[Melbourne Memoir] A History Of Brief Time

On Friday, during a mid-morning stroll through the belly of Melbourne's city, I stumbled across an independent bookshop. A bookshop in which I would hear a phrase that would come to encapsulate my experience in this lovely town.

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"I Teach: You Listen,
I Talk: You Talk"
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This phrase was part of a poem being read in-store by a man from Greece, who was raised in Fitzroy. The poem was about growing up, and learning to communicate with new people and experiences. I believe that the phrase describes the give:take nature of shared communication; the push:pull structure of engaging in positive conversation. The type of communication where both parties walk away having felt a connection was made.

Later into my day, during a documentary on Marlon Brando - being screened as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival - this exact phrase was repeated by actor James Caan, whilst describing his personal relationship with Brando. At the time I didn't think too much of this correlation in speech, it was simply one of those moments where you smile to yourself and feel that the world isn't quite as big and daunting as it sometimes appears. Now, on Monday afternoon however, as I sit alone staring out the window of a tram, I am reflecting back on all my experiences from the past 4 days, and I realise that they all share a common trait of connections made through positive communication.

The situations may have been different.........

A connection was made during my 3rd and final film screening of Friday night - a Mexican movie called 'Silent Light', directed by Carlos Reygadas. The movie went for 2.5 hours, but felt more like 10 hours. Set in the North Mexican countryside, Reygadas slowed the pace of the film to give one the feel of how life would be if living in such an environment. The result was cinema genocide. People were dropping out of the theatre like flies swatted on a sunny summers day. Whilst on one hand I did feel small pangs of disappointment at the lack of patience amongst this 'arthouse tourist' crowd, I was also excited that cinema doesn't always have to be easy, or even enjoyable, to be great. There is no question about it - the film is debilitating. Yet it is still alive in my mind, 3 days after its screening. I realised that a lot of the audience were waiting for the film to give something to them, rather than giving themselves to it. I gave myself to it, and only after the credits started rolling did it start to give back.

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"I Teach: You Listen,
I Talk: You Talk"
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A connection was made later on in the night at a grass-roots level, independent warehouse party in Footscray. Whilst musically not quite as adventurous as the warehouse parties I've been going to in Sydney this year, the free and community-based vibe was very much of the same ilk. Independent warehouse parties represent the original ethos of early New York underground club culture: no bouncers, no police security, no dress codes, no specific music policy, and no exorbitant prices. Put simply, it is anarchy manifested in its purest form. Conversations morphed into dancing, and positive communication was the social putty which glued it together.

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"I Teach: You Listen,
I Talk: You Talk"
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Further connections were made the following night. Still a little exhausted from Friday's hectic adventures, myself and Kieran (a friend with who I have been connected with since we were 12 years old, and someone who was akin to my pillow throughout my brief visit, i.e. familiar and comfortable), headed along to an Ethiopian cafe/bar in Fitzroy. Kieran has called the cafe his social mecca since moving down here in 2007, and after only 5 minutes inside it was easy to see why. Here was an unpretentious, open-minded haven for like-minded artistic types, which celebrated African culture via the warm and friendly service of food, drink, and live music. The vibe was one of harmonious relaxation, and as a result, the warmth exuded by everyone made the freezing winter weather something of a non-issue. One person in particular left a lasting impression on me; a lovely young woman called Bridget Pross. 'Bridge' emanated a joyous sense of carefree exuberance, whilst her eyes revealed a quiet, guarded vulnerability - a combo which I found incredibly endearing. As it turns out, Bridge is a singer/songwriter originally from Tasmania, who has just recently had her debut album released via a local Melbourne label. After I mentioned I had an interest in reviewing music, I was lucky enough to receive a copy of her CD. This CD will now become my aural memory of my time in Melbourne, and Bridget herself represents the completely warm, welcoming, and wonderful people that I met in my brief, yet fairly intense, 4 day adventure down here in Melbourne.

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"I Teach: You Listen,
I Talk: You Talk"
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......... yet as you can see, the experiences all yielded similar emotional connections. Connections, as fleeting as they may have been, that have left me with a clear reminder of the positivity I feel is inherent in humanity, and ultimately, connections that have left me feeling inspired to share this positive communication in further adventures I may find myself in.

Click here to hear a track off Bridget Pross' album on YouTube


Bridget Pross' debut album 'I Wanted To' was released in 2007, and is available to download from iTunes, via her website - click here