In what could actually be the straw that broke the camel's back of me deciding to move to Melbourne, The Hopetoun Hotel has closed suddenly and appears to be on the market, with the likelihood of it re-opening as an intimate music venue looking pretty damn unlikely.

Current uni-aged indie hipsters might have trouble believing me, but around the turn of the millennium, when both DJ culture and pokies were at their peak, i distinctly remember there were only two or three decent music venues left in Sydney where you could go see local independent bands seven nights a week - the Basement, the Annandale and The Hoey. Having survived that onslaught, it makes the sudden closing this week all the more unbelievable.

All throughout my twenties, the Hoey was always worth going to no matter what band was playing - as it always guaranteed a decent vibe, a laid back local crowd, intelligent music, cheap entry and a decent range of beers (including three Coopers on tap). On a quiet night you could sit on the floor with a drink in your hand - on a busy night you could never get to the bar and the dance floor was packed and sweaty. For years it was home to the Sunday electronica night Frigid, itself also a Sydney institution.

My favourite memories of the Hoey (in no particular order)

• The Hive (aka Baggsmen) + Pivot, winter 2001. Also, the Baggsmen's cinema shows playing along improvised music to movie scenes from Peter Seller's The Party and Indiana Jones.
• Also in 2001, rocking up randomly to see some up and coming band called Faker, which my friend Chris just happened to be in at the time.
• Jason Molina solo - frustratedly couldn't get his guitar to work for like 10 minutes, but managed to win over the crowd anyway
• Spod + Bluejuice on Christmas Eve, 2004, which also featured some birthday cake-wielding gatecrashers.
• The fact it welcomed great Melbourne bands that probably couldn't get a gig anywhere else in Sydney, like post-rockers International Karate and Laura, etc
• Sarah Blasko covering Kermit the Frog's The Rainbow Connection at a friend's private 30th.
• Rocket Science, September 2008 - last gig I saw before I left Sydney was at the Hoey, and it rocked out.
• seeing Thirsty Merc back when they were simply called "thirsty".
• Waiting For Guinness' annual anti-Homebake night crunk-jazz fests
• The Hauntingly Beautiful Mousemoon passing out improvised scrap metal percussive instruments to the crowd while also cooking pikelets onstage.

R.I.P. The Hoey.



Above: Betchadupa featuring a very young Liam Finn - onstage at the Hoey - Feb 5th 2003.





Above: A very early incarnation of the international prog-tronic exports Pivot onstage at the Hoey - winter 2001?