City Hub 8 March 2018

from Bondi to Balmain...

City News Since 1995 M A RC H 8 , 2 0 1 8

cityhub.net.au

FREE

21st Biennale Of Sydney Page 12

DiSCOvER ThE BEST Of

ABORiginAL CuLTuRE WiThOuT LEAving SyDnEy

nATiOnAL CEnTRE Of inDigEnOuS ExCELLEnCE 180 george St, Redfern Sunday 11th March, 9:30 am – 4 pm

VISIT BLAKMARKETS.COM FOR MORE INFO

2

city hub 8 MARCH 2018

A New Ice Age

BY JOHN MOYLE Fentanyl is a powerful opioid 100 times stronger than morphine, first synthesised in 1960 and is used legally as a pain medication.

In North America the illegal use of fentanyl is of epidemic proportions and in 2017 played a role in over 42,000 deaths across the United States and 2,800 deaths in Canada.

Fentanyl was a contributing factor in the deaths of musicians Prince and Tom Petty.

Many of these deaths were due to prescription abuse, but a growing amount of illicit fentanyl is finding its way to injecting drug users.

Health Canada reported that in 2012, sample testing of 120,000 batches of seized street drugs showed that just 217 tested positive to fentanyl, but in 2017 with this jumped to 4,568 samples testing positive, an increase of 2,005%.

Knowing that illicit drug trends in Australian tend to follow those of North America, the big question across our drug and alcohol minimisation and drug enforcement agencies is, “could the same thing happen here?”

“We are at the earlier stages of fentanyl use in Australia, and if we go down the similar road (as North America) there will be many more deaths than we have at present,” Dr Alex Wodak, President, Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation said.

“What’s happening across North America and what is driving the epidemic is fentanyl and fentanyl analogues and illicitly manufactured fentanyl making its way into heroin and other drugs,” Dr Marianne Jauncey, Medical Director, Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre said.

A drug analogue is a designer drug of a controlled substance that is designed to mimic the effects of the original drug, and can often avoid classification or detection in a standard drug test.

“Illicit pharmaceutical deaths in the States outnumber the number of heroin deaths and a large portion of that is thought to be fentanyl analogues,” Ms Amanda Roxburgh, Senior Research Officer, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre said.

“Whereas in Australia, the deaths we are seeing related to fentanyl are as a result of prescription products that people have bought on the black market or as a result of doctor shopping,” Dr Jauncey added.

In 2012, data collected by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre showed that 45 people died of fentanyl use, mainly as a result of prescriptions misuse.

Each year the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre survey around 1,000 drug users across Australia about their drug use and use the data collected to pick up on trends.

The demographic surveyed is predominately male, from a disadvantaged background, with a medium age of 43 years and with a long history of opioid substance abuse.

“The latest data that we have on the injecting of fentanyl out of that group is that around seven per cent of the sample people were injecting fentanyl in the last year, and we asked them if they were also using fentanyl analogues such as carfentanil, but we are not seeing that among the people we are talking to,” Ms Roxburgh said.

Many of these analogues found in Australia are manufactured in legal drug labs found in China, such as Wonda Science, which was busted by Chinese authorities last year for selling fentanyl into the USA. Wonda Science was considered a properly licensed chemical company located in the National Innovative Technology Industrial Park in Changzhou.

“The ABF has made more than 50 detections of suspected fentanyl over the past five years, the majority via international mail,” spokesperson, Australia Border Force said.

This number of fentanyl seizures compares with 242 detections of heroin in 2016-17.

“We also monitor a lot of illicit drug markets on the dark web, looking at the number of retailers and what substances they are selling,” Ms Roxburgh said.

We all know about Silk Road, the drug supermarket launched on Tor, or the darknet, in 2011, but since its closure by the FBI in 2013, a number of other sites quickly took its place.

Dr Marianne Jauncey with client at Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre. Photo: Supplied

Among these were AlphaBay and Hansa, both shutdown by joint international law enforcement operations in July 2017.

And then there is the granddaddy of drug supermarkets, Dream Market, that in July 2017 had 57,000 listings for drugs, including 4,000 for opioids.

In late 2017, fentanyl rated number eight of all the drugs on offer on the site, with cannabis being the highest, followed by pharmaceuticals, MDMA, cocaine, methamphetamines, new psychoactive substances and LSD. Dream Market is currently overcoming the embarrassment of swallowing up its customer’s bitcoins, its preferred method of payment.

But a quick Google search shows that you don’t have to navigate the darknet to find fentanyl.

Within 30 seconds, City Hub found six sites offering fentanyl, fentanyl analogues or patches with prices ranging from US$90 for 3gms to US$450 for 100 msg/h patches.

One site based in China spruiked its product as “China White - similar to heroin”.

The debate about fentanyl in Australia is not helped by a hysterical media that shouts “Fentanyl Crisis”, such as the ABC News on 30th November 2017, when there is little current evidence that we are following North American trends.

“We have three people out of a thousand that are

using the pharmaceutical formulation of fentanyl, so that is very low,” Ms Roxburgh said, referring to her current drug use survey.

“From our perspective it is important to stick to the data, but if people are using heroin contaminated with fentanyl, that is a whole other ball game.”

If a fentanyl epidemic is about the sweep Australia, Sydney’s Medically Supervised Injecting Centre is in the front line with a program already in place to detect any spikes in fentanyl and fentanyl analogue use.

“We have started a surveillance program where we offer a free urine test that can tell if fentanyl is present in the drug that they are using, as we want to know early if and when there is fentanyl finding its way into the illicit drug supply so we can scale up a response accordingly,” Dr Jauncey said.

The Centre is also training first line responders and the people closest to drug users such as family and peers in the use of naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of an overdose.

Due to a number of factors that differentiate us from North America, including isolation, tight controls of legal prescriptions and the slow decline in the use of heroin due to its decreasing supply, Australia may just avoid a fentanyl blizzard. But, in the event it comes, we are prepared.

Dockless bikes get the boot Published weekly and freely available Sydney-wide.

Copies are also distributed to serviced apartments, hotels, convenience stores and newsagents throughout the city.

Distribution enquiries call 9212 5677.

Published by Altmedia Pty Ltd. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of content, takes no responsibility for inadvertent errors or omissions.

ABN 52 600 903 348 Group Publisher: Lawrence Gibbons Group Editors: Jade Morellini, John Moyle Contributors: John Moyle, Jade Morellini, Addie Morton, Gabriela Szymanowska Arts Editor: Jamie Apps Advertising Manager: Karl Krticka Cover Photo: Marco Fusinato. Fusinato Constellations Designer: Nadia Kalinitcheva Advertising: sales@altmedia.net.au Mail: PO Box 843 Broadway 2007 Email: news@altmedia.net.au, arts@altmedia.net.au Ph: 9212 5677, Fax: 9212 5633 Website: altmedia.net.au If you have a story, or any comments you’d like to share with us: news@altmedia.net.au altmediagroup

altmediasydney

By Addie Morton Waverley Mayor John Wakefield and his Council has succeeded where no other council has be-fore. He has taken a stand against dockless bikes and is determined to win.

Around 10 percent of the dockless bikes in Sydney are damaged or present a public hazard. Wakefield says he can see the problem just by walking around the city.

On 5 March, in just three hours Waverley Council retrieved 42 bikes in Bondi that were no longer operational.

“We don’t want to have to do this,” Mayor Wakefield says. “We want the operators to clean up on their own.”

While Mayor Wakefield supports the logic of the shared bike system, he believes the Council could allocate their resources to other causes.

“Bike companies need to take responsibility for the management of their bikes and to ensure they don’t become a problem for residents, businesses, pedestrians and other road users,” he said.

“So we have undertaken this clean-up in order to get this scheme to work.”

Bike companies were put on notice last week to remove abandoned bikes from public places.

While the companies complied

Waverley Mayor John Wakefield and impounded bikes. Photo: Supplied

to a certain extent, dozens of bikes were left to be impounded.

“It’s an unfortunate use of ratepayers’ money to have to clean up this mess but if bike businesses won’t do it, Council will,” he said.

Bikes will be deemed suitable and left alone if they are standing upright with a bicycle helmet attached and are not a public safety hazard.

Otherwise, they will be taken to an impoundment where scheme operators can pick them up for a $70 fee per bike. If they are not claimed, they will be recycled.

While Waverley Council has begun to address the problem, the City of Sydney has been less responsive. On Monday 19 February,

Councillor Kerryn Phelps introduced a motion at City of Sydney Council meeting to better manage dockless bikes. Councillor Phelps’ motion would have introduced dedicated parking spaces for share bikes, paid for by bike operators. The motion was lost 6, 4 with Lord Mayor Clover Moore voting against the motion.

“Despite the current Lord Mayor’s unwillingness to support practical measures for change, I am continuing to meet with share bike operators and have written to the Minister for Transport requesting support for practical measures to address the longterm management of share bikes in our city,” Councillor Phelps said.

A spokesperson for the Lord

Mayor explained the overturned motion stating, “This motion was put forward without any practical consideration of whether it was actually feasible.”

The motion would require costly docking stations, underground cables and designated spaces which would be “an expensive waste of public money for a dockless bike sharing model that is fundamentally incompatible with docking stations.”

The spokesperson says staff is meeting regularly with all bike share operators to work through issues raised by residents, visitors and business.

Mayor Wakefield would like to see Waverley Council form contractual relationships with one or two oper-ators, with conditions that would require them to maintain their product in a tidy way. However, there is no law from the State Government that allows Council to hand over contracts because any operator can put their product up on the streets.

“We as a Council, and I personally, support bike use,” Mayor Wakefield says. “We want this to work and want it to benefit the community of Waverley to give them another option for environmentally friendly travel.”

It’s now up to the operators to make it work. city hub 8 MARCH 2018

3

Violent feuds destroying families

BY JADE MORELLINI The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released its first comprehensive report, Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia 2018, which sheds light on the devastating truth behind violence in Australia.

This report unites information from over 20 different major data sources to reveal a drastic increase in family and domestic violence, providing a more accurate understanding of the groups who fall victim and what needs to be done to prevent a further increase.

A spokesperson for AIHW, Louise York, said, “1 in 6 women (aged 15 or above) —equating to 1.6 million women—have experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or former partner. Meanwhile for men, it is 1 in 16—or half a million men.”

The report indicated that women are the predominant victims of domestic violence, and males the predominant perpetrators, with 75% of victims disclosing the perpetrator as male, while 25% reported the perpetrator as female.

Time after time, the State Government and local council bodies have tried to tackle this issue.

However, current evidence suggests that not enough is being done and should serve as a wake-up call for local, state and government officials to begin taking fiercer action.

Randwick Council has vowed to protect local women by providing financial assistance to local domestic violence support agencies, over the next five years.

Randwick Mayor, Lindsay Shurey, said, “In Randwick City, between 2016 and 2017, there were 373 reports made to police of women or children suffering at the hands of another

4

city hub 8 MARCH 2018

Randwick Mayor Lindsay Shurey is proud of their new initiative to help victims of violence. Photo: Mark Bond

person. We need to do whatever must be done in order to increase the capacity for support agencies to meet this demand.”

On average, one Australian woman is killed every week by a current or former partner and domestic and family violence is the principal cause of homelessness for Australian women and children.

“Randwick women and children who experience domestic violence need to travel outside the area in order to access services that will be of most benefit to them. This is unreasonable,” Shurey said.

“Women escaping violence need assistance to engage with various services to help rebuild their lives, and this funding will allow that to happen.”

Mayor Shurey said rates of recorded domestic violence incidences show this is a widespread community issue, and as such is a key priority for the Council as proposed in the ‘Our Community Our Future’ plan.

“The statistics around violence against women and violence in the home suggests that it is vital we as a community continue to talk about domestic violence and ensure that women feel heard, supported and understood,” she said.

Although all women are at risk, there are certain groups who are more vulnerable, such as young women, pregnant women and Indigenous women.

Indigenous women were 32 times and Indigenous men were 23 times as likely to be hospitalised due to family violence than nonIndigenous women and men respectively.

Moreover, Indigenous children were around 7 times as likely as non-Indigenous children to be the victims of substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect.

Violence will also have a severe negative impact on the development of children who have witnessed or experienced violence.

Children who were physically or sexually abused before they were 15 are around three times as likely to experience domestic violence after the age of 15 as those children who had not experienced or witnessed violence, according to the AIHW report.

“Children can be victims of or witnesses to family violence—and this early exposure can heighten their chances of experiencing further violence later in life,” Ms York said.

“I’m proud to be Mayor of a City taking positive action on this important issue. We have a long way to go, but this is another good step in the right direction,” Ms Shurey said.

ONE PLACE, EVERY SPORT LIVE, LARGE & LOUD THESTARSYDNEY.COM.AU 80 PYRMONT STREET, PYRMONT

The Star practises the responsible service of alcohol. Guests must be aged 18 years or over. Think! About your choices. Call Gambling Help 1800 858 858. www.gamblinghelp.nsw.gov.au

city hub 8 MARCH 2018

5

Cooks River Clean-up

By Gabriela Szymanowska The Cooks River faces serious health issues.

Feeding into Botany Bay, the river serves as the western most boundary of the former Marrickville Council. Inner West Greens Councillor Colin Hesse points out that the biggest threats to the river.

“One is that we need to make sure that our sewer pipes are cleaned up and not overflowing into the river, that’s a very big issue. There’s the ultimate question of run-off. So, there’s both the visual pollution as well as the E. coli pollution,” Hesse said.

Hesse argues that plastic bags are one of the largest contributors to visual pollution in the river.

“Local government can’t regulate the ban of single use plastic bags, as much as we would like to, or as much as I would like to. So, we’ll be putting pressure hopefully on the state government,” Hesse said.

The rapid urban development around the river contributes to an increase in pollution. As it rains the concrete surfaces force the water to flow directly into the river taking with it the different pollutants, such as oil, leaves, plastics and more.

Sue Burton, executive officer of the Cooks River Alliance, said that there needs to be more rain gardens and permeable surfaces located near the river to reduce the amount of pollution flowing into the river. The water would filter down through the different layers, essentially slowing the water down and allowing cleaner water to enter the river.

Though gardens would significantly help reduce the number of new contaminants entering the river, the river remains polluted.

In order to reduce the amount of visual pollution in the water, the Inner West Council

Cooks River in need of love at Wolli Creek. Photo: Alec Smart

added 23 gross pollutant traps (GPTs) in several locations along three catchment areas— the lower Parramatta River catchment, Sydney Harbour and the Cooks River.

Sydney Water also operates 18 GPTs in the form of metal trash racks, floating litter booms and underground basket traps across the Cooks River. Over the last five years, the traps removed 4156 cubic metres of rubbish and 945 tonnes of sediment.

“Sydney Water now has three litter booms, one in Muddy Creek and two along the main river itself and collectively, the two on the main

river pull out on average 20 cubic metres of plastic and organic matter each week,” Burton said.

According to Sydney Water, 60 percent of the rubbish that they collect from the river is organic litter, while 40 percent is non-organic.

Burton points out that almost half a million people live along the catchment. Everyone needs to do their part to keep the area clean by picking up rubbish or keeping leaves out of the gutter, then less waste would end up in the river. While rain gardens contribute to the vitality of the area, slowly decaying leaves can

release more nutrients in the river resulting in a foul smell.

“The New South Wales government has been undertaking coastal management reforms and that outlines coastal zone management areas and that requires councils and public authorities to develop plans to manage those coastal zone areas,” Burton said.

The Cooks River Alliance is currently working on a Cooks River Catchment Coastal Management plan that will adhere to the new reforms by the state government. Burton said that this will require action from the councils.

The Alliance will begin a scoping study in April that could take nine months to complete as part of the first process in creating the Cooks River Catchment Coastal Management plan.

This plan aims to unify the different councils— Canterbury-Bankstown, Strathfield, Inner West and Bayside—all of whom have different management plans.

The entire management plan could take around four years to complete, but the unification would help to outline common objectives.

One concern for Clr Hesse is that with the recent forced amalgamation there will be less focus on the Cooks River.

“From the Greens perspective, we’re concerned that the amalgamation has affected the ability of us to focus on the Cooks River, because the amalgamation between the West Council puts the majority of the population of the West Council in the catchment of Sydney Harbour, not the Cooks River. Whereas, with the old Marrickville Council, the majority of us were in the Cooks River Valley,” Hesse said.

However, the Cooks River Catchment Coastal Management Plan can renew focus on the concern of the health of the Cooks River and revamp efforts to make the river cleaner.

TueSday

$20 Pasta

with a glass of wine

WedNeSday ‘Ladies Night’

half price wine, beer & cocktails

ThurSday

Regional Dinners Or

OUR PARTNERED EVENTS last Thursday of every month $75 dollars for a five course sharing menu including matching beverages

BOOK FUNCT YOUR NEXT ION WI TH US! CapRI CC I FOR aS O OSTERIa lITTlE aS

$35pp

Friday & SaTurday

‘Happy Hour’ 50% OFF aLL driNkS from 9pm until late!

FamiLy SuNday

Kid’S menu haLF Price

159 Norton Street, Leichhardt 6

city hub 8 MARCH 2018

Ph: 02 9572-7607

www.capriccio.sydney

capriccio.sydney

@capriccio.sydney

city hub 8 MARCH 2018

7

Waterloo under threat

BY JOHN MOYLE Waterloo Estate’s fate was sealed when it was declared a State Significant Development.

Once a project is classified a SSD by the order of the Planning Minister, the full weight of the State Government is brought into play to ensure that it happens at all cost, as with Sydney Olympic Park and Barangaroo.

The 2,600 officially registered public housing tenants of Waterloo Estate are adept at dealing with Family and Community Services (FACS) over tenancy and upkeep issues, but they never saw the time coming when they would have taken on the skills of town planners, lawyers, communicators and interpreters of fine print often written to obfuscate.

But Waterloo Estate has been under the pump before.

Back in 2004 the Carr government had plans to raise the Estate and sell of the land to private developers to support 20,000 new residents.

Luckily for Waterloo Estate and Sydney, that plan never got legs.

But the seed for a real estate gold rush had been planted and we are now going to see it play out over the next 20 or so years, not just in Waterloo, but across much of the southern and western part of the inner city, bringing into question a lot of issues that will affect Sydney well beyond the perimeters of the Estate.

As Waterloo Estate finally moves towards a master plan, the only clarity is that various government agencies are creating an enormous project and fattening their fiefdoms without taking into account the large scale development already occurring across inner-city Sydney.

The question must be asked: is the Government creating a behemoth without plans for its integration into existing infrastructure or much in the way of planning for future infrastructure to support what is essentially the additional population of a major rural city?

Endless meetings to keep the community engaged and informed. Photo: Jim Anderson

“The City of Sydney is not part of the master planning process,” a City of Sydney spokesperson said.

“The Department of Planning and Environment has invited and the City has agreed to participate in the assessment of the proposal and will be part of a review panel that includes representatives from the Department of Planning and Environment, Government Architects Office and Transport for NSW,” the spokesperson said.

The lack of any traffic assessment has not gone un-noticed to the Estate’s residents, who have been trying to get answers to concerns since the idea of developing Waterloo Estate was first mooted.

“REDWatch have been asking for some time to see a traffic assessment for when all the developments in Green Square, Waterloo, Australian Technology Park, North Eveleigh and Sydney Park, and this was some of the things that UrbanGrowth NSW was supposed to do as part of their Urban Transformation Study, and they never did,” Geoff Turnbull, REDWatch member said.

The City of Sydney has expressed their concerns with key infrastructure provisions for

the area, including: a land area large enough to support active open space; the provision of streets, plazas and other public areas; community facilities and social infrastructure; plus sustainable initiatives to include improved energy and water efficiency and urban ecology.

“They are talking about 15 per cent of the land area on Waterloo Estate but then we don’t know how much of this is going to be private and how much public,” Mr Turnbull said.

“Eighteen months ago the relationship between the City of Sydney and the then minister Rob Stokes (Minister for Planning 2015-17) was more adversarial but there seems to be a better dialogue these days,” Councillor Philipp Thalis, City of Sydney said.

In June 2017, Roads and Maritime Services announced additional road building to feed the beast that ate Sydney, also known as WestConnex.

This project has been given the passive nomenclature of the Alexandria to Moore Park Connectivity and is intended to improve the traffic flow in the area south of Waterloo estate and facilitate the integration with the light rail.

Sydney MP Alex Greenwich said at the time that

the road widening would erode inner-city liveability, while MP for Newtown, Jenny Leong, claimed that it was a ‘stopgap solution’ to deal with the tens of thousands of cars funnelled in from the new motorway at St Peters.

“At the end of February the RMS are putting put a plan for WestConnex and the Alexandria to Moore Park Connectivity that will go straight through the southern end of Waterloo, a six lane highway that will break into public housing land,” Richard Weeks, chairman, Waterloo Public Housing Action Group said.

Others on the Estate may disagree that they will lose public land, but what cannot be in question is the quality of life living next to a six lane highway for the relocated public housing tenants and their new private residential neighbours on an area of the Estate that is expected to be one of the first parcels of land to be developed.

Waterloo Estate tenants have also been questioning the plans for the Waterloo Metro Station that is bounded by Botany Road, and Cope, Raglan and Wellington Streets.

While the station will be located underground with entrances at Raglan and Cope streets, the above ground area will support an unknown number of retail shops and apartments.

So far there have been no answers from New South Wale’s transformative agency, UrbanGrowth, who are in charge of developing the master plan for the Waterloo Metro, to questions Waterloo Estate tenants have on how the developments will impact on each other.

Sydney is under siege from Government agencies flexing their muscles and the rapacious greed of developers who swim in their slipstream as they scoop up public land and other publicly owned assets across the city.

After all, they are our assets and we should have the say in their future. Oh, I forgot; we have elections for that.

THE APPRENTICE DEGUSTATION DINNER MONDAY, 9 APRIL 2018 6 PM – 9 PM THE APPRENTICE RESTAURANT SYDNEY $75/PERSON (6 COURSES WITH MATCHING WINES FROM NUGAN ESTATE + TEA AND COFFEE) RESERVATIONS ESSENTIAL

BOOK NOW!

Leather Lounges, Chairs, Recliners and Cane

New 2018 CoLLeCtioNs iN stoRe 38-42 Parramatta Rd stanmore 2048 P: (02) 9565 1275 e: info@annandaleinteriors.com www.annandaleinteriors.com.au

•

8

city hub 8 MARCH 2018

Phone: 02 9217 5527 Email: SI.TheApprentice@tafensw.edu.au RTO 91430

NOW AT BROADWAY CNR GREEK & BAY STREET, BROADWAY

MOVIE TICKETS $19^ movie tickets after 2pm Thursday to Sunday

HOYTS.COM.AU *$15 tickets all day Monday to Wednesday and before 2pm Thursday to Sunday, excluding Midnight screenings, Special Events, Public Holidays and HOYTS LUX. Online, 3D and Xtremescreen surcharges apply. ^$19 tickets after 2pm Thursday to Sunday, Midnight Screenings and Public Holidays excluding Special Events and HOYTS LUX. Online, 3D and Xtremescreen surcharges apply.

Pricing is correct at time of publishing and is subject to change. For correct pricing information, please visit hoyts.com.au.

city hub 8 MARCH 2018

9

Rose Bay is Full

BY JOHN MOYLE Rose Bay isn’t typically known as a hot bed for resident activism, but the Rose Bay Residents’ Association have their hands full with ongoing issues surrounding the local marina, the Rose Bay car park, plus the overdevelopment that they say is happening along Old South Head Road.

Bruce Bland, the association’s vice president, has been saying “Rose Bay is Full” for some time now, but new developments in the last six months have really hit the community hard.

“All levels of schooling, public and private are full, our road system was created a century ago and remains unchanged, but vehicular traffic has increased, public transport is largely the same as it was 40 years ago, and we have serious traffic and parking problems,” Bruce Bland said.

The local Rose Bay High School has resorted to demountable buildings to accommodate the number of students presently enrolled.

Traffic along both New South Head Road and Old South Head Road has to not only service Rose Bay, but also traffic from Watson Bay, Dover Heights and nearby Vaucluse.

Each morning, these two main roads are clogged with private and public traffic, with the backup going all the way through to Edgecliff and the CBD. In the evenings the problem reverses itself.

The majority of the Rose Bay area is under the control of Woollahra Council, but the eastern side of Old South Head Road comes under the auspices of Waverley Council.

“The most basic issue is that Old South Head Road cannot carry the level of traffic needed at peak periods and this impacts badly on both cars and buses,” Waverly Mayor, John Wakefield, said.

During the day, parking within the Rose Bay shopping precincts are also stressed, with the car parks being filled early by vehicles belonging to

shop owners and staff, leaving few spaces for actual shoppers.

The car parks also have to service cars belonging to ferry commuters and people using the nearby tennis courts, sailing clubs, children’s park and people wanting to go to the cafes and restaurants along the main roads.

“The lack of social infrastructure means it is very difficult to find any green space or indoor space to hire for any activity such as sports, ballet, Pilates, Zumba, yoga and seniors and children’s activities,” Mr Bland said.

In response to these issues, Woollahra Mayor Peter Cavanagh said “Council agrees that concerns exit regarding planning proposals and congestion and parking in the area, and is addressing these issues through planning proposals to make Rose Bay more liveable for residents and the beneficial for local businesses.”

These issues come on top of the ongoing problem for Rose Bay Beach that sees it being polluted with sewage overflow several times a year due to system overflow, creating health problems for the many swimmers, rowers and sailboarders who regularly use the bay.

As well, Rose Bay residents are looking at another potential development if the rezoning of 42-58 Old South Head Road goes ahead.

A developer has bought options on 10 houses in a line and has expressed plans to build apartments up to three storeys, against the wishes of neighbours who are objecting to loss of views.

Bruce Bland has questioned Woolahra Council’s process of considering the rezoning before Council develops a new Woollahra Housing Strategy.

“Wouldn’t it be much wiser to defer this proposal until the results of the study are known?” he said, adding “The Council’s entire planning process is flawed, because it leads it to rezone and evaluate sites on a piecemeal, site by site basis, and

Rose Bay is full say residents.

Photo: Alec Smart

fails to take into account the cumulative effect that continual rezoning and redevelopment has on the associated social and physical infrastructure.”

When City Hub wrote about Rose Bay’s woes in December, the centre of the story was the fate of the old church at the corner of Dover Road and Old South Head Road.

The church, a mix of Parish Gothic with the red brick associations of the Romanesque Revival movement, was built in 1928 by renowned architect Byera Hadley, and its interior contains many wooden features of merit.

At the time residents feared that the Uniting Church had sold the land to developers and that the whole site was under threat of demolition to create apartments and shops.

The church and its hall at the rear had long been a site for community events and services such as the Bo-Peep early child hood centre, ballet and jazzercise classes.

Late last year long term tenants began receiving

Office tO Let

Roads and Maritime Services Airport East – Road Work at the intersection of O’Riordan Street and Sir Reginald Ansett Drive and Joyce Drive

eviction notices, with all now ceasing activities.

In a surprise move, the Uniting Church pulled the property from sale and is now looking at retaining the church building, while developing the rear of the property.

“The Uniting Church was offered $12 million for the land, and here has been a fair bit of misinformation out there and I must say that the Uniting Church has acted responsibly throughout this process,” Bruce Bland said.

It is understood that Uniting Church is currently working on plans to put before Woollahra Council, hopefully in consultation with the community.

“Council is aware that the Uniting Church is used for community purposes, and early meetings with the Church they indicated that they would like to retain some amount of community space,” Mayor Cavanagh said.

The Uniting Church were contacted for this article but did not respond.

A slice of Europe in the heart of Surry Hills

The Australian and NSW Governments are upgrading

roads east of Sydney Airport to improve traffic flow and access to the airport and Port Botany.

As part of the Airport East project, there will be major

intersection work around the Sydney Airport Domestic Terminal over three weekends between 9pm Friday

Freshly-made traditional Polish dumplings (pierogi), goose, duck, polish borsch (barszcz czerwony) stuffed meat.

Fresh flowers, tables covered by embroidered tablecloths, soft light and smooth jazz music create a very special atmosphere…

9 February and 5am Monday 26 March 2018, weather permitting.

There will be temporary traffic changes in place around

the intersection of O’Riordan Street, Joyce Drive and Sir Reginald Ansett Drive. Local access will be maintained.

Monday: closed Tuesday: 6pm – 10 pm Wednesday – Sunday: 9am -10pm

Police and traffic controllers will be onsite to assist.

Motorists are advised to expect delays, allow extra

Share office Space in good building in ultimo.

travel time, follow signage and avoid any non-essential For the latest information on traffic conditions visit livetraffic.com.

For more information call our delivery partner John Holland Group on 1300 862 844, email: comms.airporteast@jhg.com.au or visit rms.nsw.gov.au/sydneyairport 10

city hub 8 MARCH 2018

BLZ137261

travel in the area.

Bright window office, approximately 4mx4m, some furniture available.

Internet and copy facilities negotiable.

Security building, share facilities.

admin@altmedia.net.au

572 Crown St, Surry Hills, P: 02 9699 2455, F: facebook.com/Alchemy-Polish www.alchemy-restaurant.com

Taking a stroll down a creative trail

BY ADDIE MORTON AND GABRIELA SZYMANOWSKA The annual Inner West Open Studio Trail (IWOST) is opening up local studios for a behind the scenes look for the public. The event encourages the Inner West to explore the art scene near them and to spur interest in art during National Art Month.

Over the span of two weekends, over 100 Inner West studios, galleries and artist run initiatives will host free events, tours, exhibitions and more as part of the Council’s celebration. Opening night is Saturday 10 March at The GreenWay, with the event running from 5-8pm.

Here’s a look into some of the highlights from IWOST’s first weekend.

Catherine Kelly, owner of Embellish, hopes the event encourages participants to understand the time and effort it takes to create each art piece.

“I think it’s just a great opportunity for other little studios and…it’s a collaborative approach and I really like things that are a collaborative approach to getting people to know about other artists and appreciating and respecting, its seeing what goes on,” Kelly said.

The workshop will be serving High tea during the event as participants are shown how to make their own hats.

Boomalli Aboriginal Art Saturday 10 March and Sunday 11 March, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Wildflower Weaving Workshop Sun. 11 March 2018 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Shopworker in Embellish Atelier on the Inner West Trail. Photo: Gabriela Szymanowska

Embellish Atelier Saturday 10 March, 11am-3pm

• Small Demolition

Mob: 0418 426 422

Hand-made hats adorn the cozy, small shop that will host the Millinery High Tea event for the Inner West Open Studio Trail at Embellish Atelier at 128 Victoria Rd, Rozelle.

We Load • Deceased Estates

Ph: 9747 8471

Interested in seeing filming locations for Married at First Sight and The Sapphires? Tour Canal Road Film Centre for a behind the scenes look at the production spaces and technical areas in the feature and documentary film industry.

• Tree Lopping • Yard Clean Up

Canal Road Film Studios Centre Tour Friday 9 March, 10:00 am, 11:00 am and 1:00 pm

7 Days QUICK SERVICE SYDNEY’S CHEAPEST RUBBISH REMOVAL

Hop on a vintage bus and explore art studios and galleries on the Darling Street Express. The Sydney Bus Museum will host the heritage bus tour of studios in Balmain and Rozelle.

Stops along the way include single art studios, large galleries with up to 50 artists, and jewelry shops. Departure is at 10 a.m.

Canal Road Film Studios Centre offers “dedicated pre-production offices and full production accommodation, workshop space as well as container and truck parking facilities.”

Bronwyn Tuohy said visitors can expect to get “an education of what goes into making films from so many different perspectives and also how important cultural businesses and practices are for the Inner West.”

Visitors can expect to see wig and shoe makers and props stored in aisle after aisle that are all used in different productions.

All Areas Free Quotes

Darling Street Express Saturday 10 March, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

061ICT1203

Nastia Gladushchenko will lead an intimate workshop, giving guests an opportunity to visit her studio and learn the intricacies of basket weaving with materials such as grass and dried wildflowers.

“I hope to blur the boundaries between the human and the plant worlds and to create connections between strangers,” she says.

Gladushchenko is a Sydney-based artist who works with and is inspired by flowers and natural materials, using them to create large-scale installations and murals.

Inner West Council Public Art Officer, Bronwyn Tuohy, says, “[Nastia] is really interested in exploring people’s relationship with the natural environment and showing the ways in which humans connect with and replicate nature.”

Gladushchenko believes showing these connections inspires stronger appreciation of nature in people and a certain happy nostalgia, and “she is keen to engage people of all ages in that experience with the workshop,” Tuohy says.

Opened in 1987, Boomalli Aboriginal Art promotes the Aboriginal Artists who are located within the NSW boundaries by providing a safe space to represent their artwork to the public.

Boomalli will be hosting their Mardi Gras exhibition, Luscious All Sorts Love One, which showcases Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQ artists in an effort to promote love and strength within the community.

“The theme is Love One and it was to play around with the equality, the marriage equality vote that just got voted in last year … and as Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples we’ve got a long way to go to become equal, but I guess this is one step for them to express how they feel, what they wanted to tell with their stories,” Kyra KumSing, curator of the exhibition, said.

The event is an opportunity for the community to get to know their local artists and understand the processes of different creative fields.

The exhibition will be open for the public until 1 April.

Downloadable maps and complete lists of events are available on the Council’s website. (www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/IWOST)

in Push g buttons since 1989

419A King Street, Newtown Ph (02) 9550 1782 shop@allbuttons.com.au www.allbuttons.com.au

city hub 8 MARCH 2018

11

FEATURE

By Rita Bratovich

21st Biennale Of Sydney

The inaugural Biennale of Sydney was held in 1973, timed deliberately to coincide with the opening of the Sydney Opera House, which hosted some of the first Biennale events. Since then, the Biennale of Sydney has grown into one of the leading international contemporary arts festivals.This year is the 45th anniversary and 21st iteration of the biennial festival. It is also the first for its new Artistic Director, acclaimed Japanese curator Mami Kataoka.

Mami Kataoka - Artistic Director Biennale of Sydney 2018.

Photo: Anna Kucera

Artists of the 21st Biennale Of Sydney. Photo: Anna Kucera

Kataoka is Chief Curator at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo and a respected figure in the contemporary art world. She has been involved in major exhibitions around the globe, including other Biennale festivals, and will bring a unique perspective to the Sydney event.

The theme for the 21st Biennale is Superposition: Equilibrium and Engagement. A term borrowed from quantum theory, “superposition” refers to “the ability of electrons to occupy multiple states at once, to simultaneously take opposing paths and end up in different places.”

As it applies to the exhibition, Kataoka describes superposition as “different stages of uncertainty and unpredictableness.”

“Many of the works contain multiple perspectives in one work, so you have to really try and engage and understand,” she explains. “I think that contemporary art is all about bringing a different perspective to the public. Some names are more well-known than others, but it doesn’t really matter to me, it’s just about how convincing each one is and how they work together… a huge exhibition like this is not really about one piece, it’s about how you allocate different works to different spaces and which works will resonate with the history of the site.”

One work that literally reflects that ethos is Dear Mr Utzon, a commissioned piece from Lebanese artist Rayyane Tabet reflecting on the life of Sydney Opera House architect, Jorn Utzon. Tabet’s installation in the Utzon Room at the Opera House is an immersive biography of Utzon, revealing a link between Sydney and Beirut via the architect’s unrealised design for a theatre in the Jeita Grotto.

In a different immersive experience, British artist and musician, Oliver Beer has composed a vocal work for four singers to be performed in the stairwells of the Sydney Opera House. Titled Composition for Tuning an Architectural Space, 2012/2018, Beer’s work explores the sympathetic resonance between the human voice and architectural structures.

Tiffany Chung is a Vietnamese American artist who works across many platforms including

Crystal Ball.

Photo: Supplied

sculpture, theatre, drawing, video and photography. Informed by her own experience as a post-war refugee, Chung makes political statements and emotional observations of human displacement through her art.

A selection of pieces from her Vietnam Exodus Project will be exhibited at Artspace, and, in one of the series of talks that forms part of the Biennale program, Chung will sit in conversation with Mami Kataoka and Artspace Executive Director Alexie Glass-Kantor to discuss the social and historical implications of her work.

Kataoka will also be speaking with renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in a keynote address at Sydney Opera House. Ai’s themes closely align with those of Chung with regard to migration, violation of rights and suppression of creative and intellectual expression. Artspace will be displaying Ai’s Crystal Ball, a large glass sculpture

Yarrenyty Arltere Artists collaborative.

Photo: Supplied

representing the unknown future of fractured populations. Another of his works, Law Of The Journey, a large inflatable boat filled with over 250 oversized figures, is being displayed on Cockatoo Island. The sculpture depicts the expendability of human life as it echoes the risky voyages taken by refugees in unsuitable watercraft.

An interesting interactive workshop based on the video Parallel Narratives by Francisco Camacho Herrera is being held at the Art Gallery of NSW throughout the duration of the Biennale. Herrera’s video imagines Chinese sailors reaching and influencing American colonies prior to the Spanish arrival. The workshops encourage participants of all ages to contribute their ideas on memory and its part in forming our notion of history. At the end of the festival, all the participants contributions will be consolidated into a collective artwork.

The Biennale of Sydney takes place over 12 weeks and includes talks, visual art, performance, music, sculpture, tours, workshops and educational activities. Over 70 artists and collectives from 35 countries will be represented at this year’s festival. The program is distributed throughout seven venues in Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Artspace, Carriageworks, Cockatoo Island, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney Opera House and 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and comprises many free events.

In a special initiative, the Biennale is offering Sydney residents a tasting plate via a full day preview on March 14, ahead of the official opening. The preview program includes talks and performative readings by a selection of artists throughout the day and at various venues.

The event is free but registration is required.

Mar 16 - Jun 11. For The Full Program: www.biennaleofsydney.com.au 12

city hub 8 MARCH 2018

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Fiddler On The Roof

The Minimalists

In their first Australian and New Zealand tour, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus will record a live version of their wildly popular podcast series, The Minimalists.

Their journey to seek a simpler and more real approach to life has seen the two inspire millions of people worldwide. Coming to Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on March 13, they will engage authors, podcasters, filmmakers and public speakers about the importance of simplicity and adopting a minimalist lifestyle.

At the age of 28, best friends Millburn and Nicodemus realised a six-figure salary, designer clothes and luxury cars weren’t enough to really fulfil their lives, they embarked on a journey to appreciate the simpler things and thus adopted a minimalist lifestyle.

Since this time, they have produced a website www.theminimalists.com, which has over four million readers. They have written three books, a documentary named number one indie documentary of 2016 and an international speaking tour that

It’s an unbeatable combination Elijah Moshinsky’s lavish period production with the glorious voice of the divine Nicole Car, whose Violetta wrings out every passionate nuance of Verdi’s magnificent score.

Car is joined on stage by the honey-voiced Ji-Min Park as Alfredo, her ineffectual lover.Visiting Ukrainian baritone Vitaliy Bilyy plays Alfredo’s father, the patriarch Giorgio Germont, whose harsh demand that Violetta surrenders her lover for the good name of the Germont family is assuaged only by Violetta’s imminent death.

This production really shows up the limitations of the stage, with the movements of the gypsy dancers confined to restricted spaces.

Nonetheless, both party scenes show off the large cast of Opera

REVIEW: La Traviata

took them to Harvard Business school, TEDx and Apple.

Their story also featured in Time Magazine, People, Forbes, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

(GF)

Photo: Prudence Upton

Australia and prove that Moshinsky can knit the chorus and principals into a highly coordinated and spectacular ensemble work.

Peter Hall’s costumes are visually spectacular in these scenes. Set designer Michael Yeargan creates

gorgeous interiors and evocative exteriors against which the drama is played out, and lighting designer Nigel Levings works miracles, especially in the final scene, where Violetta lies dying in a bare room in which the only source of light

Flight Paths

Flight Paths is a passionate coming of age story of international intrigue and welfare that connects the UK, Africa and Australia.

Written by award winning Australian playwright Julian Larnach, this is a very human story, a very global story that is beautiful, philosophical, interesting, diverse and dynamic. National Theatre of Parramatta presents the premiere production of Flight Paths, at Riverside Theatres, Parramatta, directed by Anthea Williams, who this year won the Best Director, at the Sydney Theatre Awards.

Flight Paths is about two young Australian women, the brilliant, 18-year-old Luisa, (Ebony Vagulans) who is on an academic scholarship, and 28-year-old Emily, (Airlie Dodds) a charity worker who lives in Nairobi. It

is set in the world’s most prestigious university, Oxford, in England, and Kibera, in Nairobi, Kenya, the world’s largest slum.

Both women are trying to decide where their place in the world is, how they can make the world a better place, and they try to figure out the machinations of power in the world and how they fit within them.The set is reflective of both the cities and seen from a bird’s eye view. Flight Paths looks at the similarities between the two places as much as the differences.

Anthea Williams, the play’s director talks about some of the interesting topics covered in Flight Paths.

“The Oxford part of the play is set throughout the university

a&e

Photo: Robert Catto

13 STAGE 14 Sounds 15 SCENE 15 SCREEN

Mar 13. Enmore Theatre, 118-132 Enmore Rd, Newtown. $65.90-$173.45+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.enmoretheatre.com.au

streams in from the tall windows overlooking the street where the carnival is passing by in the early morning.

Italian conductor Andrea Licata understands instinctively how Verdi should be played, and it was terrific to see more of the orchestra after the completion of the renovations at the end of last year.

It is rare to see a whole audience jump to its feet in approbation as it did on the opening night last week.

Tickets will sell out if you don’t get in quick for this fabulous production. (ID) Until Mar 27. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point. $46-$348+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.opera.org.au

during O-Week and is quite studenty.

The Nairobi part teaches you a lot about the charity industry, in all its complexities. Louisa is a science student, interested in birds and migration patterns, in particular, starlings. Sometimes they fall out of the sky and cause massive problems, and no one knows why it happens.“ The play also deals with issues like mobility, and who gets to travel around the world; about people doing aid projects, and who chooses the projects; on the huge differences between people in the world and it looks at class in terms of privilege and wealth. (MS) Mar 16-24. Riverside Theatres, Corner of Church and Market Streets, Parramatta. $44-$49+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.riversideparramatta.com.au or Ph: (02) 8839 3399

Arts Editor: Jamie Apps For more A&E stories go to www.altmedia.net.au and don’t forget to join the conversation on Twitter at @CityHubSyd

The world-famous Broadway production, Fiddler On The Roof is playing at Rockdale Town Hall this March presented by Rockdale Musical Society.

It captures the beautiful story of Tevye and his five daughters in the small, traditional town of Anatevka. The audience will be taken through the good times and the bad as Tevye defends and challenges the traditions of his village and adapts to a new world.

Multi-award-winning entertainer, Adam Scicluna, who will be playing the part of Tevye said, “I think they can expect an incredible journey in human emotion. There is everything in this show - hilarious scenes for them to laugh, to cry, to experience all the emotions that this family go through trying to deal with all the trials and tribulations.”

Fiddler On The Roof has a range of beautiful songs such as If I Were A Rich Man,Tradition and L’Chaim (To Life).

“All the songs in this show are evergreens so in addition to people leaving having enjoyed this tremendous live 20 odd piece orchestra playing this magnificent score, they will leave with a real sense of the whole idea of family and struggle and what it’s like to keep going in the face of adversity.”

This version of Fiddler On The Roof is faithful to the original Broadway production, “there was a new Broadway production produced just last year and we’ve had a good look at that and the aim was to bring a rustic and authentic feel to the show through the use of minimalistic sets and authentic costumes so we’ve really tried to adopt that. It’s such an awesome experience, people will laugh their heads off,” Scicluna said. (JM) Until Mar 11. Rockdale Town Hall, 448 Princes Highway. $34-$43.50.Tickets & Info: www.rockdalemusicalsociety.com

Contributors: Barbara Karpinski, Craig Coventry, Emily Shen, Greg Webster, Irina Dunn, Jade Morellini, Joseph Rana, Leann Richards, Lisa Seltzer, Mark Morellini, Mel Somerville, Olga Azar, Rita Bratovich, Rocio Belinda Mendez, Sarah Pritchard, Shon Ho, Jade Morellini, Alex Eugene, Manuel Gonzalez, Tommy Boutros, Riley Hooper, Mohsen Dezaki, Daniel Jaramillo, Georgia Fullerton, Gary Nunn.

city hub 8 MARCH 2017

13

Dogfight

Dogfight is a musical written by Peter Duchan, with songs by award-winning team Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (whose credits include La La Land and The Greatest Showman). It is based on the 1991 movie by the same name, a dark comedy set in 1960s San Francisco. On their last night before being deployed to Vietnam, a group of young marines attends a “dogfight” - a traditional party where the man who brings the ugliest date wins a prize pool of cash. The plot takes an unexpected twist when main character Eddie Birdlace has his values and behaviour challenged by his awkward yet fiercely intelligent and opinionated date, Rose.

Stefan Jamal plays Eddie in the upcoming Bankstown Theatre

production. He describes the musical as complex - holding up a lens to notions of machismo, feminism, war and love.

“I think it’s a very nuanced show… there is still so much about it that I am still learning, and new layers I’m discovering in it just from being really exposed to the content,” says Jamal. “The thing that came less naturally to me is probably the bravado of the marines… that kind of unstoppable hero marine mentality was something that was very foreign to me.”

The story takes place in the 1960s but the songs are contemporary and, according to Jamal, perfectly highlight moments of joy and hope as well as angst and despair. He describes one

Sydney Live Music Guide LIVE WIRE

By Jamie Apps

Shaun Kirk

Abbe May: Acclaimed singer-songwriter and guitarist Abbe May will be arriving in Sydney tonight to support and celebrate her long-awaited album Fruit. Since coming out earlier this year Fruit is May’s most open and honest offering from the previously guarded songstress.

Thu, Mar 8, Lansdowne Hotel Shaun Kirk: Following the recent success of his Australian Midnight in Motion tour which saw award winning blues/soul troubadour Shaun Kirk selling out numerous headline shows across the country; the one man dynamo is set to return to Sydney tomorrow.

Fri, Mar 9,The Newsagency Incubus: Return to Australia for their first headline tour in six years. Saturday will be the first chance for fans to hear new tracks like Nimble Bastard and Glitterbomb from their aptly titled eighth studio album, 8. As well as a plethora of hits from their expansive back catalogue spanning the past 20 years.

Sat, Mar 10, Hordern Pavilion The Black Angels: Austin, Texas experimental rock majesties The Black Angels will return to our city this weekend.

Much loved locally for their commitment to balancing psych-rock with rock’n’roll dedication and fearless experimentation, the quintet will be drawing on their fifth studio album Death Song.

Sat, Mar 10, Max Watts 14

city hub 8 MARCH 2018

Jose Carbo Trio: In a unique and exciting collaboration, Australia’s premier baritone José Carbó joins forces with spectacular emerging classical guitarists Andrew Blanch and Ariel Nurhadi to form The José Carbó Trio. Their debut recital L’Heure Exquise (The Exquisite Hour), named after Reynaldo Hahn’s masterpiece, features music by Schubert, Faure, Debussy, Verdi and more, reimagined by the trio for the colourful and original musical setting of voice and two guitars.

Sun, Mar 11, Independent Theatre Lani: This high achieving young ANU student is the rising star of the ANU Music Faculty. Lani is an exceptional Jazz singer and composer, who sings and composes in both English and French. With offers for further study in the United States later in the year, Lani is at the beginning of an exciting international career in the Jazz music industry so see her now before she explodes.

Tue, Mar 13, Lazybones Lounge Havana Meets Kingston: The 15 piece supergroup is bringing audiences the very best of roots reggae, dub and dancehall together with the sublime sounds of son, salsa and rumba.

Wed, Mar 14, Enmore Theatre

ballad that underscores a particularly poignant moment. “[It’s] full of grief and heartache and pain - through tears and a choked up throat you’re belting very high notes one after another in a very very beautifully constructed melody.”

An adept creative team makes innovative use of a static set in an intimate theatre, heightening the emotional experience for audiences.

This is one for people who love musicals and people who love great stories. (RB) Mar 16-25. Bankstown Arts Centre, Cnr Olympic Parade and Dale Parade, Bankstown. $30-$35+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www. bankstowntheatrecompany.com

undergroundLOVERS

By Jamie Apps This year marks 30 years since the foundation of quintessential Melbourne band undergroundLOVERS who have been gracing music fans’ ears with their timeless mixture of guitar riffs and synth-pop.

Last year saw the group continue to experiment and produce a new record, Staring At You Staring At Me, which saw them receive critical praise by being long-listed for the Australian Music Prize.

“We were surprised by the nomination because we’ve always existed on the edge of the industry. So to get recognised by the industry in that way is always really surprising but nice,” reflected Vincent Giarrusso.

With this most recent record the group chose to experiment with a new album structure, which Giarrusso said wasn’t a “huge change” but may have influenced the critical reception of the album.

“We tend to structure our albums so that you ease into them before building up to a crescendo but for Staring At You we put all of the strongly structured pop songs at the head.”

The live show is where undergroundLOVERS really come into their own though, and this Saturday in Sydney should be no different.

“Our gigs are strongly visual, slow burns which build in intensity,” explained Giarrusso.

“Some people don’t like the show because of the intensity but for the people that get into it they find that it’s a transformative experience which can almost be like taking drugs but you’re just listening to music.”

Amidst all of this visual and sonic intensity for the audience the live show comes with an

entirely different intensity for the members of the band. Up on stage the intensity come from the groups decision to not pre-record elements of the show but rather to play everything live.

“When we play electronically it’s not in the way that electronic music is often performed these days. We try to make it as awkward, organic and prone to disaster as we can because we like the tension and because there is nothing more depressing than seeing 10,000 people dancing to a laptop.”

Obviously choosing to perform shows this way comes with inherent dangers and the occasionally malfunction, much like the group experienced during their performance in Brisbane to kick off this tour.

Justin Timberlake Man Of The Woods With his fifth studio album the preeminent pop sensation Justin Timberlake has leaned heavily into the Tennessee Kids side of his life.

This new record comes after a five year hiatus and has him exploring a vastly different musical style.

Man Of The Woods aptly employs a bunch of country, soul, disco, funk and gospel elements alongside Timberlake’s trademark 808s.

Unfortunately by attempting to explore such vastly different styleS the record is somewhat disjointed and often relegates Timberlake’s vocals to the background, which is a great shame for one of pops most iconic names.

Whilst the single Montana is a standout breezy, country, soul affair more often than not the record fails to progress the pop genre into new exciting territory. (JA) WWW

“I forgot to gaffa tape the sampler to its stand so as I was banging away on it it fell towards the ground. Luckily I was able to catch it before it hit the ground but that forced me to quickly change to a different beat all within the span of four beats,” recalled Giarrusso.

With such a vast catalogue of music to draw from the undergroundLOVERS have chosen to split the shows on this tour into two distinct sets, one which focuses more on their electronic tracks before then morphing into their more traditional rock instrumentation side.

Mar 10. Oxford Art Factory, 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst. $39+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.oxfordartfactory.com

This Way North - Vol. 2

This Way North’s new EP is short but packed with variety. Rhythms and instruments envelope each other and recede with the regularity of the tide, bouncing continually along. Relaxed vocals carry the melody crossing and riding the cornucopia of rhythms rolling behind it.

Generally up lifting and perky, the combination of the soothing voice across the building rhythms is easy to listen to and even easier for the conscious mind to fall away, leaving reality for another less complicated world. Its constant tone and even-handed changes allow the listener to suspend thought, instead leaning into the music and the brainwaves it creates.

Alas the vacation is brief, a mere six songs of reverie later listeners find themselves back in the physical world. Once more round the brain, the listener can retreat from anything but uninformed feeling. (SP) WW1/2

MORE BOUNCE TO THE OUNCE With Coffin Ed The mid 1980s in Sydney and the happening music venue in the inner city area was the Trade Union Club in Foveaux Street – a popular hangout for punters, musicians and those dispensing illicit substances.The story is apocryphal but legend has it Nick Cave was sometimes spotted there pumping his spare coin through the Aztec Gold poker machine.The club had a reputation for hard late night binging, loud indie music and audiences that knew how to let loose.

Keeping the law and order was a burly group of bouncers, a number of whom were notorious for their less than gentle handling of miscreant music fans.

Most famous amongst them was the towering frame of John Kawczynski, better known as ‘Animal’ – a ‘security guy’ who would not have been out of place on the mat in World Championship Wrestling. Jovial by nature, Animal was one of the club’s first and last lines of defence, a meeter and greeter of its many young patrons, but also a formidable enforcer of

anybody who chose to breach the peace.

These were the days before ubiquitous CTV and unruly punters were often exited with more than just an arm behind their back or a kick up the bum. Again the story is apocryphal but Trade Union Club bouncers are alleged to have pursued one unfortunate ejectee all the way down to the old Legion Cab base where a heavy duty dose of the biff was arbitrarily applied.

In recent years the bouncing fraternity has come under regular scrutiny in the Sydney CBD and surrounds with numerous unsavoury incidents.

In some cases the bouncers themselves have come off second best and been seriously assaulted, but mostly it’s punters

The Square

This satirical drama delves into the marketing and publicity surrounding an art installation known as The Square, a 4x4 metered flooring,‘a sanction of trust and caring within its boundaries we all share’.The film illustrates the irony when Christian (Claes Bang), public figure and chief curator of the

who have been the targets of unwarranted violence. Once the domain of outlaw bikie gangs and steroid charged strongmen, the security industry has supposedly been cleaned up with increased government regulations and the scrutiny of licence holders.

Nevertheless there is something very unwelcoming and foreboding about the sight of two or three muscle bound big boys strutting their machismo outside a club or pub these days as they screen the incoming patrons. Whilst some venues are compelled to employ bouncers by licensing laws, others manage to do without them completely.

Admittedly the latter tend to attract a more gentile kind of audience as opposed to the

hardcore rock and nightclub venues where alcohol is consumed at a far more furious rate.

Maybe if bouncers were dissuaded from wearing tight fitting black t-shirts and the words SECURITY often emblazoned across their back, their welcome would be less intimidating. Give them a bit of class and make them wear suits or at the very least a big yellow smiley face on their bulging black attire.The even more assuring words STEROID FREE could then replace the more obvious ‘security’.

Currently an almost exclusively male domain there is no reason why women could not adopt the current security roles and bring a far calmer vibe to checking IDs and turning away the intoxicated. There’s good reason to believe their mere presence would result in less argy bargy and if they were confronted by aggressive and potentially violent male patrons they could be well trained in the martial arts and prepared to kick butt. If physical superiority was a question, then maybe a mix of male and female – i.e. brains and brawn with smiley faces all round.

Germany, France and Denmark.

Recipient of the highly acclaimed Palme d’or at Cannes and also nominated for Best Foreign Film at this year’s Oscars, this cinematic oddity makes an appropriate statement on society, but may shun mainstream moviegoers owing to the profoundly perplexing style of storytelling techniques utilised.

This tragicomedy is darkly humorous and flaunts numerous unpredictable and outrageous moments of nonsensical and irrelevant hilarity, but the lengthy running time of 144 minutes and the slow-paced nature of the film may evoke restlessness and disinterest amongst audiences.

(MMo)

museum, metaphorically steps out of the square of goodness and demonstrates questionable behaviour and is ultimately held culpable for the controversial marketing campaign.

Critical acclaim for a film doesn’t necessarily lead to box office success, as may be the case for this co-production from Sweden, WWW

Game Night

Max and Annie’s weekly couples game night gets a kicked up a notch when Max’s brother Brooks, returns to town and arranges his own murder mystery for the weekly meet in which one of the participants will be kidnapped. The gang thinks it’s all fun and games until they realise Brooks and his antics are not

what they are playing out to be.

Game Night is an action packed black comedy written by Mark Perez and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.

Starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams in the leading roles backed up by, Kyle Chandler, Billy Magnussen, Lamorne Morris and Sharon Horgan to name a few.

Justice Literary Event Susanne Gervay

THE NAKED CITY

It’s 10 years since the Edmund Rice Centre (ERC), a non-profit organisation striving for social change, first held its Justice Literary Event. This one day conference features prominent children’s authors discussing how literature and the arts can be used to address issues around human rights, social justice and the environment.

The biennial event is attended by students, teachers, community leaders, influencers and anyone interested in improving the world - and it’s growing very popular.

“Ten years ago people weren’t so aware of the impact of climate, they weren’t aware of the refugee issue,” explains Susanne Gervay, esteemed children’s author, who has been involved in the event from the beginning. “This conference is so important because it reaches a lot of schools - and these kids, they’ll go back and they’ll talk - and their thinking changes.”

Gervay is a firm believer in the power of story. She is a much awarded author who has tackled issues such as bullying, alienation, the migrant experience, religion, climate and family in her books.

“Young people are inundated by the media and what’s around them, and they can’t process it it’s very disempowering. But they are great readers; they respond to story. Through story - if it’s good story - they actually enter a journey which empowers them to navigate these challenges and feel positive.”

Gervay’s passion is shared by all the speakers who attend the Justice Literary Event. As well as Gervay, this year’s conference includes luminaries such as Mem Fox, Melina Marchetta, Libby Gleeson, illustrator Bronwyn Bancroft, and many more. (RB) Mar 14. Santa Sabina College Hall, 90 The Boulevarde, Strathfield. $40-$80+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.erc.org.au

Red Sparrow Based off the novel of the same name by Jason Matthews, Red Sparrow is the latest 20th Century Fox blockbuster starring Australia’s Joel Edgerton with Jennifer Lawrence, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons and Matthias Schoenaerts. The film is directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Justin Haythe.

The film follows the story of Dominika Egorova (Lawrence) after she suffers a freak accident performing as a ballerina. She is soon manipulated into working for Russian secret intelligence.

Enduring hell Egorova teams up with an American agent to fight

for her freedom.

Red Sparrow is one intense spy thriller. It’s quite a long film but keeps your eyes peeled the entire time. The brutal violence and sexual nature of the film might surprise some and turn others away. Although at times

hard to watch the director and Jennifer Lawrence filmed those scenes tastefully. In what it lacked in usual action from a spy film, Red Sparrow made up for with an interesting storyline.

(RH) WWWW

An awesome concept overdone.

The beginning of the film was hilarious but after the characters learn the reality of the situation they’re in the film loses its edge.

If you were looking forward to seeing Game Night, prepare yourself for some farfetched entertainment. (RH) WWW city hub 8 MARCH 2017

15

*Take this voucher to the Paddy’s Market office during trading hours (Wed-Sun) at Paddy’s Haymarket only.

Complete in full and redeem your free bag. While stocks last.

CITYHUB 16

city hub 8 MARCH 2018