Festival Hall Melbourne

[Twodogs]

Re: Festival Hall Melbourne

Great thread. Pricks my interest on a number of levels.

I have the "Melbourne Story" doco on DVD.
I too, consider God to be Nick Cave-like.
I've had my car flooded next to Festival Hall.
My dad used to work in an office there in the 1950's that didn't even bother with flooring (it was dirt!)
Keith Ellis used to run the Belgravia Hotel in Footscray and also the Ashley Hotel in Braybrook. "Cagey" is putting it mildly!

Keith used to own Charlie Sutton's old pub in Essex st too. I can't think of it's name for the life of me (The Imperial maybe?) It's been turned into units too.

I heard a Birthday Party song at Leedin' records in Footscray and couldn't get enough, then I saw Dogs in Space and that was it!

[Webby]

Re: Festival Hall Melbourne

Keith used to own Charlie Sutton's old pub in Essex st too. I can't think of it's name for the life of me (The Imperial maybe?) It's been turned into units too.

I heard a Birthday Party song at Leedin' records in Footscray and couldn't get enough, then I saw Dogs in Space and that was it!

You're thinking of the Prince Alfred Hotel. Was The Tea Party song "Shiver?"

Dropped into Kreuzberg in Berlin mid last year. Nick's old stomping ground. Funny, Nick was always the "Dark Prince of Goth," yet, as the t-shirt says, I've always found that "goths are ridiculous.."

Yet I love his music!

[HOSE B ROMERO]

Re: Festival Hall Melbourne

Some more memories

* In the 1970s, walked in through the back to see Angus Young on top of amps with his guitar screaming, and then jump down on to the stage, still playing away. The place was shaking. We then just joined the audience to watch the whole show.

* Worse show there was Foreigner. Kept the doors locked and still tuning instruments for about an hour. Finally they let us in and they played an hour of bad music.

* Year 12 - some students organised about 20 of us to see Chuck Berry - what a legend.

* Another memory is the place filled with smoke - not cigarettes either - what a joint (he he) it was.

* Watched an early Angus Young in Zorro outfit, not school boy

* Lou Reed was so cool - great concert.

Wow, Great experiences BAD. Chuck Berry would have been a blast i imagine.

First time there was in '79 when a mate and i took the day off school and came down to see Cheap Trick and i booked us in to Spencer st hotel for $10/double.

The Sports in early '81.
Kinks in '82
Iggy in '89.

Interesting that it's owned/part owned by the Wren brothers descendants of the notorious John Wren. How apt.

Looks like they are going to keep some aspects of the 'old girl' in the new development.

For me, 'The Venue'(Earls Court) on the upper esplanade is one that holds the fondest memories. RIP.

[Twodogs]

Re: Festival Hall Melbourne

You're thinking of the Prince Alfred Hotel. Was The Tea Party song "Shiver?"

Dropped into Kreuzberg in Berlin mid last year. Nick's old stomping ground. Funny, Nick was always the "Dark Prince of Goth," yet, as the t-shirt says, I've always found that "goths are ridiculous.."

Yet I love his music!

Shivers is a Boys Next Door (the Birthday Party before it was the BP) song from the first album "Door Door" it was written by Roland Howard before he joined the BP when he was in a band called Young Charlatans with Ollie Olsen. It's quite a well known song, the opening line is "I've been contemplating suicide, but it just doesn't suit my style". It was once described as "the worst sort gawky human angst but Nick Cave makes it breathe"

[Twodogs]

Re: Festival Hall Melbourne

Wow, Great experiences BAD. Chuck Berry would have been a blast i imagine.

First time there was in '79 when a mate and i took the day off school and came down to see Cheap Trick and i booked us in to Spencer st hotel for $10/double.

The Sports in early '81.
Kinks in '82
Iggy in '89.

Interesting that it's owned/part owned by the Wren brothers descendants of the notorious John Wren. How apt.

Looks like they are going to keep some aspects of the 'old girl' in the new development.

For me, 'The Venue'(Earls Court) on the upper esplanade is one that holds the fondest memories. RIP.

I was at that Sports show I reckon. Did the Angels play as well?


The Venue was my second home in the late 80s. We got backstage passes to some legendary gigs. We were in the dressing rooms with the Bad Seeds when they played with Died Pretty and the Wreckery in 1989, I have signed song lists and a few other souvenirs from those nights. At one stage Nick leaned over and was pinching some smokes from my best mates packet (he wasn't at his most impressive at this stage, more of a drug crazed lunatic. Anyway I'm telling my mum about it the next day and she says "and you idolise this arsehole?" I didn't like to tell her how much of the rider we'd helped ourselves too or that they had to replenish it after we'd been at it...

[HOSE B ROMERO]

Re: Festival Hall Melbourne

I was at that Sports show I reckon. Did the Angels play as well?


The Venue was my second home in the late 80s. We got backstage passes to some legendary gigs. We were in the dressing rooms with the Bad Seeds when they played with Died Pretty and the Wreckery in 1989, I have signed song lists and a few other souvenirs from those nights. At one stage Nick leaned over and was pinching some smokes from my best mates packet (he wasn't at his most impressive at this stage, more of a drug crazed lunatic. Anyway I'm telling my mum about it the next day and she says "and you idolise this arsehole?" I didn't like to tell her how much of the rider we'd helped ourselves too or that they had to replenish it after we'd been at it...

no, not the angels. I think the sports were headlining but no other recollection.
Loved the Venue with the ballroom upstairs, small stage downstairs and sleazy disco out the back. Then you had the espy next door and the pow around the corner. Oh, and bananas on the lower esplanade

[Twodogs]

Re: Festival Hall Melbourne

no, not the angels. I think the sports were headlining but no other recollection.
Loved the Venue with the ballroom upstairs, small stage downstairs and sleazy disco out the back. Then you had the espy next door and the pow around the corner. Oh, and bananas on the lower esplanade

The Lindentree for when things got real desperate. Ah St Kilda in the 80s was a great place. But everthing comes to an end. We were living in Footscraywhen the Venue closed down and we had a heap of the wallpaper we'd salvaged and attached it to our bedroom wall. The owner had a fit when he saw it.


Did Split Enz play with them?

[Scraggers]

Re: Festival Hall Melbourne

I used to go to Festival Hall all the time. I saw INXS there in 1984 (The Swing Tour) and then again in 1987. I saw Skyhooks, Machinations, Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, Midnight Oil, Boom Crash Opera ... the list goes on.

But my claim to fame, I saw Vince Sorrenti and Michael Winslow at Festival Hall in the mid 80s !!!

[Twodogs]

Re: Festival Hall Melbourne

Vince Sorrenti? From Parramatta? With the picture of him as a baby right here?

[Twodogs]

Re: Festival Hall Melbourne

Yeah the Nick Cave cover isn't really my cup of tea. Nice instrumentals and vocals, but I caught that song as a 15 year old growing up and the energy delivered in the original alongside the teenage angst has too much meaning for me to consider anything else to be considered close to equal with it.

Have you heard the Nick Cave cover of Disco2000? Great version but I consider Nick Cave to be godlike-to be honest I consider God to be Nick Cave like

Talk about your random facts. The girl Jarvis Cocker wrote "Common People" about ("I met her at st Martins college. She was Greek and had a thirst for knowledge") went on to marry Yiannos Varaflakous. He was about the only person to make any sense at all during the Greek finance crisis and he was the Greek finance minister at the time.