The Scene - Local Entertainment News

S Sense

Soldiers look very intimidating. They are high tech killing machines, faces hidden by helmets and sunglasses.

But the other day I saw a photo of soldiers made human by the removal of their uniform and weaponry - and guess what? They're kids. Like mine.

Kids killing kids with weapons made by middle-aged businessmen (whose kids are not killing kids or being killed) for reasons that are commercial.

In this photo of marines in their undies, I could see the fear in their young eyes. A fear countered by excessive bravado - you know what teenage boys are like.

Killing to the beat of American death metal is an adrenalin rush, man.

The trauma will come later. If they live.

The younger the soldier the better you can manipulate him. So, why wait until after schooling? Why not recruit them from early high school. It saves on potentially wasted education costs. It cuts down on graffiti in shopping malls and young girls wanting abortions.

What about primary school kids? You can fit more of these little people in armoured personnel carriers. And modern weapons, thanks to civilised progress, are now so light a child can use them. And you don't have to pay eight year olds - just give them Coco Pops and maybe a nap after lunch.

Well, what about babies? An army of babies in camouflage nappies crawling towards the enemy with heat-seeking dummies. The oil rights of a nation resting on their cute little shoulders. Slow but adorable. Not weaning, winning.

Just joking.

Really, we should go back to the old days when leaders had to actually lead their army into war. From the front. That would make those leaders think for a minute before leaping into war.

Can you imagine Bush or Blair or that little bloke standing in a jeep with a ceremonial sword in one hand and a pistol in the other, screaming "Charge!" as he leads a military assault against... whoever?

I don't think so. They're much more comfortable sending children to fight their battles.

Belly High

A shake of bellydancers prepare for the Big Belly Bash this Friday.

Bellydancers from as far afield as Grafton and Tweed Heads (is there a Tweed Heads style?) will gather for the Big Belly Bash this Friday, November 19, at the Lismore RSL Club. This will be the second annual Christmas halfa for the local bellydancing community.

What is a halfa you ask? Well, it's an Egyptian word for a meeting of bellydancers and musicians, usually resulting in a wild celebration - which is what is in store this Friday with a spectacular bellydancing floorshow and Eastern music.

BellaDonna, well known teacher and performer of this magical women's art, will twist and weave her magic at the halfa before embarking on a world tour to teach women around the globe the mysteries and joys of bellydancing.

Stipsky, a local world music ensemble, will add Middle Eastern musical flavours to the evening, ensuring everyone dances.

The doors open at 7pm and entry is $15/12. For bookings or more information phone 6688 8220 or 6622 2508.

Taking a Proper Gander at ourselves

A surreal view of the world is what the TAFE theatre students have produced.

Lismore TAFE Theatre students present A Night of Proper Gander at the Dead End Cabaret. This performance is a fantastical journey through the sordid underground of Berlin in the 1930s. And, sordid can be fun.

Developed through improvisational workshops, the Dead End Cabaret explores humanity's need to use self-expression to find freedom from social control. Yes!

The performances will be held next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, November 24-26, at 7pm with a matinee on Thursday, November 25, at 12.30pm. It all happens at the Theatre rooms in E block at Lismore TAFE in Keen Street. A $5 donation at the door gets you in.

Art challenge well met

Brian Cooney communes with the muse before working on a piece for the Lismore Challenge art exhibition.

"I could spend my whole life painting!" exclaimed 22-year-old Shelley Holland, one of the regulars at Lismore Challenge's art workshops. I hope she will.

The best of three month's workshopping is currently on display at Lismore's Dragonfly Café in Carrington Street until December.

22 artists attended the weekly sessions, helped by a professional artist and support workers.

"We are confident that some of our artists will definitely make a living out of their artwork," said Linda Mercer, a support worker.

Well, they're off to a good start - half the exhibition has sold already. So, relax in the comfort of the café with a latte and a munchie and enjoy the results of challenges well met.

Slicing the Juggler

Don't do this at home, kiddies!

The Space Cowboy is a performer from Byron Bay. Since his father taught him to juggle he started displaying his skills at the Byron markets at the age of eight and has never looked back, amazing audiences in over 20 countries around the world.

His show consists of some of the world's most highly skilled sword swallowing stunts and amazing demonstrations of the bizarre world of ESP (extra sensory perception). Don't be sceptical - he will know...

Now is your chance to see him in the Byron Bay Community Centre Theatre for two shows only this Friday, November 19, and next Wednesday, November 24.

For bookings (get in early!) or more information phone 6685 5659.

Alstonville's High Artexpress-ion

Naomi Park has had her sculpture nominated for inclusion in the Artexpress 2005 Exhibition.

Alstonville High School has had six year 12 visual arts students nominated for inclusion in the Artexpress 2005 exhibition. Artexpress is an exhibition featuring a selection of outstanding student artworks produced for the HSC in Visual Arts, during 2004.

It is a joint initiative of the Board of Studies NSW, the NSW Department of Education and Training and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and will be on display from January 29 until March 28, 2005, at the gallery.

Having this number of works nominated is a fantastic achievement and will place the school amongst the most successful in the state. Successful students were Anna Jacobsen, Naomi Park, Chris Lee, Ashley Skilleter, Yongliang Chin and Dominique Gilmour. Good on you, artists!

Dance on tap

Tap dancers (l-r) Christopher and James McKinnon and Kara Baker will dance their way through one hundred years of agriculture on the North Coast.

The Sharon Sidney School of Dance will hold their annual Charity Concert at the Lismore Workers Club next Thursday, November 25, starting at 7pm.

The school was one of the features in the recent Arena Spectacular at the North Coast National Show and students will display a variety of dance styles with tap, classical ballet, national character and funk jazz.

Wilson Creger will host the show, which includes both child and adult performers.

Tickets are $25 for a family, $10 for an adult and $5 for a pensioner or child. Proceeds will go to Camp Quality. A good cause.

Good God it's Buddha!

The Good Buddha team.

Many groovy things happen at Coorabell Hall. This little community hall in the Byron hills has a history of diverse and spectacular gigs. And it's a dance temple.

This temple will be in full funk prayer mode this Friday, November 19, when Good Buddha come to town with their hip hop soul sounds.

From numerous national tours and appearances at festivals including Splendour in the Grass, Woodford, Adven*jah and the Big Day Out, comes the Good Buddha, whose soulful, tough, rootsy music has created a sound ahead of its time and a loyal following who expect the unexpected.

Also on the bill is the dynamic duo of Dave Dog from the Resin Dogs and DJ Noodles.

Doors open at 7pm and tickets are $16/14.

Fine food is available.

Amp up the Delta boogie

Laura Nobel sings with new band, Delta Amps, this Saturday.

There's something funky about a woman playing bass. And when that woman is Laura Nobel you know you're going to hear her delicious voice as well. Laura, now returned to the North Coast to teach at the Conservatorium, has got together with some friends and formed Lismore's latest band - Delta Amps.

As well as Laura, the band includes Ray Arnott (Cold Chisel, Jimmy Barnes), Billy James, Brad Lewington and special guests.

Delta Amps play the revamped Gollan Hotel in Lismore (great to see the pokies out and live music in...) this Saturday, November 20, from 9pm.

Aussie king revealed!

Cornelius Delaney's art piece, King of Australia, is on display at the NORCO Art Space.

A new exhibition at the NORCO Art Space by Lismore artist Cornelius Delaney, called King of Australia, is on show until Saturday, December 12.

"Ned Kelly seems to inhabit two realms - one in which he is a historically documented outlaw who was executed for the killing of police and the other, in which he is a romanticised revolutionary - 'the King of Australia' - standing up to the corrupt police and injustices of his time," said Cornelius.

Cornelius uses painted cardboard to construct the instantly recognisable shape of Ned Kelly's helmet.

Located at the front of the NORCO factory in Union Street, South Lismore, the Art Space is best viewed during the day or between 6 and 9pm, when the Space is lit up.

By george, it's Elixir!

Nick Stewart (george), Katie Noonan (george) and Zac Hurren (Appian Way) have tasted the Elixir of life.

Jazz trio Elixir are performing at the Great Northern Hotel in Byron this Saturday, November 20. This is the last show of their current tour and they're playing many of their new compositions.

"Elixir is very special to us and live is where we feel most at home, sharing the intimacy of the music with the warm faces in the room... we are really looking forward to sharing our new material, as well as playing favourites from our debut album," said Katie Noonan.

Elixir will be supported by Lior. The gig starts at 9.30pm.

Two be sure

Georgia Hahn (left) of Goonellabah and Inez Botta-Stanwell of Georgica with the awards they won at the 2004 Queensland Irish Dancing Premierships last weekend.

Lismore School of Irish Dance students Georgia Hahn (10) and Inez Botta-Stanwell (11) have achieved the near impossible - winning their categories at the Queensland Irish Dancing Premierships for the second year in a row.

"Inez and I were really excited when we won last year and we didn't expect to win again, so it was a big surprise," said Georgia.

Other Lismore Irish dancers who received trophies and medals on the weekend were Johanna Whitby, Kayla Vanderstalt, Asher Douglas, Sophie Dansie, Melissa Toohey, Emma Evans, Rosanna Harris, Freya Douglas, Lucia Botta-Stanwell, Alexandra Hahn and Sophie McAuliffe.

If you'd like to see the dancers in action, the school's famous end-of-year concert will be held on Saturday, December 4, at the Lismore Workers Club from 2.30pm. For tickets or information phone 0416 224 258.

Musos play for dolphins

On Tuesday night, Lismore City Hall filled with musicians, promoters, agents, producers, sound engineers, graphic artists - everyone and anyone connected to the North Coast music industry - to attend the 14th annual Dolphin Awards. It was a gala event with the North Coast Entertainment Industry Association (NCEIA) presenting the Dolphin Awards in recognition and appreciation of the depth of musical and production skills on the North Coast.

As well as the award presentations, there were 11 musical acts, including Jodi Martin, Scarlett Affection and El Gonzo Green, showcasing the local talent and entertaining the capacity audience.

All the Dolphin Award Winners

• Funk/Hip-Hop: Shelly Hughes - Beautiful Day
• Adult Contemporary: Andrew Cox - Cold Rain
• World/Reggae: Kamal & Ariel - Tribal Trance Dance
• Folk: The Hottentots (Carl Cleves) - The Bethlehem Bell Ringer
• Blues: Steve McLeod & Ross Mutton - Don't Go There
• Gospel/Devotional: Rachel Zinmann-Jeanns - Om Shanti Peace
• Music for Children: David Reeve & Nicholas Coffey - Country Dreams
• Pop: Ry Cuming - Life Goes On
• Jazz: Steve Russell - A Ticket Out O' Here
• Song of the Year: Ry Cuming - Life Goes On
• Techno/Electronica: Morphonik - Shut Down 101
• Ambient/New Age: Kamal - The Yearning
• Experimental/Avant Garde: Max Ryan & Cleis Pierce - Evening Storm
• Protest/Environmental Message: The Waz Porter Band - Violent Spring
• Instrumental: Gutopa - Pelican Glide
• Comedy: David Reeve - I Feel Lucky Today
• Poetry/Spoken Word: Max Ryan - Merry Go Round
• Film/Video/DVD Soundtrack: Andrew Richards - The Man Who Stole My Mothers Face
• Video/DVD Production: Sahaj - Free Range Media Body Parts
• CD Cover Promotional Artwork/Website: Slim Pickens - Cactus
• New Recording Talent: Scarlett Affection - Pianoman
• Male Vocal (Steve Gilpin Memorial Award): Ben Taylor & Trey Vittetoe - Glorious Day
• Female Vocal: Callee Mann - Awesome Silence
• Production/Engineering: David Reeve & David Highet - Precious Things
• Youth: Callee Mann & Dave Drinkwater - Awesome Silence
• Country: David Reeve & Ivan Hexter - Heart Of The Country
• Rock/Indie/Metal: Ben Taylor & Trey Vittetoe - License To Breakdown
• Album of the Year: Steve Russell - When The Light Comes
• Contribution to Industry: Stars under the Big Top
• Community Connections Koorie Achievement Award: Ken Morgan
• Venue of the Year: Lennox Point Hotel

Green rewards

The 2005 Marijuana Music Awards now include video soundtrack and poetry categories as well as 15 music categories. Entries are accepted in eight languages. (No, I don't know what that means - I'm sure one language will still get you in.)

The closing date is March 1, 2005. For more information check out the website at www.rainbow-records.com.

Honour the art

Lismore's recent art extravaganza (graphic art rules!) continues with Southern Cross University's Honours Graduate exhibition opening this Friday, November 19, in V Block, Southern Cross University (Lismore campus), from 6-8pm.

Nine exceptional artists will exhibit their work, which includes glass, printmaking, sculpture and painting.

Honours coordinator, John Smith, said the Honours students have been developing beautiful and captivating exhibitions.

"The Honours year is a rigorous training program that requires the student to produce an exhibition of a sophisticated conceptual and technical standard," said Mr Smith.

The exhibition will be open each day except Sunday until November 27 from 10am-4pm daily.

Buddha writing

The Northern Rivers Writers' Centre is giving local writers the opportunity to stimulate their imaginations and awareness through a creative writing workshop this Saturday and Sunday, November 20-21.

As part of a national tour, two presenters from Wolf at the Door, an English organisation developed to bring the wildness of imagination into everyday life, will present the workshop at the Byron Bay Beach Resort.

David Keefe (Manjusvara) and Stephen Parr (Ananda) of the Western Buddhist order will demonstrate the importance of the link between the environment and imagination in developing writing creatively.

Limited places are still available in the course, which will be held in the Bayshore Room at the Byron Bay Beach Resort from 9.30am-4pm each day. The cost is $100 /$80. Bookings are essential. Phone 6685 5115.

Ballina herstory

Ballina & District Pioneers - From the Earliest Pioneers to 1900 - that's a long title for a book but then again this book took four years to put together and is Hazel Holmes' labour of love. Hazel will be having her book launch at Crawford House at 10 Wardell Road in Alstonville this Saturday, November 20, at 2pm.

Anyone with pioneer family connections is invited to attend.

For more info phone 6686 2805.

Luv a Art

Two students of the visual arts, Cassandra-lyn Palmer and Travis Vella, are exhibiting their works at Luv A Coffee café in Carrington Street, Lismore, from next Monday, November 22, until December 20. The artists will be at the opening next Monday from 5pm. There'll be great food available. (What? No cheese and Jatz?)

Cassandra is fascinated by the textures of the visual world with its disruptions and dislocations - its inherent untidiness.

Travis is soon to spend six months studying at a New York art university. This will broaden his developing skills, which incorporate painting, drawing and printing techniques.

Pipe dreams in church

The Lismore City Pipe Band is holding its St Andrew Celtic Concert at St Andrews Church in Zadoc Street, Lismore, this Saturday, November 20.

Guests will include Warren Whitney - pipe organ, Julie Metcalfe - violin, Karen Hayward - voice, the St Andrews Choir, plus Scottish and Irish dancing.

A light supper will be available during interval by donation.

The concert starts at 7.30pm. Entry is $12/10 and free for kids under 12.

Be early to ensure a good possie. For more information phone 6625 1847.

Diva dance

The Northern Rivers Conservatorium Arts Centre presents Divas - an evening of beauty and sensual dance performed by dance department students of the Conservatorium.

Divas renders the strength and beauty of the female form through contemporary dance. With choreography by Aven, Samantha Beers, Serena Carter, Kirsten Clarke, Kazie Gray, Michael Hennessy and students, this program offers a diverse array of innovative dance works. One night only! Catch the moves at Lismore City Hall next Thursday, November 25, from 8pm. Tickets are $12/10. For more information phone 6621 2266.