News March 31, 2017

Venues Update

DEBBIE DOES QUEENSLAND: VENUES RESPOND TO CYCLONE CONDITIONS

A number of venues in coastal Queensland areas were forced to cancel shows this week due to ex-Cyclone Deborah.

Venues that called off scheduled gigs during or after the storm include Brisbane area venuesThe Triffid, The Bearded Lady, The Foundry, QPAC, Black Bear Lodge, The Tivoli, The Brightside, and the Gold Coast’s Miami Marketta.

SUBIACO OVAL HERITAGE BID

Under WA’s new Labor Government, Subiaco Council has reignited its quest to heritage list the 43,000-seat Subiaco Oval, which also hosts concerts and festivals. The idea is to save the site from redevelopment. A proposal to the previous Liberal Government was ignored.

MUSIC VICTORIA NAMES TOP COUNCILS FOR LIVE MUSIC

Music Victoria released its list of the top ten local councils “striving to ensure that live music and the arts is well-represented in their area”.

The Top 10, in alphabetical order, were the City of Ballarat, City of Darebin, City of Greater Geelong, Maribyrnong City Council, City of Melbourne, Moreland City Council, Mornington Peninsula Shire, City of Port Phillip, City of Stonnington, and the City of Yarra.The top ranked metro council was the City of Melbourne and the top regional council was the City of Ballarat.

The criteria taking into account for the rankings included planning and strategy, grants and programs, funding and support for local festivals, local artists’ access to council facilities, and contribution to live music across the state as a whole.

PRISCILLA PUB FOR SALE

Palace Hotel, Broken Hill

The Palace Hotel in Broken Hill (above), made famous in the filmPriscilla, Queen of the Desert, is on the market for a price tag between $3 million to $4 million.

It still runs its own Broken Heel Festival, three days of ‘drag, divas, disco, and dress-ups’, this year over the weekend of September 9-11.

MANDURAH VENUES THREATENED

The issue of venues versus neighbourhood complaints finds its next flashpoint in Mandurah, WA. The latest is the Bridge, which has been fined after getting a number of complaints from a nearby apartment complex built seven years ago.

The Bridge owner/manager Jayson Blanas says he was only aware of one complaint, and action had been taken before the problem could be discussed or fixed.

It’s caused a furore within local venues, promoters and musicians who complain that despite an image of support from the City of Mandurah and bureaucrats, the survival of venues seems to take second place to residential concerns.

THE SOUND OF MOSAIC

A 20,000-piece mosaic at Melbourne’s Forum Theatre – hidden for years under a carpet – was brought back to its former gloryafter a three-month restoration, in time for the March 28 launch of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

MELBOURNE LONGHORNS WELCOMING BANDS

The Longhorn Saloon in Melbourne’s Carlton, known for its Southern US-style food, has expanded into live music. Its band room holds 180 patrons, and launched with a long weekend of soul, blues and country. The venue is at 118 Elgin Street.

TASMANIAN EX-OWNER ON CHARGES

A former manager of Inveresk Tavern pleaded guilty in the Launceston Magistrates Court to 31 counts of stealing. Michael Kevin Quill ran the venue fire seven years with his brother, and sold it in November 2015.

He continued to work for the new owner, and said that “huge financial stress” from a $150,000 debt caused him to pocket $1488 cash from patrons rather than recording it and breaking into the bingo machine.

The magistrate told him he was essentially an honest person and he would not be sent to jail, before telling him to return on April 28 for sentencing.

MONTHLY GIGS FOR ODDFELLOWS

Oddfellows Hall in Yass has reinstated monthly gigs. The first week featuring Melbourne singer-songwriter Jordie Lane who recently launched his first album in five years, GLASSELLLAND.

PERTH NIGHTCLUB RELAUNCHES AS BARCADE

Perth’s weekly Friday video game bar, Respawn, is relaunching on April 7 with a new ’barcade’ upstairs at The Game Sports Bar in Northbridge.

It’s for gamers, geeks and pop culture fans, founder, DJ and gamer Frank Macri says. The nightclub came into existence as a separate space when some hardcore gamers complained that dancing and dressing up was distracting for some.