The Bronx recent 3-night residency at The Annandale Hotel was one of the last gigs booked by The Rule Brothers before the hotel went into receivership. Playing from 24th-26th of April, The Bronx was part of the end of an era for live music in Sydney.
The significance of the moment was not lost on the Californian punk band, which played their first Sydney show at The Annandale many years ago. As frontman Matt Caughthran recently told Music Feeds, The Bronx were honoured to play The Annandale one last time:
“We just did The Annandale, closed that place down. It’s a bummer but I think eventually, hopefully that’s just a cycle and then some new venues will pop up. I mean people always need places to see art and to see music. So it’s going to happen eventually.
“Matt and Dan (Rule) have always been good friends of ours. It just sucks that place is going down or at least going down [from] the way it used to be.
“It was an honour to be a part of those shows. The three shows we did there, you know the last one was just something really, really special. It sucks, man. It’s sad but I’m very stoked we got to be a part of the history of that place.
“Our first show there we put out on DVD and doing the last three shows there, [our] first three shows back in Sydney it was really something special so I’m glad we were able to do it.”
The Annandale is currently on the market in a receiver’s sale, with expressions of interest closing tomorrow, Wednesday, 8th May, at 4pm. Live music at The Annandale will continue until Saturday, 8th June when Thy Art Is Murder is booked to perform.
The future of The Annandale remains in doubt, as there are no guarantees new owners will continue the hotel as a live music venue or even keep the pub operational.
Keep an eye on Feeds for the full interview with The Bronx, up soon!
UPDATE 07/05/13: The Annandale has live gigs booked up until September. Venue booker Chris Shepherd confirmed that gigs will run into Spring, adding that:
“It’s really important that people know the pub is trading as normal – particularly while the sale is happening – because we want an owner that will keep live music.”
(via themusic.com.au)
