MelbourneFilter: What are some good things to do after hours in Melbourne?

February 16, 2009 1:53 PM

MelbourneFilter: What are some good things to do after hours in Melbourne?

To give an idea of the kinds of things I am after, in Sydney you can:

* go to Chinatown for night markets on Fridays (in season)

* visit the the Art Gallery of NSW on Wednesday nights for free talks, movies & music related to whatever touring exhibition happens to be on at the time.

In Melbourne, so far, I only really have Monday nights covered - cheapo movie night at the Nova Cinema in Carlton.

So, what other things are there to do, along the lines described above? ie more like special nights or events, less like "go to Lygon St or random city alleyways"

posted by UbuRoivas to travel & transportation (15 comments total)

Night Markets @ Victoria Market

Rooftop Cinema

Late Night Thursdays at the NGV (the Andreas Gursky photography exhibition that's currently on is pretty amazing. Small, but amazing)

(all fairly similar to the sorts of things you're doing in Sydney, it seems)
posted by prettypretty at 2:00 PM on February 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

Moonlight cinema in the botanical gardens (also season permitting).
posted by pompomtom at 2:03 PM on February 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

At ACMI they have cinematheque on Wednesday night, the catch is that the shortest ticket period is for 4 consecutive nights.

ACMI has other stuff on as well, their calendar has a poor interface, but if you click on week you should be able to see what's on for a few days.
posted by sien at 2:20 PM on February 16

Check out what goes on around Federation Square on Thursdays and Fridays. I haven't been in a while, but the art museum usually stays open later on those nights.

If you've moved here, consider subscribing to this newsletter. They send monthly emails (nothing else/no spam) about events in Melbourne. I've found out about tons of great things this way. If you're just here for a holiday, check it out, anyway!

What about pubs and similar venues? There's a good Melbourne pub finder.
posted by metalheart at 3:22 PM on February 16

Oh, in regard to the pubs: a lot of them have special music, trivia or cheap nights. The pub finder I linked to will help you find which ones do that.
posted by metalheart at 3:23 PM on February 16

Over the next couple of weeks you'll be able to watch us win the A-League.
posted by pompomtom at 3:29 PM on February 16

If I were going to Melbourne any time soon, I'd totally book tickets to go see Wicked. I saw it a few months ago when I was in Melbourne and it was awesome. Both my partner and I want to see it again. Just a question of time and money, really...
posted by Effigy2000 at 4:03 PM on February 16

The Melbourne Gaol (old jail) has an evening tour that was fairly interesting.
posted by backwards guitar at 5:33 PM on February 16

Great suggestions - keep 'em coming!

(Nah, not moving to Melbourne but I visit from time to time for work trips; sometimes just a night or two, sometimes around a week or so. I've been to St Kilda & Fitzroy & Carlton & the alleyways more times than I could count & was interested in finding out more about, well, what I asked about - regular "cultural" or public events that mightn't be immediately obvious from tourist literature. By the way, is there anywhere in particular to go for comedy, or should I just look up the pub guides?

Hm, Wicked - great idea. Will have to see if I can get tickets at short notice...)
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:27 PM on February 16

You could get into a knife fight. But call your mother first.

(My evening time was spent mostly at the Town Hall in North Melbourne, or mooching aimlessly around Southbank. But there is always a good band playing, or a show, or a new gallery opening, or some kind of weird Tai Chi bakeoff.)
posted by turgid dahlia at 7:14 PM on February 16

"Hm, Wicked - great idea. Will have to see if I can get tickets at short notice...)"
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:27 PM on February 17

If you can't get tickets the normal way (Ticketec etc), my in-laws (for whom we bought Wicked tickets for Christmas) said that while they were in-line to go into the show, another couple who regularly go to musicals at the Regent told them that if you show up two or three hours before the show is supposed to start, you can sometimes win tickets to the show. It's not guaranteed though, and the exact details about how you win these tickets is a little fuzzy to me now, but it might be another way in and it gives you something to do after hours!
posted by Effigy2000 at 7:41 PM on February 16

* Melbourne Theatre Company has nightly plays at the Arts Centre through February and March - some nights are sold out, but some are still available.

* Red Stitch Theatre is showing "Yellow Moon" through to March 7, and other plays throughout the year. Their space is opposite the Astor Theatre in East St Kilda.

* Chunky Move dance company runs public casual classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, in Funk, Contemporary or Ballet. They are at the rear of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) on Sturt St, South Melbourne.
posted by dave99 at 7:54 PM on February 16

if you show up two or three hours before the show is supposed to start, you can sometimes win tickets to the show

i bumped into a guy once outside the sydney entertainment centre who had just turned up from tasmania & was wondering if he could get into the radiohead show that night.

i told him he was joking - the shows had been sold out for months; probably from about 9:01 on the morning they went on sale.

ran into him again some days later, and it turned out that he got a seat about front row centre - apparently, half an hour or so before the show, they give away or sell all the unclaimed VIP and press passes.
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:48 PM on February 16

Me and my friends hang out in front of Flinders Street Station

It's grouse
posted by mattoxic at 4:25 AM on February 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

Thanks, all. Impossible to mark a best answer, so everybody gets a favourite.

Except Turgo, for that ridiculous knife fight suggestion.

I'd been itching for a knife fight for ages (as these are kinda illegal up north) but every time I drew my knife on somebody, they just handed me their wallet & mobile phone & said "I don't want any trouble, mate; here, take these..."

What a total waste of time that was. Apart from the amateur homemade porn on the phones, of course.
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:39 PM on February 17