|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BACKSTAGE BABES AREA |
|
Guide
to the world's |
|
Melbourne Melbourne is very different to Sydney, being less laid back, more built up and generally has more of a European vibe with great bars, cafes, shops and the best live music scene in Australia. A lot of successful Australian bands hail from Melbourne. There are a lot of smaller venues and clubs, therefore a good live scene for up and coming acts as well as the big names. A popular hot spot for American punk, emo and metal bands is the Hi-Fi bar on Swanston Street (off Collins Street) in the city centre. My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, AFI, Funeral For a Friend, Alkaline Trio and many more have played at the Hi-Fi. The same goes for The Corner Hotel on Swan Street in Richmond, which is a great venue for seeing anyone who's not quite famous in Australia (but may sellout arenas overseas). Anyone famous would play the Rod Laver Arena in the South Yarra area or The Palace in St. Kilda, which are tram rides away from the centre of town. A good place to party after gigs is The Cherry Bar on Flinders Lane, a rock bar with a spacious dancefloor and friendly atmosphere. One of the guys from ACDC apparently co-owns this bar. For the coolest shops, take the 112 tram from Collins Street to Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. Most of the best alternative fashion is in this area. Victorian Gothic at 141 Brunswick St. is superb for finding one-off corsets, t-shirts, accessories and fetish wear. Walk a bit to Smith Street (parallel to Brunswick) and head to Vicious Venus at No. 346 Smith St. for more rockabilly and punk fashions. There are also plenty of vintage and second hand shops here. In the city centre, Route 66 on Flinders Lanes stocks unique shoes, t-shirts and pants of all kinds - punk and rockabilly. Billie-Joe Armstong came into the store in December 2005 while Green Day were in Melbourne and bought a couple of pairs of their specially designed pants and lots of embroidered patches! The best place to stay while in town is The Grand Hyatt on Collins Street. It's the best hotel in the city centre and an easy walk to the cool nightlife of the city and tram stops. Green Day, The Used and Simple Plan stayed in the Hyatt while in Melbourne and many other bands have been known to stay there.
Sydney Before I decided to come to Australia, a friend of mine lived in Sydney for six months and said there wasn't really much of a music scene there. Well, there IS, even though it has yet to catch up with Melbourne's thriving bands scene. Major acts always visit Sydney during tours in Australia and all the main record company offices are based here. Big bands play at The Superdome, next to the Telstra Stadium in Olympic Park, or at The Hordern Pavilion in the Fox Studios entertainment park. Popular smaller venues are The Gaelic Theatre on Devonshire Street in Surrey Hills (city centre) and The Annandale Hotel on Parramatta Road. All main gig listings and music news for Australia and New Zealand will be on www.fasterlouder.com.au There are free music papers every week, "Drum Media" and "The Brag" which can be found in bars, hostels and some shops. The best rock and alternative club nights are at the Kings Cross Hotel at the end of Darlinghurst road. For club info go to: www.clubblink.com For alternative trendy fashions, Newtown is the area to visit. City Rail trains to Newtown are direct from Central and Town Hall stations. Shops to check out in Newtown are Dangerfield, Industrial Strength, Shock 'N' Awe and Faster Pussycat, all on King Street and In Visible Light on Enmore Road. Utopia records on George Street in the Central Business District is the best place to look for the latest cds, dvds and music magazines and they also stock shoes and clothing as well as accessories. If you have a lot more cash to spend, then Wheels & Dollbaby on Crown Street is the boutique for you. With it's kitsch leopard print interior and sexy staff, the cute baby doll dresses and tops with glitter letters printed on spelling "Fuck off I'm with the band", say it all! www.wheelsanddollbaby.com Hotels are reasonably priced here, too, with plenty of cheap backpackers hostels located all over Sydney because of the hundreds of travellers who come every year. If you're up for a lot more luxury, then The Sheraton on The Park is the place to stay (www.starwoodhotels.com). It's in the city centre right opposite Hyde Park and there's a great rooftop pool with amazing views over Sydney. I met Green Day in the bar and The Used stayed there in May 2005. The Intercontinental down near Circular Quay is where Simple Plan and All American Rejects stayed in October 2005 and I met Motley Crue there in December 2005. Los Angeles
Most of the
biggest bands in the world live in Los Angeles and the live music
scene is always thriving. My favourite venues are the Troubadour down
Santa Monica Boulevard and down Sunset, The Key Club, The Roxy and On
the Rox bar (cool hangout upstairs at The Roxy) and The House of
Blues next door to the very hip Mondrian Hotel and Sky Bar www.ianschragerhotels.com.
I stayed in the Mondrian and the Sky Bar has a cool and relaxed
atmosphere where mattresses are laid out to sit on by the pool area.
I spent a lot of time there but not a lot of money as a glass of
Bacardi and Cola cost $9 and bar staff anywhere in LA expect tips on
top. Star spotting is based on being at the right place at the right
time. In The Mondrian I saw David Lee Roth and someone who looked
remarkably like Richie Sambora in the lobby and shared an elevator
with film director Spike Lee, but the only known person I saw in the
Sky Bar was British actor Max Beesley! During the same month, I found
out that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers had been recording finishing
touches to their new album down the road at The Chateau Marmont and
Korn were all staying in The Sunset Marquis only a short walk away on
Alta Lorna Road. You're more likely to meet various members of
well-known bands going to gigs. Winona Ryder and Drew Barrymore are
regularly seen watching live bands at venues in West Hollywood. When
I went to see Puddle of Mudd at the Hollywood Palladium, Jared Leto's
band, 30 Seconds to Mars, was the support band and Cameron Diaz was
there with her sister. We also met Fred Durst briefly and Richard and
Gino from Filter. Amanda de Cadenet was also there. Most of the best
music venues are located in the West Hollywood area and bus routes
are easy to follow if you don't have a car. I remember society rock
chick and magazine journalist Tamara Beckwith once saying that not
carrying ID in L.A was a 'disaster'. She is right, always carry valid
ID to any venue, as there is a strict over 21s only drinking law in
the US. For information on concerts in the Los Angeles area, the KROQ
radio web site has all official listings on www.kroq.com.
If you can't afford the luxury of the hotels down Sunset Blvd. there
is safe, cheaper accommodation and comfortable surroundings at The
Orbit Hostel down Melrose Avenue www.orbithotel.com
or try looking for other hostels in the same area on www.hostels.com. For the coolest rock 'n' roll style clothing and unique accessories, one of the nicest and most chic boutiques in LA has to be Tracey Ross at 8595 Sunset Blvd. www.traceyross.com Rock chick owner, Tracey, is regularly seen pictured in glossy magazines at social events with her celebrity clients and her store not only sells fantastic clothes by individual designers but accessories - jewellery and even books. For more rock, punk and and metal style gear, go to Serious Clothing on Melrose which is the main alternative clothing and accessories store in the area. For info on the store, go to: www.seriousclothing.com Las Vegas You think of Las Vegas and only one thing springs to mind - casinos! Famous for its extravagance and fabulous themed hotels and casinos, you don't have to go to Vegas to gamble because there's plenty of entertainment and rock concerts happening all year round. Only a forty-five minute flight from Los Angeles, Las Vegas is the ultimate party city. You can't walk down The Strip without several glitzy stretch limousines driving by and almost everywhere is open 24 hours. Most of the Rock 'n' Roll action takes place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino down The Strip. It's where most bands hang out when they're in town and the casino is a museum within a casino, full of displays of Rock 'n' Roll memorabilia. There's also a live music venue in the hotel, where many well-known names in rock have played but the bigger acts usually perform at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino down Las Vegas Boulevard. There are two music venues located inside the hotel. The House of Blues which is a smaller 1,700 capacity venue on the casino floor and The Mandalay Bay Events Center which is arena size and fits around 12,000. The hotel has 3,700 bedrooms, a man-made beach with wave pool, two other pools, a luxury spa, fifteen restaurants and several bars! Any big-name rock band performing at the resort will almost certainly stay in the hotel and hang around the casino after the show, therefore it's very easy to bump into rock stars in Vegas. When I stayed there, we stood next to golfer Tiger Woods in the casino and spotted rock band Train, two actors from American Pie and super producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis having a go at Baccarat. Casino and club security randomly ask for ID when you least expect it, so remember to always carry it. Hotel room rates always go up when there's a big event going on and at busy weekends, so it's best to check whether you can get a promotion or special rate beforehand. There are guides to all the hotels in Las Vegas on www.vegas.com.
Amsterdam Described as 'the sex capital of the world' but nowhere near as sleazy as some may think. Rock bands love coming to Amsterdam, mainly for the legal cannabis cafes (known as coffee shops) and the general laid back atmosphere. Unlike Los Angeles and London, the centre of Amsterdam is very easy to get around on foot, otherwise just hop onto a tram as they take you anywhere you want around the city. The music scene here is very good. The best venues are the Paradiso (www.paradiso.nl) in the Leidseplein area, which is a converted church and the Melkweg (www.melkweg.nl) which is only a short walk away. The much bigger bands would play at the Heineken Music Hall just outside of town or the Arena Stadium. Museums to visit are the Erotic Museum in the heart of the Red Light District at Oudazijds Achterburgwal 54 and the Hash Marijuana Hemp Museum down the road. Best coffee shops are Greenhouse down Oudezijds Voorburgwal 191 which is open until 3am at weekends and Global Chillage at Kerstraat 51 near Leidseplein which has live DJs playing funky sounds. Any big name band performing in Amsterdam will be sure to stay in the ultra deluxe American Hotel, just off the Leidseplein, where most of the city's cool bars, clubs and restaurants are located. The bar in the American hotel has photos up on the walls of some of the famous rock legends who have stayed in the hotel over the years. Once, when I stayed there, Incubus were just checking out, Lit had just arrived and Pink was also a resident! If you can't afford the expense of The American, then only a few minutes walk away is the Vondelpark Hostel at Zandpad 5. All 493 rooms at this hostel are en-suite and prices are very cheap but rates are sometimes more during the Summer months. For information www.njhc.org.
London Of course London is very Rock 'n' Roll and there are loads of great places to see live bands. Unlike Los Angeles and Las Vegas, where most of the popular venues are within the same area, venues in London are scattered all over the place and it's best to use the London Underground (Subway/Metro) to get around. If you're wanting to meet bands before or after they play, it's easy to try and see them outside venues where the tour buses are parked when they tour the UK. Most of the big names play Brixton Academy, which is in the South East of London and it isn't a pleasant area but the venue is always voted the No. 1 place to see live acts. Then next down is The Astoria on Charing Cross Road which is more central and walking distance from major tourist spots like Leicester Square and Oxford Street. Smaller acts tend to play at the Mean Fiddler next door which used to be called The Astoria 2 and there are regular club nights on after live shows. There are several good places to go for live gigs in Camden Town, such as The Underworld and a few of the pubs in the area host live music nights where some of the UK's finest music talent first started out. While in London, Marilyn Manson, Courtney Love, Dave Navarro, Nine Inch Nails, Limp Bizkit and Staind have all stayed at The Metropolitan down Park Lane. It's like the London equivalent of the Mondrian in LA. The hotel's bar, The Met Bar has often been written about in celebrity magazines and tabloids. Like the Sky Bar, security is tight and it's not easy getting into The Met Bar without being on the guest list, a member or a hotel resident. A few of my friends have managed to socialise with Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Staind and Puddle of Mudd in The Met Bar but they were lucky enough to have been invited back by the bands and their crews at shows beforehand. The same went for partying with Kid Rock at The Royal Garden in Kensington which is also a five star favourite residence for famous names. Easier access, which doesn't have a members or residents only policy, is at The Long Bar and The Purple Bar at The Sanderson. The Sanderson is in fact a sister hotel to the Mondrian, both are Ian Schrager hotels. Ian Schrager is the man behind famous New York night spot Studio 54, which attracted A-List celebrities in the disco era of the 1970s. Plenty of bands have stayed in The Sanderson since it opened in 2000, even Incubus had their after-show party in The Long Bar after they played Wembley Arena in January 2002. You can get special rates for The Sanderson, as well as various other top class London hotels at www.lastminute.com. Unfortunately budget accommodation in London is scarce, it's an expensive place but Belgrave Road in Victoria is full of less expensive B&B's. For cheaper hostel lodgings, check on www.hostels.com. |
|
|
