The Scene - Local Entertainment News

S Sense

At the end of the world, under the cliffs, there is a gathering of the tribal family. They come in all sorts of vehicles from city-chic, undusted motorcars (that lose hubcaps at the culvert) to odd-panelled jalopies that wear their dust with an easy aplomb (and have no hubcaps to lose).

Some arrive on foot because some of the family lives close. I live close. I walk a stony path I have walked for years. On the track I'm met by others flowing in a murmuring stream towards the gathering, their teeth shaping smiles made bright by moonlight.

The men carry eskies that are unsurprisingly heavy. The women cradle still-warm food in arms that once held babies. The kids have grown.

I miss my son.

For many years he trekked this track with me. At first I carried him and he'd wave at the waxing moon in a view unhindered by a treeline because this was newly saved cattle country. Trickles of white moonlight would gurgle from his mouth. Then he would abruptly turn and rub his face into my chest leaving a stain on my jacket that I can still smell tonight.

Many moons later, he would walk, holding my hand and chattering incessantly about this and that, checking the cages around the newly planted trees as he went - "so the wobblies don't eat them, hey Dad" - as he had seen me do.

Years on, he would run ahead, head down, arms pumping, jumping moonshadows cast across the track by the adolescent trees, keen to join the other kids at the gathering.

Yet even later, the teenage years saw him sprout an awkward frame and a secret language that only others his age could understand. But still he was there, walking behind me, his too-large, too-low pants scraping against the dirt, his rebellion flashing from his eyes like the moon flashing through the waving canopy of now-tall trees.

And then one day he was gone.

He grew up and left. As is right and normal. But tonight as the family gathers, I miss him. I close my hand as if his was still there...

The gathering place sparkles like stars in a sky, fairy lights marking the straight lines of the roof and the curves of a tree flickering in the firelight. Food is placed on tables, eskies opened and the family gathers in a circle around the fire.

Fire reforges bonds.

Some of the kids have come from other places to be there. As adults now, they will lead the tribe on, creating and collecting the family stories. The trees have grown tall. I miss my son.

Big dancing Feet

The dancing spectacular Big Feet Little Feet returns to the North Coast this Friday and Saturday, June 3-4, at the Byron Bay Community Centre. Friday's performance starts at 8pm. Saturday's performances are at 2pm and 8pm.

Big Feet Little Feet is a two-day showcase of original short dance and physical theatre works.

Talented local and guest performers who are passionate about their work will strut their stuff, mixing it in collaborations with local choreographers, musicians and multi-media artists.

Big Feet Little Feet includes dancers from the Northern Rivers Conservatorium, Krinkl Theatre with their hip-hop puppetry, popular duo The Frocks, flamenco performers Juego and Contact Earth Dance.

Tickets are $20/16 and $13 for children. (Kids will only pay $11 at the Saturday matinee.) Tickets are available at the Byron Bay Community Centre or phone 6685 5659.

Gypsy Goanna

Phil Levy and Leo Glass love to play music. They do it with their band, The Romaniacs; they do it by themselves (in dark rooms) and they do it together. This Saturday, June 4, sees this dynamic duo of plucked strings wheel their caravans around the Goanna Bakery and Café in Lismore for another of the Goanna's theme nights where fine food and music combine in a stimulating recipe for a Saturday night's fun.

Phil has played with many well-known rootsy, Celtic bands over the years, picking up awards and new riffs for his trusty mandolin. He played with Blueheelers before it was a TV program; with The Backporch Pickers before they went inside; and with Heartland, a famous folk-rock outfit that never missed a beat.

Leo Glass is known as a rock god and has played with some of the biggest names in the Australian music industry before deciding to settle on the North Coast and grow some long hair. His guitar and voice are the weapons of choice for this Gypsy bandit.

Phil and Leo will fill the Goanna with Celtic, Gypsy and Spanish tunes and, hopefully, some of the great songs they have written.

Beefy winners

Local Casino lad Troy Gava was chuffed to win first prize in the open section of the Beef Week Art Exhibition with his painting Border Ranges Creek.

Beef Week is over. Tensions are settling in the herd and Casino is having a breather after a week of meat and mayhem. One of the highlights of this festival was the Beef Week Art Exhibition (which is also a competition) where the viewing public judges the entries for a crack at the prizes. Congratulations to all the winners.

Two drummer funk

Hipsterdoofus is a new project from bassist Thierry Fossmale. This is a new funky outfit with the unusual line-up of two drummers - to augment the virtuosity of Thierry's bass playing. The emphasis here is on groove and improvisation. As well as bass and (two) drums, Hipsterdoofus features guitar and tenor sax.

Hipsterdoofus (I love saying that...) will get the Rous Hotel jumping when they play at the weekly Jazz & Blues night next Tuesday, June 7, from 8.30pm. Entry is $5. Hipsterdoofus...

Jigging up the Irish. Reely

The Romaniacs is an award-winning local band that plays a wide range of music. They have released two albums and feature the talents of Leo Glass, Phil Levy, Guy Madigan and Julie Metcalfe. Percussionist Guy Madigan (Sirocco) provides the pulse for a musical body that breathes folk-roots music through guitar, mandolin and violin. And of course there's the band's rich voices.

The Romaniacs will feature their Celtic influences at Mary Gilhooley's in Lismore this Friday, June 3, at the hotel's monthly Irish night. Expect lots of jigs and reels. This is Guinness music. The craic goes from 5-8pm. Entry is free.

Countdown to jazz fest

World music ensemble The View From Madeleine's Couch will showcase their thongs at the North Coast Jazz Festival this month.

Over the June long weekend, June 10-13, our little village of Bangalow will host the inaugural North Coast Jazz Festival at four venues - the A&I Hall, the Bangalow Showground, the Riverview Guesthouse and the Bangalow Hotel. As well as great jazz, the festival will highlight Brazilian and Latin music, funk and hip hop.

Many great acts are coming to town like The Paul Williamson Hammond Combo featuring Tim Neal and Sharny Russell - winner of best jazz album in this year's ARIA Awards - the James Sherlock quartet, Showa 44 with Simon Barker and Carl Dewhurst, the Willow Neilson Quartet (Willow was recently placed third in the Montreaux and London saxophone competitions), Twelve Tone Diamonds (one of the most exciting young bands in Australia), Brett Hirst and Kristin Beradi, and The View From Madeleine's Couch.

Anje West (voice/percussion) and Kym Ambrose (vibes, percussion/drums) are the heart of The View From Madeleine's Couch - Australia's world music outfit.

The group has revitalised the classic Brazilian sounds of the 60s with their distinctive take on the bossa nova and samba, and their not-so-common line-up featuring the vibraphone.

Their live shows range from intimate acoustic trio concerts to major festival events featuring guitar, horns, percussionists and energetic Brazilian batucadas (which are, as everyone knows, percussion jams).

In 2004 Anje and Kym lived in Rio de Janeiro and studied the local music there. The result is the critically acclaimed album Tranquilo, which features five original songs composed in Brazil. This CD has been hailed as one of the top summer releases, with rave reviews from mainstream and alternative press.

Tickets to the North Coast Jazz Festival are now on sale. It's $125 for the weekend pass or $55 per day. You can buy them at the Northern Rivers Conservatorium in Lismore, Bare Bones in Bangalow, the Rug Shop in Bangalow, Soundwaves in Byron Bay, The Mullumbimby Book Shop, and Buzz Bar Music in Murwillumbah. For more information phone Gabrielle on 6621 2266 or check out the website at www.conservatoriumarts.org and follow the links.

Bris band in Bangers

Dakuta will leave the wild jungles of Brisbane for a gig in civilised Bangalow.

Dakuta is a five-piece band from central Brisbane who will play a mixture of original tunes and covers at the Bangalow Hotel this Friday, June 3.

The band's main influences are Radiohead, George, The Tea Party, Portishead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lamb and Gomez. (No Delta Goodrem?)

Dakuta's sound is based on combining acoustic guitar and tribal rhythms using percussion instruments with electronic-style beats. Music kicks off at 8pm.

Lush plush

Tropical Fruits, masters and mistresses of partying, will be presenting a fluffy formal dinner and party - Plush - at the Italo Club in Barrow Lane, North Lismore, next Saturday, June 11. Come in your best fluffy tux, furry evening gown or plush panties. (Tickly.)

This furry fabulous dinner will be pre-booked and begins at 6pm sharp.

After dinner, around 8pm, it's into to the party parlour with Kemo and Buck Naked - until 4am.

You will need to book for dinner by next Monday, June 6. Dinner costs $20 per person. The party (tickets at the door) will cost you $25/20 or $15 for members.

For more info phone 6622 6440.

Artin' About

This painting by Pat Jenkins is part of the Artabout Action exhibition at Roxy Gallery in Kyogle.

Artabout is a group of Northern Rivers artists who have been combining their resources and creative skills since 1999. Their new exhibition at the Roxy Gallery in Kyogle, Artabout Action, features the talents of members Keith Cameron, Pam Cowgill, Wendy McGain, Margaret Brown, Pat Jenkins, Geoff Richards, Lynn Shearer and Margaret Wright.

Since the group's last exhibition at the Roxy Gallery, Artabout has been busy with exhibitions in Lismore, Stanthorpe, Inverell, Bangalow, Evans Head and Grafton, along with numerous inspirational camps and group activities. Artabout has developed a reputation of consistent high quality - the result of years of dedication to their art and to their group.

Artabout Action will open this Saturday, June 4, at gallery from 12pm. It is on show until June 29.

Clarence art beautiful

The painting Hillsview by Graham Mackie and sculptures by Keith Cameron are part of an exhibition by these two artists at the Platypus Gallery in Casino called Clarence River Journey. Cameron and Mackie both live on properties on the banks of the mighty Clarence River.

The exhibition runs until June 20.

For more information phone the gallery on 6662 3566.

Midgets getting huge!

Mick Daley (frontman for The Re-mains and The Puddin' Thieves) and Jimmy Willing (from Jimmy Willing & The Real Gone Hick-Ups) will be performing at the opening of the The Midgets Live On Stage exhibition.

The world's biggest small show is on again - and it's growing. The fourth annual miniature art exhibition will be launched at Caddies Coffee Shop in Lismore this Friday, June 3.

The exhibition, The Midgets Live On Stage, will have a shoe box stage outside on the street with some of the area's finest musical talent performing, while inside 30 artists have their small artworks (usually of small things) on show. (See back page.)

The stage will feature Ebony Quinliven (embroidered fairy folk songs), The Black Train (Woody Guthrie is God! Okay?), The Box Monsters (Lismore's ode to Detroit), The Puddin' Thieves (Mick Daley with drums and violin) and the Real Gone Hick-Ups (Jimmy Willing's post-modern country music).

With venues for live performance shrinking around the town, this is a great opportunity to hear the best live music for free. The gig starts at 6pm.

Cycle from Sawtell

Cycle of Fifths (pictured) is a Sawtell-based band performing all-original material. They use your time-honoured guitar, drums and bass format for their exciting and sometimes unpredictable live performance.

Although they've been playing for only two years, the band won the 2004 Coffs Fender Music Challenge which enabled them to record a four-song EP and produce a website.

Cycle of Fifths will play the Tatts Hotel in Lismore next Thursday, June 9, with support band Red Light District. Entry is $3.

Brewsters are no Angels but...

Maybe angels never die - but they certainly get older. The Brewster Brothers (pictured) were at the heart of legendary Aussie rock band The Angels. They penned some of the great classic songs that The Angels made unforgettable. (I can't remember any just now but...)

The brothers come from a musical family with a concert pianist as their grandaddy. With music in their genes, the boys formed the Moonshine Jug & String Band before forming The Angels in the halycon days of Aussie pub rock.

Rick and John Brewster will perform old and new songs at the Casino RSM next Friday, June 10. Tickets are available from the venue.

Dancing for racial peace

Looking exotic and rearin' to dance, performers from Dancing Tiger, Nomad, Bella-Flamenca and BellaDonna eagerly await the Dance of Colours.

Next Saturday and Sunday, June 11-12, some of the Northern Rivers' finest cultural dancers will be joined by performers from Brisbane, Sydney and Wollongong to present Dance of Colours - a two-day celebration of cultural dance.

The aim of the celebration is to promote cultural awareness and racial harmony by showing the beauty of various cultures - and what better way than through the magic of dance.

A series of workshops in belly dance, flamenco and Indian dance will be run on Saturday and Sunday, with a gala performance night on Saturday night, June 11, from 7.30pm.

The venue is the roomy and comfortable (and with cheap beer!) Italo Club in North Lismore. An open day on Sunday will be hosted with a bazaar, jam session and open floor for performers.

The local line-up includes belly dancer BellaDonna and her troupe Snakeweave, Idell and the Dancing Tiger School of Belly Dance, Flamenco dancer Sirena Joy and the Phillipino Community Dancers.

Tickets are $15/10 with children under 12 free. Workshops are $35 each with one and two-day passes available.

For more information on the concert or workshops phone Idell on 6629 3338 or visit the website at www.dancingtiger.com.au.

Oh my God! Barbarella vs Duran Duran in Lismore

ACON (Aids Council of NSW) will present that sexy, hi-camp, sci-fi classic film from 1968, Barbarella, this Friday, June 3, at the Star Court Theatre.

Directed by her then husband, Roger Vadim, and starring Jane Fonda in the days before she went straighter than George Bush's tie, Barbarella struts the outer reaches of space dressed in stretch plastic, accompanied by her gorgeous, half-naked hunk of an angel, Pygar, battling the evil forces of Duran Duran.

So get your space suit, or cling wrap - mmmm, out of the decompression chamber and head down to the Star Court Theatre this Friday and check out the curvacious Barbarella. The show starts at 7pm and entry is $10 (towards ACON).

And there's a prize for the queerest costume! The bar will be open before the screening. For more info phone 6622 1555.

Near missus

The Lismore Theatre Company will premiere its next production Run For Your Wife next Friday, June 10, at the beautiful Rochdale Theatre in Goonellabah. This play by Ray Cooney about a London taxi driver who juggles two lives - and two wives! - in neighbouring suburbs is a light-hearted rollicking comedy that will be enjoyed by everyone (except that bloke I know with the extra wife in Ballina...).

Starring in the production and returning to live theatre in Lismore after 12 years is Bill Graham, who is manager of Prime television for the Lismore region. Bill's last role in Lismore was as Beau in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.

The show runs over three weekends (June 10-11, 16-18 and 23-25) and all shows start at 8pm. Tickets are available from Caddies Coffee Shop in Lismore or at the door. For more info phone Gray on 6624 4745.

• Freebie: The Echo has two double passes to give away to lucky readers for the preview show next Thursday, June 9, at 8pm.
  To go in the draw to win phone 6622 2888 between 10.15 & 10.30am next Monday, June 6, and tell us why you wouldn't want to have two wives - or why you would!

Movie marathon

The long weekend, June 10-13, sees three movie marathons screening at Lismore's Birch Carroll & Coyle cinema.

First up check out Adam Sandler in The Longest Yard; the spills in XXX2 and Will Smith in Hitch and Are We There Yet?

Then there's Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith; and Ashton Kutcher in Guess Who; and Robert De Niro in Hide & Seek and Fat Albert.

Watch Brad and Angelina gettin' it on in Mr & Mrs Smith; Orlando Bloom in Kingdom of Heaven; and John Travolta and Uma Thurman heating up the screen in Be Cool, followed by Robots.

So, you can watch the big screen till your eyes drop out. Cool. Tickets are on sale at the cinema next Thursday, June 9, or visit birch.com.au.

Pitching for the screen

Do you have a great idea for a feature film, documentary, new media or television project and want to learn how to pitch the concept more effectively? Northern Rivers Screenworks is once again running its annual Pitch'N'Punt competition, giving the region's screen practitioners an opportunity to pitch their ideas to leading industry professionals.

Round one is 'behind closed doors' in front of a panel of three industry professionals. Five winners are then selected for a training day, before performing their pitches in front of a public audience on June 21 at the Byron Community Centre.

The winner of the Screenworks event will then be submitted to the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) to compete against the winners from other regional screen agencies. These winners will each receive a ticket to SPAA Fringe worth $200. SPAA will then pick five finalists from their pool of applications based on the written material submitted (see www.spaa.org.au for details).

If the Screenworks winner is one of the five finalists chosen for the 2005 Holding Redlich Pitching competition they'll receive a raft of prizes - check out the Screenworks website.

Application forms, more information and guidelines are located on the Screenworks website (www.screenworks.com.au) and the deadline is 10am next Monday, June 6.

Choral requiem

Want to hear some fine singing?

Mullumbimby's Amatori and the Lismore Singers present Gabriel Fauré's Requiem and choral works by Purcell, Caccini, Gounod and Franck (Zappa?) next Thursday, June 9, at St Andrew's Anglican Church in Lismore from 7.30pm.

This show will also be performed at All Saints in Murwillumbah next Friday, June 10, from 7.30pm; at St Martin's in Mullumbimby on Sunday, June 12, from 2pm; and at St Mary's in Ballina on Friday, June 17, from 7.30pm.

Entry is $12/10 and kids are free (to get in - not to buy).

Alstonville school writes good

Kate Astin, a year five student from Alstonville Public School, was awarded first prize for her story Little Bean in the junior writing section of the recent Canberra Young Writers' Competition. Congratulations Kate!

You can see Kate's story on the Canberra Young Writers' website. (You'll have to 'google' for it.)

The school did very well in this national competition with 22 of the 28 entries from the school making the finals. Callum Bowles and Jessica Jarzynski received commendations for their works.

Byron Writers' Fest

Advance sales for the Byron Bay Writers' Festival indicate bookings are flooding in from across Australia and overseas.

Who's featuring?

Well, celebrated Australian author Kate Grenville will participate in several panels and will also deliver the inaugural Thea Astley lecture. A festival favourite is Booker Prize-winning Tom Keneally. Tom's conversation with Irena Dunn in which he reviews a lifetime of writing will be a highlight. As will hearing the new pin-up girl for the pre-menopausal, Wendy Harmer, talk about her best seller Farewell My Ovaries. 

And what about that forum in which Wendy, Australia's king of satire John Clarke, television's irreverent John Safran and ABC's Guy Rundle combine in an event chaired by Radio National's Mick O'Regan.

And there are heaps of other literary stars coming to the festival.

As the program launch date looms closer, so does the end of the Early Bird special. You have until 5pm next Thursday, June 9, to grab a three-day pass to the Festival at a bargain price.

For further information, phone 6685 6262 or visit the website at www.byronbaywritersfestival.com.