I have had so many amazing times at Thebarton Theatre. In fact, I feel like I have grown up here. I…read morewent to my very first concert at this Venue (Portishead) when I was around 15 years old and have been to countless performances since. There is something about a building like this, its persona almost adds to your experience. There is so much care and detail in its architecture, typical of the Art Deco era. This building was built in 1928 and stands strong. Next time you go here, look up and notice the geometric shapes around the lighting on the ceiling and also on the walls. It's really beautiful! There are a range of booths and balcony seating around the sides. If you are able to get a spot on the balcony, you really do have a magnificent view. I love that the owners have really kept this building's old charm and have not changed the décor to a modern style. I fear if they do, it will loose its charm. The bar area here is not the biggest, but it's separated into three areas. A downstairs almost salon style bar, main bar in the middle and then a side bar with old leather booths. There is not the best selection of drinks on sale here. This is really something I always thought they could improve on. But, I guess we can't have everything. One thing here that has always confused me is where they sell merchandise. It's in a really small room near the entry. It always causes congestion and they cannot really stock a huge amount in there. The staff are ok here. But I think they have a lot to put up with when you are throwing regular big shows with a lot of drunk people half the time. One thing that has always got to me is that the security guards here are always rude. I mean, I can't think of any time I have come here and not been told to GTFO straight after a show. Almost every time around 10 minutes after a band finishes they start shoving people out the door. Even at performing arts shows when everything is really mellow. It's a weird thing. Not sure if the owners know this happens? But they should. It's one of the reasons I have not given this place 5 stars. Nonetheless, this is one of my favourite Venues in town to see large music concerts and performances. I will forever have memories of amazing bands and bouncing floorboards while jumping up and down to music. Yay!

Thebby has always been a large part of the adelaide music and theatre scene, like the triple j to…read moreits nova 919 cousin, the Entertainment centre, it has less sparkle and more heart. The best thing about this venue that I can say without any clue of acoustics, lighting and capacity is that the couches added to the second level are the best things ever to happen to a music venue, more should do this! Also the venue has great facilities inside but pretty terrible parking so nick a lift off your friend or risk parking in a side street and going for a looooong brisk walk.

i find that this bowling centre is really clean. The lightings are dim, but the overall ambience is…read morecool. I like it. The lanes are divided into two sections, where in between it is the restrooms. There are various arcade games available to keep you occupied if you are waiting for your games/lanes. There's also a pool table and an air hockey table around. I'm pretty sure the place will be packed during weekends. From the first few throws, it did felt like the lane isn't as oily anymore. However, since we went there in the evening, it's common for lanes to run dry. It makes no difference to me though. I'm no curler nor spinner. I'm just your average straight ball down the middle guy. So long as i hit the sweet spot, the pins will go down.;) I also find the staff in the Centre are all very polite and genuinely interested in providing you a service. A smile always make my day and they have more than provided that.

I came here about a week ago for a Christmas party and had an amazing time! The laser skirmish was…read moresuper fun, even if I kept getting tagged by children, I fell over during my first turn of bowling (I got laughed at by the entire group) and still came first. The only thing I found kinda weird was the bowling mechanics having the pins on strings, which is something I've never seen before. I would love to come back at some point!

Hill Smith is an up market commercial gallery located on in the middle of Pirie St in the city…read more It is housed within a beautiful red two story building with large windows at the front and a charismatic black umbrella dome covering the entryway. There are exhibitions more or less monthly, as well as a number of works held in their stockroom which can be accessed on request. Hill Smith represents a number of the better known local and interstate artists, including David Bromley, Robert Hannaford and Nick Harding. Presently on show is the work of Stephen Trebilcock (Main gallery), Janine Mackintosh and Peter Syndicas (First Floor Gallery). I really love Janine's work which consist of something representing Mandalas constructed from various found natural and man made objects. Her work with eucalyptus leaves has an especially appealing aesthetic, the leaves being beautifully preserved and meticulously stitched with linen thread to the canvass. The juxtaposition of rusted man made objects with preserved natural elements also gives the work a musical quality. Syndicas work, exhibited also on the First floor, consisting of sticks cast in iron and bronze, also follows this natural aesthetic but is, in my opinion, less appealing and although certainly difficult to accomplish, less creative. Trebilcock's work, presented in the Main Gallery consists of a series of beautifully painted still lives, vibrant in colour and texture. The few exteriors presented in the body of work appear slightly illustrative and artificial due to an oversaturation of colour which is more suited to the still lives. This detracts slightly from the overall effect. Of particular appeal were the two triptychs, "Australian Selection" and "Oranges and Grapes."

Paper String Plastic is a little gallery + shop on Hindley St. Up a set of teal stairs, you'll find…read morea medium-sized gallery opening onto lovely large windows and a small store stocking art and design products. The exhibitions can be a little hit and miss, but it is worth coming along to see the good ones, and I'm glad PSP are supporting some of the younger artists in Adelaide. The openings are fun and busy here - often the artists here are having their first public shows and a big crowd of family and friends come along to check it out. In the little store at the back, you can buy local designs - jewellery, cards, that kind of thing. There is also a range of one-off paintings and prints, if you would like to purchase some original art for very reasonable prices. The invites are mostly digital - keep an eye on their Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paper-String-Plastic/139410616112175

Greenhills is a fairly well respected commercial Gallery in North Adelaide…read more It is housed within a stately heritage building which once upon a time served as an inn. The quality of artists shown at Greenhills varies from time to time. I recently checked out the work of Ben Stack and Michael Lindscott, and I must say I was not thoroughly impressed. Stack's work was there in parts. Consisting of fairly bleary coloured abstracts. I would have little time for this sort of work were it not for Stacks employment of shadowing to achieve a tromp l'oeil effect whereby the abstract clumps of jarring impasto seem to levitate from the canvass. For the most part this merely lifts Stack's work out of the complete rubbish pile, and at times achieves little more than novelty, however in the case of the work entitled "And then .... So clear" a really lovely effect was achieved. This work stood out completely from the others and was reminiscent of an abstract landscape, as opposed to happy pants which was the prevailing aesthetic for the other works on show. The entire work appeared much more considered and the tonal and colour relationships more harmonious. The levetatiting impasto trick, although still present, was much more subtle, thus becoming more of a feature than a novelty and allowing the work to stand on its own. Lindscott's work consisted of washed out poorly drawn photographic compositions with little consideration of colour or tone. Whilst the subject matter was at times interesting, technical competence was clearly an issue inhibiting the artists expressive possibilities. An instance, where this played to Lindscott's advantage, however, was the work "At night there are lights by the river." This moody work captures beautifully the essence and ambiance of it's subject matter and the dimly lit lighting scenario caters well to the washed out appearance of Lindscott's work. Less successful was "Pink Top and Jeans," where Lindscott's inability to handle colour, tone and the human form, and his reliance upon photographic reference material were truly evident.

Gallery Shop is the best Adelaide collection of books on art, art history and books of artist's…read morework. The shop is filled with beautifully shiny and enormous hardcovers with full-page colour prints. You find the shop just to the left of the front entrance from North Terrace, opposite the gallery cloakrooms. The shop also sell cards, jewelry, scarves and stationary, yet they manage to avoid being just a Art Souvenir shop. They're a shop in their own right with high quality products. What comes with high quality? High-price. I go in here to reverently leaf through their huge tomes (the ones that aren't safely enclosed in boxes or plastic) and it's also where I shop for cards when I want something more original. It's definitely a good place to shop if you're studying art and looking for something specific (and happen to be an artist with money). It's also a good way to work out if an exhibition is actually worth seeing, because you can look through the book of prints before you pay to go upstairs and see it.

Oh, I could wander around this shop for hours. HOURS, I TELLS YOU…read more I love art, and I love books, so bam! It's double the awesome. The only downside? Yeah, that amazing book full of full colour prints is entirely out of my price range. Le sigh. Lucky looking is free! On the upside, the shop features lots and lots of locally published books on Australian and South Australian art, artists and art history, many of which are smaller and in the affordable price range. They also sell cards and prints of artists to be found in the SA Art Gallery which are lovely too.

It's great to have another small bar pop up and it be so close to city centre…read more Climb the stairs up to Vinyl and be transported back to a time when patterned wall paper and steel framed, vinyl cushioned chairs were all the rage. Capturing the vibe perfectly, this brand new small bar; alive thanks to Renew Adelaide and the hard work of Theo and Bodhi, has great character. Opening night was at capacity and it got hot and quite hard to move around - but that's what it's all about. The intimate space when full didn't compliment live music that well, but given it's still early I imagine the kinks are still being ironed out. Kudos to the SA focused theme with a great selection of drinks on offer and cheese boards. Get down to Vinyl for some local wine, cheese and a boogie!

Popped in for a drink during the day earlier this year, and while I can't vouch for how pumping it…read moremay get at night time, it had a great laid-back vibe to it that afternoon, a great place to escape a windy day and enjoy a few nice wines to a decent soundtrack.

The last time I saw a show at The Bakehouse my car got broken into. Hot tip: don't park your car on…read morea side street and walk to the theatre; the criminals are watching you. The Bakehouse is a wonderfully intimate space to see your friends and acquaintances perform in their weird experimentally self referential shows. The space is small enough that even when a performance has a terrible turnout it never feels that empty. It's a good idea to get there early and throw back a few carafes of wine if you're about to catch a show that you believe could be both long, and/or dull. I believe the reason you're encouraged to bring in alcohol is so the audience is too drunk to notice when a show is really really bad. In saying that, I've seen some fantastic performances in this place, and the best part is tickets are pretty cheap, you're supporting local artists, and best of all, you can drink wine from start to finish. Bakehouse Theatre: it's the best of times, and it's the worst of times, but it's always unforgettable.

Located in a quieter corner on the way out of the city, the Bakehouse Theatre has a regular stream…read moreof shows - and although they may not always be to your liking, at least there's a bar with plenty of alcohol to help you through the 'experience'! Having been to a number of shows here - some good, some not so good, I can certainly say that the comfort level changes dependent on the quality of the show. For example, during shows which are engaging and entertaining, I've not once noticed that the seats are cramped and uncomfortable however during a recent performance all I could think was that this was the worst seat that my butt had ever had to plant itself on and the smallest amount of room that my legs had ever had to fit into... The theatre has plenty of charm - it's unique and quirky, as the name suggests the building is a former bakehouse (bakery). It has a truly interesting tale itself and was even the home of the local Communist Party at one point in history! It's a great space and gives good opportunities for shows to be seen and performed. Parking is plentiful in the evening however be sure not to park in a 'permit zone' - which there are a number of in the area. Keep an eye on the list of upcoming shows as without a doubt there is sure to be something to tickle your fancy!