Author: Larry Heath

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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….

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

If you’ve ever tried to fly one way to North America from Australia, chances are you’ve noticed that a flight one way is often more expensive than a return flight. There are a number of reasons for this we won’t get into here – but what if you do need a one way flight? Here’s…

Built into an unassuming front, situated in the heart of Hobart and boasting water views from many of its rooms, the Mantra Collins Hotel delivers everything one may want from a visit to Tasmania’s capital. The rooms themselves boast a contemporary design with a touch of luxury, and a taste of the practical, with a…

Jordan is a suburb you’ll find in Hong Kong’s Yau Tsim Mong District, and a lot like the rest of the city, it’s densely populated, with tens of thousands living in an area roughly one square kilometer in size. But it also is among the most diverse areas you’ll find in the entire country. With the…

Back in 2017, I flew from Australia to the US with Hawaiian Airlines. At the time, they were the only airline offering a complimentary meal on a domestic US services. But this trip coincided with a couple of airlines bringing meal services back to certain routes – in particular the trans-continental route from California to…

If you haven’t heard about the new addition to California’s Disneyland, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, by now, it’s likely you have been living under a space rock. The level of hype about the new attraction – which as we pointed out when it opened was just one single ride – has been the highest I’ve…

Saying a hotel had a “motel vibe” used to be a dirty word, but now it’s a bit chic, with clever hoteliers renovating outdated accommodation options into hotels bursting with sophistication and modern comforts – all with a touch of nostalgia. One such hotel is The Burrard, located less than 15 minutes walk from Vancouver…