Foxtel Festival Hub brochure by Strut & Fret Production House

FOXTEL FESTIVAL HUB Thu 11 – Sat 27 Oct, 7am til late Under Princes Bridge, on the banks of the Yarra River Bookings Ticketmaster 136 100 melbournefestival.com.au/hub

Welcome to the Hub It’s been an absolute pleasure working with our great friends at Strut & Fret to realize this Foxtel Festival Hub – a stand‑alone, self‑created pop-up venue which is the first of its kind in Melbourne Festival’s history. With a roster of outstanding talent (from Paul Capsis, Boy George and acrobat troupe Circa to country/blues diva Lanie Lane, robotronic band The Trons and a surreal Andy Warhol presiding cinematically), the Foxtel Festival Hub is guaranteed to be not only a venue of outstanding entertainment but also, and more importantly, Melbourne’s vibrant, ephemeral ‘gathering place’ for daytime, pre- or post- show meals, drinks and festival chat. Geographically and philosophically this is the accessible, welcoming and surprising beating heart of your 2012 Festival – use it as your home base and meeting place, and enjoy.

All tickets are general admission – no further discounts are applicable, seating is not guaranteed. Entry to the Hub is restricted to persons over the age of 18 or persons under the age of 18 who are accompanied by a parent or guardian, or who have purchased a ticket to an event on that day. Some events may contain haze effects. Program details are correct at time of printing but are subject to change; please check the Festival website for current information. Wheelchair accessible

Presented by Melbourne Festival Produced by Strut & Fret Production House

your festival destination Brett Sheehy AO Artistic Director

This year Melbourne Festival is proud to collaborate with internationally renowned festival producers Strut & Fret Production House to create the dazzling new Foxtel Festival Hub: a custom-designed bar, club and hub – a performance space and dining destination at the centre of the Festival precinct. As each day unfurls, the Foxtel Festival Hub transforms from relaxed daytime café to chic preshow meeting place to night-time entertainment spectacular, with special guest DJs keeping the dancefloor moving from 10pm until the early morn. Featuring a roster of cabaret, music, theatre, comedy and circus exclusively curated by Strut & Fret, the Foxtel Festival Hub will, for 17 delirious days, become the beating heart of Melbourne’s festival life: an extravaganza of performance, art, dining, drinking and dancing, where you never know quite what – or who – you’ll encounter.

HUB DESIGN Custom designed from the ground up for this year’s Melbourne Festival, the Foxtel Festival Hub is the glittering centrepiece to October’s cavalcade of international arts events. An explosion of colour on the banks of the Yarra, this majestic three-level structure features an intimate bar, an outdoor woodfired kitchen, a boutique performance space modelled on classical European balconied theatres and an open-air rooftop terrace, graced with spectacular views of the Melbourne skyline and gardens. Architecturally designed and constructed from a medley of ‘scavenged’ materials – corrugated iron, polycarbon and modularstyle gantries – the pop-up Hub is a new, shimmering destination on the Melbourne landscape: a fleeting springtime utopia where artists and audiences alike can mingle, unwind and cut loose.

EPULO – HUB KITCHEN Epulo /e•pu• lo/ Latin; sumptuous food, banquet, feast The Foxtel Festival Hub is more than just an intoxicating art and performance space. It is also home for 17 days to Epulo, a spectacular pop-up cafe and restaurant with a sumptuous menu crafted by chef Jason Jones, co-founder of Melbourne’s beloved Mamasita eatery. Boasting a cuisine inspired by an international blend of Asian and Mediterranean influences, prepared daily from fresh market produce, the Hub eatery is a bold new undertaking – an ephemeral quality dining experience, set to vanish into the ether at the Festival’s conclusion. Open every day of the Festival for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and providing all-day coffee and free wi-fi to the Festival-going masses, Epulo is set to take its place as the nourishing heart of this year’s Festival experience.

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Life, Art and Leigh Bowery: In Conversation with Boy George (International) Boy George joins Australian cabaret star Paul Capsis and operatic diva Le Gateau Chocolat (LA SOIRÉE) for an intimate tribute to an avant garde 80s icon, Leigh Bowery. A performance artist, fashion designer and club promoter, this Australian expat was at the centre of a new pansexual brand of expression that influenced generations of London and New York artists, from Vivienne Westwood and Michael Clark to Antony (Antony and the Johnsons). Boy George himself recorded a 1995 tribute to Bowery, ‘Satan’s Butterfly Ball’, after the influential artist’s tragic death. Here he revisits the echoes and remembrances of this beloved and inspiring figure, in a unique testimonial to a true icon. Sat 13 Oct at 5pm, $25

Boy George (DJ set) with Marc Vedo (UK) Setting the tone for two weeks of revelry in the Foxtel Festival Hub, iconic 80s poster boy and Culture Club frontman Boy George jets in to lay down a blistering DJ set alongside his gifted collaborator, Marc Vedo. A rising star on the international DJ scene, having played festivals across Europe and the US, Vedo has now turned his considerable talents to music production, forming the label VG Records with Boy George. Together these phenomenal DJ talents are set to elevate the Hub with an unforgettable evening of blissed-out, exultant, dance-ready anthems. Fri 12 Oct at 10pm, $35

The Renovators (Australia) A wild musical throwdown that channels the untamed energy of the sublime Eddie Perfect, members of Aussie hip-hop darlings Hermitude and the much acclaimed band from Keating! The Musical. Boldly going where no one thought to go before, this new musical supergroup mix their own songs with improvised takes on the best and most unexpected moments from the past few decades of pop music, from Rihanna to AC/DC to Amy Winehouse – and anything else you might care to request. Spontaneous, creative and wildly entertaining, The Renovators will have you on your feet from the word go. Sun 14 & Mon 15 Oct at 8pm, $30

Circa – Wunderacts (Australia) Circus, cabaret, vaudeville and dance collide in Wunderacts, the breathtaking new show from world-renowned Australian contemporary circus company Circa. Fresh from eight months in Berlin and opening the Montreal International Circus Festival, Circa home with a new work made from a selection of the beautiful, the strange, the sexy and the seemingly impossible. Prepare your senses for a dazzling, overwhelming ride as these seven performers mould and contort a dizzying new reality where bodies flow like water, gravity seems to fail and nothing is as it first appears. Fri 19 – Mon 22 Oct at 8pm, Sat 20 & Sun 21 Oct at 2pm, $45

Brous (Australia) Returning from a sold-out European tour with Jens Lekman, Melbourne pop songstress Sophia Brous joins the Hub line-up for a long-awaited hometown show. Blending a mesmerising palate of 60s film soundtracks, shimmering psychedelia and industrial lounge, all crowned by a magnetic, powerhouse voice, Brous concocts a new, thoroughly original sound. Thu 11 Oct at 8pm, $30

Capsis October Show (Australia) Famed across Australia for his stunning vocal dexterity and his exotic, androgynous stage persona, cabaret star Paul Capsis joins Melbourne Festival to perform the legendary rock that inspires him. Escorting us on a hypnotic musical voyage, Capsis and his four‑piece band tour the songs of The Beatles, Patti Smith, Prince, Lou Reed, The Eurythmics, Amy Winehouse, and many more. Fri 12 Oct at 8pm, $40

Andy X (Australia) Jim Sharman, the legendary and elusive director of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, makes his long awaited return to the world of cinema with Andy X – a beguiling, intoxicating and hallucinatory musical about the life and legacy of Andy Warhol. Bringing his decades of experience in theatre and opera to bear on this most enigmatic of figures, Sharman has melded verse, song, dreamlike imagery, garish cabaret, installation art and a searing hypercolour film stock into one of the boldest, most distinctive filmic portraits of recent memory. Stick around after the screening to meet the cast and Jim Sharman himself as they talk about the experience of creating an Andy Warhol like no other. Tue 16 & Wed 17 Oct at 8pm, $25

Blood and Bone by Antony Hamilton (Australia) One of Australia’s leading choreographers and dancers, Antony Hamilton (Lucy Guerin Inc., Chunky Move), has assembled a selection of his closest friends to improvise a ramshackle assortment of twisted, malformed scenarios. A shared interest in code, ritual, and rhythm, will colour the performance with an unmistakable carelessness for what is considered to be good, well crafted and tasteful. Sat 13 Oct at 8pm, $35

Sxip Shirey – Impossible Music from NEW YORK (USA) The Australian debut of New York composer/ performer/sound designer Sxip Shirey promises ecstatic melody, irreverent electric-acoustic noise and playful, sexy beats. Boasting iron-clad performance chops, Shirey rips through the extended possibilities of found sounds, human beat boxing and a curious array of instrumentation.

Lanie Lane (Australia) Channelling the sultry sounds of a bygone era, Lanie Lane brews up a beguiling mixture of 50s rock’n’roll, blues and jazz with that mesmerising, smoky voice. After romancing festival crowds across the country, and pausing to cut some tracks with the legendary Jack White, she joins us at Melbourne Festival for an intimate, incandescent performance. Thu 25 Oct at 8pm, $35

Thu 18 Oct at 8pm, $35

Okidok presents Slips Inside (Belgium)

Project Jenny, Project Jan (USA)

Fresh from a run of acclaimed performances at Avignon Festival, Belgian clowning duo Okidok present their latest piece of inspired madness for Melbourne audiences. Like two cartoon characters sprung to life, Xavier and Benoît compete to outdo each other in ridiculous feats of acrobatics and outlandishness, presenting a riotous evening of ludicrous physical comedy.

Straight out of New York, this two-man outfit takes the ‘laptop rock’ phenomenon to the next level, delivering infectious electro pop tunes shot through with chunky basslines and dance-ready beats. Still riding high on the release of their 2011 album Home Sweet Home, the Brooklyn duo visit our shores for the first time to ply their irresistible brand of synth-pop.

Tue 23, Wed 24 & Fri 26 Oct at 8pm, Thu 25 Oct at 2pm, $35

Sat 27 Oct at 8pm, $35

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FOXTEL FESTIVAL HUB – PLANNER 12pm

1pm

Thu 11 Oct

Ringside: The Aestheitcs of Alienation

Fri 12 Oct

Ringside: The New Opera

2pm

3pm

Hubbabaloo

Sat 13 Oct

Life, Art and Leigh Bowery Simone Page Jones & Miles O’Neil

Sun 14 Oct Ringside: William Forsythe

Mon 15 Oct Tue 16 Oct Wed 17 Oct

Ringside: Akram Khan

Thu 18 Oct Fri 19 Oct

Ringside: Billy Bragg

Sat 20 Oct

Circa presents Wunderacts

Sun 21 Oct

Circa presents Wunderacts

Mon 22 Oct Tue 23 Oct

Ringside: Text of Light

Wed 24 Oct

The Trons

Thu 25 Oct

The Trons

Ringside: European Theatre

Fri 26 Oct

The Trons

Ringside: State of Art

Sat 27 Oct

The Trons

5pm

Okidok presents Slips Inside

Simone Page Jones & Miles O’Neil

8pm – 9pm

9:15pm

10pm

Brous

DJ Rashida

Capsis October Show

Boy George (DJ set) with Marc Vedo

Blood and Bone by Antony Hamilton

Spender

The Renovators

Smoking Toddlers

The Renovators

Uncle Barnie

Andy X

Wolfwolf

Andy X

grobak Padi

Flap!

Sxip Shirey – Impossible Music from New York City

grobak Padi

Wikimen present 10pm Swing

Circa presents Wunderacts

grobak Padi

Darth Vegas

Circa presents Wunderacts

grobak Padi

Bombay Royale

Circa presents Wunderacts

grobak Padi

Club Soirée

Circa presents Wunderacts

Monday Night Mash Up

Okidok presents Slips Inside

Going Swimming

Okidok presents Slips Inside

Wikimen present 10pm Swing

Lanie Lane

Hecho Pecho

Okidok pressents Slips Inside

Sampology

Project Jenny, Project Jan

Closing Night Party

Hubbabaloo Opening Night Party

Spender (Australia) Melbourne outfit Spender takes to the stage wielding finely crafted indie pop that pays homage to the pop greats, conjuring shades of David Byrne and ELO even as they create a sound all their own. Weaving together smooth, jazz-influenced melodies and 60s rhythms, Spender delivers a kaleidoscope of pop revelry with an irresistible nocturnal groove.

This white-hot inauguration sets the scene for two-anda-bit weeks of unbridled Hub revelry, staging a wanton evening of celebration to make the city sit up and take notice. Come explore this spectacular structure and all the treasures it holds within, in a special opening celebration showcasing Melbourne’s finest live bands in Melbourne’s newest pop-up venue.

Sat 13 Oct at 10pm, Free

Thu 11 Oct at 5pm, Free

DJ Rashida (USA) Kicking off the Festival’s party spot this year is acclaimed Los Angeles DJ and celeb fashionista DJ Rashida, bringing her sensational smooth fusion of hip hop, funk, soul, dancehall, rock and house. One of the world’s most sought-after DJs, Rashida has opened for a plethora of major artists (including Cee-Lo, Kanye West and Prince), and headlined festivals across the globe. Thu 11 Oct at 10pm, Free

Simone Page Jones & Miles O’Neil (Australia) Operatic bombshell Simone Page Jones (The LoveBirds) and multi-instrumentalist Miles O’Neil (Suitcase Royale) pare it all back to bare indie roots with sweet and lonesome duets, old country heartbreakers, and original songs backed by sparse, soulful guitar and banjo pluckin’. Just a little country, straight from the heart. Sun 14 & Sun 21 Oct at 3pm, Free

Smoking Toddlers (Australia) Shameless and relentless, veteran indie DJs Smoking Toddlers crank up the dance floor with their signature demented mix of electro swing disco and mashed-up, feel-good old-school madness, dialed all the way up. Bring some sturdy shoes. Sun 14 Oct at 10pm, Free

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Uncle Barnie

(New Zealand)

Irrepressible Kiwi DJ and radio host Uncle Barnie has lugged his crates halfway across the world, smashing Berlin, Edinburgh, Ibiza, Barcelona, London and New York with his exuberant sets: a fearless, footloose mix of Argentinean electro-cumbia, afrobeat, soca, funk, soul, early New York new wave, electro (the old kind), 80s hip hop and Thai garage rock.

Flap! (Australia) Straight from their ‘A Great Day For The Race’ European tour, Melbourne outfit Flap! crank out gutsy, joyous, earthy, foot-stompin’ tunes. Shamelessly flirting with 20s jazz, gypsy brass, swing, English folk, calypso and pop melodrama, this irresistibly energetic band has a talent for bringing audiences up and houses down. Wed 17 Oct at 10pm, Free

Mon 15 Oct at 10pm, Free

The Wikimen present 10pm Swing (Australia)

grobak Padi

(Australia/Indonesia)

Swinging quartet The Wikimen bring their laidback jazz and fresh lounge stylings to old-timey classic tunes, fusing sweet vocal harmonies with transpacific serenades of ukulele, double bass, vibrophone and drums. A discerning selection of Hawaiian hula swing to knock you off your beach towel and straight back to the Daiquiri Age.

Manifesting a little piece of Java in the heart of Melbourne, a delegation of roving food carts from Indonesia will descend upon the Hub to serve up an outdoor performance of dance and multimedia, transforming the space through the imagery, sound and movement of Indonesian life.

Thu 18 & Wed 24 Oct at 10pm, Free

Wed 17 – Sun 21 Oct at 9.15pm, Free

Wolfwolf

(Australia)

Darth Vegas (Australia)

Originally a classically trained multiinstrumentalist – later turntablist, master masher of mixtapes and album producer under various aliases – the funkaphonic Wolfwolf cuts a debonair figure in custom leather wolf mask and full dinner attire, whipping up an intoxicating confection of futuristic 80s funk and electro-magnetic love makin’ anthems.

Fresh from their album Brainwashing for Dirty Minds, ‘mutant soundtrack ensemble’ Darth Vegas kickstart the zombie apocalypse with an A-grade medley of B-grade cult sensibilities. Part alien freakshow, part heaving house of musical horrors, this Sydney 7-piece deliver a virtuoso onslaught of surf-pop, schlock 50s sci-fi, jazzy swing, black metal and more. Inconceivably riotous.

Tue 16 Oct at 10pm, Free

Fri 19 Oct at 10pm, Free

Bombay Royale (Australia)

The Trons

(New Zealand)

Inspired by the 60s and 70s golden age of Bollywood, funk orchestra Bombay Royale teases and bewitches Festivalgoers with over-the-top cinematic surf riffs, wild disco licks and sly nods to vintage Bollywood. A fantastic, surreal spectacle of colour, sound and costume that promises to be utterly unique and irresistibly danceable.

The rise of the machines has begun – not with Skynet, but with a four-piece robot band from New Zealand, built from Meccano pieces and parts scavenged from old printers and vending machines. Eschewing electronics for a gritty analog DIY sound, these automatons have already subjugated the humans of Europe with their mechanised low-fi guitar rock. New target acquired: Melbourne. Wed 24 – Sat 27 Oct at 12pm, Free

Sat 20 Oct at 10pm, Free

Club Soirée

(International)

Ever wonder what happens after a LA SOIRÉE show? Join the international cast of acrobats, troubadours, miscreants and misfits for an uninhibited post-show party where anything goes. Bizarre and astounding, this ever-revolving rogue’s gallery of artists presents a late night salon of intimate musical cabaret and twisted vaudeville antics.

Going Swimming (Australia) Wax up your longboard, pack a towel and head inland for the coastal rock of Going Swimming. A brash Melbourne foursome, these surly scallywags of surf punk take the sounds of 60s California surf, mix in a garage rock aesthetic and give it a distinctly Down Under twist. Tue 23 Oct at 10pm, Free

Sun 21 Oct at 10pm, Free

Hecho Pecho

(Australia)

Monday Mash Up (International) Join us for a Melbourne Festival mystery dip, as a secret selection of local and international artists from the Festival program band together, taking control of the Hub for the night in a mind-blowing musical coup d’état. Mon 22 Oct at 10pm, Free

On excursion out of Adelaide, the raucous Toot Whistle Crew present a debaucherous night of entertainment: an international musical cornucopia spanning infectious gypsy rhythms, Balkan beats, hip hop, samba, mambo and tango. Kiss your footwear goodbye as this miscreant band of gypsy troubadours do their best to obliterate the Hub dance floor. Thu 25 Oct at 10pm, Free

Liu Zhuoquan – Where Are You?

Sampology (DJ set) (Australia)

The wondrous surrounds of the Foxtel Festival Hub not only plays host to an exceptional line-up of music and performers – it’s also the setting for a startling exhibition from renowned Chinese artist Liu Zhouquan.

One of the great unsung heroes of the Australian music scene, turntable and audiovisual artist Sampology is man pushing at the frontiers of DJing – relentlessly playful, tenaciously inventive. Having recently dropped his debut album Doomsday Deluxe, this internationally acclaimed artist brings his freakish turntable skills to Melbourne Festival, before heading onwards to an apocalyptic global tour.

Having spent years mastering the art of neihua, a Chinese tradition in which the inside of tiny snuff bottles are painstakingly painted with intricate images, Liu has taken this folk art in a whole new direction. Collecting discarded bottles of all shapes and sizes, he has decorated their interiors with a breathtaking miscellany: everyday objects, dissected organs and tiny creatures, all ‘trapped’ behind glass. These individual worlds have been brought together to form a kind of wunderkammer within the outlandish Hub habitat.

Fri 26 Oct at 10pm, Free

Closing Night Celebration There’s only one way this can end: with a stand-up, knockout, epic Closing Night event. With live performances, blistering DJ sets and a raft of special guests to launch the party into the stratosphere, this night will be a spectacular coup de grâce to an extraordinary Festival run. Sat 27 Oct at 10pm, Free

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