East Brunswick Club faces anuncertain future

Wed 30th Nov, 2011 in Local News

The East Brunswick Club could be ceasing live music as early as February 2012, If a report in community newspaper The Moreland Leader is to be believed,

Following the revelation on Tonedeaf last week that a planning permit had been lodged to build a five-storey apartment block where the venue currently stands, the Moreland Leader spoke to an unidentified EBS staff member who said: “Some of us have been told the last show is at the end of February…The old owners have sold it, they’re retiring and the new owners are developing it into a five-storey apartment block.’’

Only hours before this story was published the venue’s booker told Mess+Noise that “It [the ToneDeaf story] was as much of a surprise to us as everybody else, and we’re in the process of trying to find out exactly what’s going on. All we know is that no shows are being cancelled.We’ve actually got a bunch of amazing Laneway stuff coming up. We’ve got Fucked Up, Jim Ward and a bunch of other amazing gigs.”

The news comes as speculation about the future of the Prince Bandroom mounts, following its sale to The Melbourne Pub Group.

Although at the other end of the sticky-carpet scale, in some more positive venue news The Regall Ballroom Live is set to open on High Street, Northcote in coming weeks. Starting it’s life as the Northcate Theatre in 2012, The Regall is “is a concert auditorium, a dancehall and a unique dinner and show experience.” According to its official Facebook page, “Over the past few months Neil Wedd and Joe Gualtieri have been working with the owners of the Regal Ballroom to create a spectacular environment for live music and events. The plan is for the venue to fulfill the role of the showcase venue that Melbournians crave, the venue also caters for dinner and show.”