The Blackmail » 2010 » September

NY/LA

tristan — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 03:49:51 +0000

Posted by: The Blackmail

This Friday photographer Josh Robenstone brings his photos to Sydney’s China Heights. Read an interview with Josh from our current issue here…

Josh Robenstone
NY/LA and other American adventures
Opneing Friday October 1, 6pm
Show continues daily 12 – 5pm untill October 3
China Heights
16-28 Foster St, Surry Hills

Competition Cake

tristan — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 02:03:22 +0000

Posted by: CC Bakes

A few weeks ago I entered a banana cake in the Royal Melbourne Show baking competition. Now this had been planned with a friend months ago and we had had much baking preparation and had spent many weekend mornings sampling and discussing the characteristics of competition winning cakes.

As the winter months swung around, we found it particularly difficult to find ripe bananas, and that once procured, it was was a slow process for further ripen prior to bake. So in preparation to competition bake, I made sure I had bananas ready to ripen two weeks earlier. I had also mastered my slanted oven, found the best quality butter and flour to use and noted the correct baking time, as well as how to successfully remove cake from tin intact. But most importantly the bananas had to be ripe, almost to the point of rotten. An unripe banana can cause entrants to pull out from competition bake, as my baking partner was forced to do. I was not sway, all was on track for a blue medal ribbon.

Several days prior to competition bake I decided to check on my bananas and give them and extra kick for ripeness by squashing them further inside their skin. I woke up early the morning of the bake-off, with a strict one hour window for delivery of baked goods to the Show Grounds on a Sunday morning. Upon removing my competition cake from the oven, I found, for the first time in many cake bakes, that my banana cake had some strange lumps on the exterior, like sun spots. After much deliberation I realised my blunder. The bananas were in fact too ripe and had fermented inside their skins, with the aid of my own mashing.

Lesson learnt, and I think I’ll enter the carrot cake category next year.

Another delicious taste of what comes every Tuesday from CC Bakes.
Want to ask CC a question? ccbakes@theblackmail.com.au

Slow Blow’s 1st Birthday

tristan — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 01:53:09 +0000

Posted by: The Blackmail

This weekend Slow Blow celebrate their first birthday at their original, beloved home, Good God. Celebrating with the boys are The Heebie Jeebies a long with usual suspects and long time residents Softwar. Dress atire is Birthday Suits (take that as you will) and the first 50 entrants will receive a free mix disc. To get you in the mood, download the live vinyl mix G-Orgy did for us a while back…

Slow Blow’s 1st Birthday Party
Saturday October 2
Good God Small Club
55 Liverpool St. Sydney CBD

Cheeky Freak Of The Week: Bill Wyman

tristan — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 01:36:29 +0000

Posted by: The Blackmail

This week’s Cheeky Freak has been carefully hand selected from possibly billions of videos on You Tube by Barry Reef who will be joining fellow liquorish heads Steele Bonus, Johnny The Ladd and Hippy Joel at The Flinders tonight for Chakra Khan II… feel the vibe… more info here…

Also tonight in Sydney is Bottin (Italians Do It Better) with Loin Brothers, Dan de Caires, Kali and Mirror Mirror at good old Good God. 10pm, $15 presale at Resident Advisor or $25 on the door. Saturday, again at Good God, enjoy Jingle Jangle’s Magic Special with Magician Tom Strange, DJ Alex Clapham and your hosts Smart Casual & Smokey LaBeef. 9pm, $5. Do you believe in magic?

CHAKRA KHAN II

tristan — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 23:42:38 +0000

Posted by: The Blackmail

2009 was a time in all our lives…

Exactly 365 days after Chakra Khan nestled itself into the adequate surroundings of the Burdekin a*us – playing some of the sweetest songs from your generation, and my generation – it’s time for Nº2.

A furthering continuance rather than a sequel, Chakra Khan II is an upper-echelon wolf in a mid-tier sheep’s clothing of a tropical awakening further described as: a magical feat of harmony, and rhythm. A dazzling snaphsot of perpetuality for now and you, it will be a night-time of forward motion and downward force.

Steele Bonus, Johnny The Ladd (SOS 2010 & FOREVER), Hippy Joel (aka Cleric Apton III) and Barry Reef are providing a selection of their favourite bass rubbing / sax whispering / space moving / retina popping / psychic dreaming / inner tubing / sexy lubing tunes to make your evening a time to remember.

For a sensation comprised of a series of smaller (tessellating) sensations, attend Chakra Khan, a night of Unforgettable Memories.

CHAKRA KHAN II
Venue is The Flinders
Date is Friday 24th of September
Time is measurement

Sprouts On Stalk

tristan — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 23:34:43 +0000

Posted by: CC Bakes

I was out of town with some friends recently and found these stalks of brussels sprouts sitting in a bowl between jars of jam and leeks at a local food store. For some reason I never think of these mini cabbages as growing on a stalk. Too often we see them already removed and I have never seen them cooked still attached, but though this could be an interesting venture as they look so good like this.

Brussels sprouts are a cultivar of the same species that includes cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi. A true winter vegetable, these small leafy green buds are cultivated in relatively mild climates and grown like buds in a spiral array, like so, on a long, thick stalk that can get to over a metre in height.

My mother used to roast them until the outside layer was black, but I prefer to boil them before panning them off with butter, pancetta and chestnuts.

Another delicious taste of what comes every Tuesday from CC Bakes.
Want to ask CC a question? ccbakes@theblackmail.com.au

Tokyo Tomorrow

tristan — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 05:11:33 +0000

Posted by: The Blackmail

Charlie Hillhouse is exhibiting new photography work at the Queensland Centre of Photography!

Tokyo Tomorrow, Charlie Hillhouse
Opening Saturday September 25, 5 – 8.30pm
QCP
Corner Cordelia & Russell Streets, South Brisbane

Cheeky Freak Of The Week: The Deadly Cigarette

tristan — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 01:26:47 +0000

Posted by: The Blackmail

Speaking of Joaquin Phoenix, or JP, go and see I’m Still Here this weekend and make up your own mind…

Saturday in Sydney visit the Redwater Markets in Redfern Park (corner Elizabeth St and Redfern St). Word on the street is that these guys will be selling some good shit… for real this time!

Tonight in Melbourne see The Twerps play The Workers Club with Bitch Prefect, Woollen Kits and DJ People. 51 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, Doors at 8pm, $10.

Coq Au Vin 2

tristan — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 06:31:19 +0000

Posted by: CC Bakes

Chicken legs braised in sweet wine with baby vegetables from Shannon Bennett’s My French Vue.

I have posted a coq before, but this quite a different recipe.

This recipe calls for a whole baby chicken or poussin, but we used chicken legs cos we couldn’t find a small enough bird. You could also use quails. We also used medium sized beetroots rather than baby ones, and cut them up, so the dish turned out very red in colour. Tarragon was substituted for oregano.

1 x 600g free range chicken
4 baby carrots, peeled
8 baby carrots, peeled
8 garlic cloves
8 baby beetroots
6 sprigs of tarragon
375 ml (13 fl oz) sweet white wine
2 tablespoons cultured butter
500 ml (1 pint) sparkling mineral water
Salt and pepper

Preheat over to 180 C. Put all the ingredients into a copper or ceramic pot with a suitable lid and bring to the boil on the stove over a high heat. Remove from the heat and cover the pot tightly with aluminium foil before placing the lid on. Cook in the oven for 2.5 hours. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve with a lightly dressed rocket salad and crusty bread. Serves 2.

Another delicious taste of what comes every Tuesday from CC Bakes.
Want to ask CC a question? ccbakes@theblackmail.com.au

Interpol Is… Julian Plenti

gabe — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 01:08:19 +0000

Posted by: Digby Woods

Having recently listened to Interpol’s latest album, creatively titled, Interpol, I felt somewhat confused. I couldn’t figure out what it was, what I was missing. I listened to the album over and over, and then, suddenly, it struck me. The answer had to do with Julian Plenti, Paul Banks’ solo nom de plume.

For those who haven’t listened to Bank’s solo debut, Julian Plenti is… Skyscraper, here’s what you missed. Basically, it’s Interpol but with a noticeably clearer and more refined voice from Banks and a slightly bolder direction is in regards to instrumentation and melody (basically a further extension of Our Love To Admire). Now, if you haven’t listened to Interpol’s new album yet, then I suggest simply listening to “Julian Plenti is… Skyscraper” filtered through beige speakers. While that may seem harsh, it is harsher still that such an accomplished band could think to put out such a, well, boring record. I understand that Interpol are an acquired taste, with some tracks taking a few listens before they take hold, yet no matter how many times I listened to this album, I could not shake the feeling that I was watching paint dry.

Interpol’s guitarist, Daniel Kessler, recently commented that, “We always take each record as an evolution, and this is definitely our most progressive yet.” This comment, more than anything, is absolute proof that it is virtually impossible for artists to see themselves, or their work, as they truly are. In the same interview, Kessler remarked, in response to a question regarding whether the new album would be a return in sound to the first (Turn On The Bright Lights), that, “It doesn’t sound like our first record, it just sounds like us, Interpol, moving forward and going to new places.” This is definitely a literal comment, applying solely to their touring schedule and not their latest album, which doesn’t go anywhere.

While it may seem I am grabbing for the jugular, understand that I have been an Interpol fan for many years. They are arguably one of the most critically and commercially successful bands of the post-punk/post-rock movement, an indeed, of the past decade.

Is it right then that they should be held to such high standards? No, of course not. A band can’t produce a hit record every time (MGMT anyone?). After all, they are just musicians, and every art form has its difficulties in trying to sustain even a modicum of success, especially with music.

And yet, the fact that Interpol have produced such a tumbling effort as this, after three consecutive seminal records, perhaps gives validity to the notion of self-awareness being a rare virtue, one that is even rarer for the uncommonly gifted.