I found this in my hotmail today. It's an E-newsletter from the Palais Theatre. Just in case anybody's interested, thought I'd post it here:~



Anyway, if this is of use to anyone, go for it. IMHO, Palais = Rubbish venue, rubbish service. They spam me all the time with their crappy newsletters because I signed up with them for Isaak news the last time he was down here, but they never sent me the presale password for the September shows, did they? Too bad if I really wanted to know it.... You sign up with these people for just this kind of info, and instead they just use your email addy to send you newsletters about other crap instead. Oh well, that's showbiz, I guess. Like I said, hope this is of some use to somebody.

I got that email too Cheryl and I agree 100 percent with your comments. My travel companion is still cleaning chewing gum off her shoes that she got from inside the theatre.

I wonder if they have gotten new seats yet

Eewk regards the gum! Yep, I know the Palais is liked by some, but sorry to say IMHO it should just be nuked and rebuilt again from the ground up. (Well...maybe keep the historical facade and anything else they can rejuvenate, but consign the rest to the great rubbish heap that time forgot. ) Hope the aircon is up and running for the punters next month too....that last concert I went to back in March felt like a Turkish steam bath. And then, it took forever just to exit the damn place. I could feel the hair frizzing up with every step I (didn't!) took. I'm sure it just about scraped the ceiling by the time I got out of there, lol. Anyway, I seriously hope they fix that, or at least put a St. John's ambo on every door.

Have a good time at your show(s) Katina.

I hope they keep the facade and nuke the inside too. Oops, I mean renovate the inside. Bring the old dame back to her former glory, for Goddess sake.

I hope the seats are new, and the loos work. Last time the women had to use the mens - sorry boys we rule - as one entire loo block was flooded or not flushing or some such emergency. And if air con could be provided this time....Extra bonus.....Yay!

Why? do they play this venue? Is it the only large venue in the area?
Anyway, will look forward to your review again this trip and do hope the
place is not so deathly hot and uncomfortable as last time.

P.S. Which IS a better venue in that area?

Oh, you are mean! What's wrong with the Palais is:

Getting rid of the old ticketing system because the old owners have got the boot and being FORCED to use Ticketmaster, which is a crap shoot!

Having to be part of the wretched St. Kilda triangle redevelopment which will mean more people, yuppy types, bloody Toorak tractors etc. etc. and loss of what it used to be, with all its faults.

It IS a great venue. It's not in the city which is a plus and the view from all seats and the atmosphere for the people on stage is terrific. Sure, it's falling apart at the seams but that doesn't mean ripping it down. Can you imagine if they'd done that to all the old theatres in the UK? Yucky poo

It's NOT a large venue. It IS the largest free standing proper theatre in Australia at just under 3,000 seats. It has a history which should be treated with a bit of respect.

And if you thought it was hot in March (which it was, horrible!) then you should have been at the Damien Rice shows in 2007 ... whew!!

Festival Hall is worse, and that SHOULD be pulled down, but there is a lack of that size venue ... 5 - 6000. There is Vodafone or whatever the hell it's called now, but that's a modern concrete bunker. After that you're up to Rod Laver at 13,000 and Telstra Dome (or whatever the hell it's called now) at 60,000.

Anyway, have all you Aussies filled in your survey??

Here 'tis if you haven't and I'll let you guess what I told them about the frigging feet warmers (gawd I hated those and the last thing I want is to be "toasty" in a theatre!) I have a feeling that the airconditioning will be the last thing on the agenda and it was lovely without having hot feet in Winter!! ANYWAY ... I did tell them how fantastically helpful the folk at the new Palace (formerly the Metro) were to me last year and I dwelt on that

Here you are!

http://competitiveedge.com.au/surveyedge/s....php?sid=1D6D24

MORE IMPROVEMENTS AT THE PALAIS...

Visitors to the Palais since May would have noticed that their feet were more than cosy and jackets and gloves were not required. A huge amount of work took place over March and April to reinstate the heating systems at the Palais which have remained unused for many years. With the old system back to full capacity, patrons are now treated to toasty toes via the individual footwarmers in the auditorium.

We are now happy to announce that an application put forward to planning authorities to improve and extend female toilet facilities at the theatre has been approved. Work will commence shortly to replace handbasins and tapware and to install 9 new cubicles. We look forward to the new facilities opening in October this year.

We hope that these and other continued improvements, make your next visit to the Palais even more enjoyable.

Sorry Stuff....me still no likey. (Plus, I don't think I've ever forgiven the Palais for almost killing me once when I almost flew T over A over the balcony rail into the stalls below when I got my heel caught in a hole in the ratty old carpet coming down those steeeeep steps.....carpet still looked the same to me, too, when I was there this year for Isaak... ) Seriously, I really DON'T think they should demolish the lot and start again....just tart it up properly and add a few creature comforts.

I appreciate your loyalty to your fave venue though. I actually don't mind the stadium venues....but I did used to prefer the old ticketing system of GA on the grass, and booked-for-seats in the stands. Ahhh, those were the days....if you got there early you'd storm your way to the front ASAP and get as close to the stage as possible. Did that for Springsteen at the Showgrounds once, and it was phenomenal! Now, of course, there's no such thing as GA anywhere I don't think.....sigh. They'd always be the cheapest seats too, and you'd get the best view.

Believe it or not, I saw one of the best concerts I've ever been to at Festival Hall (agree with you that's a crap venue tho!) Didn't it host the Beatles when they came out here? I was practically still in nappies then, so I don't remember myself, but I'm pretty sure that's where they were supposed to have played....goes to show you how ancient it is! I agree, it should be bulldozed - pronto! It was built for boxing/wrestling, and that's all it's really fit for IMHO. But, my best memory of FH was an Elton John gig...it was legendary! We were seated on those old orange, plastic garden seats that were just kind of lined up loosely on top of these old wooden benches that were several layers high and just went up and up....like a very wide set of stairs, if that makes sense. I remember getting right up onto the chair and dancing on top of it, even though it was kind of precariously placed near the edge of the step, lol. Didn't care though - we were lost in the moment. The whole row did it, so it's no wonder we never tipped the whole lot of us over including all the layers below.

As for the ol' corporate name game: Etihad Stadium = old Telstra Dome; Hisense Arena = old Vodafone Arena. Rod Laver is still the same name, because they'll never change that because of it's tennis connection. I saw Neil Diamond there a few years ago, and we were lucky enough to have great seats on the floor, so can't complain about that one, either.

I remember those old footwarmers! When I was a kid we lived near a very old cinema (Balwyn Theatre - still there, god bless it) and they still had the footwarmers. I remember going down there when I was a kid with friends on a Saturday afternoon to see the kiddies matinee....Mum would give me 20 cents to pay for it (including icecream and lollies, lol). I remember seeing all the Disney movies of the day (101 Dalmations....The Ugly Dachsand....Mary Poppins....OMG this is bringing back the memories, lol). I think the Rivoli in Camberwell still has the old footwarmers too. That one's a classic art-deco which has been lovingly looked after all these years - so I doubt if they'll ever touch that cinema.

You go into the newer cinema complexes these days and they're all glass and metal and plastic popcorn....they have no soul, not like the oldies. Shame isn't it?

Catch ya later my friend!

Well I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Despite the lack of decent crappers, I love the place. It's old and full of character, has great sound - and that's what you're there for. Part of the appeal of CI performing @The Palais was, in the old days, tickets first went onsale at the venue at 8am. The Melbourne CI Appreciation Society regularly met there, lining up from 6am onwards, and had a really good chinwag before coming face to face with the Ticket Nazi inside. Then, we'd all meet up again at the shows. Those days are long gone, and with them, good seats at decent prices. If I sound a tad nostalgic and bitter, well I am. This time - no meet and greet, AND I'm in the cheap seats with binoculars.
And as for the posters, well.... I plan on winning me one of those signed guitars he's raffling off this time. And then Ebaying it ... just to upset everyone! JK.
It will be a prized possession that will become a family 'hair'loom.

In the past, they have played at the Regent Theatre and The Palms. Both were better than the Palais last time. The Palms is smaller, but better to see and hear, and if they need to play there for a year to keep everyone happy....So be it, I say.

Oh, and I have enjoyed some great shows at the Palais. The facade should stay. The inside needs a reno, and a return to its former glory. And Ticketmaster needs to return ownership to those that really did have a clue about keeping it all nice.

I won a poster!

Congrats!!

Fantastic, Bimbo!

Thank you very much ladies!

Great!

Well done Bimbo!