Melbourne Music Week
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Melbourne Music Week

It’s that time of year again, sleepless nights, bleary eyed work days, a mysterious illness is taking over Melbourne forcing many-a-punter to fake take a sickie or two. To semi-quote the one and only Christopher Walken – we’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more…music. If you think you’re gonna come down with the fever in November, boy do we have a prescription for you. Melbourne Music Week is back for its 2017 edition, bigger and better than ever. Spanning nine days, from November 17-25, prepare to drop your adult responsibilities for a week and a bit, of all things music. To help you out we’ve compiled a list of what we think might be some of this year’s highlights.

Why Punk?
Come immerse yourself in the punk revolution that hit the streets of Melbourne near on four decades ago, as a bunch of guest speakers – musicians, provocateurs, dissenters and punters – who were there, tell Melbourne’s untold story of punk. If you’re a punk fan, or a music fan in general, this rare chance at a behind-the-scenes look at the people, politics, ideology of Melbourne’s original punk scene, is one not to be missed.

MPavillion, Victoria Gardens, November 18

Melbourne Music Market

This one needs little explanation. There’ll be records. There’ll be vintage guitars, drums and the like. Yep, we’re already in. To top it all off there’ll be a bunch of great local bands performing live to give you a sweet soundtrack as you rummage through crate after crate in search of that first press Beatles, Sabbath, or whatever you’re into, record. The local bands will also be selling’ their merch and music.

The Carpark, St Paul’s Cathedral, Saturday November 18

Miscellanea

Paying tribute the Melbourne Town Hall’s musical legacy, having hosted some of Melbourne’s greatest musical moments, Melbourne Music Week has teed up a multi-label take over of the venue. Over 20 artists will be playing across three levels, from DJ sets in the Council Chambers, to dance parties on the balcony, to the larger main hall, this is a full on music takeover. HTRK, Underground Lovers and Tryannamenn are some of the artists taking part in the revolution, to name a few.

Melbourne Town Hall, Sunday November 19

Uncomfortable Science: Playing Amy Winehouse

Improv kings Uncomfortable Science are tackling some of Amy’s Winehouse’s greatest tracks through their own jazz-infused style. To keep the audience guessing they won’t be revealing which songs they’ve covered until the end of the night, so if you call yourself a true Winehouse fan, you should probably get down and show everyone your great skills before the big reveal. If that’s not quite enough Amy Winehouse for you, there is also a an Amy Winehouse exhibition showcasing at the National Jewish Museum throughout Melbourne Music Week.

Live Music Safari

This is our kind of safari, a pub crawl with music at every turn. For one night only some of Melbourne’s greatest venues are dropping the cover charge for a night of free music. Sail from the John Curtin Hotel to the The Toff in Town, to Last Chance Rock n’ Roll Bar (among a bunch more great venues) to see some great artists including, Low Tide, GLOVV, Qwerty and Terrible Truths, and of course you can always discover someone new. Be sure to check out the full list of artists and venues.

Friday November 23

Ariel Pink

This one is going to be one of the stand-out shows of the week. Prodigious LA song-writer Ariel Pink is bringing his latest record Dedicated To Bobby Jameson to the Melbourne Recital Centre for special Melbourne Music Week show. The genre bending album mixes pop, psych, grunge with hints of 80s nostalgia Ariel Pink is known for. Tickets are available now.

Melbourne Recital Centre, Tuesday November 21

The Age Music Awards Afterparty

The Age Music Awards is celebrating its 12th Birthday with an epic line-up of Victorian music talent. Co-presented by Triple R and PBS, the night is headlined by Harvey Sutherland, Gold Class and Cable ties will also be playing short sets. Archie roach, Gretty Ray and a bunch of other great singers will be joining the EG Allstarts for sweet once-off performances.

170 Russell, Wednesday November 22

Face the Music

The annual meeting of the minds, that is Face the Music is back. This event allows artists, industry professionals, and other like-minded individuals to meet up and join forces, for the power of music. If you’re a budding Melbourne music-scene warrior, this is a great chance to get a glimpse into the scene, and hear some killer bands in the process. Tickets are available now.

St Paul’s Cathedral, Thursday November 23

Another Place: the sounds of Twin Peaks
Drift off to the campy, weird and whacky world that is Twin Peaks, as a bunch of fine artists play some synth-laden tunes inspired by Fincher’s classic series. Featuring band members from Pearls, Premium Fantasy & Crop Top, the artists will also play DJ sets in-between their synth explorations. To top it all in true Twink Peaks style it’s all taking place in the surreal surroundings of Alpha60’s Chapter House – a church like hall adjacent to St-Pauls Cathedral.

Chapter House, November 22

ZOO 17

This is where it call comes to a close, the grand finale of Melbourne Music Week 2017. Geez, does it look epic. The musical revolution is taking over one of Melbourne’s most recognisable laneway’s for an all-day epic of music, performance and visual art. Briggs is headlining the party, along with Alexander Nutt & Fatima, Weird Together, and AFTA-1, among a whole lot more. Tickets are available at the door on the day.

Section 8 & Ferdydurke, 27-29 Tattersalls lane, Saturday November 25

Jolt Arts

To experience the art and sounds of the future head down to Blackwood St and check out the double header City-Topias and Disruptive Critters. The projects seek to remove typical sound barriers for an open-minded and fresh outlook on contemporary art by using live bands, sound machines and video art as well as virtual avatars and multi-touch table-top console. While Disruptive Critters features pretty much what you’d expect – projections of virtual critters interacting with performers and each other, City-Topias deals with our conceptions of Dystopian, Utopian, Ecotopian and Heterotopian cities and their impact on our aspirations for the 21st century.

Meat Market, 5 Blackwood St, Melbourne

Opening Night

What better a way to begin MMW than with performances by an array of both international and local talent. Headlined by Louisiana-raised Julianna Barwick and fellow US artist Kath Bloom, performing for the first time in Australia, MMW is off to a great start (for those who are 18+ anyway). Following the international acts are local bands Divide + Dissole, Andras Fox and Eleventeen Eston’s Wilson Tanner, Kirkis, Two Steps On The Water, and Krakatau’s James Tom & Jack Doepel performing with the T.C Lewis Pipe Organ.

St Paul’s Cathedral, Flinders Ln & Swanston St, Melbourne

DJ Hell + Honeysmack + Acid Safari ++

As ironic as it is, its no wonder this MMW feature event has sold out the majority of tickets with German powerhouse DJ Hell headlining at St Paul’s Cathedral. Since his beginnings in experimental electronic music in the 1960’s and 70’s to his emergence as a DJ with his eclectic genre-blending style, DJ Hell has won multiple music awards and extended his abilities to fashion shows, designing, producing and managing roles. A typical Hell set can contain music from Bryan Ferry, Bobby Konders and Aphex Twin as well as new wave, punk, disco and techno. Supported by local electronic artists, this is one event which is a must. You can get last minute tickets to see DJ Hell here

St Paul’s Cathedral, Flinders Ln & Swanston St, Melbourne

Closing Night Party at The Hub with Jacques Greene + Banoffee + Planète ++

Head down to Melbourne Music Week’s final, epic display of Melbourne talent with international and local electronic acts at St Paul’s Cathedral. The closing party will feature Canadian DJ Jacques Greene, LA-based Banoffee, Planète, Darcy Baylis, Exhibitionist and DJ Jennifer Loveless. Jacques Greene, having just released his debut album Feel Infinite worldwide, is bringing his unique sound to Melbourne and it’s guaranteed to end Melbourne Music Week on a high note. You can get tickets to see Jacques and all additional local bands featured here

St Paul’s Cathedral, Flinders Ln & Swanston St, Melbourne