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The infrequently-updated site blog, featuring a range of content including show reviews, musical musings and off-color ramblings on other varied topics.

Taste of Sydney 2017

Posted by T • March 19, 2017

Taste of Sydney

Centennial Park

Sydney, AU

March 9-12, 2017

Now, who does not love an opportunity to sample vittles and enjoy carefully selected libations? While the common denominators for a willing culinary inclined audience are easily defined, demonstrating creativity and innovation when it comes to offering tasty and interactive experiences and taking consumers on a carefully curated epicurean journeys to uncharted territories in terms of taste, all the while ensuring that the local food and hospitality industry gets exposure and making the visitor’s point of view a priority, is a balance act and no mean feat.

Sydney has established itself as a significant gastronomic tourism destination and in its ninth year, Taste of Sydney has become THE event to get an idea of the status quo, by discovering and indulging over four eventful days with a diverse lineup of pop-up bars, restaurants, chefs, live music courtesy of Australian artists, artisan producers, special menus and hands-on live cooking demonstrations, cook offs and master classes conducted by culinary luminaries.

In a world where most food festivals are in essence merely glorified markets, Taste of Sydney creates a massive village fete atmosphere and an enjoyable day out for free-form followers, descending upon and nestled in Sydney’s green and leafy Centennial Parklands and bringing out a diverse crowd.

The 2017 incarnation of Taste of Sydney food and wine fest had a lot to offer:

A far as restaurant highlights are concerned, authentic flavours of Turkey  – be it the elements of Ottoman court cuisine or the Black Sea Region – found their way to the festival courtesy of Anason; Bouche on Bridge brought their approachable fine dining experience and won the Best in Taste award for their wallaby skewers with spiced cashew sauce; new Latin American bar restaurant Tequila Mockingbird convinced with their pairings and exquisite marriage of fresh Australia produce with a curated beverage list from around the globe – their ceviche taco is was one of the many highlights.

The fish whisperer Josh Niland’s seafood hound Saint Peter proffered his signature Pambula Sea Urchin Crumpet; Four in Hand by Guillaume brought French classics with a twist; Spain was represented by the meat heavy Mercado Restaurant with its signature Berkshire Porchetta; and Poteño stayed true to their motto “barriga llena corazón contento” (i.e. “full belly - happy heart”) with their signature BBQ beef belly with fried Brussels sprouts and won an award for Best Dressed.

David Thompson’s Long Chim presented a Thai cocktail menu to go along with his fiery hot food based simple ingredients with flavours that explode in your mouth, and with Charred rice noodles, chicken yellow beans & Chinese broccoli being one of the faves of your humble narrator.

Wine enthusiasts got to sit in on intimate classes at The Wine Society, while Meat and Livestock Australia hosted their Cooks Corner with the Food Network, where meat mastery was the focus.

An array of artisan producers was on hand to showcase their products in between all of that queuing and eating: 

666 Pure Tasmanian Vodka, the name being an ode to the native Tasmanian Devil, presented their range of velvety smooth, yet distinctively clean tasting purity, which is achieved through a slow, single batch distillation process using copper pot stills, mellowing the spirit with charcoal and a final filtration via activated charcoal, ensuring that all the impurities are removed.

As if that was not pure enough, their emissions are then blended with the world’s purest rain, Cape Grim Water - a water that is fabled to be diluted if you add ice to it.

666 also presented the world’s first natural butter vodka, which might sound odd at first but makes sense with Tasmania having one of the best dairy industries in the world.

It is hand made with a slow fat-wash process using low heat, loads of local butter, giving the resulting vodka a creamy, complex flavour, which is quite an interesting taste experience given that vodka seems to be commonly known for the fact that the more common brands actually lack in taste.

Mexico and tequila was represented by Arette from the "El Llano" distillery - one of the oldest distilleries in the town of Tequila. Arette and other tequilas will get an in-depth review in an upcoming feature on Mexico.

Another discover that had not been on my radar is Verano Cider, which is handcrafted in the Basque region to a recipe known by five generations of the Soroa family. Made with local handpicked apples, sun-ripened and freshly pressed it creates a crisp, sharp, flavoursome cider with a refreshing finish. It proved to be a nice accompaniment to grilled salmon.

Not usually a fan of sweet liquors, RumChata, a blend of Caribbean rum, which is then homogenised with dairy cream from Wisconsin, won me over. It goes exceptionally well with everything from baked goods via ice-cream to your mixed drinks or is delicious simply served over ice.

Botella is a local family operation producing a range of sculptural Mediterranean-style olive oil and balsamic vinegar decanters. Each bottle has two separate chambers, the inner chamber for the balsamic vinegar and the outer chamber for the olive oil. Botella bottles create a visually appealing sensory experience that transforms into an artwork and sits like a glass sculpture on the table or kitchen counter. Elegant, sophisticated and functional.

Jeff de Bruges catered to the ones with a sweet tooth – Belgian artisan chocolate, no matter if you like it intense, fruity, creamy or spicy – Jeff de Bruges kept things simple yet at the same time delicate.

Little Green Kitchen is a bespoke baking business in Drummoyne, Sydney that takes great pride in hand-making products from family recipes. Their natural muesli with oats, almonds, macadamias, sunflower seeds, pepitas, sesame seeds, sultanas, cranberries, cinnamon, ground ginger, apple juice, honey is simply of thing of beauty and ideal to greet the grimmest mornings with.

Henri Abelé champagne offering tastings of their luscious sparkling emissions with honeyed floral aromas, and a toasty, biscuity, full-bodied palate. The mousse is fine and smooth, the finish long, lovely and persistent. Too pretentious? In layman’s terms: A bubbly with character and resonant aftertaste.

One of my fave exhibitors was Pic’s: Pic's Peanut Butter was launched just nine years ago. Devoid of nasty emulsifiers and sugar, they use hardly anything else than 100% Hi Oleic Australian Kingroy nuts, which provide a high dose of protein, good fats, and more fiber than rope.  Once it enters your gob, it is both a sensory and sensual experience tickling your tonsils.

See, saying that I harbour a weak spot for a good slab peanut butter would be an understatement par excellence and I have sampled quite a few on different continents, yet Pic’s takes it to the next level and sampling their range made me an instant convert.

The fact that everything from the labeling to the way the jars are created (including hidden messages) provide a sources of both information and amusement does not hurt either. One does not come too often across such a coherent product and brand. Pic’s will certainly take a prominent position in an upcoming special on peanut butter.

Proceedings of the day were finished off with a pre-mixed Negroni courtesy of East Indian Trading Company. Usually not a big fan of pre-mixed concoctions, EITC’s cocktails provide a sharp edge. A Negroni might look like a simple composition of equal parts gin, vermouth and campari, yet it depends on the quality of ingredients and EITC seems to have it pat down: A clean, navy strength gin strong on the botanicals complementing the forceful finish of the Campari. The perfect palate-cleansing settler for a day filled with culinary adventures and new discoveries.

Taste of Sydney 2017 was another seamlessly organized event with the right mix of newcomers, established old hands and a festive atmosphere.

Gallery: Taste of Sydney 2017 (13 photos)

T • March 19, 2017

Australian Tattoo Expo 2017

Posted by T • March 19, 2017

Australian Tattoo Expo 2017

International Convention Centre

Sydney, AU

March 10-12, 2017

With over 45,000 visitors annually, the celebration of creativity and art The Australian International Tattoo Expo proudly represents, has become the biggest in the Southern hemisphere.

Boasting over 300 local and international talented exhibitors from a myriad of tattoo genres showing their craft and techniques, the convention offered opportunities galore over three days to either just enjoy the art on display, have a chat with the artists, be inked or pierced on the spot or stroll through markets of merchandise, aftercare, tattoo supplies and hand crafted gifts.

This year’s incarnation at Sydney’s schmick looking new International Convention Centre was the biggest to date.

Meet some of the featured artists:

Arlo Dicristina from Arlo Tattoo started Tattooing in 2010 and has a pedigree in professional wrestling and boxing before he decided to focus on mastering his tattoo skills and his other artistic endeavours, i.e. oil painting, airbrushing and wood burning. Influenced by Jeff Gouge, Tony Mancia, and Justin Nordine, his area of expertise is face morphs and colour realism.

Benjamin Laukis from Black Mark Tattoo started his craft in 2008 in Queensland, Australia and eventually among other international awards, scored the “Artist of the Expo” award at one of the previous incarnations of the Australian Tattoo Exhibition. Some consider his style “neo baroque” – call it what you may, fact is that his emissions are informed by contrasts and look painted: Shadows and harsh light give them depth, which accentuates the colours and makes them pop. His work shows that he is inspired by fine artists like Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Reni, as well as contemporary artists like Hussar, Kassan and Llewellyn. Other than tattooing he – not surprisingly – given his inspirations, likes to paint in oils and also uses aerosol. While is tattoos are realistic, i.e. portrait work, he manages to gives it a twist by infusing it with his own style.

Brodie Pedersen, aka “Leisure Bandit”, is a tattoo artist that sticks out with his trademark retro styled neo traditional. His style is based on 80s culture: Think bright, fluorescent colors, weird shapes, wacky animations, and questionable fashion choices, adding animalistic elements for hilarity. 

He’s the go-to if you fancy getting a winking dolphin decked out in Miami Vice gear sipping a cocktail against a sunset.

Tater Tatts focuses on colour realism as well: Inspired by artists like Boris, Nikko, Carlos Rojas, Carlos Torres, Mike Devries, Mick Squires and others who earlier on really pushed realism tattooing, he encapsulates a wide ranges with both black / white contrasting as well as using colours.

The convention was framed by appearances of the multi-skilled performance group Fuel Girls, who entertained with scantily clad fire and aerial shows; an Australian Pin Up Pageant; the Girls of Ink contest as well as Australia’s most extensive tattoo competition which was comprised of five rounds and subcategories that ranged from best neo-traditional via best lettering / script to best Polynesian tattoo.

As far as tattoo culture is concerned, it does hardly get any more comprehensive than this expo.

With the effective way proceedings are organized and the enjoyable and immersive atmosphere it provides, it’s a fun day out no matter what sort of body modification strikes your fancy.

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Photos by KAVV

T • March 19, 2017

Meshuggah @ Enmore Theatre

Posted by T • March 18, 2017

Meshuggah

Enmore Theatre

Sydney, AU

March 12, 2017

It has been twelve years since I last saw Meshuggah and while their performance at Cleveland’s Peabody’s Downunder was tight and technically impressive, it pales compared to the relentless force of nature Meshuggah has matured to as a live band.

With so many things going on simultaneously and despite all the intricate arrangements, i.e. complex polyrhythms and Djent antics, technically ferocious death metal riffing and a detailed, sumptuous laser light show that bathes the protagonists in silhouettes while at the same time being in sync and accentuating the music, the adjectives that come to mind to describe Meshuggah’s performance is “pulverizing” and “vitriolic”.

Framed by Keerych Luminokaya’s album artwork, which was appropriately illuminated and animated with the light show, and songs from their new album The Violent Sleep of Reason, no time was wasted on banter as the Swedes powered precise like clockwork through signature changes, syncopations and every other odd thing their progressive metal on steroids has to offer.

Tech-metal, djent – call it what you may – has become a genre. Bottonline is that Meshuggah invented it and for the first half of their career there was no one to even come close to them.

What to the untrained ear might sound like seemingly repetitive riffs with offbeat drum patterns and barking on top on record, reveals itself as a complex adrenaline fueled symphony that both bludgeons, completely absorbs and digests the audience.

It shows that Meshuggah’s live show is well thought out and expertly orchestrated with no move going to waste. It takes their music to the next level with the band being completely in control, pushing buttons with maximum impact focusing on the essence of their craft and thereby appealing to man’s primal instincts.

A layered, unwavering wall of sound that feels solid enough to lean against emitted from a band with an imposing presence – an understated presence as the protagonists behind Meshuggah take a deliberate step behind the music, literally and figuratively.

A unique,pummeling and immersive live experience.

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Photos by KAVV

T • March 18, 2017

Twelve Foot Ninja @ Manning Bar

Posted by T • March 16, 2017

Twelve Foot Ninja

Manning Bar

Sydney, AU

March 10, 2017

The genre blending breed of metal of Melbourne’s Twelve Foot Ninja might best be described as “fusion”.  A versatile, charismatic frontman effortlessly transitioning from crooning to vicious screaming, polyrhythmic djent riffage, at times bright melodies, catchy grooving, funky basslines and all consuming climaxes.

A down to earth mix of traditional metal, funk, psychedelica, jazz, salsa with all ingredients schizophrenically mixed up and served with technical brilliance and near flawless execution, which instantly commands the attention of the willing audience.

Starting off not un-Ninja like in stealth mode with an atmosphere that is ethereal in nature, Twelve Foot Ninja then reared polycephatically (yup, neologism a-go-go, enjoy this new adverb) its multiple, energetic heads and embarked into more dissonant territories, ultimately prompting the audience to indulge in mosh pitting.

Based on the guitars being perfectly in-sync, McKinnon providing the 4-stringed backbone along with Hayes’ drumming, vocalist Etik delivered a vocal performance that was on point no matter what registers he employed.

The non-chalant way in which they lay down their performance almost looks too easy.

Seldomly has the soundtrack to bi-polar disorder been executed in such a tight and coherent manner and transported accordingly on stage.

One of Australia’s genre hopping bands that you would want to check out.

T • March 16, 2017

Sydney Mardi Gras

Posted by T • March 15, 2017

Mardi Gras
Sydney, AU
March 4, 2017

With a longstanding history of almost four decades, Sydney’s Mardi Gras builds on a strong foundation from which they champion LGBTQI individuals and communities. 2017 seed then celebrating their achievements but also sheds light on new ways to work for LGBTQI diversity and highlight blind spot in which inequality and ignorance still reigns supreme.

Gallery: Sydney Mardi Gras 2017 (9 photos)

T • March 15, 2017

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