Above: Café Scene - circa Nov 1996. Cnr Ann and Brunswick Streets, Fortitude Valley, where Universal Store stands today.
Scene Magazine celebrates 20 years on the streets in 2013. Each week this year, in this column, we're looking back at what we, and you, were doing.
Scene Magazine wasn’t quite three years old when the author decided a café was called for.
A big one. A 24 hour one. And one that had internet access (internet cafés were just emerging) ... and one which sold concert tickets ... and where you could play chess at 3am ... and one with with a mini stage for showcase performances ... and one with big display windows for the magazine’s clients to display their wares ... all at one of Brisbane’s busiest intersections and ...
Circa 1998. Brisbane artist David Hooper was commissioned to paint the exterior.
And so a lease was signed on a dilapidated and vacated butcher shop on the corner of Ann and Brunswick Streets, Fortitude Valley, where Universal Store stands today, opposite The Empire Hotel.
Our immediate neighbours included a candle shop, a French patisserie and a barber! But we weren't the first settlers on the New Farm side of the mall — Thea Basiliou's Blonde Venus (1995) and Joc Curran's The Zoo (1992) were the earliest settlers we can recall.
Café Scene opened its doors to no fanfare whatsoever in November 1996. Its 24/7 trading and prime location dictated that it cater to a wide clientele: early morning city workers, bohemians and late-night ravers.
Circa 2000. Just prior to losing the lease to the new owners of the building and subsequent relocation to the Valley Mall.
The many memorables included the unrelenting onslaught that was Valley Fiesta, any eclectic Saturday night crowd and a System 6 Recovery — the reader can only imagine walking past at a 6am Sunday dawn to a blacked-out shopfront from which was emanating the driving hardcore sounds of DJ Thief and co.!
The 24/ 7 backlit display windows were in high demand (as were our pancakes!) and were used as promotional opportunities for Scene Magazine advertisers. It was a lot of fun. But shortly after we saw in the millenium, the owners of Universal Store bought the building and installed themselves as tenants!
The café relocated to the northern end of the Brunswick St. Mall, to the immediate left of Gloria Jeans, where it operated a far more salubrious, licensed, establishment offering al fresco seating in the mall or seclusion inside.
Friday and Saturday night entertainment included live Latin sounds and many of Brisbane’s emerging DJs — all this until 2003 when the business was sold as a precursor to Scene Mag’s expansion into Melbourne. But all that’s six years in the future. Next week, back to 1997!
Above: Circa 1997. Reading Scene Magazine in Café Scene. Window looking out to The Empire Hotel.
Above: Circa 1999. The internet has moved behind and to the left of the photographer. Window looking out to The Empire Hotel and the doors that never closed.
Scene Magazine celebrates 20 years on the streets in 2013. Each week this year, in this column, we're looking back at what we, and you, were doing.1996 - Everything old is new again ...
One of Brisbane clubbing's time-honoured events was Jon Griffen's Flares. Jon-E worked his funkalicious magic at the city’s and Valley’s hottest spots, spanning the sounds of four decades. Long weekends were often a treat for devotees, where back-to-back nights were served with different genres.
Flares was knocked-off (badly) by a short-lived Step Into Flares — and yes, the events went head to head — and no it didn't end well; but thankfully everyone survived to tell their version of tale.
Bohemian, indie and low-fi offerings abounded. The Alley Kat Café (32 Burnett Lane, City) hosted the mandatory Poetry night (Tuesdays, when else?), X-Files screenings and DJs including Mark Briais (Tube).
Popscene, Brisbane's homage to Britpop had relocated from the CBD to Channel 13 (briefly) at 230 Wickham Street, Bleach’s indie dance at the Lands Office Hotel (Capsule 5), and The Valley Twin Cinemas (most recently incarnated as The Globe, 220 Brunswick St, Valley) would let you in for 8 bucks, while Abigails (16 Robertson St, New Farm) “Toasted the rise of the dressed-up, downtown, easy listening lifestyle ...”.
Babble-On (Elizabeth Street, City), was likely ahead of its time when Circuitree billed Aurora, Matt Kitshon, Pip, Jandy Rainbow, Alphanaut and a certain Kazu Kimura. Bam!
And in November 1996, our own Café Scene opened on the corner of Ann and Brunswick Streets, Fortitude Valley, where Universal Store stands today. More on that next week ...
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Festival director of 16 years, and lover of short films, Bronwyn Kidd says the winner of the Best Australian Film Award will be eligible to win at the Academy Awards.
“It means that the film that wins the best Australian short film prize is eligible to become a finalist [at] the Academy Awards. And the only way that short films can become a finalist is to win an award at an Academy accredited festival. So it’s quite an elite group of festivals that carry that prestige around the world, and we are really happy to be doing that in Australia.”
This step forward will give Australian filmmakers a new opportunity on the world stage to show what they've got.
“It's about providing opportunities to go on and develop their careers and have the opportunity to show their films to audiences. Opportunity is what Flickerfest is all about. It offers a platform for the next generation of filmmakers who can really showcase and celebrate really great short films and bring them to audiences in Brisbane and internationally.”
The Judith Wright Centre will play host to the festival’s Brisbane programme for a second year. “We were looking for a venue in Brisbane that really supported independent arts and put some energy behind it,” Bronwyn says. “[Judith Wright Centre] are really interested in supporting the local film industry and supporting us and putting on local films that have been part of Flickerfest, as well as screening the national and international competition. There’s gonna be a great opening party; it’s going to be a fantastic three days.”
Bigger and better than ever before, the three night Brisbane programme will showcase 100 of the best of Australian and international short films selected from a record 2,300 entries.
“I think it’s all about the profile of the festival. It’s the level of competition and the quality of the films that we screen that increase entries.”
Part of the opening night will feature the best Australian shorts including local made short films ‘Huge’, by Darling Downs-born filmmaker S.P. Krause, and ‘Captive’, by Michael Noonan and starring Brisbane’s own Margi Brown Ash, an award winning stage performer of 30 years.
Also on the Australian front is Nash Edgerton's short film ‘The Captain’, which was the only Australian short film accepted at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and will have its world premiere at Flickerfest. “Also keep an eye out for ‘Tiger Boy’, which won the Academy accredited Renault award for Best International Short Film,” enthuses Bronwyn.
Past home grown Flickerfest competitors who are now enjoying international success include Sundance awarded director David Michod (‘Animal Kingdom’) and Cannes Film Festival winner Warwick Thornton (‘Samson & Delilah’).
Flickerfest takes place at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts Feb 21-23.
Warning: Do not see this if you don’t enjoy laughing, cringing, squealing and holding your breath. Because there was all that and more on opening night of ‘The Pitch and The China Incident’, a double act of one-person plays written by Peter Houghton.
Queensland Theatre Company have opened their 2013 season with a bang, with their production bringing together hilarity, vulgarity and sneaky insightfulness. ‘The Pitch’ starred Hugh Parker, all pent-up frenetic appeal delivering witty one-liners and pause-for-effect quips. Parker plays Walter Weinermann, a screenwriter facing the biggest pitch of his life. His audience? Producers with the actual money to fund his movie. He is in the midst of his last minute preparations and we watch as he finesses and fleshes out his plot, adding in special effects, casting choices, soundtrack options all while pacing and prowling around the tiny office on the stage.
‘The China Incident’ stars Barbara Lowing as Bea Pontivec, a publicist/ diplomat / illicit lover / mother / ex-wife / closet alcoholic and smoker who somehow manages to be simultaneously abhorrent and appealing. As we watch her juggle calls from the President of the United States, a dictator in Africa, her ex-husband, her son, her daughter, her daughter’s partner and her secret lover who happens to be part of the United Nations, the hidden layers of the character start to shine through.
Barbara is astounding, remembering a ridiculous amount of fast-paced lines and which phone to pick at which moment, all while building a character that evolves. Vile and vacuous at the beginning, Bea Pontivec somehow worms her way into your affections (or at least earns your grudging admiration).
The pair of plays were fantastic entertainment, with laugh-out-loud and feel-good moments. Not to be missed.
‘The Pitch and The China Incident’ play at the Cremorne Theatre, QPAC until March 9.
Pigeon play Live It Up Festival at the RNA Showgrounds Saturday April 13.
For the first time in over three decades, The Jacksons will be touring Australia to thrill fans with their extensive back catalogue of hits and pay tribute to their late brother, Michael Jackson.
Brothers Tito, Jermaine, Jackie and Marlon have reunited for the ‘Unity Tour’ and can’t wait to bring the soulful, sunny sounds of The Jacksons back down under.
“After getting so many e-mails from the fans around the world, I think we owe it to them as well — they want to sing the songs with us and entertain,” Jackie says.
The brothers agreed it was time to reconnect with the fans and celebrate the music that turned the family into a musical dynasty, and Michael into an international superstar.
“Well, since the passing of my brother,” Jermaine says, “we're still mourning from his death, so this is healing by playing the music, playing the songs; so we felt the timing would be perfect now.”
The Jacksons will pay tribute to Michael by performing some of his most beloved songs alongside a video dedication. They say Michael is never far from their hearts and even now it’s still difficult emotionally to hear the songs that delighted generations of fans.
“We do feel his presence,” Tito says. “There are a lot of times when I'm on the stage and sometimes I take a glance at the screen and I see his face up there and I get kind of teary-eyed a little bit; just about every show, I miss him so much.”
“I know at each concert, MJ’s spirit will be in the house with us,” adds Jackie.
The four brothers have invested huge amounts of time and energy into making sure fans will not be disappointed.
“Rehearsal time's been about two years,” Marlon says, “because we want to do the best we can do and the only way you can be the best is if you put time and energy into it.”
Apart from the difficulty of dealing with Michael’s death, the brothers faced an almost equally daunting challenge: trying to decide which songs to perform from a back catalogue that spans nearly forty years, over two-dozen albums and countless number one hits.
“The challenge was trying to decide what music we were going to do,” says Tito, “that was the biggest challenge.” “We have so many songs,” adds Jackie, “so many songs and we're trying to fit them all in.”
Songs you can expect to hear include: ‘ABC’, ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘Blame It On The Boogie’.
Jackie describes the tour as “a dream coming true; I can’t believe this is finally happening – there’s nothing like having all the brothers on stage at the same time.”
“I am so happy and excited to perform again on-stage with my brothers,” agrees Jermaine. “I can’t wait to sing all the songs that were so much a part of all our lives.”
Michael Jackson’s death in 2009 sent shockwaves throughout the entertainment world and, despite the controversy that surrounded his life, he left an undeniable mark on music and pop culture. Exploding on to the professional music scene in 1964, Michael and his brothers achieved international superstardom as The Jackson 5, becoming the first group ever to have their first four singles reach number one on the Billboard charts. The Jackson brothers hope to bring to their fans the same high level of energy and feeling the family have always been known for.
“We are ready and committed to keep the family’s legacy alive and perform once again with the highest level of excellence, creativity, and most of all, integrity,” Jermaine says, adding, “there will be a lot of excitement, a lot of fun.”
“A lot of excitement,” Marlon echoes, “we set high standards from the very beginning of moving and dancing and singing and playing.”
According to the critics, the brothers live up to their promise; The Jacksons have already thrilled North American audiences, with the New York Times praising their performance as ‘finely harmonised and thoroughly choreographed’.
Tito, Jermaine, Jackie and Marlon say the ‘Unity Tour’ is about paying tribute to the fans as much as it’s about celebrating Michael’s life and The Jackson’s irrepressibly catchy brand of pop-funk.
“We just want to thank the fans from around the world for being so supportive of our family over the years,” Jermaine says. “They've just been incredible and we can't wait to see them out there on tour.”
The Jacksons bring their Unity Tour Australia 2013 to the Brisbane Riverstage Sunday March 24.