The Melkweg is a popular music venue and cultural center in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. It is located on the Lijnbaansgracht, near the Leidseplein

Leidseplein

The Leidseplein is a square in central Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Lying in the southwest of the Grachtengordel district of Amsterdam, the Leidseplein is immediately northeast of the Singelgracht canal. It is situated on the crossroads of the Weteringschans, the Marnixstraat, and the Leidsestraat...

, a prime nightlife center of Amsterdam. It is housed in a former warehouse and is divided into a number of spaces of varying sizes. Besides a large hall for rock and pop music concerts, there are also spaces for dance/theater, cinema, photography and media-art. The Melkweg is run by a non-profit organisation that has existed since 1970.

It is referenced in the Cracker

Cracker (band)

Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring founders/songwriters singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. They are best known for their platinum-selling 1993 album, Kerosene Hat, featuring the hit songs "Low", "Euro-Trash Girl", and "Get Off This".Founders Lowery and Hickman...

 song "Euro-Trash Girl", the Lagwagon

Lagwagon

Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara, California. They formed in 1990 and went on hiatus and reunited several times over the years...

 song "Infectious" and in title of the Half Man Half Biscuit

Half Man Half Biscuit

Half Man Half Biscuit, often "HMHB", are an English rock band from Birkenhead, Merseyside, active since the mid-1980s, known for satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs. The group comprises Nigel Blackwell , Neil Crossley , Ken Hancock , and Carl Henry...

 song "Prag Vec at the Melkweg". The title of The Church

The Church (band)

The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...

's song "Under the Milky Way

Under the Milky Way

"Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band The Church released in February 1988 with their album, Starfish. The song was written by bass guitarist and vocalist Steve Kilbey and his then-girlfriend, Karin Jansson...

" is also a reference to the Melkweg. Heather Nova's 1995 EP "Live from the Milky Way" was recorded here as was Spacemen 3's album Performance.