Craving to get a sense of what being the “cultural capital in Australia” really means, over the past couple of weeks I’ve sought to dabble in all forms of entertainment that Melbourne has to offer.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival (March 19- April 13)
Since my arrival in Melbourne, I’ve been confronted with lemon-yellow advertisements for their annual comedy festival. Light posts, the train station, and even my tram card labeled with advertisements gave even the clueless enough of a reason to say, “Hm, this must be a big deal. Maybe I should check it out?”
On the equally overwhelming website, there were hundreds of comedians to chose from, with shows ranging from a couple hours to a 24-hour stand up gig, and ticket prices all across the board. After doing a little bit of research we saw Daniel Kitson from the U.K. who won last year’s Barry Award. The Barry is the International Festival’s most prestigious award and is given out at the closing of the massive event.
Daniel Kitson’s show, “The Impotent Fury of the Privileged” was absolutely brilliant. I not only laughed until I felt like I was going to spew, but his act was intelligent and philosophical. There was also a joke about handing your camera to strangers while traveling that made my roommate nearly choke because we have to do it all the time. And to make my roommate cry from laughing, my friend, is a feat. Check him out: www.danielkitson.com
Australian Football League (AFL)
More commonly called, “Aussie Rules Footy,” this sport is a complete obsession for Melbournians. Along with cricket, footy is Australia’s most popular sport and nine teams are based out of Melbourne and its surrounding suburbs.
We made our way down the Yarra River to the Melbourne Cricket Grounds to check out a game of two Melbourne rivals: Carlton vs. Collingwood. Seated in the second row, it was difficult to figure out the rules of the game that seems too foreign for any American who’s used to pads and boundaries.
The stadium was packed full of families covered in their appropriate team colors. In the row in front of us a young couple with their 4-year-old boy showed off their Carlton gray and blue. When the Collingwood Magpie mascot ran onto the field, the father taught his son how to make the most effective, “Boo!” Somewhat like American football, team loyalty seems to be a hereditary trait, and picking an opposing team to side with will make you a family outcast. And if you don’t like sport… well you might as well shave your head, tattoo your entire body and say, “Look Mom and Dad!”
Pendulum at Hi-Fi
It took some convincing to get me to drop $80 for a ticket to see a band I didn’t know, but my, “Why not? I’m in Australia!” attitude took over and I ended up handing over the cash to some girl I met on e-bay in front of the Victoria State Public Library in exchange for a ticket (they were sold out).
I met up with a group of Kiwis who I’ve gotten to know through some people at work, foil-covered cake in hand after a tram ride across town in 5-inch black platform heels. We were going to the show in celebration for Jay’s 24th birthday. After gaining some new-friend brownie points and changing into flats, we tram-ed our way back to the middle of the city and descended the stairs to Hi-Fi.
I want to give you an unbiased rating of the venue, but I fell in love with an unknown band from Perth that night. I had total preconceived notions that Pendulum was a techno band and I’m all “down with the discothèque!” But it turns out they’re one of those “new genre” groups (drum and bass) and put simply, it rocks.
No comments:
Post a Comment