What:
CHROME DOME, Pissypaw and Iron Cobra
Where:
Pony, 68 Little Collins St, Melbourne
When:
TONIGHT! Thurs Apr 1, doors 9pm
How much:
$7 on the door
Description:
"I'm lying on my bed really stoned, and the internet ran out so I have nothing to do. I love you." Shaun South only ever wears triple-denim and tie-dye, which he wears with such intent that word on the street is even his blood is tie-dyed. He has a very big 'fro and always smiles. He is kind of like "Quinn The Eskimo" in that weird Bob Dylan song. Anyhow, Shaun is the cosmic receptacle behind the "Cold Wave" trio CHROME DOME (named by Jarrod from Fabulous Diamonds). They're warming up for a tour and impending album launch on Lexicon Devil tonight at PONY with folk-techno duo Pissypaw and Iron Cobra. - OH
What:
The Mangles farewell gig with Electric Smile Band and Sailors & Swine
Where:
The Grace Darling, 114 Smith St, Collingwood
When:
Sat Apr 3, doors 9pm
How much:
$2
Description:
So, it turns out the answer's no. It IS. NOT. BURNING. An. Eternal. FLAAAAME. The Mangles were a summer concept band and they're doing their final set of all-man Bangles covers this Saturday at the Grace. Watch out for the way Myki sells 'that's my funday', it will change you in subtle Egyptian ways. - PM
What:
Nick Selenitsch / Linemarking catalogue launch
Where:
Y3K Gallery, 205 Young St, Fitzroy
When:
Tues Apr 6, 6-8pm
How much:
Free!
Description:
Commissioned by White Street Project in late 2009, Nick Selenitsch and an assistant spent four days drawing in chalk at four locations in and around central Frankston. FOUR DAYS! Then it rained. Anyway, Nick has made a printed catalogue of the work, which Y3K are helping to launch on Tuesday and there'll be indoor chalk drawing at the opening. They were going to do outdoor but no-one wanted to stand at the end of the street and yell car. - Us
What:
Bamboo Musik's 'Bunny Magik'
Where:
Mercat Basement, 456 Queen St, Melbourne
When:
Sat Apr 3, doors 10pm
How much:
$12 at the door or email here bamboomusik@gmail.com to get on $9 guestlist
Related links:
Lovefingers Bamboo mix here
Description:
Sure, there are plenty of things to do in Melbourne. We've all seen the ads. But this is surely outstanding. Bamboo have outdone themselves with this special Easter edition, starring all the usual suspects, plus a live synth performance from Akers & Roman, special guest DJ Gordy Rabbit, an easter egg hunt and a friggin' dance competition, hosted by none other than Miss B., who will hopefully be roaming out among the crowd with a wireless mic, searching for the best on floor. Let it be you! - MO
What:
Comedy Fest, Bang On!
Where:
The Order of Melbourne, Lvl 2, 401 Swanston St, Melbourne
When:
Apr 1 - Apr 15, 10.30pm
How much:
$10/$15 from here
Win:
We have 3 dbl passes to give away to NEXT Thursday's show! Thurs Apr 8. To enter, email win@threethousand.com.au with the subject 'Life's a cabaret'
Description:
If you're looking to tick some comedy boxes, this may very well be the show for you. Bang On is a comedy revue with circus, cabaret, character-comedy, side-show and straight stand-up, performed by an all-female troupe which counts a 50-foot woman, a contortionist, a poet laureate and a drag queen amongst their ranks. If it's names you're after, consider Anna 'Pocket Rocket' Lumb, Poet Laureate Telia Nevile, Last Tuesday Society's Bron Batten, Ruby Rubber Legs, Lilikoi Kaos and a long list of special guests. It's running every Thursday night over the festival, and it isn't some guy off the telly ‘cleverly' using his name in the title of his show or wearing an ironic headband. All boxes ticked! - MO
What:
Sneaker Freaker presents The World's Greatest Swapmeet, part 2
Where:
Rose St Market, 60 Rose St, Fitzroy
When:
Sun Apr 4, 11am-5pm
How much:
Free entry!
Description:
Sneaker Freaker are THE global authority on all things cupsoled and vulcanised, with a stupidly well respected website and magazine - and it's all done from Melbourne. So when they hold their own swapmeet, you're best advised to sneak on down there, along with those rare shelltoe/stan smith hybrids you never wear. Chances are there will be someone there who wants them bad, and are willing to exchange them for something equally as rare and desirable. As well as shoes, stallholders will be offering clothing, vinyl from DJ Peril and co, toys, bike parts and assorted collectables. There will also be a photoshoot happening for the Melbourne leg of Girls Got Kicks, so all girls wanting to be involved, make sure you're laced up in your finest. - MO
What:
Street Chant (NZ), The School of Radiant Living, Constant Mongel, Breaker Morant
Where:
The Birmingham, 333 Smith St, Fitzroy
When:
Thurs Apr 1, doors 8pm
How much:
$6
Description:
We place a great deal of credence in The School of Radiant Living. They are, after all, a peaceful good vibe movement within the furrowed brow of the rock world. So when Harriet emailed us to plug this gig she organised, we put down our crack pipes and listened, hard. 'Its with this sick as NZ band called Street Chant' she typed. We went to their myspace. So far, so radiant. 'Also playing is the School of Radiant Living, Breaker Morant and Constant Mongrel.' Wowsers - that's quite a bad-ass line-up. 'I will love u for life, though i'm not sure that's something any one would want so maybe i'll buy u an import beer.' The deal is sealed! - MO
What:
Good Hair
Where:
ACMI Cinemas from April 2-21
Watch the trailer:
Here
Win:
Thanks to ACMI, we have 5 dbls for the screening at 6pm next Thurs Apr 8! To enter, email win@threethousand.com.au with the subject ‘If your hair is nappy, they're not happy'
I've listened to a fair bit of hip-hop and R&B, so I fancied I knew a little about weaves, jheri curls, fades, cornrows and so on. But comedian Jeff Stilson's documentary Good Hair, starring fellow comedian Chris Rock, reveals the true scope of the vast, intricate African-American hair industry, and how it matters to millions of people. Clearly addressing an outsider audience, Good Hair nonetheless doesn't feel like a freak-show put on for whitey. It's shrewd, compassionate and very funny.
It also doesn't shrink from racial and sexual politics. Interviewing hair industry professionals, black celebrities and ordinary people in barbershops and beauty salons, Rock asks why so many black people's self-esteem depends on an industry that lines the pockets of Asians and Caucasians. He also observes how hairstyles fundamentally alter relationships between men and women.
It's the asides and the anecdotes that make Good Hair so enjoyable. Stirring a giant vat of hair relaxer ("creamy crack"), Rock jokes that it would last Prince a month. Salt-n-Pepa explain how an accident with relaxer led to their famous asymmetrical bobs, while Ice-T notes that the biggest gangstas in school had the biggest hair rollers. Guess that's just how they rolled.
What:
Talib Kweli and Jean Grae
Where:
The Espy, 11 Upper Esplanade, St Kilda
When:
Sun Apr 11 (second show), doors 8pm
How much:
$38.50 +BF from here
Win:
We have a dbl pass to give away! To enter, email win@threethousand.com.au with the subject 'Money Makin' Manheezy'
Description:
Now we don't usually run these big ticket events in St Kilda, but one of our photographers wrote to us about this show by Brooklyn-born emcee Talib Kweli and he seems like he's got his ginger finger on the pulse. He said, "Kweli will accidentallyonpurpose force you into a mid-music-crisis leading you to burn every jigga album between Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint and everything after." Thanks Jose. - Us
What:
Micmacs
Where:
In cinemas from April 1
Watch the trailer:
Here
Win:
Thanks to Hopscotch, we have 2 dbls to give away! To enter, email win@threethousand.com.au with the subject ‘Do you have Mussolini's eye?'
Jean-Pierre Jeunet's films are often called ‘whimsical', but there is nothing arbitrary or insubstantial about his impeccably filmed sight gags, eccentric characters and domino-effect setpieces. Micmacs references everything from '40s cinema to Toy Story, but its mischievous hilarity serves a very contemporary political satire.
In an assured, economical opening act, Jeunet shows why Bazil (Dany Boon) has good reason to wreak revenge on rival arms dealers Nicolas Thibault de Fenouillet (André Dussolier) and François Marconi (Nicolas Marié). A land mine sold by one company effectively orphaned him, while a stray bullet from the other company entered his brain and could kill him at any time. Worse, while in hospital he lost his job, home and possessions. When Bazil falls in with a rabble of junk dealers - each with his or her own oddball skill - it's time for the most convoluted, ingenious revenge plan ever.
Micmacs (which translates loosely as ‘hodgepodge' or ‘bits and pieces') is wonderfully funny and entertaining, almost like a live-action cartoon. Its motley protagonists give life to homemade devices... and triumph over corporations whose factory-made devices end lives.
