Plus ça change?

Walking down King st, Newtown last night I saw that the Sando has closed! I wasn't heading there anyway, so no harm done, but it was sad to see the doors closed on the faded, peeling deco facade; the emptiness where formerly smokers loitered chatting through windows, schooners perched on the sill. The street felt strangely quiet without the strains of punk, blues, folk wafting through the main bar.

I'd heard about the Sando going into receivership while on the road and had hoped it would recover it's equilibrium and continue serving up cheap beers and local tunes. Things got in the way though and I didn't follow the fate that inevitably felled the iconic venue. It's not all bad news I hear as like the proverbial phoenix the Newtown Social Club will emerge from the Sando's ashes.

The Annandale Hotel has also gone into receivership; only a few days ago I hear. Two amazing live music venues facing uncertain futures and with them the larger question of Sydney's live music scene. It's been discussed at length, by people more astute than myself, that Sydney has a crisis of priorities when it comes to entertainment. Culture has given way to profitability and in so many venues poker machines and flat screen televisions tuned to sport are ubiquitous.

I've heard the arguments for this shift; that publicans are providing the service their patrons demand and given the preponderance of males, that is sport. The pokies themselves, the logic supposedly goes, are a necessary evil without which the indulgence of live music could not be afforded. These arguments have a beautiful, circular logic as the public eat what they are being force fed and told to like it.

My sadness got me thinking about the way we face change, or perhaps more appropriately the way we romantically hold on to old notions. Hotels that have moved their 'business model' away from live music claim that they cannot be profitable without change. They aim to build profit and grow their business and hence they focus on products that bring in cash: drinks, food & pokies. Punters that long for the days of crowded band rooms see this as a sell out, perhaps even a form of exploitation as the pokies hypnotise the crowd in their thrall.

I'm of the more romantic view myself, but I can't help but notice the venues have the power here. With the relative restriction of liquor licenses in Sydney the number of pub/venues is already capped. The flaw I see in the 'business growth' argument is that venues are brainwashing their patrons into a fairly narrow mindset. Effectively they are losing the diversity that a wide entertainment roster brings to their business. That's why a lot of pubs are the stereotypical boys club, particularly on a weekend. This crowd may have deep pockets for a time but can any business survive with such a limited demographic.

For the fans the solution is to support the music where you find it, but I might suggest an addendum to that adage; reject the venues where you don't find it. It's one thing to complain about the change but if we meekly accept it we reinforce the behaviour. That's a hard call to make and I doubt I'll live up to my ideal at all times, but it's worth registering a protest at your local if they never have a band.

Challenge yourself to check out new music as well. It's not all doom and gloom out there with heaps of awesome venues around Sydney; like the Brass Monkey in Cronulla, the Red Rattler in Marrickville or 505 in Surry Hills running the gamut of styles and theatrics. New bands never get old if no one listens and even Dylan took a few shaky steps when he went electric so give them a chance! Couldn't be worse than pub muzak...