In 2012, my then-fourteen year old sister saved up her pocket money, bought two tickets to see Howler and took me to the gig as a birthday gift. It was one of the kindest gestures I’ll ever be the recipient of, and simultaneously one I’ll never forget… although not for the reasons you might assume.
Saturday, 20th October was the day of the gig, and Howler put on a hell of a show. At one point, lead singer Jordan Gatesmith asked the crowd to stop jumping for fear the boat may ‘topsize’. Or so I’m told. I wouldn’t know.
Because thanks to Thekla’s questionable and all-too-easily accepted policies, we missed the gig entirely.
A 9:30pm finale – when it’s still light out in summer
We missed the gig because we’d turned up at 9:30pm, just as proceedings were coming to a close.
9:30pm. Clearly, far too early for a ‘night’ of live music to finish. So I was a little perplexed as to what on earth had happened.
But, following repeat offences, I now know exactly what Thekla was and is up to. And, in my opinion at least, it’s a sad, sad conclusion.
The club night comes first
It turns out Thekla usher acts off stage early on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays so their club nights remain unaffected by the inconvenience of playing host to internationally renowned touring bands.
This isn’t speculation. Contact them and they’ll tell you. They’re willing to ruin the much-anticipated evenings of 1,200 avid gig-goers a week so they can sell two extra rum and cokes to the students that failed to get the memo on where their pre-drinks were being held.
And for events that fall on the remaining days of the week? The venue has a similar policy in place.
What about this noise curfew, then?
Back in 2012, after I’d asked why on earth Howler had closed things up so early, I was pacified with tales of a ‘noise curfew’ and ‘license restrictions’. I accepted the stories quietly – there was nothing I could say to bring the band back on stage. But last Saturday, when Idles took to the stage at 7:30pm – whilst I was still cooking my dinner – I decided to look into things in more detail.
I asked Bristol City Council if there was any truth in the noise curfew rumour – to which they immediately responded that there wasn’t. When asked why they thought the people of Bristol subscribed to such a myth, my helpful contact came back to me with:
“The only thing I can think of that is similar is that we don’t tend to agree to licences for live music outside, especially for larger events, after 23.00.”
No matter which way you look at it, 400 people indoors does not fall under this category.
Why are you being so moany? Let Thekla be!
I showed this article to a friend yesterday and he immediately advised me against publishing it.
Even as I finish the editing process I’m unsure as to how it will go down. Thekla is an iconic music venue with much more clout than the Bristol Beats Club will ever accrue. But their current set-up is wrong, and it’s important they know that.
Thekla, as you seem to have gone so quiet in our private communication string: please don’t take this the wrong way. I adore you as both a club and a live music venue. But I’ve missed entire sets. I’ve had to catch gigs immediately after work. And I’ve witnessed cancelled encores. This should not be the case.
Although I doubt you will, I really hope you take my words on board (ha). You’ll both make peoples’ days and make more money by prioritising your live events over your club nights, no matter what the day of the week. Please change your policies.
Bristol Beats Xx
Image: Barney Moss