Month: October 2016

Interview: Gus Worland of ABC’s Man Up talks about what it should mean to be a real man & best mate Hugh Jackman

Australian television and radio personality Gus Worland is perhaps best known for his series of reality television programs for Foxtel (An Aussie Goes Barmy, An Aussie Goes Bolly and An Aussie Goes Calypso). In 2009, he took up the role of co-host of Triple M’s breakfast show in Sydney. Within two years, The Grill Team…

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Galaxy Note 7 officially banned from Australian airlines; Samsung to open product swap points at airports

In the wake of Australian airlines officially banning the explosion prone mobile device Samsung Galaxy Note 7 from travel (Rex officially made their ban today, following on from Tiger, Qantas and Virgin earlier in the week), Samsung have announced that they will be setting up booths to allow their customers to trade the product for…

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Parramatta to get their first five-star hotel courtesy of QT Hotels & Resorts in 2020

QT Hotels & Resorts is set to expand their Australian operations, with the announcement this week that the “quirky” luxury brand will be opening a new property in Parramatta. Their third New South Wales hotel – which is set to open in 2020 – will also hold the distinction as being the city’s first five-star…

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Travel Diary: Perth’s Rag n’ Bone experience the touring life of mainland China

When we last left Perth rockers Rag n Bone, they were leaving Singapore and heading to China to play the Concrete and Grass Festival – but would the threat of a typhoon keep them from reaching their destination? Let’s see how they went, how they got there and see all the experiences they had along…

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Woolloomooloo’s Red Line Productions reveals UNSPOKEN 2017 season

World premieres, Australian firsts, and theatre classics make up UNSPOKEN, the 2017 season for Woolloomooloo’s Red Line Productions. Expect no consistent answers, just 60 seats and no chicken shits. UNSPOKEN marks the company’s third year at the Old Fitz Theatre, with the intimate 63 seat theatre celebrating its own milestone this year, turning twenty. Speaking…

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Review: David Bowie: Nothing Has Changed – Hamer Hall, Melbourne (17.10.16)

“We’re all here because we love David,” – this sentiment noted by Tim Rogers, was the feeling that prevailed throughout the night, as Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performed ‘David Bowie: Nothing Has Changed’ inside the spectacular walls of Hamer Hall. It’s no easy feat to attempt to encapsulate the bewildering scope of David Bowie‘s musical contributions…

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Sydney’s Glen Street Theatre announces an impressive 2017 season

Spread across theatre, music, and children’s entertainment, the Belrose based Glen Street Theatre will host talent from across Australia as part of their 2017 season. Theatre program highlights include Alan Ayckbourn’s Swinging Sixties comedy Relatively Speaking, the critically acclaimed 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche, and Stones in his Pockets, the tale of a quiet Irish…

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Artistic Director Seth Honner discusses decision making and the art of using…The Money

Melbourne Festival is getting to the stage where so many good things are happening and not much time is left. If you are in the Melbourne CBD though, you’ll be able to catch an amazing “thing” called The Money at unfamiliar artistic (if you want to call it that) surrounds of the Legislative Assembly in the…

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The 3rd annual Digital Writers Festival announces program for its November event

Organised by the team behind the Emerging Writers Festival, the Digital Writers Festival is the only one of its kind in the world, held entirely online and streamed live through YouTube. Now in its third year, the DWF will take place from November 1st to November 11th. Aimed at exploring the possibilities for writing in…

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Fratelli Famous and The Bavarian team up for dual opening in World Square (Sydney)

Hands up who thinks pizza and beer is a winning combination. For those who agree then there’s a new restaurant to add to your bucket list, a clever dual-concept pairing of Fratelli Famous and The Bavarian at World Square from the rapidly expanding Urban Purveyor Group. The restaurant features a communal bar, shared indoor and…

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Lennox Hastie is bringing Firedoor to Melbourne for one night only

Lennox Hastie will be traveling down to Melbourne next week, bringing the city its very first taste of celebrated Surry Hills restaurant Firedoor. The occasion: Hastie’s former protégé, 22 year old chef Charlie Carrington, recently opened his very own restaurant in South Yarra, a globe-trotting conceptual dining experience called Atlas Dining. Hastie will join Carrington…

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Warpaint announce three-date Australian tour for February

Having been announced on the Melbourne Zoo Twilights program this morning, Warpaint have come on through and confirmed an extra two dates for fans to catch them at in Brisbane and Sydney. The tour will see the ladies return in February with their latest album Heads Up, playing The Triffid and an extra special show at the Sydney…

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Twilight at Taronga & Melbourne Zoo Twilights announce Killing Heidi, The Living End, Tegan and Sara, and more for 2017 concert series

Year after year, the live music programs at twin open-air concert series Twilight at Taronga and Melbourne Zoo Twilights have reached far and wide, bringing a diverse range of Australian and international acts to pop up stages set on the grounds of these famous destinations. Last year saw the concert series bring in the likes…

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Music Video of the Day: Alexander Biggs “Tidal Wave” (2016)

Some more gold from Alexander Biggs this week in a new music video for his track “Tidal Wave”. Teaming up with The Sideways Monkey to make the film clip, Biggs is front and centre as he performs against projections. It’s a fitting visual for the song which in itself, is another gorgeous piece from the Melbourne musician. It…

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Explosions in the Sky set for headline Australian dates next February

February 2017 will be bringing post-rock legends Explosions In The Sky back to Australia for a run of headline shows in some of the country’s best venues. The Texans will be bringing their 2016 album The Wilderness (their seventh) to Australian fans for the first time – a thrilling record set to be realised at the likes…

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Check out RY X’s rework of Rihanna’s “Love On The Brain”

It won’t be long before RY X returns to Australia for some highly anticipated homecoming shows but in the meantime, we’ve been loving his latest little music update – the producer and musician has been featured on Rihanna‘s new collection of remixes for her ANTI track, “Love On the Brain”. The four track release (which can be listened to in…

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The Wilson Pickers perform “Pulled Apart By Horses” live at Young Henrys in Sydney!

The Wilson Pickers recently stopped by Young Henrys HQ in Sydney to lay down a special live performance of their tune “Pulled Apart By Horses” for the AU Sessions. Their latest record, You Can’t Catch Fish From a Train, has seen the band on the road over the last few weeks, with some pretty cool tour…

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LyricFind Founder and CEO Darryl Ballantyne talks about bringing the lyrics of music to all languages in the world

While in Singapore for the conference Music Matters, Larry Heath sat down with one of the event’s speakers, Darryl Ballantyne, the Toronto based Founder and CEO of LyricFind, “The World’s Largest Lyric Licensing Service”. Over recent months, the company has been expanding their services across six continents, not just offering lyrics for music of different…

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Seven reasons the Dungog Festival is one of Australia’s finest regional events

Spanning four days from the 27th to the 30th of October, the annual Dungog Festival returns to regional NSW later this month for an incredible mix of food, film, music and a dose of bush poetry. To give you an idea of what you’re in store for with this fantastic event, here are seven reasons…

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Single of the Day: Baby Blue “Save Yourself” (2016)

Baby Blue, born as a solo project for vocalist Rhea Caldwell, has matured into a trio that is rising through the ranks of Melbourne’s music scene. Guitarist Fabian Hunter brings a cool finesse that cements this band in the guitar-pop scene, with drummer Nathanael Riley tying the trio together. The trio’s third single, “Save Yourself”, described…

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Rag N’ Bone (Perth) discuss organising their debut tour of Asia at Music Matters 2016!

Perth four piece Rag N’ Bone sat down with Larry while in Singapore for Music Matters last month to chat about their experiences in the area, as well as their plans for touring elsewhere in Asia. From their stop in Singapore, the band would be going on to play in Shanghai, a concept they decided to explore once…

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Damien Leith (Sydney) talks rare songs, untold stories and writing with Travis Collins.

In 2006, Damien Leith won over our hearts, becoming the fourth winner of Australia Idol. Now, ten years on, he’s hitting the road sharing untold stories, singing rare songs and meeting the fans on his intimate and acoustic, The Winner’s Journey – 10th Anniversary Tour. Hi Damien. Last time we spoke, you were about to…

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Rockstar confirms Red Dead Redemption 2, our bodies are ready

Rockstar have completed their three-day run of teases with the reveal of Red Dead Redemption 2. Not only was the game’s title announced via the developer’s Twitter account last night, they also provided a release window.

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Dark family comedy Atypical gets the thumbs up from Netflix; Jennifer Jason Leigh to star

A new TV series from the team behind How I Met Your Mother and The Goldbergs has been given an eight-episode go ahead by Netflix. Atypical will be written and produced by Robia Rashid with Seth Gordon directing the pilot and serving as co-producer. The TV series will follow an 18-year-old on the autism spectrum…

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Australian Box Office Report: The Girl on the Train remains steady in the no. 1 spot

It seems many are still willing to take a thrilling ride (sorry) with Emily Blunt and Co., as The Girl On The Train retained its top spot on at the box office this week, earning $2.61 million.  Although the earnings were down by 35% since last week, this film still managed the best revenue retention of any…

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Marvel and Pixar help Disney set an international box office record

Thanks to a slew of hit films this year, Disney has set a new record for itself at the international box office. Driven by Captain America: Civil War, Finding Dory, Zootopia and The Jungle Book, Disney reached US$3.566 billion as of Sunday, only just surpassing their previous record of US$3.565 billion set last year –…

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The Iris’ Weekly Australian TV Picks: 18 – 24 October

From Superheroes to Gordon Ramsay and everything in between here are our TV picks for Foxtel and free-to-air in Australia for the week ahead… Tuesday, 18th October Supergirl, Fox8, 8:45pm AEST Supergirl gets seriously injured by a villain who’s powered by kryptonite. Cold Feet, Ch 7, 9:00pm AEST Adam returns and announces his upcoming wedding…without…

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Win a double pass to the Jewish International Film Festival in your city

With 68 exceptional, international premiere features and documentaries and 7 shorts, the Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF) proudly returns to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Auckland from late October, and tours to Canberra for the first time in the Festival’s history. Embracing a global selection of features and documentaries from 19 countries including Argentina, Denmark,…

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Win a double pass to see Hell Or Highwater starring Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges and Ben Foster

After years of estrangement, Texan brothers Toby (Chris Pine) and Tanner (Ben Foster) decide to rob the branches of the bank threatening to foreclose on their family land. For them, the hold-ups are part of a last-ditch scheme to take back a future that was stolen from under them. Vengeance seems to be theirs until…

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Actor and musician J.R. Reyne talks about his role in Channel 7’s new drama The Secret Daughter

Channel 7 brought the goods last Tuesday night, as their Melbourne Docklands studio hosted a late afternoon of food and entertainment. With delicious goods provided by My Kitchen Rules 2016 winners Tasia and Gracia, live music was provided by current X Factor: The Next Generation contestants, brother and sister talent the Brentwood Duo and Timmy…

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