A night like Purple Sneakers should come pre-packaged with a dire warning that your Friday night plans may never be the same again. It's like there's a new kid in town who's far cooler than everyone else, and they've chosen you to be their best friend. You haven't the foggiest why they're here, or why they like you, but you're mighty glad nonetheless.
It's safe to say that any indie-loving under 25 in Melbourne is already under the spell of Sneakers. If they aren't, well... they must be living under a rock. The place is just that cool. Housed in Miss Libertine on Franklin Street, everything from the saloon-style smokers' porch to the playful interior - which is bedecked with velvet couches, fake fireplaces and not to mention Astroturf benches - makes it pretty clear that Purple Sneakers just has that something extra that us common folk will spend our entire lives searching for. It's cool, not pretentious. Classy, not trashy. Fun, not cheesy. It's that fine line between amazing and awful, and oh boy it carries it all off with an air of grace.
If my sheer awe at the place isn't enough to sell it, then surely the somewhat shocking fact that the staff and patrons are all friendly, welcoming and (for the most part) unpretentious, providing a down-to-earth atmosphere is enough to push you over the edge. No?
Did I mention that it's reasonably priced with $3.50 pots (in mini German beer steins!), $6 house shots known as Sneaker Beakers and $10 entry on a list? How about that the two rooms which are comfortably sized but not over the top, are always busy with well-dressed, fun-crazed youth? Or that it has a music policy featuring a heavy emphasis on fresh indie hits with a welcome mix of old school favourites thrown in just for fun? Or that the line to get in never seems like too much of a wait?
To say any more in favour of the place would be foolish. See Purple Sneakers for yourself in all of its glory on Friday nights at
Miss Libertine, 34 Franklin Street.
