V To all the yarn bombers out there, muchas gracias. You brighten my day every time I spot a bomb site. (Never thought I’d use that particular sentence in my lifetime…) V For more info on Melbourne street art, check out the post ‘look and see‘.
V The other day I was riding my bicycle along Albion St in Brunswick when I passed by a church I’d never seen before. The architecture was distinctive, and there were a couple of little old ladies dressed all in black making their way out the front door. I pulled my bike over to have a better look. On closer inspection, I saw that the church was Greek Orthodox – which explained the ladies in black. I felt a small tickle of excitement. For some reason, I’ve developed a slight obsession with exploring religious places. Churches, mosques, synagogues, temples – they’re like little culture bombs, revealing a strange world of which I’ve never been a part. But they’re also fascinating time capsules, where ancient traditions are preserved and revered – an unusual phenomenon in contemporary Western societies. And in particular, in contemporary Australian society. Perhaps this is the root of my obsession. Australia – non-indigenous Australia, that is – is a young country and, overall, a relatively irreligious country. As a result, we don’t own many …
V What is it about The Brunswick Green that makes it so damn cool? Maybe it’s the red velvet couches. Or the Persian carpets. Or those beautiful wrap-around windows overlooking the beer garden. Or the bar, covered in bottles and photos and random knick-knacks. Or that front band room, with its stage and lamps and framed pictures… Or maybe it’s the refreshing lack of pretentiousness. Nobody seems to be trying too hard here. This place epitomises everything good about the Melbourne bar scene — including, of course, live music. Apart from featured gigs, there’s a regular free jazz night on Thursdays (from 8.30pm) and blues on Saturday afternoons (2pm till 6pm), also free. Visit. Enjoy. Maybe I’ll see you there. The Brunswick Green Address: 313 Sydney Rd, Brunswick Vic 3056 Tel: 9381 2413 Opening hours: Tues-Thurs 4pm-12am, Fri & Sat 2pm-1am, Sun 2pm-11pm V
I love street art. I love its rawness. I love its humility. I love its purity. I love that it challenges society to think – or at least look – whether it wants to or not. Finally, I love seeing people’s creativity out there on the street. Luckily for me, I happen to live in one of the street-art capitals of the world. Over the last decade or two, a very small (and, until recently, grossly undervalued) slice of Melbourne society has arguably done more for our cultural landscape – and for Melbourne’s tourism sector – than all of our arts funding bodies put together. And they did it illegally. Hosier Lane in the CBD is the best-known place to see street art; the entire laneway is covered in it, and it’s constantly changing. Other good places to go a-wandering are any of the northern inner-city suburbs like Fitzroy, Northcote and Brunswick, and St Kilda is a hot-spot, too. In particular, look out for the stencil art; this is what Melbourne is best …
Sydney Road Street Party 2012 (March 4). The featured band is Squid Squad. All photos by Marleena Forward. v
Everyone loves a good street party, especially if it happens to be in one of the coolest streets in one of the coolest suburbs in this very cool city of ours. Yes folks, the Sydney Road Street Party in Brunswick will be getting its groove on this coming Sunday (March 4), and this in turn kicks off the Brunswick Music Festival (March 14 – 25). It’s a couple years since I attended this Sunday afternoon shindig, but it seems the organisers have rejigged the event a bit for 2012. What was once a somewhat hap-hazard rock-music fest is now being touted as ‘Australia’s only inner-city festival of folk, roots and world music’, so it should be interesting to see how the day plays out. Check out the line-up on the Street Party page of the festival’s website. Located between Union and Victoria Streets, Brunswick Time: 12 – 7pm Cost: Free
the melbourne local 