About a month ago I went to The Venue in Erindale, Canberra to see The Getaway Plan. It was an all ages licensed event. Elora Danan and The Getaway Plan were both late to the venue due to things that happened on their travels their. This meant that they had to spend a long time setting up their equipment while the crowd waited and waited. Anyway, this all culminated in TGP only being able to play several songs before being told that they had to stop because it was ten pm and it would be against the law for them to continue. This is not a joke. Everyone was devastated, both the band and the fans. The singer from TGP, Matthew, came out after they left the stage to speak with the crowd. The sound guy reluctantly, and after much tapping of microphone on Matt’s behalf, turned the sound back on. The crowd received a brief explanation, basically all that I relayed here.

The Getaway Plan have since played a make up all ages show. But not every band can do that.

Do you know what this law is that was spoken of? Is it justified? There are so few all age events, relatively speaking and often the ones that are held are heavily regulated. There are often police. Is this necessary? The shows at Jamison Inn have stopped and now The Venue has taken its place. How long will it be before The Venue won’t host alternative music shows any more?