About Forepaw

Forepaw is a shopfront in Melbourne, Australia. We operate as a non-profit, all-ages venue for gigs, performances, workshops, screenings, installations and anything else that seems like it might fit.

We’re up for all kinds of stuff — gigs, screenings, knitting circles, book clubs, workshops, whatever… If you’d like to hold your event at Forepaw, drop us a line. Our contact details are here.

We’re located at 275 High Street, Northcote.

To stay informed, look for our posters and flyers, keep an eye on the website and our front window, or join the mailing-list.

Site designed and built by Forepaw. Hosting provided by the good people at Culture2.org. We use Blogger to update our frontpage news and our pictures gallery. We use Vimeo to host video.

Want to put something on at Forepaw? Read this first:

Forepaw is not a space-for-hire gallery, and we don’t really do exhibitions. If you want to rent the room for four weeks and hang pictures on the wall, then sorry, but no. Try Kick, Cusp, Vanguard, Synergy or Kerala instead. They're all on the same street as us and they all do that sort of thing.

Here's how we do gigs:

First: We don't have a PA. This is not a drawback, but rather an opportunity to think about your sound, and present it in a way that you couldn't in a pub or similar venue. We're a small space, and you don't have to compete with a noisy bar full of drunken friday-nighters that don't care about the fact that you're performing. Folks have played here totally unamplified; through amps only; through 20 tiny speakers hung from the walls; through slightly larger speakers scattered on the floor; and through big fuck-off-loud PA systems. AND IT ALL SOUNDED GREAT.

If you do want a PA, we have access to a decent, cheap system, the cost of which is easily covered by a modest door-charge. Just ask.

All our gigs have to finish by 11pm at the latest. Keep this in mind when putting together your line-up and deciding on a start time.

If the gig's free, we're happy if you help us clean up a bit at the end and generally have your shit together. If there's a door charge, it'd be nice if you could set aside a small cut to help us pay the bills. And organise your own doorbitch.

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