Venues Update: February 10

Image: The Marlborough Hotel

SYDNEY’S MARLBOROUGH FOR SALE

One of Sydney’s best known live music venues, The Marlborough in Newtown, is up for sale. The 1000 square meter hotel on King Street, which has a 4:00am licence and is situated outside the Sydney CBD lockout zone, is tipped to go for as much as $35 million. It is a standout of the Riversdale portfolio, with expressions of interest closing March 1.

Businessman John Singleton, former Qantas chief Geoff Dixon and investment banker Mark Carnegie bought the venue in 2012 for $12.1 million and spent “a few million” on it since. The Marlborough has been at the site since 1940 but hotels have operated on the site since the 1860s.

FRANKSTON GETS PIER BANDROOM

Outer Melbourne suburb Frankston’s long time venue, 21st Century Nightclub, will be reborn as Pier Bandroom on Saturday March 18. It’s operated by the same team that successfully resurrected The Croxton Bandroom in Thornbury.

It plans to relaunch in style, with two events planned for the opening. Between 2:00pm and 9:00pm, a street party takes over Davey St. from the Nepean Highway down towards Frankston Pier. Birds of Tokyo will headline, with supports from Pierce Bros, Ecca Vandal, Ali Barter, The Gooch Palms and the Red Bull DJs.

After sunset, the action moves into the Bandroom, with COG shaking it up. Supports to be announced. The Living End play on April 1.

21st Century hosted every major band from the ‘70s and ‘80s including Skyhooks, Sherbet, Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil. It housed what was claimed to be the largest revolving dance floor in the Southern Hemisphere.

PERTH STADIUM SCORES WORLD’S BIGGEST LED SYSTEM

When the 60,000-capacity sports and entertainment Perth Stadium opens next year, patrons will experience the world’s largest LED system. There’ll be 15,000 LEDs as they walk in. Inside, the roof canopy will serve as a stunning light show, with the event’s experience augmented with colours of a band or sports team.

Philips Lighting will install the system in mid-2017. “The scale of the project really demonstrates how seriously Australians take their sport and events,” said David Gardner, GM of Philips Lighting ANZ.

70% of the $1.2 billion venue has been completed, and Sport and Recreation Minister Mia Davies said it’s on track to be ready by the 2018 AFL season. 40% of the seats have also been installed.

TOWNSVILLE HUB DROPPED

Plans for a new cultural precinct in Townsville have been dropped. It was to have included a concert hall, art gallery and library. But at a recent meeting, Townsville City Council nixed the idea with fears it would push rates up by as much as between 5.2% to 8.9%.

Four corporations had already presented submissions after a call-out for expressions of interest.

DELAYS FOR NZ GUNNERS FANS

Before they hit Australia, Guns N’ Roses played two shows in New Zealand – and at each, fuming fans had to contend with delays getting in.

At the first show, in Wellington at Westpac Stadium, a few thousand early arrivals were left drenched in heavy rains for 90 minutes. The bad weather caused the turnstiles to stop working. Opening act Wolfmother played to a virtually empty stadium, but the entire 31,500 crowd was in by the time Guns N’ Roses went on 50 minutes late.

In Auckland two days later, the last 30 of 50,000 fans at Western Springs Stadium were held up when the venue ran out of wristbands. Things got nasty when fans heard the band kick into Welcome To The Jungle inside. After rows with staff and security, they were allowed to enter 20 minutes later without wristbands.

OLD LAUNDRY APPLIES FOR 7:00AM LICENCE

North Perth bar The Old Laundry has applied to change its alcohol sales schedule to begin at 7:00am. Owner Oscar Boyne said that it was time Perth introduced the “mature” European approach to drinking, where grappa and black sambuca were drunk in moderation with coffee at breakfast.

MELBOURNE’S BRIDIE CLOSING

Music showcasing Bridie O’Reilly’s Brunswick in Melbourne, is closing on April 2, putting 20 staffers out of jobs.

Future plans by Peregrine Projects, who bought the 150-year-old establishment in November 2015 for over $6 million, are unclear. Reports say it could become a “food and beverage outlet”, or a rooftop art-film cinema. There is a possibility of 60 apartments being built on top of the pub.

The hotel was known as the Sarah Sands from the time it opened on December 12, 1854. It changed to its current name in 1997. There is a possibility it will return to the Sarah Sands name.

BADLANDS HOLDS CITY LIMITS FESTIVAL…

Fresh from hosting the WA chapter of the National Live Music Awards, new Perth live music venue Badlands has announced its inaugural City Limits Festival on Sunday March 5 during the WA Labour Day Long Weekend.

Determined to prove its commitment to live music, the venue has booked WA acts Jebediah, Gyroscope, Downsyde, Love Junkies, Axe Girl and The Verge Collection as well as interstate ring-ins Bodyjar, Alex Lahey and Adelaide punk merchants Young Offenders.

…WHILE THE EVELYN BRINGS BACK SQUARE SOUNDS

The Evelyn Hotel in Melbourne is bringing back for the fifth time the Square Sounds Festival on March 3 and 4. The fest spotlights chiptune – music made with or inspired by video game consoles.

The music is eclectic, from the prog and thrash metal of America’s Danimal Cannon to the Gameboy Advance house beats from Cymba (UK/France) with visuals from Busty Coastlines VHS tapes and Cat Full of Ghosts visual synths. There are also workshops and 8-bit comps involving punters.

FIVE FESTIVALS BUY POP UP VENUE

Five regional festivals have banded together to buy the relocatable performing arts venue, the Pacific Crystal Palace. The Southern Lakes Festival of Colour, Tauranga Arts Festival, Taranaki International Arts Festival, Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival and New Zealand Festival made the move to secure future use, eliminate rental costs and provide additional rental income from other events.

DJS, DRAGS, AT THE PEACH

Launching on February 25 at the Croatian Club in the Newcastle suburb of Wickham is Peach Nightspot. The brainchild of Newcastle identity Lucy Laqua, it will feature DJs and drag entertainers including Miss Behaviour and Amber Dextrous.