Australia’s golden age of pub rock will be resurrected at the Civic Hotel next month.
From October 2, the Milk Bar band room at the iconic 80-year-old Inglewood pub will host some of WA’s best musical talent, starting with a gig headlined by local punk rockers Sly Withers.
Other acts due to play the revitalised 500-capacity space include rockers Kill Devil Hills, alt-rock kings Gyroscope, neo-soul diva Your Girl Pho and hip-hop solo star Adrian Dzvuke.
The return to a 1970s Oz rock-era style venue is the brainchild of national hospitality group Australian Venue Co., which bought the hotel last year, and locals agents Bespoke Touring.
Bespoke Touring director Mark Spillane said that AVC’s national entertainment manager Ian Smith approached him last year and, over a beer, outlined plans to revive the Civic’s band room as a live music hub.
“A few weeks later when we actually saw the Civic, I knew we had to be involved,” Mr Spillane explained.
“It has the bones of a classic pub live music room and it was begging to have some great bands play there.
“It’s got a big stage at one end and a big bar at the other,” he added, “there is nothing complicated about it.
Mr Spillane said Milk Bar would be Perth’s version of popular and unpretentious east coast venues, such as Melbourne’s Northcote Social Club and the Lansdowne Hotel in Sydney.
“We had some big plans but the COVID hit and it looked like things might never happen,” he said.
The AVC team were motivated to get the venue up and running by the fact many local musicians were “doing it tough” during the pandemic, according to Mr Spillane.
“So we got together and figured let’s do what we can with what we’ve got and create something new and exciting for artists and punters in Perth,” he said.
“Our mission now is to keep it simple — make sure that everyone has a great time and enjoys some great live music while they’re doing it.”
AVC operate more than 150 venues nationwide, including the Guildford Hotel, the Aviary, the Globe, Leopold Hotel, Victoria Park Hotel and Wolf Lane in WA.
Sly Withers play Milk Bar’s soft opening on October 2 and again the following evening.
The official opening party on October 9 stars Dzvuke, Your Girl Pho, Yomi Ship and other cutting edge local acts, before veteran Fremantle rockers Kill Devil Hills play on October 10.
Heavy hitters Sanzu, All this Filth, Kimura and Dying Kings are set to shake the Milk Bar to its foundations on October 30, while beloved local rock bands in Gyroscope, The Critics and Times Up make for a very tasty trifecta on November 21.
More acts will be confirmed in coming weeks.
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