A new venue in Brunswick St, The Palookaville is a cafe during the day that transforms into a cosy bar at night providing entertainment such as live music and Djs. It is also the place where Melbourne’s newest monthly comedy room takes place.
A quick glance at the menu revealed some delicious and reasonably priced food. Prior to the start of the comedy, additional entertainment was provided by a fellow armed with an acoustic guitar. One could quite easily spend the entire evening here, consuming a meal then taking in the musical and comedic festivities.
The room itself is quite a large space with table seating near the stage, bench seating along most walls and some comfy couches. Numerous artworks and murals adorn the walls and the rear section is decorated as the facade of an outback homestead complete with corrugated iron veranda. If the visual treats downstairs weren’t enough to whet your art appreciation whistle, a dedicated gallery is situated upstairs. A photographic exhibition was on show when I visited.
Much like venues such as Afterdark and Revellers Bar, the stage is located half way along the length of the room facing the opposite wall. When the punters were spread out over the entire venue some performers had difficulty working out which way they should be facing, but most of the comics were able to engage with the audience without alienating punters with extended views of their back. The ample size of the room should reduce this issue as long as people can be encouraged to sit in front of the stage. There is plenty of prime real estate here for punters to situate themselves for the evening’s entertainment.
Proceedings for the evening are divided into three brackets. The first consists of three performers doing five minute spots while the others each contain a single comic doing an extended set. An MC holds the event together, but each bracket was opened by the show’s organizer Tom Middlebrook who casually introduced the MC. This laid back approach set the evening’s cruisey atmosphere making it a wonderful place to wrap up your weekend. The lineups thus far have featured strong contingents of local talent, so you can be certain you will be kept laughing in the months to come.
”Cracked Up Comics” happens on the third Sunday of each month at Palookaville (416 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, Victoria). The comedy starts at 8 pm and entry is $5.