A good pub or club is not unlike a close friend.
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Both are there in the best of times, at milestone birthdays or spontaneous nights out.
Occasionally, both bear witness to our lowest ebbs, embarrassing moments born of over-indulgence.
And both leave a hole in our social lives once they are gone.
Many Bendigo night owls are likely in mourning this week after The Black Swan announced its last drinks had been served.
The McCrae Street institution has closed its doors after 17 years of music and merriment. Nightclubs The Perch and Icon Bar will also cease operation.
While many of its raucous partygoers will migrate to other drinking holes, others will simply choose to spend their nights at home.
It’s that sort of waning foot traffic club owners Alysia and Andreas Bazzani said motivated their decision to shut up shop.
“It’s a different world from when we started, the landscape has changed so much in recent times that it is not sustainable to continue the business in current form,” Ms Bazzani said.
Venue closures are a byproduct of our society’s increasingly isolated way of socialising with one another.
Once a popular way to meet new friends or potential partners, late-night venues are being usurped by social media and dating apps, platforms that connect people without them having to get off the couch.
Think also about the bands that have cut their teeth in live music venues.
When those spaces are no more, performers are left to fight for attention on YouTube or, God forbid, reality television.
Imagine what might have become of bands like Silverchair or Architecture in Helsinki, celebrated rock outfits whose first few years were spent on the sticky carpets of regional venues.
And if it’s not dropping numbers, it’s government regulations that threaten the late night good times.
In New South Wales, publicans are crying foul at lock-out laws that restrict movement in and out of their venues.
Serving drinks until 5am, the Black Swan was a haven from the stringent liquour licensing that’s begun to characterise our cities.
Like any good friendship, our clubs and pubs are worth fighting for. But they need our loyalty and our attention to flourish.
- Mark Kearney, journalist