Diabetes – and the type II variety in particular – is becoming increasingly common. There are now more than 1.5 million Australians with the disease and this number is set to double in the next five to 10 years. In the past, when people were diagnosed they were often told they would have to…
Month: August 2013
ALBUM REVIEW: BUFFALO TALES – ROADTRIP CONFESSIONALS
Wes Carr has released his first album under the moniker, Buffalo Tales and simultaneously pulled a Matt Corby and a Bob Evans. The former parallel comes courtesy of shaking off the Australian Idol tag and turning your back on pop by following the folk troubadour route. The latter is because this is Carr’s most personal record to…
EP REVIEW: TIGERTOWN – WANDERING EYES
The third EP from indie pop quintet, Tigertown looks just like a vinyl LP from the seventies. Heck, Wandering Eyes even sounds like a record from that era. The group certainly know their Fleetwood Mac’s from their Fairport Conventions. They also offer something homely and not altogether unexpected here. The band members are all tied together by either familial…
THEATRE REVIEW: FREUD’S LAST SESSION @ THEATRE ROYAL, SYDNEY
Photo credit: Mel Koutchavlis Theatre has already seen a “War of the Worlds”. But are people ready for a ‘War of words’? This is just one way to describe the two-man show, Freud’s Last Session. It’s a meeting or ‘session’ between two intellectuals that was written by Mark St Germain and was first posed in the book, The Question of God by Dr…
DVD REVIEW: VARIOUS – THE FREDDIE MERCURY TRIBUTE CONCERT – THE DEFINITIVE EDITION
Queen guitarist Brian May says at the start of this show that The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert is to “Celebrate the life, work and dreams of one, Freddie Mercury”. 2013 makes it the 21st anniversary of one of the biggest send-offs in rock ‘n’ roll history. It took place on 20 April 1992 at London’s Wembley Stadium to 72,000…
THEATRE REVIEW: DELECTABLE SHELTER @ REGINALD THEATRE, SEYMOUR CENTRE (UNTIL 17.08.2013)
The notion of staging a story after an apocalypse is hardly new. Nor is the idea of leaving a handful of survivors with the job of rebuilding a utopian society that may or may not turn awry. This is where Delectable Shelter begins its story and what unfolds is a challenging black comedy about white terror….
BOOK REVIEW: CYNDI LAUPER & JANCEE DUNN – A MEMOIR
For such a quirky and creative individual, the title to Cyndi Lauper’s autobiography seems so safe and boring. Simply titled, A Memoir, on reflection it could’ve been named Things The Grandchildren Should Know, except that Mark Oliver Everett from Eels had already used it. In Lauper’s book she proves to be the world’s kookiest agony aunt, reflecting on most aspects of…
ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS – SING ME THE SONGS: CELEBRATING THE WORKS OF KATE MCGARRIGLE
Sing Me the Songs is a wistful but mostly bittersweet tribute to Kate McGarrigle that intertwines melancholy with joy and a celebratory air. The 34 intimate folk tracks – recorded during tribute concerts held in London, Toronto and New York – are performed by singers from the Wainwright and McGarrigle families and their famous friends…
FILM REVIEW: YOU MAKE ME FEEL SO YOUNG
Some of you have seen it. Heck, some of you may have even been in a similar situation. You Make Me Feel So Young is centred on a deteriorating relationship between two American twenty-somethings. The film is the work of writer/director, Zach Weintraub who also doubles as the film’s star. He is the boyfriend of Justine (Justine Eister). After…
LIVE REVIEW: BERNARD FANNING & BIG SCARY @ ENMORE THEATRE (02.08.2013)
Bernard Fanning and Big Scary’s Sydney show was all about presenting something new while still retaining a firm handle on the past. The fact is the former Powderfinger frontman is promoting his second solo album while Big Scary’s sophomore effort lobbed some creative curveballs at the listener. All of this was celebrated through two solid…
EP REVIEW: BEN SALTER – EUROPEAN VACATION
Some people send postcards and then there’s Ben Salter. The troubadour spent five months in Europe and rather than come home with souvenirs, he has gone and produced the European Vacation EP. These seven tracks follow on from his debut solo album,“The Cat”. It also references the country, folk, rock and pop that he’s known for…
ALBUM REVIEW: PET SHOP BOYS – ELECTRIC
In one year, the Pet Shop Boys have managed to turn themselves around. The lukewarm Elysium caused some to think that the band had finally become irrelevant, but their 12th studio effort quashes this negativity. Electric sees the now 50-somethings create their own record label, X2, and their sophisticated electro-pop sounds are more fresh and vital than ever….
