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Stereosonic Vs Soundwave - Mega Concerts, Mega Headliners, Mega Awesomeness!

Sydney loves Music. Music is everywhere, and even music artists love Sydney. Many of the big names in music history from different genres have already played in Sydney. Millions of viewers have joined to make their concerts more memorable, which makes the artist to come back and perform again! But here we are not talking about one artist, or one genre. Here we are talking about two different mega events of Sydney, and three different secret crowds of Sydney to rsvp these events, Stereosonic & Soundwave.

• Stereosonic :

The name is not new to the electronic music lovers of Sydney. Stereosonic is one of the biggest Electro-Music events in the whole world. And this year it is again returning to Sydney, But with 2 day festival for the first time! Every known name of the electronic world, will be playing at one huge event.

The Line Up Goes : David Guetta, Calvin Harris, Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Acid Jacks, Afrojack, Alesso, Aly & Fila B2B John O’Callaghan, Andrew Rayel, Andy C Axwell, Bingo Players, Boys Noize, BrEaCh, Bryan Kearney, B U R N S, Cajmere, Claude VonStroke, Clockwork, Destructo, DJ Falcon, Djedtronic, Doctor P, Dog Blood, Drumsound & Bassline Smith, Empire of the Sun, Feenixpawl, Ferry Corsten, Flight Facilities, Fritz Kalkbrenner, Gareth Emery, Generik, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Hot Natured, Hot Since 82, Infinity Ink, Jamie Jones, Jochen Miller, Justin Martin, Kaz James, Krewella, Labrinth, Late Nite Tuff Guy, Lee Foss, Lemaitre, M4SONIC, Maceo Plex, MaRLo, Mat Zo, Matrix & Futurebound, Nero, Nick Thayer, Nicky Romero, Noisia & Foreign Beggars, R.L Grime, Robert DeLong, Sebastian Ingrosso, ShockOne, Showtek, Solarstone, Solomun, Stafford Brothers, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, The Bloody Beetroots, TJR, Tommie Sunshine, Tommy Trash, Tritonal, ƱZ, W&W, What So Not, Will Sparks, Zedd!!!

• Soundwave :

Soundwave is an annual music festival held in Sydney, and it is not new to all the metalheads, and rock music fans all over Sydney. It's main feature is to cover a wholesome amount of International as well as Australian music acts from various genres such as Rock, Metal, Punk and its Sub-Genres. The festival is run and promoted by Soundwave Touring, who also run Harvest Festival and promote tours for bands and musicians each year. This year's line-up is discussed as the best line-up ever!!

The Line Up Goes : Green Day, Stone Temple Pilots, Rob Zombie, Placebo, Korn, Trivium, DevilDriver, Biffy Clyro, Asking Alexandria, Alkaline Trio, Five Finger Death Punch, Testament, Letlive, Gwar, Mushroomhead, Pulled Apart By Horses, Bowling For Soup, Skindred, Amon Amarth, Whitechapel, The Story So Far, Ill Nino, Walking Papers, Your Demise, Real Friends, Aveneged Sevenfold, Alice In Chains, Megadeath, AFI, Alterbridge, Down, Newsted, Rocket From The Crypt, Clutch, Baroness, August Burns Red, The Black Dahila Murder, Finch, Nancy Vandal, Trash Talk, Volbeat, Terror, Tessaract, 10 Years, Hardcore Superstar, Coliseum, Our Last Night, Heaven's Basement!!!

You may be a party goer, and a lover for electro, dubstep, garage, r&b fan, and go to the Stereosonic Festival, Or you may be a headbanging hardcore metal, punk, goth, rock fan and go to the Soundwave Festival, you are in treat of lifetime in both cases. Personally I listen to both of the genres and follow most of the artists in both the festivals. So, I can tell how excited you are to see these lineups, because I could not believe such great artists could share a stage at once!! 

Both of the events are the events of lifetime! I am going on both, and will write a review for both in the coming blogs! Don't Miss This! Be There or Be Square! 

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For more info on Stereosonic : http://stereosonic.com.au/           .\/,,

For more info on Soundwave : http://soundwavefestival.com/      \,,/.


Written By : Ujzwol

New Years' Eve Celebration Midst The Fireworks in Harbour Bridge Sydney - Truly Once In A Lifetime Experience.

Bidding farewell to the past year with celebrating with small group of friends in a karaoke club, or spending it with family gatherings with warm private parties are very common all over the globe. New Year’s Eve is a big deal for us Aussies, and in our eyes, those celebration has become cliché, and we like to celebrate it the grand way. That is the reason why Sydney celebrates New Year’s Eve with entire city, the visitors from all over the world to create an utterly surreal experience in itself!

Countdown has started for the New Year’s Eve in Sydney. Travelers from all over the world, and the locals have started to plan their trips to Harbour Bridge, Sydney for the New Year’s Celebration. And truly, it is a surreal experience for every visitor of New Year’s Eve Celebration in Sydney’s Harbour Bridge.

First, it is a big deal for the Aussies. We celebrate New Year’s like no other country, and we are straight proud for that. Sydney is full of the fun, youth, energy, frolic, light, ambiance, a good life to sum up during New Year’s Eve! Second, Sydney is a place with several inhabitants, as well as a hub for the visitors, travelers, students, adventure seekers from all over the world. And, we love to share the festival with everyone. Unity in diversity is highly appreciated by the welcoming and ever smiling Aussies. Likewise, the ever continuing fun-experience and a little taste of the life of Sydney. There are very few countries which celebrates New Years’ in such a grand manner. Every new individual would return home with a personal story of how s/he celebrated the best New Year’s Eve in Harbour Bridge, Sydney.

The Main Attraction – The Fireworks!  Sydney and its people always focused in celebrating New Year together as the main focus of the city and of the entire country has always been the Harbour Bridge. Sydney attracts a 1.5 million audience on an average every year to experience the enormous fireworks that take place on the Harbour Bridge. For this reasons, this show is telecast-ed nationally as well as internationally as the Mega Event of Aussies. The mega show of fireworks lights the whole city. Many artistic and innovative designs are created in the air, the show which is too good to be real!

There are two parts of the fireworks show, the family show at 9 p.m. and the grand show at midnight. Everyone starts to count down the end of the past year, and together welcome the New Year with a blast! There are boating experiences, music and food festivals, along with this in New Year’s Eve Celebration. We could say that there is something for everyone in the crowd to make the celebration night the best New Year’s Eve celebration ever in their lives. There is nothing like celebrating New Years’ Eve in Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Written By : Ujzwol

Beach Days @ Boat Harbour

It’s Sunday on the long weekend, a hot 31 degrees and my friends have planned a beach day at Boat Harbour. We take a few cars, all 4WD’s so we can drive onto the beach and park in front of the water.  We are just driving onto the beach when the car suddenly stops and we realise that we are bogged. Even though my friend has a 4WD we still manage to get stuck in the sand, which is embarrassing but thankfully it is not long before we can continue. There are so many 4WD’s lined up along the beach, I have never seen such a site. It is quite strange because this is my first time to Boat Harbour and I have not seen anything like it before. We choose our spot on the beach. While waiting for our other friends to show up we start to set up and enjoy the sunshine. The water looks so inviting, a turquoise blue/green and I can’t wait to jump in.

Boat Harbour is located on the north-eastern side of Kurnell (near Cronulla) in Sydney. It is not a free

beach. Those wishing to drive up have to pay a $25 entry fee, though this does not really sting you if you have 2 or more people to share the fee. There are instructions as you drive in along the sand driveway advising only 4WD’s on the beach. Non-4WD’s must park in the car park and walk down, which is definitely not as much fun.
There are no food shops nearby to grab a bite so best be prepared if you’re looking at spending the day and pack lunches, snacks and beverages. The beach itself used to be renowned for being Sydney’s most polluted beach, but today there are no signs I can see of pollution. The water is as blue as I have ever seen in Sydney. I can see why so many families go to Boat Harbour and hang out for the day, it is secluded and they are able to drive right up to wear they want to make camp for the day which means no lugging of all their stuff. You can also bring your pets along, the beach is dog friendly. It also is great for just going with a group of friends. You can bring your dog along, your speakers and play music, get your games on, or just laze around and enjoy each other’s company. I would have to say after visiting Boat Harbour, it is now my favourite beach in Sydney. All I need now is a 4WD!

Written by Kea for Sydney Urban Life

Perfume - The Lost Art of Appreciation

one thing i notice traveling between the Dubai and Sydney is the deep divide between what is known as 'perfume'. Here in sydney we seem to have been stuck in the notion that perfume is made by Brittany S
pears or David Beckham. what a upset. when you travel through any country in the middle east you notice to central areas of their live first being gold and the second perfume. let me inform you a little. its not perfume that comes from some music superstar or fashion label, but rather it comes from a perfume house that has hundreds of years behind. some of the perfume recipes have been passed down through generations, without a ounce of change. this is what i call perfume.

if this has interested to find out what perfume is i urge you to consider to David Jones in Pitt St mall. a fragrance house by the name of Amouage will be seen. in Australia this store is the only supplier of this beautiful perfume. Amouage perfume is on the expensive side with the average bottle costing between $300-500, i would say that it is a investment worth making

Spring Cleaning ? Update your Wardrobe

It's now time to update your wardrobe for spring/summer 2013. Sydney in the past few years has risen up to par compared to other major cities around the world. with many of the top names coming to Australia, such as ZARA and TOPSHOP you can't help but feel excited this year. if you have any spare time this weekend in highly recommend you travel down to Pitt St sydney now the favourite destination  for fashion shopping.

for those you cant bear the thought of leaving the house this weekend maybe a bit of internet shopping is more your thing. Iconic.com as collected all the australian fashion brands and brought them to one central place. the iconic offers same day delivery within the sydney region a plus for those lucky enough to live in sydney.

Just maybe you feel like a haircut as well. well the two worlds have combined in Culture Kings sydney. this store is innovative in its concept and superior in its collection of brands on offer. if your a hipster you defiantly want to be seen here, jokes.

by Thamer 

China Town fusion

Located near the entrance to the uber popular 'Patties Markets'/Haymarket sits a small stretch of shops dubbed as China Town. China town is just a short (down hill) walk from central station and sits just above the also popular Darling Harbor. China Town is somewhat famous for it's traditional bilingual sign posts.

Adorning either entrance is a majestic, bright red 'traditional' Chinese archway. It certainly stands out. 

Arches.... Arches everywhere

Walking along the stretch of shops is really a thrill. Every where you go you are being lightly heckled by menu carrying waiters and waitresses tempting you to sit down and sample one of their many Asian delights. The food of course is amazing. Towards the north most end of the arcade is a Chinese cream puff booth. I say booth because it is really just that: a tiny window in a wall where with an impossibly small kitchen behind it. The lines for these cream puff and custard tarts are infamously long but are well worth the wait!

Occasionally, but especially so on Chinese festivals the stretch of shops will be overly decorated and hold celebrations to mark, for example, the 'Year of the Snake'. During this time it's not uncommon to see the traditional Chinese Dragon show, during which a large Dragon like costume is manned by about 6 or so men and woman giving the impression that he large Dragon is hovering along the street. After all to see and do while at China Town you most likely wondering where the best place to eat is! The answer: Golden Harbor Restaurant , of course! This always busy, always popular restaurant specializes in Yum Cha (which is small, traditional Chinese dishes, like dumplings and pork buns). If you do decide to waltz down to China town make sure you pop in and visit, it's well worth it!

The signage for the tempting GHR 

So returning to our question of 'What is Urban Life in Sydney', the answer seems easily evident. Multicultural is one word which springs to mind: the street decorations, the character of the shops and what they sell certainly is modeled after an authentic Chinese strip of shops. Sydney is not just about bland office buildings and endless bodies of gleaming water, it's about cultural flare and being proud to show it.

Post by Will

The poker scene - It's everywhere

 Pubs, clubs, and the casino. The venues that hold poker tournaments and sit and go's in Sydney. It seems that every one of these gambling venues has held some sort of poker game over the last 8 years. When did it get so popular? Who's playing and where?

Joe Hachem winning the World Series 2005

In 2005 when Joe Hachem won the World Series of Poker, taking home a cool 7.5 million, Australia went through something called the poker boom! Suddenly everyone thought they could be a professional poker player and started hunting down those pubs and clubs that were hosting games and tournaments in hope to win even a fraction of what Aussie poker icon Joe Hachem won in 2005. The scene only grew and soon every club and pub were jumping to host poker games and tournaments to bring in the patrons to their venues and in hopes they would spend lots of money on drinks and pokies in the process. The Star City Casino also saw a rise in people on the poker tables and soon had to accommodate for all the new amateurs wanting a piece of the action.

Personally, I was 17 (2005) when I began playing poker in a club venue (I had my ways haha) and I still play in mostly club venues around Sydney today. There are many companies out there who run the poker scene but I prefer APL as I have found it to be the most professional. There are heaps of free rolls, tournaments you do not have to pay for because the venue puts up a prize pool, which is usually not bad considering it's free. APL will then offer tickets for the final table into a regional game that is run once a month. If in the month you make many final tables and you get heaps of tickets, you can use up to 10 to get more chips on your stack in the regional. This is great because you want to be rewarded for your wins. APL also run some other huge tournaments that you either have to qualify for or can buy in for some, where if you win, you will be seeing yourself to the World Series of Poker in Vegas baby on team APL! There are also some great cash prizes on offer. Though the way they let you qualify for some of the big tournaments is really in favour of those who can play 7 nights a week, which is not that many people, though you would be surprised. Another good thing about APL is that they are a huge advocate of charity games. There are many tournaments run throughout the year which raise money for charity. You will usually see celebs at these games and get a chance to talk to them and knock them out!

APL Play For A Cure 2012 Tournament

 What do I like about poker? I love the game and how risky or not you can be. Some people develop poker tactics but for me I like to see who I am playing with and try to adapt to play the best I can against the rest of the table.
What are the pros and cons of playing in this scene? The pros could be that you meet a lot of great people, many of whom you will see again and again at each poker game, as poker is a society. Or you could win some good tickets or cash which is what everyone wants. The cons though can be very heavy. As most games are held in huge gambling venues, there is a risk that you could develop a gambling problem as I have seen many times. This depends on the person though. Many people I play with would only occasionally gamble or not at all. There is a real divide between the people who do and the ones who don't.

For me, well I have been playing 8 years now and still going strong when I can find the time. Sometimes the pros can out-weigh the cons as poker really is a society and it is hard to get out once you’re in as most people playing the game don't do much else with their spare time.
If you want to find out where you can play a game, head to the APL website – www.playapl.com/.

APL Main Event

This post was written by Kea for Sydney Urban Life

Best time of day- Coffee time !!

Best time of day- Coffee time !!

For 99% percent of the population ( I have never seen the 1%) the first thing in our minds is how soon can we get coffee in to our mouths. The next logical question is where from. For those confined to the powder stuff i truly send my condolences, for the rest of us i present to you the top coffee establishments in our city of Sydney.

Coffee Brothers 

Post by Thamer

Sydney's (Legal) Street Art|Graffiti

The stakes are really high for those who wander around the Sydney Streets at night armed with spray cans to color their world of anonymity! There are strict laws and fines against Graffiti, and police could match tags with known databases, and can arrest anyone with spray-can possession! Which only leaves the option for artists to remain faceless and hide behind their unique-tag!

However, there are some places in Sydney which adores and persecutes for the expression of these artists, in their natural home, where they are supposed to be, in the walls!

• May Lane Art Project, St. Peters.

Just Next to the St. Peters Station, 200 yards of criss-crossed laneways create the city’s most interesting gallery filled with incredible artistry also supported by local residents and businesses. The Founder, "Balog" quotes, "..you have to understand all of the culture. there are so many people who had their lives destroyed doing it: they lost families, jobs, they lost friends on train lines! it's not just about what goes up on the wall -- it's the intention behind it." And I cannot agree more. Respect to this man!

• Graffiti Tunnel, University of Sydney, Technology Lane

Graffiti tunnel is a tunnel in USYD that runs between Manning and Holme buildings. Ceiling runs for the most part with an opening in the middle which is artificially lit with over 2m tall walls running for a decent stretch along with some stairs as well. Anything can be put up in these walls as long as it isn't "offensive". There is no chance of being hassled by any of the police officers or university security. This place is beast!

• Bondi Beach Promenade

Bondi Beach’s promenade has been a site for graffiti since the 1960s. Waverley Council says it is helping Bondi to “lead the way in being a vibrant and inspiring place that supports its diverse population, creative culture, enriching lifestyle and stunning natural features.” While traditional graffiti pieces are on show, we could also find new school street art and two memorial murals as well! Even personally, this is one of my favorites places. Not only the graffiti age years, it is a perfect place to skate, appreciate the art, have the most fun of the beach and Sydney's Urban Life in general.  

Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, Foveaux Street, Surry Hills, Lipton Ice Tea Positive Project, Surry Hills, I Have A Dream : MLK, Newtown are some other famous places with 'legal walls' of Sydney. 

“Phibs” is one of Sydney’s most prolific graffiti artists who has made the artistic leap from wanted criminal to toast of galleries. His art was part of the National Gallery of Australia’s recent street art exhibition, Space Invaders. Not surprisingly, “Phibs” disagrees with the government’s approach. He argues for a more pragmatic approach and more council-sanctioned legal walls.

He believes the city’s underground graffiti is symptomatic of artistic youths starved of an outlet for their work, and quotes, "People who have grown up with this sort of stuff will understand that there’s other ways to deal with it. Legal walls will reduce the criminal element, allowing a safe avenue to produce high quality art,”

We hope every artist could get recognition and the respect they want to earn as Phibs did, but necessarily it does not mean by doing everything illegally! We hope we could find more legal walls in the near future!!

Written By : Ujzwol

Sydney Opera House Turns 40 with Style!

The Sydney Opera House, world-famous iconic landmark of modern world, requires no particular introduction! Surrounded by many of the main attractions of Sydney, The Opera House fits perfectly to the Urban Life Style of Sydney. Check out the video below to have a visual explanation of Opera House and the Urban Life's annexation!

The architectural masterpiece has played host to over 70,000 performances, attended by over 65 million people, since its official opening by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973, and this October, Opera House turns 40!!

To celebrate its 40th year of existence, and to mark the momentous achievement over these four decades, Opera House has planned a massive Once in a lifetime Concert!! Most of the Australia's best live performers are teaming up to make the globally famed monument's 40th Anniversary even more historic!

Deborah Mailman, Baz Luhrmann, Sarah Blasko, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and John Butler are some of the great names lined up for this event! However, it gets more interesting, because the finishing act is going to be Sydney Symphony Orchestra performing the Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Yes! The exact same work that opened this iconic landmark 40 years ago!

Mark your Calender! Sunday, 27th October, 2013 from 4:30 PM, Forecourt Bennelong Point, Sydney to witness once in a lifetime historic event celebrate the 40th Anniversary of The Sydney Opera House.

"Sydney Opera House 40th Anniversary Concert! Be a part of ‘history’ in making, to mark the ‘historic’ achievement of this wonder of modern world!"

For More Details on the Concert - http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/40th_anniversary_concert.aspx !

Written By : Ujzwol