Adopting a philosophy of “Anyone who wants to play and who can fill the room … we’ll have ‘em” the Hi-fi Bar and Ballroom in Swanston St. has played host to a dazzling list of artists from Gwen Stefani to NOFX and everything in between. In the lead-up to June’s celebration of the first ten years of the Melbourne venue I spoke to founder and Chief Luke O’Sullivan where, after a series of false starts, I’ve got him on the phone.
With these initial bumps in the road sorted out, I’m curious to know the secret to the Hi-fi Bar and Ballroom staying relevant and popular -particularly a city like Melbourne which prides itself on the ubiquity of its live music venues. “You’ve just got to keep reinvesting in the room”, I’m told plainly and simply. The room in question has in fact gone through a number of incantations since being built in 1940, from its beginnings as a newsreel cinema playing The Evacuation of Dunkirk to its current manifestation. “If you make it enjoyable for the punters and enhance the experience, then bands will want to play there”. And what better accolade for the venue than Dave Grohl professing during a live show that the Hi-fi was “one of the best venues in the world”.
While the venue has played host to a broad range of artists across a range of genres which have drawn more than 100,000 punters through the doors every year, it seems the Rock ’n’ Roll scene has been something of a barometer over the past decade. “The live rock scene has remained constant over the years. Dance [music] and DJs threatened to take over for a while but never really did… At the end of the day the rock scene’s a pretty steady mover”. One individual who couldn’t be described as such was Anton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre fame. I asked Luke to describe to me an infamous incident which took place when the band played the venue some years ago. “[Laughing] – He was one of the biggest freaks we’ve had through the place. For starters, he wanted a pair of Blundstones on his rider, which we gave him. But then he ran from his hotel in St. Kilda into the city wearing them”. Pausing momentarily to consider the best way to phrase the incident, O’Sullivan goes on to say that “he was a bit excited when he finally showed up, so we took him off to see the ‘Rock Doctor’”.
And while the barrage of massive and iconic international acts is something of which the venue is palpably proud, O’Sullivan is quick to reminisce about some of the home-grown Aussie talent which has been so integral to their ongoing success. One particularly special moment was the final leg of Hunters and Collectors’ ‘Say Goodbye’ tour which wound up at the Hi-fi in March of 1998. “Hunters and Collectors put us on the Map. I mean they’re one of the most iconic Australian bands of all time [and] to play their last four shows with us was incredible”. And the good nature of more recent darlings of Australian music doesn’t escape the memory of the venue operator either. “The good will of Powderfinger is something we’ll never forget. They had booked shows with us and had to cancel at the last minute, which was going to hurt [the venue]. So they came back and played four or five sell out shows back to back”.
Remarking that the venue has been “driving hard” to create an online presence, I’m prompted to ask whether digital shifts in the music industry have had any detrimental effects on live performances. “Live music is one area that’s not suffering … I mean, there’s a worldwide trend suggesting that the live music scene is as popular and as buoyant as ever”. In an age where piracy is rife, O’Sullivan tells me that “record labels are in a state of flux … but it’s a boon to the live venues because artists are touring more to increase their revenue”.
The tenth birthday celebrations at the Hi-fi in June include performances by Shihad, Cog, Dallas Crane, Karnivool, The Herd, Beautiful Girls and Mia Dyson, with the festivities culminating on June 30th with Grooveathon. I asked whether what the process of choosing the artists to perform under the umbrella of the venue’s 10th birthday extravaganza. “We wanted to do the full shooting match; comedians, DJs, headliners [but] it’s not always that easy and there are so many variables in getting people to perform…We wanted It to be a celebration of 10 years and the milestone of getting there”. Notwithstanding those obstacles, it’s plain to see that it’s not going to be a tremendous month of music at a venue which has carved a well-earned foothold in the Melbourne music scene.
