Last week was well spent going to cafes, eating way too much, going to concerts, letting time pass at parks and reminiscing all my teenage years with little sis. We were just talking about how nostalgic we feel when we see those bands. I spent most of my teenage years indulging in music, loving it, breathing it and falling asleep to it (yes, even metal). It was nice to see them all again, especially AFI. They have been my favorite band since I was 17.
We arrived in Melbourne on Monday (24th Feb), and didn't wait to get some food in our stomach. The first thing we had was dim sum at Chinatown, followed by walking around the CBD. Surprisingly, we weren't tired at all after not even getting any shuteye on the flight. Later on in the afternoon, we went to St.Patrick's and Fitzroy Park and ended the day at Taco Bill chowing down tacos and fajitas.
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On Tuesday (25th Feb), we didn't do anything much because weirdly, we were really tired from the day before. We just ran some errands and went to a nice cafe in one of the alley ways that Melbourne is famous for. I saw some photos of Chuckle Park (that's the cafe name) on tumblr pretty often, just didn't know it was in Melbs. So when we stumbled upon it, I was really happy because the cafe looked so cute online, just as cute in real life with little jars of plants they hang about the tables and a having a trailer as their kitchen/cash register/place you order.
I had their Chuckleberry Finn and baby sis just had a cup of cappuccino. My drink is actually just hot chocolate but mixed with raspberries and there was marshmallows in my drink. So goooood! I haven't had hot chocolate in forever.
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26th February was one of the days I was most excited for because I got to see my favorite band after 4 years. We decided to have dim sum again for breakfast because I was really craving for porridge. And went to hunt for coffee at Flinder's Lane. We ended up having coffee at Degraves, which was so good. I am in love with their mocha right now. Again, we didn't do anything much but hung around the CBD till it was about 5 when we walked to Queen Victoria Market because we wanted to go to the Night Market. It only happens on Wednesdays in summer. It was the same as I went in 2012.
We got the Korean Potatoe twist and shared a Kangaroo burger because little sis wanted to try it. It was too big, it was impossible to get one for each. We had creme brulee and blueberry cheesecake macaroons for dessert. To our surprise, they were filming MasterChef Australia right there at the market. Little sis was so happy because she always watch the series on tv, and only the Australian version, haha.
I think they were having a team challenge thingy, half way through watching, one of the dishes caught fire. Baby sis was saying how that would definitely be on tv, haha. We didn't hang around too long and made our way to St. Kilda because that was where the concert venue was at. We took the 96 tram down and was a little worried we won't be able to find the venue since we've never been there before but luckily, it was really easy to locate it because all we had to do was look for a queue of people dressed in black or AFI shirts.
Going to this concert literally gave me a culture shock all over again. It's been a long time since I've been to a concert outside of Japan (yes, I don't even go to the concerts in Singapore). Firstly, everyone was so tall and it was mostly filled with guys. I'm so used to going to concerts where it's mostly girls and easily finding a good spot to see the band because Japanese are not as tall as Australians. Also, while trying to squeeze infront of people to get a good spot, the guys were nice enough to let us stand infront of them because I overheard them saying how tiny we are. Haven't heard that in forever. I don't think I am tiny though.
Crosses opened for AFI and they played for about half an hour. They were good but I got bored half way during their set. I don't know if it's just me but their music is kinda mellow and I like to listen to them to chill. Still happy I saw them but even happier when AFI took the stage not long after.
They opened to The Leaving Song Part II. I was tooooooooo happy when Davey sang the first line "Don't waste your touch", I shouted back " You won't feel anything" so loudly, everyone did. I was so happy to see them. Argh, I love them live. They are still the best band I've seen live (sorry lynch., you take number 2 or 3 or maybe even 4). They played I Hope You Suffer after that and everyone was singing along. It was so fun. Haven't been able to sing like that in so long. Or sing along to anything because I hardly sing nowadays because of the language.
I was so glad they played my favorite, Dancing Through Sunday and happier they played Kill Caustic and Bleed Black. Little sis was happy about them playing Heart Stops. I was kinda disappointed they didn't play A Deep Slow Panic because that's my favorite song from their latest album Burials.
They also played Love Like Winter, Miss Murder, Beautiful Thieves, Silver and Cold, Girl's Not Grey and some really old stuff I can't remember the name to. They covered a song during their encore, it was an oldie that I can't remember the name too. Also gutted that they didn't play Medicate!!! They were sooooo goood with that song when I saw them back in 2010. They played for a little over an hour, although it was short compared to my usual Japanese lives, 2 hours. I thought it was just nice. We left the venue at 11.30pm and took the tram back to the hotel and crashed right after a warm bath.
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On Thursday (27th Feb), we didn't do anything much again but lazed around the CBD and went to another cafe that little sis wanted to see called, Brother Baba Budan that was located on Little Bourke Street. I liked the interior because they had chairs hanging upside down on the ceiling.
We didn't spend that long there and ended up shopping at an outlet mall next to Southern Cross Statioin where I got a pair of shoes just for AUD$40. Happy it was cheap because most of my shoes always cost a bomb. -___-
For dinner, we went back to St.Kilda because I booked a reservation for 2 at Donovans to visit my godpa as well. We spent the late afternoon walking down the beach at St.Kilda. The weather was nice that day. We didn't bother going to the pier anymore because we have been there too many times. We went to the restaurant and had a 3 course meal until about 7ish where we rushed off back to the CBD to see Dir En Grey.
We managed to catch a little bit of Dir En Grey back in the city. The other band after them sucked so bad, we decided to just leave because I'm not a fan of The Dillinger Escape Plan. Back in the hotel room, while little sis studied for her mid-terms, I was watching The Hangover II on teevee. We had an early night because the next day was already Soundwave!
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28th February, the day of Soundwave. Little sis and I didn't get up toooo early compared to the previous times we went. Being, the first band we wanted to see only took the stage at 2pm. So we decided to take our time and have a nice breakfast before all the madness began. We walked down to Lonsdale Street to get some Greek Food and now little sis knows why I'm so in love with it.
After our really nice breakfast, we took the 57 tram to Flemington Racecourse which was pretty faraway from the CBD. We didn't take too long to arrive at the festival, we walked into Alter Bridge playing at Stage 2. I'm not a fan of theirs but they sound good live, especially on vocals. Since there was still some time to spare, we walked around the festival and decided to catch Alkaline Trio for a little bit. I only knew one song of theirs, This Could Be Love, which they closed to.
After that, we moved onto Stage 3 to get ready for AFI. They opened to The Leaving Song Part II again but today, Davey's voice was a off-key for some reason which was actually pretty funny. Even he was laughing on stage. They didn't play much songs and mostly played whatever they did at their sidewave. I still enjoyed myself during their set because I don't know when will be the next time I can see them again. Probably in the next 4 years?
Dir En Grey was next at Stage 5, so that was where we went. There wasn't much people there to see them so I got a pretty good view of the band. They opened to 冷血なりせば and I was pretty amazed, they are really good live and Kyo has amazing vocals. I'm not a super big fan of them and I always listen to their music here and there, so it was good that they played most of the stuff I know. The mosh for them was crazy, I don't think they've seen much mosh pits that violent either because the whole band was just staring at the crowd. It got pretty intense because I was almost pulled into it too, but the guy next to me was nice enough to fend the violent guys off. Thank you, whoever you are. I love seeing people mosh but I don't want to be in the mosh and get injured and bleed to death, to be really honest.
They played for about half an hour and when they ended, we rushed back to Stage 3 to see Panic! at the Disco. The last time I saw them was back in 2008 when they were still a 4 member band and now, it's only left with Brendon Urie. When we were back to Stage 3, Brendon was already shirtless and I was disappointed because I swear he striped off to Girls/Girls/Boys and that's one song I really wanted to see him play. We managed to see him play Nicotine, Vegas Lights, Nine in the Afternoon and I Write Sins Not Tragedies. I love he did a screamo thing before playing I write sins... I didn't know he could growl like that, but then again, I can't imagine him being in a hardcore band. He's too cute for that. Also, I laughed at the first verse when he sang I write sins, it goes " And yes, what a shame, the groom's bride is a... whore." Instead of whore, he changed it to "super slut", which cracked me up. His vocals were better than the last time I saw them and yes, yes, his back flips.
When Panic ended, we walked to Stage 1 where Placebo was playing. I used to love them back in high school but now I don't even listen to them anymore. We just lay on the grass and waited for A Day To Remember to take Stage 2. We didn't wait too long either, they came out pretty quickly. I can't remember their setlist now because also, not a big big fan of them. I still enjoyed watching the people crowd surfing, throwing toilet rolls everywhere and how the singer was running in the human plastic ball while they were playing It's Complicated. I thought it was pretty hilarious. Both little sis and I were singing along when they sang Have Faith in Me, and when they ended with The Downfall of Us All, so many people came running to the stage. Swear most people only knew that song of theirs.
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| Reason why I will always love Melbourne. |
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| This was hilarious to watch. |
Stole these photos from A Day To Remember's Facebook page. :D
Little sis and I went to walk around after ADTR and wanted to get some food but ended up not getting any and just lay on the grass again while waiting for Green Day, watching Alice in Chains who were really good live as well. Listening to these bands really made me miss the days where I was so crazy over this scene. Obviously, I can't anymore because I've moved on. We waited quite a while for Green Day to take the stage, I haven't listened to them in forever also, so I was pretty lost during their set, forgetting all the song titles and whatnot. The last time I saw them was in 2010 and standing in the very first row, infront of Billy Joe and now? I can't even be bothered to stand, I was sitting on the grass watching them play, haha. The only songs I sang to was Holiday, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Wake Me Up When September Ends and Basket Case.
We didn't bother staying for the entire set, we walked back to Stage 3 because I wanted to see Finch. Again, we didn't even bother staying long either for them, I got annoyed actually. I was debating if we should stay for Korn and Rob Zombie but really, can't be bothered. Both of us just couldn't wait till 8.45pm because of Avenged Sevenfold and later at 9pm, HIM.
When A7X took the stage, it was already nightfall. The stage setup was really pretty and there were fire and just - the pyrotechnics for them were really good. They opened to a song I don't even know of, just goes to show how long I haven't listened to all these bands. When the organs for Critical Acclaim started I was jumping around. Fuck, I can't remember how to sing to it. -___- But I'm glad they decided to keep The Rev's singing and not sing over it. Later on, they played Welcome To The Family and Hail To The King. I was really hoping for them to play Bat Country, Beast and the Harlot or Unholy Confessions earlier but unfortunately they didn't, because I had to rush to Stage 5 to see HIM.
We ran to Stage 5 after seeing A7X play about 5 songs, and we walked into them singing All Lips Go Blue, little sis was singing along to it and again, I was so lost. -.- I really wanted to see them play Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly, Buried Alive by Love or Right Here In My Arms but I think I think I missed it while watching A7X :/ The stage for HIM was really pretty too. At least I got to see them Play Your Sweet 666, Poison Girl and When Love and Death Embrace. I really do miss singing along. :(
After HIM ended, little sis and I just ran back to see if A7X if they were still playing. When we arrived at Stage 3, there were fireworks. Weirdly, fireworks just make people happy, no? They already ended their set but were still on stage throwing guitar picks, bottles and drum sticks into the crowd. We left when they were still on stage and just decided to head back before it gets tooooo crowded, which already was when we were trying to get to the train station.
After HIM ended, little sis and I just ran back to see if A7X if they were still playing. When we arrived at Stage 3, there were fireworks. Weirdly, fireworks just make people happy, no? They already ended their set but were still on stage throwing guitar picks, bottles and drum sticks into the crowd. We left when they were still on stage and just decided to head back before it gets tooooo crowded, which already was when we were trying to get to the train station.
Thankfully, we managed to get on the first train and were back at Southern Cross in no time. We didn't know what to eat since it was already 10 at night, so we settled for pizza and little sis went to Pie Face to get some desserts. Weirdly, I wasn't even that hungry so I skipped desserts. Weirdly, we weren't that tired once back in the hotel room, probably couldn't get over the bands we just saw today?
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1st March, Saturday. We didn't even bother taking photos this day because of pure laziness. We made our way to Chapel Street, it's where all the hipster stores are at. Okay, not really, it's a shopping street in Melbourne outside of the CBD because little sis wanted to get shoes. She really loves shoes from Melbourne... so. Luckily there was her size, and they are so pretty. *___* After getting her shoes, we walked down to Prahran Market since there was a coffee place she wanted to try.
We chilled there for a little bit and decided to roam around. We didn't walk too far, and decided to chill again at this really cute tea house on the street back to the tram. We didn't know they serve dim sum, if we knew we wouldn't have walked in but the decors were really cute. After planting our asses there for a little over an hour, we decided to go to Fawkner Park at Toorak. So, we took the number 8 tram back down.
We were just pure lazy, once we arrived at the park, we didn't bother walking around either. We just sat on a bench for another hour. The one thing I love about Melbourne, it's so laid back. It's always nice to let my mind relax for a week. Also, the weather that day was so nice. No, the week we were back in Melbourne, the weather was so nice.
After being so lazy, we went back to our hotel room to put all the stuff down, and walked around the CBD for a bit before going to get dinner. We had vietnamese for dinner, which made me really happy. One of my favorite food in the world. Maybe, we ordered way too much. But since it was our last night, we didn't care. After dinner, we took the tram back again but alighted somewhere further than the place we intended to go since we were so full, we wanted to walk off some of the food before getting dessert.
One of the things I've newly fallen in love with in Melbourne is Cacao Green's Honey Earl Grey flavoured frozen yogurt. I've been having it with granola everyday in Melbourne and now I miss it. ): So we shared a gigantic bowl before heading back to the hotel room to pack.
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2nd March, Sunday. The end of yet another trip. I was telling baby sis how funny it was because exactly a year ago on this date, we were in Tokyo watching lynch., and it was my first time seeing them too. How we exchanged 2013's Soundwave for yet another Tokyo trip. It was worth it though, and I wouldn't exchange it for the world.
We checked out at 10am. argh, I hate checking out time. We slowly walked down to Lonsdale Street again because little sis really wanted to have another round of Greek food before heading back. We ordered maybe a little too much again, but still, was happy having cabbage rolls. It's my favorite. Since we were so full from the food, we walked down to St.Patrick's for a little bit, prayed and sat at our favorite spot for more than an hour. I still love that spot so much, I could just sit there forever.
After wasting too much time there, we went to have frozen yogurt one last time and slowly walked to Flinder's lane to get Lydia's last Melbourne coffee fix. She went crazy at Degraves, ordering a flat white, cappuccino and mocha. I had two cups of mocha. We sat there for a while too, since she had 3 fucking cups. T___T
After her coffee was finally all gone, we walked back to the hotel to collect our luggage and off we were to the airport, ready to head back. I wasn't that sad leaving, probably because I know I would be going back to Japan next month. We did some last minute shopping at the terminal, and boarded our flight on time. I was watching all Disney films on board, haha. Firstly because there was Frozen and since everyone has been talking about it. Later on, I just watched The Little Mermaid, Tangled and Brave (!!!). If you didn't know, Brave is my most favourite pixar Disney film. I can watch it so many times and not get sick of it. lol. My mom and sis gets annoyed with me for being so crazy.
We landed at about 11pm, and had dinner at the airport before going home.
Honestly, I was kind of relieved to leave Melbourne. I will always love it but just right now, I'm not ready to move back. Maybe in a couple of years when I'm settled down and don't want a fast-paced life anymore, then I will move back. The next couple of months will be spent in Japan, and if I can get a job there, years. Till then, I'll miss you my little hometown.
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