The Ten Best Things to See at Melbourne Music Week 2014

We all know that Melbourne is the place to be if you love music; this week's the time to prove it. Melbourne Music Week is back for another year with 250 artists taking part in 110 events over 10 days of festivities in 40 locations. While your usual bars and bandrooms are all accounted for, this year you'll also be seeing music in laneways and trams, at Rooftop Cinema, the NGV, MPavilion, and power stations. It'll even be in elevators. No kidding — elevators.

This enormous reach comes in an effort to showcase not only Melbourne's music, but the city itself. "Melbourne is one of the world's greatest music cities," says Councillor Beverley Pinder Mortimer from the City of Melbourne."[In this festival] the city becomes the stage." Kind of like in that film with Kiera Knightly and Mark Ruffalo... but better. Here are a few things to pencil in your diaries to make the most of it.

Opening Night with Architecture in Helsinki

There's no better to kick off your Melbourne Music Week celebrations than with an opening night extravaganza, and there's no one better to lead the charge than Architecture in Helsinki. These local kids done good have been putting the pep in your summer house parties for just over a decade now. After the release of their fifth album NOW + 4 EVA they're back to christen the new festival hub at Queen Vic Markets. After supporting Client Liaison earlier this year and recently being signed to Two Bright Lakes, local boogie kids Total Giovanni will also be on the bill with Rainbow Connection DJs. Get ready for some magic.

November 14, 7pm-1am, Queen Vitoria Market, $35.

Morning Ritual

There's a reason this event is a regular at MMW. While the rest of the program favours night owls and those up for a bit of a bender, this is a rare opportunity to get some tunes in the sunlight. This year's Morning Ritual will see five bands including The Harpoons, Klo and Lowtide playing a bunch of free sets at Queen Vic from 10.30am. It's an amazing way to wake up, a decent substitute for coffee and, quite frankly, a freebie you should definitely take advantage of.

November 15-22, 10.30-11.30am, Queen Victoria Market, FREE.

Love in an Elevator

Does corny elevator music get you down? Local folk-pop duo The Twoks have concocted an ingenious morning pick-me-up for those Melbourne nine-to-fivers with better taste. Setting up in undisclosed elevators around the CBD, the boppy electronic duo will be hosting impromptu performances starting from 8am, riding up and down with unsuspecting members of the public as they make their way to work. Not the easiest of gigs to find, but if you're in the city this early, it'd definitely be worth searching out. Fair warning: venues may hit capacity pretty quickly.

November 17-19, 8-9am, Elevators across the city, FREE.

The Roller Jam

Presumably inspired by the plot of Xanadu, Foreign Brothers are transforming 1000 £ Bend into a full blown, '80s style roller disco. A collection of DJs and live artists including Northside Records, The Mondo Freaks, ALTA and Jimmy James & DJ Jnett will keep your wheels turning late into the night, and surely someone will have the good sense to crank some Olivia Newton John. Skates will be available for hire. If there's not a smoke machine and mirror ball, we'll be very disappointed.

November 20-22, 6pm-1.30am, 1000 £ Bend, $25.

Hunt. Tram. Party.

No Myki? No worries. Hop on board a moving Melbourne icon, for a one-of-a-kind tram party without a single mouth-breathing ticket inspector in sight. Clues around the CBD will reveal the hidden starting point where your musical transportation will be waiting. Suffice it to say, moshing is probably out. After rattling around the city to the tunes of a secret artist, the party will terminate right outside Ding Dong Longue, where a live performance by totally charming poppy hip hoppers Jakubi will see the good times continue long into the night.

November 20, 7pm-1am, Trams across the city, FREE.

Mixed Doubles

Artist-run record label Air Punch Collective has pitted the stars of the Melbourne indie music scene against one another for a collaborative song tournament that looks set to be a grand slam. Hosted at the North Melbourne Rec Centre and umpired by the audience, competitors in the musical tennis showdown include Milk Teddy vocalist Thomas Mendelovits, as well as Helena Plazzer, Ellen Sorensen, David Carlin and Mark Mannone. We're not saying things could get violent out there on the court. Then again, we're not not saying it, either.

November 15, 1pm-4pm, Bella Union, $10.

Free Screenings at Rooftop Cinema

Relax under the stars with a cold beer and a bucket of popcorn, and enjoy a trio of free, music-themed screenings at Melbourne's favourite outdoor cinema. Sort-of documentary 20,000 Days on Earth provides a weirdly meta look into the life and creative process of enigmatic artist Nick Cave, while Mistaken For Strangers chronicles the 2010 tour of your favourite sad rockers The National through the eyes of its lead singer's younger brother, who tagged along for the ride. The third screening remains cloaked in an air of mystery. Is it too much to hope for a bit of Bjork?

November 18-20, 8pm-11pm, Rooftop Cinema, FREE.

The Church Plays The Blood of a Poet

One of the all-time great examples of avant-garde filmmaking, Jean Cocteau's The Blood of a Poet is getting a brand-spanking new musical score, courtesy of legendary Australian rock group The Church. First released in 1932, the film follows an artist through an unsettling parallel dimension; its impenetrable imagery a perfect fit for the band's evocative alt-rock sound. Whether you're a film buff or a music lover, this live performance/screening absolutely shouldn't be missed. Alternatively, if French surrealism isn't your thing, check out William Friedkin's 1977 thriller Sorcerer, accompanied by visiting German electro pioneers Tangerine Dream.

November 21, 7.30-8.30pm, ACMI, $30-38.

Swell

Just when you thought you'd figured your way around the giraffes in jewellery, watchful elephant heads and tree-lined rooftop spaces, they throw another thing in the mix. For six nights in November, the Carlton will be opening up an abandoned space that lies above the main bar but below Hasti Bala. Through labyrinthine corridors and hidden little rooms, you'll be treated to an array of secret gigs and intimate "plastic-coated" raves featuring a load of surprise acts. I know that's a whole load of craziness to hear with little to no context, but it's all we've got at this point. This very hush hush event is mysteriously titled Swell.

November 14-23, Friday-Sunday, Various times, $25-39.

Live Music Safari

Without a doubt the highlight of the whole MMW program, the Live Music Safari brings the entire city to life. Fourteen of Melbourne's best venues including Boney, Section 8, The Toff and The Hi-Fi are hosting some of the city's most exciting bands and they're doing so for the ever-so-tasty price of free. Running for nearly 12 hours of sonic bliss, the Safari wants you to pop in and out of shows from 4pm-5am. Ideal route: chill out in Ferdydurke as City Calm Down and Milwaukee Banks turn Tattersalls Lane into an all-out laneway party, head along to Queen Vic to catch a set from Kingswood, cruise down to the Toff to catch The Harpoons, get a load of newbies Japanese Wallpaper at the Kelvin Club and, as always, finish it all off at Boney. There's no judgment here, friends.

November 20, 4pm-5am, Various locations, FREE.

Photo credits: jaded on and flattop341 via photopin cc. Written by Tom Clift and Meg Watson.