Save the Hoey

I heard today that one of Sydney's music institutions, the Hopetoun Hotel (known affectionately as The Hoey) has been closed until further notice.

This seems an appropriate place to post this, seeing as I spent the better part of my late teens/early 20s in this venue listening to music. It was a weekend ritual: Friday night; get the train to Central, do the massive walk up that ridiculous hill that is Foveaux Street, get stamped, buy a schooner of New, run into people, watch music, drink more beer, go home. Or to the Townie.

I saw a lot of great Australian music at the Hoey. Bands like Swirl, Bluebottle Kiss, Big Heavy Stuff, Crow, Further, Smudge, Sneeze, Ratcat, International Karate... The list truly does go on. The Hoey is an iconic venues, one where so many bands have cut their teeth, and where many a music fan has honed their love of local bands. It felt like OUR venue, you know? One where you could just turn up when a decent gig was on and you would know half the people there.

The reasons for the indefinite closure? Noise complaints, lack of security, lack of money and... well, lack of money.

A lot of people are getting behind this though, so you should too.
There's a Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/group.php?gid=142845142317&ref=mf
And a Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/savethehoey

SAVE THE HOEY!