooked Eye Crew along with heads like M-Phazes, has been ... read more
Tash Sultana Metro Theatre Sydney, AU April 1, 2017 Let me introduce you to Natasha, known professionally as Tash Sultana, a Australian one-woman band that takes multitasking to the next ... read more
Brian Greene: A Time Traveller's Tale International Convention Centre Sydney, AU March 30, 2017 Cosmologist, string theorist, professor of science and mathematics Brian Greene is an academic rock star whose mass ... read more
Adman: Warhol before Pop Art Galley of NSW Sydney, AU Feb 25-May 28, 2017 Soon after graduating having earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Pictorial Design, a young ... read more
Hang Massive Max Watts Melbourne, AU March 22, 2017 Shaped much like a spaceship, the Hang’s ( a musical instrument of the idiophone class) equally ethereal sounds created by Danny Cudd ... read more
Violent Femmes Factory Theatre Sydney, AU March 20, 2017 In its heyday, the Folk rock band, or shall we go with “Midwestern acoustic punk gateway drug to experimental music,” Violent ... read more
MDLSX by MOTUS Carriageworks Sydney AU March 16, 2017 Interdisciplinary entity MOTUS was founded by Enrico Casagrande and Daniela Nicolò and over the last twenty-five years has established itself firmly on ... read more
Spiderbait Enmore Theatre Sydney, AU March 18,2017 In case you are burdened with the mercy of late birth and hence unfamiliar, Spiderbait are an Australian alternative rock band formed in ... read more
Taking Back Sunday 170 Russell Street Melbourne, AU March 21, 2017 Taking Back Sunday have come a long way and I don’t necessarily mean the distance between terra australis and ... read more
Chain & the Gang Newtown Social Club Sydney, AU March 15, 2017 It is going to be difficult to keep this review objective as Ian Svenonius’ emissions and incarnations have ... read more
Taste of Sydney Centennial Park Sydney, AU March 9-12, 2017 Now, who does not love an opportunity to sample vittles and enjoy carefully selected libations? While the common denominators for ... read more
Australian Tattoo Expo 2017 International Convention Centre Sydney, AU March 10-12, 2017 With over 45,000 visitors annually, the celebration of creativity and art The Australian International Tattoo Expo proudly represents, ... read more
Meshuggah Enmore Theatre Sydney, AU March 12, 2017 It has been twelve years since I last saw Meshuggah and while their performance at Cleveland’s Peabody’s Downunder was tight and technically ... read more
Twelve Foot Ninja Manning Bar Sydney, AU March 10, 2017 The genre blending breed of metal of Melbourne’s Twelve Foot Ninja might best be described as “fusion”. A versatile, charismatic ... read more
Mardi GrasSydney, AUMarch 4, 2017 With a longstanding history of almost four decades, Sydney’s Mardi Gras builds on a strong foundation from which they champion LGBTQI individuals and communities. 2017 ... read more
The DamnedMetro TheatreSydney, AUMarch 10, 2017 Musically and artistically, The Damned has always been one of the most accomplished and versatile forefathers of punk and alumni of the class of ... read more
KasabianSydney Opera HouseSydney, AUMarch 8, 2017 Kasabian from Leicester, UK are disciples of the Angel of the North, the contemporary landmark of North East England and are quintessentially the embodiment of ... read more
Pixies Hordern Pavilion Sydney, AU March 7, 2017 The Pixies have always appeared to be an odd band to me, which admittedly was part of the appeal: The pop sensibility, ... read more
Last week when a friend, and occasional love interest, suggested we check out the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for one of our is this a date or is this not a ... read more
T2 TrainspottingNow at cinemas Making a great movie is difficult. Standing out against the myriad of mediocre big budget offerings is no mean feat. Stars need to align. ... read more
The MenzingersMr. Smalls FunhousePittsburgh, PAFebruary 28, 2017 The first time I saw the Menzingers play in Pittsburgh was at this club that doubled as a concert venue and a nightclub. ... read more
MarshmelloEnmore TheatreSydney, AUMarch 2, 2017 This was the first ever-Australian show for the man with the LED enhanced marshmellow mask and boy, did he get a reception: The Mellogang (yup, that’s ... read more
VaultAustralasian Art and Culture Vault encapsulates a quadruple thrEat: An elegant, extravagant, eloquent and engaging Art and Culture Magazine with particular emphasis on Australasian contemporary art. Vault embodies the common denominator ... read more
Barbu by Cirque AlfonseSydney Opera House StudioSydney, AUFebruary 26, 2017 Needless to say that the mélange the troupe of Cirque Alfonse, with all its Québécois folklore, brings to the table ... read more
La BohèmeJoan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera HouseSydney, AUSFebruary 24, 2017 Giacomo Puccini.One of the greatest exponents of operatic realism, id est “verismo”, who is fabled to have uttered that art ... read more
WarpaintSydney Opera HouseSydney, AUSFebruary 25, 2017 In Greek mythology, sirens were dangerous creatures who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of ... read more
Smith Journal Magazines. An easily forgotten medium in a world with an attention span of a goldfish obsessed with blogs and spoon-fed easy to digest hors d’oeuvre of information. A ... read more
The Judas Kiss by playwright David HareOld Fitzroy TheatreSydney, AUSFebruary 15 – March 11, 2017 Sydney’s Old Fitzroy and its theatre operation is a cultural touchstone that uniquely links generations ... read more
Julian Assange: No More Secrets, No More LiesThink Inc.Seymour CentreSydney, AUSFebruary 18, 2017 Julian Assange. A controversial figure and divisive subject. For some, an intense, driven and valiant campaigner ... read more
Wil WagnerOxford Art FactorySydney, AUSFebruary 19, 2017 As the frontman, singer, lyricist, guitarist and keyboardist of The Smith Street Band -- an allusion to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street ... read more
Acid Haus by United CellarsAustralian Design CentreSydney, AUSFebruary 16, 2017 The wines the sturdy, late-ripening white grape Riesling, at times referred to as the “king of grapes” and one of ... read more
TEDxSydneySalon International Towers, BarangarooFebruary 15, 2017 TEDxSydneySalons are the smaller, smart relatives of the TedX events offering intimate, evening events combining talks, films and music. Designed to spark discussion and ... read more
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez: Why I Sued the U.S. Government Factory Theatre Sydney, AUSFebruary 12, 2017 In October 2000, Zack de la Rocha walked out of Rage Against The Machine. I am ... read more
A Strategic PlanGriffin Theatre CompanySydney, AUSUntil March 11, 2017 Griffin Theatre Company’s main tenet if the fostering and support of new writing in Sydney ever since it was founded in ... read more
Killing HeidiTaronga ZooSydney, AUSFebruary 4, 2017 Twilight at Taronga is an annual concert series set amongst the environment of Taronga Zoo, in a natural amphitheatre with fully licensed bars and ... read more
DJ Z Trip Factory Theatre Sydney, AUS January 28, 2017 Turntablism is an art form. Period. An art form that more often than not has been diluted by applying a ... read more
PeripheryMetro TheatreSydney, AUSFebruary 3, 2017 “Periphery” denotes the external boundary of a body. If the body in question is modern and progressive metal, the name of the band would be quite ... read more
Electric Gardens Festival Centennial Park Sydney, AUS January, 28 2017 The second installment of Sydney’s electro bash festival descended again in the lush surrounds of Sydney’s Centennial Parklands, an idyllic ... read more
Peter Garrett and the Alter EgosTaronga ZooSydney, AUSJanuary 27, 2017 Some people say Peter Garrett got his inimitable, signature whirling dervish dance steps and refreshingly nonsensical, jerky thrusting of hand ... read more
On January 21 I saw Bash & Pop with the So So Glos at the Great Scott in Boston, MA, a small-bar venue with a sound system that’s just shitty ... read more
AuroraMetro TheatreSydney, AUSJanuary 25, 2017 There is something magical and otherworldly about the young Norwegian lady that goes by the name of Aurora Aksnes, known mononymously as Aurora. Angelic, unpretentious ... read more
Jimmy Eat WorldEnmore TheatreSydney, AUSJanuary 18, 2017 Non-fanatics might mistake Jimmy Eat World for one of those emo-alternative bands that had one major hit song in the 1990s and then ... read more
Siro-AThe ConcourseChatswood, AUSJanuary 14, 2017 Siro-A are from Sendai, Japan, and their name apparently translates to something along the lines of “difficult to pin down” – a telling name as ... read more
Richard III Schauspielbühne Berlin Guest performance at the Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre December 30, 2016 Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s earliest works, first believed to be performed ... read more
Dancer Film review premiereLeichhardt Norton TheatreNovember 25, 2016 Palace Norton Cinema proved to be an adequate forum for Dancer - a 2016 French biographical musical drama film offering an intimate look into ... read more
Soundscape Festival SydneyFactory TheatreSydney, AUSDecember 17, 2016 After a successful debut in 2015, Soundscape Festival was back for the second time in 2016, serving up a massive day of tunes ... read more
DZ DeathraysFactory TheatreSydney, AUSDecember 15, 2016 DZ Deathrays are essentially a duo. An Australian “dance-punk” duo that is, that emerged from the ashes of the band Velociraptor. The fact that ... read more
Craig Robinson and the Nasty DeliciousMetro TheatreSydney, AUSDecember 14, 2016 If you don’t mind the American version of The Office, or goofball comedies like Hot Tub Time Machine franchise, Pineapple Express and most importantly This ... read more
Nude: Art from the Tate CollectionArt Gallery of New South WalesSydney, AUSNovember 5, 2016 – February 5, 2017 It was the invention of clothes and certainly not nature’s imperative, that ... read more
PeachesMetro Theatre Sydney, AUSDecember 9, 2016 Peaches shows are somewhat of an orchestrated parallel universe – an equal opportunity, body positive, shame-free and deliberately absurd cosmos with gender-bending pan-sexuality in ... read more
Electronic Music ConferenceNov 28 – Dec 02, 2016Sydney, Australia Founded in 2012, Sydney’s annual Electronic Music Conference has established itself as Asia Pacific’s premier industry event. The two day 2016 incarnation ... read more
German Film Fest Goethe Institut Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra) November 15-30, 2016 The 15th year incarnation of the the German Film Fest in Australia is going to be the ... read more
Bill Bailey State Theatre Sydney, AUS November 30, 2016 Rare it is that you turn up to a show expecting so little and end up loving it so much. Bill ... read more
The Cult Enmore Theatre Sydney, AUS November 25, 2016 It has been more than three decades years since The Cult settled on their current moniker. What started off inspired and ... read more
ThinkInc: An evening with Dr. Lisa Randall Seymour Center Sydney, Australia November 19, 2016 What is science about?What is it meant for?Advancing information?Advancing understanding?A way of thinking?A body of knowledge?How ... read more
20th Japanese Film Festival Sydney, AUS November 17-27 The Japanese Film Festival (JFF) is presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney. The JFF started in 1997, 100 years after the first ... read more
Deftones Hordern Pavilion Sydney, AUS November 12, 2016 The ever evolving entity known as “Deftones” has been largely intact for close to three decades and is heralded as one of the ... read more
Made Fashion show Carriageworks Sydney, AUS November 11-13, 2016 In essence MADE is a community and creative hub that originated in New York City. It was incarnated with guidance and oversight ... read more
Destroyer 666 Max Watts Sydney, AUS November 5, 2016 Max Watts, the name of the venue of tonight’s black and thrash metal proceedings, is a play of the term ... read more
Dandy Warhols Luna Park Sydney, AUS November 4, 2016 “Detached garage rock cool with effervescent pop melodies” sounds like a pretty astute description of the Dandy Warhols’ sound. Touring Australia ... read more
Katatonia @ Shepherd's Bush Empire w/ VOLA, Agent Fresco Emotion is the name of the game tonight, with Sweden’s Katatonia bringing their resonant doom to the London masses not once, but ... read more
Rites of Passage Tattoo Festival Olympic Park Sydney, AUS October 14-16, 2016 While it is questionable if getting a tattoo these days is based on such a spiritual superstructure as ... read more
Kooza, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Quarter Sydney, AUS October 6, 2016 Kooza first premiered in 2007 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada where circus conglomerate Cirque du Soleil, the largest theatrical producer on ... read more
Totally Unicorn Newtown Social Club Sydney, AUS September 29, 2016 Do not let the name deter you: You want to see Totally Unicorn in all of their unbridled beauty before ... read more
Sounds of the Suburbs Festival Wilbar Lane Cronulla, Sydney September 25, 2016 Cronulla, the “place of the pink seashells," is a beachside suburb, about 30 kilometers south of the Sydney ... read more
Apocalyptica, We Lost the Sea Metro Theatre Australia, AUS September 24,2016 Rumor has it that Ritchie Blackmore tried to get into mastering the cello, the attention-getter among instruments – try ... read more
Descendents, Modern Life Is War, Color TV First Avenue Minneapolis, MN September 15, 2016 The only people luckier than those who get to see the Descendents are those who get ... read more
An evening with Steve Wozniak Australian Technology Park Sydney, Australia August 28, 2016 Think Inc. is a boundary pushing, Australia-based initiative dedicated to the promotion of intellectual discourse by bringing ... read more
The Beards Metro Theatre Sydney, Australia July 2, 2016 The concept of The Beards is simple – an Australian self-proclaimed “novelty band” from Adelaide that exclusively performs songs around ... read more
Parkway Drive Entertainment Centre Sutherland, Australia June 26, 2016 Parkway Drive is glam metalcore. “Metal” as in classic metal and anthemic choruses. “Core” as in simple, direct, angry, to the ... read more
We Lost The Sea Oxford Art Factory Sydney, Australia June 25, 2016 Vita contemplativa. The beauty of reveling in sadness. Saudade. A fond remembrance and the hope to retrieve ... read more
Dark Mofo 2016 Hobart, Tasmania Australia June 2016 Dark Mofo is the winter equivalent to MONA FOMA Festival – an outdoor extension of David Walsh’s subversive Disneyland, the home of sex ... read more
Steel Panther Luna Park Sydney, Australia June 17, 2016 They are the biggest glam rock band that never was from 1985, in 2016. Steel Panther has become bigger than any ... read more
Björk Digital Carriageworks Sydney, Australia June 4, 2016 The term “third place” was coined by Ray Oldenburg, an American urban sociologist, most prominently known for his elaborations on the importance ... read more
Les Butcherettes Summit Music Hall Denver, CO July 17, 2015 When Melvins rolled into town in July of 2015, they of course put on a great show. It seemed after ... read more
An evening with Edward Snowden Big Top, Luna Park Sydney, Australia May 28, 2016 Moral ambiguity. Conflicting values. The need to keep people safe versus concerns about privacy. The boundaries ... read more
This is Hip Hop Festival Hordern Pavilion Sydney, Australia May 27, 2016 Hot tub hip-hop time machine: Featuring a nostalgic ‘90s focused line-up with all protagonists having had a ... read more
Royal Headache at Reverse Charges festival Bald Face Stag Hotel Sydney, Australia May 13, 2016 The monolithic water tower among the mainly Portuguese commercial offerings and vis-à-vis from the Masonic ... read more
Kadavar Manning Bar Sydney, Australia April 29, 2016 Kadavar are a Teutonic Teestubenrock band from the Grandfatherland, Berlin. Accomplished retro in sound, appearance, and vintage equipment – Kadavar looks like they ... read more
Brian Posehn Factory Theatre Sydney, Australia April 19, 2016 Humour and comedy is subjective. What one person finds funny another might cringe at. Cue E.B. White. Analysing comedy is ... read more
Iggy Pop Post Pop Depression Tour Ellie Caulkins Opera House Denver, Colorado April 2, 2016 It was a night of anticipation. Iggy Pop was returning to Denver. In an ... read more
Murder by Death The Echoplex Hollywood, CA March 25th, 2016 Murder by Death are currently in the middle of one final tour before settling down and working on their next ... read more
Madonna Allphones Arena Sydney, AUS March 19, 2016 Clickbait is a disease. A virus spreading from self-professed arbiters of taste under the veneer of information. According to the narrative of ... read more
Peter Case Atwood's Tavern Cambridge, MA March 05, 2016 Atwood's has a rich history of showcasing a mix of diverse artists that have stood the test of time and ... read more
Sunn O))) Manning Bar Sydney, AUS March 15, 2016 Byron J. Scullin's bass bath performance installation, which was staged in steel structured, cold storage rooms at the Tasmanian port at ... read more
The Jesus and the Mary Chain Spectrum Now festival Sydney, AUS March 5, 2016 Blasphemous name - check! Leather-clad insolence - check! Tumultuous, short live performances - check! ... read more
High on Fire Manning Bar Sydney, AUS February 21, 2016 The Swiss label Off the Disk Records was founded by Thomas Mölch and Erich Keller (Fear of God fame, breaker ... read more
Electric Gardens Festival (feat. Fatboy Slim) Centennial Park Sydney, AUS January 23, 2016 The 2016 large scale, multi-stage Down Under incarnation of Electric Gardens took place in the lush lap ... read more
The Security Project The Center for the Arts Natick December 2015 When I was first informed that this show was being put together I immediately started to recruit some of ... read more
As fans many draw a close relationship with their favorite artists. For whatever reason a personal statement shared within this realm seems to strike many in a very serious way. ... read more
Agent Orange Factory Theatre Sydney, AUS January 3, 2016 Mike Palm and his two partners in crime held court in the confines of the intimate performance space downstairs, which ... read more
El Vez Newtown Social Club Sydney, AUS December 26, 2015 1977. The Germs play their first show ever opening for The Zeros, followed by The Weirdos. ... read more
In the month leading up to the holiday, it's often difficult to escape the near-continual assault of schmaltzy Christmas music. It seems virtually every artist of note in the last ... read more
The Misfits Manning Bar Sydney, AUS December 12, 2015 The Misfits. One of the most iconic punk bands. These days they are fronted by bassist Jerry Only, framed by ... read more
With the full line-ups unveiled for Soundwave 2016 in Australia, Scene Point Blank has put together a quick primer to help prepare. Without further adeiu, SPB's Bands to See at Soundwave ... read more
MONO Newtown Social Club Sydney, AUS December 7, 2015 "Mesmerizing" and "cinematic" are the adjectives that come to mind when one is asked to describe the epic, vast instrumental ... read more
The Ghost Inside “Locals Only” Altar Bar Pittsburgh, PA November 6, 2015 Los Angeles-based melodic hardcore band The Ghost Inside dropped their latest album, ‘Dear Youth,’ last year on ... read more
Though usually panned by the majority of film critics – the mainstream ones anyway- horror films seem to be a Hollywood mainstay that just won't go away. This is hardly ... read more
Made in 1957, director Roger Corman's typically efficient low-budget sci-fi flick Not of This Earth came to be regarded as a minor genre classic in the years to come – and ... read more
In the midst of the opening credits sequence for Italian director Dario Argento's 1975 Profondo Rosso (a.k.a. Deep Red), the viewer is treated to a truncated scene appearing to show ... read more
Titus Andronicus Brighton Music Hall, Boston, MA October 15, 2015 Like any show I’m excited about, I was really scared of disappointment while driving to this Boston Titus Andronicus ... read more
Run The Jewels First Avenue Minneapolis, MN October 23, 2015 “I’ll apologize now. If you are wearing glasses, you might want to put those away. If you hate being slammed ... read more
Sick Of It All Manning Bar Sydney October 10, 2015 In this very real world, good does not drive out evil. Evil does not drive out good. But the ... read more
Lucero Lee's Palace Torononto, Ontario October 15, 2015 In support of their new album All a Man Should Do, Lucero have been pulling double duty on their latest tour and ... read more
Paradise Lost w/Tribulation and Lucifer October 4th @ KOKO, London Hype surrounding a band is either indicative of said band being incredibly talented and worth your time, or, on the ... read more
Algiers Brighton Music Hall Boston, MA September 17, 2015 Photos by Lindsay Corry; more photos here Algiers self-titled debut this year blew me away with its raw, layered sound and politically ... read more
THE TOP FIVE ACTS ON THE RIOT FEST UNDERCARD Last year I started my Riot Fest coverage by getting kicked in the head and ended it with a man drinking whisky ... read more
Earlier this week I was browsing my twitter feed when I noticed the a number of posts using the hashtag #ImagineOctober20th . The tweets were Canadians speculating on what the ... read more
NOFX, Lagwagon, Dillinger Four, Strung Out, Swingin' Utters, The Flatliners, Masked Intruder, toyGuitar, Bad Cop/Bad Cop The Myth Maplewood, MN August 28, 2015 No review, see photo gallery ... read more
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Manning Bar Sydney August 7, 2015 As Karl Marx said, the relationship between a band and the context it is playing in is metabolic. Both ... read more
“We were standing in the middle of the square. There were snipers on the roof. Riot cops all around. People had already been killed. And she turned to me and ... read more
The So So Glos, Desaparecidos Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA August 4, 2015 I went for Desaparecidos - Conor Oberst’s (of Bright Eyes fame) hardcore band - who put out ... read more
Radioactivity, Birthday Suits, Butcher’s Union Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, MN July 22, 2015 It’s nice to live in a city where some great out of town bands have ... read more
Ex Hex, Tweens, Pink Mink Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, MN July 20, 2015 I go to a lot of shows. Sometimes it’s nice to be surprised, and that’s what ... read more
Tex Perkins and the Dark Horses Oxford Art Factory Sydney, AUS July 19, 2015 Pizzazz. Omph. Charisma. If your music depends entirely on that, the dependency is too great. ... read more
Picture this: You’re looking at the front of a stage. Above you a man in a suit made entirely of muscles walks on in a shroud of fog. From far ... read more
Babes in Toyland Rock the Garden Minneapolis, MN June 21, 2015 It’s difficult for me to write about Babes in Toyland without sounding at least a little bit gushy. Like ... read more
Belle and Sebastian Rock the Garden Minneapolis, MN June 20th, 2015 As a hot and humid day began its turn towards much needed cooler temperatures, Scotland’s baroque pop sweethearts ... read more
Shonen Knife, CJ Ramone, L’Assassins Amsterdam Bar & Hall St. Paul, MN June 10, 2015 Amsterdam is a venue that’s not new by any means, but still feels to ... read more
White Lung 7th St. Entry Minneapolis, MN June 11, 2015 Abandoning my beloved NBA Finals, I bounced somewhere during the third quarter and rushed downtown to catch White Lung. Upon ... read more
Boris Newtown Social Club Sydney, AUS May 29, 2015 And then there was Boris. The Japanese unikum named after a Melvins song. Cue labels that span the spectrum ... read more
Art is Masturbation. It’s a sensational, attention-grabbing statement for sure and one that presents an idea that many artists and people who create have probably toyed with at one point ... read more
Fuckface Unstoppable Manning Bar Sydney, AUS May 7, 2015 Not far from Cambodia’s Tonlé Sap, an enormous river / lake system, whose flow changes direction twice a year, I ... read more
Mastodon Big Top Luna Park Sydney, AUS March 28, 2015 The red volcanic soil in the surrounding region of the city of Tequila is particularly well suited to the ... read more
Steel Panther, Slash (feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators) Hordern Pavilion Sydney, AUS February 24, 2015 Satire is a lesson, parody is a game: Steel Panther are seasoned performers ... read more
Now that was a band that I did not really think I would hear from again. Named after the description of the Elder God, Azathoth, in H.P. Lovecraft’s cosmos, this ... read more
Bombay Sweets, Pink Mink, Swami John & The Blind Shake Turf Club St. Paul, MN February 19, 2015 No review, see photo gallery below. read more
Shonen Knife @ The Factory Theatre Sydney, AUS January 24, 2015 Grin-inducing Japanese energetic, upbeat and catchy all-girl pop punk entertainment with the ingredients of a classic rock show: Shonen Knife ... read more
How does one go to a show of a band that has been around consistently for longer that you have been alive and not have expectations? This along with possible ... read more
Tex Perkins and the Dark Horses @ The Enmore Theatre Sydney, AUS November 23, 2014 The Newtown area was part of the land of the Cadigal band of the Eora people, who ranged across ... read more
The Dwarves @ The Bald Faced Stag Hotel Sydney, AUS October 8, 2015 Parramatta Road is the east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney. On its 23 kilometers long strip, the road is ... read more
While it may be a bit grandiose to title a tour "Black Metal Warfare" or really any kind of warfare after witnessing a show on the tour in question it ... read more
It seems as though we are in a period of time where we read of a famous musician dying almost daily, this tour was supposed to have Ian McLagan in ... read more
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds State Theatre Sydney, AUS December 11, 2014 "All that has dark sounds has duende, that mysterious power that everyone feels but no philosopher ... read more
Run The Jewels, Ratking The Fine Line Music Café Minneapolis, MN November 20, 2014 Earlier this week I attended an artist’s talk/writer’s workshop-type thing here in Minneapolis. Kevin Bowe, who’s ... read more
The Gaslight Anthem, Against Me!, Cory Brannan First Avenue Minneapolis, MN October 15, 2014 It had been many a year since I’d seen Against Me! and I hadn’t seen Gaslight ... read more
The Pixies, Royal Blood State Theatre Minneapolis, MN October 11, 2014 There’s a lot that can be said about The Pixies and their 2014 tour—well, about any tour of ... read more
Lethbridge is a suburb of sorts to Calgary to give you, the reader an idea of the towns size. Usually the Enmax (where this show took place) is host to ... read more
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know Arcade Fire are currently shaking up North America with an enchanting spectacle of a tour. I caught the tour in Los ... read more
Too Many Rappers: July 2014 7/18/14 - Minneapolis, MN Commuting earlier than usual this morning means it’s nice and cool. I ride by a kid who’s wearing an old 3rd ... read more
Guided By Voices, Crystal Stilts Irving Plaza New York, NY July 11, 2014 Photo courtesy of Gerald McBoing-Boing See Guided By Voices before you die. ... read more
Agalloch, Jex Thoth Irving Plaza New York, NY June 30, 2014 Agalloch were one of the first metal bands to combine black/doom’s monsoon of carnage with ambient, ... read more
Eyehategod, Ringworm, Enabler, Shitkill Club Europa Brooklyn, New York June 7, 2014 This past weekend, the mega-festival Governors Ball hit hard in NYC. People from all ... read more
Boston Calling Music Festival 2014 City Hall Plaza in Boston, MA May 23-25 2014 (All concert photos courtesy of Mike Diskin) Over Memorial Day weekend, I experienced the ... read more
As my friend David and I were being hurled around the mosh pit at the Terminal 5 show of legendary post-rock ensemble Mogwai, I thought back to how earlier ... read more
Chuck Ragan, White Buffalo, Jonny Two BagsTriple Rock Social ClubMinneapolis, MNApril 15, 2014 It had been many a year since I’d seen Chuck Ragan perform, and that was with his ... read more
Written by Eli ZegerPhotos by Hadar Sagi From Indian Lakes From Indian Lakes is a group of five pretty boys who make poppy emo music, but with post-rock riffs ... read more
Russian Circles, KEN Mode, Inter Arma at Underground Arts, Philadelphia, 2/19/14 Last week, Chicago's Russian Circles touched down in Philadelphia as a part of their current tour with Ontario's KEN ... read more
Too Many Rappers: Fall Roundup The Minnehaha Creek is just one of the many places I do my thinking. I mean, as a human being with a fully functional brain, ... read more
HIM, Caspian Southampton GuildhallSouthampton, Hampshire, UKOctober 28, 2013 It has been three years since HIM last played on the shores of the UK, with a lot of uncertainty whether they ... read more
Beacons Festival 2013 North Yorkshire August 16-18, 2013 Beacons Festival is a pretty novel addition to the British concert scene. Taking place in Skipton (Lancs > Yorks) away from the ... read more
Elliott Smith at his last-ever NYC show, January 29th 2003. He killed himself that October.Photo: Alexis I have this friend, let's call her L. We "met" on a music messageboard ... read more
October 12, 2013 Calgary, Alberta @ THE GOLDEN AGE CLUB After a few hiccups in the booking process (venue issues, etc.) the day finally came for Terror to come back ... read more
A couple weeks ago, I went on a trip to the middle of the country to see my favorite band, AFI, play shows up and down the midwest. Some of ... read more
A couple weeks ago, I went on a trip to the middle of the country to see my favorite band, AFI, play shows up and down the midwest. Some ... read more
FLAG, T.S.O.L., Cerbral Ballzy, Off WithTheir Heads First Avenue Minneapolis, MN September 13, 2013 After spending a few hours in a sports bar down the street, where my compadres and ... read more
Caïna, Hordes, Barshasketh The Unicorn London, UK September 6 2013 We've been talking a lot about the rebirth of Caïna of late and we'll soon have a review of the new ... read more
It's that time once again! The fabled Progressive Music Awards are tomorrow night, and I've spent the last few weeks getting myself familiar with the best of the best in ... read more
Holy crap, has this summer been hot or what? Like, hot as in temperature hot. Like, literally hot. Which might be confusing now that Merriam-Webster and Oxford dictionaries as well ... read more
The NINES Festival Devens, MA I must admit I was anxious to attend this festival when I heard the lineup featured none other than Shuggie Otis. I have had ... read more
It's a tray in a hotel room, fairly unremarkable when put back to basics. The tray is littered with cigarettes, beer bottles, a can of coke, a crumpled McDonald's ... read more
Die Kruezen, Hepa/Titus, Mudhoney, Gay Witch Abortion, Negative Approach, Honky, Melvins Grumpys Downtown Minneapolis, MN July 20, 2013 It’s a shame that Amphetamine Reptile Records quit putting out new ... read more
The Postal Service are making their rounds again in support in the Deluxe Edition re-release of their 2003 album, Give Up. Scene Point Blank had a chance to check'em out ... read more
Dave Hause @ Cabooze Plaza Social Distortion, Cheap Time, Dave HauseCabooze PlazaMinneapolis, MNJuly 2, 2013 Dave Hause is a busy guy. I swear I get an email a week here ... read more
Well here we are into the first part of May, and I'm wondering where the fuck March and April went. I apologize for dropping the F bomb on you in ... read more
Minneapolis, MN, 4/20/13 Despite being fairly worn out from the previous evening—one which had me visiting three different venues, seeing six different bands, and imbibing at least twice as many ... read more
The Men 7th St Entry Minneapolis, MN June 12, 2013 On just the third night of their North American tour, Brooklyn-based band The Men landed in Minneapolis for a packed-in ... read more
(This review contains copious spoilers: if you intend to read the novel yourself, proceed with caution. We're posting it as a blog since it's not strictly music-related, despite being written by ... read more
Tegan and Sara were appreciated by Albany, NY last month when they came to the Upstate Concert Hall, the first time they've visited since the duo released So Jealous, which ... read more
Anthrax, Exodus, High On Fire, Municipal Waste, Holy Grail First Avenue Minneapolis, MN April 4th, 2013 Continuing their recent-ish trend of performing classic albums in their entirety, Anthrax rolled into ... read more
In the days following Adam Yauch’s passing in May of last year, many of us nostalgia-stricken fans were searching for words to express how deeply saddened we were by not ... read more
February 28th, 2013 As I write this, I am overlooking the Sea of Cortez on the Baja Peninsula from the balcony of my room at a vacation resort outside of ... read more
This hip-hop train just keeps on rolling. And although I would like to think I’m fully on board, it feels more like I’m running beside it, trying to keep up, ... read more
Well, here we are, a whole month into the New Year, and as usual January was spent catching up on all the music I slept on last year. Normally the ... read more
The tiny Black Heart in Camden holds court to an evening of droned out sludge, traditional heavy doom, and more English black metal than you can shake a stick at ... read more
The Unicorn is suffering from a severe lack of air con tonight, the tension in the air made all the palpable by the insane levels of heat and the anticipation ... read more
The view that Scene Point Blank has been afforded for tonight’s performance is beautiful, and the sea of heads below on the floor is all the more astonishing seen from ... read more
Minus the Bear and Cursive have been on tour for the past few months in support of their 2012 releases. Minus the Bear put out Infinity Overhead in August, while ... read more
Murder by Death have just begun to tour for their new album, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, by supporting pop-punk troop, Say Anything. It's an interesting combo and Murder by Death ... read more
It's rare that you attend a show that feels like it has the weight of history riding on it, but seeing At The Drive-In play what is likely to be ... read more
Fun. are back on the road selling out shows again. This time however, they didn't just sell out one show, but 3 nights at the illustrious Wiltern Theater in Los ... read more
Murder by Death are preparing the release of their 6th studio album, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, while celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their first LP, Like The Exorcist, but More ... read more
Well, it's high time that progressive music got a good, high-ish-profile awards show, and now, thanks to Prog Magazine, we have one. The bad news is that it stlil shows ... read more
Japandroids 7th St. Entry Minneapolis, MN July 7, 2012 When a touring band starts their set by saying, “It feels like we’re back home, Minneapolis”, the natural instinct is to go ... read more
LeBron James is Four Titles and a Rape Allegation Away From Becoming Kobe Bryant: How the Miami Heat Winning is Bad for Basketball Now I know that we here at ... read more
Royal Headache, The Arrivals, Condominium Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, MN June 9, 2012 It was with some intrigue and, admittedly, mostly trepidation that I made my way to ... read more
Hot Water Music just released their new album, Exister, and recently spent a couple nights in So-Cal to warm up the new songs before they head out to Europe this ... read more
There are a few cultural constants we all come to understand depending on where we come from, and growing up in Vermont is no exception. Amongst other things, many develop ... read more
Once again, fun. are on the road and Scene Point Blank was there to catch another great show. The band's playing the clubs in support of their sophomore record, Some ... read more
I had the pleasure of attending the 5th annual Musink Fest in Costa Mesa, CA--a festival blending live music and an appreciation for tattoo art--hosted by LA Ink star, Kat ... read more
Cursive recently began touring in support of their 7th studio album, I Am Gemini. I had the privilege of catching their show in Pomona, CA where they played a great ... read more
I know we don't usually review websites here at Scene Point Blank, but we just couldn't help ourselves after our editor in chief Loren received the following request: Hi,I'm Pheiné, ... read more
The piece ended rather suddenly, almost completely without warning. The conductor held his position for a moment, then slowly brought his arms down. The theater erupted with applause as the ... read more
Saves the Day and Bayside decided to team up this Fall to deliver a thrilling show fans of either could appreciate. Joining them on the tour are I Am ... read more
The World/Inferno Friendship Society recently started their US tour supporting their new album, The Anarchy and The Ecstasy, with sci-fi-psychobilly (psy-fi?) band, The Phenomenauts. You could not ask for a ... read more
Last Thursday, The Purple Turtle in London's infamous Camden held what is likely to be the most fun headlining show I've seen this year. Cannabis Corpse, fresh off the back ... read more
Motley Crue and Poison live, Target Center, Mpls, MN, 6/24/11 The New York Dolls opened the show but I couldn’t tell you damn thing about them. The girlfriend and I literally ... read more
Read Midwest Hell Fest Wrapup-Day 1 here. Despite intermittent sleep, I wake up feeling fairly well rested. If memory serves correctly, I’m somewhere deep within the confines of enemy territory—Wisconsin. ... read more
After losing a year of my life behind the wheel, I finally arrive at my destination: Kimberly, Wisconsin. Upon walking into the hotel—and I use this term loosely—lobby, I am ... read more
After a long wait and two opening acts—the clock struck 9:30 and Fun took the stage, while the boys and girls cheered. Suddenly, the beautiful overture to “Be Calm” opens ... read more
200 bands, seemingly as many beers, and only three nights. Where do I begin my recap? My stomach is still shrunken from not eating right, and I continue to drink ... read more
Let me start off by saying that I love all three of these bands, and I have been looking forward to this show since I got confirmed to photograph it. ... read more
Portugal. the Man is a Portland, Oregon based experimental indie-rock band, fronted by native Alaskan John Gourley. If you haven’t heard the story about this up and coming group, Gourley’s ... read more
I don't know how many of you have heard of Moving Mountains. A band from Westchester, NY, they are fresh off a tour with Thursday, about to embark on a ... read more
I hit the 500 review mark last week with my Narrows review. That's a lot of reviews. Sometimes I get burnt out with all the stuff coming through, especially when ... read more
So I just got done watching the season finale of Scrubs. It was Zach Braff's final episode. His character is saying goodbye, but I think they gave it a nice ... read more
Two months ago I had high hopes for the Cleveland Browns. Now I am left with a fairly mediocre season. We shall see how the remainder plays out. I'm looking ... read more
Might as well has this here too, it's been three years since I wrote it. I think it still holds true. Space for rent. Your ad here. My name is ... read more
I forgot to post this prior to week one, but given the outcome of that game, maybe it was for the best. Anyway, the Browns season is underway and that ... read more
Over the weekend a band that was very dear to my heart announced their sudden breakup and played their final show. I first became acquainted with Life Long Tragedy over ... read more
I was yelled at again for writing this, and since I am applying for a job at a local newspaper, I don't really want this hanging over my head. Sorry ... read more
Last night my band played with Souvenir's Young America, City of Ships, and Monolith at Siren Records in Doylestown, PA; it was a fun time all the bands played real ... read more
If you didn't hear the news, Roy Scheider died this week at the age of 75. Jaws is one of my all-time favorite films. I am extremely sad. I fully ... read more
They could make me look not so good to certain people. Nobody read them anyways. read more
So, back when Cave In's Until Your Heart Stops dropped on the hardcore masses several years back, I had the chance of catching the band at Middlesex County Community College. ... read more
I broke out my CD for the Gehenna- The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness and saw something that always made me smile. Allow me ... read more
Hello. Some of you might remember (or have participated in) my experiment over the summer collecting people's wishes on this page. I got over 160 entries and published them all ... read more
Imagine being in this kid's place... Interview w/ Henry Rollins read more
Even though it is just a joke, I'd still vote for Stephen Colbert for president before I'd vote for anyone else for running, outside of the longshots that have no ... read more
Dear Atreyu, Please stop. No seriously, please stop...now. - File has been removed. It was up for a month. It was the band's cover of Faith No More's "Epic." - ... read more
I woke up today at 5:30am to get my ass to the store to open it for what I figured would be another boring Sunday at work. Work has been ... read more
So the man that founded Factory Records and helped Joy Division become as huge as they did through hype died today. Not alot of people repect what Wilson did for ... read more
Yesterday during rush hour traffic on 35W the bridge than spans the mighty Mississippi fell. There was no earthquake. There was no terrorist attack. The bridge just buckled and toppled ... read more
Part 1: Mission Statement, Introduction, and first terribly nostalgic musing A number of years ago, a few friends of mine, myself, and people who would quickly become my friends used ... read more
Shook Ones, for the uninitiated, are a melodic hardcore band from Seattle, Washington. Their debut LP, Sixteen, had some serious Kid Dynamite aping going on, without a doubt, but it ... read more
Remember when the idea of Friday the 13th used to be scary? Maybe its because I am a grown adult, but there just does not seem to be any horror ... read more
You have no idea how wonderful it is to be finally typing these words. Not that my work is done: a SPB staffer's work is never done! But seriously: typing ... read more
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