Lovers of niche pastimes will find plenty of ways to embrace the strange this weekend - be it vegan feasting or beer'n'biking, bedroom pop or doom rock, Javanese covers or Japanese monster movies. These events are not only semi-weird and fun, but economical! So if you're feeling the cold snap as intensely as we are over in Perth, the money you save cutting corners with our guide could buy you a new pair of top-to-toe thermals. We won't judge.

(Image: Bimbi Gardel)

PERTH

LET ME SEE YOU BOUNCE

The Odd Fellow in Freo is an underground basement style small bar / live venue with a cosy little vibe indeed – it was the setting for our recent A Day With: iHart Video (and the iHart exhibition) http://pilerats.com/pile-tv/a-day-with/a-day-with-ihart/and it’s also the setting for Bounce, a night of hip hop, funk and other locally-grown emcee and DJ business. Bringing battle raps and ridick rhymes will be Mike Slade, as well as Bowser Destroyer of Glory, while beatmaker Lowdown will share some of his juicy, G-funk infused jams. Opening the show is DJ Buddha, and groove-meisters Le Mezz, who will perform live, headed up by the soulful vocals of Mike Kenny. We absolutely need more independent hip hop / rap / R & B nights in Perth to showcase rising talent, so get down and show your support for this new one! – Dani

When & Where: Sat Jul 11, 8pm. The Odd Fellow, 9 Norfolk St, Fremantle (underneath The Norfolk). $10 on the door.

TOUR DE FREO

Bike lovers… Young Freo Things are hosting the Tour de Freo (on your bike), where you can navigate your way through the streets of Fremantle, pulling some cheap deals from some of the local businesses like selected discounts from local pubs, bars and Jus Burgers, etc etc. Dressing up in the ‘Aussie’ theme is essential, so pick your favourite infamous TV personality and commit (thinking like Molly Meldrum, Eddie McGuire, Shane Warne).  Find out more about the challenges and where/when/what on the event page. This is pretty well a social event for people who like bikes, affordable pub deals and want to partake in some unusual Saturday funny business in Fremantle. – Charles Douglas

When & Where: Sat Jul 11, 2pm onwards, Fremantle. BYO Bike. Photoshoot at 4.45pm. 

TRAP-ICAL FRIDAYS FT. YAHTZEL

If you live in Perth and generally know other human beings, you’ve probably frequented Mondo before at some point in your life. To celebrate their 3^rd birthday, Mondo Fridays is bringing a Mondosapien favourite and Carmada man, YAHTZEL, to party. Whether you’re a frequent Mondo-goer or you’re like ‘what the hell is a Mondo?’ this is a great chance to party hard in the rave cave. Tropical drink specials, like $6 green cans and $6 rave juice, sound pretty damn affordable, and you can get a free UBER ride for up to $40 if you’re a new user, with the Mondo code (see the Mondo event page for code) - Charles Douglas

When & Where: Fri Jul 10, 10pm, Ginger Nightclub, 434 William St, Northbridge. Door sales only.

A WHOLE LOTTA BANDS

If you’re not keen on hittin’ da clerbs this Friday, The Rosemount Hotel hosts Axiom’s Whole Lotta Soul extravangaza, featuring a gigantic list of local Perth bands across 2 stages from 6pm til late. Among the highlights are Gunns, Eteana, Doctopus, Moana, Spacemanantics and the David Craft Band, as well as guest DJ’s in the beer garden all night. This should be an awesome showcase of Perth’s best live acts if that’s what you’re fiending, and to make it an even happier occasion it’s only 10 bucks to get in. Get down early. – Charles Douglas

When & Where: Fri Jul 10, 6pm – 1am, Rosemount Hotel, 459 Fitzgerald St, North Perth. $10. 

ZEN HENS

The gang at Good Company (watch a ‘day in the life’ of their record store here: http://pilerats.com/pile-tv/a-day-with/a-day-with-good-company/) are teaming up with local designers / indoor foliage appreciators Girls Who Chat, to bring over Melbourne-based music maker Sui Zhen to give The Bird a bunch of warm fuzzies with her hypnotising mix od balearic pop, 80s bossnova and soft disco. Good Company runs a regular ladies night, where girls are welcome to come into the store and share their favourite vinyls – two of ladies’ night’s finest - NBC and Maria Mendes – will be spinning tunes on the night too, and there’s rumoured to be some surprises in store, too! Looks to be a lovely, low-key night of bedroom pop. – Dani

When & Where: Sat Jul 11, 8pm. The Bird, 181 William St, Northbridge. $10 on the door.

SYDNEY

SUPPORT A STARVING ARTIST

Emerging Visual Artists can’t get enough exposure, and Bondi's Roscoe St Art on the Streets is easily your best bet to check out some of the city’s best upcoming artists. Enjoy the cool sea breeze, smash down a coffee or two and bask in the glory of an entire street turned into an outdoor gallery. Every stall is booked out, so you know there’s going to be lots to do, see and buy. – Brad Nash

When & Where: Sun July 12, 10am. Roscoe St, Bondi. Free

SUPPORT A STARVING VEGAN

Look. I love meat. I love it in many forms, shapes and species. BUT, I respect Vegans. For the most part, I agree with their sentiments. I very nearly envy them, but at the end of the day Veggie bacon just doesn’t do it for me; but that’s my prerogative. The wonderful people of Glebe are far more into it, and are throwing possibly the biggest gathering of cruelty-free, soy-based goodness this fair city has ever seen - Vegan Day Out. Collect your map from the Cruelty-Free shop and feast your way through as many Vegan tasting samples as you can manage. – Brad Nash

When & Where: Sat July 11 - Sun July 12, 10am. Glebe Pt. Road, Glebe. Free

SUPPORT A STARVING BAND

Like minor-league baseball in America or binge drinking in the UK, the $10 gig is one of the great Australian pastimes. This effect is amplified when it’s a record store/company putting the action on, and thankfully the homies at Black Wire Records are here with all the rock goodness you need. Carb on Carb will be descending on Parramatta’s BeatDisc for the drop of their new Vinyl, as will Beast & Flood, courtesy of No Safe Place Records. – Brad Nash

When & Where: Sat July 13, 7pm. BeatDisc Records, 11/181 Church St, Parramatta. $10

MELBOURNE

GREAT LIGHT ON GERTRUDE

Make a point of waltzing in the direction of Gertrude Street sometime in the next ten days, as its walls, shopfronts and footpaths are set to be lit up with large scale illuminated outdoor art. Bright lights, enticing video and perfectly positioned colour-scapes from award-winning projection artists will appear in and around nearly 40 locations on Gertrude Street – if you can put colour and light on, rest assured, it will be coloured and lit! – Dani

When & Where: Fri Jul 10 – Sun Jul 19, 6pm – midnight daily, 40 sites along Gertrude Street. Free 

DIVERSE DUOS

Open your mind and ears up to some music outside of your regular listening regime at ReMastered Myths, an event put on by Multicultural Arts Victoria, that brings together artists from different musical and cultural backgrounds to collaborate on a new project over a series of sessions. This year, catch the project outcomes from Didgeribone player Tjupurru and spoken word artists Ebony Moncrief and Abdul Hammoud, Trip-hop/electronica beat maker and vocalist Beatrice and vocalist Supina Bytol, and Pile fave Oisima teams up his ethereal vocals, singing traditional Javanese styles, with percussion of Ria Soemardjo and Japanese shamisen maestro Noriko Tadano. Expect some pretty out-there, enlightening performances! – Dani  

When & Where: Sun Jul 12, 2.30pm – 5pm, Howler, 11 Dawson Street, Brunswick. Free.

A LABEL OF LOVE

As part of the Leaps and Bounds Festival’s Label of Love series, Rice is Nice https://www.facebook.com/RiceIsNiceRecords is bringing five local artists to the Abbotsford Convent to caress our ears and bods with new music. You Beauty and SPOD will be launching new singles, with even more new material coming from Alex Cameron, Summer Flake and Sarah Mary Chadwick. So many peeps joining forces to bring the party vibes… so many tunes… so few dollars to spend in order to enjoy it all! – Reb Mery

When & Where: Sat Jul 11, 6pm. Shadow Electric, Abbotsford Convent, Abbotsford. $10 pre-sale from Shadow Electric 

IN YOUR POP DREAMS

Might be time to venture further up High Street than the Northcote Social Club as the Thornbury Ballroom is hosting an evening of music probably worth writing home about. After the roaring success of Pop Dreams numeros uno and dos, Pop Dreams is hurtling into edition number three, with a stellar line up that includes Tankerville, Lalic, The Steve Miller Band, Witch Hats, and Orlando Furious. Also, a plus: the entire thing is inside, away from the stupid cold climes of the bloody chilly outdoors. – Reb Mery

When & Where: Sat Jul 11, 5pm. Thornbury Ballroom, 909 High St, Thornbury. $10.

Above: Witch Hats

REALLY CHEAP RECORDS

It appears High Street’s the place to be this weekend. Rathdowne Records are clearing out the DVDs and records (everything from jazz to rock to house) by the literal thousands. Thousands and thousands of those nuggets of glory, ranging from $2 to the slightly more loftier price of $5. In fact, grab two DVDs for $5. Your poo change has never resulted in so many purchases. This slightly ridiculous sale is running until Tuesday 17 July, but it’s probably a good idea to head over before the good stuff’s been claimed in the name of someone that’s not you. – Reb Mery

When & Where: All damn weekend. Rathdowne Records, 230 High St, Northcote. $2 – $5 for all. 

ADELAIDE

GOOD TIMES 

70’s style psychedelic rock and rollers Glass Skies will be launching their latest single ‘Still Here’ at the Crown and Anchor on Friday night. With a recent resume of support slots for such bands as Kingswood, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, Shonen Knife and Everclear (just to name a smidgeon of them) these guys are about to hit the big time, even being locked in to support The Preatures later on this year. Supporting them will be young local degenerates Cobra, conceptual party prog rock with saxophone, what more could you want? Entry is a cheeky five bangers!  - Jonty Czuchwicki

When & Where: Fri July 10 , The Crown and Anchor, 196 Grenfell Street, Adelaide. $5 on door.

SHROOM DOOM 

Cult psyched out doom rockers Holy Serpent will be blazing spliffs, crushing riffs and providing other psychedelic fun at The Worldsend Hotel on Saturday night. Boasting the legendary tale of being signed to California’s Riding Easy Records on the basis of their demo’s alone there won’t be many more opportunities to see these guys for a tenner! Supported by Adelaide rifflords Mammoth and Inwoods it’s sure to be a darn gosh good time for those of you who like things sludgey and heavy. They will also be stocking limited copies of their debut record on vinyl. - Jonty Czuchwicki 

When & Where: Fri July 11, The Worldsend Hotel, 208 Hindley Street, Adelaide. $10 on door.

RELAPSE

I’m the dude who writes No Money Weekend for Adelaide. I’m putting on a house party show for Holy Serpent while they are in town. The singer happens to be a good buddy. This is a (kinda) secret afternoon show supported by Devil’s Crossroad and Cosmic Crime Paradigm. It’s BYO so bring whatever you need to have a good time. In a way it’s almost a thank you for reading the no money weekend guide. The best part? You’ll get to see Holy Serpent launch into a set at 4:20pm in an abandoned mansion. If you’re game I’ll see you there. - Jonty Czuchwicki

When & Where: Sat July 11, Kicks off at 2pm, 18 Devenport Terrace, Wayville. Free.  

BRISBANE

AINT NOTHING LIKE A HOUND LAUNCH

If you’re a fan of slacker rock, Brissy garage outfit Hounds are barking right up your alley. The four-piece are planning a rowdy Saturday night launching their album Dying In The Sun, and for support they’ve lined up pro-smoking, pub-rock lords The Durries (read The Durries’ art to punching darts for Pilerats here). From smoking to cask wine appreciation – also on support is Goon on The Rocks, and Cosmic Kahuna. Hmm, this could get messy. - Dani Marsland

When & Where: Sat Jul 11, 9pm. Trainspotters, Grand Central Hotel, 270 Ann St, Brisbane. $5 on door.

JAPAN-O-CINE-PHILES

In full swing now at Brisbane gallery du jour GOMA, Cult Japan is a celebration of the (rather outrageous) genre of post-war Japanese cinema. From action to romance to technology, the mini film festival is separated into three strands: Strange Creatures and Dark Cities brings together science fiction and monster movies; Cursed People and Places is all about strange forces and unusual phenomenon; Tough Guys and Dangerous Women focuses on all things Japanese yakuza and exploitation cinema; while The Body Electric delves into some cyborg-type scenarios. There’s also a Hayao Miyazaki retrospective (including Totoro, Nausicaaa, and all your Jap anime faves <3). – Dani Marsland

When & Where: Runs until Sep 2. Session times here. Entry $7 concession / $9 full. Purchase online or at the GOMA Box Office from one hour prior to film screenings.

People of Sydney! We're on the hunt for No Money Weekend writers to tell us all the awesome things happening in Sydney each weekend. If you're able to contribute a written round-up of three great cultural / music events every week (paid) get in touch: dani@pilerats.com

If you've got some great ideas for free things to do on the weekend, we'd love to include them in our No Money Guide. Just let dani@pilerats.com know the details.