Video Games Review: DOOM (PS4, 2016)

The pleasant surprise has become a real rarity in games today. We know so much about every last game before they arrive now, and from this deluge of information it’s usually easy to identify red flags. Following its explosive showing at E3 2015, I wasn’t sure if DOOM could live up to the adrenaline rush its trailers promised….

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Palazzo Versace’s Queensland Week is kicking on right now

If you’re in Queensland this week, celebrating in style is definitely on the cards for you if you head to the Palazzo Versace, as the whole venue goes all out for Queensland Week.   The Palazzo Versace Gold Coast opens up its world of Italian style, glamour and luxury until 12th June, to celebrate the state of Queensland becoming a separate colony in…

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Danielle Baynes to ride her Bicycle into the Old Fitz Theatre

After a sell out season at the Adelaide Fringe, Danielle Baynes, with Lies, Lies and Propaganda, is set to bring her one woman play, Bicycle, to the Old Fitz Theatre, Woolloomooloo, later this month. A thematic mash-up made up of one part Gothic horror and one part celebration of a female “first”, Bicycle follows a Victorian Englishwoman…

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Brisbane’s Circa ensemble to bring festival hit Il Ritorno to Melbourne

Co-comissioned by the Brisbane Festival in 2015, Il Ritorno wowed audiences in the River City last September with its fusion of stripped back acrobatics and baroque opera. This coming August, the creators, Brisbane based circus troupe Circa, are bringing the show to Melbourne, for a strictly limited run. Headed by artistic director Yaron Lifschitz and…

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Arts Review: Songs for a New World – Chapel Off Chapel, Melbourne (Performances until June 12)

What better way to spend a wintery Sunday afternoon than at the theatre soaking up all the incredible orchestrations by the one and only, Jason Robert Brown. As you enter The Loft at the iconic Chapel Off Chapel you are wistfully calmed by the sounds of a lapping sea, as a ship with its mast…

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Theatre Review: Love, Loss, and What I Wore – Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill (Performances until 25th June)

Love, Loss, and What I Wore, a play by Nora and Delia Ephron, is based on the 1995 book of the same name by Ilene Beckerman. We are introduced to five women who take it in turns presenting individual, and sometimes joint, monologues. These range from irreverent and funny to painful and heartbreaking, the common…

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The Royal Ballet’s Frankenstein to screen in Australia

Mary Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein, forms an unlikely subject for London’s Royal Ballet. Choreographed by Artist-In-Residence Liam Scarlett, the Covent Garden based company’s performance will receive its Australian première, in an exclusive screening event in Sydney later this month. Reunited with composer Lowell Liebermann, and designer John Macfarlane, and featuring principal dancers Federico Bonelli (Victor Frankenstein),…

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Newtown venues win big at the Time Out Sydney Pub Awards for 2016 (Sydney)

Time Out Sydney once again sought to celebrate the best of the evolving pub scene in Sydney, crowning various venues around the city at a special ceremony held earlier this week at Beer DeLuxe King St Wharf. The lively ceremony-slash-party named a long-established inner west favourite, The Courthouse, as the big winner of the night,…

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Gelato Messina teams with Melbourne’s Huxtaburger and Mr Claws for Rosebery pop-up (Sydney)

They’re always into something. The team at Gelato Messina are preparing a two-day lunch and dinner pop-up in the carpark of their Rosebery headquarters this month, bringing with them a load of Cremino Choc Tops and some of the brand’s most popular scoops to put up beside two of Melbourne’s casual-dining big guns. The gelato…

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First Look: Burgers by Josh at Hotel William – Darlinghurst (Sydney)

From North Sydney to Annandale and now to Darlinghurst, Josh Arthurs (the head of nomadic business Burgers by Josh) knows exactly how to whip burger enthusiasts into a frenzy. The queues his burgers attract are as legendary as the burgers themselves, and that’s not looking to change anytime soon with his most central kitchen takeover…

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First Impressions: El Camino Cantina – The Rocks (Sydney)

There have been some big changes over at Urban Purveyor Group as of late, particularly to their mega-venue The Argyle which has waved goodbye to acclaimed neighbour Ananas Bar & Brasserie while the French restaurant has made the leap over to a bigger space near Darling Harbour. To fill the void Ananas have left, Urban…

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Over 40 Dark Beers will be tapped at Newtown’s Union Hotel for this epic winter event (Sydney)

Newtown institution Union Hotel is turning down the lights for a special craft beer event this month, tapping 40 dark beers over two evenings to help make the winter cold that much more bearable, as well as highlighting some of the country’s best winter brews (many of which are crowd-sourced suggestions). 20 Dark Kegs will…

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On the Shelf: Little Creatures “The Hotchkiss Six” (Limited Release)

Little Creatures answered the summer sun with the excellent Dog Days as part of their seasonal release series, but winter has demanded something very different from the famous craft brewers. Blowing in with the furious winds is a domestic stout by the name of The Hotchkiss Six, a dark link back to one of the…

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Lindt Chocolate Shop expands to the Gold Coast for the first time, opening up in Harbour Town (QLD)

Seeing as Lindt have eight of their cafes and eight of their specialty shops spread across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane, it’s about time the renowned chocolate shop opened up a location for the Gold Coast. Located in Harbour Town Shopping Centre, the newly landed chocolate shop adds great reach to Lindt’s retail portfolio, presenting…

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Royal Stacks brings halal certified burgers and frozen custard to Brunswick (Melbourne)

Royal Stacks has quickly shot up to near the top of the list when people talk about the best burgers in Melbourne. Their CBD location on Collins Street has become so wildly popular that a quick expansion was a no-brainer, bringing the brand to Sydney Road in Brunswick with a few small adjustments to the…

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Behind the scenes of the World’s Best Steak: a trip to Jack’s Creek

Australian beef is amongst the best in the world, that much has been known for years, but interest has recently been jolted by a substantial award handed out at last year’s inaugural World Steak Challenge, which was held in London early October. That award was the title of World’s Best Steak, and it was claimed…

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Icebergs Dining Room and Bar announces new Natural Wine series (Sydney)

While Maurice Terzini plans to reveal a big refresh to Surry Hills iconic Dolphin Hotel in the coming weeks, he’s been busy preparing a new food and wine series – titled “Bondi Natural” – at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, aiming to highlight some of Australia’s most influential Natural Wine producers. Planned across five weeks,…

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Chiswick at the Gallery teams with Archie Rose Distilling Co for exclusive Gin pairing menu (Sydney)

Chiswick at the Gallery and Archie Rose Distilling Co. will be teaming up for a one-day-only event later this month, inviting food and craft spirit enthusiasts to an exclusive ‘ginstronomy’ experience on Tuesday 21st June. The special dinner event, which will also highlight a new unique distilled Gin made especially for the restaurant, will be…

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Vin diemen returns to bring a piece of Tasmania to Sydney and Melbourne

For its second year highlighting the renowned island of produce better known as Tasmania, Vin Diemen returns to both Melbourne and Sydney, bringing with it a curated line up of wine, produce, and other beverages from the popular island state. Bringing the taste of Tasmania to the mainland since last year, the event plans to…

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Six impressive bands selected to participate in the 2016 Big Bush Bands Program

The 13th annual Bush Bands Bash is taking place in Alice Springs this August – a result of the Bush Bands Business and the Bush Bands concert coming together and showcasing some incredible talent. In a record-breaking effort, 16 bands from remote communities applied to be part of the Bush Bands Program this year and…

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PJ Harvey helps close the 2016 Primavera Sound with her first show in four years

The legendary PJ Harvey performed in front of tens of thousands of people last night at the iconic Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, helping bring to an end a massive four days of live music on the waters of the Spanish city. Playing with an eight piece band that included the likes of Alain Johannes,…

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Entries now open for the 2016 SA Music Awards

South Australian musicians and industry personnel are encouraged to get involved in the 2016 SA Music Awards this year, the entries for which have been officially launched by Music SA today! The second annual music awards will see the winners announced on Friday, November 11th. For the 2016 event, there are ten public-voted genre awards…

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Live Review: Björk Digital – Carriageworks, Sydney (04.06.16)

Arriving right on opening time, there’s already a substantial queue of people eager to make a beeline for the Björk Live DJ Set room. It’s a good thing that they are there early, as once you’re in the space, you quickly realise that if you want to actually see the Icelandic musical genius, you will…

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Music Video of the Day: The Strokes “Drag Queen” (2016)

While it’s only been three years since The Strokes‘ last album, Comedown Machine, it feels like a whole lot longer, since there was no promotion or touring on the back of the release. After announcing a bunch of festival dates, including an exclusive Australian appearance at Splendour in the Grass this year, the band unexpectedly dropped a…

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Single of the Day: Beck “Wow” (2016)

After the melancholic Morning Phase released in 2014, Beck‘s last single “Dreams” came as a pleasant surprise; upbeat Beck is back. His new release, “Wow” is no exception, with Beck’s lazy rapping and beats making a comeback. We’re hoping we’ll get an album entirely of this sort of sound and songwriting sometime this year, but for now we’ll…

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Pilou Asbæk talks oscar-nominated A War and his role on Game of Thrones

The celebrate the screening of the Oscar-nominated A War at this year’s Sydney Film Festival, Danish actor Pilou Asbæk sat down with Fergus Halliday to chat about everything from the rules of engagement to Game of Thrones and the American election. I won’t take up much of your time so, I’ll jump right into it. The thing that, sort…

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Win a double pass to hotDocs film festival!

This documentary film festival is an Australian edition of the renowned Canadian festival that will take place across three cities (Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra) from 14th June – 3rd July. The renowned Canadian festival hotDocs, the world’s leading documentary film festival will bring 24 inspiring and thought-provoking films from 15 different countries. The program has…

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Win a Mr. Right DVD prize pack!

Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell put the ‘u’ & ‘I’ in ‘quirky’ when they team up in the action/comedy adventure, Mr. Right. When unlucky-in-love Martha (Kendrick) meets Francis (Rockwell) he seems different from other guys. Really different. In fact, if you don’t count that he’s a hitman on the run from crime cartels, he may…

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Win a DVD copy of Vinyl: The Complete First Season

From Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger comes Vinyl, a new drama series that explores the drug and sex fuelled music business of the 1970s. Richie Finestra (Bobby Canavale) is a major-label exec with a dark past and an even darker present. With his company, American Century Records, facing a number of client crises, and with…

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The Iris’ Weekly Australian TV Picks: 7 – 13 June

The Iris has chosen this week’s picks, so sit back and invest your nights with your small screens. Tuesday Once Upon a Time, 7Flix, 7:30pm AEST Emma disappears after becoming the Dark One. The rest of our heroes must come together to find her, an impossible quest. Unless they seek help from an unexpected character….

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