St Jeromes had some good times but let's not dwell on the past. 1000 £ Bend has flung its doors open and is waiting for you to inhale. We've carted St Jeromes' vintage wares into the cafe so it'll feel familiar on some level. Sit down, order a donut and pull up a memory. Coffee is still $2.50 and meals are under $12 (featuring toasties, etc.). There's a caged smoking terrace with a vertical garden out the front too. Our own little carbon reset program. Through the cafe a warehouse-sized gallery space houses rotating exhibitions, installations, fashion parades, projections and what-not. As soon as Jerome's dad comes back from Vietnam with the beanbag balls we'll convert the upstairs room into a cinema space to end all cinema spaces.

I SAW THE SECOND COMING OF ST JEROMES AND IT LOOKS LIKE 1000 £ BEND

Get down there and tell us what you think. Review 1000 £ Bend on your iPhone (free wifi!) and send it to howdy@getnotmag.com with the subject line 'I can't work out the Mac short-cut for the £ sign'. The best response wins a degustation tour of 1000 £ Bend, Pushka, The Workers Club and Sister Bella. That's a meal and drink for two at each venue. Subscribers only need apply. But hey, it's free to sign up!

1000 £ Bend is at 161 Lt Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. Open 8am-8pm weekdays, 11am-8pm weekends.

www.thousandpoundbend.com.au

ANODE 2009

Taking the focus off the idea of curator-as-dictator, Anode looks at the array of art, film, music, installation, design and performance happening right under our noses and celebrates the idea that everyone is a creator. Collectively curated through networks and groups in Sydney and Melbourne, there are no themes and no dictates from above. Roller-skaters, InDesign nerds, paper trees and pretty girls in boyfriend-jeans will unite at festival hub 1000 £ Bend during this season of local and independent art-appreciation. The 2009 program kicks off on 30th October at 1000 £ Bend with a screening of Beautiful Losers (see below), gallery works and a festival bash.

Go to www.anode2009.com for festival tickets and more info.

BEAUTIFUL LOSERS X SPEAKEASY CINEMA

Here's the thing. Movies are great but where do you hang out afterwards? Speakeasy Cinema knows how difficult it is to do a serious mise-en-scene analysis on an escalator descending out of a multiplex. So they've been casing the joint at 1000 £ Bend, and at the end of October they'll roll out the velvet on a cinema space upstairs. With Monkey in the kitchen and a barmaid in the corner, Speakeasy looks like a cinema, tastes like a laneway bar and smells like your mum's cooking. The program catches films on the sly – films that might otherwise fall through the cracks at the 'usual suspects' – plus they're bringing shorts back into fashion by programming one to screen before the features...just like the olden days. Speakeasy will always give you a reason to get off your couch. They'll lure you with exhibitions in the gallery, after-parties, sneaks at DVD extras, Q+As, giveaways and funny meal-deals. Plus there's plenty of space in the gallery and cafe for you to hang around and debate plot points with your pals afterwards.

Speakeasy Cinema launches this month with Aaron Rose's documentary Beautiful Losers, a portrait of the former nerds, freaks and outsiders who coalesced around New York's Alleged Gallery in the '90s and became accidental art-stars. Rooted in the DIY worlds of skate, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they developed their craft with almost no influence from the establishment art world - but their influence is felt all over pop culture today. You might recognise names like Shepard Fairey (the Obey Giant series) and Stephen 'ESPO' Powers', the graphic design and advertising skews made by Mike Mills and Geoff McFetridge, Harmony Korine's wacko filmography, or the arresting naivety behind Chris Johanson, Margaret Kilgallen and Barry McGee's particular styles – but if you don't know the names you'll probably recognise their work. If that's not enough to get you there...the soundtrack was scored by Money Mark.

During Anode, Speakeasy and 1000 £ Bend are offering a super deluxe meal and movie special. Choose between a gourmet roo or saganaki burger and either a glass of wine or a bottle of beer to suck on while you watch the film. For a clean $20 (pre-sale) /$25 (at the door), we challenge you to find a cheaper date with the kind of cache eating off a beanbag lap-tray will give you.

Beautiful Losers screens 6pm Friday 30th October (+ Speakeasy and Anode opening night party) & 8pm Friday 6th November. Find Speakeasy Cinema upstairs at 1000 £ Bend.

Tickets available through Moshtix at www.moshtix.com.au, 1300 GET TIX (438 849), on your mobile www.moshtix.mobi and all moshtix outlets.

Check www.anode2009.com for more info.

Watch the trailer!

WHO'S THE BOSS?

In Japan there's a whole spate of ads kicking around with Tommy Lee Jones' over-tanned face looking sad and withered next to a rainbow can of coffee called Boss. Think Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, only older and more disillusioned. The catch is, Boss coffee is only available from vending machines strategically positioned on routes you might take home from working for the man.

Tai Snaith is amused by the use of Tommy Lee's ugly mug to spruik a coffee brand whose logo is actually a...shiny rainbow. "One thing I have learnt about Japan and subsequently about advertising and commercial culture in general is that the subject matter does not always have to make logical sense to communicate an idea," she says. This month Tai brings a little bit of Japanese incongruity to TwentyByThirty. Her dream-machine diorama is a tiny recreation of all those surreal clashes that existed way before Sofia Coppola set foot in Japan.

Who's the Boss by Tai Snaith is on display at TwentyByThirty all through October. Find TwentyByThirty at Pushka Cafe: 20 Pesgrave Place, Melbourne (off Little Collins Street).

http://www.twentybythirtygallery.com

THE WORKERS CLUB: THE BANDAGES ARE OFF

For months people have been whispering about the iconic venue affectionately known as the 'old Rob Roy' since she had some work done. This was no lunch-time botox, but a total refurbishment guided by Melbourne designer and street-artist, Kano Hollamby. We're pleased to announce the bandages are now officially off.

The band room has already seen the likes of Rob Schneider (Apples in Stereo), Spiral Stairs and Bachelorette on its stage and the kitchen is giving Fitzroy's pub grub a run for its money. Workers is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week and can feed hungry bodies for under $20 a plate.

www.theworkersclub.com.au

THE GREAT CHIP DEBATE

Matt Preston (The Age, Masterchef) said they were floury but Peaches really dug the chips at The Workers Club. What do you reckon? Mention 'The Great Chip Debate' to the staff for a free bowl of chips – then write to us at howdy@getnotmag.com and tell us what you think – floury or _______?

Valid during October

THE WORKERS CLUB SUNDAY GRILL

The Workers Club Sunday Grill is now on.

Sundays
2pm - 8pm

$12 gets you a lamb Kofta burger, a traditional Aussie sausage, a serving of Coleslaw, garden and potato salads, a dollop of seeded mustard vinaigrette and a dinner roll. Veggies can swap a falafel burger into the mix.

We just found the key to the liquor cabinet at Melbourne's cutest cafe.

Open

Mon-Tues 8am – 6pm
Wed-Fri 8am – 11pm
Sat-Sun 9am – 5pm

20 Pesgrave Place, Melbourne (off Little Collins Street).