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Lexi and I got a VIP sneak peak at Felons new live music venue on Saturday, known as their Barrel Room.
They opened with a bang, offering free entry shows to gigs by Winston Surfshirt and Mental As Anything. A perfect yin and yang of beaches acts.
I gotta say, it’s pretty sick. A proper well thought out venue with bars on each side, great PA, massive LED screen and warm acoustics that wrap around you.
Standing there watching the show, with a complimentary IPA in an actual pint glass, I had to reflect a little on how far we’ve come with our live music scene. And I can’t help but feel like we’ve played a small, but not insignificant part in the recent rise of bands on the beaches.
How many places could you go to see a free entry gig in 2022?
I think Bucketty’s was the only spot outside the RSL's, flush with pokie cash.
Today?
Heaps!
Pretty much every brewery and distillery in Brookvale has leaned into the live music scene, and open late. That ripple has spread throughout the beaches. Off the top of my head, there’s the Mona, Shark Bar and now Felon’s that feature free-entry gigs weekly.
Back in 2022, last drinks was 9pm around Brookvale, (unless you enjoyed the company of pokies).
And then Bucketty’s opened, putting on bands with no cover charge, and yáll frothed.
Shortly after, others started to see the power of showcasing local talent on a dedicated stage.
There’s something truly magical that happens when a tight band with thousands of hours of rehearsal finds their audience. It’s sweaty and electric, leaving you exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. Rawkus and raw.
And in a time where none of us really know what’s real anymore, with Spotify dishing out secret AI generated tracks to avoid royalties, this is the stuff that bonds us.
It’s human, vulnerable and real.
So there I was, rocking out to hits from 40years ago, singing in unison with hundreds of other sun-weathered locals and feeling pretty bloody good, and also a bit jealous… Because if we’d had $110,000,000 this is the kinda venue we would have built too.
But this is how business works right?
When one place experiences success doing something different, others follow.
I’m repeatedly told this is a form of flattery, which I don’t really enjoy hearing if I'm honest.
Remember Zumbo?
Had you ever had a macaroon before Zumbo?
Exploding in popularity after an appearance on Master Chef, Adriano Zumbo’s Balmain Patisserie experienced lines down the street.
My mother-in-law would drive from the beaches just to line up and get a box of the oddly flavoured, but strangely delicious macaroons. The shop would sell out earlier and earlier each day, such was demand.
Then.
Expansion!
10 Patisseries popped up across Sydney and Melbourne.
Mo shops, Mo money,
And it worked!
But just as philosopher Biggie Smalls predicted. Then came
Mo Problems…
After early success, this uniquely delicious treat became a commodity, diluted down by every patisserie offering their own version of the now famous macaroon.
The lines of customers disappeared, and the delicious crunchy, yet gooey, treats began to go stale.
The last shop closed 4 years later, with the company owing $10mil.
Why am I telling you this?
Because live music isn’t a commodity.
We want more music out there, and we want more experiences that bond us as a community, we started hosting bands because we wanted to. That hasn’t changed.
All it means is that bands now have more opportunities to play in front of an audience, and more music fans have an opportunity to discover bands on their own terms.
So yeah, we can be flattered, but none of that really matters.
In the years to come what matters is why we’re doing it.
Having a few beers, watching a band and singing along with your people, feels really bloody good.
The more of us that get to experience it the better.
Cheers
Nick
