Last week we reported on Aussie hiphop trio Hilltop Hoods who played a country-town gig, only to be slammed by a disgruntled nearby resident, labelling it a “blatant display of disregard for residents.” Sadly, this type of tirade has continued in another small town of Australia, causing live music in a venue to be completely cancelled.
The Bayview Hotel in the seaside town of Batemans Bay, New South Wales, has been ordered to cease all live music from its walls thanks to just one complaining nearby resident, as the Batemans Bay Post detail.
In speaking with the local media, the Bayview Hotel proprietor Michael O’Brien told of the ridiculous proceedings that have silenced live music first in the beergarden, and then the entire pub, “About eight months ago, a person bought a unit (at The Clyde apartments) and every Saturday night, it would not matter what happened, he would complain about the noise, the police had to act and advised us to turn it down.”
The volume requirements are so low that sound now barely disperses through the beergarden, O’Brien deciding to move the live music inside, however, this action too was barred, “We decided to have it inside, but the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing has told us that we cannot have any amplified sound.”
[include_post id=”422043″]
The Bayview Hotel and O’Brien were warned that if volume reached a certain level, police would be forced to cut it off and issue a fine, something the local pub simply cannot afford. As a terrible consequence, the music was cut completely last month.
Having housed local live music for 20 years, this comes as a very heavy blow for not only for their thriving local scene as a whole, but monetarily too, “I have had to cut three security guards and five bar staff and it must have a snowball effect on other businesses.”
Not completely rolling over in defeat, O’Brien noted they would try other avenues to restore the nightly entertainment, “hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, we will be able to come to some sort of arrangement with the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing, where we can get our music back, but we will probably never be able to have music outside again.”
To think that just one complaining resident can hold such dire effects on the not only a local music scene, but the livelihood of multiple human beings is devastating. Melbourne venues may be protected against noise complaints, however, there is much to be achieved in smaller regions that desire the same liberties.
