Love them or hate them (and most people do), it cannot be denied that musicals provide patrons with a veritable plethora of stimuli. There are a myriad of aspects to be considered when deciding whether a musical will have a long shelf life or not. Take Melbourne’s newest musical King Kong as an example.

After selling out two shows in Melbourne (one at The Forum, one at The Corner) on their Star Crossed Cities tour, rockers Something For Kate performed for their hometown one more time.

Something For Kate perform a special show at the Corner Hotel with support from Courtney Barnett. Rebecca Houlden was there and brings you these photos from the pit.

The Beards played the HiFi Bar on Saturday night with support from Little Bastard and Enola Fall. Serena Ho was there and brings us these photos from the pit.

Lisa, Bob and The BellRays hit Melbourne's Corner Hotel with the support of The Demon Parade and Them Bruins. Mary Boukouvalas brings us photos from the show.

The Black Angels played the Palace on Friday night with support from The Laurels and The Murlocs. Serena Ho was there and brings us these photos from the pit.

Lil B performs at The HiFi in Melbourne in front of a packed house. Perri Cassie brings us these photos from the pit, exclusively on the AU review:

The Tote is a strangely evolving place. There is always something new to discover, whether it be a new piece of un-witty graffiti on the toilet wall that makes you laugh drunkenly while relieving your bowels. Or alternatively, there’d be some new bearded dude behind the bar serving drinks who has seen too many gigs without earplugs because they are yelling at you when you order your drink.

Ella Hooper is joined by Texture Like Sun in a special performance at The Toff in Town in Melbourne. Rebecca Houlden was at the show and brings us these photos from the night.

Last night I dreamt of Havana. They were dreams of kickin’ back on a beach-front cobblestone street, sipping a Cuba libre, smoking a cigar and grooving along to some smooth Afro-Cuban rhythms as the sun set over the ocean. Of course, being dead broke and suffocating under my weight’s worth of assignments means the prospects of getting myself over to the Caribbean anytime soon is highly unlikely. Thankfully, a little taste of Cuba was brought to Melbourne care of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.

Sometimes there’s nothing like standing in a crowded pub looking around through big haired men and experiencing heavy sweaty rock n’ roll. The bands at the front bar of The Tote tonight had no lighting, stood in the way of the ladies toilets and had TV showing a movie that I’m assuming was called ‘The Man-Eaters’. I suggest that title because there were scenes of women beating up men and then you’d a massive orgy.

Tucked down Greville Street, off from the hustle and bustle of Chapel Street in Prahran is FOG. Consistently appearing in the Good Food Guide, the venue is part bar, part restaurant and oozes an inner-city cool. Coming up on their 7th birthday, FOG is the kind place you dream about taking a first date too; consistently tasty fare, local celebrities abound and a bar that would make Mel Gibson blush.

The 5 time Grammy Award Winner Chucho Valdes and the Afro Cuban Messengers were playing the Hamer Hall as part of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Carl Dziunka went along to capture the night.

Guitar cases, musicians and jazz aficionados line the bluestone laneway on a dark, damp Melbourne night. It was just your average Tuesday, but Bennetts Lane had come alive, as it does every other consecutive night during the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.

Brisbane's Emma Louise returns to Melbourne to perform at the Corner Hotel, with support from the lovely Thelma Plum and Patrick James. Rebecca Houlden was in the pit and brought us these photos...