Last Gig At The Laundry
Go to the Walken CD Launch, I’m serious. You’ll kick yourself if you don’t. Apart from Walken being a fine band, this will be the last live gig for anyone ever at the Laundry.
This is why Walken had their gig cancelled. And this is how they got a reprieve, but the Laundry didn’t.
Punters is gone. Laundry is going. Old Bar, Evelyn and Cue are on notice.
Earlier in the year (or was it last year?) I signed a petition for FG4LM - Fair Go For Live Music, an initiative to protect live music in Melbourne. They seem to be defunct now.
This is a report from the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Live Music - The Way Forward. Planning changes are supposed to happen next month. Are they, and will they be enough? Up front they were not enough for the Espy, Empress, or Rainbow. The latter had a benefit gig in March to help it cover $80,000 in fines, legal fees, and sound-proofing renovations.
On the other hand, here’s a report from the Fitzroy Residents Association (no permalink, but no update for a year either). Here’s an easy statement from me based on the media feeding my prejudices:
FG4LM stood up against the disingenous new residents of City of Melbourne and City of Yarra - those people who blithely move into an area with noise then sweetly act to have that noise stopped. (And it isn’t just entertainment that these people have targetted, but also essential services like garbage removal!)
But perhaps the music has only risen in the last 15 years, perhaps the residents in question have been here longer. I’ve only been in the area for four years (and I’m both anti-social and used to living in areas with loud noise - big cities and near highways).
I’ve heard that the building industry pushes against noise in Fitzroy, but I’ve also heard councillors, on behalf of business, push back against residents in Melbourne. A field like that is no place for a person.
As a fan of Walken I’m glad that Laundry and City of Yarra have managed to make an exception on their behalf. I call myself a fan of live music in Melbourne, but I don’t see a lot of it. I’d like to see it continue. (Similarly I support Medicare and Compulsory Student Unionism.) Maybe music will continue, maybe mutate into something else. The music clearly hasn’t always been here and nothing lasts forever.
If you want to protect live music I suggest writing to those who have the power to do so. Express concern and ask what you can do to help. Greg Barber and Deborah Di Natale are the relevant Yarra Councillors. Mary Delahunty is State Minister for both Planning and the Arts. If you’re a resident I suggest you contact the Fitzroy Residents Association. Remember, email is good, but mail is better.
And go to the Walken CD Launch!