A tour of rock from People's Tour on Vimeo.

A tour of rock for first-time visitors to Melbourne looking for local live music.

Who better than a local musician, radio presenter, podcaster and music aficionado to do a tour of Melbourne music venues?

That fact that Nicole Hurtubise is a local who originally hales from Canada makes this tour all the more special.

Nicole takes us through seven live music venues in Fitzroy and Abbotsford to give us the lowdown on the music, the crowd, the vibe, the venue’s history and the state of the carpet.

This tour goes for 17 minutes and 40 seconds, and has seven tour stops.

Listen now or download for later

Download audio file (FINAL-nicole-tour-of-rock.mp3)

Download a tour of rock by Nicole Hurtubise Windows: Right-click “Save target as” Mac: Ctrl-click “Save link as”

About your tour guide

Nicole Hurtubise likes to make radio and play music. She plays keyboards and accordion in a number of bands including The Fandoras and Henry. She is also slowly chipping away at a solo recording project called hurtubise.

Nicole co-presents and produces The DIY Arts Show on community radio 3CR, a weekly radio program about independent art and culture.

Recently she produced a short podcast series about community music in Australia and Japan called the Sister Cities Podcast Series.

Tour map

Music credits

Music by The Sea Haggs from their album Jelly:

• Galloping
• O
• Walrus
• Leatherbat
• Caution
• Orange

and by Trixie’s Undersea Adventure:

• Colorado (live)

and by Warren Ellis from 3 Pieces for Violin:

• Track 2.

Music is used under Australian Fair Use law and/or with permission of the copyright owners.

Tour stops

The Empress Hotel
Mainly acoustic music venue on Nicholson Street, North Fitzroy.

Bar Open
Free entry for quality local bands at Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.

The Evelyn Hotel
The largest music venue on the block. Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.

Punters Club
Relive old memories or imagine the better times of this former legendary venue turned pizza restaurant.

Palookaville
Music on a porch sounds so much better with a PA. Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.

The Old Bar
“Keeping the filth in Fitzroy”.

The Tote
Drop in to this venue on Johnston Street Abbotsford just to see the carpet, but don’t forget the toilets either – no venue is more “rock”. Unofficially keeping the filth in Abbotsford.

A tour of the imaginary past from People's Tour on Vimeo.

A tour of fictional characters in the past inspired by places in Fitzroy and Carlton, for people who like to imagine the past.

Tour guide Bree McKilligan shows us five places that inspired stories of four fictional characters in Melbourne’s past.

We meet one character at a significant juncture in her life, another as a mischievous child with a tale of late-night subterfuge, one stopping to take in the moment in a familiar Fitzroy scene, and the last pondering life and trees and Proust.

Listen now or download for later

This tour goes for 14 minutes and has five stops.

Download audio file (Bree-tour-FINAL.mp3)
Download A tour of the imaginary past.mp3 (12.7 megabytes)

Tour guide

Bree has a background in film directing and script writing, with two films funded by Australian government film bodies. She teaches film at Swinburne University of Technology in addition to working at 3CR Community Radio.

Bree co-presents Jump Cut on 3CR, a weekly program on independent film, and is currently directing a feature documentary to be completed in 2010.

Tour map

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Music

Music by Minimum Chips, from their EP Freckles (2000):

• Sweet Lady
• Bouncing Boy with a Bubble

and their EP Sound Asleep (2004):

• Sleepy Pea.

Music is used under Australian Fair Use law and/or with permission of the copyright owners.

Tour stops and links

Fitzroy
The Wikipedia entry on the suburb of Fitzroy, Melbourne.

Carlton Gardens
Carlton Gardens on Melbourne City Council website.

Fitzroyalty
A blog on the suburb of Fitzroy in Melbourne, Australia, and reflections on life in the postmodern information economy.