i'd go. i have gone. i think.

i wouldn't go. i hate to be treated like an under 18

It's not such a stupid idea.

why should the alcohol industry have a monopoly on the live music scene?

You don't need alcohol to have a good time kids.

i have been wondering why so many aspects of our culture are driven by their ability to damage or influence people (ads during tv shows, booze in music venues)...

don't get me wrong, i drink

i like alcohol

but i don't believe live music should be going down with it's ship

maybe even less night gigs and more afternoon picinc on the lawn gigs.

music can be more family friendly! get the WS-fm, Vega-fm market!

i go to gigs without drinking quite often, so the prospect doesn't bother me

although i often go to gigs and drink quite a bit

anyway, maybe fugazi could play at the launch

the other day 2 bands set up on the nature strip with a generator in Nth Carlton and played from 7 to 9pm... it was sweet as!

i like that idea tinyman

between the public liability insanity and the liquor licensing insanity, live music is in for too much of a rough ride...

p.s. ben ''not such a stupid idea''? thanks very much. no, really.

and how was the generator? i'm imagine some kinda constant drone music?

anyway, that truely does sound freaking sweet. i'd love to see more of that pop up around town!

i would go, although just because it was a venue without alcohol doesn't mean i would necessarily want it to be all ages. i would still want to watch rock without there being thousands of squeelly kids around. and i don't know whether that is possible/likely.

but i don't necessarily drink all that much at gigs anyway, so for me the two are not tied up together into the one package.

p.s. ben ''not such a stupid idea''? thanks very much. no, really.

my sarcasm detector is broken with this one... please clarify

and how was the generator? i'm imagine some kinda constant drone music?

Actually I didnt notice it at all... they can be pretty silent these days.. and it was a perfect little friday evening event.

sarcasamometer reading: 9/10

if a band is good enough for you to want to rock out, then why would it make any difference if there's a bunch of kids about? Fuck! Most Melbournians find it hard to shake a leg, let alone their tailfeather... Im sure the kids would probably rock out more than most here on m+n

sarcasamometer reading: 9/10

then please explain why it is a stupid idea.

sXe is the word!

Gilman Street

maybe even less night gigs and more afternoon picinc on the lawn gigs.

i'm down with this. i like to be in bed with a cup of tea by the time most gigs are starting.

How would the venue make money??? Heck, even the dinner & show venues rely heavily on bar sales.

boring. gigs and booze go hand in hand for me.

long way to the shop if you want a sausage roll.

sorry, was reply to modi's post

How was EV's in Croydon funded?

State Government

anonymous said 7 minutes ago:

long way to the shop if you want a sausage roll.

i remember quadbox weren't on the big day out so they got the truck etc and played out the front - back in the showground days - fkn genius

nishiki said:

i was talking to my man the other day about how when mr scruff tours in europe he has a tea and pie shop set up at the venue as he and his missus have a tea and pie business.

fuck i love that guy

cup of tea records...

i wonder if persons who like to go see live music need to show that it's the music that attracted them, not the prospect of boozin fun

somehow...

P.s. Sorry I can't respond to your PM, parisend, as I'm on my phone. Hallo!

Where the hell is Push/Freeza these days?

With National Youth Week coming up in April there's bound to be quite a few more gigs popping up. The Moonee Valley Freeza have their own annual Youth Week fest in Queens Park which is happening again this year. Push Over happens annually on Labour Day weekend. And there will also be another show during NYW hosted by The Push- TBA. I'm sure there are plenty more.

The thing is with these shows, they are a youth music organisations catering to a certain age bracket- so they're gonna cater to their tastes not probably not yours. ie, as much as I love Ass Squad and Baseball and would love to see them play more AA shows (I'm aware they do some), it is unlikely that the younger people are going to get into these bands as that's not the progression of music that's likely to be going through their age group right now. For example, back when you were 16 (I'm not sure how old you are) you probably had bands similar to The Meanies or Magic Dirt headlining Push Over. Awesome. That is exactly what catered to that age group- at the time. Over the years it changes and the genres and styles of music have developed into something else, but something that still caters for that particular age group. So nothing has really changed (except people getting older and new styles of music developing).

So yes, The Push and Freeza are most definitely still around. The Push are doing great things right now- not just gigs (the Face The Music conference, for example). I would love nothing more than to see these organisations put on regular shows of all the bands that they put on 10 or 15 or so years ago, but it may not work any more.

That said, I know quite a few bands (hello Ass Squad) who do warehouse shows and that is just plain awesome. They work and that's great. They also attract a bunch of alcos who will go to all sorts of lengths to smuggle a longneck into a straightedge (crusty punk warehouse) gig.

would we have to draw a black X on our wrists too?
i'd def go if it were a band i really wanted to see, the Evens spring instantly to mind, but otherwise not a fan of no alcohol at gigs.

It would work.
But the income will not be enough, I guess, without booze sales.
What are you selling then? Fucking cookies or cupcakes?

Good post, Lozz.

Regarding house / warehouse shows in Melbourne - I think that scene is really healthy. I play in a band that is perfectly suited to these kind of gigs, being that we can get away without using a P.A. most of the time. The same goes for many other noise and experimental acts, who usually own all the gear they need to put on a live performance. This makes it possible to set up just about anywhere - a shop front, a backyard, a shed, a living room. These are great options for bands who attract small, specialised audiences.

House parties are awesome, but of course it's impossible to stage them all the time and they're publicised by word of mouth, which lends them the air of something quite cliquey and inaccessible to 'outsiders'. That's why, in the overall scheme of things I still prefer pub gigs. They are egalitarian and fun and you don't need to lug around your own supply of beverages.

I would also say that for many bands in that warehouse scene making money out of playing is not a priority, as there is very little expectation of going on to bigger things. Your average rock band probably doesn't have these same idealistic ethics, so they need opportunities to play to larger crowds and get paid for their efforts.

So, house / warehouse shows - great for some, not so great for others.

if a band is good enough for you to want to rock out, then why would it make any difference if there's a bunch of kids about? Fuck! Most Melbournians find it hard to shake a leg, let alone their tailfeather... Im sure the kids would probably rock out more than most here on m+n

ben, i will agree that there was no real logic to my post. just that i would probably be more likely to go to gigs if there weren't heaps of kids there. do i think that it needs to be patrolled? not necessarily. it was just my first thought about whether i would go to a music venue with no alcohol. i don't need to drink to enjoy music. doesn't mean that i want the mix of people to be all that different from the places i currently go, that's all.

as an aside, you have clearly never been to a gig with me. tailfeather is shaken.

what if we took gigs from pubs and plonked them in burger kings and mcdonalds? when was the last time you actually saw a crap band pelted with actual food? i want to see that!

In related news Firewitch are doing a couple of all age gigs soon. Irenes and loophole both have pretty good turnouts for these gigs although I don't know how many underagers actually go to them.

sounds kinda dry

They should have more coffeeshop gigs for folk/acoustic acts, a la Greenwich village in 1962. Instead of getting drunk, you could get caffeinated!

andrew wk played one of his first gigs at a starbucks...

alpsofmessandnoise said 19 minutes ago:

sounds kinda dry

add reverb?

add beer?

nah, but seriously, everything can and should be a venue. your house, a coffeeshop, a park, an alleyway, an empty building if you can get a generator. i hope the closure of so many shitty venues which had boring structured shows and ripped bands off encourages people to get a little creative and have a bit of fun, like the print shop squat show tina 2005, that on/oxx one in that crazy building on petrie terrace (which i sadly didn't make), st albans kids alley shows, etc etc. things can be fun, you don't need a pub to have a good show.

They should have more coffeeshop gigs for folk/acoustic acts, a la Greenwich village in 1962

I actually think that something like this would be a good idea.

Venues like Caz Reitop's and Grumpy's Green already capture some of this vibe.