It's been a weird, busy week. I've had essays and (uni-related) blogging and social things and things I'll hopefully get paid for if I can actually get them finished (I'm putting brooches for sale in Quirky and Co. on Victoria St. in North Melbourne). My sleeping pattern has been awful and I think that's contributed to feeling depressed and grandly, existentially tired on Friday. I just didn't want to go anywhere or do anything (why do 9am classes exist? why is that a thing?) but I dragged myself to uni nonetheless. I actually ended up perking up quite a bit during my gender studies class, which is probably weird but I just really enjoy the subject. Then I went down again and up again when I went to and performed at a poetry-and-other-stuff reading. I read a story called 'The Letter Tree', which I've been picking away at for a couple of years now, which was happily well received, and a poem in three parts called 'Eponym'. And I swear my writing is usually better than that sentence, gosh. Then it was down again for a little bit because apparently a household of three women is not enough to ensure toilet paper is bought when there is zero toilet paper in the house, I mean really, then up again because I went out for the night with one of my housemates (who I shall call 'H' for 'housemate,' because I'm not sure if she'd be ok with me mentioning her in my blog) and two of her friends ('F1' and 'F2', for 'friend one' and 'friend two'. Or they can be racecars. I don't know. Why am I still talking).
So! Bar reviews, or something.
First up we went to Naked For Satan on Brunswick St in Fitzroy. There was a queue to get in, and it was the only place we got carded. This is probably the first time in a bit over two years that I actually look like the picture on my ID - about a month after I got it I went from boob-length brown hair to a severe, purple, flapper-style bob, and confused doormen across the country (or, like, two in Carlton). But anyway, the bar: it's got a cool, vaguely steampunk kinda aesthetic, courtesy of the old vodka still which takes up a good portion of floorspace in front of the bar. The place has a pretty interesting history which is not at all pervy or weird (no, really) (http://www.nakedforsatan.com.au/the-naked-story/ warning: it's a pretty download-heavy website. lots of moving things) and I really love the fact that they've based their aesthetic around it. Every table menu have a different b&w picture of some muscly dude's butt, which is important because of reasons.
The bar offers lots of tasty infused vodkas and an easily exploitable small-fancy-food-on-toothpicks system; the idea is you take your food, eat it, keep the toothpicks and take them up to the counter, where you then pay $2 p/toothpick. I can't help but think they lose a lot of money from lost/ hidden toothpicks. Still, it's an excellent price for sizable fancy nibbles. Drinks generally aren't too badly priced, either (comparatively): around $10 for an infused vodka with whatever, and about $15 for a 'tasting plate' of three infused vodkas, pretty standard prices for reg'lah type drinks - although espresso-infused vodka shots are $10, for some reason.
It's a sitting-around-and-talking-loudly type place for sure, no dancing, but that was fine for our purposes at that point. It's been packed every time I've been past and it was packed this time, so it was a miracle we managed to find a table, but the crowd seems to come in waves. Like a rich hipster ocean. Anyway, it was a great place to start the night.
We went from there to some fancy hotdog place which I cannot remember the name of because I decided I wanted fries and my will is sacrosanct. The fries were not great, which I'm blaming on the fact that it was like, 11:30 or something and hardly anyone was around. I do, however, blame them for the insufficient amount of cheese of my cheese fries. I like a ratio of 50:50, please and thank you. Anyway, the ladies who worked there were both pretty cute, so it was ok.
From there we H, F1 and I decided to head to the city to find dance-dance, but F2 had to head home, which is a shame because she was pretty cool. Everyone was cool. They are cool people. Yeah.
ANYWAY.
We were headed to Cherry Bar at the suggestion of F1, which was an excellent idea because ohmigosh so cool. First up though we went very briefly into Strange Wolf, a basement bar on Collins St (entry via Strachan Lane). We didn't stick around because it was crazy smoky for some reason and F1 was having 'situational asthma', but I very much intend to go back because it was filled with attractive people of an alternative crowd type bent, who I like to pretend are my brethren.
So anyway, Cherry Bar. It is, appropriately, located in AC/DC Lane. We arrived just after the band had finished playing and all the groovy kiddies were hanging outside having a smoko. The tattooed and pierced door dude nodded us in and one of the first people I spotted when we were inside was a guy with a big, blue mohawk, scalp tattoos and an army surplus jacket. F1 and I did some mild clutching each others shoulders and jumping on the spot because obviously that is what we had to do. Walking into Cherry Bar was like walking into a scene from the 90s movies and tv shows I love so much. I mean, Mystic Spiral could have played there.
H and I sampled the house special drink thing, which is Jagermeister with ginger beer. Confession: I have never had Jagermeister before. I am not even sure how to spell it. Anyway, it was tasty, and all the bar staff are cute/ mega rad. There was a tribute to Chrissy Amphlett scrawled on a blackboard above the bottles of spirits, which made me smile in a sad sort of way.
The thing that I liked best about this place was THE MUSIC. Because IT WAS SO GOOD, YOU GUYS. Bluesy rock and massive old hits and later on a lot of Divinyls. It's the kind of stuff I love, and sooooo much more fun to dance to than the stuff they play at the other places I've been to. Basically I love this place forever and I shall go there all of the times.
Anyway, apparently I'm not much good at bar reviews, but whatever. It was a great night out and exactly what I needed.
Now I have to go stare vaguely at brooches and try and muster up the energy to package them. Work, work, work.
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