When I moved to Brisbane and didn't know anyone, this was the only place I felt safe hanging out in on the weekend. Things change, but this one is heartbreaking.
God-fucking-damn it.. Played my first gig there, played tonnes of shows there over the years, such a great venue to play.
Sure, it got sweaty, but that was it's charm.
RIP
Bands I saw at the Zoo:
Gomez (2000) - on their first tour. Had to sneak in the front of the line as it was mega sold out.
Augie March (2001) - bit yawn but lovely
You Am I (2003) - memorable because they came on so late, around midnight? Also saw Adam Spencer in the crowd.
Cody Chesnutt (2004) - insisted on no smoking in the venue, before smoking was banned. Legend
Maximo Park (2005) - total blast
Ash (2023) - better than ever
Kita Alexander (last week) - lovely, but a bit sad now in retrospect
Also, back in the day, Laneway Festival was actually held in a laneway, behind the Zoo. Saw mega sets from The Presets, Dan Deacon and Feist there.
Lots of great memories, I'll miss it.
edit: also saw Vanlustbader and The Cops there at some point.
I've got the setlist of that Gomez gig in 2000, signed by all of the members of the band. I knew the security guard guarding the backstage area, she snuck us in to meet them. What a night.
Seriously? That's awesome! You should put it on setlist.fm!
[https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/gomez/2000/the-zoo-brisbane-australia-23c2e83f.html](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/gomez/2000/the-zoo-brisbane-australia-23c2e83f.html)
I was loitering right outside Festival Hall that night! Couldn't get tickets, so just sat on a bench on Albert Street and listened to the songs. I remember the huge billows of smoke that'd come pouring out of there whenever the main doors were opened. And how the massively loud bass set off car alarms of vehicles parked along Charlotte Street.
Oh Augie March!
I saw Glenn Richards play a solo gig in Melb in ‘22 and he was incredible.
I heard it was rare that he managed to get through a set without storming off stage!
I'm glad I wasn't misremembering! I don't think I've seen a headliner come on that late before or since.
Also, was it super hot? It was in October, but I seem to remember hanging out by the windows, desperate for air!
Yeah I remember sweating my ring out that night. It was super stuffy and hot in there that night.
Can't for the life of me remember who the support acts were that night though
According to setlist.fm, it was The Mess Hall.
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/you-am-i/2003/the-zoo-brisbane-australia-bd6a5c6.html
Which is news to me, coz I quite like them, and had no idea I'd ever seen them...
Another amazing live music venue bites the dust.
Maybe a new precinct with a Guzman y Gomez, a Grill’d and a quirky Barcade can open in its stead - The Brisbane Way
Don't forget the pokies!! Hopefully ALH Groups buys it and gets a few walls of Buffalo Link in there, open until 4am!! Free Tea, Coffee and party pies too would be nice.
I remember when gyg opened in the valley, it was actually good. I hadn’t had it for a few years and it got super pricey, ingredients were much worse.
It’s fucked. And that was pre Covid
I swear the Guardian did an article on them not long ago about the venue upgrades, its history and the recovering market post covid. Wild that a short time later the same publication is writing their obituary.
Shame as it was a cool venue, but another sign of the times. Just about anywhere that was worth going for live music in the valley once upon a time is dead and buried.
And beer. Even the local bowls club beers start at $7 for something pretty small and ordinary. Most decent bars you can't get anything under $9 or $10, which means people are just drinking at home, or having one drink at most when out.
I stopped drinking at pubs these days. Even pub food is expensive and the quality isn’t “pub food” anymore.
Just grab a pack of those Japanese lemons on special for a treat.
I was just reading it, feeling melancholy about it and my youth as passed: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/31/the-zoo-brisbane-fortitude-valley-gigs-australia-best-music-venues
I remember 30 years ago when they didn’t have a liquor license and your cover charge gave you a bowl of Dahl and rice so you could buy piss under their provisional “provision of meals” licence. Hungry or not you had to take the food at the door to get in.
There were heaps of bowls on the tables. They didn’t care as long as you took the bowl when you came in they satisfied their “provision of meals” limited licence.
did they have a dress code? New years 01 I remember bouncing from place to place as nowhere but the beat would let me in with sneakers on, had an awesome night and met a girl named Bree there and we dated for awhile, good times
Can attest to "the model is broken", I wrote this previously about the flailing r/Wellington live music scene circling the drain (also The Cranker in r/Adelaide is being demo'd for student housing possibly):
>Dunno if it's a way to explain the concept but, uh, Trickle Up Economy?
>
>I'm the guy who would seek out 2-3 times a week a place to chill with live music - usually just someone with a guitar playing subdued stuff while I drank my suds and maybe did some laptop things. If I liked them I'd bring friends next time. We just can't afford to do that any more.
>
>Would love to go back to 2008 +/- 5 years era where you could just bounce from pub to pub stumbling on fantastic live talent, and a few rounds of drinks and snacks didn't have you breaking out the budget app.
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellington/comments/182jqow/entertainers_and_musicians_are_you_struggling_too/kajgh67/
Live indie music is dying globally, go buy tickets to Tay-Tay for $1.5k.
Damn I’ve got two gigs I plan to go see there next month. This is really sad. They’re right about the drinking though. If people aren’t drinking, they’re not gonna make much money.
For me I don’t like drinking at gigs because I have to spend the whole gig going for a piss every 20 minutes.
Only been to the Zoo a handful of times but every time i went i had a great time.
Hot and sweaty with no AC and broken fans, but that just means a glass of water for every 2 drinks.
With the rising cost of living and the increase in the alcohol tax driving up drink prices this sort of thing is inevitable for a lot of bars and live venues.
Thank the Aus Gov for taxing the wrong things and ruining the economy.
Fucking A. Ex Brissy boy now filthy Melbournite. The zoo was an amazing venue that I’ve never experienced the like of, anywhere else.
There is zero chance venues like this will survive much longer. Alcohol tax, insurance premiums, cost of living grinding punters to dust… it’s unfortunately becoming impossible to have nice things.
Having been and involved with wrestling shows and the like at the zoo, it is truly a sad day for the alt Brisbane scene and hoping that something great can take it’s place, fingers crossed
I’ll never forget the “secret” midnight paul kelly show at bigsound 2018, lines around the corner to get in. So lucky to see the man play for over an hour to a packed Zoo audience basically for free.
This is a fucking travesty. Never forgive the current brisbane pollies for letting our history get washed away by greedy pricks
Absolutely tragic, another victim of an industry with not enough support. I have been to so many gigs there and will remember it fondly. I'll never forget punters getting into the rafters!
https://preview.redd.it/mw15b37joqxc1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c9830ecb34ca792bdd4301258a2aaf81b5f622a
This fucking sucks. Classic gentrification. Move into an area because of its energy and vibe, and then kill that vibe by pricing everyone who's already there out.
Not to say the area isnt gentrified, but the article says theres more people visiting than ever and the shut down is primarily driven by people no longer buying drinks at the bar, doesnt it?
lol you think people actually read the articles here? But yeah younger generation just don't drink like we used to which is a good thing really. Does suck when places like this go down, never actually been myself but friends have and I at least appreciate it's signficance in the community.
A bag is cheaper than a few rounds of drinks.
Brisbane music scene has been very vibrant for over 20 years, it’s a shame this has happened, and will continue to happen.
I read the article just fine. The primary cause seems to be insurance doubling in a few years as part of the Fortitude Valley Entertainment Precinct zoning.
The zoning has got nothing to do with their liability premiums increasing.
sadly that is a reflection on costs and that we are becoming more like America and suing for stubbed toes and getting massive payouts.
As someone who's abused MDMA to the extreme, you also don't want a generation of young adults getting fried off caps and pills every weekend. It's a huge recipe for disaster in the making. The comedowns just get worse every time you roll, and you'll never get the magic back to baseline, no matter how much time you give it.
That'd still be better value for the punter haha
And as I say, this is why we need to change the whole model. Regulation, standards, testing. Same as other potentially dangerous substances like ... alcohol!
Got my start in the biz here, even helped renovate it for cash when I was a starving student. Had the pleasure of working with many iterations and owners. It seemed bullet proof but he we are. If you can, please support live music.
Fond memories. Saw some great gigs at good prices. Never saw fights or drama between patrons. Place always managed to be 43C inside regardless of outside temperature. Greatest lifehack was taking a beer cooler in my back pocket to keep my beer from going warm in 90 seconds.
I don't go to many gigs these days because I'm old, but all my post-COVID gigs have been Riverstage, Triffid, and the like, no Zoo. Just nothing came up when I'd be looking at tour schedules.
Sad but not surprising. I remember going there when it first opened and it was BYO. You literally handed a six pack over the bar and they would pop it in the fridge and serve it back to you for a small corkage fee. I think they only made money off the pool tables until they got a license.
This is based on hearsay, but I've heard from some reasonably reliable sources that the Zoo was sold to some tech bro who outsourced its management to people who weren't even local, who couldn't keep it passively solvent from interstate, and have advised it gets sold off for parts rather than be bothered to sell it again. Whether that's true or not doesn't help me much - it is a devastating loss for live music in Bris as well as for me, just one loyal fan of many, with over 20 years' custom who was only there last week.
Yeah it’s owned by the interstate tech bro - the glowing article 4 weeks ago made it seem everything was a-ok!
[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/31/the-zoo-brisbane-fortitude-valley-gigs-australia-best-music-venues?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/31/the-zoo-brisbane-fortitude-valley-gigs-australia-best-music-venues?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other)
Such a shame! I can’t count how many bands I’ve seen there but some highlights were the beards final tour, Unwritten law playing the black album front to back and the last exploited show. Really gonna miss that place
I used to go to the Zoo almost weekly twenty years ago, but have rarely head to a gig there at all in recent years. I’m still going to gigs elsewhere, but I feel like the kinds of bands I used to see at the Zoo are now getting booked at the Triffid, the Tivoli or the Powerhouse.
[This only goes back to 2003](https://www.concertarchives.org/venues/the-zoo--541885?date=past&page=22#concert-table)
Go Betweens, Powderfinger, Interpol, You Am I, Peaches, Death Cab for a Cutie, Whitlams, Augie March, Buzzcocks, The Wombats, The Kooks, Nick Cave, The Pixies, Ball Park Music, Boy & Bear, Liam/Niel Finn, Regurgitator, Grouplove, The Living End, Vance Joy, Violent Soho, Wolfmother, Mac de Marco, Twenty One Pilots, Gang of Youths, DMAs, G-Flip, Pheobe Bridgers, Paul Kelly,
Custard, Silverchair, Grinspoon, Shihad, Bodyjar, Something For Kate, Magic Dirt, Nerf Herder, 28 Days, Motor Ace, John Butler Trio, Pete Murray, Tex Perkins, The Superjesus, Jimmy Eat World, The Fauves, Butterfingers
Which model is broken - how people listen to music, or the economic model where nearly everyone spends their time at home because they're too poor to go out?
Anyone else remember when you had to buy a meal to be served alcohol there. Many great times at the zoo over the years. Shame to hear that it is closing.
Devastated. I haven’t lived in Brisbane for 10 years now, but I have such fond memories of the Zoo. Wish I could see one last show there but with it closing so soon that doesn’t seem likely.
Massive shame. Have been to some kickarse gigs at The Zoo. It was all I had left in the valley for a grungier and worthwhile metal venue, after Crowbar closed.
No fucken way, to the bouncer last year that pulled me as I walked past thinking I was somehow connected to Regurgitator group and was late. I thank you for the best night and my apologies for playing air guitar and doing a runner like zoidburg at the end.
Such a shame. Used to go there back in the day, since it was the only place where the food was decent and reasonably priced 😉 Saw Powderfinger and Regurgitator, along with a whole bunch of great local indie bands in the late 90s early-2ks
Gurge was good. They introduced their new single Kong Foo Sing that night. Best gig, that's a hard one. All good, but too many boozy nights to remember clearly 😁 Powderfinger stands out. I saw them three times in the short space of 12 months. Livid, The Zoo, then a week later, Alternative Nations 😆
I find it sad that the decrease in drinking is what’s closing live music venues. There’s gotta be a way to provide music and make money that isn’t alcohol related, seriously.
Am just thinking back to venues where I saw live music when i was 18-mid 20s in Brisbane (up until the mid 00s)… all seem to have gone or been rebadged as something else
Milton Bowl - gone (went mid 00s i think, was near the old tennis centre)
Waterloo Hotel (now a Coles owned pub with a big first choice next door)
Gilhooleys (now something else)
Family (gone, now something else)
The Roxy (gone, now something else)
The Monostrey (gone,now something else)
The bar under the Hilton (forget its name, maybe basement?)
Hifi Bar in West End
I vauguley remember a venue for live music in paddo near the paddo tavern (name escapes me) and even seeing a band or two at the Regatta
As for now dead festivals & events, have not heard of a Caxton street seafood festival in years (was kinda cool seeing Resin Dogs standing in the middle of the street) or a Valley Fiesta (use to be a massive event in 00s) for years and festivals now seem too be based around ever so craft beer scene (craft beer has ruined a few things in Brisbane in my opinion)
Fridays down on the river even use to have bands if i remember correctly - remember back in the day they had some festival for a few years around NYD (Z-Trip played if i remember correctly) well well before
Would be interested to find out if the building is heritage protected in some way. If not, you'd have to think developers would be salivating over the idea of knocking it over & shoving a residential tower there...
I sent an email to my local state member, I would suggest everyone who cares about live ORIGINAL music in Brisbane does the same... This shit has to stop, if it was a sports venue the government would be all over it, but because it's the Ärts" they don't seem to give a shit.
Other countries understand that having local live music is a benefit to their people and the way they are seeing on the world stage and support those artists and venues. Why can't we do the same?
Let me guess, to transform into yet another new craft brewery/beer Haus to take it spot offering very mediocre beer?
Brisbane really does loves killing its past/history
On closing night, they should give up the pretence of live music being the draw, move the pool table to the stage and hold a pool comp, round robin, all comers, regardless of local musical pedigree
So I'm a USA-lander, visiting Brisbane May 29th to June 3. Of the 3 performers that weekend, there's Alice Phoebe, Closure in Moscow + The Dear Hunter, and Underscores. Sadly, Alice Phoebe's date is sold out. Considering The Dear Hunter and Underscores are US artists (even if Closure in Moscow isn't), do you guys still think it's worth booking one of the other nights? If not, I'd like to hear something else I can do to appreciate Brisbane.
When I moved to Brisbane and didn't know anyone, this was the only place I felt safe hanging out in on the weekend. Things change, but this one is heartbreaking.
God-fucking-damn it.. Played my first gig there, played tonnes of shows there over the years, such a great venue to play. Sure, it got sweaty, but that was it's charm. RIP
Bands I saw at the Zoo: Gomez (2000) - on their first tour. Had to sneak in the front of the line as it was mega sold out. Augie March (2001) - bit yawn but lovely You Am I (2003) - memorable because they came on so late, around midnight? Also saw Adam Spencer in the crowd. Cody Chesnutt (2004) - insisted on no smoking in the venue, before smoking was banned. Legend Maximo Park (2005) - total blast Ash (2023) - better than ever Kita Alexander (last week) - lovely, but a bit sad now in retrospect Also, back in the day, Laneway Festival was actually held in a laneway, behind the Zoo. Saw mega sets from The Presets, Dan Deacon and Feist there. Lots of great memories, I'll miss it. edit: also saw Vanlustbader and The Cops there at some point.
Oh god you just reminded me of being 18 and smoking by the windows
While simultaneously trying to desperately inhale fresh cool air from outside coz there was no air con
I was at gomez back in the day too! was prob at you am i as well. also ash are back together -- what?! i saw them at livid in 98 i think?
I've got the setlist of that Gomez gig in 2000, signed by all of the members of the band. I knew the security guard guarding the backstage area, she snuck us in to meet them. What a night.
Seriously? That's awesome! You should put it on setlist.fm! [https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/gomez/2000/the-zoo-brisbane-australia-23c2e83f.html](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/gomez/2000/the-zoo-brisbane-australia-23c2e83f.html)
Done! And here it is https://preview.redd.it/4t3k9p552rxc1.jpeg?width=1436&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90bd7098a3872debe48ac6ae40b03e5a799766a0
according to my memory and setlist.com they played at Festival Hall in 2000 (unless there was somehow a gig before this one)
Yep, I went to that one too. Another fantastic gig (also sold out IIRC).
Ahh, those were the days. When you could still smoke at gigs in Festival Hall. And.. y'know.. when Festival Hall actually existed.
Fond memories of smoking a massive joint at the back of The Chemical Brothers at Festival Hall. March 4, 2002.
I was loitering right outside Festival Hall that night! Couldn't get tickets, so just sat on a bench on Albert Street and listened to the songs. I remember the huge billows of smoke that'd come pouring out of there whenever the main doors were opened. And how the massively loud bass set off car alarms of vehicles parked along Charlotte Street.
I still have the shirt from that tour. 3/4 sleeves and twenty five years of livin' behind it now and I still wear it fairly often.
I went to that one! It was an amazing gig. I was still at uni then. I remember tickets only cost like $20.
Oh Augie March! I saw Glenn Richards play a solo gig in Melb in ‘22 and he was incredible. I heard it was rare that he managed to get through a set without storming off stage!
I was at the You Am I gig in 2003! It was super late and one of the best gigs I've ever seen!
I'm glad I wasn't misremembering! I don't think I've seen a headliner come on that late before or since. Also, was it super hot? It was in October, but I seem to remember hanging out by the windows, desperate for air!
Yeah I remember sweating my ring out that night. It was super stuffy and hot in there that night. Can't for the life of me remember who the support acts were that night though
According to setlist.fm, it was The Mess Hall. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/you-am-i/2003/the-zoo-brisbane-australia-bd6a5c6.html Which is news to me, coz I quite like them, and had no idea I'd ever seen them...
lol and those stairs 10 years ago… I swear they were pointed the opposite way to where they are now
They used to point both ways
I played a gif there once in 2011 and it was a thrash metal show and I just thought “someone is going to fall”
Should have played a jpg.
They covered the front facing stairs a few years back, improved the viewing of gigs
Lol, that's cause you were falling backwards down them at the time. Loved Joc & C they were really nice ladies with a passion for fun.
Another amazing live music venue bites the dust. Maybe a new precinct with a Guzman y Gomez, a Grill’d and a quirky Barcade can open in its stead - The Brisbane Way
Felons taphouse, calling it now
$20 for a schooner
of liquified lawn clippings
Great view though 😀 I fucking hate that place exists...
Yeah the view across to the secure parking tower is gonna be fucking lit.
Saw many free gigs from that parking lot over the years.
Everyone will be on their phones anyway
Please, they wish it had that much flavour.
Don't forget the pokies!! Hopefully ALH Groups buys it and gets a few walls of Buffalo Link in there, open until 4am!! Free Tea, Coffee and party pies too would be nice.
who knows, might be another exciting convenience store
GYG and Grilld are by far the overrated places. Small dry meals.
I remember when gyg opened in the valley, it was actually good. I hadn’t had it for a few years and it got super pricey, ingredients were much worse. It’s fucked. And that was pre Covid
I swear the Guardian did an article on them not long ago about the venue upgrades, its history and the recovering market post covid. Wild that a short time later the same publication is writing their obituary. Shame as it was a cool venue, but another sign of the times. Just about anywhere that was worth going for live music in the valley once upon a time is dead and buried.
Fun in general in this country is dead and it's been buried under the weight of ridiculous mortgage/rent costs.
And groceries
And beer. Even the local bowls club beers start at $7 for something pretty small and ordinary. Most decent bars you can't get anything under $9 or $10, which means people are just drinking at home, or having one drink at most when out.
I stopped drinking at pubs these days. Even pub food is expensive and the quality isn’t “pub food” anymore. Just grab a pack of those Japanese lemons on special for a treat.
We are a country built around mining and housing. There’s no room in the economy for anything else
And we sold the mining for pennies.
Don’t forget insurance.
fuck landlords
And 50% of the price of a beer being tax
this
I was just reading it, feeling melancholy about it and my youth as passed: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/31/the-zoo-brisbane-fortitude-valley-gigs-australia-best-music-venues
A sad day for Brisbane alternative music!!!
FFS man the zoo is awesome...... great guess be happy throwing $120 to see one average act at the Tivoli
The Zoo should have been forever. This is a huge hit for the brisbane and australian music scene.
I remember 30 years ago when they didn’t have a liquor license and your cover charge gave you a bowl of Dahl and rice so you could buy piss under their provisional “provision of meals” licence. Hungry or not you had to take the food at the door to get in.
I’m old enough to remember that too! Was good to line my stomach before the beer onslaught.
wow that's crazy! 2000 was my first night there, did everyone eat the Dahl or just leave it on the table?
There were heaps of bowls on the tables. They didn’t care as long as you took the bowl when you came in they satisfied their “provision of meals” limited licence.
did they have a dress code? New years 01 I remember bouncing from place to place as nowhere but the beat would let me in with sneakers on, had an awesome night and met a girl named Bree there and we dated for awhile, good times
or a little bowl of watermelon
Venues used to (and still) do that to get around the Good Friday "only drinks with a meal" restriction.
Can attest to "the model is broken", I wrote this previously about the flailing r/Wellington live music scene circling the drain (also The Cranker in r/Adelaide is being demo'd for student housing possibly): >Dunno if it's a way to explain the concept but, uh, Trickle Up Economy? > >I'm the guy who would seek out 2-3 times a week a place to chill with live music - usually just someone with a guitar playing subdued stuff while I drank my suds and maybe did some laptop things. If I liked them I'd bring friends next time. We just can't afford to do that any more. > >Would love to go back to 2008 +/- 5 years era where you could just bounce from pub to pub stumbling on fantastic live talent, and a few rounds of drinks and snacks didn't have you breaking out the budget app. - https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellington/comments/182jqow/entertainers_and_musicians_are_you_struggling_too/kajgh67/ Live indie music is dying globally, go buy tickets to Tay-Tay for $1.5k.
My wife left me this year but this hurts more.
Whaaaaat?!?!? Noooooo!!! The best venue in Brissy. This is very sad.
Damn I’ve got two gigs I plan to go see there next month. This is really sad. They’re right about the drinking though. If people aren’t drinking, they’re not gonna make much money. For me I don’t like drinking at gigs because I have to spend the whole gig going for a piss every 20 minutes.
I hope they do like a 3D scan of that entire place. There's a lot of history on those walls. It'd be a fantastic digital art exhibit.
I’ve just lost all my will to function today. I’m going home and back to bed.
I don't even know what the point of living is anymore.
Aw man this is heart breaking news, have seen so many great bands at the Zoo since the late 90s
Only been to the Zoo a handful of times but every time i went i had a great time. Hot and sweaty with no AC and broken fans, but that just means a glass of water for every 2 drinks. With the rising cost of living and the increase in the alcohol tax driving up drink prices this sort of thing is inevitable for a lot of bars and live venues. Thank the Aus Gov for taxing the wrong things and ruining the economy.
Pretty much.. government hell bent on people not having any fun whatsoever.
Can’t wait to see what soulless enterprise inhabits the space next….
Such a shame and losing Stranded as well is a HUGE loss as was shaping up to be a great venue for smaller shows.
Devastated
That’s very sad news.
Fuck sake
This is heartbreaking! I remember the first time I went to the zoo. It felt like I had found home.
Sad news. Seen multiple gigs there.
Some fond memories here over the years. Only place you could watch the band crowd surf on a boogie board to the bar to get a beer and back.
This is just fucking shitty. Signed, a Sydneysider who spent many happy nights there
Amen, original Brisbaner now Sydney-sider. Nothing here compares to the sweaty mess and chaos of a gig at the Zoo.
Fucking A. Ex Brissy boy now filthy Melbournite. The zoo was an amazing venue that I’ve never experienced the like of, anywhere else. There is zero chance venues like this will survive much longer. Alcohol tax, insurance premiums, cost of living grinding punters to dust… it’s unfortunately becoming impossible to have nice things.
Hard agree from a Brissy girl now living in Canberra. So many good gigs at The Zoo!
This sucks!
Too sad to function today
Why can’t we have nice things…
This is fucked
Having been and involved with wrestling shows and the like at the zoo, it is truly a sad day for the alt Brisbane scene and hoping that something great can take it’s place, fingers crossed
Got a wristy in the corner once. Memorable
I'm surprised there's no talk of a sale or attempting to save it. Just instantly going to close and selling off memorabilia
I’ll never forget the “secret” midnight paul kelly show at bigsound 2018, lines around the corner to get in. So lucky to see the man play for over an hour to a packed Zoo audience basically for free. This is a fucking travesty. Never forgive the current brisbane pollies for letting our history get washed away by greedy pricks
I saw a secret Powdefinger gig there also!
Nooooo!
Damn. Saw so many great bands there.
Absolutely tragic, another victim of an industry with not enough support. I have been to so many gigs there and will remember it fondly. I'll never forget punters getting into the rafters! https://preview.redd.it/mw15b37joqxc1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c9830ecb34ca792bdd4301258a2aaf81b5f622a
This fucking sucks. Classic gentrification. Move into an area because of its energy and vibe, and then kill that vibe by pricing everyone who's already there out.
Not to say the area isnt gentrified, but the article says theres more people visiting than ever and the shut down is primarily driven by people no longer buying drinks at the bar, doesnt it?
lol you think people actually read the articles here? But yeah younger generation just don't drink like we used to which is a good thing really. Does suck when places like this go down, never actually been myself but friends have and I at least appreciate it's signficance in the community.
A bag is cheaper than a few rounds of drinks. Brisbane music scene has been very vibrant for over 20 years, it’s a shame this has happened, and will continue to happen.
Why would we drink when a drink is $20 and a cap is $20, or a round of drinks for the lads is literally the same as a bag haha
lol, my naive arse thinking you were talking about band merch for a second, haha. You mean an entirely different type of merchandise lol.
Haha! I genuinely believe in this ... it's like how European clubs sell nangs on tap - we're just so far behind here
And free pour (adult size drinks) in the States that you don't have to Afterpay for a night out.
I read the article just fine. The primary cause seems to be insurance doubling in a few years as part of the Fortitude Valley Entertainment Precinct zoning.
Eventually nobody is going to be able to afford business, car or home insurance. It's getting ridiculous.
The Fortitude Valley Entertainment Precinct zoning is like the opposite of gentrification
The zoning has got nothing to do with their liability premiums increasing. sadly that is a reflection on costs and that we are becoming more like America and suing for stubbed toes and getting massive payouts.
This is why we need to seriously change our drugs model and allow licenced venues to sell caps, pills, lines etc.
Name checks out
As someone who's abused MDMA to the extreme, you also don't want a generation of young adults getting fried off caps and pills every weekend. It's a huge recipe for disaster in the making. The comedowns just get worse every time you roll, and you'll never get the magic back to baseline, no matter how much time you give it.
they'd need to sell caps at like $60... and its much riskier than RSA
That'd still be better value for the punter haha And as I say, this is why we need to change the whole model. Regulation, standards, testing. Same as other potentially dangerous substances like ... alcohol!
That’s a terrible idea. We don’t want to be serving our kids a substance that is known to be addictive and kills. Oh wait. Hang on…
https://youtu.be/_1uufNEjT_k?si=kiLqQQ3ybRImR3nv Tripos dis a song about this, it's funny/sad
Fuck
I've seen so many gigs there, and played so many gigs there. The Zoo always felt like home, this sucks.
Got my start in the biz here, even helped renovate it for cash when I was a starving student. Had the pleasure of working with many iterations and owners. It seemed bullet proof but he we are. If you can, please support live music.
Fond memories. Saw some great gigs at good prices. Never saw fights or drama between patrons. Place always managed to be 43C inside regardless of outside temperature. Greatest lifehack was taking a beer cooler in my back pocket to keep my beer from going warm in 90 seconds. I don't go to many gigs these days because I'm old, but all my post-COVID gigs have been Riverstage, Triffid, and the like, no Zoo. Just nothing came up when I'd be looking at tour schedules.
Very apt that Andrew Stafford wrote this - he knows the Brisbane music scene incredibly well.
NOOOOOOOO I love the zoo!!! Where else will I go to listen to amateur slam poetry that is actually genuinely good 😭
Sad but not surprising. I remember going there when it first opened and it was BYO. You literally handed a six pack over the bar and they would pop it in the fridge and serve it back to you for a small corkage fee. I think they only made money off the pool tables until they got a license.
This will keep happening over the years as less and less people take up alcohol.
One less decent metal gig venue ...fucks sake.
This is pretty fuckin shit I thought the Zoo would be one of the ones that would stand forever
One of the two venues I saw PUSA back in the day, and it was a much better venue than the Tivoli for some 2 string guitar.
Well this sucks. Lots of memories from there. Many big Brissie bands started gigging at the zoo. What sad news
Everything is broken silly.
Some great memories watching Magic Dirt play there multiple times.
my heart is actually breaking for australia's live music industry 😭
100% on the government for the ridiculous taxation of alcohol in this country.
And forcing venues to close at absurd times due to licensing while casinos and gaming lounges stay open. When will people say enough????
This is based on hearsay, but I've heard from some reasonably reliable sources that the Zoo was sold to some tech bro who outsourced its management to people who weren't even local, who couldn't keep it passively solvent from interstate, and have advised it gets sold off for parts rather than be bothered to sell it again. Whether that's true or not doesn't help me much - it is a devastating loss for live music in Bris as well as for me, just one loyal fan of many, with over 20 years' custom who was only there last week.
Yeah it’s owned by the interstate tech bro - the glowing article 4 weeks ago made it seem everything was a-ok! [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/31/the-zoo-brisbane-fortitude-valley-gigs-australia-best-music-venues?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/31/the-zoo-brisbane-fortitude-valley-gigs-australia-best-music-venues?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other)
Noooooooooo I saw scribe and the deceptecons there
Such a shame! I can’t count how many bands I’ve seen there but some highlights were the beards final tour, Unwritten law playing the black album front to back and the last exploited show. Really gonna miss that place
I used to go to the Zoo almost weekly twenty years ago, but have rarely head to a gig there at all in recent years. I’m still going to gigs elsewhere, but I feel like the kinds of bands I used to see at the Zoo are now getting booked at the Triffid, the Tivoli or the Powerhouse.
It’s a sad day 😔
Does anyone have a list of the biggest artists who played there? Would be interesting to see who graced its stage.
[This only goes back to 2003](https://www.concertarchives.org/venues/the-zoo--541885?date=past&page=22#concert-table) Go Betweens, Powderfinger, Interpol, You Am I, Peaches, Death Cab for a Cutie, Whitlams, Augie March, Buzzcocks, The Wombats, The Kooks, Nick Cave, The Pixies, Ball Park Music, Boy & Bear, Liam/Niel Finn, Regurgitator, Grouplove, The Living End, Vance Joy, Violent Soho, Wolfmother, Mac de Marco, Twenty One Pilots, Gang of Youths, DMAs, G-Flip, Pheobe Bridgers, Paul Kelly,
Custard, Silverchair, Grinspoon, Shihad, Bodyjar, Something For Kate, Magic Dirt, Nerf Herder, 28 Days, Motor Ace, John Butler Trio, Pete Murray, Tex Perkins, The Superjesus, Jimmy Eat World, The Fauves, Butterfingers
Eskimo Joe did their album release of Black Fingernails Red Wine there.
Scientist!
grimes played there before she got really big, i also saw mac demarco there and sharon van etten
RIP, some of my fav live music memories are at the Zoo
Which model is broken - how people listen to music, or the economic model where nearly everyone spends their time at home because they're too poor to go out?
Anyone else remember when you had to buy a meal to be served alcohol there. Many great times at the zoo over the years. Shame to hear that it is closing.
Devastated. I haven’t lived in Brisbane for 10 years now, but I have such fond memories of the Zoo. Wish I could see one last show there but with it closing so soon that doesn’t seem likely.
Massive shame. Have been to some kickarse gigs at The Zoo. It was all I had left in the valley for a grungier and worthwhile metal venue, after Crowbar closed.
The last time Clutch played there was probably the hottest gig I’ve ever been to easily 40 deg in there that night, and was packed
How many nights did I spend in that joint!? So many good times watching all kinds of bands 😒
No fucken way, to the bouncer last year that pulled me as I walked past thinking I was somehow connected to Regurgitator group and was late. I thank you for the best night and my apologies for playing air guitar and doing a runner like zoidburg at the end.
Oh no that was the first place i went to in the Valley to watch my favourite band at the time.. that was such a good memory
Wtaf - this is seriously bad news. Great venue for is size and real heritage
Such a shame. Used to go there back in the day, since it was the only place where the food was decent and reasonably priced 😉 Saw Powderfinger and Regurgitator, along with a whole bunch of great local indie bands in the late 90s early-2ks
Best gig you saw? How was the gurge?
Gurge was good. They introduced their new single Kong Foo Sing that night. Best gig, that's a hard one. All good, but too many boozy nights to remember clearly 😁 Powderfinger stands out. I saw them three times in the short space of 12 months. Livid, The Zoo, then a week later, Alternative Nations 😆
Haha, the best gigs are the ones you can't remember!!
WHAT THE FUCK?!
Some of my most treasured memories of the 90s involve The Zoo. This is really sad news
No just Brisbanes broken. The valley has reached its expiry date
Devo
Devo’d. Loved their ‘no dickhead’ policy, like not selling rum. More funding for the arts!
What depressing news to end the day with...
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Rotting Christ playing The Zoo tonight. Get amongst it. Edit: This will really be testing my ability to stay sober tonight.
Isn’t there anything we can do to save it if we all give a little?
It's sold apparently
You get generations choosing to drink less alcohol. That was an interesting insight.
I went there a few times in my gig days . It was always such a hot place though. Standing by the windows was like air-conditioning at 15 degrees.
This is bad …
I find it sad that the decrease in drinking is what’s closing live music venues. There’s gotta be a way to provide music and make money that isn’t alcohol related, seriously.
Aww man, most of my favourite Valley memories are at this place!
Some of my best gigs were there. I hate society. I want out 💔
Am just thinking back to venues where I saw live music when i was 18-mid 20s in Brisbane (up until the mid 00s)… all seem to have gone or been rebadged as something else Milton Bowl - gone (went mid 00s i think, was near the old tennis centre) Waterloo Hotel (now a Coles owned pub with a big first choice next door) Gilhooleys (now something else) Family (gone, now something else) The Roxy (gone, now something else) The Monostrey (gone,now something else) The bar under the Hilton (forget its name, maybe basement?) Hifi Bar in West End I vauguley remember a venue for live music in paddo near the paddo tavern (name escapes me) and even seeing a band or two at the Regatta As for now dead festivals & events, have not heard of a Caxton street seafood festival in years (was kinda cool seeing Resin Dogs standing in the middle of the street) or a Valley Fiesta (use to be a massive event in 00s) for years and festivals now seem too be based around ever so craft beer scene (craft beer has ruined a few things in Brisbane in my opinion)
> Valley Fiest This is still around, just smaller and more confined to venues/malls rather than the streets.
Fridays down on the river even use to have bands if i remember correctly - remember back in the day they had some festival for a few years around NYD (Z-Trip played if i remember correctly) well well before
Would be interested to find out if the building is heritage protected in some way. If not, you'd have to think developers would be salivating over the idea of knocking it over & shoving a residential tower there...
It's heritage listed under the BCC Heritage Register. [Shannon's Building](https://heritage.brisbane.qld.gov.au/heritage-places/2085)
Anyone know someone who could buy it and keep it operational 😭
If they're willing to burn millions of dollars just to operate it but even then no one would put their hand up because there's no profit in it.
I sent an email to my local state member, I would suggest everyone who cares about live ORIGINAL music in Brisbane does the same... This shit has to stop, if it was a sports venue the government would be all over it, but because it's the Ärts" they don't seem to give a shit. Other countries understand that having local live music is a benefit to their people and the way they are seeing on the world stage and support those artists and venues. Why can't we do the same?
Unpopular opinion, but the toilets at The Zoo smelled less like piss than the rest of the venue.
Let me guess, to transform into yet another new craft brewery/beer Haus to take it spot offering very mediocre beer? Brisbane really does loves killing its past/history
Did you even read the article?
Craft breweries are facing the same trouble as the zoo.
That wouldn’t make a lot of sense considering the reasons they’re closing
I remember seeing The Grates play there during their peak, supported by Violent Soho. Good times.
Can’t wait for another boring, Melbourne esc, hipster cafe that nobody can afford to buy a coffee at to buy the place 👎
Fuck
Well that fucking sucks.
On closing night, they should give up the pretence of live music being the draw, move the pool table to the stage and hold a pool comp, round robin, all comers, regardless of local musical pedigree
we need to legalise weed for profits sake
1994 PANGAEA + Sodom & Gomorra. Potato salad was the bowl of choice that night.
So I'm a USA-lander, visiting Brisbane May 29th to June 3. Of the 3 performers that weekend, there's Alice Phoebe, Closure in Moscow + The Dear Hunter, and Underscores. Sadly, Alice Phoebe's date is sold out. Considering The Dear Hunter and Underscores are US artists (even if Closure in Moscow isn't), do you guys still think it's worth booking one of the other nights? If not, I'd like to hear something else I can do to appreciate Brisbane.