Section 8

Last night after a quick drink at the office, a bunch of us walked down Little Bourke into Chinatown, to find Section 8. A countainer, with crates around, in an old carpark, sectioned off with a wire fence - a great little outside bar in the heart of the city.

For Nikki's birthday drinks there was quite a turn out, and we soon filled a couple of levels of crates. Spotting the much loved Havana Club, I ended up buying Mojitos for me and the birthday girl...and had to drink both in the end, shame!

A young, trendy crowd, this little yard was filled with hipster dress code, the heat not deterring any of the gathering. A good selection of beers in bottles, and a full range of spirits, the service is fast and attentive.

As more clear spirits were consumed, the light faded, and the Fletcher's arrived from Sydney. Tim and I ended up joining the birthday dinner at Supper Inn around into another back alleyway of Chinatown.

Spring Tropfest

Yesterday, after waking up unusually early to watch the footy replay, I eventually made it into town and to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl for this year's Tropfest. Handed a cardboard seat (brilliant!) as I walked in, I joined Melissa and Dianna, and crew, along with the growing crowd to prepare for the night of short films.

Dianna put on a massive spread for the group, with potato salad to die for, whilst the Tropscore acts played. But as the sun set, the screening began, with the finalists shown. This years signature item was 'spring' which presented literally, seasonally, and some we didn't actually spot at all....but they must have been there!

Many of this years films had the crowd laughing out loud, with The Furry Cheque Book and Bargin! being my favourites. Creative use of a barter system, and then a cheeky perve...hee hee.

Plain silly funny were Notes From A Scaresmith, Jackie's Spring Palace. And then there was Gyton Grantley playing himself being mistaken in Being Carl Williams - second place of the competition.

Films with a punch at the end included Fences, which eventually came third for the night, NYE, The News, and Gyton Grantley again in Beyond Words.

The winner of this year was Be My Brother, portraying a lad with Downs Syndrome charming a woman at a bus stop. We were entertained by Tim Finn during intermission, topping another great night of cutting edge film makers trying to get a foot in the industry.

Nikki's Birthday Pub Crawl Extravaganza

After 5 whole months of planning and counting down and talking about it, Nikki's birthday pub crawl finally arrived yesterday. I met Nikki and Layne for breakfast at Slice, for a simple, sturdy feed to start the day.

As 12pm hit, and Layne and I started dreaming about our first beer we headed to the first stop on our route, the Duke of Kent...to find it not open! Oops! Our second pub was another couple of blocks away, and so we had two pots at the Oxford Scholar. Here we were joined by Kylee and Tim, and Melissa, before "N" adorned Stacey and Andrew arrived in time to walk with us to the next stop.

Alissa and Michelle found us as we were leaving the pub, and we walked around the corner on Franklin Street to Mac's - which is an old looking pub hiding the bar Miss Libertine's. Amazing deco inside, this venue had the group grow with Bree and Kelly, Michelle, the Sydney crew, as jugs of beer were passed around among vodkas.

Walking past a closed Stork, our group merged through the market crowd to find the awesome balcony of the Mercat Cross. Joined here by Dan and co, Mary and Dan, we took in our pots overlooking the city and busy Queen Victoria Market below.

Up to Victoria Street, Kylee and I found a closed Public Bar, before we all went into the crusty front bar of Central Club for a very quick drink stop, while Justin and Rex joined us. Next stop was Bev and Mick's Backpackers Vic Hotel to mingle with the travellers for a drink.

A stop off the map to one of my favourite pubs, The Drunken Poet, with Siobhan serving our growing group on what would have been a quiet Saturday afternoon.

Getting back to the map, we headed to the Royal Standard, where we found no football coverage, to our dislike. The Carron Tavern was next, where I'm told we had our jagerbombs...jager has messed with me since being back on the drink, and has caused memory blanks afterwards....hmmmm.

We made it to the Royal Mail where we filled the front room. I am fairly sure I must have skipped the Mooma, before finding myself at the Railway for quite some time on my own, ahead of the group.

When the rest of the group arrived I was settled in with a beer, and Melissa was banned from ordering anything after making the barman unhappy by ringing his bell! Hee hee.

With the station right there, the group got a train into town, and I had dinner with half the crawl group at Young and Jackson, before hitting the wall after a long day of drinking.

Penny Blue, MOO and Trunk

Last night we left work almost smack on time, with no beer left in the fridge! Mary and Dan, Jo and I walked down Little Bourke and found Penny Blue, for week seven of Project 2009. A small bar, with funky couches and seating arrangements, we studied the range of local and imported beer.

Choosing a New Zealand beer I'd never seen before, we discovered Moa is beer with a bubblegum finish! Soon joined by Melissa, and Yusif and Rob, we downed a few of these before heading downstairs.

Greeted by the spooky self-operating door, we entered a near empty Money Order Office, and had our choice of chesterfield couch sections. Having only been here once before, when it was packed and finding a tiny spot around near the bar, the space and decor in here is very cellar like and classy.

Another beer, and a stop for food, we walked down the Melbourne city grid to find Truck to meet up with Sarah for her birthday drinks. Joining Tara outside, the bar has the best of both worlds with inside and out. And cute boys inside! Certainly worth a return visit!!

Oh Mercy

On Tuesday night Nicole and I made our way from town to the Northcote Social Club, for our selected night of the residency for Oh Mercy. We had dinner in the front bar, after discovering the decking and beer garden out the back, while we watched the bands arrived, and heard the first act through the wall.

We went into the band room to see The Frowning Clouds, a little 60s rock'n'roll band from Geelong, with their skinny jeans and ankle boots. A few covers during the first half of their set, songs like Tiger Heart had them find their presence on stage, with She's Mine and then I'm Sad stand outs.

The room started to fill out, as Alex set up the stage. The four piece Oh Mercy made a uneventful enterance on stage...but captured everyone's full attention as they started to play. Alex is chatty and engaging, while he's tunes his guitar between each song.

Full of energy, they played a set ready for album release! The single Seemed Like A Good Idea was great, and then Salvation Jane, which they say they haven't played in 10 months, and played it this night because new drummer Glen likes it - well, so do we!

A new song to finish, with just Alex and Thom on stage, drew aloft lighters in the crowd! Something I haven't seen for a long time! Such an exciting little Melbourne band, ready for big things.

Madame Brussels for Nicole's

Last night after work, I headed down Bourke Street, to meet Nicole for birthday drinks. I met her, and Belinda and the girls, and soon joined by Lucas, at Madame Brussels, on the third floor above Spaghetti Tree.

After not getting in here for week one of Project 2009, the small area inside made the long line up on a Friday night make sense. A small inside bar area, and then an outside desk - with kitchy chairs and tables, umbrellas, and table service. The waiters wore tennis attire, pastels and all.

The cocktail selection was smaller than I expected, and once we had all selected a jug each, we needed to narrow down our choices again as they were out of some of the list. Nevertheless, pitchers of cocktails in the setting sun, above Melbourne's main street was a very pleasant way to spend the evening.

A cute, relaxed bar with just a sprinkling of people on a Monday night, which was perfect. I can imagine it being crammed madness on a Friday night! Happy Aussie Birthday, Nicole!

Retreat and China

Yesterdays plans were swallowed up with the devastating fires in Victoria - Grape Grazing in the Yarra Valley was cancelled, due to damage and out of respect, with many of the wineries wiped out, along with towns, homes and the horrific death toll.

With a smokey Melbourne, sunny day, I headed to Retreat for beers with Dan. One of my favourite pubs, we first drank in the front room, before claiming a spot on the astro turf and see jugs of beer disappear.

As 9pm approached, Dan and I decided we could make the dash up the road to the Edinburgh Castle, to catch The Good China set. A couple more blocks than I had estimated, we arrived a song or two into the set.

Minus Cara for the gig, the 7 China's were crammed onto the little stage. The sound and energy took a couple of songs to kick in, with a mixed crowd. But once All Nothing was played, the band seemed to hit their straps.

A couple of news tracks here and there, I think, being several I had not heard before (or was that the beer talking!), their cover of Maples Leaves, again, was awesome, and 39 Black was strong.

Looking like a crusty old man's pub on the outside, the front room of the Castle is your typical local pub...but then there is a myraid of space out the back, with dining room and an extended beer garden, including a ping pong table. Quite an unexpected find.

We stayed on for a bit of The Holy Sea, but the need for a feed overtook us. Home via the tram, after another pub find in my local area, all good.