Flowing, scarf-like hoods, oversized tees and bold prints on monotone fabrics all feature in the LS A/W 09 collection. There is something undeniably effeminate about the menswear, and (seemingly) of course, a direct masculinity to the femme-range. Ah, the delightful asexuality of it all; where boys can return to the bolshie blouse-wearing days of yore and girls can grab freely from the guys section of the store – is there such a thing as “sections” anymore? Special mention goes to the jackets of this collection; they are what sets it apart from so many other ranges currently floating around in the Australian emerging designer stratosphere. Get info on stockist details and more here.

by Kat Hartmann

Fantasies is the fourth album by Metric, a Canadian quartet doing big things in their homeland, and now getting a foothold here with lead track ‘Help I’m Alive’. Fantasies are also something that the band attempts to conjure in the listener through the brazen and sultry vocals of Broken Social Scene member Emily Haines and the searing guitar lines of Jimmy Shaw. They occasionally lose their impure edge by covering the vocals too thickly in an electro haze that render the songs too cold and clinical, but ‘Sick Muse’ and ‘Front Row’ throb along quite racily indeed.

by Andy Ryan

Mary & Max is the quirky tale of two loners, residing at almost-opposite points of the globe, who find friendship with one another via the end of a pen. Mary (voiced by newcomer Bethany Whitmore and Toni Collette) lives a lonely, self-deprecating life in Melbourne’s outer suburbs. It is a life ruled by her mother’s over-fondness for drinking sherry and her father’s secluded ways. Max (voiced by Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is an obese, aspergers-suffering Brooklyner who relies on a self-drawn book of faces to gauge people’s reactions.

Most know the film’s writer/director, Adam Elliot, from the Oscar-Award-winning short film, Harvey Krumpet. The award undoubtedly left the director well placed for a follow-up project. The proof is in the $8 million budget pudding; compared to the $400 000 for Krumpet. One look at the voice talents featured also proves that the star pull was much greater this time around. Thankfully, the Sundance-debuting feature meets, and at time supersedes, expectations. 

There is something rather awe-inspiring about filmmakers who utilise the shot-per-slight-movement technique of “claymation”. In Mary & Max Elliot utilises this technique to an effective end, losing nothing in its representation of, or transition between, the litter-filled streets of Brooklyn and the quiet suburban streets of 1970’s Melbourne. From the fishing-wire rain to the sex-lube tears, every aspect of the film is painstakingly handcrafted, yet unobtrusively so. The final effect requires a gargantuan effort in its creation. Luckily for all involved, said effect is very watchable, and highly recommendable.

by Kat Hartmann

If you were one of the lucky diners to experience the Chocolate Dog Cafe’s Tuesday night Mexican last year, you would have been wondering what happened to the two wonderful cooks behind the authentic food. Fear not, Patricia and Tito have now set up their own restaurant at the other end of King Street, dishing up tasty Mexican at awesomely reasonable prices. All the classics are there, from tostadas to fajitas and quesadillas, along with more intriguing dishes such as the ceviche. Take a group so you can try a bit of everything. Top it off with some tequila and you’re laughing. 6 King St Newtown. Ph: 80849651

by KB

Since making a splash in the art world with her scoop of the coveted Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship in 2003, Karlee Rawkins has exhibited extensively across Australia. In her first Sydney solo show, at Paddington’s Iain Dawson Gallery, she brings her menagerie of barnyard and exotic creatures, all captured on canvas. Rawkins attributes her use of animal imagery to a reflection of human emotion, but we love these works for their pure zoo magic. Giddy-up, the paintings are only on show until April 18.

by KB

In December 2002 a selection Amsterdam locals were fitted with tracer units to map routes travelled around the city. Fear not; it’s not as Orwellian as it may first appear. All the participants volunteered to be tracked and the final outcome was not a collection of personal data handed over to the Netherlands arm of the Secret Service (is there even such a beast in existence?). Instead, what resulted was a depiction of various people’s “mind maps” of the city; gathered and displayed in the appropriately titled exhibition, Maps of Amsterdam. The final creation serves as representation of the way people move within their surrounds, the choices they make and what patterns emerge from those choices. Find out more about the project here.

by Jessie Stewart

It can often being a heady adventure, the task of discovering which zines are worth the pick up and which should be left to other, more that-zine-inclined, individuals. So, in order to help the good folk of Brighton (and beyond) in their hunt for new and worthwhile free creative fodder, may we present Moon Rocks. If you like ballsy art, rock and roll, well-formed literature and inquisitive interviews, then this is the zine best added to your coffee-table collection. Of course, not before having it take pride of place on your nightstand after nightly, pre-sleep perusing. The thing that really sets this little paper-treat apart from all the others is the brilliant design. You can tell it’s the brainchild of a couple of truly creative souls.

by Kat Hartmann

There was something unusual going down at The Hopetoun on Monday night: a gig containing a collection of musicians, markedly different to the string of fledgling players that normally populate the Hoey’s stage, post-weekend. 

All in attendance at the aforementioned, unusual, Monday-night show knew exactly what they were there for. A return to form of two of Australia’s favourite musical sons, Myles Heskett and Chris Ross, aka the better part of Wolfmother’s original line-up. Joining Heskett and Ross was (and is) Matt Blackman. By their powers combined they are Palace of Fire: a band that may well prove to be the darkest, most technically precise band to have graced the Sydney - nay, Australian - music scene in some time.

The boys debuted their almost-two-hours worth of material with obvious enthusiasm and the crowd reciprocated. Ross displayed his trademark propensity for his instruments; bass, keys and guitar. An aptitude that has, during past stadium shows, made it seem like he’s filling time in a rehearsal space, rather than entertaining hundreds of thousands of fans, such is the ease with which he plays. Heskett, considered by many to be one of Australia’s top drummers (or, as one member of the crowd exclaimed, “a human metronome”) confirmed this status with a selection of techy, at times complex, but always precise drum sections. Blackman fitted into the trio like a long-lost father to twins, taking the vocals and lead guitar to a more insular place than expected.

The show was that it was by no means a media, label or industry hype-up. Just three guys awfully excited about the prospect of picking up their instruments, re-exploring their musical roots and playing to a room full of their friends, family and some other punters cluey enough to know what was going down. We say bring on the stadiums: Palace of Fire has more than enough ammo in its musical arsenal to fill them.

by Kat Hartmann

Now a cramped quaint corner pub, oozing character and unaffected charm, The Lord Wolseley was the setting for two events that ushered the end of an infamous era in Sydney.

Throughout the eighties, a pair of crims – Arthur “Neddy” Smith and Graham “Abo” Henry – seemingly had free reign over the town, or had the green light to do so from a corrupt core of coppers, enabling them to complete a series of successful robberies and heists unpunished. Both would soon go from being in the bar of the Lord Wolseley to being behind bars.

On December 15th, 1988 Henry was driving past the pub – while trying to avoid an RBT unit – and noticed one Sergeant Malcolm Spence was drinking inside. Spence had recently been spreading the word that Henry was an informer, a particularly unwarranted tag in the underworld.

Henry walked into the pub and insisted Spence follow him outside, describing the proceeding events in his book A Treacherous Life with “I left-hooked the dog… I dropped him again with a head-butt to the face…I pulled the bloke to his feet and … I stabbed him straight in the stomach… then I leaned over the top of him and drove the knife into his neck”.

Henry was found guilty of malicious wounding and sentenced to eight years in jail. Barely a week later, Smith embarked on a particularly brutal bender which began with beers at the Lord Wolseley and ended, many hours later, in the death of an innocent motorist stabbed by Neddy in a road rage incident. The Lord Wolseley is at 265 Bulwara Road, Ultimo.

by Andy Ryan

Try to keep up with four actors playing 139 roles in 100 minutes during this stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s film, The 39 Steps, originally based on author John Buchan’s spy thriller. Via Alley has given birth to their petite baby VA Select, featuring the best in small stuff from the original. Adam Elliot takes another foray into the world of “claymation” with Mary & Max . Adam has used memories from his childhood and 17 years of letters with an Asperger’s pen pal from New York to inspire the creation of the main characters, creating a sad comedy (for more details, scroll up to our review in Film Festival).

It is that time again: The Surry Hills Festival is taking over Prince Alfred Park. Enjoy people watching, music, food, art, fashion and the famous dog show. It’s the last days of up and coming Sydney-based photographer Carol Barroso’s exhibition which expresses another side to the concept of Invisibility which she sees "relating directly to spirituality in a deep sense, where the mundane life is left completely behind”.

by Samantha Hartmann

Kluster’s London city love affair heats up this week and, just in case you needed another excuse to get amongst it, it's Easter so hop to it.
 
Watch: New film Tony Manero at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, April 10-30. Opening night includes a Q&A with actor Alfredo Castro followed by disco in the ICA Bar. The film explores Taxi Driver psychosis, Saturday Night Fever grooves and Pinochet's dictatorship through a strange, dark world of obsession and killing.
 
Eat: Satisfy your Easter sweet tooth with a trip to the Hummingbird Bakery on Portobello Road, Notting Hill for a red velvet cupcake. Heavenly.
 
Dance: Disco Bloodbath celebrate their second birthday with an Easter Warehouse party this Thursday 9th April. Featuring Todd Terje, Twitch & Wilkes, Nathan Gregory Wilkins, Gucci Soundsystem, Den Haan (live) and the Bloodbath residents. Tickets on sale at here.
 
By Felicity MacDougal

With the tides of boganism that is the Albert Park Grand Prix slowly residing, Melbourne now focuses on the cultural cleanup process. While council workers rid the streets of broken glass and regurgitated food, ACMI helps out with a healthy serving of fine film. La Mirada, showcasing Spanish language cinema, is on for another week. If that doesn’t satisfy your appetite, cross the road for some tapas and fine wine Spanish-style at Movida or Movida Next Door.

For some still rather underground tunes, check out The John Steel Singers with The Seabellies at the East Brunswick. If you want to laugh, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival would probably be a good place to start.

And of course I must include my geriatric fortnightly tip. Sunday, strolling through the streets, my inner old man was roused when I stumbled across Melbourne’s longest standing pub. The Mitre Tavern was established in 1837, two years after the city was officially settled by whites, and is hidden away at number 5, Bank Place. Looking like something from Heartbeat or The Vicar Of Dibley, they’ll cook you a fine steak or pour you an Old English-style pint. Brilliant.

by Andrew Worotniuk