Last night I went to a comedy festival event, and afterwards my friends and I were looking for somewhere in the CBD to grab a bite to eat. Granted, it was a Sunday night, but options were limited. After several other stops we ended up at The Lounge on Swanston Street near Lonsdale. The place is just as its name suggests, a cheesy lounge with velour couches and spinning disco lights reflecting off the walls. But it was relatively empty and even had a (terrible) comedy act going on the stage in the corner, so for grabbing a quick bite to ...
Archives for March, 2008
“An EXTREME Night Out withTERMINAL SOUND SYSTEM,ROBERT VINCS TRIO andTHE ANTRIPODEAN COLLECTIVE.” Sunday 20 April 2008The ToffSecond Floor, Curtin House252 Swanston Street, MelbournePhone: (03) 9639 8770Door price: $10Doors Open: 8.00 PMBands start at 8:45 PMwww.xtr.comTerminalsoundsystem.comMyspace.com/robertvincsMyspace.com/stinkler Myspace.com/marchannaford
Libraries bore me to tears, so the fact that I can spend even limited time in the state library is surprising. I’ve been forced into it due to lack of internet access at home (hopefully soon to be remedied!) but for free internet and plenty of quiet study space it’s actually a real winner. If the cold, solitary desk cubicles aren’t for you, there are also tables with semi-squashy chairs dotted around the place where you can plug into the internet and powerpoints and get slightly more social with your neighbors. But for times when you just need to block out ...
From Melbourne Today"Think of Michael Blamey as your visual prompt for Melbourne." - The Guardian
Holding The Man, adapted by Tommy Murphy from the book by Timothy Conigrave, directed by David Berthold. Set design by Brian Thomson, costumes by Micka Agosta, lighting design by Stephen Hawker, composition and sound design by Basil Hogios. With Jeanette Cronin, Nicholas Eadie, Guy Edmonds, Eve Morey, Brett Stiller and Matt Zeremes. Melbourne Theatre Company in association with Griffin Theatre,
On Sunday night, Easter night, at 11.30pm, I went Silent Disco-ing. What better way to celebrate Easter?! Silent Disco was held as part of the Melbourne Comedy Festival at the Hi Fi Bar on Swanston Street. It was a great concept: two DJ’s, no speakers, only wireless headphones given to everyone attending. I could change between the two DJ’s with the flick of a little switch on my headphones, and a red or green light next to the switch let everyone around me know what I was listening to. It’s bizarre at first… everyone dancing and singing out loud but no ...
Comedy Festival: Heard It On The Wireless: The Kransky Sisters, with Annie Lee, Christine Johnston and Carolyn Johns, Athenaeum Theatre (season over) The Jinglists, directed by Ansuya Nathan, with Warwick Allsop and Tamlyn Henderson, Bosco Theatre, Federation Square until April 13.The China Incident, written and directed by Peter Houghton, sound design by David Franzke, performed by Anne Browning
BunyipWe seem to visit South Melbourne every couple of weeks, probably because I like going to the market there. We tend to have brunch before visiting the South Melbourne market, and recently we brunch at Bunyip. Bunyip is located in an old Victorian, which looks like it once may have been a house. It was a glorious day, and we ended up sitting outside underneath a couple of large, yellow umbrellas. I didn't notice until I uploaded the photos to my camera, but the umbrellas gave an unpleasant tint to my pictures that I haven't been ...
A chi più debb’io mai l’intensa vogliaSfogar con pianti o con parole mester,Se d ital sorte ‘l ciel, che l’ame veste,Tard’o per tempo alcun mai non ne spoglia?[To what purpose do I express my intense desirewith tears and sorrowful words when heaven, which clothes my soul, neither sooner or later relieves me of it?]Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) Holding the Man is a double tribute. Timothy Conigrave's tribute to the man he loved for more than half of his short life and a tribute by the Griffin Theatre Company to Conigrave himself who was an early member of the company working with ...
To celebrate Mike's birthday, Jo-Lyn was keen to take him to MoVida. This struck me as a bit of a gamble - Mike has limited patience for 'scenes', crowds, and high-end dining. On the other hand, MoVida's meaty tapas have an excellent reputation and he does like his smallgoods. This presented some potential challenges for Michael and I, but a squiz at MoVida's online menu confirmed that we vegos wouldn't go hungry. If nothing else, I assured Jo-Lyn, we could just order four plates of the famous churros and hot chocolate!Jo-Lyn didn't actually make a booking. ...
At the eastern end of Bourke St sit three Indian restaurants in a row: Red Pepper, Jaipur Curry Bar, and Green Pepper. Mellie recently recommended them to us, so Michael and I met up there for an early dinner in 36-degree weather before our second night at the theatre. Green Pepper was closed so we were faced with a choice between Jaipur and Red Pepper. We picked the latter because I knew it was one of the Peppers that offered Mellie's favourite naans. It was the wrong Pepper but never mind - the naans here were ...
The last time that I saw Benedict Andrews and Marius von Mayenburg collaborate on a piece of theatre was El Dorado in 2006 at the Malthouse in the Merlyn Theatre. Aside from the slow-burning, epic narrative and the immediately striking aesthetic of the glass enclosure, what had a lasting impact on me, and what seared a still vivid imprint onto my mind, was the opening prologue: Robert Menzies, pressed against the glass, sweating, spitting and delivering a breathy monologue before disappearing into smoke. Few theatre beginnings, outside of a couple of MIAF shows, have commanded my attention in such ...
177-183 Lonsdale St, Melbourne; 03 9663 3316When a restaurant's address covers four street numbers, you know you're dealing with an institution. And with interstate friends in town and a Comedy Festival show to catch, you know you can't go wrong settling in at Stalactites for a speedy serve of solid Greek food.Stalactites has been around since the 70's. They are open 24 hours a day, seven days a
Moving Target by Marius Von Mayenburg, translated by Maja Zade, directed by Benedict Andrews. Set by Robert Cousins, costumes by Fiona Crombie, lighting design by Paul Jackson, sound design by Hamish Michael. With Alison Bell, Julie Forsythe, Rita Kalnejais, Robert Menzies, Hamish Michael and Matthew Whittet. Malthouse Theatre @ The Beckett until March 29, Sydney Opera House April 2-13. Bookings:
243 Swanston St, CBD; 03 9663 2916Lounge is an excellent value stop-off in the middle of the city, particularly if you're after something other than noodles. Every day they offer a $10 lunch special, featuring a set dish and a glass of beer, wine or soft drink. During the week their lunch menu is augmented by various other $10 plates (sans drink).Lounge is a well-integrated space, with the
I should be all over the Food and Wine Festival this year, but I'm not. I found out that it was on through a colleague who wanted to organise a Lunch Express $30 deal. We took advantage of the Lunch Express one Friday at Oyster Little Bourke and were not disappointed. For $30, you get a choice of two courses, a glass of Mandala Semillon or Pinot Noir, tea or coffee. There was a great variety of dishes, and we took awhile to decide on our final section. There were a great variety of dishes from the set menu, ...
It seems unfair that, after a week of writerly virtue - dogsbody stuff, filling in forms and painstakingly dotting tees and crossing eyes - the weather should reward me with the prospect of days and days of unremitting, exhausting heat. What happened to Melbourne's gentle autumns? Did I dream those gloriously mild, high-heavened days when the sunshine spilt golden over the green lawn and coppery
From Melbourne Today"Think of Michael Blamey as your visual prompt for Melbourne." - The Guardian
Melbourne makes it ridiculously easy for you to find street art. Just wander around the city and within minutes you’ll come across an entire lane way of street art such as Union Lane. The great thing about art is that it is such a personal thing. You can find art in the smallest of things. For example, I thought that there was something cool about the Hotel Windsor room card sleeve… …and the sign to this nightclub… …and the inside of the State Library of Victoria.
There are three main shopping areas I personally like to visit in Melbourne. Bridge Road, Richmond Bridge road has a good variety of stores including some outlets. I love the Body Shop outlet (the only one in Australia I believe) and Macro Wholefoods (which Brisbane sadly misses out on). Kitty loves the Mimco outlet, aptly named ‘Mimco Aisle’. Brunswick Street & Gertrude Street, Fitzroy The Fitzroy stores are more eclectic than the stores at Bridge road. The Brunswick Street Bookstore (business card below) is a good place to visit, so is Industria at 202 Gertrude Street. The original T2 store is in Brunswick Street ...
Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) is a about 20km northwest of Melbourne city. Since there aren’t any public trains or trams that travel from the airport to the city, you need to catch a bus or taxi. We usually use the Skybus service. It is fairly cheap ($26 return per person) and it includes the Skybus direct to Spencer Street Southern Cross Station and then a smaller shuttle bus to your hotel. The Skybus takes about 20 minutes and then the shuttle bus can take another 30 depending on where you get off. You should remember to book your return shuttle bus pickup at ...
Kit and I spent the weekend in Melbourne. One of my favourite things about Melbourne is the food. The variety and quality is hard to beat. Supper Inn was really tasty and popular on Friday night, they were turning away the crowds as usual. We had salt & pepper king prawns, stir fried kai-lan with garlic (yum) and steamed rice. It was simple Cantonese food, but so fresh and full of flavour. The menu is comprehensive with lots of specialties including crispy pigeon, which we avoided. Liagon street was as good as usual. We tried Trotters on Saturday night. Nice, but not ...
Sydney-sider here to invade Melbourne? Like AFL muscling in on QLD and NSW, ALDI to Safeway. An age old rivalry, etched into Australian folklore. Itchy and Scratchy, Coke and Pepsi, “The Man” vs the World. Does anyone really know why the intense hatred? I mean, sure Melbourne is more liveable, affordable, a superior bar scene, awesome restaurants, a wider arrange of clubs, the non pretentious night life, the sporting capital… hell even better tasting water. Why would anyone dislike the state that’s south of the border?So what happens when Sydney’s finest ponytail decides to ...
The place is so disgustingly cute it makes Elmo look like a red drowning deformed rat with three bug eyes and webbed feet. More rustic than Phillippousis’ tennis form, it feels like a place from a bygone Italian era. Three wooden booths seat the hungry, share them with strangers, the communal spirit. Behind the bench are the masters of the Italian flatbread. The simplicity is iPod profound. How does a combination of mere flour, oil, salt and water, like it’s white plastic encased counterpart impart so much pleasure? Grill flat this mixture and throw ...
You’re on a hike in the Dandenongs, or the Blue Mountains. On the path… it’s safe, you see everything ahead. However, to the side, bare skin wading in the stream below. It captures your attention, crazy frog ringtone styles. It’s a route of danger… do you traverse down the slope to satisfy the curiosity or do you stay on the straight and narrow? Little Collins Street is the scene, Pushka is the destination. Tucked away around the corner of a graffitied alley way, an interesting watering hole away from the glitz that is one of the ...
