It’s not the end of the world, even if these places do die. Venues close: they tend not to last forever. Of course it’s always disappointing when they do, especially ‘iconic’ ones such as the Annandale and Hopetoun. It’s equally disappointing that the hard work of publicans/owners who have poured resources and energy into a not-particularly profitable enterprise should ultimately fail to make it work. Even if, like me, you rarely attend these venues, there’s not a lot of good in them closing. But the fact of the matter remains: Sydney is changing.
For the worse? Well the draconian licensing laws and security obligations fucking suck, for sure. Equally painful are the hapless residents who insist, despite these venues being well entrenched in the community, that the noise is just too much for their fragile inner-city ears. But live music is going to survive – whole scenes and communities have thrived in unlicensed spaces for most of this decade. Logic has it that if there are bands, they’re gonna want to play shows, and thus the resourceful folk will make sure these shows happen, and they won’t be in pubs. More corrosive and damaging pastimes will be the future of pubs – televised football houses full of drunk and caustic supporters, problem gambling, extortionate bistros. Who needs a fucking pub? Ultimately the council will decide.
Places like the Red Rattler and the CAD Factory appear to be the future. They’ve moved away from the now gentrified hot spots and established legitimate venues where previously only underground, unlicensed ones have prospered. Both of these venues are very diverse – the CAD Factory has shows that cater for the Hopetoun massive, as well as weird stuff that rarely (though sometimes does) find space in the Hopetoun or Annandale. I wonder if the people who are sounding the death knell of Sydney live music are even aware of these alternatives, or have any idea what their business models are? Equally, I wonder what it is about a pub – the security guards? The poker machines? The extortionate beers? The televisions? – that makes seeing a band in them so appealing?
3 comments:
This is a great post Shaun, and made me think about all the bands that I haven't seen at the Annandale and Hopetoun recently. And kudos to The Ratt and CAD for developing spaces that are free from residential angst - lets hope that M'ville council continues to provide support, whatever form that may take.
Exactly. We should have more diversity in our public spaces. Pubs are ubiquitous, and for the most part, boring.
We should be helping the Annandale and others gain support for their venue by speaking to our local councils and telling them how we feel about the situation. It doesn't take much to write a letter but it makes a huge difference. For me, the Annandale is not only a live music venue but a meeting place and leisure space for local community. Beyond the swanky cafe culture, we need places like this to keep our music and community culture alive. Yes red rattler and the likes are great but we shouldn't be supporting one to the exclusion of another. They all need our support and we should be getting behind them all.
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