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.

Edinburgh Fringe Review: Eshaan Akbar schools his audience in Prophet Like It’s Hot

British Comedian Eshaan Akbar’s latest show Prophet Like It’s Hot sees the “Lapsed Muslim” take audiences on a journey through the Holy Qur’an, as he uses humour to take away some of the misconceptions about Islam, taking the opportunity to make fun of the now ancient text and its varied interpretations. Feeling as much as a…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Larry Dean masters the Aussie accent in his stellar show “Bampot”

Glaswegian comedian Larry Dean’s Fringe show Bampot, was meant to be about the strength of his relationship with his Australian boyfriend Luke. But instead, with the pair breaking up some four weeks before the Fringe, it ended up becoming a show about their breakup, the importance of family, and general observations from the perspective of…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Terry Alderton – The Musical (Performances to August 27th)

Following his award-winning show All Crazy Now at the 2017 Fringe, English comedian Terry Alderton has returned with his new show Terry Alderton – The Musical, featuring music by Grammy nominee Owen Parker and a talking mannequin that may  lead you to call the show “what would have happened if Craig Ferguson totally lost his mind on an…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Alex Edelman – Just For Us (Performances to August 26th)

“This show only works if you live in New York and are Jewish”, warns New York comic Alex Edelman, as he brings his third fringe show Just For Us to a packed Cabaret Bar in Edinburgh. But being neither, it’s fair to say that these warnings prove unfounded; Just For Us delivering one of the…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Norris & Parker – Burn The Witch (Performances to August 26th)

I ended my Edinburgh Fringe with the Iate night sketch comedy show from English duo Norris & Parker, Burn The Witch. The show, which saw the pair accompanied by a deadpan keyboard player (with his own songwriting, werewolf related dreams), featured a number of skits and songs as the pair jumped through a number of…

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Live Review: DMA’s join Catfish and the Bottlemen, Twin Atlantic and more at Glasgow Summer Sessions

The sun was beaming down on the tens of thousands of punters in Glasgow this weekend who descended on the city’s Bellahouston Park park to see North Wales outfit Catfish and the Bottlemen and guests, as part of the city’s Glasgow Summer Sessions series. With the likes of Kings of Leon and Kendrick Lamar with…

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BIGSOUND Guest Playlist: Best Acts Coming Out Of Singapore

BIGSOUND is just around the corner, so we asked the four bands that are playing at the Hear65 Singapore Showcase (Charlie Lim, Linying, Intriguant and The Steve McQueens) to put together a Guest Playlist on the ‘Best Acts Coming Out Of Singapore’. Each act picked five songs and wrote about their favourite. Check out the…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Rhys Nicholson – Seminal (Performances to 26th August)

We’re coming to the end of the Edinburgh Fringe, though these are the only days I’m on ground for the event. It’s a bit of a strange time to be seeing and reviewing shows, because you know the performers have already been going at it for some three weeks. There’s fatigue, and as Rhys puts…

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Interview: KIN‘s Aussie directors Jonathan & Josh Baker talk about working with Mogwai and paying homage to James Cameron

In cinemas next week, the new film KIN will hit cinemas in Australia and the USA; continuing the trend of underdog sci-fi that has returned to popularity thanks to Stranger Things (the producers of which also produced this project). The film is the debut feature from NYC-based Aussie directors Jonathan and Josh Baker, whose short film…

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Exclusive Single Premiere: Horror My Friend “Wedding” (2018)

Adelaide band Horror My Friend will tomorrow officially release their brand new single “Wedding”, which is taken from their just announced new record Home Life. Today you get your first listen to the release in the exclusive worldwide premiere of the track and its accompanying music video here on the AU: The track comes amidst a…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Zoe Lyons – Entry Level Human (Performances to August 26th)

Having made a name for herself on Live at the Apollo (BBC Two), Mock the Week (BBC Two), Room 101 (BBC One) and regularly heard on BBC Radio 4’s News Quiz, Just a Minute, The Now Show and plenty more, the popular Brighton based comic Zoe Lyons has returned to the Fringe with her new…

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Games Review: Mint Berry Crunch arrives in South Park: The Fractured But Whole DLC, but it’s the “Final Girl” who saves the day

The final DLC expansion for Ubisoft’s acclaimed South Park: The Fractured But Whole has arrived. The Bring the Crunch DLC introduces Mint Berry Crunch to the story, a character who appeared in early promo shots but didn’t make it into the base game, a brand new part of town (Lake Tardicaca) and a new class…

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Exclusive Album Premiere: The Lagerphones’ Japan-inspired record ATARA-CD (あたらシーディー)

Today we’re excited to premiere the brand new album from Melbourne party jazz collective The Lagerphones, who have gained themselves quite a following in Japan. Off the back of this, and ahead of their fourth tour of the country in as many years (with 15 mostly free shows across 15 days), the group are set…

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Guest Playlist: Essie Holt’s tunes for surviving the Melbourne Winter

We can’t get enough of Essie Holt‘s new single “Better For You”, which you can check out at the end of this article. The Melbourne singer/songwriter is having a massive year, having just announced a management deal, hitting the road with LANKS and announcing headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne for September. But little of this…

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Interview: Zane Banks (Sydney) talks about the Pioneers of Rock n Roll at Sydney Guitar Festival

A long standing muso on the Sydney Music scene, we’ve long been friends and fans of Zane Banks here on the AU, from his Swing/Rockabilly project Cruisin’ Dueces, to his various solo and collaborative projects, he’s been one of the city’s most active guitarists for years noa. And this weekend, you’ll see him as part…

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Interview: South African guitar maestro Derek Gripper chats at the Sydney Guitar Festival

We spent some time getting to know South African guitar maestro Derek Gripper while he was in Sydney for the sydney Guitar Festival. What was the first guitar you bought? Spanish Guitar from a guy at school for 100 dollars – not counting a Clear Sound bass Guitar somebody gave me Do you still have…

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Meredith and Fairgrounds join the likes of Queenscliff Music Festival in achieving gender parity in their lineups

Over the past couple of weeks, the internet has been awash with criticism around festivals like Bluesfest and Unity for offering limited diversity in their lineups. Today, Fairgrounds – the “carnival of music and discovery” that happens “a little south of Sydney” in Berry, NSW – showed just how to produce a lineup with true…

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Everything you need to know about Cal Jam 18; Dave Grohl’s music festival featuring Gang of Youths

They may have just announced – and then sold out – their own mini-festival in Brisbane, but before that happens, Sydney group Gang of Youths are heading to California in October to play Cal Jam 18, a festival curated by Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. This is the second consecutive year the event has been…

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Meet the Aussie & NZ artists heading to play Music Matters Live in Singapore

The Singapore music festival Music Matters Live will be returning for its 13th year next month, returning to the city’s iconic Clarke Quay (among other venues), featuring more than 30 acts from 13 countries over 5 days – kicking off just as the Brisbane conference and festival BIGSOUND comes to an end. Taking place alongside…

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The Majesty of Abu Dhabi: Six reasons why you need to leave the airport and explore the city

Long seen by tourists as little more than a city of transit and the hub of Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi is fast becoming a tourist destination in its own right, with new theme park and museum openings, and things like the relaxing of licensing laws to make the city more approachable for non-Muslim tourists. Here’s…

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Seven things to do in Edinburgh during the world’s best Fringe Festival

Kicking off on Friday, the Edinburgh Fringe is widely regarded as the world’s best Fringe Festival, which shouldn’t be all that surprising; it just so happens to be in one the world’s most vibrant and exciting cities. While the Fringe will give you more than enough to enjoy  Here’s just seven things to do in…

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Splendour Interview: Woodes (Australia) talks Nils Frahm, Sigur Ros and evolving the vision of her live show for “Change My Mind”

In our final interview from Splendour in the Grass 2018, we sit down with acclaimed Townsville artist Woodes, who is just about to hit the road on a tour in support of her latest single “Change My Mind”. We talk about the track, her experiences touring with City Calm Down and how her live show…

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Splendour Interview: Woodes (Australia) talks evolving her live show for “Change My Mind” & her favourite music

In our final interview from Splendour in the Grass 2018, we sit down with acclaimed Townsville artist Woodes, who is just about to hit the road on a tour in support of her latest single “Change My Mind”. We talk about the track, her experiences touring with City Calm Down and how her live show…

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Aussies in Edinburgh: Rhys Nicholson on his new Fringe show Seminal

Aussie comedian Rhys Nicholson is on his way to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, and en route he kindly answered a Q&A for us about the show he’ll be performing there – Seminal. Here’s what he sent back, and everything you need to know about the show… Who are you, and what is your show? It’s me, Rhys…

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From peak Nic Cage madness to “this year’s Moonlight“: 8 films not to miss at MIFF

Tomorrow, the Melbourne International Film Festival kicks off, running through to August 19th. As every year, there are hundreds of screenings – but here are just 8 we think are unmissable this year: Mandy When Red Miller (Cage) met Mandy (Andrea Riseborough) he instantly fell in love. Unfortunately, so did Jeremiah (Linus Roache). And when…

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Splendour Interview: Tim and Sam of Cub Sport (Australia) on coming-of-age with BATS and getting married without a wedding band

I’ve known Cub Sport for a long time now. The beauty of running this website has been getting to know bands from their earliest incarnation – in respect of this band, that was “Cub Scouts” (or “Tim Nelson and the Cub Scouts” even before that), and going on adventures together like riding on elephants in…

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Aussies in Edinburgh: Hans talks about his Fringe show Like A German, a “Kylie spectacular on a Dannii budget”

Meet Aussie Matt Gilbertson, and his acclaimed alter-ego Hans, “The boy wonder of Berlin”. Let us be clear: he is not from Australia. He’s heading to Edinburgh to bring his show Like a German to UK audiences, following performances at events like the Adelaide Fringe. I spoke to Hans – again, he’s from Berlin, not Australia –…

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Flight Review: “The Business” on board Virgin Australia’s newest route Hong Kong to Sydney

Last month, we took you on board Virgin Australia‘s domestic A330 business service from Sydney to Perth, and earlier this month we got to jump on board one of the first ever flights (in fact, I believe it was flight number four), between Hong Kong and Sydney. Carrier: Virgin Australia Route: Hong Kong to Sydney (VA 82)…

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Splendour Interview: Matt Caughthran of The Bronx (USA) talks Trump and a return to Australia in October

One of the groups to make an exclusive appearance at Splendour in the Grass over the weekend were The Bronx, who hit the main stage in support of their latest album, BRVNX (or The Bronx – V). Not long before they hit the stage I briefly sat down with the group’s frontman Matt Caughthran, to…

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Aussies in Edinburgh: Anya Anastasia talks about her Fringe show The Executioners, a “neo-cabaret digitally enhanced explosion of musical comedy”

In the next in our interview series with Aussies set to light up the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next month, I catch up with Anya Anastasia – self-described writer, thinker, composer, activist, slacktivist and cabaret femme fatale – who will be bringing her acclaimed production The Executioners to the famed event. What can you tell us about…

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