Author: Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.

Interview: Press Club’s Natalie Foster reflects on her European injury while at Reeperbahn; talks the “joy” of Wasted Energy

Last month, Melbourne rockers Press Club were travelling around Europe, and lead singer Natalie Foster suffered an injury during their set. They powered through – but by the end of the tour, the hardened musician was forced to cancel the band’s final show of their European tour, in the city of Groningen, Netherlands. We sat…

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Six discoveries from Reeperbahn 2019 you need to listen to right now

The 14th annual Reeperbahn festival hit the streets of Hamburg, Germany last month, bringing with it hundreds of performances, conference panels, award shows and streets filled with food, live music and an incredible atmosphere. The event is positioned, unsurprisingly, around the streets of Reeperbahn, the city’s red light and entertainment district, which is famed for…

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Travelling around Canada by train isn’t just a beautiful experience – it can also be cost effective luxury

You may have heard over the years of the expensive nature of travelling around Canada, especially by plane. It’s a country where internal flights are almost entirely serviced by two airlines – Air Canada and Westjet – both of whom have a mixed reputation, especially when it comes to their ticket prices. And these are…

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Interview: Winterbourne on touring Europe, their debut Echo of Youth and tips for bands playing industry festivals like Reeperbahn

Hot off the heels of the release of their debut album Echo of Youth, we sat backstage at The Aussie BBQ during Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany with Aussie group Winterbourne. The band are currently touring Europe in support of the album, ahead of their Australian tour later in the month. In part one of the…

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Interview: Mid City talk about playing “buzzy” Germany for the first time at Reeperbahn & “Fake Friends Forever”

Australia was the focus country at this year’s Reeperbahn Festival and along with it came a slew of big name and emerging acts from around the country – most heading to play Germany and the event for the first time. Among them were Melbohrne’s Mid City, who joined us backstage at The Aussie BBQ, held…

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Eric Andre confirms The Eric Andre Show return in 2020 as he readies his “Black Borat movie”

Last night, comedian Eric Andre hit the stage at the Meridian Hall in Toronto as one of the headliners of the annual Just For Laughs comedy festival. Part of his Legalize Everything Tour, the hilarious hour and a half show was something of a tamer affair than what you might have seen on his popular…

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Riding the Confederation Line: Where to visit on Ottawa, Ontario’s new Light Rail

This weekend, after six years of construction, Canada’s capital Ottawa welcomes a new light rail line to its city – the Confederation Line. With 13 stations (a combination of under and above ground), the 12.5 km rail network will connect the city to its O-Train LRT like never before. And it’s just the start of…

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Interview: RÜFÜS DU SOL talk Solace Remixed and playing to tens of thousands of fans in America

If you haven’t been paying much attention, the news that RÜFÜS DU SOL (FKA RÜFÜS) are about to play two sold out nights at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, may surprise you. Indeed, the Sydney trio who have spent nearly a decade making a name for themselves have grown up from the small clubs…

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Aussies Abroad: SKEGSS plot massive American tour as My Own Mess gets a physical US release

You would have seen them just announced as part of the Good Things lineup here in Australia for December, but just before they play those dates, they’ll be touring around America in support of their record My Own Mess – which is finally getting an official US release on vinyl on 6th September 2019. The…

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The World’s Best Street Food: Chicken Street, Hanoi, Vietnam

I’ve always been a fan of Anthony Bourdain, and every once in a while I find his authoritative, yet curious tone narrating experiences in my life that feel distinctly, well, Bourdainian. These once in a blue moon culinary delights that you know somehow comes to represent a community of people, while giving you one of…

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These 17 Aussies acts are set to play Reeperbahn Festival in Germany next month

With Australia as the focus country for the renowned Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, Germany, next month, the event has revealed the 17 Aussie artists who will be making the trip over to showcase at the event. Taking place shortly after BIGSOUND, the event kicks off on Wednesday September 18th with “Doors Open”, a special event…

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11 Years, 11 Moments: Watch Lime Cordiale, Deep Sea Arcade & More pay tribute to The Beatles for our 4th Birthday

Over the coming months, as we celebrate our 11 years online, we’ll be looking back at 11 of our most memorable moments of running this website. We already took you back to a very intimate performance from Ed Sheeran in 2011. Today we move to August 2012, when we celebrated our 4th birthday. While we’d…

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Hang out with dogs (and a pig?) at the new Harvey Milk Terminal at San Francisco International Airport

It’s always welcome news when airports announce they’re improving their facilities, or opening a new terminal. In general, airports across the world have spent so much of the last 18 years improving upon customs and security, trying to keep up with new security risks that exist in a post 9/11 world, that taking time to…

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Hotel Review: Kimpton Carlyle Hotel Dupont Circle hides away amongst a residential Washington DC

Set in a residential area and surrounded by quite a few Embassies, the Kimpton Carlyle Hotel Dupont Circle sits in an old 8 story building, with the sort of entryway that feels as much as “Old New York” as it does blend into its surrounds. The architectural influence of cities like New York and Philadelphia…

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48 Hours in Santa Barbara: 7 Things You Have To Do In The Californian Coastal City

I recently travelled the Californian Coast on board the new West Coast Hop-on Hop-off service from Busabout, a travel company particularly popular in Europe, who this year made their debut into the US market. The service gives you unique flexibility to travel the West Coast without a car, with services across eight destinations running every other…

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Aussies Abroad: Melbourne’s Press Club set to dominate the UK and Europe with another massive tour

With their new album Wasted Energy due out on Friday, Melbourne’s Press Club are hitting the road for their biggest ever tour of the UK and Europe. And the latest single from the anticipated record also just hit the airwaves – the fantastic “New Years Eve”. Wasted Energy is the follow up to the band’s…

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Live Review: The Smashing Pumpkins cover “Old Town Road” (sort of) as they shine on tour with Noel Gallagher

A surprising mix of artists descended on the Budweiser Stage in Toronto tonight, with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds shortly into their set when I arrived, after an earlier set from openers AFI. What does link these acts though are ever growing, rabid fanbases. You mat not feel like you’ve heard much new music from these…

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Post-BIGSOUND showcase event Music Matters Live officially returning to Singapore next month

The 14th annual Music Matters Live festival – which accompanies the All That Matters conference – is set to return to Singapore for the ninth time next month, and event organisers have revealed the first drips of information about the event – including its dates, location and the first five acts confirmed to perform at…

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Live Review: Rüfüs Du Sol deliver an unforgettable live show as they continue to conquer the USA

As part of their latest North American tour, Australia’s Rüfüs Du Sol (formerly just Rüfüs) made their debut at Washington DC’s 6k capacity venue The Anthem last week, selling it out and bringing along an updated version of the incredible light show and production you might have witnessed via that Coachella live stream earlier this…

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Pickathon Sunday Review: Julia Jacklin and Miya Folick steal the show as the Portland festival comes to an end

On the final day of the 21st year of Portland’s iconic Pickathon festival, I arrived on site in time to catch the end of a morning art tour that runs throughout the festival and showcases the hidden art gems that you can find in the main festival space, as well as the expansive camping area….

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Mumford & Sons and Portugal. The Man bring cheerleaders, c-bombs & confetti to Portland’s NBA home

Mumford & Sons kicked off their North American tour this week, with Portland-based Portugal. The Man opening things up for the first run of shows. This made last night’s show at Moda Center – the second of the run – a hometown show for the supports. Indeed, given how big they are here, it felt…

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Pickathon Saturday Review: Viagra Boys, Nathaniel Rateliff and more shine during a magical day in Portland

Kicking things off for Saturday at Pickathon, Zia from The Dandy Warhols was DJing when I arrived, as DJ Rescue, who grooved us into the first set from New York’s Bodega, who delivered a high energy performance that asked everyone to “sweat the toxins out”. The five piece are described as “art rock”, but they are…

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Pickathon’s Friday with The Beths, Dan Mangan and more cements the Portland boutique festival as one of the world’s best

Set about 40 minutes out of Portland in idyllic wilderness, Pickathon is a boutique festival with a strictly limited capacity that brings up memories of festivals back in Australia like Secret Garden, Peats Ridge and Dashville Skyline. Crowds are quiet and respectful, here for the music, and surrounded by good food and amazing drink. It’s…

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11 Years, 11 Moments: That time Ed Sheeran played an apartment in Sydney and covered 50 Cent

This August, we’re celebrating the 11th birthday of the website. As of now, we’re not throwing any parties this year – though we are going to be doing two things. The first one is that we’re finally moving our new site out of beta at the “launch.theaureview.com” domain and moving everything – and almost all…

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Hotel Review: Hong Kong’s Ovolo Central is slim in stature, large in value & newly renovated

The Ovolo Hotels brand is one that you’ve probably seen popping up quite a bit of late, with new openings in Australia (including this one in Brisbane). But the brand all started in Hong Kong about 18 years ago. It was a hotel placed in a slim building in the heart of Hong Kong (literally…

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Flight Review: Delta & Westjet from JFK to Prince Edward Island via Toronto’s Pearson International

Transiting from a domestic to an international flight at Toronto’s Pearson International, as we’ve talked about in the past, can prove to be a bit of a nightmare. But how does it compare when you’ve got to connect from international to domestic? You may not have to clear US customs post security, but you still…

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It’s better where it’s wetter: New York City’s newest attractions are perched by its rivers

When I think of New York City, I think of a bright concrete jungle with the famous Central Park at its epicentre. But in recent years, the city has been pushing its hotspots out closer to its rivers – the Hudson River on its West between Manhattan and New Jersey, and the East River, between…

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Flight Review: Business Class from Melbourne to Hong Kong with Virgin Australia (VA69)

This month marks the one year anniversary of the debut of the Sydney to Hong Kong Route – the maiden flight of which we were very excited to be a part of. So how have Virgin’s flights to Hong Kong changed in that time? We started further south this time around, and flew Business Class…

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Does Air Canada’s Preferred Seating make a difference? We flew Hong Kong to Vancouver to find out

Over the weekend, I flew on Air Canada‘s long haul service from Hong Kong to Vancouver on the Boeing 777. On the flight, I enjoyed an upgrade to the airline’s “Preferred Seating”, which is essentially any seat in economy with extra leg room, which will normally set you back an extra C$130 or so. Those…

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Five places in the US (and one in Australia) to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing

July 20th marks the 50th anniversary of the historic Moon landing in 1969 – a feat which would be as remarkable today as it was back then. Many of the sites around the world which played a part in this achievement of human engineering, against the backdrop of the Cold War, are celebrating the anniversary…

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