Yep.

Good pub, though.

its not as bad as it was. they pretty much stopped gigs there for a while, now they have gigs again, they just have to keep the sound down and not go too late. the last bastion of the great pubs of north fitz.

I like most of the staff better than I like the food and most of the bands who play there.

Its my favourite place to hang out. The meals are great, the atmosphere is awesome and the management is great. The music's generally good too :)

you see, i have a new ultra quiet band and i really liked the empress but had to stop playing there. id like the quiet band to do one of its first shows there but i have zero idea if people even go there anymore and who i'd play with!! any advice??

Is this for M__? I think you should start off somewhere that you can let loose a little more with a bit more stage space too. Maybe hit the Empress once you've sorted your live sound out because the last thing you want is to start worrying about whether you're being too loud.

yeah boss, totally for the m band. we are mad pro's and have our sound down already! bang! id really like to do a gallery or some shit first off

What about Forepaw? Have you been? It's pretty rad and there's a thread about it here somewhere too. It's a shopfront but it's a nice place to play.

Dudewolf play Loophole with one of my bands. it'll be sweet.
Forepaw.....good on them for doing it really but fuck the sound in there is just waaaaay to concrete. JW would be in tears.

we dont need a pa really....

have a guess where i reckon it should be...

The Peel?

the old bar??

Uraguay?

the empress always feels like a dingey den to me - like Dream nightclub circa 1993 on goth night. it's pretty close to my house though.

i love the empress, always been good to me.

it's a real shame it has developed such a stigma aside from the noise issues - a period of pretty shoddy booking really almost put the last nail in the coffin. i think the booking has become more imaginative, but the noise is still an issue, though up to 11pm you now seem to be able to play as loud as a reasonably loud band would want to play.

maybe this means the ''natural order'' of soft to quiet bills could be turned on its head!?

i think it's a great room though - always enjoy playing there. it has a great natural acoustic and the p.a is sufficient for the size.

bring it back peoplez!

maybe this means the ''natural order'' of soft to quiet bills could be turned on its head!?

Don't you mean ''soft to loud'' bills?

it used to be my fave place to play for awhile. im proud of the hole i put in the roof.

what about North Bazaar dudewolf?

anyone know who the current booker is?

His name is Jeremy.

Yeah Jeremy Furze.

You going to unleash some noise onto some unsuspecting Scotchmer st residents SGH?

Eh, they'd be used to that when I lived one house away from Scotchmer in Rae Street.

what's the pub food status of the empress these days?

Current for food status at The Empress: tasty and cheap. Everything $12 in fact. The chicken burger is pretty much the reason I work there instead of at home.

Comedy night this Saturday. Come try the food. For a laugh.

Everything $12? that's new yah?

Ha. In addition to that UK outfit Empress, there is also a band called Empress Hotel.

Had a meal there last night, it was horrible.

Noted Bungle. I'll continue to go to Bar Fred for food & beer.

I believe Stabs played there last Saturday arvo and Wintercoats are playing today?
Arvo gigs rule

noise issues still?

Not really. Just don't go there and turn it up like a dumb cunt. I've held a couple of noise gigs there and it's gone down pretty sweet. They keep the piano in decent nick too. Actually, it's one of the few venue's I'll play because it has a real piano there.

SHIT I SWEAR I MEANT TO WRITE DON'T TURN IT UP LIKE A DUMB CUNT

OH FUCK THIS SLEEP DEPRIVATION BULLSHIT

My reputation is in tatters. I will never play another live gig in Melbourne again. Suicide pill ordered.

passes denialdemonicdisrup a chamomile tea

Calm down, love.

thankyou miss katie. all better now.

..so are they gonna make us play softly tonight??

'coz we actually cant do that..

Oh dear. What happened to the food at this place?

Yeah it was rubbish when I went a few weeks back. Main guy behind the bar was a bit of a dick too and it was all really poorly organised. Shame..