Tivoli, I Choo Choo Choose You!

I was a lucky ducky last week when my friend scored us tickets to Bacardi Express at the Tivoli. I'd never been to Tivoli before and I gotta say, I'm rather shirked at all my friends for not telling me what I was missing!!

Miami Horror Crowd

Bacardi Mojitos

Yves Klein Blue

Maybe it was La Roux being cute and fierce at the same time (didn't know that was possible either), maybe it was Yves Klein Blue singer Michael Tomlinson hanging by the bar hugging his fans,  maybe it was dancing to Dj Sampology's Super Visual Smackdown - go see this kid if you can, he is simply fantastic at what he does, and I'm yet to see anything else quite like it. Anyways, the point I am trying to make is that I can't put my finger on one particular thing that made me love this as a venue, and maybe my opinion is somewhat biased because I saw bands I absolutely love put on a terrific show, but this place is fantastic.  And I am going to go there again as soon as I can.

I love that it's not too big.  I love that you can go upstairs for a better vantage point or stay downstairs and dance amongst the throng.  I love that it's got history.  This is where the people have been playing for years, folks.

I love the art deco feel and that the music WORKS in the space.  Which is so important.  I despise nothing more than going to see a band and the sound being terrible, which so often leads to those in charge overcompensating for the lack of sound quality with volume.  This really is a great place for bands to play.

Floating on a Cloud

I know I am behind the times with this.  I know I should have gone months and months ago and everyone else has been there and so this post is less than informative.  But still,

Cloudland. Oh. My. God.

It's not the cheapest place, so maybe it doesn't belong in my recommendations for students, although when I asked the bartender to dilute the horrible house champagne I had ordered with raspberry cordial (desperate times, desperate measures, girls...) he threw in a shot of vodka to boot.  Granted, it was probably a bit of a deadly combination for me...as later podium dancing at Birdee's would suggest...but a generous gesture by any standards, nonetheless.  And besides, entry is free, and really, walking inside the huge doors is the most important part of the whole experience.

The outside should be enough to entice anyone in.  To me, who has been away from Brisbane long enough that I hadn't seen the place, it was like a beacon.  A free pretty light show on a huge building that looks like it belongs in a book on Gaudi's architecture. Finally, something beautiful, not grungy, in the Valley!  A venue that says 'Here I am, Look at Me!' rather than 'Find Me If You Can!' like so many others do (and from the same owners nonetheless...) And then there's the inside...

To begin with, it's big.  But you know that.  You can see that from the street.  But once you go inside, you realise it's actually HUGE.  A cavernous space filled with decor reminiscent of a 19th century English Exhibition in London, with exotic foliage, organic twisted shapes, a bar made of over a thousand glass balls, swinging chairs that look like something from Alice in Wonderland, and butterflies caught in the balcony staircase.  Upstairs is nestled a cluster of circular lounge areas, and the bathrooms have throne like chairs in the waiting rooms.  There's a stage, that I assume frequented by bands, and I've heard a rather decent one plays there every second Sunday evening, although one my Thursday evening visit it was unused.  When I was there, it wasn't a place to go dancing, but rather, a place to mingle and chat with friends.  Whilst feeling rich and extravagant, of course. 

If you haven't been in, go.  It may not be your favourite place.  It may not be your scene. I'm not even saying get a drink. But anyone can appreciate the work that has gone into the interior design.  And it's smack bang in the middle of the Valley so you'll be walking past anyway.  You can't miss it.