More gigs @ The neo-Nazi Birmy

A pseudonymous supporter of Blood & Honour Australia / the Southern Cross Hammerskins (and their HQ in Melbourne, a/k/a The Birmingham Hotel), has alerted me to the fact that, in addition to the dozen or so right-wing middle-class punk scabs who’ve played at the venue since September of last year, a handful of other noise-merchants have chosen to reward Gar(r)y the proprietor with money and, er, publicity. They are:

PASSENGER OF SHIT
DYSPHEMIC
XIAN
PRINCO
MAIN$TREAM (NSW)
WHEELSFALLOFF
DRILL BIT (NSW) and
ZANDOR

The above performers apparently performed on April 20(!). And previously on Birmy Shit Blues:

PASSENGER OF SHIT
EBOLA DISCO and
MANDARK

performed on February 22. (Like Sore Throat, only Twenty Years After.)

About @ndy

I live in Melbourne, Australia. I like anarchy. I don't like nazis. I enjoy eating pizza and drinking beer. I barrack for the greatest football team on Earth: Collingwood Magpies. The 2024 premiership's a cakewalk for the good old Collingwood.
This entry was posted in Anti-fascism, Collingwood, Music. Bookmark the permalink.

5 Responses to More gigs @ The neo-Nazi Birmy

  1. Mick Reyfield says:

    They only do it to piss people off.

  2. jay snapshot says:

    Come on Andy have you ever played in a struggling band, its hard to get a gig mate, not all new bands are welcomed into pubs and places they would like to play especially in the scene queen melbourne scene. You seem to have a great big mouth in harassing the bands that play at these venues why not help these bands and book shows for them? You have a lot to say on the internet, how about you go find a new venue and start booking bands so they dont have to play at the pub you so love to hate… have a think about it mate… it makes more sense than jerking off and blowing up your own ego as an internet anarchist… and anyway i bet you wont print this anyway, cause a lot of people would have to agree with me. I may not see eye to eye with your politics, i dont affiliate with any political group in general, but you gotta be real here, if you wanna blow your mouth off about it so much do something about it… anyone can mouth off including myself… why dont you call me and ill book a venue for new bands with you… im keen… i been helping young bands for a long time… put your money where your mouth is champ.

  3. @ndy says:

    ‘You seem to have a great big mouth in harassing the bands that play at these venues — why not help these bands and book shows for them?’

    These venues? Sorry ONE venue, singular: The Birmy. As for pubs and clubs, they could play The Arty, Ding Dong, The Empress, The Espy, The Evelyn, The Greyhound, Hi-Fi, Pony, The Prince Of Wales, The Rob Roy, The Tote, The Town Hall… and more besides.

    And I don’t ‘harass’ the dozen or so bands that have played The Birmy; I merely record, on my blog, the fact that they have — and outline why I think it’s a bad idea. Y’know… Nazis and shit?

    And since when did I become a promoter?!?

    For six bands (most of which) I’ve never heard of?!?

    Attached to a label run by some bloke in Sydney I’ve never met?!?

    Who sells neo-Nazi shit on his website?!?

    While carrying the Class War logo?!?

    Yeah: what have I done for Jay Snapshot lately…

    I mean shit, here’s an idea: why don’t the bands find their own venue? I know plenty that do — in fact, it’s been going on for years. I believe it’s got something to do with punk being DIY…

    For many years, the Pink Palace was an example of a self-managed venue; and for a very short time, so was The Wake. And over the last 15 years or so I’ve been to plenty of other gigs outside of the regular commercial channels; in squats, in scout halls, in people’s living rooms and in their backyards. If more punks acted collectively, and pooled their resources, maybe obtaining a venue for punk music, esp new punk bands, would be less of a problem… but of course, then you’d have to deal with ‘politics’. That is, other people…

    Melbourne’s a big city.

    Your main problem is that you’re from Sydney.

    And by the sounds of it, a bit of a knob.

  4. jay snapshot says:

    haha a bit of a knob, here we go… mate if you have conducted your so called research into me youll have noticed i have booked shows here in syd and in mel for the last 15 years. i tried all the venues mentioned and actually know more than half the bookers. you of all people because youre from mel should know how hard it is to get a show in some of these places you mentioned for 6 new bands. um dont you think i may have tried every venue you have stated. except of course the pink palace as i know of its closure… i have probably been to fuck loads of shows and actually sat or stood next to you. fuck id even go so far as to say im sure we have the same friends… you can hang shit on me all you like about what i sell i dont give a fuck, im just a record collector. ill leave the politics up to you. but the sad truth of the matter is no one in mel would give 6 new bands a shot except the birmy… sad but true… and d.i.y hahaha mate you dont get a more d.i.y label than mine in australia mate… im just helping out a few mates bands… actually you should check these bands out, funnily enough i dont think youll find a greater more out spoken group of anti fascists than some of these bands. check them out before you open your mouth too much. if you had any sense youd be telling guys to go in support of the bands that due to having fuck all choice have decided to play the venue… check out crosscheck then youll understand… easy to slag off people online without the facts aint it… why dont you come and clap and cheer when some of these bands speak their mind at the show instead of criticising them for their wanting to play in your town…

  5. @ndy says:

    jay,

    i’ve conducted very little research. all i’ve done is:

    a) discovered that yr organising a gig @ the birmy and;

    b) looked at your catalogue. there i discovered that, among other things, you sell releases by Blood Red Eagle, Bound For Glory, Fortress, Legion of St. George, Retaliator, Skrewdriver and Southern Storm.

    all neo-nazi scum.

    i don’t dispute that it’s often hard for new bands to find somewhere to play; i do dispute the idea that the birmy should be included on a list of potential venues: for reasons which i’ve spelt out elsewhere.

    and yeah, i guessed that you may have approached these venues already. my point in listing them was to reinforce the fact that:

    a) melbourne has many venues and;
    b) the birmy is just one of them.

    i also understand that, generally speaking, gaining access to these venues is dependent, among other things, on: the bands and their pulling power; which night of the week you want to put them on; what other bands are playing @ around the same time (and if and when the bands have previously performed @ the venue); a pre-existing r/ship with the booker; a track record of having organised successful / profitable / profile-raising gigs in the past. the other problems with putting bands on are organisational, and not related to the choice of venue as such: the more bands, the harder to co-ordinate a suitable time, etcetera. in other words, the more advance notice you can give venues (assuming they’re agreeable), the better. (then there’s often issues to do with scheduling, involving both the bands themselves, but also a mixer, a PA (if required), publicity & promotional material, etcetera).

    but i’m not here to teach you to suck eggs.

    my objection to bands playing the birmy — and these six bands in particular — has nothing to do with the bands as such. all i know is they is hardcore: could be great, could be shit, more likely somewhere in-between. in other words, i’ve absolutely no objections to them playing in melbourne, and normally i’d be happy to check ’em out:

    anywhere but the birmy.

    (and, off the top of my head, i s’pose the closest equivalent to snapshot i can think of is spiral objective: both labels have about 20 releases to their credit.)

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