Music to my ears

I've sampled some of Melbourne's music scene at long last. I have always been keen to do this but was quite frankly daunted by the choice. I mean it's like being a kid in a candy shop.

“Okay dear, what would you like? The strawberry lollipop or the jersey caramels?”

Um – um, can I have it all? Not on your budget remember, Louise. It's important to be selective with your entertainment allowance and choose wisely. Ah, but the difficulty with that is that when there are so many different groups and acts that are completely alien to me, what is a gal supposed to do? Stick a pin blindfold into the map? Well it worked for exploring Melbourne on the trams so why not. Fortunately I know people now who know more about the places to go than a pincushion. It's the old – not what you know but who syndrome.

Okay, so the other Thursday night my new 'wedding singer' pal took me to Manchester Lane. He suggested the notorious Espy Hotel in St Kilda but my involuntary shudder must have alerted him to my reluctance to ever set foot in that joint ever again. Manchester Lane was more my scene. A quiet, well, on a Thursday night anyway, cabaret club. On this particular night we only just caught the end of Fats Wah-Wah, having spent a bit more time chatting over supper than anticipated – hey, anyone that knows me will not be surprised that I talked for too long. Fats Wah-Wah was fronted by a skinny dude, with bright pink hat covering his dreadlocks, singing like Joe Cocker.

The next Tuesday I took my room mate Lauren back to Manchester Lane to hear the resident act, The Gabriel Lynch Band. First up though we were treated to the dolce tones of Just Desserts, a sweet, clean-cut duo in the vein of The Carpenters. We also met the Just Desserts fan club, Faezeh, Amman, Adeline, and Messel. Meeting new and interesting people made the night.

Sunday night this week, I was very lucky to have the opportunity to see a couple of hot acts at The Corner Hotel in Swan Street. My friend Roger had won tickets to see the Adelaide act Sia, a singer who reminded me of Debbie Harry in her early career. I knew nothing about the singer but couldn't really pass up the opportunity of sharing Roger's lucky win now could I, so off we went. I have always said that the best experiences are not sought and totally unexpected so not knowing anything about Sia meant that I had a lovely surprise. She has apparently made it quite big in the UK but was relatively unknown in her home town, Australia. Her Australian career has recently started taking off in a big way which was obvious by the sellout concerts greeting her in Melbourne. The warm up act was also interestingly called, Bridezilla. Four young girls with classical training have turned their violin, saxophone, and guitars to Gothic Celtic. They pulled it off by looking like butter wouldn't melt in their mouths.

So there you go, I've been induced into the Melbourne music culture but there is still a long way to go. My other room mate Sarah is keen to go to Wicked but the only affordable way to get there would be to put our names into a draw two and a half hours before every performance and then hang around waiting till show time. A bit of a waste of time if you ask me.