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10 Things To Do In Melbourne: 25 February – 3 March

February 25, 2013 by Felicity Powell in Featured, The Vulture, Things To Do with 0 Comments

Bored? Suffering from cabin fever? Need to get out? Vulture to the rescue! In this new weekly column, the Vulture has done the hard work for you and rounded up all the best things happening in our fair city this week. All you have to do is take your pick of our 10 Things To Do In Melbourne!

1. FOOD AND DRINK: Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Opening Weekend, 2^nd and 3^rd March

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival returns to the source – Earth – for the inspiration for this year’s programming. It’s all about getting your hands dirty, growing and making it yourself, and savouring local produce. The Festival kicks off with the traditional ‘World’s Longest Lunch’ in the Fitzroy Gardens. Twelve hundred guests will be treated to a traditional Australian lunch created by culinary icons Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander, while sitting at one massive table, all hoping that they don’t get stuck talking to some loser.

Price: $150 + booking fee

2. MUSIC: Cypress Hill at The Forum, 28^th Feb

‘Come on people, somebody ordered the London Symphony Orchestra… possibly while high? Cypress Hill, I’m looking in your direction…’

Iconic West Coast hip-hop group Cypress Hill, in town for Soundwave 2013, are treating their fans to an intimate sideshow at the Forum. Throughout a career that has spanned over two decades, Cypress Hill have sold over 18 million albums and are responsible for such cult hits including ‘Insane in the Brain’, ‘Rock Superstar’ and ‘How Could I Just Kill A Man’, just to name a few. Long-time fans should definitely get along and try to count how many times they hear the above Simpsons quote. Our guess is 3 times.

Price: $75 excluding booking fee

3. DANCING: Anna’s Go-Go Academy, Tuesdays at the Gasometer/Wednesdays at Trades Hall/Wednesdays at the Victoria Hotel

Trades Hall is really bringing out the goods lately. Last week we featured Finishing School, and this week it’s the Go-Go Academy held at this mysterious building. Organiser Anna aims to go beyond teaching just 60s go-go moves. Her mission is to teach as many people as possible some of the greatest fad moves from our times – the Thriller dance, the Twist and, yes, you guessed it, the Gangnam Style dance moves. Get along and shake it like a Polaroid picture.

Price: $12 normal price, or $10 if you bring a friend.

4. CIRCUS: Cirque Du Soleil ‘Ovo’, until 31^stMarch

The circus is back in town, with the world-renowned Cirque Du Soleil bringing us their latest performance, ‘Ovo’. Described as ‘an immersion into the teeming and energetic world of insects’, the performance is sure to be a kaleidoscope of colours, contrasts, and breathtaking feats of acrobatics and other cool circus-y stuff. The tickets are on the pricier side, but consider it a treat for yourself, as it’s not every day you get to see a mysterious giant egg appear in the middle of the stage and watch what happens next. As long as Lady Gaga doesn’t pop out, we’re sure it’ll be an act to remember.

Price: $84 – $275

5. MUSIC: Tan Dun Martial Arts Trilogy, as played by the Melbourne Symphony Ochestra at Hamer Hall, 1^st and 2^nd March

In a rare Melbourne appearance, Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun will conduct the MSO in his scores for three critically acclaimed martial arts films – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero and The Banquet.

Price: $59 – $139

6. FESTIVAL: Soundwave 2013 at Melbourne Showgrounds, 1^st March

Surely you’ve heard by now Soundwave 2013 is coming up this week, and it’s sold out. So why would we feature it as something to do in Melbourne this week if most punters can’t even go? Well it’s because it’s hard to ignore with the recent controversies surrounding the mammoth rock festival series. There’s the promoter AJ Maddah vs Travis Barker Twitter fight, the usual whinging after the timetable was released – with inevitable gripes from fans about their favourite bands clashing with each other – and Slayer’s drummer pulling out from the tour. So even if you can’t get along and you’re feeling pretty sorry for yourself about it, keep your eye out for the next round of controversy, coming to a Twitter feed near you.

Price: Sold out suckers!

7. MARKET: Supper Market at Abbotsford Convent, 1^st March

This is the last market held at the picturesque Abbotsford Convent for the summer market season, so now there’s no excuse not to go. The twilight market offers something for kids, adults and everyone in between. There’s fair trade delicacies, craft stalls, local acoustic performances and space to spread out your own picnic rug under the warm evening sky.

Price: Free

8. NIGHT TIME: Animals Dancing: Linkwood at the Mercat, 1^st March

The guys who bring you C Grade are bringing UK house producer Linkwood to Animals Dancing. With a new album out this year following his widely acclaimed 2009 album System, this is a highly anticipated event in the electronic music scene in Melbourne.

Price: $28.60

9. MUSIC: Tim Rogers and The Bamboos at Melbourne Zoo, 1^st March

After the success of Tim Rogers’ collaboration on one of the catchiest tracks of 2012 ‘I Got Burned’, Melbourne-based funk outfit The Bamboos decided it would be an awesome idea to make the partnership more of a full-time thing. The result is this ‘Rock N Soul Medicine’ tour, with 5 dates booked in across the country.

The full ten piece onstage line-up for these very special shows will be led by Tim Rogers on vocals, bandleader Lance Ferguson on guitar, and will of course feature the stunning resident Bamboos vocalists Kylie Auldist and Ella Thompson.

Price: $59.30

10. DANCING: Soul in the Basement at Cherry Bar, 28^th Feb

This is a quintessential night out on the town that every Melburnian should try at least once. With renowned soul DJs Vince Peach and Pierre Baroni at the decks, you’ll go on an all-out, dance-all-night shimmy-and-shake boogie journey through 60s soul, blues and funk, and come out the other end tired and sweaty and wondering why you ever spent your Thursday nights anywhere else. Trust us on this one.