Posted by KB on August 25, 2010
After a recent time-out for a bit of cosmetic surgery, Surry Hills’ Cru54 reopened last week, showing off a brand new interior at a night of cocktails, tapas and Spanish festivities.
Guests were greeted with the more polished and modern decor, complimented by Spanish artworks of deep red and orange. We also got the chance to taste the new menu, the result of changes in the kitchen as owner Catherine Andreo assumes the role of Executive Chef.
Along with tapas options (like the pictured Spanish-style anchovy on citrus tomato and avocado salsa toast), there are now additional ways to share your food, with tablas of cheeses or cured meats (try the 40-month-aged jamon iberico) and raciones of meatballs in spicy tomato sauce or classic seafood paella.
We thoroughly recommend checking out the new cocktail list too.
Cru54 can be found at 54 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills. Ph: 9281 1054
cru54, surry hills, restaurants, tapas
Posted by KB on August 16, 2010
You may know Biddy Maroney and Sonny Day of design duo WeBuyYourKids from the screen-printed Popfrenzy posters that painted the town red some four years ago. Or perhaps you know them for the artwork they’ve produced for bands like Deerhunter, Blonde Redhead and Les Savy Fav. Maybe you’ve been spooked by their renderings of witches, snakes and black cats at one of their exhibitions at gallery haunts like Monster Children and China Heights. If you’re not familiar with their work, this is your chance to become acquainted. Presented by Cockle Bay Wharf and curated by aMBUSH Gallery, Project 5 is an urban arts initiative aimed at supporting the arts through pop-up painting, music and auction events. WeBuyYourKids chat to Kluster about their involvement, which may or may not involve a dog, a knife and a whole lot of black paint.
Covered: Phat Space, Washington, old horror movies and skateboard graphics.
Joanna Lowry: What is Project 5?
Sonny Day: It's a live art event designed to raise money for charity and a good excuse to have a beer afterwards.
JL: How did you get involved with Project 5?
SD: It was the terms of my parole. We've been involved with Bill Dimas and John Wiltshire from Ambush Gallery in one way or another for the last few years. They asked and we said yes.
JL: What are you going to be doing as part of Project 5?
SD: That's a great question, I'm not sure yet. But most likely it'll involve a dog, a knife and a whole lot of black paint.More...
we buy your kids, project 5, ambush gallery, cockle bay wharf
Posted by KB on August 10, 2010
I may have been assaulted on my way into the venue. I mean, I can’t tell. I feel like I was assaulted. The memories of early that night come infrequently; a glazed, dream-like translucence when they do. I lay out on the floor – feet facing away from the stage. My eyes mostly closed. It was 1980-ish. A jaded Cyndi Lauper tribute show working through tired attempts at Fleetwood Mac. The feet around my head stood unmoving, planted. The most familiar hand, reaching down – recognition, pulling me up to comparatively fresh air, standing. It was over. Praise be to anything.
She lived in another city when Antidotes came out. In a Zach Braff pitch that almost was, the album became part of the soundtrack of that time; the first choice weeknight jacket hung on the coat hanger of drinking until you forget how much you miss her. In truth, the soundtrack fit better than most jackets of the time. Tension mounting all week – the strummed, yelping definition of a crescendo – to places seemingly beyond where you imagined tension was capable of being mounted.
Then suddenly, arrival.More...
foals, manning bar
Posted by KB on August 9, 2010
Long has the badge of “art” been bandied around the music festival site, sometimes resulting in extraordinary experiences, other times leaving us feeling a little lack lustre… Too many inflatable gnomes, not enough excellent art… (Not that that we don’t love an inflatable gnome here or there!). With the Splendid program we see a real investment, drive and development of the possibilities of this cross-disciplinary, site-specific opportunity for art bumping right up into the music festival world.
Splendid is a creative development partnership between Splendour in the Grass, Australia Council for the Arts, Lismore Regional Gallery, NORPA, and Arts Northern Rivers. The program is developing emerging artists in creating new experiences for festival audiences. Originally, 10 artists were selected for an intensive professional development and creative brainstorming program. Over the course of a year the artists generated ideas, challenged perceptions (including their own) and worked with industry protagonists, festival producers, technical and legal restrictions, budget possibilities. From the 10 artists, three final works were developed and installed at the festival. These were Carl Scrase, The Generative Power of Opposites; Lauren Brincat and Mish Grigor, Where the Party Is; and Lauren Brincat and Dominic Finlay-Jones, The Best Time Ever.More...
splendid, splendour in the grass, arts
Posted by KB on August 6, 2010
Brisbane two piece DZ have been making a lot of noise of late, keeping it real with a host of warehouse parties, as well as supports for the likes of Crystal Castles and Midnight Juggernauts.
They’ve still somehow found the time to release a new single, ‘Gebbie Street’, which you can download for free. Yes, free.
If you like what you hear, head along to a fundraiser gig for their upcoming New York trip. It’s August 27 at The Zoo, Brisbane, and tickets are on sale now.
dz, the zoo, downloads, mp3
Posted by KB on August 6, 2010
Fresh-faced and freckled, Two Door Cinema Club’s ginger-haired lead singer Alex Trimble has a look and elegant sonority that sets you up for the full pop experience. Standing up there in angelic purity, you imagine how proud his grandma is of how far he’s come since his days as the church’s head choirboy. So it’s somewhat of a shock to be blasted with the wall of sound that starts their Splendour sideshow at Melbourne venue Billboard. Far from poppy and light, it’s the heavier dance beat that comes through. The balance is good, the sound mix is right. It’s just not that melodious vibe that gets you craving an orange mocha frappuccino.
The Northern Irish trio – plus one with the addition of drum kit on tour – is one of those bands that seems to have appeared out of the ether and, with the help of MySpace and the ever-expanding global festival circuit, blossomed rapidly into a tight, respected outfit with a solid fan base. They fall under that broad, vague category of electro/indie/rock/pop, a term which encompasses a lot of bands these days and rarely expounds much about their sound other than the presence of synthesisers.
Expectations for the live performance are based on radio hits such as the catchy and vocally lithe Something Good Can Work, a pop tune that sparks comparisons with Vampire Weekend; and I Can Talk, with its edgy repetitive vocal percussion adding a dash of Presets flavour. More...
two door cinema club, billboard, alex trimble
Posted by KB on July 28, 2010
Here at Kluster, we love young talent. Which is why when we saw the work of New Caledonian-born, Sydney-based artist William-Guillaume Saussay, we had to get in touch and pick his brains. We spoke to Will ahead of his upcoming show, A Ciel Ouvert, at Woolloomooloo’s Monstrosity Gallery.
Covered: psychological travels, Jean-Michel Basquiat, breaking boundaries and the definition of an artist.
KB: With your paintings, you’ve invited viewers “to plots their own path across the canvas”. Can you tell us a little bit about the path you’ve chosen to get to where you are today?
William-Guillaume Saussay: I've always been trying to explore the paths on which my mind can take me. Psychological travels are the best to have - by this I mean that from an early age my parents let me explore what I could do with my hands and mind. The key is to not feel limited by our own physical and mental capabilities. Art is like gravity, all it needs is a little push. I have also been studying subjects such as, visual arts, design, fine arts, photography and going towards arts education. More...
william-guillaume saussay, jean-michel basquiat, monstrosity, painting
Posted by KB on July 27, 2010
There is something you should know about New Shanghai: it’s in a food court. But please, oh please don’t let that put you off. I’m not going to say that the food makes up for the location, because it doesn’t need to.
New Shanghai has taken a corner of Chatswood Chase, put some walls around it and created a glossy vision of 1930s Shanghai last seen in Hollywood. It’s a sea of red and black that evokes an (albeit clean) authentic Shanghai street, right down to the cobblestone floor and the pushbike resting against the front door.
The menu (a large paper number which doubles as our placemat for the evening) is divided up into cold dishes, dim sim, noodles & rice, and main dishes. A friend has told us we must try the New Shanghai pan-fried pork bun (the restaurant’s specialty), but the waitress is so persuasive in her suggestions that we end up ordering the pan-fried pork dumplings.More...
new shanghai, chatswood chase, chinese, dumplings, restaurant
Posted by KB on June 30, 2010
After Kluster Says guest editor Claire McCarthy told us about the truly amazing food at NYC’s Angelica Kitchen, particularly the lemon-almond tart with raspberry sauce, we thought we should check it out. Leslie McEachern, owner of this NYC eatery, was kind enough to give us the recipe from their cookbook, The Angelica Home Kitchen, to pass on to you.
Leslie tells us this special dessert is her personal favourite. It's perfect for special occasions - not really that complicated to whip together, but looks like you’re a master chef. Enjoy!
Lemon-Almond Tart with Raspberry Sauce
Yield: 6-8 servings Cooking time: 1 hour
For the crust:
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
For the filling:
1 agar bar
2 cups apple juice
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
Pinch of sea salt
1 cup rice syrup
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (strained)
1/4 cup kuzu (type of starch for thickening, from Chinatown or specialty stores)
1/2 cup soy milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pint fresh raspberries or strawberries (for garnish)More...
recipe, tart, angelica kitchen
Posted by KB on June 29, 2010
Joel Edgerton hardly needs an introduction. As a star of film, TV and theatre and one of Sydney’s best-loved exports, he has appeared in episodes 2 and 3 of the Star Wars trilogy, alongside Cate Blanchett on stage in A Streetcar Named Desire, in his AFI Award-nominated role in TV’s The Secret Life of Us, and recently, in the acclaimed Animal Kingdom, among other things. Here he talks to The Waiting City director Claire McCarthy about his latest film and what it was like shooting in India.
Covered: The beauty of India, drawing crowds of adoring fans, filming for 18 hours on a train, doing another prequel.
Claire McCarthy: What attracted you to being involved with The Waiting City?
Joel Edgerton: It’s always a script that attracts me to a project first. I loved your script and the story itself drew me right in. The icing on the cake was that the film was set and to be shot in India.
CM: Can you describe the character you played in the film and what it was like playing this role?
JE: Ben, the character I play is a husband and he is about to become a father. In his career he is someone who feels he has somewhat failed. Once upon a time he was in a band that did well and may have had massive success but he fell down the excess path with drugs, and blew his chances. More...
joel edgerton, claire mccarthy, the waiting city, kolkata, john carpenter, interviews, cate blanchett
Posted by KB on June 25, 2010
Think you know your food? Can you name the herbs used in a coq au vin? Could you take on anyone in a MasterChef-style taste test? Then it’s time to get out of the kitchen and into the pub with foodie trivia at Balmain’s Riverview Hotel.
Every Monday night, teams will test their brain cells and taste buds in an attempt to score some great prizes like wine and dinner vouchers. At the end of 12 weeks, the best performing team overall picks up a degustation for 10 people at the Riverview’s fabulous dining room.
We went along for the first week on Monday to see where we stand in the world of food snobbery. We came up a bit short on cocktail ingredients and foods in Nat King Cole songs, but surprised ourselves by picking the vintage of wine in a taste test. The Kluster team didn’t win, but coming in fourth with only two team members isn’t too bad. We’re definitely going back next week.
For all the details, visit the Riverview Hotel website.
foodie trivia, riverview hotel, balmain
Posted by KB on June 7, 2010
Last week, Surry Hills restaurant Alio celebrated ten years in business. Not wanting to let a golden opportunity to create something spectacular pass them by, the minds behind the Italian eatery put on an impressive feast to showcase the best of their time in business.
The lucky invitees sat down to a ten-course culinary exposé of food trends over the past decade, as seen through the eyes of Alio’s chef. From 2001 there was the stracciatella (pictured), a Roman-style chicken broth with cheese ravioli; 2006 saw the arrival of barramundi baked in a bag with black mussels; and 2008 was the year for panna cotta.
The good news is this decadent menu is available to the public throughout the month of June. Check out the Alio site for all the details.
alio, degustation, restaurants, surry hills