ENTERTAINMENT
MANDY NOLAN’S
SOAPBOX
In 2016, Culture Club’s triumphant return sold out some of the world’s most iconic venues including the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles (two nights) and London’s famous Wembley Arena. Culture Club proceeded to sell out shows across the rest of the world including the UK, Europe and USA, making their resurgence one of the most noteworthy success stories of today.
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Musically, they are sounding better than ever as Boy George and the rest of the original lineup including Roy Hay, Jon Moss, and Mikey Craig are now joined by an incredible group of great musicians including extra percussionists, keyboard players, backing singers and a horn section. This bigger lineup now stands as an incredible musical revue that adds a whole new element of warmth and sound to their live shows, all of which are consistently receiving glowing reviews.
Did you know that parking charges are the fee that consumers hate most? This was the result of a UK survey that came back with an overwhelming majority of people surveyed saying parking should be free.
Special guests will be Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey, who will play hits live for the first time in 27 years. Also appearing are the Eurogliders who took the charts by storm in the 1980s. On 2 Dec at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Tickets available from ticketek.com.au.
OH BOY! GEORGE! Do you remember the excitement of the Culture Club? When we were experimenting with gender way before we even knew it was a thing. Boy George was ahead of the pack, and now he’s back, still cutting it three decades on. In what has been a stellar season for Boy George on The Voice, it is with much excitement that his most popular team member, Hoseah Partsch, has announced he will join international superstars Culture Club on their Australian tour later this year. Culture Club are led by front man Boy George, who endeared himself to new Australian audiences as their favourite coach on TV’s top-rating show The Voice. Hoseah, who proved to be one of the most sought-after contestants, captivated audiences around Australia, not only from his humble beginnings, but with his effortless and soulful voice – a voice that could not be denied. Hoseah became a show favourite after he joined Team George and through his coach’s guidance and flawless choice of songs, captured the attention of viewers across the country. The Grand Final show on Sunday saw a very special TV moment when George and Hoseah performed an inspiring and perfectly fitting version of the Louis Armstrong classic.
HUGS & TEARS OF ANTHONY LYCENKO Hugs & Tears, a celebration of the boundless creativity and 20 years of music from local performers in memorial of Anthony Lycenko, is planned for the Bangalow Hotel on Tuesday 14 Nov at 6.30pm. Lycenko died unexpectedly in August this year with peers in the industry still in shock at his sudden demise. Musician Pete Murray reflected on his and Lycenko’s relationship: ‘I met him when he was producing my first album called The Game – It was a great experience. We became good friends. He also engineered another album called Summer at Eureka.’ Murray remembers Lycenko for his craft. ‘He was really slick. He was great. One of the fastest guys on ProTools. He had some great ideas, and he was responsible
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38 November 1, 2017 The Byron Shire Echo
for my song So Beautiful, which became a big hit. A lot of the production ideas on the album were re-recorded on the Feeler album; that was a lot of his ideas; he didn’t get the credit because it was re-recorded on Feeler, but he was renowned for great guitar licks and great guitar sounds; he was amazing for that.’ ‘He was an interesting character,’ said Murray. ‘He had these super highs and lows, and that is the thing you realise working with him – he could be super excited, and sometimes he would be really inside his own head. With creative people who struggle with reality, it’s one of those things; whatever was getting to him got the better of him. It is tough,’ says Murray. ‘We all have our ups and downs, and the music industry is the toughest industry.’ Musicians will be gathering at the regular Brackets open mic to honour Anthony Lycenko at the Bangalow Hotel on Tuesday 14 November at 6pm.
Yep, no-one likes paying for parking. I reckon you could say this would be a universal result. No-one wants to pay for parking. Charging for empty space is like taxing for air. And to be honest, we’re sick of being slugged. Everywhere you turn there are hidden and not-sohidden taxes. Fees on ATM cash withdrawals, fees on overdue bills, rates, water, petrol, income tax, GST, car rego, road tolls, bridge tolls, tunnel tolls, debit and credit card surcharges, charges for using your mobile overseas, for updating insurance policies, taxes on your food, on your clothes… charges for being alive. We’re sick and tired of being taxed for just existing. By the time some poor bastard puts his pants on each morning he’s probably been taxed 10 times. When he eventually parks his car out the front of a shop and he’s got to scramble for a few gold coins then he’s done. He pays for parking and then realises he doesn’t have enough for a coffee. So he drives home deflated. Why go out? What’s out there for us in the big wide world other than more tax? Asking for money before you’ve even got out of the car doesn’t make a person feel very welcome. We’re not Sydney. The reason people come here is to get away from the prickish way they have to live every day. Imagine how those people are going to feel when they find out the simple life is gone. People come here to holiday and to live because they craved a laidback lifestyle. A life that was more uncomplicated, less materialistic. It’s enough. We’ve got fine fatigue. Can the Man please stop taxing us? Can you stop bleeding every last bloody cent out of us? It’s depressing. The public are starting to feel like a lemon having every last drop juiced out. And guess what? There ain’t no juice left in our lemons. If the council wants to make lemonade maybe they need to grow a few lemon trees. Parking fees are punitive. Pay or be punished. Oh, and by the way, enjoy your holiday. Oh yes, it’s just $4 here and $4 there. But it adds up.
Parking fees just add one more tax onto our shoulders. It’s a tax. You can call it a fee if you like, but it’s a tax. Brunswick Heads and Bangalow don’t want paid parking. I’d say the community is pretty vocal about it. But it seems Council has suddenly become hearing impaired. Brunswick Heads and Bangalow are very different villages from Byron Bay. They want to be able to manage their own parking challenges in accordance with what suits their particular needs. Nobody likes a one-size-fitsall prescriptive approach. And let’s face it, penalising people for parking in your town doesn’t create more parking by adding extra ‘space’. It just means fewer people come to your town to park and therefore shop. Oh yes, you can get a park in Byron now. That’s because that person who would have stopped has gone elsewhere. Probably to Bangalow or Brunswick Heads. Paid parking isn’t a solution. It’s a business. It’s rampant opportunism. And it’s ugly. Those parking meters look like angry money-sucking daleks. Beautiful Bangalow has kept herself in pretty good shape. She’s a heritage town. Everything is so gorgeous there you wouldn’t think of slipping down town in your tracky dacks. If you want to get bread and milk you’d better whack on some funky threads. Bangalow is all about understated style. So why would you put those ugly monstrosities into a beautiful streetscape? It’s a crime against architecture! I mean are there even shabby chic versions of the meters? And Brunswick Heads? Well it’s about being laidback. Uncomplicated. Chilled. There’s nothing chilled about paid parking. Bruns still has the charm of a fishing village. So protect it. No more paid parking. There’s nothing more shitty then being told what to do by a machine. I mean we could at least be using humans. Imagine the drop in unemployment when the council introduce an elaborate valet system where some dude with tatts and dreadlocks takes $5 to park your car on the Gold Coast. Want to show your opposition? Rally at the Hotel Brunswick on Saturday 11 November from 6–7.30pm.
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