City Hub 20 February 2014

Inside:

Pharmacy denies birth control Page 3 No lockout exemption for Mardi Gras Page 6 Eat & drink Page 12 What’s On guide Page 14

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November 2013 February 20,7, 2014

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BEHIND THE

parade All the hard work that goes into the Mardi Gras parade

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BY JOHN GOOODING A pharmacy chain in Victoria has dumped a chemist near Albury from their franchise after one of the pharmacists asked customers seeking birth control to shop elsewhere.

Simon Horsfall, the owner of Thurgoona Soul Pattinson Chemist, placed notes into packets of birth control pills informing readers of his Catholic beliefs and encouraging those using the medication for contraception to purchase the pills elsewhere.

The notes caused a firestorm on social media; a few days

afterwards Horsfall’s pharmacy was dropped from Soul Pattinson’s chain.

Australian pharmacists can legally withhold certain medicines if they conflict with the chemist’s personal beliefs.

“The ethical and professional priority for pharmacists should be the welfare and safety of patients. Having said that, pharmacists also have human rights and are entitled to religious, moral or cultural beliefs,” said Greg Turnbull, communications director at the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.

“Their professional duty is to make sure that should their religious, moral or cultural beliefs restrict them in willingly dispensing a particular product or medicine, they should refer the patient to another pharmacist,” he said.

“Obviously this is a problem in the case of a very remote community.”

Since emergency contraception (also known as the morning after pill) was first introduced to the Australian market in 2004, many have objected to selling it.

An assistant at a Sydney pharmacy who did not wish to be named said that she worked with a pharmacist who did not sell the medicine.

“There’d only be one pharmacist on duty, so if he was on duty he’d just say it was sold out,” she said.

“I personally do think they should just have to sell it. We were open on a Sunday, if we said no, none of the other pharmacies on the street in that suburb would be open.”

Sydney resident Annie

Wylie said that while attempting to purchase emergency contraception she was quizzed on her sexual activity. “[Afterwards] they sort of stood there very suspicious of my very simple story and said they would only give it to me if I provided my full name and address as, if this happened again, they’d refuse me,” she said.

“This was the first time I’d ever got the morning after pill at this chemist, and only the third time in many years of sexual activity so they really were very unjustified.”

Anna Robinson, also from Sydney, said that in her youth a pharmacist in Connells Point in the city’s south tried to convince her they couldn’t sell her emergency contraception due to her age.

“I had to argue with the pharmacist that I was allowed to have it, that there were no age restrictions,” she said. “[They claimed that] I was too young, and it was illegal for me to be having sex.”

BY PAUL GREGOIRE In keeping with the 2014 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras theme ‘Kaleidoscope,’ the floats and costumes of the parade will be bursting with colour.

This week City Hub went behind the scenes of the Mardi Gras Creative Workshop as preparations for this year’s parade come to a head. Angela Sinnett, manager of the workshop, said the process has been underway since October.

“We work on all the floats that are Mardi Gras design and we work on the party design as well and costumes and all the scenic elements for the festival,” she said.

“The workshop is absolutely crazy currently.

Everyone is in their own zone. We’ve got builders. We’ve got scenic artists. We’ve got fashion designers and seamstresses.”

Ms Sinnett said this year’s parade is going to be one of the biggest in recent years with a lot of floats to look out for.

“The theme this years is ‘Kaleidoscope: Let your colours burst,’ so everyone is going a little bit crazy with that,” she said.

“There’s the trans-group float, the Carmen Rupe Memorial Trust, that’s a stand out one.

There’s DIY Rainbow, the group that started chalking the rainbows, they’re doing something pretty fabulous.”

Gary Leeson, who was Party Director for the Mardi Gras Party throughout the 90s, is back this year to create a multi-sensory experience.

“We do amazing lighting and sounds. Things have moved on a little since I last did it. There’s a lot of visual stuff involved with screens and lasers. All those things that affect the senses,” Mr Leeson said.

“The main [room] which holds about 8,000 people, that’s the Royal Hall of Industries is going to really capitalise on our ‘Kaleidoscope’

Photo: Chris Peken

Pharmacy to pill users: go elsewhere Colour burst: a sneak peek at the parade

Last minute preparations at the Mardi Gras workshop

theme. It will be very colourful.”

He said while the party itself hasn’t really changed, attitudes in the community have shifted significantly.

“Gay and Lesbian rights now are on everybody’s mind. The community, we’re more diverse and accepting of everybody else because we’ve been accepted more,” he said.

But not all of the work for the parade is taking place at the Creative Workshop.

Mitch Tyrrell, an organiser for the Sydney Nurses Love float, said preparations were going smoothly and the real test will be organising people on the day.

“I’m decorating and organising the float with a few others, with a doctors and nurses set on the back with decorations, love hearts and red crosses,” he said.

“The advice I’ve got from the Mardi Gras people is that practicing is best to be held the week before or two weeks before, so people don’t forget.”

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ABN 48 135 222 169 Group Publisher: Lawrence Gibbons Group Manager: Chris Peken Group Editor: Michael Koziol City Hub Editor: Paul Gregoire Contributing Editors: Triana O’Keefe, Kira Spucys-Tahar Contributors: Elise Cullen, John Gooding, Jonathon Mimo, Steph Nash, Nick Possum and Joshua Tassell Arts Editor: Leigh Livingstone Live Music Editor: Chelsea Deeley Dining Editor: Jackie McMillan Advertising Managers: David Sullivan, Toni Martelli, Robert Tuitama and George Tinnyunt Design: Joanna Grace Publisher’s Assistant: Deeksha Chopra Distribution Manager: Danish Ali Cover: Chris Peken - Matt & Lucy in the Mardi Gras workshop Email: question@alternativemediagroup.com Advertising: sales@alternativemediagroup.com Contact: PO Box 843 Broadway 2007 Ph: 9212 5677 Fax: 9212 5633 Web: altmedia.net.au

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BY PAUL GREGOIRE When Javed and Fahmida Khan first decided to flee Pakistan, they knew they were taking a risk as much as ameliorating one.

Javed was a clerk in the high court and Fahmida a school teacher, but in Australia that would count for little.

“In Pakistan we were persecuted because of Fahmida’s role, she was a school teacher,” Mr Khan said.

“I was a clerk in the high court and a deacon in my Christian church, as a minority we were thought of as against the majority.”

Mr Khan and his wife Fahmida arrived as refugees in Australia in 2012. By December last year, he had established a clothing business called Fury Comfort with the support provided by Community Commerce, a social enterprise initiative in Marrickville.

Run by Rosemount Good Shepherd, Community Commerce provides services, capital and networking to help refugees start their own businesses.

“We’re very grateful. We haven’t anything, but this program provides every kind of shelter to start our business – from [the] website, to legal help and money to help us get started,” Mr Khan told City Hub. “Without this help, Fury Comfort would have remained a dream.”

Mr Khan said he and his wife enjoy being part of their local community. Fahmida has

meanwhile commenced a Diploma of Community Service at TAFE. “Life is pretty good here,” Mr Khan said.

Michael Katz, coordinator of Community Commerce, said the group of refugees he looks after meets once a fortnight at the Rosemount Good Shepherd offices in Marrickville.

“Rosemount Good Shepherd has been operating for just over 30 years in Marrickville. They have services including counseling, education and microfinance,” he said.

“Our program has been live for just over three months now.

So we’ve had businesses actually contracted on and working, operating and selling to their clients.”

Mr Katz said the three main aims of the program are to provide financial independence for the refugees, combat social isolation and produce research that will influence the wider community.

“The first outcome is financial independence for the clients themselves. There are certainly early indications that are very positive,” Mr Katz said.

“The second…is to increase their social inclusion in the wider community, create connections between students from Sydney with refugees.”

Mr Katz said the refugees are from Iran, China and Pakistan and there is a variety of businesses being set up including a taxi service and an education program.

Javed Khan working at his clothing business Fury Comfort

“We’ve got a woman from China who runs a cleaning business aimed at providing employment to migrants with children,” he said.

Lyn Harrison, CEO of Rosemount Good Shepherd, said Community Commerce helps refugees contribute to the economy through services and support that aren’t provided anywhere else.

“The current government’s policy is to provide the bare minimum in assistance to refugees and new migrants,” she said.

“This can set them up for a lifetime of welfare reliance with no regard for their previous skills and experience.”

Marrickville councillor Sylvie Ellsmore said Community Commerce is a program that provides help to refugees who have skills but need support in applying them.

“A lot of refugees and asylum seekers when they come to Australia have a range of skills and a range of professions,” she said.

“A lot of those are small businessrelated professions but they need assistance to do things like work out how the Australian tax system works.”

Ms Ellsmore said that council is supportive of refugee rights and has recently expanded their social entrepreneur support program.

“This year I’ll be doing a bit more work to assist this particular project to get more support from council,” she said.

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Detention centre profits sour Biennale

BY JOHN GOODING Artists, activists, and members of the public are calling for a boycott of the Sydney Biennale after the parent company of the art festival’s major sponsor announced it would be managing welfare services for overseas detention centres.

The Biennale’s main sponsor is the Transfield Foundation, a joint philanthropic venture between Transfield Holdings and Transfield Services, which was spun off as a separate company in 2001. Transfield Holdings executive director Luca Belgiorno-Nettis is also the Biennale chairman, though he has maintained a relatively low profile in that role.

Earlier this month Transfield Services took up operating the welfare services of detention centres in Nauru and Manus Island, after the contract of the previous provider, the Salvation Army, ran out at the end of January.

That confluence has angered a number of artists and activists, as well as members of the public. The Melbourne-based Beyond Borders

The offshore detention camps on Manus Island

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Collective released a video condemning the company and encouraging a boycott.

“A boycott is a clear message that [Transfield] cannot do both. They cannot continue to use the Biennale to culture-wash or make amends for their involvement in mandatory detention,” it was said in the film.

On Wednesday, 28 artists released an open letter to the Biennale, calling for it to cease sponsorship arrangements with Transfield and seek new funding.

“We expect the Biennale to acknowledge the voice of its audience and the artist community that is calling on the institution to act powerfully and immediately for justice,” the letter said, which is viewable in full at artsHub. On its official Twitter account, the Biennale said the festival brings attention to the ideas and issues of our times, and that “objectors only deny the legitimate voice of BOS artists”.

Biennale organisers declined to comment for this article.

Mr Belgiorno-Nettis released a statement online in which he recognised the global challenge of transiting refugees.

“The Biennale of Sydney acts as an artistic platform for dialogue around issues such as this,” he said.

David Jamieson, group general manager of media and communications at Transfield Services, said that it was not appropriate for the company to debate the issue.

“Offshore processing has now been the policy of two successive elected governments. We’ve stepped up to the responsibility of looking after people on Nauru and Manus, a responsibility which we take extremely seriously,” he said.

“We believe people have a democratic right to protest, and Transfield Services is aware of their concerns.”

The City of Sydney is the second-largest sponsor of the Biennale after Transfield.

And it has a second relationship with Mr Belgiorno-Nettis, who is also the founder of newDemocracy, a social foundation which aims to enhance public debate.

NewDemocracy was appointed by the City to administer a ‘citizens jury’ on the safety and amenity of Sydney’s nightlife. The jury comprises 43 people, mapped to the census, and is meeting over five weekends to compile recommendations that will be tabled by Premier Barry O’Farrell in parliament.

The City and the state government are each contributing $60,000 to fund the project. The Lord Mayor declined to answer questions at this time.

The Biennale is set to take place from March 21 to June 9 in venues across Sydney including Carriageworks, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of NSW. With Michael Koziol

news in brief Hickey march scuffle Two protestors were apprehended by police and a minor brawl disrupted traffic in Sydney’s CBD last Friday during the annual rally to protest the death of Aboriginal teenager TJ Hickey ten years ago.

Redfern Police Commander, Detective Superintendent Luke Freudenstein, told reporters that no-one was arrested but several people carrying signs may be charged under NSW offensive language laws.

TJ Hickey died in 2004 when he fell from his bike and was impaled on a fence in Redfern after a police pursuit.

Brothel fight continues Consent for a brothel on Harris Street, Pyrmont will be decided in the Land and Environment Court after an on-site conciliation failed to reach agreement, City News understands.

The development application was recommended for approval

by City of Sydney council officers but rejected by councillors. The proposed site is only three doors from an existing brothel.

The applicant appealed

that decision, but a meeting on Friday with council representatives did not produce an agreeable outcome. It will now proceed to a court hearing.

Peter Le Bas, principal at Turnbull Planning International which is representing the applicant, said the matter had not been finalised and declined to comment further.

Fred Nile’s rainbow Christian Democrat leader Fred Nile raised a few eyebrows on Twitter last week after posting an image containing a rainbow. The words “Imagine...wholesome families” appeared with an arched, multi-coloured rainbow over the “gin” part of “imagine”.

The rainbow is an internationally-recognised symbol of the LGBTQI solidarity, while Mr Nile’s party is a vocal opponent of gay rights.

Mr Nile’s team later explained that the rainbow represents God’s convenant with Noah, that he was simply “reclaiming what is ours”.

On and off with Opal

BY TRIANA O’KEEFE The rollout of Sydney’s new “Opal card” ticketing system continues, with the Emu Plains and Richmond lines in the western suburbs due to come online February 28.

The East Hills line to Campbelltown in the south west will complete the network. Stations on both these lines have now been fitted with Opal card readers, but commuters are being warned not to use the infrastructure until it is officially active.

Installation of Opal infrastructure is also progressing on the city’s bus network, but card readers are yet to be mounted in most depots. The card can currently be used on the 333 bus to Bondi.

Opal is a pay as you go system that will automatically deduct the correct fare from stored value on a customer’s card.

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The system is designed so that passengers do not have to decide which ticket they need before traveling. Instead, they can travel across the transport network using the one card, regardless of whether they are using a bus, train or ferry.

Small teething problems continue to plague the rollout. The Sydney Morning Herald reported at the weekend that an adult fare from Campbell Parade, Bondi Junction to Bondi Beach would cost $3.50 on the opal card but only $1.80 using the old TravelTen system, due to the way Opal measures distance. But departing from the next stop along the route would reduce the fare to $2.10. “$3.50 for a two section fare equivalent is a problem,” commented one user on the Australian Transport Discussion Board.

“It makes longer bus trips

disproportionately cheaper per km, and encourages silly behaviour like staying on a bus instead of transferring to the train,” another member posted.

On the train network, commuters from Gosford to Central Station will pay an extra $22 each month.

Quarterly ticketholders will see a rise of $46.80 and even up to $120 if they live in Richmond or Penrith. Yearly pass holders will be faced with extra fares of between $292.80 and $720.

Opposition transport spokesperson Penny Sharpe accused the government of increasing fares “by stealth”.

But the minister, Gladys Berejiklian, said the overwhelming response to the 13,000 cards issued has been positive.

“Customers love that they can have unlimited free travel after eight journeys in a week, that the most they will pay on a Sunday is $2.50, and that there is a $15 daily cap,” she said.

Corrine Mulley, chair in Public Transport at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, said: “The winners are more likely to be people making single-mode journeys.”

Premier Barry O’Farrell said all commuters would win because the Monday morning queue to buy tickets will be vanquished.

Another transport forum member reported logistical problems using the combined Opal card and ticket machines.

“Heard from a friend on one occasion that if you insert a Myzone ticket right after someone has tapped off using Opal at a barrier before the gates shut again, your ticket does not get returned to you and the gates do not stay open, but shut,” they said.

No lockout exemption for Mardi Gras

BY TRIANA O’KEEFE The O’Farrell government has confirmed it will not exempt the Mardi Gras weekend from Sydney’s new lockout laws, which will be imposed from February 24.

Originally flagged for introduction in April, the restrictions will mean patrons are denied entry to licensed premises after 1.30am and last drinks are called at 3am, within an expanded CBD precinct.

The new rules will be in force on Oxford Street, home of the Mardi Gras, and the zone has been specifically drawn to include popular venues Arq and the Flinders Hotel.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore had expressed her hope that the government could lift the regulations for the festival.

“It’s something the city can ask the government to do,” she said. “I know the thousands of people that will be gathering would like to think that it could be treated as a very special night by the government”.

City News understands the Lord Mayor made this request at a briefing with the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing last week. The OLGR informed council that any exemption must be applied for by an individual venue.

A spokesperson for hospitality minister said no representation from the City had been made at the ministerial level.

“The office of George Souris is yet to receive any correspondence on the issue of Mardi Gras exemptions from the City of Sydney council,” the spokesperson said.

“The Mardi Gras will not be granted an exemption. Exemptions won’t be granted for

major events.”

The Mardi Gras parade is being held on March 1 and finishes outside of the entertainment precinct, however, many of the celebrations happen back inside the restricted zones.

“People will be celebrating, and there will be a time after the parade when people will want to continue on and celebrate with their friends,” said Sydney Mardi Gras co-chair Siri Kommedahl.

The official after party at the Entertainment Centre is outside of the restricted zone and will proceed as planned. But other Mardi Gras parties planned for the final weekend are within the zone and will be affected by the early lockouts and cease of service.

“The 2am pub lockouts will damage our international reputation and tourism during Mardi Gras. You need to stop it, Clover!” one Twitter user posted.

Premier Barry O’Farrell has warned venues any failure to comply can result in fines of up to $11,000 and imprisonment of up to 12 months.

With Michael Koziol

A life lost in vain By nick possum Last week the Afghan government released 65 suspected Taliban militants from prison. The US military, due to pull out of that benighted country by the end of this year, were outraged, of course.

US officials said the detainees were “directly linked” to attacks that killed or wounded 32 NATO troops as well as 23 Afghan soldiers and civilians. “The Afghan government bears responsibility for the results of its decision,” the US embassy said.

“We urge it to make every effort to ensure that those released do not commit new acts of violence and terror.”

But President Karzai was unrepentant. “I hope that the United States will stop harassing Afghanistan’s procedures and judicial authority. Afghanistan is a sovereign country. If Afghan judiciary authorities decide to release prisoners, it’s of no concern to the US,” his spokesman said.

The Yanks have a lot of nerve blaming their former puppet. As the NATO presence vanishes, it’s clear the Taliban will inevitably move back into government. Of course, they mightn’t be exactly the same Taliban as they were when they skipped town twelve years ago, but history says they’re coming back. At the eleventh hour Karzai is trying to deal himself into some sort of role in the coming Afghanistan, if only to save his own

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life.

The story of the released Talibs ran big in the US media, but here it was blotted out by massive coverage of the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross to Corporal Cameron Baird. In Parliament they made a big thing of it and Tony Abbott got all choked up as he recounted the commando’s “heroic and repeated” attempts to attack a room containing six insurgents.

“Corporal Baird was the 40th Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan and, please God, the last,” Mr Abbott said. “We mourn them all. We grieve with their families”.

It was a sickening display of hypocrisy. Thirteen years later, the political parties that committed Australian soldiers to a pointless and counterproductive conflict, just to curry favour with the US, were standing shoulder to shoulder to bluff their way past the dismal consequences.

When the last digger left the main Australian base at Uruzgan, just before Christmas, Abbott asked himself aloud whether the war had been worth the price, but (because he was instrumental in the original decision to go in) inevitably concluded it was. “If you look at the benefits for our country, for Afghanistan, and for the wider world, then my conclusion is yes, it has been worth it,” he said.

It’s hard to know what’s worse: that Abbott actually believes what he says, or that he just fakes it for the

sake of power. For Afghanistan (let alone the world) there have been no benefits.

When the US invaded Afghanistan, it had already been trashed three times since the old king, Mohammad Zahir Shah, was ousted in a republican coup in 1973. The Taliban had stabilised the country after the brutal conflict between the warlords who overthrew the mob who overthrew the king when the events of September 11, 2001 took place. The subsequent invasion of the country, supposedly to wipe out Al Qaeda, just dispersed the elusive and amorphous international jihadis.

It was entirely predictable that the Taliban would just melt back into the mountains and the villages and launch a prolonged resistance.

Osama bin Laden, as it turned out, wasn’t there anyway. He was sheltering in plain sight no doubt with the knowledge of our allies in the Pakistan army. Before the last Australian soldier left Uruzgan, the US - with Australia in its wake - were allied with the same Al Qaeda types

we’d run out of Afghanistan in the push that overthrew Gadaffi, with the predictable result that Libya too has fallen into warlordism, tribal warfare, and decline.

Twelve years of the conflict has cost Australia more than $7.5 billion.

The US has shelled out US$468 billion. These are staggering sums of money – more than the Soviet Union bled in its long occupation. Had the US persisted with its attempts to have bin Laden extradited from Afghanistan, back in 2001, it would probably have succeeded. But George Bush was gung-ho for a war and John Howard was going to tag along no matter what. If they had

lured the Taliban – who had, after all, stabilised and de-weaponised Afghanistan and ended the heroin trade – with just a few billion in aid with modest strings attached, none of this would have happened.

Afghanistan was followed by the invasion of Iraq, launched on the outrageously concocted premise that Saddam Hussein was sheltering al Qaeda and was prepared to, and capable of, launching attacks on Europe “within 40 minutes”. As a result of these irresponsible interventions, the world is, undeniably, an uglier and more unstable place. Corporal Baird’s life was lost in vain.

“As a result of these irresponsible interventions, the world is, undeniably, an uglier and more unstable place”

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By KIRA SPUCYS-TAHAR Residents say they are “at their wits’ end” with the Bondi Courthouse Bar and Grill, and claim it is breaching liqour licence conditions even as Waverley Council continues with proceedings against it in the Land and Environment Court. But the beachside bar’s owner claims he is the target of a campaign intended to drive him out of the area.

The Courthouse occupies a ground level position on Campbell Parade set back from the footpath, on a site adjoining residential buildings on Lamrock and Jacques avenues.

The site, previously known as the Bondi Beach Bar, was left vacant for two years before the lease was acquired by Mr Wadih Sghabi.

The conditions of the liquor license and council development application include a limit on the number of patrons and restrictions on the sale of alcohol after 11.30pm. There is currently a ban on the use of amplified entertainment until an acoustic assessment is undertaken and implemented.

The enclosed courtyard style structure with atrium roof on the site also requires all louvres to be fixed shut.

Residents claim Mr Sghabi and his staff are defying the conditions of consent by playing amplified music well after the midnight closing time, allowing the louvres to be kept open, spruiking the business, and allowing unruly behaviour of patrons leaving the premises.

“I’m reasonable. It’s Bondi – people want to go out,” one local resident told City Hub. “But they need to comply with the rules and meet the conditions.”

The resident said she had made police complaints and written emails to council but is frustrated by the lack of progress.

“I can’t sleep,” she said. “And it’s affecting residents across several buildings.”

Another resident, who also wished to remain anonymous, complained about “drunk and loud patrons spilling onto the footpath” and said people were discouraged by the slow process of dealing with their complaints.

Minutes from the March 2013 Waverley Development Control Committee meeting, which approved the most recent development application for the venue, said “the premises has been subject to prolonged residential complaint over many years”. The report confirmed that since the new operator had commenced his business at the end of 2012 there had been more than 20 complaints to council.

A spokesperson for the Office of Liquor, Gaming & Racing said the organisation had not issued any fines to Bondi Courthouse over the past 12

months and had received one official complaint about the venue since February 1, 2013.

Local police would not comment on how many times they have been called out to attend the venue.

Mr Sghabi, the owner, said he was being targeted because he does not cater to the ‘elite’ local crowd and that other local bars were the problem.

“There are [lots of other venues] that make a lot more noise than I do,” he said.

“This is a successful venue catering to a low budget crowd.

It’s a nice place where young and old can come to eat and drink without paying ridiculous Bondi prices,” Mr Sghabi said.

“They want this place to be elite so they are trying to force us out.”

Mr Sghabi also claimed he had been intimidated by local police on Valentine’s Day after more than a dozen police “raided” his premises with sniffer dogs, taking photos and videos of patrons.

“They cleared the place out,” he said.

“They want to close us down.”

Waverley Council has taken the Bondi Courthouse to the Land and Environment Court over failure to comply with development conditions. A spokesperson said council is unable to comment as the issue is currently before the courts.

Cartoon: Peter Berner

Courthouse lands in court

TAFE cuts backlash Taking charge against poaching Macleay bookshop

BY Michael Koziol “TPC completions are

BY MICHAEL KOZIOL will then be auctioned to raise funds for The Greens will turns the final pages introduce much higher than for the It’s the art installation that’s perplexing Taronga’s rhino breeding and conservation a bill later this

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make competing with the online world very difficult.

Consumers also benefit from the GST exemption for online purchases under $1000, which federal and state governments have indicated will likely be lowered or abolished.

Stores such as the UKbased Book Depository have built up large customer bases by shipping directly to Australian consumers for free at a loss on many items.

The Macleay Bookshop was, and remains, a magnet for local authors, including Linda Jaivin, Frank Moorhouse, and literary power-couple Louis Nowra and Mandy Sayer, who met at the store.

month which it says would reverse student fee increases, freeze funding to private operators, and halt the “Smart and Skilled” reform package that will limit the list of qualifications eligible for government funding.

Member for Balmain Jamie Parker said the reforms would hit Ultimo TAFE in particular, had already lost teachers from IT, cookery, ESL and foundation studies departments, as well as migrant education consultants.

“TAFE students are being asked to pay more in order to receive less,” he said.

“Class sizes will rise, the range of courses will be reduced and time to help individual students will all but disappear.”

Mr Parker said it appeared the HSC would no longer be offered at Ultimo TAFE, either. But in a statement to City Hub, Sydney TAFE said Ultimo and Gymea campuses deliver the Tertiary Preparation Course instead, which is highly-regarded by universities and allows students to attain a tertiary entrance score.

HSC in TAFE [and] the HSC is still delivered at Randwick with strong enrolments,” said director David Riordan.

He acknowledged the institute had lost teaching staff due to a “significant downturn in student enrolments”, but clarified that the total figure was less than 55 over the past year.

“During this time 20 new positions were created and filled across both teaching and educational support areas,” Mr Riordan said.

Last month, education minister Adrian Piccoli announced the appointment of six new members to the TAFE Commission Board, who are tasked with overseeing the transition to “Smart and Skilled”.

The Greens say this reform package amounts to a competitive training market with will precipitate a “race to the bottom” against private operators.

A public meeting will be held at Leichhardt Town Hall at 6pm on Tuesday, February 25 with Greens education spokesperson Dr John Kaye, union representatives and the TAFE Community Alliance.

Sydney: what are the dozens of rhinos that have popped up on the city’s streets?

The fiberglass sculptures come courtesy of a Taronga and Western Plains Zoo project to promote community awareness about the plight of the rhinoceros.

“They’re being poached around the world, in all of their habitats, for their horn, which is then sold on the black market as various forms of herbal medicine,” said Nick Atchison, curator at Taronga Western Plains Zoo..

It is estimated that a thousand rhinos were poached last year in South Africa, with the black rhino at particular risk.

There are only about 5000 left worldwide in the wild, although that number has increased from its all-time low. Mr Atchison says deaths by poaching will soon outnumber births, and hence threaten extintion.

The life-sized rhinos, 125 in all, will be on display until the end of April. They

programs.

Independent City of Sydney councillor Angela Vithoulkas won council support for the project and for the City to sponsor one rhino, now installed outside Town Hall.

Cr Vithoulkas said she was a great admirer of Taronga’s conservation work.

“Being a small business owner I know that you really have to make things work for tomorrow,” she said.

“Being sustainable and being green has always been a very high focus for us, no matter what the cost.”

Cr Vithoulkas encouraged Sydneysiders to educate themselves about the very real threat to the global rhinoceros population.

“Changing the life of the rhino isn’t something that will happen in five minutes, but bringing attention to the cause is what my job is all about,” she said.

At present there are 10 black rhinos and five white at the Western Plains Zoo. For more info see: taronga.org.au/wild-rhinos Photo: Chris Peken

BY michael koziol Another dagger through the heart of independent bookshops looms, with the iconic Macleay Bookshop in Potts Point set to close at the end of February.

Owner Richard Stern told the Sydney Morning Herald he hopes to find someone to take over the reins. But it would be a brave soul who enters into bookselling in the current climate.

Recent Sydney closures include the Berkelouw franchise just off King Street, Newtown, and the Rocks outlet of Ariel Booksellers.

The latter retains its store on Oxford Street, Paddington, while Berkelouw trades in Leichhardt, Paddington and across the city.

It is the Macleay Bookshop’s 60th year. “It’s a cultural hub in an area with more writers and artists of every stripe than just about anywhere,” Mr Stern told the Herald.

The leafy Potts Point avenue may be a cultural hub but it is not immune from the afflictions of the wider industry. High Australian retail prices set by overseas publishers, combined with parallel import restrictions,

The Town Hall rhino is one of 125 installed across Sydney and Dubbo

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2014

By ELISE CULLEN Get out the glitter, fluff-up the feather boas and hoist the rainbow flag because Sydney Mardi Gras is back.

As one of the world’s largest LGBTQI celebrations, Sydney’s 36th annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is a kaleidoscopic month-long festival of theatre, art, culture and fun.

Sydney Mardi Gras is a not-forprofit membership based organisation Desperate Houseboys: Popular pretty boys and Internet comedy duo Jeffery Self and Cole Escola, aka VGL (very good looking) Gay Boys, have ‘come out’ from the states. Watch their hilarity on stage as they hunt for fame Down Under and try not to kill each other in the process.

Until Feb 28, Seymour Centre, City Rd & Cleveland St, Chippendale, $35, seymourcentre.com The Vaudevillians: Theatrically fabulous drag queen and season five winner of American reality television series RuPaul’s Drag Race, Jinkx Monsoon, makes her Australian debut with co-star Major Scales.

Audiences can catch the sold-out off-Broadway performance over a meal and join in the joviality as they take to the intimate stage with songs like Girls Just Want to Have Fun and

that aims to develop both awareness and the visibility of lesbian, gay, transgender, queer and intersex communities. The festival is one of Sydney’s largest events with over 10,000 people expected to participate in the parade and hundreds of thousands of revellers celebrating street-side or at home. This year marks SBS 2’s inaugural live broadcast of the event with comedian

Tom Ballard, Walkley-nominated journalist and presenter Patrick Abboud, and musician Heather Pearce as hosts.

Most are familiar with the proud parade that lights up Sydney’s Oxford Street on summer’s final weekend, but some might not be aware of the plethora of exciting events that lead up to the parade, and the party.

There is plenty of ticketed and

Drop it Like it’s Hot. Until March 2,The Vanguard, 42 King St Newtown, $43-114, thevanguard. com.au

creative poster-boy artist cites a variety of influences in his new and exciting queer exhibition.

Until March 3, Pine Street Creative Arts Centre, 64 Pine St, Chippendale, free, pinestreet.com.au

Privates on Parade: Talented English playwright, Peter Nichols, has brought his triumphant theatrical comedy to Sydney’s New Theatre stage. The performance tells the story of a young and innocent soldier trying to manoeuvre his way toward manhood amongst a bunch of military misfits. With guaranteed shocks, frocks and laughs.

Until March 18, New Theatre, 542 King St, Newtown, $32, newtheatre.org.au A Queer Aesthetic: Guy James Whitworth’s exhibition, A Queer Aesthetic, is a vivacious and tantalising display that tackles the politics and perceptions of sexuality.

From ‘80s pop-rock androgyny to medieval heraldry, the colourfully

Queer Thinking – Gender Trailblazers Cate McGregor and Chaz Bono: Two of the world’s most recognisable gender trailblazers, Chaz Bono and Cate McGregor take to the stage to share their poignant and personal stories. Faced with stigmatism and scrutiny, both Bono and McGregor transitioned and are now LGBTQI activists confronting the transgender misconceptions and inspiring others.

Feb 26, Seymour Centre, City Rd & Cleveland St, Chippendale, $39, seymourcentre.com Summer Camp – Visual Arts:

free entertainment, with theatre performances, art exhibitions and everything in between, conveying Sydney Mardi Gras’ key message of loving each other through the inspiring power of beauty and diversity.

With countless Mardi Gras events to choose from, here are our top alternative picks to catch this month.

(EC) Neon brights and camp colours bring life to the Bondi Pavilion as four local artists exhibit their energetic and vibrant works. The exhibition is also part of Art Month and hosted

by Bondi Pavilion’s resident theatre company, Tamarama Rock Surfers.

Feb 23-Mar 24, Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Dr, Bondi Beach, free,, rocksurfers.org/summer-camp Sandy Bottom at the Penthouse: International transgender illusionist, Sandy Bottom, is bringing her soldout politically incorrect performance to Glebe. Her performance gives audiences a mix of old and new and invites them to enjoy a night filled with lots of laughs, cocktails and sequins. Sing along as she performs all the favourites from the likes of Neil Diamond, Lady Gaga and Elvis.

Feb 20, 21, 26-28, AB Hotel, 225 Glebe Point Road Glebe, from $22, pacificpenthouse.com.au VGL Gay Boys

EAT & DRINK

The Flynn What struck me as a sports bar heaved a collective (and gutturally Germanic) sigh of relief when the throbbing mass of suits - there for Happy Hour $12 jugs of Heineken (between 5pm and 7pm weekdays) - gave way to couples and casual, relaxed diners.

Pushing through to the dark, cave-like interior, one is rewarded with a spot of Teutonic sophistication $ - mains less than $15

$$ - mains between $15-$22

EASTERN SUBURBS Elmo’s Restaurant Yes, it’s in a club, but this deceptively exciting restaurant is in a glass box overlooking Coogee Beach. Manager Vinni Dias is an excellent guide (and enthusiast) for the traditional end of this Brazilian-influenced Australian menu that includes Pão de Queijo ($8) cheese bread and Sydney Rock Oysters ($18/6) with flavoursome ‘kiss peppers’, lime, Spanish onion, coriander and palmito. The latter ingredient is a revelation in Baked Palm Heart, Tomato, Chutney, Pimento & Gorgonzola ($16), too.

Escondidinho de Cogumelos ($15) delivers four types of mushrooms sautéed in garlic and butter, buried under cassava and cheese; but their

By Jackie McMillan largely credited to stellar Bar Manager Luke Reimann.

That said, his beautiful Düsseldorf co-star Mila represents the new chef’s menu admirably. Luke’s Blue Cheese Martini ($19), arriving decorated with strawberries and wedge of blue, shows off Crystal Head Vodka in a way that’d make Dan Aykroyd smile.

It’s a shoe-in with Gorgonzola-stuffed Zucchini Blossoms ($14); while the Rum Chocolate Manhattan ($22) sets off the Rangers Valley Angus 300-day Grain Fed Steak ($28) a treat. It’s my first real contender for 2014’s best pub steak. A hint of dark cherry that Luke describes as “stuff imported from Germany that my aunty makes” elevates the Stagger Lee Julep ($18) into ‘the best mint julep update I’ve tried’ territory, perfect with a Chorizo Artisan Pizza ($19). This one is Mila’s recommendation, and despite being more Europe than Italy, it wins me over completely with chorizo, caramelized onion, and lashings of piquillo pepper mayo.

2A Bligh Street, Sydney (02) 9223 0037 theflynn.com.au Pub Bistro, Cocktail $$-$$$ $$$ - mains between $22-$30

biggest hit is Moqueca ($34) a red, coconut-enriched fish and prawn stew – oh and eight-buck Mojitos!

Coogee Legion Ex-Service Club, 200 Arden Street, Coogee (02) 9665 8230 coogeelegionclub. com.au/elmos-restaurant/ Brazilian/Modern Australian $$-$$$ Mr. Moustache “Are you going to search me,” a giggling diner asks. Wearing rubber gloves, we’re about to dive into Tortita Ahogada ($12) - the cantina’s messiest dish - a delicious pork sandwich you “drown” with spicy salsa. On one side there’s an opulent bar, and on the other, a colourful kitchen reflecting Mexican street food culture. So drink Mezcal-based cocktails like El Original del Diablo ($18) with homemade ginger beer

$$$$ - mains over $30

against share plates: Seasonal Ceviche ($10); Tostaditas Pato ($12/3) mini tacos with spicy duck - and Huitlacoche ($12/3) - black corn truffle, roasted corn and fresco cheese. Their star dessert is Plantos Machos ($11) – plantain, coffee liquor and burnt goat’s milk.

75-79 Hall Street, Bondi Beach 9300 8892 mr-moustache.com.au Mexican, Cocktails $-$$ The Royal Paddington “He was smoking, I was eating and racking…” Okay, overheard Eastern Suburbs conversations up on the “hidden” rooftop terrace have a certain ruling class blasé about them but you should hike up all those stairs and check it out anyway, breaking your journey with a drink in the eye-catching red and black

Two Sticks After an amazing eating experience at Lost Heaven in Shanghai, I arrived home hoping Yunnanese food would be Sydney’s next big thing. Enter Two Sticks: a small, fast-paced eatery housed under a bright yellow ribcage, bustling with diners and black-clad staff sporting caps and scout-style yellow neckties.

Lying close to Myanmar and Thailand, China’s Yunnan region is famous for its use of mushrooms, flowers, Elephant Bar. Afterwards head to the white, salon-style bistro, for Grant Burge ‘Holy Trinity’ ($15/glass) and a grazing meal. There’s Natural Oysters ($30/12) and sharing plates available in multiples of 1($10), 3 ($25) and 5 ($40). Duck Pancakes ($10) and Sizzling Garlic Prawns ($10) were my favourites, but the Grilled Haloumi ($10) isn’t bad either.

237 Glenmore Road, Paddington (02) 9331 2604 royalhotel.com.au Pub Bistro $$-$$$ ROCKS & CBD Star Bar Some people have pubs in their blood; fourth generation hotelier Kim Maloney is a prime example, operating Sydney’s St. James, Maloney’s, Sanctuary and Shark hotels, plus The Clock Hotel in

salads, cold noodles, individual hotpots and Xuanwei ham. Dai Style Enoki Salad ($3.80) is spicy (as most dishes are) but very representative of the cuisine.

The best way to eat here is to order cold appetisers alongside one of their hotpots, like Yunnan Signature Rice Noodle Soup ($11.80). The smooth pork and chicken stock accentuated by quail eggs, noodles cut from bean curd sheets, bean sprouts and slivered beef and chicken interspersed with silky rice noodles, put your mouth back together between slices of Hot and Numbing Beef ($4.80) - cold garlic poached beef slices drenched in spicy chilli dressing - and Deep Fried Spicy Beef Jerky ($4.80). Coconut Juice ($4) is your friend, though I’d kill for a TsingTao beer, especially with the Yunnan Signature Fries ($3.80) that take ordinary crinkle-cut fries somewhere extraordinary by stir-frying them in chilli and a sauce featuring fermented black beans.

694 George Street, Sydney facebook.com/Twosticksaustralia Chinese $

Queensland. Unsurprisingly his newly renovated Star Bar is a slick operation. The $2 million facelift references to the building’s previous inhabitants: Planet Hollywood, and 1930s predecessor Plaza Cinema. His kitchen coup is Danny Russo who supplements good steaks – a 400g Rib Eye ($33) - modern Italianate dishes. Expect heaving Antipasto Platters ($17) to Verdura Pizza ($16), to a Russolini Parma Burger ($17) boasting crumbed Angus patty, melted mozzarella and Napoli sauce that eats well with Birra Moretti ($7.50) and Italian Slaw ($6).

600 George Street, Sydney (02) 9267 7827 starbar.com.au Pub Bistro, Modern Italian, Pizza $$ Phoenix Diner After fire struck The Lansdowne Hotel closing it for six months, students, indie bands, backpackers

and budget eaters alike will appreciate that from those ashes, the Phoenix Diner has risen. This American diner-style eatery sees most visitors wrap their lips ‘round a burger: the Buttermilk Chicken Burger ($14) loaded with bacon, Pecorino cheese, avocado, coleslaw and chipotle mayo, gives good indication as to why. Clever toppings - like Sticky Fingers ($16) piling 12-hour pulled pork, pear, walnuts, watercress and blue cheese on a crisp base - make their short list of ‘Brooklyn Pizzas’ appealing. Fat Jalapeño Poppers ($6) stuffed with bacon and cream cheese have kick, so accompany them Kosciuszko Pale Ale ($5.80/schooner).

The Lansdowne Hotel, 2-6 City Road, Chippendale (02) 8218 2333 thelansdownehotel.com.au Pub Bistro $

EAT & DRINK

Queenie’s Pulling into The Forresters on Friday night, the place was rammed. Luckily my intention was traipsing up the stairs to Queenie’s, their Jamaican-inspired domain. Cute-as-a-button waitresses wearing eclectic combinations of braids, hair wraps and tropical shorts were quick to make us feel at home. One explained the menu thusly: “Basically anything with the word ‘jerk’ in it is good.” Ergo BBQ Jerk Corn ($8) coming INNER WEST Nithik’s Kitchen Hankering for good Indian? This Rozelle gem by Chef Vikram Arumugam (ex-Aki’s) has an innovative and flavoursome menu.

Southern Indian Samuthiram ($18.90) is a definite favourite, layering school prawns, crab and rice pancakes with a creamy coconut sauce and a side of Bengalese shrimp, chilli and tomato paste. Tree of Taste ($12.90) gives an oral and artistic demonstration of Vikram’s flavour palate. Great coconut chutney and homemade ghee notches Masala Dosa ($13) above most I’ve tried.

Vikram’s curries are all great: from Meen Manga Charu ($25) of barramundi, coconut and green mango, to labour-intensive lychee-

Triple Ace Bar manage to eschew having their own bistro by sitting directly under Sydney crab institution - Harry’s Chilli Singapore Crab – and leasing out their former beer garden to House.

It’s the Issan cousin to the popular Spice I Am restaurants in Balmain, Darlinghurst, and just up the $$ - mains between $15-$22

GREATER SYDNEY Sedap Malaysian Kopitiam Part café, part street-side hawker, this addition to Westfield Eastgardens new Banks Avenue dining precinct offers al fresco dining and paved paths. It feels like an artificial land, even on a busy Thursday evening. We relax into an Ice Coffee ($4) laced with heavenly condensed milk. Crisp Pork Rolls ($4/each) are wrapped in bean curd and come with a delicious garlic chilli sauce, while Szechuan Ribs ($15.80) are finger licking good.

Everyone’s favourite Malaysian dish, Char Kuey Teow ($12) stacks up

right up! Arriving liberally coated in coconut, my dining companion dubbed it “the Jamaican lamington”; however a squeeze of lime took it from sweet to savoury, with three exotic tableside chilli sauces completing the journey from mild to wild. One Coconut Daiquiri ($16) in, we decided to do drinks with food, rather than dinner per say, embarking upon a series of snacks from tasty Plantain Fritters ($9) with curry mayo to Prawn, Mango and Ginger Bammies ($7). They’re flat cassava flour pancakes, which advance Sydney’s taco-craze in a (faintly) new direction. Sunset Sangria ($20/jug) with vanilla, ginger beer and spiced rum proves remarkably better for the cultural meddling. It carries us through a generously battered basket of Coconut Soft Shell Crab ($16) with Hotstepper sauce. Sean Paul Ceviche ($17) with scallops, avocado and black bean puree on wacky pappadums help put out any remaining fire in your hole.

Level 1, The Forresters, 336 Riley Street, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 queenies.com.au Jamaican, Cocktails, Pub Bistro $$-$$$

stuffed cottage cheese balls Lagaan Ke Kofti ($18) liberally dunked in cashew gravy and scattered with dried fruit.

679 Darling Street, Rozelle (02) 8084 8921 Indian $$-$$$ The Oxford Tavern Hopefully the super cute fivebuck Cheeseburger ($5) here – sandwiching beef, mustard, crunchy pickles, ketchup and gooey cheese between soft brioche buns – will be the death knell for Stanmore McDonalds. Michael Delany’s remodelling of Petersham’s infamous pole dancing and jelly wrestling venue is now the most family-friendly of the Drink’n’Dine venues… if you think up an ageappropriate explanation of The Jelly Wrestle ($20) dessert that comes

House

$ - mains less than $15

By Jackie McMillan

with gloves not cutlery. Kid-free, I availed myself of a Swinging Tit ($9) with Kraken Spiced Rum and pink jellied foam sprayed onto your arm.

Buffalo Cauliflower Balls ($14) with blue cheese and hot sauces will stick to your ribs during a dive bar drinking session.

1 New Canterbury Road, Petersham (02) 8019 9351 theoxfordtavern.com.au American, Pub Bistro, Cocktails $$

DARLO, KINGS X & SURRY HILLS Harajuku Gyoza Leave surly service behind and travel to happy J-pop world. Shiny red bar stools offer the best vantage points to eyeball their streamlined operation. Anyone can be a winner

road in Surry Hills. Expecting a totally unrenovated pub, I smiled to see some Astroturf, blonde wood and Edison light bulbs have crept in. Plonk yourself at the bar; order an inexpensive bottle of Tim Knappstein Riesling ($23); drink a glass while you wait for friends, then cap the bottle and wander outside for a ripper Thai meal with an outdoor pub atmosphere. This regional Thai cuisine employs fermented anchovy, fresh chilli and sourness from tamarind; but recently a few of the gentler Spice I Am favourites have emerged, from Yellow Curry Chicken ($19) to Gaeng Keaw Wan Nua Toun ($19), a green beef curry with apple eggplants and extraordinary depth of flavour. They go down nicely with a Peroni ($8.10) from the pub’s bottled beer selection. Meaty favourites like Mood Daed Deaw ($8.50) - sun-dried marinated pork strips - make good drinking food against Nam Khao Tod ($19), a spicy, crisped rice salad. Don’t leave without sharing their infamous B.T.S. ($16) dessert...

Triple Ace Bar, 198 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills (02) 9211 6888 spiceiam.com/house-surry-hills Thai, Pub Bistro $$ $$$ - mains between $22-$30

well with pork sausage. The Beef Rendang ($14.40) is spot on, but Ice Cendol ($6) ‘green worm’ and mung bean noodles on shaved ice might be just for true Malay enthusiasts.

Westfield Eastgardens, Banks Avenue, Eastgardens (02) 9344 7095 sedap.com.au Malaysian $ Minskys Hotel This newly renovated hotel - subtly masculine without being alienating to women – has kept the 1am kitchen. Publican Anthony Brady says: “We want people to like this place.” He’s clearly proud of the new menu by Robert Oey, who doesn’t forget it’s a pub, but notches

$$$$ - mains over $30

up the standards. He delivers a well-rendered Caramelised Pork Belly ($25) with Asian ‘slaw; Crisp School Prawns ($10) that won’t damage your mouth; and great Chicken Liver Pate ($11) with house-made chutney. There’s also a smart, underpriced cocktail list with a Salted Coconut Espresso Martini ($14), plus an Enomatic wine pouring system – great when you need a big glass of Pichot Vouvray Sec ($13/150ml glass, $21/225ml glass).

287 Military Road, Cremorne 9909 8888 minskyshotel.com.au Pub Bistro, Cocktails,Wine $$-$$$

Old Growler

By Alex Harmon In a basement on the cusp of Kings Cross, this bar has the ambience of a Nick Cave murder ballad exposed bulbs, flaking walls and an abundance of bearded men; you could be in an ancient mineshaft.

Until you see the menu: changing seasonally, produce for a minimal Sake ($7.50) spend – so cheer when other people get sake, too. Food’s in a best supporting role – which isn’t to say their namesake Duck Gyoza ($8/5 piece) aren’t tasty – but izakayas are about drinking.

Unctuous and fatty Pork Belly Kakuni ($13) goes well with White Sesame Salad ($6), lightly battered ‘Tenpura’ Eggplant ($6) and Koshihikari Rice Beer ($12). Explosive Salted Caramel Gyoza ($9/3 pieces) should put to rest any rumours that Japanese don’t make good desserts.

9-15 Bayswater Road, Potts Point (02) 9356 3834 harajukugyoza.com Japanese $ Devon Café Continuing the exodus from fine dining to approachable eateries, two of Guillaume Brahimi’s chefs have landed in this little café on

is free-range and ethically sourced. The Grass-Fed Burger ($16) is whizzing around the room, surprising, as it’s ‘steak night’ tonight. The bar already has a strong local following and they’re now keeping punters entertained with live music on Fridays. A mix of “gypsy jazz and blues,” is sure to go down a treat with the ‘local’s special’- five buck craft beers

by Young Henry’s from 5-7pm. We snack on Haloumi Mozzarella Croquettes ($14), they’re more like balls but let’s not be pedantic - they taste bloody good; as does an elegant Pickled Green Mango ($9) with crushed pumpkin seeds. Though don’t be fooled, her scotch bonnets are smoking hot! If you’re settling in for the night, try the Hickory Smoked Pork Belly ($24) with pickled slaw, a smear of apple sauce and candied walnuts - a fancy, but hearty piece of swine!

By the way, a growler is a type of beer bottle. Get out of the gutter - this is Woolloomooloo, darling.

216-218 William Street, Woolloomooloo oldgrowler.com.au Bar, Bar Food $$

Devonshire Street. While there are the usual hipster affectations - a hanging herb garden, and everything from Refresher Juice ($7) to Iced Coffee ($6.50) served in jam jars – the coffee’s great and the food’s even better! The confidently short seasonal menu offers up beautifully presented breakfasts like Citrus Cured Salmon ($18.50) with apple, celery, fennel and split dill cream; and creative lunches like Green With Envy ($23) - nettle semolina gnocchi presented as a spring garden with pumpkin puree, zucchini, yellow squash and peas. Even the muffins are amazing…

76 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills (02) 9211 8777 devoncafe.com.au Café $$ Franco Franco Get stuck into a chewy Neapolitan

style pizza from the dome shaped oven, while watching the pizzaiolo work. Con Patate ($21) bearing perfectly cooked potato, red onion and Italian sausage, won me. Speaking of Italian meat, the shiny red Berkel meat slicer (and the lad operating it) provide much to salivate over too, like boards bearing Prosciutto San Daniele ($16/50g). He’s also a dab hand at pasta making, so order a gleaming copper Scanpan bearing joyously simple Bucatini Cacio E Pepe ($20) against easy-drinking 2010 Antica Enotria Falanghina ($48/ bottle) from the regionally arranged Italian list. Ricotta Polpette ($8/4 pieces) prove a perfect start to my Italian family-style feast!

628 Crown Street, Surry Hills (02) 9318 0500 francofranco.com.au Italian, Pizza $$

FOOD NEWS I’d like to give a big birthday shout-out to the Rabbit Hole Bar & Dining crew, who celebrated their first year of operation by throwing a great shindig last week. Surrounded by a crew of media, loyal customers, food industry folk - including bloggers like Simon Food Favourites and Porkstar ambassador Mitch Edwards – plus celebrities like Nacho Pop, I attended with my friend Joanna in tow. Her expression as she popped Torrontes and Pomme Verte layered agar apples into her mouth reminded me of what I loved about this bar in the first place – its ability to surprise and delight!

Sitting alongside Owner (and molecular mixologist) Doug Laming’s cocktail creations, which on the night included clever Powdered Rum and elegantly slurpable Smoked Apples, new Executive Chef Jeremy Metivier has only created more impetus to visit! We availed ourselves of samples from his new menu, which included wagyu sliders with Brie cheese, and beautifully presented salmon gravlax with cucumber gel and aloe vera caviar. If you haven’t already had the pleasure of making their acquaintance, you probably should… www.rabbitholebar.com.au

BAR FLY

By Rebecca Varidel

THE CARLISLE BAR

Known for its late night music, The Carlisle Bar could be your last stop for the night, but this week we made it our only stop. We started early evening with food, because we know and love the gorgeous cocktails here – the Bar Bloke’s favourite Clover Club ($18) with the sultry lavender undertones of Aviation Gin, or my whisky-drinker’s pick Blood & Sand ($18) with Chivas, Cherry Herring, Antica Formula, Ardbeg and fresh orange juice. When they say fresh juice, they mean it - squeezed on the premises. Thankfully here’s another bar with no pre-mixed cocktails. Insist on this everywhere: I say. Hand crafted libations, like Gin & Juice or our love Rye an’ Gosling are just ten bucks. I love Kings Cross and The Carlisle Bar, in all its Thursday to Saturday glory (curfew or not).

2 Kellett Street, Potts Point (02) 9331 0058 thecarlislebar.com.au

13

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT for anything significant.

The eldest daughter Claire (Catherine McGraffin) flies in from New York and fears her sister may have the same instability as her father and wants her to come back east for therapy. Some of the funniest scenes come in the clash of the two sisters.

It seems inevitable there will be chemistry between Catherine and Hal which resolves into the play about love and trust – forget the equations. (MMu) Until Mar 8, Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall St, Kirribilli, (02) 9929 0644, ensemble.com.au

THE JAMBLES RAMBLE SHOW

VIVIEN: LETTER TO LARRY

Photo: John McRae

The Independent Theatre will host Donald Macdonald’s immersing play Vivien: Letter to Larry, as part of the 100th year celebrations of Vivien Leigh’s birth.

The play centres around a letter sent to Leigh by then husband Laurence Olivier, requesting a divorce, during her 1960 Broadway performance of Duel of Angels.

Actress Susie Lindeman will revive her acclaimed role, possessing Leigh’s famous eccentricities for one night

14

only.

“I love playing Vivien because she has myriad facets, her passion and pain, fighting against her losses, losing her love and her mind, yet above all revealing a soul and heart brimming with life. This play is astonishingly electric at times, filled with high tension and suspense,” says Lindeman.

The Independent Theatre, which was frequented by Vivien herself, will also host a talk by Leigh’s friend and co-star Trader Faulkner.

Lindeman says, “Faulkner is in Sydney for one week, he’s seen our show several times and was discovered on the stage of the Independent Theatre in the 1940s, going on to replace Richard Burton on Broadway. Having him as my special guest and speaker makes this show both a celebration and creation of Sydney theatrical history.”

(GF) Feb 23, The Independent Theatre, Miller St, North Sydney, $35-45, theindependent.org.au

BOB, SWEAT AND TEARS Bob Downe, the flamboyantly fabulous comedic alter ego of Mark Trevorrow, is a national treasure. He’s sitting pretty among some of Australia’s most loved comedians and he’s back by popular demand with his brand new show Bob, Sweat and Tears.

In association with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, his 31-song comedy concert promises to have the audience dancing in the aisles with a “pop history lesson”. It includes all his favourite hits from the mid ‘60s to the mid ‘70s.

“I’m furious there’s only 31! The more the merrier I say – I am the Medley King,” Downe proclaims.

For the first time in over five years Downe has placed his CDs back in the box and will be joined onstage by a

a&e

14 STAGE 15 SCENE 16 SOUNDS 17 SCREEN

live band led by his long-time musical director, John Thorn.

Following Downe’s two Sydney performances, the show will then travel to the Adelaide Fringe Festival and then finally to the Melbourne Comedy Festival before Downe packs up his polyester suit and heads to London.

Although he’s always been a one-manshow, Downe doesn’t rule out any future collaborations.

“I’d adore to sing a duet with Liza Minnelli. Of course, Liza is unlikely to be available so in the meantime I’ll settle for a trio with Amanda Vanstone and Christopher Pyne.” (EC) Feb 26-27, Sydney Theatre, 22 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, $30-55, (02) 9250 1777, sydneytheatre.org.au

Arts Editor: Leigh Livingstone Music Editor: Chelsea Deeley

For more A&E stories go to www.altmedia.net.au

The Jambles Ramble Show is a Tonight-style cabaret chat show hosted by multi-talented James Wright and co-hosted by pianist Jye Bryant. The format has been borrowed from a show called The Muftee Show which moved successfully to New York in 2004.

Three guests from the world of theatre and cabaret are interviewed, perform and interact with audience members who may also be invited onstage to participate in crazy competitions.

Wright connects with the audience and effectively changes the course of the show from singing, to showbiz

chat, to comical madness.

Audiences will be mesmerised by the small and intimate burlesque-style venue with a grand piano and dimly-lit nineteenth century-style chandeliers, which enhance the atmosphere of the show.

Guests in forthcoming shows include John Waters, Patti Lupone and Helen Reddy.

Hilarious and delightfully risque at times, each show promises to be unique, refreshing and vibrant. (MM) Monthly from Feb 24, Slide Lounge, 41 Oxford St, Darlinghurst, $20-55 (dinner & show), (02) 8915 1899, slide.com.au

Photo: The Headshot Photographer

All the action in the Pulitzer prize-winning Proof takes place on a porch in Chicago.

Matilda Wridgway (Catherine) manages to combine weariness/disillusionment, feistiness, vulnerability/strength and humour in a character who has given up her own academic aspirations to care for mentally unstable father Robert (played by the always agreeable Michael Ross). Robert is a formerly brilliant mathematician.

After his death, one of his students Hal (Adriano Cappelletta – who provides an energetically geeky performance) arrives to sift through Robert’s notebooks, looking

Photo: Clare Hawley

REVIEW - PROOF

Contributors: Alexandra English, Alexis Talbot-Smith, Angela Stretch, Anita Senaratna, Cheryl Northey, Craig Coventry, Elise Cullen, Georgia Fullerton, Greg Webster, Hannah Chapman, Jamie Apps, Jemma Nott, Leann Richards, Lena Zak, Lisa Ginnane, Luke Daykin, Lyndsay Kenwright, Marilyn Hetreles, Mark Morellini, Mel Somerville, Melody Teh, Michael Muir, Michelle Porter, Nerida Lindsay, Nick Hadland, Olga Azar, Paul Gregoire, Rhys Gard, Rocio Mendez, Ruth Fogarty, Sam Crassweller, Sharon Ye, Shauna O’Carroll, Tom Wilson,Vanessa Powell

PRIVATES ON PARADE New Theatre is bringing back the pomp and irreverence of the classic Privates on Parade, as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival.

This new production of the play combines song, dance and a lot of laughs, as audiences are taken back to wartime Singapore and Malaya with a group of young English servicemen.

“They’ve been brought together in an entertainment troop to take concerts out to the soldiers and their leader is the rather flamboyant drag queen, Terri,” says Alice Livingstone, director of Privates on Parade.

Privates on Parade was written in 1977 and beneath its humour lurks darker themes of homophobia, racism and

colonialism.

“It’s a way of looking back and going, ‘Gee we have moved on a long way, look at what we used to be like and look at what we are now’,” Livingstone says.

Of her cast Livingstone says, “They’re fabulous. They’re a lovely blend of experienced actors and newer performers.”

New Theatre put on a production for Mardi Gras every year and have done so for over a decade.

“A lot of people come and see our shows as one of the main things they do during the Mardi Gras Festival,” says Livingstone. (PG) Until Mar 8, New Theatre, 542 King St, Newtown, $2532, newtheatre.org.au

bite me

Some people believe there are an infinite number of things that can be put between two pieces of bread and deemed a sandwich, while others can never seem to find anything they like. However, no matter what our connection with food is, there is no denying that we can’t live without it.

This idea inspired Bite Me; a collection of monologues written by young playwrights, performed by young actors and directed by Anthony Skuse. The showcase is the latest instalment of The Voices Project season at ATYP Studio.

The playwrights developed their stories at the National School in 2013 where Tasnim Hossain, admitted she struggled

THEATRE &

PERFORMANCE JUMP FOR JORDAN goes some of the way to explain what it is like to be part of the mosaic of cultures that make up Australia. It centres on Sophie (played by Alice Ansara), an independent Arab-Australian woman who must lie about her life, career and Aussie boyfriend for fear of shaming her traditional Jordanian family.

Director Iain Sinclair was

just be his undoing. McConville’s a genuine lover of a good farce and Frayn’s British humour, “It’s my favourite play, I love comedy, I love Michael Frayn... the characters are flawed but they put forward a brave face,” he says.

Although the characters are essentially lousy actors McConville remarks, “You can’t think of these guys as bad, you’ve got to try to create two characters that are multi-layered.”

He also adds, “Juxtaposing the two characters, switching from one to the other; that is very funny, it’s where the comedy lies.”

(ATS) Until Apr 5, Sydney Theatre Company, The Wharf, Pier 4 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, $50109, 9250 1777, sydneytheatre.com.au

NOISES OFF

Photo: Ingvar Kenne

Watching one of his own farces from side of stage, playwright Michael Frayn is said to have thought it funnier from behind than in front. Inspired by this he wrote Noises Off, about an incompetent cast of failed actors who each try to overcome their flaws in order to stage a British sex farce called Nothing On. Director Jonathan Biggins and STC tackle Frayn’s comedic masterpiece in February and Sydney audiences are sure to be gasping for air as this raucous storm unfolds from behind the scenes and with hilarious consequences.

Josh McConville plays Garry, the fairly well-known, stuttering male lead, whose romantic attachment to fellow actress Dotty (Genevieve Lemon) may

SING-A-LONG-A SOUND OF MUSIC The Sound of Music is regarded as one of the greatest films in recent history, and if you agree with that sentiment, the Sing-A-Long-A Sound of Music has your name written all over it. Pull down the curtains, wrap anything and everything you can find in brown paper, and practice your Do-ReMi’s for a major audience participation event that celebrates the iconic movie musical.

Hundreds of people dress-up and fill the State

Theatre to see the film on the big screen with song sub-titles for a karaoke-setto-film kind of experience.

The evening is hosted by Marika Aubrey who will lead the audience through vocal exercises, props, a fashion parade, and how to sufficiently boo and hiss when the Nazis appear onscreen.

“There is so much positive energy and a real sense of community,” Aubrey says enthusiastically.

“We have everyone from three-year-olds to ninety-

five-year-olds who grew up watching the film and are introducing their grandkids to it. We get large groups in matching costumes – like groups of naughty nuns – and then there’s 1,500 people singing along.

Everyone is warmed by the atmosphere, and I’m looking forward to making 1,500 nutty friends,” says Aubrey.

(AE) Feb 21-23, State Theatre, Market St, Sydney, $35155 (family pass), 1300 139 588, ticketmaster.com.au

when trying to define her relationship with food beyond “liking it and eating it.”

“I thought I had nothing to say about it, but then realised that everyone has a connection to food,” she says.

“Food is life and learning to cook is learning to live. Food is something we take for granted because it’s there every day.”

The showcase is comprised of ten monologues including a pseudovegetarian and a boy fighting to not become the dish of the day. Funny, challenging, and cheeky, Bite Me is a celebration of food and life. (AE) Until Feb 22, ATYP Studio Theatre, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, $20-30, atyp.com.au

attracted to the relatability of the script (written by Donna Arebla). Much of the cast are of Arab descent and Sinclair says it is not so much a work in progress, but rather a live reflection on the experiences of second-generation women.

Women who not only cope with the typical work-lifefamily-balance, but whom also negotiate clashing cultures.

“I can’t think of the last time I saw Arabic women on stage just being themselves,” says

Sinclair. (ATS) Until Mar 29, SBW Stables Theatre, 10 Nimrod St, Kings Cross, $49, 9361 3817, griffintheatre.com.au SWEET CHARITY is a musical centred on the character of Charity Hope Valentine, who is an eternal optimist and dancer. Charity, played by musical theatre star Verity Hunt-Ballard, makes her money dancing with man after man to pay the rent, hoping one will whisk her off

her feet. Themes include the pursuit of security via romance – an interesting notion and somewhat old-fashioned.

On Broadway, Sweet Charity was a huge success and has built its own identity in musical theatre. The show is very sexy and physical, capturing Charity’s experience of life and how she tries to desperately transform it. (LK) Until Mar 9, Hayes Theatre Co, 19 Greenknowe Ave, Potts Point, $49, hayestheatre.com.au

TRAVELLING NORTH An ageing couple flee Melbourne’s cold for the warmer far North Queensland and a change of lifestyle, but Frank is soon beset by heart-problems and Frances has to deal with possessive, needy daughters.

Written in 1979, it’s sometimes assumed to be about writer David Williamson’s move to Sydney; in fact it’s about the experiences of his mother-inlaw, a gentle and perceptive

woman who’d remarried to an older man – an opinionated, intelligent, ex-Communist.

The concept of the ‘grey nomad’ is now an established one but “. . .living in paradise isn’t quite enough without having a social context of friends, families and meaningful activities to fill in the time,” says Williamson. (MM) Until Mar 22, Sydney Theatre Company, Pier 4/5, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, $50-85, 9250 1777, sydneytheatre.com.au

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THE NAKED CITY

DAY OF THE DREAD!

TALKING THROUGH YOUR ARTS VIRTUAL AUDIENCES The argument as to whether the evolution of the virtual audience has cannibalised the face-to-face audience has proven to be lean in fat. It is widely believed that audiences have expanded through hybrid participation. The more we become engaged online, the more we want to be part of the action. The truth is that the art on view, and for sale, does not mean much unless there is a public there to receive it.

We re-understand the body of an audience. We have translated our bodies through the bioscience of cloning, through digitised anatomy and through medical body-scan devices, so that the body has a virtual double. This oscillating and flickering world partners the machine, and then on through to the network.

Think of the possibilities of these art bodies wanting to be as able as a spider, sitting astride thousands of webs that they have spun. The audience must sense each soft ripple or bursting hail of electrons coming toward and flowing back to lure your patronage.

By using large networks as our instruments, creating and exploring multiple connected spaces in which different regions of space and time are spliced together, we alter the histories that manifest in media. Artists are creating a larger audience, leading to the strengthening of a business. Digital branding has become the norm for the arts, and crowd-funding campaigns, online

galleries, virtual summits, live-streaming performances and image recognition technologies, are just some of the innovations used.

In 2010 Stuart and Robyn Buchanan put their collective professions together to form the award-winning digital agency The Nest. The company has since hatched many projects to assist creative businesses. Web developments as well as mobile and apps technologies for some of Sydney’s seminal art organisations have been designed including Sydney Festival, AGNSW, Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.

The Scottish-born Stuart Buchanan has been working in the digital arts since the ‘90s and will be discussing the opportunities to build an online audience for artists and arts organisations by platforming audience engagement and audience experience.

This is the first Sydney Arts Management Advisory Group panel session of the year and considering both the economic climate and the lack of support in the arts by both state and federal governments, it is a critical discourse.

Joining Buchanan will be Alex Cameron-Fraser, PR Manager of Australian Chamber Orchestra, Michael Parry, Director of Public Engagement to the Powerhouse Museum and Gabby Shaw, Digital Media Manager of MCA. (AS) Virtual Audiences:Trends in Digital Engagement with the Arts, Feb 24,The Australia Council for the Arts, 372 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills, free (SAMAG members)-$12, samag.org

RTA - KENZEE PATTERSON

By Coffin Ed, Miss Death & Jay Katz Lump them all together – Valentine’s Day, Mother’s and Father’s Day, Halloween and the confectionery side of Easter and you’d have to admit there’s a global conspiracy at large – one entirely designed to flog a range of products that we might generally ignore on an average day.

Take last week’s Valentine’s Day, which supposedly generated over $750 million for the Australian economy in sales of flowers, chocolates, restaurant meals and hotel bookings. In recent years it’s been heavily promoted by the large retail stores and supermarket chains, not to mention blanket coverage in the mainstream media.

Perhaps it’s no secret that all of the above ‘days’ are strategically placed throughout the year so as not to clash and allow credit cards enough time to recover before the next big splurge.

If by some historical accident they all occurred within the same month, or even week, then their economic impact would be greatly reduced.

The question that remains is do we have enough celebratory days in the year that are ripe for commercial exploitation and if not should we create more? After all everybody should be keen to give the local economy a boost even if Coles and Woollies step in to rake off most of the profit.

Check out the internet and you’ll find lots of strange and esoteric ‘days’ that are celebrated like World Tongue Twister Day on November 9th or the completely ridiculous Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day which (if you are remotely interested) falls on April 12th.

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Just about every day on the calendar is occupied and indeed many days are forced to share a date such is the demand for international attention.

Here at the Naked City we have racked our collective brains to come up with a concept that is both morally rewarding and gives a boost to the Australian economy. After much deliberation we’re proposing an international Day Of The Dread in which all Australians would be encouraged to show their disgust for injustice, crimes against humanity and all that is rotten in the world.

Manufacturers such as SPC would be encouraged to market cans of special ‘liberation’ peaches which could be posted to oppressed populations throughout the world. All takeaway food on the day would come with an emblazoned message, either on the food or the packaging, and punters could express their rage by choosing a PUTIN OUT pizza or a FREE TIBET burger. Political slogans would abound on the day, broadcasted across all social media and temporarily covering every billboard and advertising display.

All banality would be banned from commercial radio and TV for the day and the popular breakfast shows given over to serious debate about the global issues that really count. Office workers and school children would be encouraged to wear t-shirts expressing their concerns and the City Council would distribute free mini placards with a choice of popular slogans.

There would certainly be an economic incentive driving the whole Day Of The Dread, but minds would be alerted and consciences pricked. At the end of the day everybody would have learnt something and the sale of tin peaches will have skyrocketed!

‘Westpoint’, by Kenzee Patterson, 2013

Artist Kenzee Patterson is inspired by suburbia and his new exhibition at Darren Knight Gallery, rta, (Return to Artist) reflects this influence.

The show includes several water colour depictions of the ubiquitous shopping centre.

Although the subject is commonplace, the straight lines and bright hues make these paintings objects of sparse and lonely beauty.

The iconography of the outer edges continues with Patterson’s sculptures, as demonstrated by the twisted Return to Form, which takes harsh steel and transforms it into a mesmerising object of reverie.

Metal is a popular material for the artist. Pete, Dave, Ben and Sam, are anthropomorphic renditions of galvanised tin caps lit by LED. Outwardly each is as ordinary as their names, but a closer look reveals a unique complexity of form and texture.

Patterson’s conversions of the everyday into the intriguing suggest an artist of unique vision, ably reflected in this innovative collection. (LR) Until Mar 8, Darren Knight Gallery, 840 Elizabeth St, Waterloo, free, darrenknightgallery.com

ART MONTH SYDNEY 2014 Art Month is an annual celebration of contemporary art. This year Sydney will feature New Zealand-born ‘creative catalyst’ Scrap Wall as artistic director and the theme is influenced by ‘intersections and parallels’.

“To be authentic about what art is for everyone. There’s a huge selection of national and international artists and galleries in this collaboration that will reflect this motif,” says Wall.

“We’re going through a pretty dynamic period at the moment, professionally and culturally there are so many crossovers and overlapping modes of practice and ways of thinking. These are things we should definitely talk about,” he explains.

Screen dreams, In Situ: Intersections of contemporary art and architecture, and Art on the

Runway are just a few of the exhibitions to be excited about.

There’s definitely something for everyone.

“It’s art in architectural context––art working with space,” says Wall, in regards to In Situ.

Scrap Wall wants to leave readers inspired and eagerly awaiting Art Month 2014 with an open mind.

“The spaces in-between is where the most interesting stuff is happening. There are elements of culture that are massively influenced by contemporary art whether we recognise it or not.

If we draw those lines and see those comparisons, it comes back to the visual art,” he says.

(RM) Mar 1-23, various venues and art galleries, from free, artmonthsydney.com.au

‘Rednecks and Pigdogs’ by Adam Cullen, Michael Reid Gallery, Mar 1-31

THE ANGELS TALK THE TALK Talk The Talk is the latest album from veteran Australian rockers The Angels.

Featuring Dave Gleeson of The Screaming Jets on vocals, it is a return to the Brewster brothers’ riff-driven classic style.The twelve tracks were put together relatively quickly after the release of their album Take It To The Streets heralded a return from 15 years of absence, but it is a carefully considered project. From the rocking title track to the final No Rhyme Nor Reason,Talk The Talk is a collaborative effort full of slick arrangements and the tight drum and guitar that The Angels are famous for.

There can be no denying,The Angels are officially back. (LL)

Success for a rock and roll band can often peak and then all but disappear, particularly when the band themselves have had a career spanning decades.

However, it is apparent when looking to Maryland riff-masters Clutch, they still maintain relevance after almost 24 years since their inception.

Neil Fallon, guitarist Tim Sult, bassist Dan Maines and drummer Jean-Paul Gaster have become something of a well-oiled machine, shifting focus from their early days of heady fame to a solid musical endeavour.

“I think at the very beginning we were much more musically...closed-minded,” explains Fallon, lead vocalist and guitarist. “I mean, we were a hard-core band and that’s all we ever thought we were.

“But then we kind of slowly got burnt out on that and ever since we have tried to educate ourselves to try new things,” he says.

It’s a transition that leaves no doubt as to why their latest offering Earth Rocker has been well-received by fans and critics alike.Yet, while trying new things has added to their success, some habits are not worth breaking.

LIVE WIRE Anna Salleh: Brazil and Beyond: Returning to where it all began, Salleh will bring the sweet sounds of this South Atlantic nation to the stage. Mixing components of Brazillian jazz with other elements, she will be joined by pianist Dan Holland, Stuart Vandergraaf on horns, bassist Stan Valacos and drummer Tim Bradley. Salleh’s signature smoothness in ballads as well as a pinch of samba and swing will encourage the inner boogie merchant. Brazil and Beyond, all the way to Sydney, Australia.

Thu, Feb 20th, Foundry616, Ultimo.

“We’ve done it the same way since day one. That is, get four of us into a room and wait for someone to start playing a riff,” Fallon explains.

“Usually when we stumble upon something, everybody looks at each other and we play it over and over again. It’s a democracy.”

He continues, “When all is said and done, it’s hard to know who wrote what.”

As the band gear up for this year’s Soundwave Festival and their own sideshows, Fallon tells of his personal perception of our nation.

“Australia for me is so familiar in some ways,” he explains. “It reminded me so much of California, with people’s demeanours and attitudes, that I felt immediately quite comfortable even though I was on the other side of planet Earth,” he says.

“But no matter where we are on the globe I find that, when you put a bunch of people in a dark room with beer and loud music it’s the most common denominator because everybody just starts acting the same.” (CD) Feb 20,The Metro, 624 George St, Sydney, $50+bf, ticketek.com.au

Sydney Live Music Guide

Martha Marlow: Girl power at its finest, this young lady has lived and breathed music since birth. It’s been touted that her bedtime song as a child was Nick Drake’s classic Riverman, which is not surprising considering that she comes from a family of gifted musos. Marlow has received a wealth of compliments for her musical exploits, with her composition Dust from debut EP These Days being appointed a finalist for the Vanda and Young Songwriting competition.Tonight is a chance to be enchanted by this woman.

Fri, Feb 21st,Venue505, Surry Hills.

Eugene “Hideaway” Bridges: Australia cannot seem to get enough of this Texas blues tycoon. He has toured our sunburnt country over thirty times and Bridges will make yet another trip to enslave his audience with some of his most iconic songs, including tracks from his last collection in 2011 titled Rock and A Hard Place.

With word that a few new tracks will also be debuted at this highly-anticipated performance, there’s absolutely no reason why any self-respecting enthusiast of the blues should not be there.

Sat, Feb 22nd, Petersham Bowling Club.

Photo: Dirk Behlau

EMPRA - STRANGE CONDITION Empra’s Strange Condition is a fivetrack EP full of slick melodies and catchy beats.

These Melbourne boys know how to rock and they consistently deliver tunes that are polished and tick all of the right musical boxes.

Reminiscent of a younger Foo Fighters, Empra deliver the same crisp vocals and high-energy guitar that is a tried and successful rock formula. Although they aren’t breaking any new ground there is something to be said for sticking to the basics.

There is no doubt these guys are on the verge of crashing the big time and along the way are pioneering a resurgence of tightly-produced hit-single-worthy rock songs. (LL)

CLUTCH

John Steel Singers: Brisbane is taking over your Sunday night and it’s bound to be boisterous. Pairing with indie-pop minstrel Jeremy Neale, this tour is going to be a combination of laughs and ultimate good times.

They have both released stellar musical collections and both acts will be bringing some stellar tunes to the fore in their tour aptly titled Boys Gone Wild. Beards out for all, this is one of the few moments that intense facial hair is acceptable.

Sun, Feb 23rd, Metro Theatre, Town Hall.

Placebo: It seems as though these emotionally-charged rockers can do no wrong.

A switch in drummers has

strengthened these Brit-rock legends, who have recently released their seventh fulllength extraordinaire Loud Like Love. It’s an appeal that has confused many. Lead singer Brian Molkos’ bleak lyricism and obtuse wordplay combined with the out-ofthis-world riffage and drum patterns, have carved out a career that constantly dances on the barrier between underground and mainstream.

To paraphrase the band themselves - For their fans.

Without you, they are nothing.

Mon, Feb 24th, Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

Testament: Many often wonder, when pondering a name for this Californian

thrash metal stalwart, if the five knew they would eventually be at the top of their genre? Knowing no boundaries original member Eric Peterson has sailed his band’s ship with pride and partly created a stellar 11-album back catalogue containing some of the heaviest anthems in metal history.They will be joined tonight by an equal legend, Jason Newsted. His history of playing with the likes of Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne means that this is only the cherry on top of an explosive gig. (CD) Wed, Feb 26th, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst.

Winter’s Tale is a fantasy drama set in New York spanning over two different time periods. The story revolves around master thief Peter Lake’s (Colin Farrell) strong love for dying heiress Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay) and the journey he takes across time to save her.

An enchanting musical score, beautiful cinematography and respectable performances from Farrell and Findlay fail to ignite this bizarre tale of destiny, miracles, magic and the battle between good and evil.

Even a stellar cast including Russell Crowe, William Hurt and Will Smith in supporting roles fail to compensate, as questionable storytelling techniques and complexities in the screenplay deliver a film which is drawn out and perplexing.

Winter’s Tale is stylish and initially captivates with its grandness and sinister elements, but ultimately its intricacy makes this film an underwhelming experience. (MM) WW½

LONE SURVIVOR This is one of the few films that gives away the ending in its title.

The US Navy Seals are elite soldiers (similar to the SAS); in 2005 a four-man team of them are tasked with hunting a Taliban leader deep in Afghanistan hostile territory but when their cover is blown they find themselves vastly outnumbered and in a vicious firefight.

WINTER’S TALE

ENDLESS LOVE

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB Based on a true story, Matthew McConaughey stars as a damaged rodeo cowboy (Ron Woodroof) in 1985, who has contracted HIV and has thirty days to live. In his downright refusal to die, and against the establishment, he researches alternative medicine and opens a clinic in Mexico with the help of unlikely ally and transvestite Rayon (Jared Leto).

A brutally honest potrayal of the severity of the disease and its reception by the public in the 1980s, along with Ron’s personal journey and growth.

Amazing performances by both of these actors, a sad but inspiring tale reminding audiences to face their greatest challenges head on.

Not to be missed. (LK) WWWW½

LE WEEK-END Le Week-end is a British romantic comedy which revolves around an aging couple celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in Paris. They’re in a love/ hate relationship and hope to revitalise their ailing marriage by re-capturing their youthfulness, a time when life was blissful and devoid of any stresses or responsibilities.

This intelligent and witty script is complemented by engaging performances from Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR The life of Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) changes when she meets Emma (Léa Seydoux), a young woman with blue hair.

The two young women embark on a passionate love-affair.

Blue is the Warmest Color is a worthwhile, moving film that is gathering acclaim worldwide.

However it could have been told in half the time. (MMu) WW½ LAST VEGAS Paddy (Robert De Niro), Archie (Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Kevin Kline), reunite to throw a bachelor party for Billy (Michael Douglas), who has chosen to marry a woman half his age.

Last Vegas tends to be somewhat

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Based on Marcus Luttrell’s book of the same name, a true account of the operation, the filmmakers (surprise, surprise) have been criticised for taking liberties with the story.

What’s left though is a very visceral and confronting account of a fight for survival.

Mark Wahlberg plays Luttrell and the daunting landscapes of New Mexico stand-in for Afghanistan. (MMu) WWW

predictable, however, with a stellar cast of Hollywood favourites and a few good laughs, fans are sure to find it a witty film. (SC) WWW½ LABOR DAY Set over five days, the story revolves around a woman (Kate Winslet), her son, and a runaway convict (Josh Brolin).

This is not a snappy screenplay, but the brooding tones of the photography, believable characters and pacing of the film draw the audience in, immersing them in the drama of this family’s life. (LC) WWWW MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM This film chronicles the life of Nelson

Mandela from childhood to becoming the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Beautifully photographed with a powerful performance from British actor Idris Elba (Mandela), it is an inspiring and heartfelt story of one man’s battle and sacrifice to make South Africa a better country. (MM) WWWW THE PAST Bèrènice Bejo plays Marie, whose estranged husband returns to Paris to finalise their divorce. He finds himself trying to resolve the mystery of the alienation between Marie and her daughter Lucie, which holds a secret from the past.

The film is full of lies,

Endless Love is a remake of the original romantic drama produced in 1981 and is about the loss of innocence and troubled young love. The story remains mostly faithful to the original with some notable changes.

David (Alex Pettyfer) and Jade (Gabriella Wilde) have graduated from high school and fall in love. Jade’s controlling father (Robert Patrick) takes an instant dislike to David and interferes in their relationship with dire consequences.

Overshadowed by the original, this version has many flaws.

Pettyfer and Wilde are mismatched in the leading roles and lack chemistry.

The script is cliched and so woeful and contrived at times that laughter is inadvertently evoked.

Consequently, the difficulty in connecting emotionally with these characters leads to a dwindling audience interest.

Endless Love is targeted at teenagers who should enjoy this as a date movie. (MM) WW½

as Nick and Meg Burrows respectively. Their chemistry shines throughout aided by a fine supporting cast led by Jeff Goldblum.

Exquisitely filmed on location in Paris, Le WeekEnd is an endearing study of relationships, primarily aimed at the more mature audiences.

Effectively illustrating how disenchantment and mundanity slowly erodes a relationship, this film also resonates that ultimately true love conquers all. (MM) WWW½ deception, secrets and misunderstandings. Watch the final scene carefully. (MMu) WWW

worst stories brought to film, yet this is one of the most outstanding movies of recent years. (CD) WWWWW

12 YEARS A SLAVE Steve McQueen’s powerful account of Solomon Northup, based on the book by Northup, follows his disgraceful forced induction into the Louisiana slave trade.

It is both humanising and unabashedly confronting.

It’s a movie that thrusts raw degradation, violence and racism upon viewers from the very first shot. By the end it leaves a state of pure distress over the plight of Northup, played by the spectacular Chiwetel Ejiofors.It’s one of the

GRUDGE MATCH Henry ‘Razor’ Sharp’s (Sylvestor Stallone) sudden retirement after his epic light-heavyweight victory over Billy ‘The Kid’ McDonnen (Robert De Niro) leaves the tally even and McDonnen in a world of frustration.

Thirty years on and in need of money, Sharp reluctantly agrees to a decider.

Many will be licking their lips at the prospect of Rocky vs. Raging Bull, however, this is a cute albeit plodding comedy. (CC) WWW

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Based on the memoirs of Jordan Belfort, who made millions selling fraudulent, inflated stocks; it follows Belfort’s rise and fall as he ‘conquers’ Wall Street.

Viewers are rushed through this whirlwind tale as Belfort and his band of brothers spend their money on prostitutes, drugs, fast cars and more drugs.

This is an unbelievably funny film, particularly scenes with DiCaprio and Jonah Hill. Australia’s own Margot Robbie proves that you can completely move on from a Neighbours career. (ATS) WWWW