Jack White live, Open House, Embiggen

I went to see Jack White last Wednesday. I would have mentioned it leading up to the show, but I kept forgetting about it! At one stage I had a mild panic thinking I'd actually missed it. Phew!

Aussie retro songstress Lanie Lane was Jack's support act, which was a nice bonus. It took me a while to warm to her music, but I eventually bought her album and now count myself as a fan. I like her even more after seeing her perform live. 

One of her band members was playing the double bass. Is it just my imagination or has the double bass made a comeback? Quite a few bands I've been to see in the last couple of years have had one in their line up. I like it. 

But anyway, back to Jack. I hadn't been too psyched about the show on the day because I felt physically and mentally exhausted and couldn't wait to crawl back into bed that night. But when he came on stage and started playing one of my favourite White Stripes songs, I got a little choked up! OMG! It's him! I'm here! And he's got the lady band with him! 

Being his usual kooky self, Jack's touring with a man band and a lady band, and he doesn't decide until that day which one he's going to take on stage. I'd hoped for the lady band, just because it's unusual to see a man backed by an all-female band. The women all had powder blue dresses, and Jack was dressed in black, with light blue suspenders. 

Jack played a few of my favourite White Stripes songs (Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, Ball & Biscuit and Doorbell), but my favourite of the night was the White Stripes' song Hotel Yorba.  I loved the fiddle solo, which isn't in the recorded version. Yeeehaw! 

He played quite a long set and encore. It was great...but I was very glad to get home and into bed. 

Oh, I forgot to mention I got asked for ID at the door to the venue (it was an over 18 event). So did Luke. They were probably checking IDs for everyone who looked under 30, just to be on the safe side, but even so, I JUST TURNED 40! 

Open House    

This weekend was the annual Melbourne Open House event, when dozens of culturally, historically and architecturally significant buildings throw open their doors for the public to come and have a stickybeak. 

We were late to get started, but we managed three buildings - the Harry Brooks Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology at Melbourne University, the State Library and the Myer Mural Hall. 

The anatomy museum is used for training medical students and is rarely open to the public (unlike quite a few of the other buildings taking part). It contains anatomical models, and four plaster death masks (including those of infamous bushrangers Ned Kelly and Mad Dog Morgan), but the majority of the collection is human material - most of it diseased or otherwise unhealthy. Some of the models and specimens date back to the 1800s. It was fascinating, but also confronting. It's not every day you see dissected human body parts. What a amazingly selfless act it is to donate your entire body to science. 

Next up was the State Library. This year the tour included the Elephant Lift, the Pendulum Staircase and the catacombs. Catacombs! How intriguing! These areas are normally off limits to the public.

While we waited for our turn, we visited the La Trobe Reading Room, which is one of my favourite places in all of Melbourne. There were quite a a few people studying and this guy having a study break. Heehee.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I had hoped the Elephant Lift (the oldest operating lift in the vast building) was so named because they used it to move around stuffed elephants and other big exhibits back in the days when the building also housed the Museum of Victoria. But no; they think the name comes from the name for very large books - elephant folio. 

The pendulum rose in the floor of the stairwell

The white marble Pendulum Staircase is named because it once housed a Foucault pendulum, which demonstrates the rotation of the earth. It was removed partly because pesky children were too fond of swinging on it, and now no one knows where it is. 

The catacombs are a series of underground corridors and rooms, which are used for storage, quarantine and conservation. The name sounds intriguing, but we saw a lot of broken chairs and dusty old office equipment! 

We did see the library's old card catalogue (above) which is now digitised, but library staff do still refer to it sometimes to check something in the digital records. This was my favourite thing about the catacomb tour: 

Sadly I didn't have time to look up any of the books about odd fish. 

They also still have an old catalogue from the 1880s, some of which was handwritten. 

The catacombs were used for storage, among other things, by the museum when it was housed there. During the move to its new premises in the Carlton Gardens in the 1990s, museum workers found two bird specimens with tags handwritten by Charles Darwin. Perhaps one day the pendulum will be discovered in much the same way...

Our final stop was at the Myer Mural Hall on level 6 of the Myer Department store. It's named after the 10 large murals by Napier Waller that adorn the walls, some of which depict prominent women through the ages. I've seen photos of the murals before, but have never been in the room. It was built in the early 1930s for use as a ballroom, but it's now a posh function room. 

Sections of some of the murals

We then visited Embiggen Books, a newish bookshop near the State Library. I think it's a silly name ('embiggen' is a word made up by a writer of The Simpsons), but it's a very nice bookshop - not large, but with lots of dark timber. It feels like you're in a library. One of the first books I saw was The Etymologicon, basking in the sun on a table in the window. My heart leapt a little. 

Open wide, come inside

Well, I did my share of stickybeaking at some of Melbourne's landmark buildings during Melbourne Open House on Sunday. I had a fun day walking around with a friend in the winter sunshine, having a natter and seeing sights I'd never seen before.

I changed my mind about starting at Queens Hall at the State Library and instead arrived early at the Manchester Unity Building to try to beat the crazy queues. And we did. And it was worth it. The highlight of the day for me was walking out on the 12th floor roof top entertainment area of the MU Building to see the corner spire-thing looming up ahead of us against the blue sky (above). I think both of us said "Wow" out loud.

If you look just to the left of the clockface of the Town Hall in the picture below, that's where the outdoor roof top area is.

We then made our way up to the State Library to see Queens Hall, which has some unusual but impressive chandeliers and beautiful pale green and gold leaf ceiling roses (below). It's a little shabby around the edges, but it's apparently going to be renovated and reopened to the public. Yay.

After a quick squiz at the La Trobe Reading Room (no trip to the State Library is complete without it), we jumped on the City Circle tram through the Docklands to our next stop, the Mission to Seafarers. It smelt enticingly of the meat pies and sausage rolls they were selling to the Open House crowds, but we resisted the baked goods. I didn't resist the urge to give the old ship's bell (from the Moreton Bay) in the Celia Little room a tentative "dong". Not quite the same as ringing a bell at St Paul's...

Pull meeeeeeeeee!

The Mission building is still in relatively original condition and features a lovely little chapel with maritime themed stained glass windows and a pulpit carved to look like the side of a ship, a courtyard (with fish pond! Oooh fish!), a private garden and a large, round, domed room that used to be a gymnasium, but which is currently hosting an exhibition of maritime themed photos (below).

We walked back into the CBD with a stop to have a look at the foyer of the Grand Hotel, which, as it turns out, is not that grand really, but it does have a little library and chess boards in it, which I thought was pretty cool. This wasn't part of MOH, we were just nosey.

Next stop was Donkey Wheel House, a narrow building on Bourke Street I'd never noticed before. The building is now owned by the Donkey Wheel Foundation, a philanthropic organisation. It's very much in original - and rather shabby - condition and is mostly empty. It's crying out to be converted into an art gallery or something like that. There are already some art installations in the basement of the building.

Top floor

Basement

After that we made another impromptu stop at the St Augustines Catholic Church which is one of the oldest churches in Melbourne (I have never paid so much attention to churches as I have these past two weekends!).

Then we had a quick look at the very modern Denmark House where the thing that most interested me was this newspaper headline:

Is there not a Danish word for sex? I'm assuming sex is not a Danish word for something else!

Niagara Lane, just because

After that we stopped at the Collins Street Baptist Church, which was also a bit of a 'wow' moment - I had no idea there was such a large church behind that facade. It's quite unlike any other church I've been in - a very open space, quite light and airy and with greeny-blue carpet throughout.

Finally, after deciding not to wait 45 minutes to see the kitchen at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant, we popped into the T&G Building (aka KPMG House). We were captivated by the glass ceiling feature, which changed colour (below).

The modern office tower bit of the T&G Building

And then we were done. I decided not to wait in line to see Capitol Theatre. Instead I treated myself to a Belgian hot chocolate and lemon cheesecake at the Chokolait Hub (becoming a habit...).

Then I caught the tram home. I'd walked just over 12 kms by the time I got home and I was worn out. I had a long soak in the bath and was in my pjs before 7pm! Just like when I was 10, only there was no soup and toasties in front of the Wonderful World of Disney on the telly.

See my other blog for a few more pictures.

Melbourne love

I bin up in that there spire, I have

I was feeling a teeny bit deflated going back to work on Monday after my ace mini road-trip last weekend. I had been looking forward to it for so long...and then all of a sudden it was over.

But, Melbourne being the hive of events and culture and awesomeness that it is, there's always something to look forward to and I'm feeling inflated with gleeful anticipation once again. For serious, my cheeks are even puffed out.

This weekend, I'm having a sticky beak at a bunch of old city buildings during the second annual Melbourne Open House (MOH) on Sunday. It's part of the State of Design Festival and boasts an impressively expanded line up of 32 buildings this year. Some are old and some are new; all are architecturally or otherwise significant. Most of the buildings are not routinely open to the public, if it all.

You may recall that I'm excited about seeing Queens Hall at the State Library. That's where I'm going to start and I plan to get there early so I don't miss out. Last year a massive crowd descended on the CBD for MOH, which meant I missed out on getting my foot in the door of a few of the buildings on my list...but I did get to ring a great big bell at St Paul's Cathedral (above)! Bing bonnnnggggg!

I also want to see:

The bizarrely named Donkey Wheel House (formerly the Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company Building), which was built in 1891 and hasn't been renovated so "its character is beautifully exposed", according to the MOH program.

The Mission to Seafarers building in the Docklands. Built in 1916-17, it is the Melbourne home of the Anglican Church-run Mission to Seafarers, which "cares for the practical and spiritual welfare of seafarers of all nationalities and faiths". Its interior, featuring Tasmanian hardwood panelling, is also largely intact.

Capitol Theatre. I visited it last year, but I want to see it again because it's spectacular.

Manchester Unity Building (below). I missed out on getting inside this Melbourne landmark last year, so I'm going to have another crack at it. The tour includes the 12th floor rooftop entertainment area and the "magnificent" Boardroom.

And a few others too. There's an MOH photography competition running, so I will of course have my trusty Canon clamped to my hand (not that I wouldn't have anyway!)

So much to do, so little time

I know I have said this before, but I love the way that no matter how well I think I know Melbourne, there's ALWAYS something new to discover. And there's always new stuff to see and do.

A couple of weeks back I grabbed a copy of the litte Winter Hot Spots 09 book produced by That's Melbourne. It is a compact treasure trove of events and activities the city, written in a refreshingly fun and quirky style (Melbourne staid and stuffy? Pah!).

Some stuff I have highlighted:

The City of Melbourne Laneways Commissions, which are being progressively unveilled in city lanes (the first can already be seen in Lingham Lane). I'm looking forward to the arrival of Call Notes in Hardware Lane on 8 August. It's a series of solar powered sound devices which will play popular tunes from the last 60 years...sung by birdies! The brighter the sun, the louder the birds will sing. This is right near my work and preferred sushi provider so I will be able to hear it every day.

Craft Victoria. I didn't know Craft Victoria on Flinders Lane has a gift shop featuring the work of local designers. But then I keep forgetting craft isn't just for nannas anymore.

In a similar crafty vein (not that I'm crafty, but I like to buy stuff), North Melbourne is home to the Thread Den "sewing lounge" and fashion boutique. Hot Spots 09 says Thread Den:

"..conjures up images of bobby socks, Chevys and hula hoops. The den recently underwent a make over and now has a powder room...a kitchen with an aqua hutch, flying ducks on the walls and a garden made of Astroturf".

They sell local designers' creations, vintage gear, and cute accessories; they run sewing classes and they have eight sewing machines for hire. They can even hover at your elbow like Mrs Krepp from Year 8 Textiles to help you with that tricky zip, if need be.

Outside-in Cinema. Free movies at the State Library! Every second Wednesday there's a movie (mostly docos) on the big screen. The State Library could host an evening of sandpapering your own eyeballs and I would think it was an awesome idea.

Also in North Melbourne are Arthurs Circus - "home to real, down-home collectible shiz, things that make you nod your head and smile" and Wally Johnson's Antiques - "one of Melbourne's most obscure curiosities [with] 6000 square feet of tightly packed, dimly lit, old world gold".

And then there's Salvador Dali: Liquid Desire at the National Gallery of Victoria and the A Day in Pompeii exhibition at the Melbourne Museum.

So much to do...Do you ever go to bed on Friday night feeling impatient for it to be morning so you can get out there and do stuff? Like a little kid on Christmas Eve?